So, apparently I’m nineteen now. How’d that happen?

The majority of my birthday has been spent reclining in a hotel bed attempting to shake off the remaining fluey feelings. I’m not complaining because I wasn’t really celebrating my birthday this year due to the general chaos of life! That said, I’ve had a good day :-) 

I think the highlight for me was my mother’s gift to me, a low whistle. Having played high whistle for a little while now the low whistle was a natural progression so that was what I asked for. Earlier in the week we went out to buy one. Because I was quite ill I was unable to try the whistles, well I didn’t feel it was fair to anyway, so the first time I heard my whistle was today. It’s a Dixon Alloy and, my goodness, does it have a beautiful, haunting tone.  Not managed to reach above second octave G yet but that’ll come with time, practice, and probably be easier when I’ve recovered my lung capacity in a week or so! As I’m sending this on my phone I won’t pop a picture in but I’m in love.

I also really want to say thank you to Aimee who gave me a card that made me smile and laugh and was just perfect. With her permission, which I haven’t got yet, I might upload a photo tomorrow. She also gave me a gemstone necklace which is lovely. Basically, my friend thought about what I would like and hit the nail on the head. Thanks Aimee!

Right now I’m waiting for my mother to finish working so we can go and pick up my father from home and go to my favourite restaurant for dinner. I’ve spent many a birthday in that place, and many a day full stop! Having gone in there since I was about five, the owners know me quite well!

I haven’t read my facebook messages yet, although I know I have some as my phone keeps vibrating. I’ll wait until I have internet access to read them properly but thank you if you sent me something. It means the world to me.

And that’s it, I think!

And that was my weekend!

The weekend was absolutely wonderful. I saw the amazing Rapalje, for a full review click here, and then it was off to Cardiff to see the best friend Aimee.

Arriving in her flat at about five on the Saturday I wasn’t overly shocked to see that it was about as much of a mess as her bedroom at home and couldn’t help but grab the broom. In short, it took us about two seconds to fall back into our respective roles. Of course, we couldn’t fall back into our roles without me cooking dinner although it seems that Aimee has suddenly learned to cook now she’s alone (I think she’s always feigned incompetence).

Spinach pie looked quite good.

Proof Aimee ate it of her own free will, just in case she dies :P

Sadly, I struggle with simple kitchen tasks like making ‘tea’

Of course, it being a Saturday night the majority of people in the university halls hit the town. Aimee and I, not to be outdone, decided to stay up late watching Disney’s Swan Princess. It’s lucky we did because one of her room-mates came back drunk, and noisy, and scattered Aimee’s freezer tray around the flat. Sadly, we only realized this after the sausages that had been placed in the shower had defrosted.

If you understand this picture then you know Disney
too well. If not… watch the film :P

Sunday was the day we had both waited for, however, and it came round pretty quick. The morning was spent meeting up with Gareth, a friend of mine who I met several years ago through the THUKST. Eventually, I managed to convince Aimee to come on down and queue for HIM (where we met up with Kim again!)

The HIM gig was surreal as anything. I’ve already written about the band and my history with them but nothing can really prepare you for seeing one of your ‘childhood bands’ on stage. I’m still not quite sure it happened!

I must say that I did rather like the tech at the venue although it was suggested that the dry icey smokiness was the cause of my chest and throat hurting during the gig. It was a great all round experience.

The crowd weren’t as raucous as I had expected, and Gas, the band’s drummer, commented on how quiet they were. I can’t say that I mind a quieter crowd. Actually, talking about that, there was a group of people behind me who were talking about us wearing earplugs and how we shouldn’t be at the front with earplugs, daring each other to take them out so we’d have to go to the back. If this group happen to read this then please know that earplugs are good to protect your ears, the musicians wear them, good quality earplugs improve sound quality, oh and I could hear every word you were saying! I also have a spare pair on me at all times due to tinnitus! Well, that turned into a mini rant!

Aimee looking stunning after the show

I look about how I felt. Very happy but in pain
and about ready to collapse!

Tea and cake; There’s no better way to recover from a gig.

The morning after was spent feeling grim (I’ve since come down with a mild flu-type thing) and meeting up with Kieran! It was great to see him again and we had a lovely meal in a place called Ruby Tuesday. The strawberry lemonade was heaven! Next time we meet up I’ll hopefully be able to talk a bit more ;-)

A sad farewell to Aimee, and a long journey home later I collapse with flu and then eventually recover enough to write all this up.

