Hello my strong, devoted, loyal reader. I am writing to you yet again. As my previous blog entry had mentioned, Melanie and I were attending the 10/10/10 performance of "The Wall: Live" tour with Roger Waters. This is quite a ceremonious entry as it is my 50th. It is also the 30th anniversary of my favorite album, "The Wall" and I am extremely tickled I get to write about a live performance of the album in this historic (only for myself) entry.
I must immediately start off with "WOWEEE OH MY GOD THAT CONCERT WAS AWESOME, I NEVER WANT TO GO TO ANOTHER SHOW IN MY LIFE" kind of statement. At straight face value, this concert was a spectacle of epic proportion. The backing band for Mr Waters was quite proficient and talented. My only real gripe with them was the lead guitar tone was a bit too harsh, as I am used to Mr Gilmour's more mellow tone. The stage effects and projections upon the 200 foot wall were dazzling and enthralling. The real thing that made the concert so moving though, was the deep, personal connection the performer has with the material. Roger was sharing with us his childhood, his political and social beliefs, and his struggle. It is rare to find a musician to be so blunt with his expression and truly wear his emotions on his musical sleeve. He smacks you in the face with the realities of being a child of a soldier and his battles with social pressures and authority, and his conflict with his fame. This piece is about nothing but anti-establishment. To imagine an artist with the courage to perform such an anti-government, anti-commercialism work in the nation's capital is quite courageous.
With that said, I of course have to call Mr Waters out. I spend $70 for a tour program and a tour t-shirt. Mr Waters was selling his tour shirts for $45 and the program for $25. Live Nation is selling these items on their website for $10 less. If I knew he was using this money to feed the starving Africans projected on his wall, or to put the poor crying child reunited with their G.I. father through college, I'd have no issue paying these prices. I stood in line to purchase these items with the rest of Mr Waters' "iSheep", clamoring to get my hands on one of the five male t-shirt patterns. Mr Waters also was selling three female shirt patters, a hoodie, a demin shirt, coffee mugs, two styles of hats, a music CD, a tour program, and a book on the making of the tour. Also, key-chains and metal pins were available. These items being sold by the man who hated the commercialism of music and fame. Who, in the films shown, placed iPod earbuds on dictators and victims with terms such as "iHate" and the previously mentioned "iSheep" on the screen.
Along these lines, but in a deeper sense, the basic concept of the concert and album is the band building a barrier between it and the audience. The lyrics have issues with fame and fortune and glitz of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. The group spends one hour of music building a wall to shield themselves from us. Then after intermission they do two numbers from behind the wall, and suddenly there's Mr Waters before us, walking in front of the wall. It seems to me now, that Roger has come to terms with his fame and fortune and cannot pull himself away now from his crowd. Why else would one build such a large wall, bash the concept behind fans spending money to see him in the first place, just to then stand in front of the wall as if now one is proud of their creation, and sell outrageously priced, yet very diverse tour merchandise? I feel now that Roger Waters is a changed man. In no way is this a criticism of the musicianship or the showmanship demonstrated in this performance, but just a moral dilemma that plagued me on the long metro ride home, and all this following Monday. If he truly hated the stuff he preached against in his music, why would he present it? Why would he charge for it? Why would he make such a production of it? Why would he create it to begin with? My humble opinion is he simply created a monster that took control of him, and he felt presenting it would help.
These things could be the root cause of the divide between him and David Gilmour. This album was really the starting source of contention between them. With Roger now taking "The Wall" on tour again, and presenting it in such a way, I am left with several questions. Has Roger woken up and accepted his fame or is he trying to live both sides of the fence, and is it possible he always has tried to live with both teams of being anti-establishment but in reality is a big part of the establishment? And if Roger has changed and is doing this tour just to celebrate the wonderful music, gripping story, and fantastic concept, why can't he admit David was so important to it, and reunite with him and Nick Mason? At this point why keep the quibble going? Why not tour together? Who would be hurt by a simple mutual apology around some coffee, get the managers talking and plot out a mega tour? Would Gilmour possibly feel like he's submitting by playing "The Wall" again? This concert had such energy, I literally teared up about 5 times during it, and actually lost control and began to cry a little during "Tear Down the Wall" and "Outside the Wall". Why can't these two men of incredible talent tear down their wall? I am in no means saying that it is a fan's right to have their band together at all times. I'm a musician, I know what it is like to professionally disagree with someone so badly that you can no longer stand playing with them, yet you drink a beer with them after. I am simply posing the question of who wouldn't benefit? The fans get one of the most influential art rock bands of all time back together. The agents and merchandising people make millions. Roger Waters finally has his music performed exactly how he wants. Don't forget he credits himself as writing "The Wall" and "The Final Cut" and having it performed by Pink Floyd. As a fan you see that as pretentious but musically, that means he chose them for his piece. He wanted them to perform it. As a composer I can see Roger's point. I can't see what is in it for David Gilmour except for maybe coming out of the decision as the bigger man, willing to forgive Roger for his actions, and play the music of which so many of us fans just can't get enough. So for us, music history, and yourselves, bring down the wall, end the war, and bring the boys back home.
Showing posts with label Pink Floyd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pink Floyd. Show all posts
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
In The Flesh
Greetings, my loyal reader. I won't insult you with an apology for not writing. I write tonight because I finally feel inspired to write again. A bunch of things have happened to me in my musical universe that should be shared, and my opinions are blossoming into fertile flower beds of statements that don't really matter, nor will anyone really care about, but this comes with the territory of having a blog.
