twilightdawning

A writer's thoughts – mainly about music, sport and theatre. Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, live shows, New York Yankees

About twilightdawning

Amongst other things, I write professionally. I've been published everywhere from the small (Barnsley Chronicle), to the large (London Sunday Times colour supplement). I primarily write about music, theatre and sport. Most of the articles here have been previously published. No copyright infringement intended I also work in the music world. I've worked as a producer, promoter and general ideas man and conceptualizer. At the moment I'm working with Sad Cafe among others. I'm building a theatre. It's almost done after three years of planning and trying to be kind to my architect and my builders. We open in October 2012. I run a theatrical production company called "The Shakespearience". We perform an introduction to William Shakespeare for young people. Most of all I work in the charitable and faith sphere. I'm senior pastor of an unusual church in central London. I'm a busy man.

One more last night

Posted on September 29, 2008 by twilightdawning

Had a good night at Dingwalls yesterday. Arrived in time to see Deviant UK who I really enjoyed even if Jay Smith does wear his Numan influences just a tad too heavily. Good performer, good set.

Next up was the reason for being here – Swarf. Another great performance. Ms. Green really grows when presented with an enthusiastic, reasonably-sized audience and the two guys are a moody and talented presence who are a very large part of everything the band does. So good I bought the t-shirt. But how could they drop "Supine" from the set? This was the song that really turned me on to Swarf. The fall e.p. was good but all the pieces didn’t really fall into place, for me, until I heard "Supine". Swarf, you may be near the top of my personal listening class but restore that song to your live performance. Now, write 500 lines, "We must perform Supine every time we play, regardless of how long a set we are allotted".

Third act up were Adoration who have that guy from This Burning Effigy and precious little else. I really would have stayed for Diary of Dreams but I couldn’t be bothered to wade through this monotonous wall of sound for as long as it would have taken. It’s a shame because on their myspace their sound manages to have interesting layers and all kinds of things going on but all this was lost in the boggy mire they delivered last night.

Diary of Dreams? I guess we’ll never know

Deviant UK

1,2,3 Swarfs

don’t silence

Posted on September 26, 2008 by twilightdawning

Had a great night at the Swarf gig at a little (tiny!) venue in Brighton. I’ve been very caught up with other things for a few months and it feels good to get back to some serious music watching. I’ve a number of concerts coming up over the next few weeks and months (more Swarf, Ladytron, John Foxx etc. etc.) and I need this to get myself back in balance after a pretty torrid time.

Last night’s show? Support offerings from Portslade and Johnny Loves House which weren’t going to change my life and then a very delightful set from the delectable talents that are Swarf. Set opened with an elegant Supine, then there was Parlour Tricks, and a set made up of mostly newer songs. "Not Enough" was full of energy and the keyboard sounds seemed to have been reworked for that one. They closed with a cover of Depeche Mode’s "In Your Room" which was suitably ethereal. An enthusiastic crowd brought them back for an encore (the name of which I couldn’t remember last night and by this afternoon I can’t remember what I heard! Liz?) after a good tight set.

Final Night at Yankee Stadium

Posted on September 23, 2008 by twilightdawning

So how was the final night at Yankee Stadium, Darren? Well, I’m back in London and feeling very jetlagged so I might as well gather my thoughts and write them down.
A few days earlier I’d arrived early at the Stadium in order to have a final mooch around Monument Park. That night they closed the line into the park five minutes after the Stadium opened and I didn’t get in. So when they said that they were opening the park at 1.05 pm for a game that didn’t begin until 8.05, I wasn’t going to fall for it again but I did want a good long time to soak up the atmosphere so I arrived in the Bronx about 3. There was a guy on the Stadium gate announcing that Monument Park was already closed – no surprise there – but I decided to go in anyway get myself a hot dog and see what was happening. So I moved forward and presented my ticket. The attendant ran it through his swipe machine – and said there was a problem and that I should go to the "Will Call" window. Mmmmmmm…… I began to worry. But confident that all would be well, I walked round to Will Call. The woman there told me that the season ticket holder who had sold this to my ticket broker and then gone on and re-issued it to himself which is technically very out-of-order but meant that the ticket belonged to him and not to my ticket broker and consequently, no to me. Now, life is beginning to look very grim. Tickets for this game have been changing hands for $20,000 – $70,000 so I’m not about to head to a scalper. Looks like time to head back to Manhattan and settle back to watch the game on TV.
I’m waiting on the subway station when the fog of misery lifted enough to decide to ring my ticket broker who is a good guy and whose fault this wasn’t. I checked my cellphone and found that I hadn’t brought the number with me from the UK. Even bigger crap. Decided to ring my mate, Graham, in London, who is a pastor, only to find he was still at church taking service. Tried my sister in Yorkshire, who didn’t even know I was abroad and, lo and behold, she went on the internet and found a number.
Dialled the number. No answer. Ansaphone message but crucially giving me his mobile. Rang the mobile. No answer. Left a desperate message. Rang again. Still no answer. Mentally gave myself a cut off time that I was going to give back up and decide to do something more fun than sit in a subway station. ……… And then the phone rang. Broker Tim sounded very concerned and said he would call back which he did. Ten minutes later, call he did, and said he’d found a alternate ticket. Amazing. All I’d need was some photo I.D. and it would be at Stub Hub to collect. Only one problem….. my only photo identification, my passport, was in Manhattan and I was in the Bronx. Oh, okay, says Broker Tim, I’ll see what I can do to sweet talk them and get them to break their own rules and give it you without. Somehow or other, he pulled this off and ten minutes later – still only 4 o’clock – I was in the Stadium.

