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Swallows and Amazons

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Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton

A week ago we saw Neil Hannon's new musical, Swallows and Amazons. As a fan of his and his writing it was something which I didn't want to miss and the reviews of it in London were very good. When I found out it was going on tour and visiting Wolverhampton I jumped at the chance to see it.

Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed. The play was a bit dull and a bit irritating (annoying adults playing the kids) and there was way too much going on on the stage all the time. The musicians were also stage hands stroke bit part actors. It was all very confusing. Some of the props (notably the birds) were shocking and it wasn't sure if it was family entertainment, a musical or a play with a serious point. Arthur Ransome's story had been hacked to pieces and did I mention the irritating actors? With one exception however, Titty Walker played by Akiya Henry. Her credits included the RSC and it showed. She also sang the only memorable and likeable number from Hannon's score, Robinson Crusoe. Here is Hannon himself singing it in 2010:

Here is a bit more about the production:

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Filed under  //   Music  
Posted May 3, 2012
 

Ring cycle - iPhone stops New York Mahler concert

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via channel4.com

A ringing mobile phone on Tuesday halted a concert at New York's Lincoln Centre's Avery Fisher Hall during the final movement of Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony by the New York Philharmonic.

Conductor Alan Gilbert stopped the orchestra until the phone was silenced. The Wall Street Journal reports that when an iPhone's distinctive "Marimba" ringtone initially went off, Gilbert turned his head to signal his displeasure. But the ringing from the first row persisted and minutes went by. Gilbert asked that the offending noise be turned off and finally stopped the orchestra until it was. The Philharmonic said it was the first time the music director had ever interrupted a performance due to a cellphone or other disruption.

Filed under  //   Music  
Posted January 14, 2012
 

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson aims to resurrect UK airline

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via guardian.co.uk

Iron Maiden frontman and pilot Bruce Dickinson has vowed to resurrect a UK airline which has gone into administration.

In the past Dickinson flew for Astraeus Airlines and this week he captained its last flight, flying a Boeing passenger jet from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Manchester.

The singer is forming a plan to save the airline, which was owned by an Icelandic-based travel group but is based at Crawley in West Sussex. It is understood that the business would continue to work by leasing planes to major carriers to cover routes when needed, as it did previously.

Building on his time as as a Boeing 757 captain with Astraeus, Dickinson flew his Iron Maiden and their 60-member crew plus 12 tons of equipment around the world on the band's own customised Boeing 757, Ed Force One - named after Maiden's infamous mummy mascot "Eddie".

Filed under  //   Aircraft   Music  
Posted November 23, 2011
 

Will Young

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O2 Academy, Birmingham

I have to admit that I wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing Will Young again, I think once was enough, however he was very good and put on a decent show. He played a few numbers from his new Trip-Pop album 'Echoes' as well as the oldies that his middle aged female followers love so much. It was an odd audience demographic, normally at gigs people turn up just before the main act appears but everyone was loyaly in place before the slightly dull Lawson came on stage. There was no beer throwing or people throwing pints of piss, or fights. People in their 60s were looking very out of place at such a hip venue as the O2. However, the place was rammed, so he's certainly still popular and serves up his brand of pop very well. And he can sing, which is more than can be said for many acts out there.

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Filed under  //   Gigs   Music  
Posted November 21, 2011
 

Neil Hannon

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Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford

It's been a while since I've seen Neil Hannon, but every time I've seen him (often with completely different combinations of backing musicians as The Divine Comedy evolves) I come away thoroughly pleased with the evening's entertainment. I've been a fan since the 1990s and although he had some success with 'National Express' he is little known by the pop loving masses. This is a real shame because he is a top class composer, lyricist and all round musician.

I was a little concerned about seeing him solo, because much of his music relies on heavy orchestration. However, I actually really enjoyed the stripped down versions, most of which he played on the piano (which was handy as our seats were slap bang opposite). He was his usual witty self, dealing with the expected heckles with aplomb and making the odd mistake which cued a characteristic humorous expletive.

The surroundings of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and his Hamlet/Richard III/Banker costumes added to the atmosphere of a fantastic evening listening to a fantastic musician.

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Filed under  //   Gigs   Music   Photography   Shakespeare  
Posted October 31, 2011