27°C, last hot day for a while

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Back home before the main act came on stage, and I live 100 miles away!  We nearly came home much earlier.

 

Best bits: music on the BBC Radio 3 stage. Good musicians, clear PA

Hardest bits: the heat 

Strangest bits: Not much from the far east. It was all either; African, South Central Asia or Latin America. I saw nothing of Japan, Thailand or China or any "oriental" places.

Worst Bit: too hot for the minimal amount of shade available there. We spent a large chunk of time outside the venue sitting under trees by the river.

Most annoying bit: when you’re sitting in a café next to a venue, why are the café’s speakers blearing out some crap when there is quality live music there. If you were in the cinema watching a film would anyone ever set up a bunch of TV sets around loudly playing ITV or some Sky channel?

Most beautiful bits: the flags. Silken, themed, and just like the ones at The Eden project.

Nicest bits: food

Most Dubious bit: the mineral and fossil stall that offered what they called "Tektites" for £13 each. I don’t think so, they were pieces of partly eroded Obsidian if you ask me. They did, howerver offer a small piece of meteoric metal that appeared to show Widmanstatten patterns, this I was more intrigued by.

Harshest bits: PA systems on the big mainline stages. They made a row that sounded like a mass of Kazoos. In all three cases the PAs got in the way of the music and we were listending not to a band, or solo, but the noise Peavy/Marshall makes. This is not good enough.

 

I shalln’t go again. And… Hannah has decided to sell her ticket to V2006.

24°C, +easterly.

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10°C

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 Swordfishtrombones

Well he came home from the war with a party 
in his head
and modified Brougham DeVille
and a pair of legs that opened up like 
butterfly wings
and a mad dog that wouldn't sit still
he went and took up with a Salvation Army
Band girl
who played dirty water on a swordfishtrombone
he went to sleep at the bottom of
Tenkiller lake
and he said "gee, but it's great to be home."

Well he came home from the war
with a party in his head
and an idea for a fireworks display
and he knew that he'd be ready with
a stainless steel machete
and a half a pint of Ballentine's
each day
and he holed up in room above a hardware store
cryin' nothing there but Hollywood tears
and he put a spell on some poor little 
Crutchfield girl
and stayed like that for 27 years

Well he packed up all his
expectations he lit out for California
with a flyswatter banjo on his knee
with a lucky tiger in his angel hair
and benzedrine for getting there
they found him in a eucalyptus tree
lieutenant got him a canary bird
and shaked her head with every word
and Chesterfielded moonbeams in a song
and he got 20 years for lovin' her
from some Oklahoma governor
said everything this Doughboy
does is wrong

Now some say he's doing
the obituary mambo
and some say he's hanging on the wall
perhaps this yarn's the only thing
that holds this man together
some say he was never here at all

Some say they saw him down in
Birmingham, sleeping in a
boxcar going by
and if you think that you can tell a bigger tale
I swear to God you'd have to tell a lie...
 
Tom Waits

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53 miles on the bike today, riding back was easy with a strong tailwind.

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Nickel Creek: live at Warwick arts Centre this evening. I await.

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Later:I really had no idea what to expect, but they put on a stunning performance. This is the third show in a row where I’ve been impressed with sheer musicianship. The Bits between singing were the most impressive, though vocal parts did not detract in any way. We could actually hear what was being played. Hear what I’m saying Kings of Leon? Take a hint!

Pee:Before the start, we wondered if there is a word for that last pee you have before an event. the first thing to come into my head was "pre-emptive", but then I hit on "pre-empty"! As in "I’m just off for a quick pre-empty"

Tell me if you think of a better one.

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Far Cry: It’s nearly finished. Never would I have thought of liking this sort of thing. There is a sequel in production, which I surely must buy. The screen shots in the magazines look good anyway.

Warwick Arts Centre, Gig, yesterday.

Stunning, just as remarkable as the Kodo Drummers- which I’m seeing next week.

I’m not writing a full review here, but…

I’d not heard of either before, just a reliable friend wanted to go having read a review in The Wire magazine.

Read up on the links above, the reviews seem fair without too much over-enthusiastic hysteria.

It’s rare that I clap for an encore and mean it.

 

I’m off to play the records now.

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The Oratory, Edgbaston.

A gilted, victorian , cold classsical church used as a venue for choral music. We heard some Elgar, Schubert, Reinburger and finished with Mozart. The highlight was Schöenburg – it was his last piece before going all 12-tone. Interesting in that sense even if not as a piece of it’s own. Others commented on how good the acoustics are, but I didn’t think so, at least not where I was sitting.

There were some interesting characters in the audience, a couple who obviously arrived on a motorbike. there was also a guy dressed as a woman, which caused a lot of speculation amongst us on the way home. Was this his first outing as a woman? Why was he on his own? Did the wig keep him warm?

 

In summary- not as stunning as the Arvo Pärt we saw last summer.

 

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It’s unlikely that we live in a special location. Everywhere is like this.

 

CDs:

I got the last one from the if-you-like-this-then-you-may-like-these lists on Amazon. I have no idfea what it’s going to sound like, but what’s wring with taking a risk. How many times have you bought an album from a known good band only to find it’s a dud?

Update: on first listening- it seems rather bland. The Tanya Donelly sounds excellent, especially as I listened to her other album yesterday.

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Yamantaka Eye certainly is "cool", but not in the traditional sense of the word. I like it more on each playing.

 

As for earlier references to Peter Howson, I remembered the album cover that used his artwork, see here. I’ve not heard this record, there were posters everywhere on it’s release date; in bus-stops, billboards record bags. Just goes to show doesn’t it- how effective advertising is. That was 1998.

 

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After a very long delay they are here:

 

 

Listening to the new Brian Eno album- another Day on Earth. It’s started with lots of 1980s synths, and has melodies; well,  at it’s made up of songs. We haven’t had that since "here come the warm jets". What’s the change Brian? are you getting old? I used ot hate songs so much- maybe I’m getting old now too.

 

Rykodisc have a useful website- other record companies take note. Have a look here at more info on Eno.

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No weather today- it’s been sold off for a good cause.

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Interesting new album- a film sound-track, heavily influenced by Japan & some traditional styles. Wow- I just noticed that Zeena Parkins is performaing on it too ( a long-time favourite of mine).