Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

Thought this might be a fun thread and a way to find out about acts on tour.

My wife and I saw the Smoke Fairies at the Tractor Tavern last evening as the opening act for Rasputina. The Smoke Fairies are a 'folk blues' duo from Wales and have been described as "Bob Dylan's dream." I thought that their debut release "Through Low Light and Trees" was one of last year's best. It was just the two principles singing and playing guitar. Really terrific concert with excellent acoustics and thankfully not too loud.

If you are ever in Seattle, the Tractor Tavern is a great venue in the Ballard neighborhood. Very fun people watching...I think my wife and I were the only ones without tattoos! I got to chat with them after their set and had my LP signed. I love the lilting Welsh accents!

Here's a video of "Hotel Room" from their debut LP:

[video]

 

Just saw Mark Knopfler in Toronto. Played for almost 2.5 hours. Great show.

 

Last night was the launch of the symphony season by The Pacific Symphony at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Orange County

What a turn out as the hall was packed to hear conductor Carl St Clair lead the symphony into his 30th year as conductor.

What a start to the season as the orchestra was well over 100 strong along with 150 members of the Pacific Chorale

What an epic performance

Beethoven Egmont Overture

Beethoven Choral Fantasy with Benjamin Pasternack on Piano

But the finale was to die for

Carl Orff Carmina Burana with a full orchestra and all 150 members of the Pacific Chorale

It was a good as any record I have heard of Carmina Burana with these standout singers
Celena Shafer
Christopher Pfund
Hugh Russell

It was also good that there was a large overhead teleprompter that translated all of the latin prose into English.This was the first time in all of the years that I have heard Carmina Burana that I finally understood what was being sung

Plus seats dead center in the orchestra was a big plus

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw him twice at Royal Albert Hall once was in 2000 or 2001 and then again in 2007 or so. Thinking back, there must have been many audiophiles at the show

Just saw Mark Knopfler in Toronto. Played for almost 2.5 hours. Great show.

 

Last night was the launch of the symphony season by The Pacific Symphony at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Orange County

What a tour out as the hall was packed to hear conductor Carl St Clair lead the symphony into his 30th year as conductor.

What a start to the season as the orchestra was well over 100 strong along with 150 members of the Pacific Chorale

What an epic performance

Beethoven Egmont Overture

Beethoven Choral Fantasy with Benjamin Pasternack on Piano

But the finale was to die for

Carl Orff Carmina Burana with a full orchestra and all 150 members of the Pacific Chorale

It was a good as any record I have heard of Carmina Burana with these standout singers
Celena Shafer
Christopher Pfund
Hugh Russell

It was also good that there was a large overhead teleprompter that translated all of the latin prose into English.This was the first time in all of the years that I have heard Carmina Burana that I finally understood what was being sung

Plus seats dead center in the orchestra was a big plus

Steve, here is the real translation of the first chorus of Carmina Burana.
It's not really in Latin.

Larry

 

Concert Highlight: Carmina Burana - Imperatrix Mundi - "O Fortuna" (Reprise)

 

Last night we spent an evening under the stars at a new amphitheater in Irvine, Ca called Five Point Amphiteater which is a temporary venue until the permanent structure is built. This temporary amphitheater still seated 6000 people and the place was filled for a 2 1/2 hour concert to the music from The Game of Thrones. What made it special was that the concert conductor was none other than Ramin Djawadi who was the composer of all of the music for Game of Thrones.

I have to admit that it was truly special. The orchestra was small and supplemented from artists from the Hollywood Symphony as well as a choir in the rear.

In essence, on the overhead screen they played scenes from literally every season of GOT with the music that accompanied that scene. The choir and solo soprano singer made it very special. In the touring group of this production of the GOT music only 4 or 5 members are permanent to the drop. This encompassed a man on the piano, 2 guys on percussion , one guy playing a modernistic electric cello and a woman on violin who was superb

We had mid center orchestra seats and I have to say that the acoustics in this amphitheater was better than most I have heard. Djawadi was very personable and entertaining. He apparently also did the music for Westworld and several others his production has been on tour now for 3 years and if you are a GOT fan (or even not) this is one concert I would suggest you attend if it comes to a venue near you

 

 

 

 

 

what made this concert so special for me was the enormity of the 2 percussionists and the man on the cello and the woman on the violin

 

Short snippet I took last night at the Steve Hackett show - great show!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1180831118611881985

 

Tonight an ensemble of flute and violin and viola in a neighbor’s living room playing Haydn and Beethoven.






As with every other time I have heard live music in a living room the sound was warm and golden and burnished and rich. There was nothing sharp or harsh or screechy in any way.

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem in D. Minor, K. 626

Dr. Douglas Dunsmore, Conductor ( Ph.D, University of Wisconsin)


Yesterday, 20 October 2019, at the 140 - year-old Trinity Anglican Church: a Gothic Revival stone church located on Charlotte Street in the Trinity Royal area of the City of Saint John, New Brunswick, CANADA.

- -62 feet wide and 172 feet long church footprint;

- - unlike my Mechnical Engineer brother in Los Gatos, California ...I can make a simple attempt, as it were, to micromanage the acoustical piece; however, perhaps suffice to say: entrancing (sure felt that way ...to me...) old stone church is well sound proofed from outside interferences. Most of the energy was reflected against the walls creating a cool ( if you will allow me that ...) reverberation. So all seemed larger ...and more transformational ...

- - Church interior included the Royal Coat of Arms made in 1714 from Boston's Old State House during the American Revolution and salvaged from the 1791 Trinity Church after the Great Fire;

 

Damien Jurado at The Tractor Tavern