So, that was my wonderful weekend. I won’t thank everyone here but I must thank Rapalje for the best show ever (and for being lovely), HIM for existing and playing so many songs from my childhood, Aimee for being my best friend, and her flatmates for not only putting up with me but for being both kind and great fun!

Making Aimee's present, the Harry Potter Cake

This blog post is a scheduled post, written during the last week but set to automatically post while I'm at Aimee's.

____________________________

So, right now I'm visiting The Annoying One in Cardiff, where she's just started university (my little girl's growing up!). Anyway, this visit falls on the Weekend Between Our Birthdays which means it's a party time. As last year we're going to go to a gig but, different to last year, we're also going to have a joint celebration because it was impractical to meet up twice in such quick succession.

So, during the last week I've been having fun making Aimee's birthday presents, a mix CD and a cake. I've not made a birthday cake for a couple of years, although I used to make them all the time, so it's been an interesting time. The easiest part was thinking of a theme, Aimee having just been sorted into Slytherin at her university's Harry Potter society seemed to decide for me! (*)

Day One, making the decoration

Asda might have the best selection of baking products but
their food colouring lids have serious design flaws.

Finished the main decoration. Yes, this was my
second attempt but I'm pretty pleased :-)

Day two, making the cake

Is it cheap to make a cake board out of two pizza
board things glued together and covered in foil?

The cake itself is finished and wrapped in clingfilm, ready to
ice tomorrow! (the pizza in the background had to be cooked for
the sake of the board... see previous image!)

Day three, shoving it all together (and remaking the decoration because things never do go to plan)

Buttercream (green of course) and jam in
position, ready to assemble!

The final thing, albeit the colour looks faded in this photo.

(*) Actually, I toyed with the idea of a TARDIS cake for a while but Aimee judged Harry Potter to be more important than Dr. Who so...

Seeing one of my favourite bands in one of my favourite places

So, last Friday, as I mentioned, I got to see the most wonderful Rapalje perform their first show in England, namely in Glastonbury. They played two shows, the Friday and the Saturday, but, unfortunately I was only able to attend the Friday night performance. Oh well!

Rapalje are a Dutch folk band playing manly Irish and Scottish songs/tunes while wearing kilts. They're multi-cultural, shall we say? They're also incredibly multi-talented with each one of them playing various instruments to exceptional standards while putting on one hell of a show. In case you can't guess, I really enjoyed the performance. In fact, I would be surprised if I ever didn't enjoy one of their performances. Although I loved this band for a long time, listening to CDs and watching youtube videos, it wasn't until I saw them live last year that I truly appreciated their brilliance. 

As my camera wasn't up to photographing this show (I think the backlighting was confusing for it) there are no photos of the performance here. I spent my time dancing ;-)

Sorcha67 has uploaded this video of Heart of Steel (as well as Under the Scotsman's Kilt which was performed on the Saturday) so we'll just use them instead of photos hehe

I don't really know what to write about the performance. It was brilliant, as always. I was really happy to hear most of my favourite songs played including "Wat zullen we drinken", which I didn't expect because of the language barrier. I'll be honest that I missed a few songs that weren't played but I'm guessing that they got a showing on the Saturday and it's 100% my fault for missing out on that show. It also gives me an excuse to attempt to catch them again later in the year/next year in Europe!

I have to say that David's low whistle playing with the giggles in the first number was superb! One of the reasons why I should never be allowed to play a wind instrument on stage; I'd fall apart!! I was also happy to see that Dieb seemed to hit another band mate with his bow while playing at one stage... so I'm not the only one who does that!

I also got to meet the band after the show which, as one woman said, “made my night”. Certainly, it was a lovely ending to the evening. The band members were all true gentlemen who were more than willing to chat a bit, sign my painting things, and have photos taken with me. They were absolutely lovely, in short, above and beyond what I expect! Oh, and William and I were staying in the same hotel and after a couple of encounters in the elevator I can say that he has a great sense of humour too!

With Maceál

With David (in a photo that my mother likes to call 'The Hair Monster')

With William

With Dieb

They also , very kindly, signed some little painting cards I did but as I've not quite finished the paintings this time (the tartan on David's isn't painted, the bagpipes aren't cut out and nor is the fiddle's head as it would have lost tuning pegs in my handbag) I won't upload a photo of them this time. Maybe later :-)

I cannot wait to see Rapalje perform again (and nor can my mother).

Nothing like a busy weekend!