So, some major things have changed in my life. I have lost a significant amount of weight. I know in the manifesto of this blog I said I would never mention personal life issues, but this has affected me musically. Mainly, my trumpet playing, I feel, has improved dramatically. I have less resistance and my upper register doesn't sound so strained. My endurance has increased as well. I have dropped 135 pounds of weight off my lungs, torso and upper body. Before, holding the trumpet up was enough of a stress. This has led me to successful performances of Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony, a long production of "The Secret Garden" and currently great rehearsals of Shostakovich's 5th symphony.
The weight loss has also made attending concerts and performances much more bearable. I was able to attend my first Broadway show. Melanie and I saw "The Addams Family" starring Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kevin Chamberlin. All three we spectacular, and although catchy, the musical was a bit cliche. With such a great and flexible and outlandish medium as the Addams Family, I thought it could have been a bit more "out there".
Also, with comfortable seating, Melanie and I (noticing a theme? She has become quite the little concert goer herself) attended two symphonic multimedia concerts. First, we saw "Planet Earth Live". The Baltimore Symphony partnered up with George Fenton, who composed the soundtrack to the amazing documentary series, to present clips of the show, with their accompaniment played live. Mr. Fenton conducted and narrated the program, explaining how he was moved by certain footage to inspire the music that he composed. We definitely enjoyed the polar bear segment. His music at times would make you laugh, or just well up with tears. The second multimedia symphonic concert we attended was "Star Wars: In Concert". This concert we straight up didn't like. Narrated by Anthony Daniels of C3PO fame, this concert didn't really teach you anything of the inspirations for the soundtrack but merely retold the story of all 6 movies with a series of movie trailer footage mash-ups and selected medleys from the soundtrack. It would have been much better if they took direct full scenes from the films and played the soundtrack to that scene. We only became interested at the end when they began showing behind the scenes footage from making the films, such as artist sketches for different character concepts. Frankly, the subway ride with Boba Fett and Obi-Wan was more fun. Also, I was pretty amused by the line that had a solid 200 people in it, just to get an autograph from "Darth Vader".
Now, also during this time off from the blog, I attended concerts of previously two of my favorite live bands to see: AC/DC and Iron Maiden. We revisited AC/DC on their second stop to the Verizon Center in Washington, DC simply because I had the money and Ticketmaster offered me seats up close, almost floor level. They are a totally different experience up close, as opposed to in the rafters. Melanie and I of course donned the flashing red devil horns and screamed our heads off. AC/DC this time sounded a bit more fresh, and played more classics and less from their new album, which was definitely welcomed. Sadly, though, when seeing Iron Maiden this past time, they did the exact opposite. I barely recognized anything from their setlist. They perfomed songs from their new album, which at the time hadn't been released. Dream Theater opened for them. Little did I know that it would be the last time to see Dream Theater play with Mike Portnoy for quite awhile as he has now left the band. The saving grace of this show was my weight loss, as the Wicker Man Iron Maiden tour shirt I purchased fits me.
Just a few weeks ago, I had an experience that really refreshed my musical spirit. I participated in the Rusty Musicians program with the Baltimore Symphony. I won't make this sound impressive, as all I had to do was be one of the first like 30 trumpet players to e-mail the symphony, but I will say that it was immensely rewarding. I got to have 40 minutes on stage in a rehearsal atmosphere with two trumpet players of the BSO, and conductor Marin Alsop leading a group rehearsal of Brahm's "Academic Overture". The only way I can explain this experience to non-musicians is that imagine your boss at work acted as if they were a partner and was in the situation with you, but also could clearly in one sentence, tell you exactly what they want you to do, how to do it, and make you feel like you're the office hero for doing it. It was so rewarding, and I got a nice compliment from one of the pro's to "play louder". In trumpet speak that's a compliment. It invigorated me to want to play more, and for a second made me think I could actually play in a symphony orchestra of that level. Again, without the weight loss, I would have never even taken the initiative to send the e-mail to get to have this amazing chance.
Melanie has also gotten me to loosen up about pop music as I have now become an official fan of Lady gaga and Florence + the Machine after watching the Video Music Awards on MTV a few weeks ago. I have to admit Lady Gaga's character, plus catchy hooks could make her a big landmark on American music if she can keep the creativity up. Though, I do still hate Auto-Tune. I'm looking at you Justin Bieber. And as a quick note, thanks to Melanie, I have began listening to the Beatles after a 18 year hiatus. Happy Steve?
To wrap up this very lengthy, and self gratifying blog entry, I predict that this weekend I will see a concert that will change my life. This weekend, Melanie and I are seeing Roger Waters' "The Wall: Live" concert at the Verizon Center. This is as close as Mel and I will ever get to see Pink Floyd. Though, I am sad that him and David Gilmour couldn't have buried the hatchet for this tour, my wallet thanks them for not doing so, because I'm sure the ticket price would have been double. "The Wall" is my favorite album by my favorite band. The tension between the band mates rings through in the album as the album deals with the band's inability to handle fame, yet also has a deeper message with hatred and war. This show should be unbelievable as they construct the wall.
This blog entry itself has been about me tearing down my wall of sorts and shedding the barrier that has been keeping me from enjoying life and music for so long. I have my regrets of not doing this in college when I was still competitive in my music and could have gone to grad school. But at the same time, it took help to tear it down. I needed the accomplice to help break a hole in the wall so I could escape the prison my own thoughts and weight had formed. A few years ago, I was saying Good Bye Cruel World, and that I was Comfortably Numb. But now, after The Trial, I'm Outside the Wall.
So, some major things have changed in my life. I have lost a significant amount of weight. I know in the manifesto of this blog I said I would never mention personal life issues, but this has affected me musically. Mainly, my trumpet playing, I feel, has improved dramatically. I have less resistance and my upper register doesn't sound so strained. My endurance has increased as well. I have dropped 135 pounds of weight off my lungs, torso and upper body. Before, holding the trumpet up was enough of a stress. This has led me to successful performances of Tchaikovsky's 5th symphony, a long production of "The Secret Garden" and currently great rehearsals of Shostakovich's 5th symphony.
