A lone man stands next to a grand piano on a huge stage bathed in blue lights
When I first came to London, the dream was to live at the Barbican and "pop downstairs" for concerts. This was the sort of concert I'd imagine seeing. Eric Lu's Chopin pieces were good, but I wished he played them with more personality.
Mostly a clear blue sky. Stretching from the bottom left corner are the tops of some Barbican apartments.
Hello BlueSky
People don't like change particularly if someone is telling them to change. Though if a technology comes along that is quite useful people will use it and it can happen quite quickly too (see streaming replacing TV viewing)
Colin Stetson playing a huge bass saxophone on stage.
It takes an artist like Colin Stetson to drag me to Clapham. Loved how using the same tools and tricks he creates tribal sounds one min and then gentle ones the next. Da:lum were great too, esp how the number of strings on their traditional Korean instruments weren't enough so they doubled them.
And there I was being quite impressed that no one chatted through their set..
😲 Not people coming out of the Stetson gig just now? I liked da:lum.
They knew to target college radio, where all the middle aged dads are...
I once put on some Moondog as 'pleasant background music' for an away day and got asked to turn it off. I've not been asked again to provide playlists for work events. ☹️
Alex Kingston, Damien Molony and Richard Schiff taking a bow at the end of a performance.
Copenhagen at Hampstead Theatre. Went for Richard Schiff mainly and Alex Kingston. But found that Damien Molony was the best of the trio. Interesting idea about the power we have with our scientific knowledge and how we use it.
Going to share this every time someone recommends that I should read Brene Brown
In the year 2026, I did not expect to hear a new BBC radio show about the great Oxford band Beaker. Lovely to hear about women returning to creating music after having to stop the band to deal with things like having a family and a career. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
A scoop of vanilla ice cream in a tub with bits of mini eggs in it.
Happy Easter!
First thing I did coming out of Easter Vigil mass last night was to eat a mini egg ice cream.
Even with all the technology to go to the moon, the astronauts also share the same struggles.
A small orchestra and choir taking in the applause at the end of their concert.
And to round off the weekend of music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment playing Bach's St Johns Passion. A suitable way to start Holy Week. I think this is the first time I've seen a Therobo (a lute with a very long neck).
On a related topic, I've just watched this. Beware of Jools www.youtube.com/watch?v=O15l...
Yes, sorry to have missed you!
With Patrick Wolf, I wouldn't mind if he just does shows with the back catalogue.
Haiku Salut playing in a church. Behind them are crosses made from palm leaves.
And then travelling over to east London for Daylight Music. Such a treat to have a cup of tea watching live music. I forgot how good Haiku Salut are.
Patrick Wolf in a modern twist of a green smoking jacket with a massive collar looking a bit like Count con Count. Behind him is a string quartet.
Patrick Wolf at the Union Chapel with a string quartet to mark the end of the cycle for his latest album. Weirdly the arrangements for the songs from the album didn't really add anything, but the second half with older songs had arrangements that were a lot more interesting.
I remember learning that if you mix all the colours it turns into brown. Looking at AI, what's happening with media, everything, in a way everything is averaging into a type of brown isn't it?
Wonderwall or Don't Look Back in Anger, particularly sung by a group of drunk people.
Jens Lekman sits at the edge of the stage serenading the audience. The band plays in the background and a mannequin is lying flat at the back of the stage.
Coming out of a two hour long hug, aka a Jens Lekman gig. The first half of the gig was to promote his book with David Leviathan, which would have easily been a 10 part romcom series if it came out 15 years ago. I might never get him to play my wedding but I wonder if he does significant birthdays.
A follow up thought on this. The way that mainstream businesses are rolling out 'AI' reminds me of Computing lessons at school (and why I never did the GCSE in Computing). It's not actually teaching technology but to become consumers of large platforms.
A day late. Mid week Franz Ferdinand. I didn't realise that only half the original members are left. The last time I saw them was as a part of FFS and the crowd was a lot less annoying then.
This is how you build a market!
On a training session about using AI, where they are trying to encourage us to build a habit of using AI. It really sounds like they are trying to get us addicted to a drug or something...
Or ATP nightmare before christmas
Went to Prince Charles Cinema to see Hard Boiled for the first time ever. The film was great. But also enjoyed that at the end of it, there was a queue for the gents but not the ladies...
Dream house, apart from the sink in the bedroom (have always found that a bit odd)
Yes, even the surprisingly bit about this property
Pekka Kuusisto and friends playing music from his new album. Worked out that I enjoy watching this loose gang play because of the generosity of their approach, giving all the musicians their time to shine.