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]

 

Yeah I watched the ring cycle at ROH. Thing is unlike Barbican and south bank their costly seats don’t have good sonics but for these 4 of the ring cycle there is no choice as it gets sold out too fast.

Oh Well … We will just have to slum it in the front row Grand Tier … where the performance acoustics were quite excellent during the last entire Ring Cycle in 2018.

 

Cheap Date !

I am

ROH have screenings at Vue Cinemas for £22, much better price.

 

Oh Well … We will just have to slum it in the front row Grand Tier … where the performance acoustics were quite excellent during the last entire Ring Cycle in 2018.

I disagree acoustics are good there. Their best acoustics are in the amphiteatre above - and the reason is it is a straight line above from the pit.

While the equivalent of the orchestra stalls will be good at Barbican or southbank (front stalls), the stages in those two halls are at ground level, with steps going up with each row. With ROH, the pit is below the stage at ground level. Sound is going up.

If you sit in the amphitheater, while it is at a greater distance, the pit orchestra and the vocals gel and come in a straight line. From there you are looking down the diameter. Anyway - audiophile semantics applied to concert hall acoutics.

 

Thankfully you won’t be sharing the seat next to me tho

 

Possibly the best concert I had seen was a few years ago when I watched Bach's St. Matthews Passion at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. It goes on for 3 hours, and if not performed well, can be tremendously boring. Unfortunately it plays only during Easter, so you don't get a chance to see it often as it clashes with Easter holidays. However, I got a chance this time at my favorite hall, the Sheldonian (made in the 1600s) in Oxford, and it was remarkable. St. Matthews Passion is grand... like a much larger scale and longer Bach cantata, with everything from choir to solo vocals to solo instruments, intricate melodies.

I watched Lisa Batiashvili perform Beethoven's concerto at Barbican, and I have been recently trying to compare many of Beethoven performances on the various aspects of each movement including the cadenza. My favorite is Lola Bobesco's on EMI - it is a live performance, hence when I was listening to this Barbican performance it reminded me most of the Lola Bobesco one. I also love Schneiderhan's second and third movement on DGG, and this one is not expensive. Heifetz is 6 minutes faster than Lola Bobesco and 10 minutes faster than Oistrakh...however for me not as emotional. And a poor vinyl recording, so I prefer to listen to it on digital. I don't like Kogan's testament reissue at all. All the best buying the 5k+ original, or Oistrakh's 1k+

This is Bobesco

Yesterday I heard Shostakovich 9th (with a Tchaikovsky violin concerto that was not so good, one in June was brilliant), and day before a brilliant chamber concert led by Sheku Kenneh Mason. They performed the nicest sextets I have heard. He is on residency with the Philharmonia this year at the Southbank, and I will watch him and Nicola Bendetti perform Beethoven's triple concerto later this June.

Last week was in San Sebastien on my honeymoon (yes, slipped that in) and we watched a concert there. The local hall has brilliant acoustics! San Sebastien (in Spain) is normally a food capital, and if someone wanted to plan a food holiday there feel free to PM can help plan out.

Thanks...just ordered 3 different Bobesco's. Listening to this one now which is sensational both musically and recording/mastering wise. In from Japan:

 

Also got this one...nice but not as impressive as the one from Japan.

 

Thanks...just ordered 3 different Bobesco's. Listening to this one now which is sensational both musically and recording/mastering wise. In from Japan:



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Good to know some of the qualities extend to reissued CDs. For the Kreutzer, i prefer the Heifetz.

At Sallingboe audio in Denmark, very musical system

for spring and other sonatas Oistrakh Oborin is brilliant, and Grumiaux Haskil is excellent as well.

 

Those ticket prices are crazy. 2 tickets plus transport plus dinner pushing £1K

Give me a kebab and a beer and a cheap night at the Moth club please.

The big names and big shows are slightly surge-priced (presumably artists' fees are astronomical) and do get busy, but we've never had a problem getting tickets, even for the best shows. We go to perhaps 25-30 ballet at Covent Garden each year, my wife goes to a lot more, and I tend to go to the opera on my own, sometimes with my wife. Doing our own thing saves a lot of money. I've never failed to get a single ticket for even the best shows, usually the cast returns about a week before and they tend to be in rows E to J of the stalls. I'm going solo for some Donizetti next week (L'Elisir D'Amore), the wife will be at some ballet gala at the Met. You save a bit more if you go on the tube, plus I just got my free 60+ Oyster card.

This time last year we treated ourselves to the opening night at La Scala, Nunez (my wife's favourite) and Bolle. Last time they were at CG in 2019 they brought the house down. They are doing Don Quixote in November, whilst they can still stand up.

Covent Garden has done well in recent years keeping its prices largely unchanged. Some of the opera has been a bit iffy (Nabucco) and some great (anything with Oropesa), but the ballet has been consistently world class and unmatched. Last week we went to an expensive and poor show at Sadler's Wells and a dreadful play at the National, fortunately only £20 through an Amex offer.

I don't think there is a decent kebab shop in Covent Garden. You're better off with a Chinese.

It takes lot to get an English audience on their feet ...


The Italians seemed to be live streaming to their friends during the show.

 

I don't think there is a decent kebab shop in Covent Garden. You're better off with a Chinese.

There are some inexpensive shwarma shops in Leicester square.

One of the audiophiles (not on this forum) owns a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, he also used the be a stuntman and featured in one of the Daniel Craig bond films where his job was to run in, get shot, and fall down with a jump or something.