The weight loss has also made attending concerts and performances much more bearable. I was able to attend my first Broadway show. Melanie and I saw "The Addams Family" starring Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kevin Chamberlin. All three we spectacular, and although catchy, the musical was a bit cliche. With such a great and flexible and outlandish medium as the Addams Family, I thought it could have been a bit more "out there".
Also, with comfortable seating, Melanie and I (noticing a theme? She has become quite the little concert goer herself) attended two symphonic multimedia concerts. First, we saw "Planet Earth Live". The Baltimore Symphony partnered up with George Fenton, who composed the soundtrack to the amazing documentary series, to present clips of the show, with their accompaniment played live. Mr. Fenton conducted and narrated the program, explaining how he was moved by certain footage to inspire the music that he composed. We definitely enjoyed the polar bear segment. His music at times would make you laugh, or just well up with tears. The second multimedia symphonic concert we attended was "Star Wars: In Concert". This concert we straight up didn't like. Narrated by Anthony Daniels of C3PO fame, this concert didn't really teach you anything of the inspirations for the soundtrack but merely retold the story of all 6 movies with a series of movie trailer footage mash-ups and selected medleys from the soundtrack. It would have been much better if they took direct full scenes from the films and played the soundtrack to that scene. We only became interested at the end when they began showing behind the scenes footage from making the films, such as artist sketches for different character concepts. Frankly, the subway ride with Boba Fett and Obi-Wan was more fun. Also, I was pretty amused by the line that had a solid 200 people in it, just to get an autograph from "Darth Vader".
Now, also during this time off from the blog, I attended concerts of previously two of my favorite live bands to see: AC/DC and Iron Maiden. We revisited AC/DC on their second stop to the Verizon Center in Washington, DC simply because I had the money and Ticketmaster offered me seats up close, almost floor level. They are a totally different experience up close, as opposed to in the rafters. Melanie and I of course donned the flashing red devil horns and screamed our heads off. AC/DC this time sounded a bit more fresh, and played more classics and less from their new album, which was definitely welcomed. Sadly, though, when seeing Iron Maiden this past time, they did the exact opposite. I barely recognized anything from their setlist. They perfomed songs from their new album, which at the time hadn't been released. Dream Theater opened for them. Little did I know that it would be the last time to see Dream Theater play with Mike Portnoy for quite awhile as he has now left the band. The saving grace of this show was my weight loss, as the Wicker Man Iron Maiden tour shirt I purchased fits me.
Just a few weeks ago, I had an experience that really refreshed my musical spirit. I participated in the Rusty Musicians program with the Baltimore Symphony. I won't make this sound impressive, as all I had to do was be one of the first like 30 trumpet players to e-mail the symphony, but I will say that it was immensely rewarding. I got to have 40 minutes on stage in a rehearsal atmosphere with two trumpet players of the BSO, and conductor Marin Alsop leading a group rehearsal of Brahm's "Academic Overture". The only way I can explain this experience to non-musicians is that imagine your boss at work acted as if they were a partner and was in the situation with you, but also could clearly in one sentence, tell you exactly what they want you to do, how to do it, and make you feel like you're the office hero for doing it. It was so rewarding, and I got a nice compliment from one of the pro's to "play louder". In trumpet speak that's a compliment. It invigorated me to want to play more, and for a second made me think I could actually play in a symphony orchestra of that level. Again, without the weight loss, I would have never even taken the initiative to send the e-mail to get to have this amazing chance.
Melanie has also gotten me to loosen up about pop music as I have now become an official fan of Lady gaga and Florence + the Machine after watching the Video Music Awards on MTV a few weeks ago. I have to admit Lady Gaga's character, plus catchy hooks could make her a big landmark on American music if she can keep the creativity up. Though, I do still hate Auto-Tune. I'm looking at you Justin Bieber. And as a quick note, thanks to Melanie, I have began listening to the Beatles after a 18 year hiatus. Happy Steve?
To wrap up this very lengthy, and self gratifying blog entry, I predict that this weekend I will see a concert that will change my life. This weekend, Melanie and I are seeing Roger Waters' "The Wall: Live" concert at the Verizon Center. This is as close as Mel and I will ever get to see Pink Floyd. Though, I am sad that him and David Gilmour couldn't have buried the hatchet for this tour, my wallet thanks them for not doing so, because I'm sure the ticket price would have been double. "The Wall" is my favorite album by my favorite band. The tension between the band mates rings through in the album as the album deals with the band's inability to handle fame, yet also has a deeper message with hatred and war. This show should be unbelievable as they construct the wall.
This blog entry itself has been about me tearing down my wall of sorts and shedding the barrier that has been keeping me from enjoying life and music for so long. I have my regrets of not doing this in college when I was still competitive in my music and could have gone to grad school. But at the same time, it took help to tear it down. I needed the accomplice to help break a hole in the wall so I could escape the prison my own thoughts and weight had formed. A few years ago, I was saying Good Bye Cruel World, and that I was Comfortably Numb. But now, after The Trial, I'm Outside the Wall.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Taking Inventory
Salutations to all my readers this evening. Tonights topic is more of just an observation on my music purchasing habits. As many of you know I am about to take a trip to the Greater Boston area. One of the great music towns in the United States and the World. So many great bands, such as Boston, Aerosmith, and of course, Dreamtheater, all started there. Not to mention their world class symphony that has been home to many of the worlds finest conductors, and defined the standard for a pops orchestra with Mr Arther Fiedler and his relation with Leroy Anderson. So needless to say, I'm excited.
