Mark Knopfler, Dublin 15.5.15

Every couple of years I look forward to going along to a concert by, who in my opinion, is one of the musical greats. Ex-Dire Straits front-man, Mark Knopfler is on tour again, and just for a change this year, we opted to see him at the 3 Arena in Dublin. There are those who, with just the mention of his name give a snigger and say 'I don't like Dire Straits'. Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but to those I say, move on, take a listen to his music today. Whilst he still plays some of the greats from the DS days, he proves his status as a multi-talented musician with his latest music - a fantastic mix of rock blended with very traditional beautiful instrumental sounds and melodies, all expertly woven together with the life-observational lyrics of his songs.

Fiddles and flutes, uilleann pipes and double bass, keyboards and guitars, all have a place on the Mark Knopfler stage. This man knows his music, and has written for films and other iconic singers, including Tina Turner.

There are many guitars putting in an appearance over the course of the night including one which has become the most recognised of all, the Resonator style O, (shown above) and as seen on the Brothers in Arms album cover, released 30 years ago, almost to the day on 13th May 1985.

This is a man with his musicians, who together,  put on a performance that oozes passion for music. No need for a warm-up support act, they just come on stage and play and play, and for over two and a half hours non-stop. Fabulous!

This time, as my 'off-duty' camera, I was putting an Olympus OM-D E-M10 + 14-42mm kit lens through its paces, apart from the shot below which was on my old-going-into-retirement G12.

National Style O Resonator Guitars were made between 1930 and 1941. Nickel plated onto a brass base, Hawaiian-style scenes were sand blasted onto the polished body. It is understood that Marks particular guitar dates from 1937.

The Villagers, De Barras 5.2.15

So delighted to get along to another gig at DeBarras - it has been a while! This time it was The Villagers - or to be precise Villager, as he, Conor O'Brien, was on his own here, leaving the other four band members at home. Instead, he teamed up with two different musicians, one on drums and trumpet, the other on harp and fiddle. On initial thinking, that particular combo might seem unusual but in fact, this first-time-performing-together group produced a beautiful amalgamation of sound, ahead of the release of the new album 'Darling Arithmatic'

 

I have to admit, it is the first time I have seen the Villagers, although it is not the first time I have been to a gig, or done a shoot in De Barras but I was there just to listen this time, so I was in off-duty mode with my camera. As can be expected, it is a bit tight shooting in this snug, unique and award nominated venue. However, I was putting my new 'off-duty' camera through its paces, seeing how it would cope with low light levels, and I have to say I am pretty impressed with the results from the Olympus OMD E-M10.

Villager? Yep, I was impressed there too and look forward to getting a copy of the new album when it is released on the 10th April.

...and back to De Barras next week for The Henry Girls...

Fleetwood Mac

Tusk

With grateful thanks to Himself, we had a rather special night out at the O2 last night, as a belated anniversary treat.
So, please excuse my indulgence in showing off just a few pics from the evening. As always at these events, they're taken on my little G12 which was struggling a bit with the distance here. (Serves me right for being taken to corporate box!) The zoom is not the strongest feature on the G12 and high ISO also meant slightly noisy images sadly, but a record, none the less.

An impressive arena! Although I've been to an exhibition at the O2 in the past, it was our first time actually inside.
Note, at least four sad souls in the audience who don't know the functions on their cameras and who will have some lovely burned out shots of backs of heads!

Set list:

1. Second Hand News
2. The Chain
3. Dreams
4. Sad Angel
5. Rhiannon
6. Not That Funny
7. Tusk
8. Sisters of the Moon
9. Sara
10. Big Love
11. Landslide
12. Never Going Back Again
13. Without You
14. Gypsy
15. Eyes of the World
16. Gold Dust Woman
17. I'm So Afraid
18. Stand Back (Stevie Nicks song)
19. Go Your Own Way

I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the opening number, which to me, just didn't have the sparkle and punch it should have had. Maybe that was down to the sound system, as some very late sound checks meant that audience admittance into the arena had to be delayed. The inclusion of two hasty bungs of tissue into my ears at this point (ok, call me old but I'm certainly not deaf yet, and don't intend to be for some while ...why-is-it-always-SO-loud?) helped make the sound level far more acceptable. Coupled with adjustments on the sound desk, the music settled down and flowed beautifully for the rest of the evening...

...all 2 hours 40 of it straight through. Latecomers, thinking they would avoid the usual support, would have missed the early start as there was no support and set actually started prior to the 20.30 scheduled time.

Encouraged to "Go your own way, ...home" at the end of the set, most sat tight for an encore and were delighted to get two!

Encore:
20. World Turning (including Drum Solo)
21. Don't Stop

Encore 2:
22. Silver Springs
23. Say Goodbye

So, despite the shaky start, it turned out to be a truly spectacular evening - completely worth the ticket price, (which in true gift style, I am still ignorant of!) and for those who have tickets for either Thursday or Friday, the odds have now shortened for the anticipated 2 UK show appearances of Christine McVie.

Saffron Hall

Entrance under construction, June 2013, and inset, as it was before work commenced.

(Photographically, this isn't to be the most excting blog post but there is a film later...)