So my own personal crises aside, what else happened? Well, there was marching bands and a whole bunch of guys in the outfield dressed to appear as the 1923 starting line up. There were the greats of years gone by – those who are still in this world and didn’t have another game to be involved in this night. There was Reggie Jackson, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, Yogi Berra, Moose Skowron, Bobby Richardson, David Cone, David Wells, Don Larsen, Chris Chambliss, Willie Randolph and a cast of many, many more. There were the sons, daughters, and wives of those who died young. Crowd going crazy and joy unconfined for the devoted baseball fan. So much to see and do that the beginning of the game was definitely going to be at least half-an-hour late. Film and sounds and heroes.

When the game did actually begin, the Yankees were struggling behind a sub-par performance from Andy Pettitte. He gave up two early runs and Waters was pitching well for the Orioles and to be frank the Yankee bats seemed a little over-awed by the occasion. This really had been the story of all the games I had been too. Starting pitching which didn’t look up to the task and the bullpen to the rescue. The problem with this was it had stretched the resources of the ‘pen to the limit and several of the guys had gone out to the mound several nights on the trot.

And then it happened. Remembering where they were the Yankees came to life. Unlikely singles from Matsui (0-for-16 in recent at-bats), and Molina were followed by a home run from Johnny Damon. Pettitte gave up a third run but a two-run homer from Jose Molina (only his third home run of the season and it turned out to be the last ever fence-clearer at Yankee Stadium) in the bottom of the fourth restored the lead.
And then to the bullpen. Veras, Coke and Chamberlain once more delivered the goods. By this time the Yankees had extended their lead to 7-3. And then everyone was on their feet. Enter Sandman once more pumped from the public address. Rivera coming in from the bullpen. Field of Dreams, indeed.

The rest of the night produced laps of honour, speeches from Derek Jeter and more plays of Frank Sinatra’s recording of "New York, New York" than I could count or care to remember.

All this and in bed for three in the morning. Great, great night.

It ain’t over ’til it’s over

Posted on September 22, 2008 by twilightdawning

So no more games at old Yankee Stadium. What a night! There were ticket problems, celebrations and a good game of baseball – all of which I will probably write about at greater length but for now, it is a great memory and a great sadness that they’re actually going to demolish the place and sell it off piece by piece. There’s a great editorial in the New York Sun this morning which condemns this and I entirely endorse the author’s position. If this isn’t a national and a global treasure then I don’t know what is (hey, I’m biased). Turning all of the stadium or part of the stadium into a museum should be the obvious thing to do but somehow that’s not what is going to happen. Very disappointing, very strange.
I’m left with some great memories but there could be some more. I’ve made around 50 trips there over the last 15 years. I would want to be able to go back.

One More Time…..

Posted on September 21, 2008 by twilightdawning

Last night I took a cruise around the East River and the Hudson River on a yellow taxi boat out of the South Street Seaport. Very enjoyable but the guy on the public address talked too much. Meanwhile, over at Yankee Stadium, Alfredo Aceves was leading the Yankees to victory. He’s been everything that Phil Hughes should have been. In a couple of hours, I’m going to wind my way to the Bronx for one last time to see Andy Pettitte start, lots of celebrations and remembrances and the Stadium finally close. Exciting and sad all at the same time. Even if we are getting trounced, it is a very good bet that Mo Rivera will pitch the ninth.

Late tomorrow I fly back to England and arrive there on Tuesday.

Pavano – a waste of money and energy (but the Yankees win)

Posted on September 20, 2008 by twilightdawning

Sitting just behind the Yankees dugout last night, watching Carl Pavano struggle horribly for the first four innings, it didn’t look like the Yankees were going to pick up their second win of my stay but they did. A home run from Robinson Cano and some exemplary relief from Brian Bruney, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Coke got us through to Mariano Rivera and the inevitable although there was a wobble before the game finally came to its conclusion. 3-2.

Weather here is still hot and sunny. Fell asleep in Central Park in the green,green grass. It’s nice to relax and be away from work.

Mooooooose………………….