In preparation for this trip, I have put in a rush job of getting just about every CD I own on to my iPod. This of course causes me to go through my CD collection and I noticed a few patterns.
First pattern is change. My CD collection has changed from being classically oriented to being rock oriented. I own more Pink Floyd than any other band, with a tie between AC/DC, The Killers, and Boston's own Dreamtheater. I must admit my connection to the public library is where a majority of my music on the iPod has come from. Which is why I actually have almost every AC/DC album on my iPod, and my dad has been the source of the Pink Floyd albums I don't personally own. For the record, between him and I, the only non-compilation album by them we don't own is Atomic Mother.
Second observation is that with a couple bands, I have copped and simply own "Greatest hits" albums. I am embarrassed that the only album by Judas Priest, Queen, and Nightwish that I have is a "greatest hits". I also own Journey's Greatest Hits and their newest album, Revelation. I am proud though these are not bands known for concept album work, so its not like a Pink Floyd greatest hits album that makes you pretty much miss the actual message of the band. I would consider these bands to be more fluff content, though very enjoyable.
The third thing that caught my attention was the size of my jazz collection currently. I have more than I thought, though again, a lot of it are bargain bin compilations, such as Sinatra's Capitol Record's years, and the greatest of Cab Calloway. I do own "Kind of Blue" but I have never listened to my copy of it. Theres a good chance I never will. I also owned "Time Out" at some point by Dave Brubeck Quartet, but I can't find it. I must say I have a taste for the latin jazz, as the genre shows up the most, with The Best of Perez Prado (the guy who wrote the real Mambo no. 5), Tito Puente "Live at Grossinger's", and Jesus Alemany's "Cubanismo".
The fourth and final main observation for the night is an odd one. My classical collection has some quirks. The most owned time period is actually French Impressionist Orchestral works. Saint-Saens, Dukas, Satie, namely. The next is actually the 1812 Overture, specifically. I have about 5 different recordings I believe, including one recorded with period muzzle-load cannons. The brands of choice are Deutsch-Gramophone and RCA Victor. My iPod though will probablt be the only one you find though that contains at least one Mahler symphony, and two Bruckner Symphonies. I love the brass. My most prized recordings are vintage re-masterings of the Dvorak's New World Symphony by the Chicago Symphony with Fritz Reiner at the helm, and the Pines of Rome with the same set up. Both are awe inspiring albums and every brass player should listen to. Every musician should take a listen, its something to aim towards one day.
I wish you kind folks good night and I leave you with this sad last short observation of my CD collection. I have at least one CD that has "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy (of Family Guy fame) but I do not own a single recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in C minor. Sad.
Good night.
In preparation for this trip, I have put in a rush job of getting just about every CD I own on to my iPod. This of course causes me to go through my CD collection and I noticed a few patterns.
First pattern is change. My CD collection has changed from being classically oriented to being rock oriented. I own more Pink Floyd than any other band, with a tie between AC/DC, The Killers, and Boston's own Dreamtheater. I must admit my connection to the public library is where a majority of my music on the iPod has come from. Which is why I actually have almost every AC/DC album on my iPod, and my dad has been the source of the Pink Floyd albums I don't personally own. For the record, between him and I, the only non-compilation album by them we don't own is Atomic Mother.
Second observation is that with a couple bands, I have copped and simply own "Greatest hits" albums. I am embarrassed that the only album by Judas Priest, Queen, and Nightwish that I have is a "greatest hits". I also own Journey's Greatest Hits and their newest album, Revelation. I am proud though these are not bands known for concept album work, so its not like a Pink Floyd greatest hits album that makes you pretty much miss the actual message of the band. I would consider these bands to be more fluff content, though very enjoyable.
The third thing that caught my attention was the size of my jazz collection currently. I have more than I thought, though again, a lot of it are bargain bin compilations, such as Sinatra's Capitol Record's years, and the greatest of Cab Calloway. I do own "Kind of Blue" but I have never listened to my copy of it. Theres a good chance I never will. I also owned "Time Out" at some point by Dave Brubeck Quartet, but I can't find it. I must say I have a taste for the latin jazz, as the genre shows up the most, with The Best of Perez Prado (the guy who wrote the real Mambo no. 5), Tito Puente "Live at Grossinger's", and Jesus Alemany's "Cubanismo".
The fourth and final main observation for the night is an odd one. My classical collection has some quirks. The most owned time period is actually French Impressionist Orchestral works. Saint-Saens, Dukas, Satie, namely. The next is actually the 1812 Overture, specifically. I have about 5 different recordings I believe, including one recorded with period muzzle-load cannons. The brands of choice are Deutsch-Gramophone and RCA Victor. My iPod though will probablt be the only one you find though that contains at least one Mahler symphony, and two Bruckner Symphonies. I love the brass. My most prized recordings are vintage re-masterings of the Dvorak's New World Symphony by the Chicago Symphony with Fritz Reiner at the helm, and the Pines of Rome with the same set up. Both are awe inspiring albums and every brass player should listen to. Every musician should take a listen, its something to aim towards one day.
I wish you kind folks good night and I leave you with this sad last short observation of my CD collection. I have at least one CD that has "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy (of Family Guy fame) but I do not own a single recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in C minor. Sad.
Good night.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Never stopped believin'
Friends I write this blog to you in the light of the new word. This word is of Journey, the new lead singer Arnel Pineda, and their new album Revelation. I did not think this band would ever bring themselves back after Steve Perry leaving ten years ago. His voice and song writing skills were almost on a Freddie Mercury level. With Neal Schon now doing most of the songwriting, the guitar is a little heavier, and their sound has made the jump to the new millennium but they're still 100% Journey at heart. I found myself on the second listen singing along. The CD is a great investment as well. Disk 1 is new material, Disk 2 is Arnel singing classic Journey songs, and then the concert DVD. The DVD is an hour long and contains the new line up performing new and old Journey hits.