It had been a familiar aspect of the Saffron Walden County High School for many, including ourselves. The triangular glazed lobby was passed through on many occasions, be it to drop forgotten items of school paraphernalia to one of our off-spring, or latterly, as the entrance to the towns' excellent community cinema Saffron Screen

Around two years ago, the old entrance was closed off and the school hall, which had been built in the 1950s and had out-lived its usefulness, was pulled down at the beginning of an ambitious plan to provide the school and also the town with a world-class facility.

To quote from the school website:

"A  brand new performance space is gradually taking shape next to Saffron Walden County High School. The name of the venue is Saffron Hall - designed to inspire through music and the arts and the result of a progressive partnership between Saffron Walden County High School and the Yellow Car Charitable Trust.

Saffron Hall will be a flexible state-of-the-art hall with equipment to match and exceptional adjustable acoustics. It will open in late November 2013 and provide a home for concerts, plays and other events of all shapes and sizes - a programme combining school and amateur events and performances by professional artists and ensembles of national and international stature. The Hall will have a maximum seating capacity of 730."


Whilst on my daily walks in the near-by park, I have been watching and indeed, listening to the noises during the construction process of this new building. The townsfolk have endured wrangles with parking issues created as a result of the building work, and the cinema-goers have had to adapt to the changed access to Saffron Screen. So, to find that the new hall is nearing completion is music to the ears of many. And are we excited about it? Well, I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I'm certainly looking forward to enjoying the new facility. Last night I caught up with the second of two films documenting the progress of this project. Judging by the information given, it is sure to give some of the other venues, both local and further afield (with one, which will remain nameless and has the most dreadful acoustics) serious cause for concern. This second film shows just how versatile and exciting this top-class hall is going to be - and it is in our town.

Take a look at this fascinating little film for yourself

Enter Saffron Hall by clicking on the image

So, no more uncomfortable church pews; views obscured by pillars; muffled music; lost voices and the end to driving miles for a good gig.

Roll on November!

Hugh Laurie, Manchester. 1.7.12

Image to be viewed whilst listening to
'Left Bank Two'

Checking into travel accommodation that normally shouts about its 19 quid-a-night basic box rooms, we had, unbeknown to us, arrived in Salford during a supply and demand up to 200 quid-a-night (Stone) 'Roses' weekend. Immediately the three youngsters behind the desk asked us if we were going to 'The Gig' to which we replied,
"Yes, at the Lowry"
Puzzled, they retorted "The Roses aren't playing there, what's happening at the Lowry?"
"Hugh Laurie"
"Whaaaa! I'm sooo jealous" said the young female receptionist "Why didn't anyone tell me, I would have taken the time off!"

Forget the Stone Roses, it appeared we had chosen THE coolest gig in Manchester that night.

For most, the name Hugh Laurie conjurs up one of two highly successful TV series, Blackadder or House, the choice seemingly determined by age. However, on Sunday night, we were treated to another side of the highly talented Hugh Laurie. The Blues musician.

Following on from the release of his 'Let Them Talk' Blues album in May 2011 he was on his third gig of four in the UK, as part of his two month tour visiting North and South America, UK and Europe.

Arriving on stage to a huge cheer, he proceeded to contemplate a description for
"The most purple theatre I have ever been in"
(The Lyric Theatre at The Lowry is truly... well er, purple!) Needless to say, his description is best not repeated on this page! His quick wit was winning over the already adoring audience, where, surely most would have bought tickets due the name on the playbill rather than being aficianados of Blues music.

Accompanied by the superb Copper Bottomed Band, each accomplished solo performers in their own right, Laurie showed off his piano playing skills to the full as well as being not half bad on the guitar. A gremlin in the sound system failed to put him off his singing stride during an early number, only commenting on it at the end in his own inimmitable style. (Unfortunately, this gremlin was to make its presence felt throughout the rest of the evening as annoying static clicks- the only down-side to the whole show)

Half way through the show came an intermission with a tray of 12 year old Macallan being handed around to the musicians, apologies coming from Laurie that unlike the Oprah Winfrey Show, the gesture did not extend to the audience and we wouldn't find a glass of our own hidden beneath our seat- shame! However, a spot of background musak to accompany the break in proceedings provided moments of VisionOn reminiscence for those of a certain age!

St. James Infirmary, Battle of Jericho and You Don't Know my Mind all had their slot before Laurie proceeded to gain the sympathy vote for the tale of his childhood piano teacher failing to allow him to play Swanee River when it was all he wanted to do. He finally had his moment, and what a round of applause he got from it too!

Proving to be a highly knowledgeable, passionate and proficient musician, Laurie and his band gave us a full two hours of music and entertainment, the standing ovation duly deserved. Two encores later, a happy audience spilled out into the arms of the Lowry Outlet Mall where groups had gathered in the bars to watch some sporting event in Europe?!! As for the 'Roses'...

"How was the evening?" asked the only young lad left on the reception desk.
"Brilliant!"
"Have to admit, I am rather envious too. I won't tell my colleague you said it was brilliant though, she won't be very happy" He replied

We just smiled.

(Oh, and thankfully we had booked early enough by the way, that we weren't stung for 200 quid... but then we didn't get the room for that elusive 19 quid offer either!)

Bell X1 Gig Photography II

 

Bell X1 Bloodless Coup tour, Bush Hall, London.
5th December 2011

Paul Noonan
David Geraghty
Dominic Philips

Rory Doyle
Marc Aubele