Just back from 10 days in Prague. One evening we stumbled across Agharta, a little jazz club, literally underground just off the old city square. Very cosy venue, max occupancy about 50, basically a cellar with chairs and small tables. We saw a good set by the Michal Gera Band (the pic above is mine; there's a youtube video below of them playing the same venue in 2019). All four played well and the intimacy of the setting made for a great evening.
Went to see the Allman Betts Band (including Devon Allman son of Gregg, Duane Betts son of Dickey and Berry Duane Oakley Jnr. son of Berry, founder member of The Allman Brothers who died aged 24 one year later than Duane Allman) at Northcote Theatre in Melbourne. Excellent mix of their own music with that of the original Allman Brothers band.
First time I have ever seen 10 guitarists up on stage playing together!
I saw Bonnie Prince Billy the other night at (University of Kentucky's) Singletary Center, and Kelly Moran doing a solo piano thing a few nights before that at the same location. And a couple months ago, also at Singletary Center, I got to see Colin Stetson do his own solo thing. Really enjoyed the Stetson show.
About a month ago, I saw Gary Fukushima, Matt Otto, Ryan McGillicuddy, and (Louisville-based drummer) Mike Hyman play a straight-ahead set at a newly renovated space at the Pam Miller downtown arts center. I love concerts held in art galleries.
No pics. I'm bad at taking concert photos.
Mary Halvorson is bringing her Amaryllis ensemble this fall.
I saw Bonnie Prince Billy the other night at (University of Kentucky's) Singletary Center, and Kelly Moran doing a solo piano thing a few nights before that at the same location. And a couple months ago, also at Singletary Center, I got to see Colin Stetson do his own solo thing. Really enjoyed the Stetson show.
About a month ago, I saw Gary Fukushima, Matt Otto, Ryan McGillicuddy, and (Louisville-based drummer) Mike Hyman play a straight-ahead set at a newly renovated space at the Pam Miller downtown arts center. I love concerts held in art galleries.
No pics. I'm bad at taking concert photos.
Mary Halvorson is bringing her Amaryllis ensemble this fall.
Colin Stetson is certainly an experience in a small venue. The Amaryllis should be a real treat. +1 for gigs in art galleries.
Last two shows: Julian Lage Trio (with Jorge Roeder and Joey Baron) in Grand Rapids, MI. Spectacular show musically, just wonderful to listen to. The only challenge I found was that it was oddly tiring to follow because all three of the trio were doing such interesting things I wanted to focus specifically on each of them and it was a lot to take in. But spectacular music.
Then Kraftwerk in Chicago. Also spectacular in a different way. Old material and not the original lineup and old visuals...but first time I've seen them live and it more than lived up to expectations. Took my daughter, who is of quite a different listening generation and she was impressed too. Expensive, but worth it.
Then Kraftwerk in Chicago. Also spectacular in a different way. Old material and not the original lineup and old visuals...but first time I've seen them live and it more than lived up to expectations. Took my daughter, who is of quite a different listening generation and she was impressed too. Expensive, but worth it.
Kraftwerk is a part of my DNA after sooooo many years (since '71) and soooo many concerts (since '75) - Chicago being two of those concerts ('75 & '81). Kept seeing them when I could up to the pandemic. The series of multiple nights at the Disney Concert Hall were the best when it came to acoustics - Actually, I'd recommend any concert that took full advantage of the Disney Concert Hall acoustics! I still have a bunch of the 3-D glasses!
If the timestamps on the MP3s are to believed, I downloaded "Real Life" from eMusic on September 16, 2006. So it was nice to see Joan as Police Woman live after almost 20 years.
The setup was sparse, just her on the piano (or electrical guitar for a few songs) and it didn't always work. But when it did, it was "The Magic" (which she also played).
Then Kraftwerk in Chicago. Also spectacular in a different way. Old material and not the original lineup and old visuals...but first time I've seen them live and it more than lived up to expectations. Took my daughter, who is of quite a different listening generation and she was impressed too. Expensive, but worth it.
Kraftwerk is a part of my DNA after sooooo many years (since '71) and soooo many concerts (since '75) - Chicago being two of those concerts ('75 & '81). Kept seeing them when I could up to the pandemic. The series of multiple nights at the Disney Concert Hall were the best when it came to acoustics - Actually, I'd recommend any concert that took full advantage of the Disney Concert Hall acoustics! I still have a bunch of the 3-D glasses!
How much has the show varied since Minimum Maximum? It being the first time (and it's a while since I watched the DVDs) it was hard to know if anything was new (not that it needs to be necessarily).
One thing that was interesting is that The Model, which in the UK was their big hit, was the song that worked least well for me in the context of the show - not sure if it was just the acoustics of where I was sitting or what happens to it at high volume but it became a bit shrill and lost some of its limber feel. All of the Computer World stuff was outstanding.
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Just back from 10 days in Prague. One evening we stumbled across Agharta, a little jazz club, literally underground just off the old city square. Very cosy venue, max occupancy about 50, basically a cellar with chairs and small tables. We saw a good set by the Michal Gera Band (the pic above is mine; there's a youtube video below of them playing the same venue in 2019). All four played well and the intimacy of the setting made for a great evening.
First time I have ever seen 10 guitarists up on stage playing together!
After a slow start they really hit their straps for what was a great night.
Julian Lage Trio (with Jorge Roeder and Joey Baron) in Grand Rapids, MI. Spectacular show musically, just wonderful to listen to. The only challenge I found was that it was oddly tiring to follow because all three of the trio were doing such interesting things I wanted to focus specifically on each of them and it was a lot to take in. But spectacular music.
Then Kraftwerk in Chicago. Also spectacular in a different way. Old material and not the original lineup and old visuals...but first time I've seen them live and it more than lived up to expectations. Took my daughter, who is of quite a different listening generation and she was impressed too. Expensive, but worth it.
The setup was sparse, just her on the piano (or electrical guitar for a few songs) and it didn't always work. But when it did, it was "The Magic" (which she also played).