On a totally unrelated note, I did attend my first opera about 1 month ago. I saw the Baltimore Opera Company put on Madame Butterfly. I have to tell you I really enjoyed the multimedia experience. I have listened to many operas on the radio and CD but never seen one performed. Its quite an experience. But with that I must present my review.
I enjoyed the overall presentation. They used projections instead of a mostly real set. The projections went from being abstract, pseudo-Japanese art prints (tacky flowered wallpaper), to being overly blunt ( a ship sailing straight at the audience and Butterfly belts her heart out). I will not bash the end of the first act fading to a starry night as Pinkerton completes his seduction of Butterfly. The use of projection was not wise, though. The projections were projected from the house, meaning anyone who stood on the stage were covered by the images, wiping out the quite nice costuming. There were also numerous technical difficulties with the projector, which is not good considering its the last dress rehearsal before they charged ($125 I believe was the cheapest seat) people to see them.
The orchestra, overall, was quite good. There were times where the phrasing could have been slowed for dramatic pause and more chances to allow applause would have been nice. Some tempi seemed rushed. I also had huge issue of only one intermission. They took the intermission after act 1, but not after act 2, and they proceed to still play the prelude to act 3, which felt like an out of place intermezzo for 15 minutes of serious music. It took me about 6 minutes into it to recognize that this is what they did. I did not like that at all.
The blocking of the production was quite awkward as well, sometimes there were extras on stage you couldn't quite understand what they were still doing there and looked bored on stage. Then you had off stage singing when the character should have been on stage. Worst of all, Butterfly tells her son to go play in the garden so she can kill herself. He goes to the opposite side of the stage from Pinkerton's American bride who is waiting in the garden. He then proceeds to walk in a circle waving an American flag while his mom kills herself with the same sword her father used to kill himself. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Though my review sounds negative, it was a positive musical experience for me to witness how an opera is put on live and the singing, overall was quite nice. Just a lot of the issues I had were things that a group with such high standards should have taken care of, since they charge so much. This isn't a community group putting on Gilbert and Sullivan, this is a city's representation and contribution to the arts. I may have too high of standards since i do like to watch the Metropolitan Opera on public television.
I must discuss one more thing. The other night I was giving my close friend Steve a ride home from a party and he asked me a very difficult question, which in the 10 minute ride home I could not fully answer. Since Steve recently embarrassingly admitted to reading my blog, I feel I should use this space to answer him.
Steve asked me, basically, why do I listen to what I listen to? With my odd taste in bands, what draws me to them and not others. Why metal? why progressive symphonic metal? Why AC/DC? Why Journey? There is no simple answer to this complex question and I know he understands this. I will try my best to explain. My love of metal is connected to my love of Romanticism and virtuosity. There is a certain virtuosic thing in symphonic metal combined with a composition level not found in much of pop music. Prog and symphonic metal satisfies the classical music lover in me in a rock 'n' roll way. I hear Wagner, Strauss, and Mahler in the long compositions of Dream Theater and Rush. My enjoyment of AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, and those types of acts, such as Ozzy Osbourne, comes from the ability to listen and enjoy myself without the analysis stage of listening occurring. They're fun acts that have some exact musical influence that hits me deep. For example, AC/DC's guitar riffs are straight out of standard blues riffs but are put in a straight, in your face chest thumping way, along with a very distinct vocal style. Judas Priest touches on the rebellious spirit that I find myself also relating to in the music of The Clash and The Ramones. There are also bands that I listen to because I feel a certain member's talents combined with excellent songwriting skills makes them a must listen. Journey, with Steve Perry's "pipes", as my friend Andy has dubbed them, combined with their song writing and expansive chordal vocabulary makes them a group that you must at least own their greatest hits album. Iron Maiden's bass player, Steve Harris, is a fantastic bass player and does some really cool things you won't hear in other rock bands, such as small bass fills and even sections where the bass is busier than the lead guitar. That combined with some really kick ass lyrics with an in your face approach and beat, and some epic composition skills, makes them worthy of listening and mild fanaticism. These reasons I listed cover pretty much why I like every band that I do like. So to finish that off I will list for you my top 10 favorite bands, in order, for now at least.
10. Judas Priest
9. Black Sabbath (with Ozzy and Dio, but preferred Ozzy)
8. Ozzy Osbourne (solo, with Randy Rhodes, and with Zakk Wylde)
7. Iron Maiden
6. Dream Theater
5. Journey
4. Queen
3. AC/DC
2. The Killers
1. Pink Floyd
Honorable Mention: The Beatles, UFO, The Ramones, The Clash, Deep Purple, Rush, Airbourne, Avenged Sevenfold, The BeeGees, Boston
Another thing I do take into consideration is the use of concept albums, and in my opinion, Pink Floyd combines that with all the items I mentioned above; great composition skills, overflowing virtuosity, driving beats, with a rebellious and independent spirit. And as a side note, on that list, after this summer, I will have seen 6 of those top 10 bands live. I just had to rub that in.
With that my friends I bid you a good night. Remember your blanket for those lawn seats and enjoy the second hand pot.
On a totally unrelated note, I did attend my first opera about 1 month ago. I saw the Baltimore Opera Company put on Madame Butterfly. I have to tell you I really enjoyed the multimedia experience. I have listened to many operas on the radio and CD but never seen one performed. Its quite an experience. But with that I must present my review.