Posted on September 19, 2008 by twilightdawning

Fine game for Mike Mussina in Yankee Stadium last night. In truth, he had a pretty poor first innings (which was partially due to some doubtful calls on the plate umpire’s part) but after that he was smooth sailing. Bobby Abreu – the guy the "insiders" say is on his way out of the Bronx on the end of the season but whom this journal reckons should be the rock they build next year’s outfield around – hit two home runs in his first two at-bats. As usual in September there were a whole bunch of debutantes now the season is winding to a close with no hope of the post-season. So I got my first look at Juan Miranda (first base & the 17th Cuban ever to play for NYY), Humberto Sanchez (subject of many whispers over the last two years but whose arrival in the Bronx has been much delayed by injury) and Francisco Cervelli (whose appearance was too brief to figure out much about other than he is a catcher).
Jeter continues to enjoy a strong finish to the year. The stadium is pretty full but the empty seats are mostly in the most expensive areas which is interesting given that their policy for the "new" Yankee Stadium is to increase the expensive seating areas and private boxes and reduce the numbers seats available for typical baseball fans. Two guys I met had paid $250 for their seats and left in the fifth innings. Now there’s fans for you.

Aside from baseball, I took the ferry over to Staten island and did some exploring (okay, I looked round the baseball stadium there, too) and had a good day soaking up the sun in Manhattan. I’m just heading to Central Park and then tonight it is Yankees play Orioles.

Manhattan Skyline

Posted on September 17, 2008 by twilightdawning

So I’m hanging around Manhattan for a few days as I’m here to take in the last few games at Yankee Stadium. I love this city and it is always great to be here whatever the circumstance but the closure of the Stadium makes me both excited and annoyed in equal measure. Annoyed because they’re getting rid of all tradition and history and things will never be the same. Excited because at least I get to be a part of the big wind-down and the final game.

After that back to the UK and hopefully take the two Swarf concerts that are happening during the last week in September.

September Rain…… Here Comes the Rain (part 2 – the pitchers)

Posted on September 15, 2008 by twilightdawning

New York is beautiful at this time of the year……. the pitching in the Bronx not as good.

Pluses

Phil Coke. Young Mr Coke missed out on Scranton’s post-season success in order to bolster the Yankees major league struggles. He has certainly helped. Five games in September, so far, without a run conceded and a team best OBA for the month.

Brian Bruney. Bruney continues to dominate in his relief appearances. He and Damaso Marte are becoming a crucial part of the relief corps especially with Vera faltering slightly.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves has impressed. First in relief and then as a starter, he has done well in his so-far brief tenure.

Minuses

Darrell Rasner. Despite a decent innings in relief against Tampa a couple of nights ago, there is no hiding the depths that Rasner’s season has fallen to. He achieved an ERA of over 19 in his first two September appearances and one of out of every two batters he faced made it to the first base bag safely during that period.

Edwar Ramirez. Ramirez seems to have lost his way in the final third of the season. Five runs given up in his last 3 1/3 innings. Not good.

Sidney Ponson. Sidney has faded badly but still we persist with him as a starter. He has avoided losses so far this month but he is making hard work for the bullpen.

Surprises

Dan Giese. Giese has struggled since his return from injury. Hoping this is not the lingering problems of his strain.

Mike Mussina. Mussina has run out of luck in the last few weeks. The run support for him as not been as strong as earlier in the year. What were once wins are turning into losses and no decisions. Twenty games no longer looks possible.

Andy Pettitte. Pettitte usually has a strong second half but this year poor outings have seen his win-loss record drift out to 13-13. Could be his last year in the Bronx.

September Rain…… Here Comes the Rain

Posted on September 14, 2008 by twilightdawning

So as I prepare for my latest trip to Manhattan and the Bronx, time for another update on the successes and failures of the month so far in New York…….

Pluses

Derek Jeter. Jeter continues to have a huge run with the bat. His production has gone through the roof over the last few weeks albeit that it is too late for the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is pulling out of his late August slump as his grand slam against the Rays this afternoon proves. That was his fifth home run of the month.

Bobby Abreu. Abreu continues to be our most productive and consistent offensive player. He should be the player that we build our outfield around in 2009.

Minuses

Jose Molina. Molina has been very consistent behind the plate and very poor at the plate. With Posada unlikely to be fit to catch on opening day and with Pudge unlikely to back, there is a real question whether Molina should be back in 2009.

Robinson Cano. So the Yankees website tells us that Cano will rebuild his mechanics during the offseason. Serious consideration should be given to how it is that after a reasonable mid-season recovery, he has drifted out to a .143 BA on the month so far. Too many players have lost sight of their strengths this year. The coaching staff needs to undergo some changes at the season end.

Hideki Matsui. Recovered enough from injury to be on the team but still needing surgery at the season end, Matsui is just not himself. Whether this is because he hasn’t adapted to being designated hitter or whether he has insufficient physical strength to actually be playing at all is debatable but .225 on the month so far with no home runs is not what the team rushed him back for.

Surprises

Johnny Damon. Only surprising that Damon has cooled at the point that the Yankees needed him to heat up. He has had a good year on the whole but as become too quiet when we needed him most.

Chad Moeller. Surprisingly, back in the Bronx again and doing well in his occasional start. All this from a guy we nearly lost through waivers earlier in the season.

Phil Hughes. Just when all was lost, he came up with the goods in the game that brought the championship to Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Consequently, he is being called up and a start in the Bronx is pencilled in. So many twists and turns…….