Well, this weekend is VERY exciting. So exciting that I just wrote 'very' in caps lock as opposed to italics and you know how much I love my italics.

Firstly, on Friday, I am seeing one of my favourite bands in the world, Rapalje. That makes it two of my favourite bands in one month, not bad going right? Having seen Rapalje live for the first time at Castlefest I was getting withdrawal symptoms. I logged onto their facebook to see when their shows were as I had decided to travel and see them on the continent and what did I see but this post, posted about an hour earlier.

Post by RAPALJE.

Actually, they're playing two shows but I can only catch one of them. Not complaining though because the weekend's not over yet!

I'm going straight from Glastonbury to Cardiff to see my best friend (and probably the most annoying person I know!) Aimee for the first time in what seems like forever. I think it's been two months in reality ;-)

As always we'll celebrate the weekend between our birthdays in style (cake anyone?) and we will also be seeing the band HIM. HIM are a special band for the two of us, and for our friendship because, the first time we went away together, on a history themed holiday with school, we watched two videos in the common room. These videos, and the songs with them, became our holiday's theme.

Looking back this wasn't the best song for a WWII trip 

but I'd just bought my first Deathstars CD so... :-)

To this day the phrase "Your life ain't worth living", 

in any context, makes us laugh!

Anyway, I will take my laptop with me because I feel insecure without it (and I like putting my photos off my camera safely!) but whether I'll log on over the weekend is unsure. There'll be blogs a plenty when I get back though as I'm sure I'll have a fair bit of news ;-)

Oh, and then it's my birthday on the 31st so the fun's not over yet hehe

A joyous week

Well, I have to find some way to keep both Teddy and
myself amused when staying in Travelodges, right?

The last week has been simply wonderful. The (undisclosed) family issues are ongoing but the events of the last seven days have managed to prevail and I have had a fantastic time. Happy October is winning ;-)

As I wrote a few days ago, I managed to see Reckless Love again last week, which was a wonderful evening but just as importantly, if not more so, I got to meet up with Kim and Ola. Although I had only met them once before (and had only briefly met Ola, in reality), it was wonderful to see them again. Kim had been exceptionally kind to Aimee and I last year (I don't think that she knows how to be anything but kind!) and both she and Ola are great fun so that was a great start to my 'social week'.

However, it remained special as I met Pam, a Thai penpal of mine, who is now living and studying in Exeter. Friday was the first time for us to meet face to face and I can only say that I am so pleased that I have met her. She is sweet and lovely, although of course I already knew that! I was also really pleased that she is settling into life in Exeter, and in England generally. Can't wait to see her again!

Pam and I by Exeter Cathedral. Taken on
her phone by some other girls. :-)

And then, here's the bonus, my mother decided to book an extra night in Exeter, Lloyd phoned me randomly and we arranged a brief meet up too as he just so happened to be back from university. What a case of right place right time! He also introduced me to Nandos and I can say that it gets my seal of approval.

I'm now back in Birmingham, for a while, and attempting to get some paintings done ready to sell. Problem is that I keep getting distracted and painting things for myself (i.e. scrapbooking). The light in the Travelodge room is too bad to paint now so I have an excuse to be blogging ;-)

Until later!

The wonderful night that was a Reckless Love gig!

Just under a year ago I managed to catch one of my favourite bands, Reckless Love, at the Cavern, Exeter. This was one of the best live performances I have seen and, even if I hadn't have loved the band beforehand I would have undoubtedly come away with a new addiction! Wednesday 9th, I managed to see them again, this time at The Fleece, Bristol and, to be fair, I think they outdid themselves.

In the queue with Ola, photo taken by Kim on Ola's phone

I went with Kim, a lovely person who I had met at the last Reckless Love show and had spoken with since, and with Ola who I also met briefly last time. It was wonderful to have such great company in the queue, at the show, and afterwards too.

From left to right, Me, Ola, Kim in the venue.
Taken by Kim on her camera

But now onto the show itself...

There were two warm up acts. The first of which, BlackWolf, was a local band that I’d heard good things about but hadn't listened to in advance. I’ll be brutally honest and say that I didn't enjoy their set. The sound tech was atrocious, and they knew it as they asked for it to be adjusted during the set, and I feel this really let them down. The vocals couldn't be heard at all. It’s really sad when something like this happens as it’s not the band’s fault but it ruins the performance. I also got really paranoid about the vocalist, in particular, who was bouncing and spinning around and the microphone wire was getting tangled and I could just see him about to fall. He never did but I spent the whole time waiting! I feel that I would like to listen to some of their music again just to give them a fair chance.

