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]

 

Double header this weekend. First up Morgan Wade at The Moore



Then Joe Bossamana at Climate Pledge Arena

 

Christian McBride & Ursa Major at Dazzle (2/18/25) on the corner of 14th & Arapahoe in Denver, Colorado. McBride on acoustic and electric bass joined by saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist Mike King, and drummer Savannah Harris.

 

Hey, jazz heads. I'm sending out a survey aiming to measure listeners' responses to AI-generated jazz vs. human-composed jazz. I'd love to have some serious jazz fans take the survey and collect more data. Here's the link: https://forms.gle/mouyC8Zd8vj4qg646
And don't forget to fill out the exit form! Thanks!

 

Hey, jazz heads. I'm sending out a survey aiming to measure listeners' responses to AI-generated jazz vs. human-composed jazz. I'd love to have some serious jazz fans take the survey and collect more data. Here's the link: https://forms.gle/mouyC8Zd8vj4qg646
And don't forget to fill out the exit form! Thanks!

Very intetesting. It was very difficult for me to guess because I have not heard - as far as I know - any AI generated music before, but have heard a lot of human-generated "jazz" that I find extrermely dull

 

I'm glad you found it interesting! I agree. I expected the AI tracks to sound a lot more dull or have a lot more trouble improvising. It's definitely surprised me

 

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson Playing Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

 

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson Playing Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

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Nice! I heard Vinkingur late last year in Zurich because he is now the "Artist in Residence" for the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. He is amazingly good. Juya Wang is also superb but I have only heard her so far on recordings.

 

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Yuja Wang and Víkingur Ólafsson Playing Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Very nice, intimate shot, Ron. I've seen Yuja Wang a few times, but not like that.

At the other extreme, here's a shot of Seong-Jin Cho at the Chicago Symphony last night. Taken from the Gallery, high in the hall. While I use a 10x monocular, I have a perfect view of the keyboard and all of the musicians. Being able to watch the incredible dexterity of the pianist is a real treat.

A review: Fiery piano virtuosity and a worthy CSO podium debut

Chicago Classical Review » » Fiery piano virtuosity and a worthy CSO podium debut

chicagoclassicalreview.com

 

So … Wednesday 5th , Dinner and a Show . Gaucho , Tower Bridge , followed by a leisurely stroll along the Thames embankment in a comfortable 12 degrees and cloudless skies , down to The South Bank Centre and an excellent concert of Wagner together with a little Strauss courtesy of The London Philharmonic conducted by the Truly Brilliant Thomas Guggeis in concert with the exquisite Renée Fleming performing The Strauss Last Five Songs .

Renée Fleming sings Strauss

It always feels good to make music with friends – and when that friend is soprano Renée Fleming, you just know that something extra-special is on the cards.

lpo.org.uk

A very good review with which I concur .

https://web.whatsapp.com/#:~:text=https://www.thereviewshub.com/tag/renee%2Dfleming%2Dsings%2Dstrauss/

 

Fink at The Racket, NYC.

 

So … Wednesday 5th , Dinner and a Show . Gaucho Tower Bridge followed by a leisurely stroll along the Thames embankment in a comfortable 12 degrees and cloudless skies , down to The South Bank Centre and an excellent concert of Wagner together with a little Strauss courtesy of The London Philharmonic conducted by the Truly Brilliant Thomas Guggeis in concert with the exquisite Renée Fleming performing The Strauss Last Five Songs .

View attachment 146958

Renée Fleming sings Strauss

It always feels good to make music with friends – and when that friend is soprano Renée Fleming, you just know that something extra-special is on the cards.

lpo.org.uk

A very good review with which I concur .

https://web.whatsapp.com/#:~:text=https://www.thereviewshub.com/tag/renee%2Dfleming%2Dsings%2Dstrauss/

Meat and potatoes, not a veggie in sight….. my kind of meal….

 

Fink at The Racket, NYC.

I heard that was a great show. He's here in LA next week but we will be at the Sphere in Las Vegas for the Eagles. Tickets for all their shows remain in the ozone. We bought a weekend package which includes hotel, shuttle, and superb VIP tickets. A once in a lifetime thing as we have seen the Eagles countless times. This was a bucket list wish as we could have gone to Europe for the price .

 

I heard that was a great show. He's here in LA next week but we will be at the Sphere in Las Vegas for the Eagles. Tickets for all their shows remain in the ozone. We bought a weekend package which includes hotel, shuttle, and superb VIP tickets. A once in a lifetime thing as we have seen the Eagles countless times. This was a bucket list wish as we could have gone to Europe for the price .

We just went a two weekends ago. Fantastic venue. Just know that depending on where your seats are you could experience motion sickness (they even give you a heads up). They start at 8:30 almost on the dot, and play exactly 2 hours finishing at 10:30 exactly on the dot. We stood in line for a taxi for an hour before finding out that the road was closed to all incoming traffic, so no taxi's or Uber's. Had to walk over a mile to catch the monorail back to our hotel. The sound, while amazing, is immersive. A blind person would never know the location of the stage, which caused me a little mental confusion as someone used to judging soundstage. I look forward to hearing your impressions.....

 

We just went a two weekends ago. Fantastic venue. Just know that depending on where your seats are you could experience motion sickness (they even give you a heads up). They start at 8:30 almost on the dot, and play exactly 2 hours finishing at 10:30 exactly on the dot. We stood in line for a taxi for an hour before finding out that the road was closed to all incoming traffic, so no taxi's or Uber's. Had to walk over a mile to catch the monorail back to our hotel. The sound, while amazing, is immersive. A blind person would never know the location of the stage, which caused me a little mental confusion as someone used to judging soundstage. I lick forward to hearing your impressions.....