I enjoyed the overall presentation. They used projections instead of a mostly real set. The projections went from being abstract, pseudo-Japanese art prints (tacky flowered wallpaper), to being overly blunt ( a ship sailing straight at the audience and Butterfly belts her heart out). I will not bash the end of the first act fading to a starry night as Pinkerton completes his seduction of Butterfly. The use of projection was not wise, though. The projections were projected from the house, meaning anyone who stood on the stage were covered by the images, wiping out the quite nice costuming. There were also numerous technical difficulties with the projector, which is not good considering its the last dress rehearsal before they charged ($125 I believe was the cheapest seat) people to see them.
The orchestra, overall, was quite good. There were times where the phrasing could have been slowed for dramatic pause and more chances to allow applause would have been nice. Some tempi seemed rushed. I also had huge issue of only one intermission. They took the intermission after act 1, but not after act 2, and they proceed to still play the prelude to act 3, which felt like an out of place intermezzo for 15 minutes of serious music. It took me about 6 minutes into it to recognize that this is what they did. I did not like that at all.
The blocking of the production was quite awkward as well, sometimes there were extras on stage you couldn't quite understand what they were still doing there and looked bored on stage. Then you had off stage singing when the character should have been on stage. Worst of all, Butterfly tells her son to go play in the garden so she can kill herself. He goes to the opposite side of the stage from Pinkerton's American bride who is waiting in the garden. He then proceeds to walk in a circle waving an American flag while his mom kills herself with the same sword her father used to kill himself. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Though my review sounds negative, it was a positive musical experience for me to witness how an opera is put on live and the singing, overall was quite nice. Just a lot of the issues I had were things that a group with such high standards should have taken care of, since they charge so much. This isn't a community group putting on Gilbert and Sullivan, this is a city's representation and contribution to the arts. I may have too high of standards since i do like to watch the Metropolitan Opera on public television.
I must discuss one more thing. The other night I was giving my close friend Steve a ride home from a party and he asked me a very difficult question, which in the 10 minute ride home I could not fully answer. Since Steve recently embarrassingly admitted to reading my blog, I feel I should use this space to answer him.
Steve asked me, basically, why do I listen to what I listen to? With my odd taste in bands, what draws me to them and not others. Why metal? why progressive symphonic metal? Why AC/DC? Why Journey? There is no simple answer to this complex question and I know he understands this. I will try my best to explain. My love of metal is connected to my love of Romanticism and virtuosity. There is a certain virtuosic thing in symphonic metal combined with a composition level not found in much of pop music. Prog and symphonic metal satisfies the classical music lover in me in a rock 'n' roll way. I hear Wagner, Strauss, and Mahler in the long compositions of Dream Theater and Rush. My enjoyment of AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, and those types of acts, such as Ozzy Osbourne, comes from the ability to listen and enjoy myself without the analysis stage of listening occurring. They're fun acts that have some exact musical influence that hits me deep. For example, AC/DC's guitar riffs are straight out of standard blues riffs but are put in a straight, in your face chest thumping way, along with a very distinct vocal style. Judas Priest touches on the rebellious spirit that I find myself also relating to in the music of The Clash and The Ramones. There are also bands that I listen to because I feel a certain member's talents combined with excellent songwriting skills makes them a must listen. Journey, with Steve Perry's "pipes", as my friend Andy has dubbed them, combined with their song writing and expansive chordal vocabulary makes them a group that you must at least own their greatest hits album. Iron Maiden's bass player, Steve Harris, is a fantastic bass player and does some really cool things you won't hear in other rock bands, such as small bass fills and even sections where the bass is busier than the lead guitar. That combined with some really kick ass lyrics with an in your face approach and beat, and some epic composition skills, makes them worthy of listening and mild fanaticism. These reasons I listed cover pretty much why I like every band that I do like. So to finish that off I will list for you my top 10 favorite bands, in order, for now at least.
10. Judas Priest
9. Black Sabbath (with Ozzy and Dio, but preferred Ozzy)
8. Ozzy Osbourne (solo, with Randy Rhodes, and with Zakk Wylde)
7. Iron Maiden
6. Dream Theater
5. Journey
4. Queen
3. AC/DC
2. The Killers
1. Pink Floyd
Honorable Mention: The Beatles, UFO, The Ramones, The Clash, Deep Purple, Rush, Airbourne, Avenged Sevenfold, The BeeGees, Boston
Another thing I do take into consideration is the use of concept albums, and in my opinion, Pink Floyd combines that with all the items I mentioned above; great composition skills, overflowing virtuosity, driving beats, with a rebellious and independent spirit. And as a side note, on that list, after this summer, I will have seen 6 of those top 10 bands live. I just had to rub that in.
With that my friends I bid you a good night. Remember your blanket for those lawn seats and enjoy the second hand pot.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Shining On
I apologize for not having blogged in a few days. The music has been hectic and is dictating my time these days. A quick synopsis of what is going on though. I have began work on a third polka for my quintet, "The Chicken Dance". No matter your opinion, every band must have a version of it to play. Kids love it, and I love it, so yeah, I'm a kid. I also have began work on "I Saw Three Ships". This is yet another challenging christmas carol due to its lack of substance. It was hard to come up with 4 part harmony, yet we're a 5 part ensemble. So I need to put the nose to the keyboard and come up with some interesting counter melody, maybe a descant of another christmas carol.
The problem of "I Saw Three Ships" was solved thanks to a little Jack n Coke. There is a British dance from about the same time period as this folk song called the Dargason. The Dargason is in 6/8 time and has identical chord progression to "I Saw Three Ships". Fellow band geeks would recognize the melody as the 6/8 melody from the Fantasia on Dargason, which is the final movement of both "Second Suite in F for Military Band" and "St Paul's Suite" by Gustav Holst. Holst loved to spread English folk melodies through his pieces, and since Holst was pivotal to the acceptance of Brass instruments in a classical setting, why not pay homage to his style by offsetting the traditional Christmas song with the Dargason melody.
