Journal Entries
Snapshots of 2013 - NaJoPoMo2013 day 29
Posted Nov 29, 2013
Some bands you only see once. Some bands you never want to see. And some bands you go back to time and time again. For me, the Oysterband fall into the last category and I've lost count of the number of times I've seen them. They tour constantly, they frequently appear at my regular festivals and they even curate a festival of their own on occasion.
My sister and I went to a sopping wet festival at Beverley racecourse this year which had Oysterband headlining one night. Luckily the main stage was in a big marquee so weather didn't matter and lots of singing along and rowdy dancing ensued. Only down side was we drank the marquee's little bar dry (collectively that is, not me and my sister on our own) as nobody wanted to walk across the floodplain outside to the other bars.
Tonight I'm off to see them again. A more intimate (and dryer!) gig this time at Holmfirth Picturedrome. They've been working on a new album so there should be some new songs. The singer's local so this is a venue they like to visit and it's just a short hop over the hills for us. And I'm sure the bar will be well stocked this time.
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Latest reply: Nov 29, 2013
Snapshots of 2013 - NaJoPoMo2013 day 28
Posted Nov 28, 2013
I love Scrabble. It's probably my favourite game, although backgammon is a close second that accounted for an embarrassing amount of my student days. Anyway, I was raised on word games and expected to hold my own against the adults in Scrabble games from an early age. I'll admit it brings out my deeply hidden competitive streak, but then any players will agree that Scrabnle is a serious game. Most friends and acquaintances refuse to play me. I bumped into an old boyfriend recently who could still remember the score of the one game he ever beat me, 15 years ago - he seemed scarred by the memories. Phil whimpers whenever I mention the game.
Hence, picture my delight when a friend issued a challenge via Phil the other week. Next time we met, she seemed momentarily surprised when I revealed the travel Scrabble set I''d brought to the pub hidden in my bag and called her bluff. The game commenced and for a couple of pintsworth we were neck and neck. I'm pleased to report that a late flourish ensured I rallied and the game had the correct result. (I did say this brings out my competitive streak didn't I?) She's already demanded a rematch. Looks like I may have found a willing victim, erm opponent...
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Latest reply: Nov 28, 2013
Snapshots of 2013 - NaJoPoMo2013 day 27
Posted Nov 27, 2013
Any kind of music is better live (even banjos 
). Working to this principle I go to as many performances as possible, from big festival stages to intimate pub gigs, from local open mic nights to professional classical concerts. And I'm one of those old fashioned people who prefers to own my music in physical CD form and to buy that CD from the musicians themselves wherever possible.
What I very rarely do is attend huge arena gigs, where the band is no more than a distant dot and it's highly umlikely that you'll bump into the band in the bar later, a regular occurrence at my usual pub or festival gig. However, when a spare ticket unexpectedly materialised for a night with Peter Gabriel at the huge Manchester Arena, Phil and I argued for days in the nicest possible way about which of us would take the ticket. In the end I gave in and agreed to go and see Peter and co. perform the whole So to celebrate the album's 25th anniversary. Old stuff, new material, singalong favourites, a tight band, good support. What a great show! Thanks Pegasus for selling me that ticket. 
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Latest reply: Nov 27, 2013
Snapshots of 2013 - NaJoPoMo2013 day 26
Posted Nov 26, 2013
As a devotee of all things fretted stringed instrument related, I was delighted to spot a lute recital included in the lineup for this year's Saltaire festival. A free concert too, even better. And held in an interesting space, the United Reformed Church in Saltaire, a Victoran mill town and World Heritage Site full of historic interest. All round an event not to be missed in my opinion.
I arrived in Saltaire just in time for the lute recital to begin. The lutenist, Jacob Heringman, had been holding a lute playing workshop earlier so the front pews of the church were full of people carrying strange shaped cases and talking knowledgably about lute music. I sat myself just behind them and waited for the music to begin. He began with some John Dowland pieces that I know from the guitar transcriptions, but it was good to hear them played as originally intended. His repertoire quickly moved on to pieces I was less familiar with, but lovely to hear them, each with a good description given of its place in lute music history. He had two different lutes with him from different eras and used them to explore the changing fashions of early music according to time and country of origin.
The only problem was he had elected not to use amplification and an acoustic lute is a very quiet instrument. As the concert progressed, Jacob moved further away from the altar and down the aisle of the church. By the time the rock band started playing in the park just outside the church, Jacob was pretty much sitting in the middle of his audience, probably deeply regretting his amplification decision. For my strange mind, this all added to the charm and eccentricity of the performance, the highlight of my day at the festival.
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Latest reply: Nov 26, 2013
Snapshots of 2013 - NaJoPoMo2013 day 25
Posted Nov 25, 2013
Early on this year I had a chance to hear an iconic classical guitar concerto performed live at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as part of their guitar weekend programming. Now I'm very familiar with Rodrigo's guitar concerto and I own a couple of recordings of it, but being present in a fabulous concert hall and having it performed in front of me was a wholly different experience. I enjoyed listening to the music of course, but really found myself appreciating the arrangement, carefully done so that the guitar, essentially a quiet instrument, can be easily heard during the solos when the orchestral arrangement leaves space for it to shine through.
The rest of the programme included other well known pieces but the one I remember clearly was Ravel's Bolero. Now this can be something of a cheesy piece when heard on the radio, but the live experience was thrilling. There was an enormous dynamic contrast between the gentle opening with the theme played softly by just a few musicians, compared to the multiforte climax with the full orchestra blasting out until the room seemed to shake. The power of an orchestra at maximum volume just has to be heard and felt to be believed. Finally, I think I get what Ravel was trying to achieve.
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Latest reply: Nov 25, 2013
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