Not kebab, but for meat, on the other side of the covent garden square and a bit, is my favorite meat place – Blacklock. Any of the Blacklocks are good, they also have them at Bank, Shoreditch, etc. They do a brilliant Cull Yaw crumpet for a starter (or the pig's head on toast) , followed by a Steak Sarnie that has bone marrow on top of great beef. Their burger is excellent but the Sarnie is a level above. And I normally don’t like cheesecakes but their cheesecake where you can taste the cheese in the cream is delicious

Lima Floral does decent Peruvian and a fun brunch, and there is fine dining Frog by Adam Handling in Covent Garden (they have another in Kinghtsbridge) but I don’t like it

 

The big names and big shows are slightly surge-priced (presumably artists' fees are astronomical) and do get busy, but we've never had a problem getting tickets, even for the best shows. We go to perhaps 25-30 ballet at Covent Garden each year, my wife goes to a lot more, and I tend to go to the opera on my own, sometimes with my wife.

You should attend Magdalena Kozena performing with Mitsuko Uchida at Wigmore hall second week of October. Will be much cheaper and likely awesome.

 

There are some inexpensive shwarma shops in Leicester square.

One of the audiophiles (not on this forum) owns a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, he also used the be a stuntman and featured in one of the Daniel Craig bond films where his job was to run in, get shot, and fall down with a jump or something.

Not kebab, but for meat, on the other side of the covent garden square and a bit, is my favorite meat place – Blacklock. Any of the Blacklocks are good, they also have them at Bank, Shoreditch, etc. They do a brilliant Cull Yaw crumpet for a starter (or the pig's head on toast) , followed by a Steak Sarnie that has bone marrow on top of great beef. Their burger is excellent but the Sarnie is a level above. And I normally don’t like cheesecakes but their cheesecake where you can taste the cheese in the cream is delicious

Lima Floral does decent Peruvian and a fun brunch, and there is fine dining Frog by Adam Handling in Covent Garden (they have another in Kinghtsbridge) but I don’t like it

If we want a bite before a show we go ethnic fast food at Pho or Itsu, both 2 minutes away. We did once go to the fairly new NoMad Restaurant for lunch and cocktails, which is the posh looking place directly opposite the main entrance on the other side of the road.
https://www.thenomadhotel.com/london/dining/

There are of course a million restaurants in the area, one really good fun place is Humble Chicken, Asian fusion a few doors up from Ronnie Scott's on Frith Street.

https://www.humblechickenuk.com/

Between Ronnie Scott's and Humble Chicken is a noodle place called Koya Soho that always has a long queue outside. It causes confusion because people often join the noodle queue instead of the jazz queue. One of these days we'll join the noodle queue and find out what all the fuss is about.

p.s. We were at Ronnie Scott's last Tuesday, a really good gig and very nice fishcakes and cocktails. Their cocktails really are excellent.

 

You should attend Magdalena Kozena performing with Mitsuko Uchida at Wigmore hall second week of October. Will be much cheaper and likely awesome.

I used to go to Wigi a lot, not so much since covid, but I did hear Uchida play there when it was still socially distanced. I will look into it as I'm home alone that weekend.

The Friday evening after Donizetti I'm going to see Lonnie Holley at Church of Sound in Stoke Newington, tickets £20. A great venue. One of those gigs that with no expectations can't be disappointed and often amazing.

 

If we want a bite before a show we go ethnic fast food at Pho or Itsu, both 2 minutes away. We did once go to the fairly new NoMad Restaurant for lunch and cocktails, which is the posh looking place directly opposite the main entrance on the other side of the road.
https://www.thenomadhotel.com/london/dining/

Pho is ok for deliveroo, I won't go out to eat there. Itsu not anymore. Will try NoMad.

 

There's a very good chippie on Endell St

Pho is ok for deliveroo, I won't go out to eat there. Itsu not anymore. Will try NoMad.

There's a good chippie on Endell Street, 5 minutes away. Seen cast members in there more than a few times. Not sure they're meant to be eating fish and chips.
rockandsoleplaice.com

There are the standard brasseries, Balthazar and Delaunay, good but dull after a while. I like J Sheekey, but a piece of sole there is now £50. Makes Wagner look cheap.

 

If we're doing restaurants nr gig venues, then shout out to Sola Soho round the corner from Ronnie Scotts. Almost as good as Frog

 

There are the standard brasseries, Balthazar and Delaunay, good but dull after a while.

They are both boring. For those types breakfast at Wolseley is best.

 

They are both boring. For those types breakfast at Wolseley is best.

The Wolseley was a cool buzzing place. I was invited there a few months the ago ... a deeply depressing tourist spot now with rude staff and cold tea. About as much fun as Katya Kabanova.

 

The Wolseley was a cool buzzing place. I was invited there a few months the ago ... a deeply depressing tourist spot now with rude staff and cold tea. About as much fun as Katya Kabanova.

still brilliant breakfast. Their kedgeree, French toast with maple syrup and bacon, fried haggis, lamb’s liver is all excellent

 

still brilliant breakfast. Their kedgeree, French toast with maple syrup and bacon, fried haggis, lamb’s liver is all excellent

Don't do mornings. Half the problem with London is that most places are closed by the time the show ends. Not the case elsewhere. A memorable post-show dinner was at Restaurant Drouant, after a show at Palais Garnier. That was a great place.

I only once had interval dinner at Covent Garden, saw Madame Butterfly, there were 6 of us and it cost £1,500. That was 15 years ago, can't imagine what it would cost now.

At Church Of Sound they serve a Caribbean buffet from 7:30 for about £7, the gig starts at 9, all very sensible.

The restaurant at Wigi has just been refurbished. Will have to give it a go.

 

You should attend Magdalena Kozena performing with Mitsuko Uchida at Wigmore hall second week of October. Will be much cheaper and likely awesome.

Just booked, also for Antje Weithaas and Mahan Esfahani the night before.