Glenn Frey
When I was at High School he seemed like the coolest guy on the whole planet.
Already Gone – A Natural Progressions Update
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Tag Archives: music
Harping on…
Who: Serafina Steer and BAS JAN
Where: King’s Place, King’s Cross, London
When: Friday 11th December 2015
It’s not often I’m lost for words. It’s about 33 years since I had my first article published in a newspaper and since then there have been many thousands of words – in books, in magazines, in newspapers and, in recent years, on the internet.
I’m not often lost for vocabulary.
But then I don’t often go to see concerts by one of my favourite contemporary artists and find that she has committed the first half of the show to a harp recital.
The Greatest Damn Steely Dan Band to Ever Come Down the Pipe
Who: Steely Dan
What: rockabye gollie angel tour 2015: “By Popular Demand” night
When: October 16th, 2015
Where: Beacon Theatre, New York, New York, USA
“The greatest damn Steely Dan band ever to come down the pipe”. So said Walter Becker on this “By Popular Demand” night at the Beacon. And you know what – in terms of live performance, – I think he is just about right. This was an outstanding night of music. The “By Popular Demand” thing might just have been a cool cover-up: I’m not really sure what was so different from some other nights on the tour – but slightly dodgy promotional tools aside, this was a very, very good performance indeed.
An Embarrassment of Riches
Who: Daughters of Davis
Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Ravenscourt Road, Hammersmith, London
When: October 3rd, 2015.
The season at Ravenscourt Arts ended at the beginning of the summer with an outstanding concert of acoustic music from Judie Tzuke which played to a sold-out venue. The show tonight had one of those things in common. This was truly a night of great acoustic music even if there were a number of vacant seats around. No accounting for that – last time Daughters of Davis played here, they played to a very healthy audience indeed so let’s concentrate on the music.
Natural Progressions Update – Summer 2015
A little update on all things Eagles.
The latest leg of the “The History of the Eagles” tour came to an end on the 29th of July in the U.S. with a gig in Louisiana. The tour has been more of the same – if you liked the last couple of years you would have liked this. The band is now being put to bed for a while whilst the members turn their attention to solo projects.
From Sheet to Vinyl to Stage
Who: 10CC
What: Sheet Music and Greatest Hits Live
Where: Royal Albert Hall, London
When: 28th May 2015
When I was a boy, 10CC were often referred to, in the UK music press, as the British Steely Dan. I’ve never really understood that myself but given that I’ve recently been writing promotional material for some of the Steely Dan dates on their forthcoming U.S. tour, it seemed really appropriate that I should be sat in the second row of 10CC’s Royal Albert Hall gig writing a review of their show.
More Songs and Stories
Who: Judie Tzuke
What: Songs and Stories Tour
Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Hammersmith, London
When: 11th April 2015
On the opening night of Judie Tzuke’s first UK wide all-acoustic tour, questions were invited from the audience as they will be on every night of this long jaunt around the country.
One sample question: What do you do to keep your voice so strong for so long?
Answer: Nothing. I was once given some vocal exercises but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten them.
The Shakespearience Too at Ravenscourt Arts
Presenting Shakespeare for ages 10-14 (i.e. the ages before they start formally studying the writer for exams in school) is not an easy task but it is a challenge that I have set myself over these last six years and I have to say with some degree of success.
This year was our largest project to date. With 1600-1700 young people signed up to attend and with our troupe now firmly esconced in our own theatre at Ravenscourt Arts, we decided to strip back to basics and bring in a new cast to work with a new script. Time to take some risks.
The Strangest Living Boy You Could Ever Wish To See
Who: Gary Numan
What: Convergence 2015
Where: Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London
When: 20th March 2015
In 1981, after an exhausting two years, two number one singles and three number one albums, Gary Numan retired from touring with a lavish set of final shows at Wembley Arena in London. On Friday night, at Convergence in the Royal Festival Hall, London, for Numan it is now thirty-four years since he returned from retiring from live shows and he has a one-off special concert to mark his influence as a pioneer of electronica. The poster outside the venue doors described him as having “a ever-growing fanbase”. Apparently despite this, his records no longer trouble the top of the charts. Numan’s career has been a regular conundrum and a game of snakes-and-ladders and tonight was just the latest twist.
Down To The Waters’ Edge
Who: The Daughters of Davis
Where: Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith
When: 18th February 2015
Being piggy-in-the-middle on a three act bill is never an enviable task but when even the opening act is allowed access to the higher ranges on the volume sliders of the mixing desk that you’re not and the top act’s target audience is very different from your own then it’s somewhat more problematic.
But having said that Daughters of Davis blew everyone else off stage when it came to artistic integrity and provided a great set for an audience who entered not really caring who they were and exited won over in some numbers.
twilightdawning 