Oh, their drummer managed to hit both Kim and Ola on the head with one of the drumsticks he threw into the crowd so that's another negative point ;-)

They were followed by Laura Wilde, a female rock and roll musician from Melbourne, Australia, and her band. I had managed to listen to her in advance and, although I hadn't had time to get to know her music very well I did like what I had heard. Again, she had technical issues on stage but it was slightly better and you could at least hear her over the instruments. She was also a great performer and it felt like you were getting a show as opposed to just listening to some songs. I've downloaded her CD from amazon and, if she comes back to England to play, I would try and see her again. Oh, I also spoke to her briefly and she was lovely which matters a lot.

Anyway, onto the main act, Reckless Love. There are photos for this section because I suddenly remembered that I had a camera with me (idiotic Havanah!)

The minute that “The Boys are Back in Town” starts playing over the speakers, the crowd goes wild. We all know that the show is about to begin and, true to form, out walk the band. 

For the next hour and a half, at an estimate, nothing matters but having fun and listening to some great music. The pain from waiting outside in the cold for about four hours and then standing through the earlier acts is gone and it's suddenly possible to dance. In fact, I don't know if it would be possible to stay still through their set!

One of the things I love about Reckless Love as musicians is that, when performing live, they sound just as good as on the CDs. I have to be honest and say that this seems to be a rare quality of live bands but I guess that this is a sign of just how long they spent working together before getting signed. They also are really rather good at playing a mixture of songs from their albums, fitting them together and keeping the crowd going from start to finish. My one complaint would be that they didn't play "One More Time" this show but as one person was rather idiotic and rude, pulling on Olli's trousers and demanding requesting the song I am kind of pleased he didn't get what he wanted!

However, it's not just their skill as musicians that make Reckless Love stand out but the show that they put on. The whole band are completely dynamic when on-stage, including Hessu who could get away with 'just sitting there', being at the back of the stage. Of course, it's Olli who can move the most, having his hands a bit more free than the others, and move he does. Not content with dancing that man ends up climbing on whatever is in front of the stage, leaning into the audience, putting on as much as a show as he is physically able. Of course, if a few people get trodden on or crushed by bits of stage furniture it's all in the spirit of things, right? On the plus side, the fact that there was a bigger stage than at the Cavern meant that I didn't have to dive backwards to avoid being kicked in the face at any point!

When the show was over, way too soon, we hung around to attempt to meet the band members. Last time Aimee and I only managed to meet Pepe before her grandmother stormed in to take her home (long story) and Kim missed Jalle so we all had an aim here. (I'm not sure exactly who Ola met last time but we'll assume she didn't meet them all either!)

We did manage to meet all of the band who were all delightful. I mean Olli walked off when I tried to have my photo taken with him and then said I couldn't have one, Jalle asked me if I was tired when I said hello to him, and Pepe struggled with my pen lid but I'm going to say that is down to me being a bit of a jinx! Joking aside, they were lovely gentlemen, all four of them, and it was great to get to see them.

My paintings based on the album cover art (not the one on the inside of the album
and the jackets).The band were kind enough to sign them for me - Hurrah! 

With Olli

With Jalle

With Pepe

With Hessu

CD Review - 'Spirit' by Reckless Love

Genre: Merry Metal (aka Glam Rock)

Review:

Reckless Love is one of my favourite bands. Their music is catchy, their shows high energy. They are pure good fun which is, after all, what they aim to be.

That said, I have had some issues listening to their new CD. It's just not grabbed me. So, instead of reviewing generally as I normally do, I decided to approach things a little differently and do it song for song as I listen to the CD itself.

The beginning of this album is so exciting. 'Jungle' atmospheric sounds morph into the opening chords of the single Night on Fire which months of watching while waiting for this album has turned into one of my favourite songs. When the album first arrived, a day late even though I paid Amazon for release day delivery, and it made its way into my CD player I was caught, before the music started, just by those opening rhythms. Reckless Love is back.

The next song is Bad Lovin' which is basically saying how love and its associated emotions effect everyone. ("It don't matter if you're straight, it don't matter if you're gay, don't matter if you're bi it will get you anyway"). When I read those lyrics in the booklet I had to say that I giggled just a bit. However, add in a really catchy tune, a fair few "whoa"s, "na na"s, and "yeah"s and it's suddenly a wonderful track!

