Fleetwood Mac last night at the LA Forum. Second show I've seen on the current tour and substantially identical to opening night in Minneapolis. Which is to say, absolutely wonderful.
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Carl Palmer, 21 November 2014, Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH. We've seen several excellent acts in the past 12 months: Joe Bonamassa (2 November 2013, State Theater, Cleveland), Stanley Clarke, Tony Levin, Adrian Belew and Carl Palmer (those last 4 at Beachland Ballroom). Carl Palmer was the only one who received standing ovations for every song. Wow. We are still blown away. |
I enjoyed the Doo Wop Project in the Matthews Auditorium of the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey tonight. It was an extraordinary performance by a most talented ensemble -- 5 male vocalists backed up piano, sax, drums, bass guitar, and electric guitar. They did numbers from Jersey Boys, Motown the Musical, and others from the same genre. What a treat, a real visit down memory lane. I especially enjoyed the Smokey Robinson and Frankie Valli sets. The singers were unbelievably good, their renditions were waay beyond what I could have imagined. Really super. |
Just attended Chris Botti's performance in the Matthews Auditorium of McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, tonight. As always, Chris put on a great show. He had five sidemen - piano, guitar, bass, drums, and electronic keyboard, and three guest artists - violinist, female vocalist, and male vocalist. All were extraordinary performers. The material range from straight jazz (like Flamenco Sketches) to pop jazz (like Look of Love and Let's Stay Together) to neo-classical jazz (like Italia and Emmanuel). It was quite a tour de force, although I personally preferred the pop jazz numbers he featured more in earlier appearances. I'm glad he has kept Look of Love in his routine since it is still my favorite, with its inspired original arrangement and its knockout opening. Auhmmm, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muisPg2ti8Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTDwiGxkzU The performance was electronically augmented through the room's substantial audio equippage, even while Botti and female vocalist Sy Smith walked up the aisles engaging the audience in some of the numbers. By the way, he welcomed the audience to take pics and make recordings as we wished -- no copyright lawyers here. Notably, while Botti's tour travels the world, there are some devotees that are so taken that they follow his travels to attend his performances in many geographically diverse venues. I wish I could be one of them. Ahem. |
Halloween went to Steve Forbert. Soon is Dylan a few nights in Philly (recently saw him in Seattle too). A highlight of my concert "career", or whatever. Literally been to his shows dozens of times, and these are at or near the top. My 25 yo son went with me in Seattle, his 6th time. Does anyone here care, or am I talking to myself again? |
Bob Dylan at the Cadillac Palace Theater in Chicago last Saturday night (11/8/14). Of the about ten times I have seen him this was the most enjoyable. His voice was the best in a while. He sang about half of his songs center stage front behind a microphone. The others off to the side playing an acoustic piano. In concerts past he mostly played an electronic keyboard that was mixed in very low. This concert the piano was prominent in the mix. He played a number of songs from Tempest. No introductory band, just two sets of Dylan with a twenty minute intermission between them. It was a very enjoyable evening. |
While on holiday in Cleveland Ohio I caught The Tubes at The Tangiers in Akron. They were fantastic and this band is still tight and their more of a show than a music concert. Roger Steen and Prarie Prince are masters at their instrument's and Fee with all his costume changes still has it. Great show, and enjoyed chewing the fat at the meet and greet afterwards. |
Saw Fleetwood Mac sellout in Toronto....It echoed their new mantra: "the Mac is back!" Christine McVie had a standing ovation when reintroduced at the start of the gig and she had several similar applauses throughout the concert. Lindsay Buckingham was on fire. Fleetwood Mac is in an elite league of touring supergroups with the Eagles and the Stones. The have a repeat gig back in TO on Feb 3. Highly recommended |
Fjn, Not akg, but I was at the show opening night in Minny, so I'll offer my take. I thought that it was a great show, but very different from last year's set. Christine got a third of the songs this time and the net effect was a show that was a bit less rockin' (IMO), but still very high energy. Mac showed more of its pop side this time around as some of last year's Lindsey Buckingham rock songs were traded away for Christine's pop hits. OTOH, I thought that both McVie and Nicks were in peak form. I'm a Buckingham first guy, so I preferred last year's set, but - for me - this one was still better than 99% of the shows I've seen this year. |
Czar, it is a great hall,believe it or not the Ted Mann Hall on the U of MN campus is even better ! Macalester College has a new superb sounding hall to showcase their excellent Early Music ensemble. Twin Cities has more high art per-capita than anywhere in US. Within 10 miles of my house there are 7 liberal arts colleges and the U of MN , there is a plethora of free and $5 bucks for senior events. Not to mention 30 quality choral groups of which 5-6 are world-class. Can't beat it with a stick ! |
I've been a subscriber to the bible "Grammphone" for over forty year and I never heard anyone say such a silly thing. What I have read, many times,is like the following from J.S. Smith in"The Gift of Music" . "One is aware that Mahler tried to do too much.His excesses can be heard in the exhaustive tension is his music and in the repetitions. His symphonies are long and they lack unity.They all begin to sound alike , and many times the composer finds it difficult to bring the music to a close" IMHO Mahler is the fave of people who like entertainment sound more than music. |
I first heard Mahler #3 on NPR years ago. THere was a nice intro explaining what it was about beforehand (see wikipedia entry for it for more). I was totally taken by it from the outset. Then it was a lengthy rollercoaster ride from there, lots of ups and downs, and I felt accordingly along the way. At teh end, I felt transformed in some way, somehow more in tune with the world around me, and I was ready for some Bach at that point. I think the explanation provided up front prior to listening was a big part of that. It all made sense in the end. |
Mahler has some lovely moments, but no doubt it takes a commitment to have a chance of being able to soak it all in. Even that Kansas wheatfield, like nature in general, has a lot of interesting things going on in places, but you gotta slow down or even get out of the car to have a chance of seeing it. Mahler #3 is mostly about nature I believe, so the Kansas wheatfield comparison is probably a reasonable one. |
Last one I heard was a local country music band in the local park's outdoor amphitheater during the local fall festival. It was free. Nice! Live concert experience opportunities are all around for music lovers at all price points. You just gotta take the time to seek them out. I paid a few hundred a couple years back to see Paul McCartney at FedEx Field in DC. IT was wonderful. But its the last time I plan to pay megabucks for any concert. I did it in that I am a huge BEatles fan and had never seen any perform live. Now I've been there and done that one. |
I like Mahler's 1st--a lot. I heard another Mahler (2nd?) symphony performed a few years back and it was like 90 minutes of driving through a Kansas wheatfield until the chorus sang for a minute and transported us all to a better place. It was not worth the effort. But again, I think his first (The Titan) is just fine. The rest is not for me (I have checked some other Mahler symphonies out on recordings) |
Mahler 3rd is a lot of things but drug fueled noise isn't one of them. Its perhaps the greatest singular work in the classical repertoire. That's a common assessment, not just mine. It's a grand journey from start to finish and has it all, perhaps more than many can handle in one big serving. Ego is a common ingredient in a lot of great work. Some may just manage it better than others. IMHO of course. |
Mahler said " My time will come" . It did in the 60's when art became some clown throwing globs of paint on canvas, drug fueled noise was accorded musical status etc etc etc. The problem with Mahler is there is FAR too much going on and it all is focused on him and his monster ego. In short, a boring navel gazer . |
I'm looking forward to upcoming BSO performing Mahler 3rd Symphony. It's a draining piece but one of my favorites in that there is so much that goes on. Mahler 2nd....OK but not the same. |