So the subject line of this entry is referring to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd. I have come into possession of "The Wall" and "Wish You Were Here". Both albums are amazing. I've always liked "The Wall" with its storytelling of rebellion to English Society. The improvisational and composition skills of this group truly is mind blowing.
I have come into a rut with the brass quintet. We are all so busy and we have a gig coming up this weekend, that I am nervous about. I think we're all nervous about it, and its straining the group some I think. Its time for another group get together probably, to just try and chill. After this gig we need to immediately start work on the Christmas gig. I have a ton of new carols for the group to read through. It should be exciting. I think we all need to take a deep breath and realize this concert on the 14th isn't the best situation for us. We were hired only three weeks ago and asked to prepare a 45 minute set. Thats a good challenge! We'll hit it though and we'll have fun and that will reflect on the audience. Hopefully we'll get a good review.
Peace to my readers, and may your chords be major. I leave you with these words of wisdom: "We're starting at D, as in Don't Screw Up" - Dr E. Michael Richards
The problem of "I Saw Three Ships" was solved thanks to a little Jack n Coke. There is a British dance from about the same time period as this folk song called the Dargason. The Dargason is in 6/8 time and has identical chord progression to "I Saw Three Ships". Fellow band geeks would recognize the melody as the 6/8 melody from the Fantasia on Dargason, which is the final movement of both "Second Suite in F for Military Band" and "St Paul's Suite" by Gustav Holst. Holst loved to spread English folk melodies through his pieces, and since Holst was pivotal to the acceptance of Brass instruments in a classical setting, why not pay homage to his style by offsetting the traditional Christmas song with the Dargason melody.
So the subject line of this entry is referring to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd. I have come into possession of "The Wall" and "Wish You Were Here". Both albums are amazing. I've always liked "The Wall" with its storytelling of rebellion to English Society. The improvisational and composition skills of this group truly is mind blowing.
I have come into a rut with the brass quintet. We are all so busy and we have a gig coming up this weekend, that I am nervous about. I think we're all nervous about it, and its straining the group some I think. Its time for another group get together probably, to just try and chill. After this gig we need to immediately start work on the Christmas gig. I have a ton of new carols for the group to read through. It should be exciting. I think we all need to take a deep breath and realize this concert on the 14th isn't the best situation for us. We were hired only three weeks ago and asked to prepare a 45 minute set. Thats a good challenge! We'll hit it though and we'll have fun and that will reflect on the audience. Hopefully we'll get a good review.
Peace to my readers, and may your chords be major. I leave you with these words of wisdom: "We're starting at D, as in Don't Screw Up" - Dr E. Michael Richards
Monday, September 17, 2007
I walked that way while comfortably numb screaming I love rock n roll
Well Where do I start??? I guess I should go in chronological order। Saturday night started this weekend off with a laser light show at the Pier Six pavilion with the Pink Floyd cover band "Several Species", named for "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict", a piece of music concrete by Roger Waters.
This band prides themselves for accurately re-creating the sound of Pink Floyd. This they should be proud of, they were dead on. Several times, I closed my eyes took a deep breath of the pot smoke from the row in front of my dad and I, and BAM!!, Floyd was there. The group hit most of your standard Pink Floyd songs, and their first set included "Time", "The Man/The Journey" Suite, and "Shine On you Crazy Diamond". After a brief intermission to stretch your legs and get the second hand pot buzz to go away, the band comes right back out. The second set was kind of a highlight run of the album "The Wall". This included a rousing sing-along to "Another Brick in the Wall" (one of my personal favorites). Cleverly, they had the audience sing where the London Boys Choir sang. At this point if you weren't feeling this band, go the heck home. Several times I found myself close to tears simply due to their amazing ability to not just play Pink Floyd note for note, but in the jam sections they would lock into identical groves and even played on the same parts of the beat. The term "detail oriented" doesn't come close to describing the effort and the manner this 11 piece ensemble operates. The encore of "Comfortably Numb" and "Wish You Were Here" were quite wonderful. by this point, three hours of this left my ass comfortably numb as well.
So That wraps up Saturday Night. Sunday night, WOW. Sunday night had a double billing at the Nissan Pavilion in rustic Bristow, Virginia. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts opening for none other than Aerosmith. Now I am not a huge Aerosmith fan, and I like Joan Jett a lot, she looks good in leather, kicks ass, and seems like a chick who will sit down with you at the bar and pound a few back with you, then have your back when the jerk at the end of the bar looks at you all funny. Never mind the fact Cherry Bomb and Bad Reputation are just kick ass songs. Sitting out on a blanket on a cool mid-September summer evening, the Blue Ridge mountain foothills in the background and of course a nice beverage. But back on to the hottie in the black leather. Joan and her Blackhearts come out in traditional punk style. Dressed down, fresh from either bed or a fight, no intro, just hit right in on the music. They do Bad Reputation, Cherry Bomb, and one other song, before she takes the mic and simply says "Thanks, we're the Blackhearts from New York City". Straight up punk. I love it. Its all about the music. The cover of "Crimson and Clover" is what got the dancing going, though the crowd, seemingly uneducated about Joan Jett just wanted "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and she gave it, and kicked some ass, though its so not her best song. She went out with "I Hate Myself for Loving You". Awesome show so far. the first smells of marijuana appeared during the "Crimson and Clover".