With a title like I Love Heavy Metal it's no real surprise that the next track is a bit heavier with gruffer vocals and then a random harmonised chorus that... doesn't really fit in with the theme. This song shouldn't work but it does. By the end of this song you will have "I love heavy metal" chanting through your head no matter what your musical preference may be!

When a Reckless Love song is called Favourite Flavour you know it's probably going to be interesting! This is a really good fun track with a wonderful instrumental part. I have a feeling this one will be good live.

The next song is something quite special. Edge of Our Dreams has a more mature sound with an inspirational tone to it. It does actually sound quite different to the rest of Reckless Love's discography but without loosing anything that makes them special. This one might just be my favourite track on the album.

However, the award for best title of the album goes to Sex, Drugs & Reckless Love. This song's the one where the band tell you that all you need for a good life is sex, drugs, and Reckless Love. Modest band this one. I think that this one's probably going to be another great one live!

Dying to Live slows things down a little bit and, again, seems to be a more emotional piece. The guitar is more emotive, Olli seems to be acting as well as singing and it therefore makes for a powerful song. I'm not sure what I think of it right now but it's one of those songs that will either become one of my favourites or be relegated to the never listened to realms.

Oh, hello, the guitar's got heavy again and those drums are a lot faster, I'm sure. Metal Ass, strange as that title may be, is a wonderful song. Goodness, this allows everyone to show their talents off. I've also got to say a big wow about Pepe's guitar playing in this piece because, wow.

Runaway Love is probably the strongest song lyrically on the album. As the title might suggest, this is a love song, Reckless Love style. That said, it's probably the first song both written and recorded by them that I would consider a pure love song as opposed to a love and sex song. Anyone get the feeling that Olli wrote this for someone in particular? 

The next song, So Happy I Could Die is another single with a music video which was released just before the CD. If I'm brutally honest, I think there are better tracks on the CD which would make better single material (*). That said, this is catchy, growing on me each time I hear it, and probably sums up the Reckless Love Merry Metalhead ideology!

Hot Rain was a track that caught my attention the first time I listened to this album all the way through. It's a slow, beautiful ballad with a melancholy tone. The lyrics might not be the most eloquent in the world but this actually makes the narrator seem all the more vulnerable.  It's so different to what I have come to expect from this band and, although an album of this style would not be Reckless Love, this one song stands out for me and I love it.

I have a funny feeling that Die Hard might be a UK only track (but I'm too lazy to get my CD cover and check so I may be wrong). It's a song about living life no matter what the world may say about your lifestyle (disclaimer: some lifestyle choices are not included in this statement eg. murder, cannibalism)

"I'll stand up for freedom to be what I am"

-Die Hard

So, overall, what do I think? I think that this album is a big step up from their other albums. As opposed to containing a heck of a lot of songs about sex and women it contains songs about never giving in, being who you want to be, enjoying life, sex, and women. It's still got the fun tone of the other albums, its still got the same style of music (with some development), and it's still Reckless Love. It is, however, a Reckless Love who are developing as any good musicians should and therefore does stand out from their earlier work. As I mentioned, it's been tricky to get into this album but when I do it may well end up being my favourite by the band.

(*)While finishing off this post (adding the videos etc) I listened to So Happy I Could Die a few more times and, erm, it's getting addictive. I take back the negative comments!

CD Review - 'LEAF' by LEAF

Genre: Pagan Folk

Review: 

I will admit that I’m not sure how to type-set this album name, or the band name, having seen it written a few different ways on official things alone!  I bought this E.P. album at Castlefest as it was on someone else’s merchandise stand, or maybe the general C.D. stand, I don’t remember, and have listened to it quite a lot since.

The strength of this E.P. is that it is extremely listenable to, if that’s even grammatically correct. It’s gentle enough to work as background noise but also intricate enough to sound good if you concentrate on it.

The E.P. is a bit of a mish mash of different things but it works well as a whole. I guess the only song that stands out obviously is ‘Wind and Tree’ because it’s a lot more rhythmic and also because it’s in English which does make a difference. Other than that we have one love song, a nature poem, a love spell, and two instrumental tracks which do seem to fit together quite well probably because the timbre of those languages are more similar to English, especially with the technique of singing used.

