The second part of our update will look briefly at one change to the infield group and then moves on to survey the outfield and designated hitters. Since our last report, both the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays have made upgrades to their roster whilst the Yankees have been slow to make moves. The outfield looks like one of the few areas that is reasonably well set.
What: Evidence of Time Travel
Who: John Foxx & Steve D’Agostino
Where: BFI, Southbank, London
When: 21st November 2014
Over the last few weeks a staple on my cd player has been “Evidence of Time Travel” by John Foxx & Steve D’Agostino. It is an eclectic, tight, set of instrumentals which creates a mysterious air. It has echoes of Foxx’s early instrumentals like “Film One” but also traces of John’s more recent albums like “Tiny Colour Movies” and “My Lost City”. It also brings some new things to the table that are not present in any of those recordings. It is a very good release in a sequence of top drawer releases that Foxx and his cohorts have made in recent years. It is not his best but it stands up very well amongst his recent body of work.
What: Much Ado About Nothing (promoted as “Love’s Labour’s Won”) by William Shakespeare
Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
When: 20th November 2014
So I was back in Stratford-Upon-Avon for the second half of this strange coupling that Gregory Doran is determined to promote as “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “Love’s Labour’s Won”. In reality, as I suggested in my earlier review these two plays share no common ground other than their humorous tone and those imposed by the director’s decision-making.
Well, here we are in November. The San Francisco Giants deservedly won the World Series and the Kansas City Royals made a very creditable run from a wildcard slot to fall at the last hurdle. It was a great season and a fascinating season to follow and write about the Yankees who overcame adversity to finish with a reasonable record.
The question now is, can they turn those problems and strengths into a team that can challenge for the post season in 2015? Let’s take an overview of their roster at this moment in time and see where it looks like they’re going.
What: Luna Rossa
Where: The Borderline, off Manette Street, London
When: 2nd November 2014
Luna Rossa are one of the new kids on the block in terms of live shows. This was their second live show on a three-date stretch which precedes the release of their second album “Secrets and Lies”. That such a little known band is able to pull a decent sized crowd is primarily due to their connection with one of rock music’s best kept quality secrets: Panic Room.
Mostly Hackett but things turned a little Autumnal too.
What: Steve Hackett
Supported by Mostly Autumn (acoustic)
Where: Hammersmith Apollo
When: 1 November 2014
It was February 1984 and a close friend and I went to see Genesis at the NEC in Birmingham. Collins, Rutherford, Banks. I’d been a Genesis fan for about six years. Loved “Seconds Out”, “Wind And Wuthering” and “Duke”. Didn’t like the production on “Trick of the Tail”. Found “….And Then There Were Three” a bit of a mixed bag. Then I discovered the Gabriel years and my perception of the band began to change. “Trespass”, “Nursery Cryme” and “Foxtrot” joined “Duke” as my favourite Genesis albums.
When I was a young child I remember seeing Otto Preminger play Mr Freeze in the ‘Batman’ TV series, a role he shared with George Sanders (who I would later enjoy seeing in earlier films as Simon Templar, the Saint) and Eli Wallach. I didn’t realise then that I would later come to appreciate his work as a director greatly. Films like Fallen Angel, The Man with the Golden Arm, Anatomy of a Murder, Laura and Angel Face are amongst my favourites of his. He challenged many taboos in the cinema and directed in a way that used lighting and musical soundtrack to wonderful effect.
What: Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare
Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
When: 23rd October 2014
Gregory Doran, the new artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare company, has barely put a foot wrong since he took over the role – and it has to be said that prior to the new appointment there had been a certain loss of direction. But in this new production, which I think is very solid and good, he seems to have based some of his thinking about it on a doubtful premise.
A Tribute to Alvin Stardust
It would have been the late summer of 1974. I turned on the TV. BBC 1. And it turned out I turned on “Top of the Pops”. I’d really not got into watching Top of the Pops yet. My music listening mostly came from plugging in my cassette player in, in the corner of my Mum’s bedroom and recording the Sunday night Top 40 rundown from the BBC in the cassette player’s built-in radio. I didn’t record the whole thing – just the songs I didn’t already have and that I liked.
Anyway back to Top of the Pops. Solo performer, black leather. Singing, barely moving, slowly removing a black leather glove. Great song, riveting performance. Glam rock meets some kind of rock ‘n’ roll revival. I swear I learnt more in 3 minutes about image and the colour black than I did in the whole of the rest of my life so far. It was and remains a hugely influential performance for me, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen it again. It appears to be one of those editions of Top of the Pops which was wiped and has not been found in a private collection. Perhaps gone forever.
I got to thinking about it this week when I heard that Alvin Stardust had died.