Aerosmith comes out with a lackluster little fake newsreel about their current tour. The moment it ended the lights and a massive kick hit and they were off and rocking out. By this point I've lost track of what was playing, and what songs were being played and just focused on the task at hand, shaking my rotund self to some sweet tunes. The marijuana smell now strong from the blanket in front of us. I do know Aerosmith hit a lot of their big songs, such as "Sweet Emotion", and "Walk This Way". It is an odd thing that happens to me at music concerts. I tend to go into a trance of sorts and just not care about whats going on around me and can ignore things, even chicks wanting to dance, though I did partake in that a few times. I'm not completely out of it. Just when it happens, be careful. I truly have began losing myself in the music again. I hadn't been able to do that in a long time. I think I'm coming out of the college overload finally. It happens to some music majors, to where they lose the joy of music because they must micro-analyze it. Its a fun party trick, but makes you a huge loser at these things. I credit the start of this blog in helping me get out of it.
Anyways, Aerosmith does a two hour set, which included a kick-ass theremin solo by Joe Perry. That sent me crazy, as I am a very amateur theremin player myself. He even used the same one I own. I felt proud. Dumb reason to be proud, but I finally related, instrumentally to a band I am seeing. That was big, I hadn't been to a concert that involved a trumpet, that wasn't my trumpet on stage, in a long time.
That concert was worth the wait, cost, headache and distance from driving in Virginia.
Anyways there you have it, the review of a big big big weekend for music. I'm worn out, but my quintet just booked itself another gig for October 14, so we need to get our act together and rehearse tomorrow night, before the second symphony rehearsal of the year. This gig suits us well too, they want off the wall, and I told the guy, "We can do off the wall, we're not your mom's brass group."
Peace to you all
This band prides themselves for accurately re-creating the sound of Pink Floyd. This they should be proud of, they were dead on. Several times, I closed my eyes took a deep breath of the pot smoke from the row in front of my dad and I, and BAM!!, Floyd was there. The group hit most of your standard Pink Floyd songs, and their first set included "Time", "The Man/The Journey" Suite, and "Shine On you Crazy Diamond". After a brief intermission to stretch your legs and get the second hand pot buzz to go away, the band comes right back out. The second set was kind of a highlight run of the album "The Wall". This included a rousing sing-along to "Another Brick in the Wall" (one of my personal favorites). Cleverly, they had the audience sing where the London Boys Choir sang. At this point if you weren't feeling this band, go the heck home. Several times I found myself close to tears simply due to their amazing ability to not just play Pink Floyd note for note, but in the jam sections they would lock into identical groves and even played on the same parts of the beat. The term "detail oriented" doesn't come close to describing the effort and the manner this 11 piece ensemble operates. The encore of "Comfortably Numb" and "Wish You Were Here" were quite wonderful. by this point, three hours of this left my ass comfortably numb as well.
So That wraps up Saturday Night. Sunday night, WOW. Sunday night had a double billing at the Nissan Pavilion in rustic Bristow, Virginia. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts opening for none other than Aerosmith. Now I am not a huge Aerosmith fan, and I like Joan Jett a lot, she looks good in leather, kicks ass, and seems like a chick who will sit down with you at the bar and pound a few back with you, then have your back when the jerk at the end of the bar looks at you all funny. Never mind the fact Cherry Bomb and Bad Reputation are just kick ass songs. Sitting out on a blanket on a cool mid-September summer evening, the Blue Ridge mountain foothills in the background and of course a nice beverage. But back on to the hottie in the black leather. Joan and her Blackhearts come out in traditional punk style. Dressed down, fresh from either bed or a fight, no intro, just hit right in on the music. They do Bad Reputation, Cherry Bomb, and one other song, before she takes the mic and simply says "Thanks, we're the Blackhearts from New York City". Straight up punk. I love it. Its all about the music. The cover of "Crimson and Clover" is what got the dancing going, though the crowd, seemingly uneducated about Joan Jett just wanted "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and she gave it, and kicked some ass, though its so not her best song. She went out with "I Hate Myself for Loving You". Awesome show so far. the first smells of marijuana appeared during the "Crimson and Clover".
Aerosmith comes out with a lackluster little fake newsreel about their current tour. The moment it ended the lights and a massive kick hit and they were off and rocking out. By this point I've lost track of what was playing, and what songs were being played and just focused on the task at hand, shaking my rotund self to some sweet tunes. The marijuana smell now strong from the blanket in front of us. I do know Aerosmith hit a lot of their big songs, such as "Sweet Emotion", and "Walk This Way". It is an odd thing that happens to me at music concerts. I tend to go into a trance of sorts and just not care about whats going on around me and can ignore things, even chicks wanting to dance, though I did partake in that a few times. I'm not completely out of it. Just when it happens, be careful. I truly have began losing myself in the music again. I hadn't been able to do that in a long time. I think I'm coming out of the college overload finally. It happens to some music majors, to where they lose the joy of music because they must micro-analyze it. Its a fun party trick, but makes you a huge loser at these things. I credit the start of this blog in helping me get out of it.
Anyways, Aerosmith does a two hour set, which included a kick-ass theremin solo by Joe Perry. That sent me crazy, as I am a very amateur theremin player myself. He even used the same one I own. I felt proud. Dumb reason to be proud, but I finally related, instrumentally to a band I am seeing. That was big, I hadn't been to a concert that involved a trumpet, that wasn't my trumpet on stage, in a long time.
That concert was worth the wait, cost, headache and distance from driving in Virginia.
Anyways there you have it, the review of a big big big weekend for music. I'm worn out, but my quintet just booked itself another gig for October 14, so we need to get our act together and rehearse tomorrow night, before the second symphony rehearsal of the year. This gig suits us well too, they want off the wall, and I told the guy, "We can do off the wall, we're not your mom's brass group."
Peace to you all
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