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our package includes a suite at the Palazzo so we just walk the Sphere bridge and we are there .We are dead center in Section 206

 

I heard that was a great show. He's here in LA next week but we will be at the Sphere in Las Vegas for the Eagles. Tickets for all their shows remain in the ozone. We bought a weekend package which includes hotel, shuttle, and superb VIP tickets. A once in a lifetime thing as we have seen the Eagles countless times. This was a bucket list wish as we could have gone to Europe for the price .

Funny story too. Waited after the concert to have him autograph his Low Swing Sessions tape and LP. Fink came out after the concert and began generously autographing his recordings and talking to his fans. When it was my turn, I showed him his tape first and then LP and asked him to autograph them. I remarked that don’t think too many of your fans will bring a tape for signing. He looked at the tape for a moment and then said he’d never seen the tape before. We laughed and I said the tape sounds great. He then looked at me and said are you one of those audio crazies with a 2 million audio system? I smiled and said not quite but it’s pretty darn good. At that point, my wife chirped up and said why don’t you come by and listen? Your tape sounds amazing on the audio system. Why we have wives!

 

Mahler 6.

Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Benjamin Zander conductor.

Here is my report.

 

My wife and I spent a long weekend in Las Vegas and saw two terrific concerts......Eagles at The Sphere and Rod Stewart at The Coliseum

Much has been stated already about the Eagles but I feel compelled to add my $0.02 as I have been an Eagles fan since I first saw them in Toronto 1975 for the Hotel California tour where Jimmy Buffet was their lead in act as he performed his Margaritaville Tour. Over these past 50 years we have seen the Eagles at least a dozen different times but suffice it to say the Eagles at The Sphere has to be a Bucket List concert whether you are an Eagles fan or not.. The Sphere is truly a mind boggling experience as the concert is everywhere. We took people's advice and purchased a package which included a suite at The Palazzo which was wonderful but was even better as it gave us VIP badges with easy entry via the Sphere Bridge which attached to the Palazzo. This was not only convenient but saved us having to go outdoors on a rain filled night. The Sphere needs to be send to truly appreciate what it is capable of. The pictures shown above was what greeted uses we took our seats. The best advice is to avoid floor or first level seating as the concert is not only below you but so also in front, above beside and on the ceiling. We sat mid second level just slightly to the right of center and didn't suffer from neck sprain watching the performance everywhere. How great was it when their opening song was Hotel California. Watching them play was a true experience as unlike many other senior touring groups they remain a polished act. Their voices remained as good now as they were many decades ago, Don Henley can not only still play the drums but he can still sing. The addition of Vince Gill and Deacon Frey allowed for al the Glen Frey songs to be sung in the proper key. Deacon Frey seems to be the heir apparent to carry the band on into he future. Joe Walsh continues to be a master at playing the guitar and his crazy mouth and voice brought the crowd to their feet as he sang the few songs which made him famous So also Timothy B Schmit looks the same now as he did so many decades ago with his long hair. Remember it he who resurrected the group after her the acrimonious split when there was feuding between Henley and Frey as to who the lead singer of the group would be . When asked several years later when the group would sing again, Don Henley replied "when Hell freezes over" and so became the name of that monumental album as the group was reincarnated. Deacon Frey sounds just like his father.

Our visit to the Eagles merch store was like a walk down memory lane as it was huge and encompassed 2 floors of the Palazzo. Their shirts, hats and music was flying off the shelves. They even had a Troubadour Bar in the merch store which could only be accessed by we who had VIP passes. IMO the Eagles are making more not at the tail end of their career than when they were at the peak. Every song they sang was met with raucous cheers. We have seen them 4 or 5 times over the last 7-8 years and their play set is always the same but yet every time they sang the next song it brought the crowd to their feet.

They were to have finished their 6 month gig at The Sphere in April but as we were leaving to come home The Sphere announced further add on concerts in September. Whether you are an Eagles fan or not this concert is must see. The acoustics are so good that it really matters not where you sit as the imaging inch seat is crystal clear and perfect.

This concert for my wife and I will go down as probably the best all round concert we have ever seen.. It brought back great memories and as stated is a Bucket List concert, not to be missed

 

 

 

Seeing Rod Stewart at The Coliseum the next night was also a fun evening. At age 72 he performed well even though the range of his voice was not all there and he relied on a large back up band consisting mainly of at least a dozen women, who sang, played the violins and the harm as well as percussion. There were 3 very talented men, two of whom played the guitar and another playing the saxophone. They always seemed to play just at the level his singing or slightly above to hide what he has lost over the years. Nonetheless, he played the full repertoire of all of his career hits and the crowd was in it from start to finish as they were on their feet for most of the concert. He brought the crowd to their feet when he sang, Have I told you lately how much I love you". He went through 4 wardrobe changes over the course of the 2 hours and the crowd gave him standing ovations. I have to admit that even though it was a great performance, Don Henley at age 78 out played him and out sang him but , heck, this was Rod Stewart and the crowd brought him out for 2 encores. He looked to be in great shape and he still was slim and had those long spindle legs which allowed him to dance gracefully over the huge Coliseum stage

Definitely a big "thumb's up" to see in Vegas