twilightdawning

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

The New York Yankees Off Season Update 5

Posted on February 2, 2015 by twilightdawning

Well, the New York Yankees have had a weird off-season and it just keeps getting weirder. As we walk through the trades the Yankees made in January, I just keep hearing warning bells ringing that tell me that unless almost everyone who had an injury or a downturn in their career last year encounters a significant upward surge than this team looks worse on paper then the one which won 84 games last season and missed out on the post-season. Unless they give their manager Joe Girardi the right tools to work with, he doesn’t have a hope of turning this team into a winner.

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Shakespeare, the Shakespearience and “the Shakespearience too”

Posted on January 16, 2015 by twilightdawning

What: The Shakespearience Too

Who: The Shakespearience Production Company

Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Hammersmith, London

When: March 2015

In 2009, I had a dream. I mean literally. I had a dream. I woke up in my hotel in Stratford-Upon-Avon with a notion that I should start a theatre company that would present Shakespeare for schoolchildren in a way that would be informative, entertaining and educational. I was in town to review a play by the Bard but I have to say that I can’t even remember which one. But I do remember what happened next.

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The New York Yankees Off Season Update 4

Posted on January 5, 2015 by twilightdawning

The last update I wrote saw the Yankees in a peculiar position and making some seemingly bizarre moves. The outfield looked set (if a little prone to injury), the infield had a gaping hole at second base (following the trade to Miami of Martin Prado), the starting rotation looked vulnerable to say the least and missing at least one piece and the bullpen looked fine if a little over-manned.

So it really shouldn’t surprise our readers to see the Yankees making moves which primarily concern the bullpen and leaving the starting rotation and 2nd base quandaries untouched.

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It’s Cheaper Than Paintings ….. And Doesn’t Need Explaining

Posted on December 23, 2014 by twilightdawning

Who: Sparks & the Heritage Orchestra (conducted by Jules Buckley)

What: Kimono My House (40th Anniversary Performance)

Where: Barbican Hall. The Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London

When: 19th December 2014

There have been various rock bands down the years who have performed albums and other projects with an orchestra (Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake and Palmer have done whole shows, Eagles used an orchestra on certain sections of their “Hotel California” tour, for example) but for a band like Sparks who are regarded as more of a pop outfit a show like tonight was quite unusual.

Sparks, of course, are an underestimated outfit amongst large sections of the general public and could be said to only really understood by their dedicated band of followers.

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A Monday Night to Remember

Posted on December 7, 2014 by twilightdawning

Who: John Shuttleworth

What: A Wee Ken to Remember

Where: Bloomsbury Theatre, London

When: 1st December 2014

Few artists have had a book published of their collected lyrics. Bob Dylan has had three (don’t try lifting the most recent one, you’ll do yourself a mischief), Paul Simon has had one, Sting has one (his Mum might have bought a copy) and so has John Shuttleworth. The difference between the first three and Shuttleworth is that John’s is self-published.

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The New York Yankees Off-Season Update 2

Posted on December 1, 2014 by twilightdawning

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.

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Evidence of …….Disappointment

Posted on November 30, 2014 by twilightdawning

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.

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The New York Yankees Off-Season Update 1

Posted on November 14, 2014 by twilightdawning

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.

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Time Lapse in Hammersmith

Posted on November 4, 2014 by twilightdawning

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.

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The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in September

Posted on October 22, 2014 by twilightdawning

As we move on to the second half of our survey of the Yankees’ performance in September, we find a fairly surprising picture amongst the pitchers. Whilst the team averaged giving up between 3 and 4 runs a game which is pretty competitive, more surprising was that those who had been successful prior to September struggled and some new faces were successful.

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