As stand-alone tracks, all of the tunes and songs on the E.P. are strong. The first song ‘Under Nymånen’ is really pretty. It’s delicate and soft and a perfect introduction to the rest of the C.D. ‘Fjarilar’ has a slightly darker tone, to match its subject matter, and contrasts the high vocals with low instrumentation beautifully. Wind and Tree is a wonderful song as despite the story told being a slightly fantastical tale of a tree ‘falling in love with the wind’, the emotions felt, the bitterness, the hope, the ultimate resignation, and the lack of blame are emotions that anyone may feel with the end of a relationship, often at the same time. ‘Frühlingstanz’ and ‘Winter’ are the two instrumental tracks and fit together well in subject matter and in tone, the former being a fast spring dance (as the name suggests!) with the latter being a slower tune which has ideas of sadness as well as splendour. ‘Bundet’ is something quite special. Based on a Faroese love spell which has been translated into “a very old and almost lost Norwegian dialect”, the tune has kept the mystic origins of the words being said.

At the moment, as far as I am aware, this C.D. can only be purchased through sending an email to Kaat (address on the website) who is the vocalist and manager for the band. I was too shy to do this (*) even though it had been tempting me for a while, hence why I got it at the festival. I would urge people not to be silly like me and to contact her and purchase a copy of the disk as I believe it’s worthwhile!

(*) People think I’m outgoing but I seriously hate emailing or phoning people that I don’t know, even if it’s for a legitimate reason, because I might interrupt something important or I might annoy them or something stupid like that. 

Musings over the musical Romeo e Giulietta

Today's been a pretty normal day, well normal for life right now which is anything but normal. 

The morning was spent sleeping, watching trashy television, playing sims, and drinking tea. (Did I mention that my old Sims 2 obsession seems to have returned? I blame lack of actual human company!) Oh, I also made the trip to Asda just to buy a vegetable pizza because, for some reason, they do the best vegetable pizzas around.

When I got in I saw a link to Romeo e Giulietta, the Italian version of the musical Romeó et Juliette by Gérard Presgurvic. Romeó et Juliette being a favourite musical of mine in French and Hungarian I was desperate to give it a go and so I sat down with some iced green tea and started to watch. What follows is a review that is even more disorganised than is my normal style!

Review

Wow. This thing is strange. I will come clean now and say that I don't think that this director is quite to my taste, which means I have a negative view of the performance that others might not share. I eventually managed to settle into the performance a bit more although it never quite worked for me as a whole. My major problems were with the chorus scenes. 'Verona' for example, saw the Prince as a puppeteer and the cast as puppets, a great idea but the choreography just was too bizarre making it seem messy and amateurish. The problem is, this detracted from any other performers onstage and also broke up the atmosphere. Similarly, I had problems with quite a few of the characters but I put this down to the director as opposed to the actors themselves. If you read my character by character review below you'll see that most of them were great singers, actors, etc at times which suggests the weakness isn't theirs to own.

Something that I was very keen on was the use of multimedia, namely projections, to set scenes and atmospheres. The images/animations used weren't overbearing. They were classy, elegant, and just what that moment needed. 

The costumes were okay. Most of them I really liked, some of them I didn't. Like the French productions, they seem to have tried to blend period costume with some modern aspects and it works really well. I have to question the majority of the ball costumes, however, and it's no wonder that Romeo got noticed considering he was wearing what looked like a gimp mask in a room full of animals!

Another thing that was of interest was the addition of speech that I don't think was in the other productions. Of course, I didn't understand a word but I think this is probably quite a good thing. I can't comment on the translation of the production either but it can't be worse than the translation used in the London production.

Favourite scenes

The balcony scene. The bit where Romeo leans on the pillar and it lowers to form a bridge (it looks better than it sounds) and Giulietta's costume make it such a visually appealing scene!

The new duet between Lady Montecchi and Giulietta was perfect. To the tune of the song sung by the poet in the French version and happening just after Romeo is banished, I couldn't understand a word but it worked so well for both characters. Genius.

Giulietta being found 'dead' (the first time) is a beautiful scene with the parents mourning as the Prince sings the Verona reprise. It's really quite profound.

Favourite actors

Giò Tortorelli was perfect in his role, as far as I'm concerned, as I explain below. Silvia Querci also should get a mention as she was amazing in her solo!

Biggest surprise

Mercuzio was so different from how I view with character in my head yet he was brilliant, and one of the most engaging characters throughout. Tebaldo was also a major surprise as he seemed to have been turned into a pantomime villain. 

Characters and actors

Romeo - Davide Merlini

It took me a while to get used to Romeo but, I'll be honest, it usually does take some time because Damien Sargue, the original cast Romeó, is Romeo in my brain. It doesn't help that it seems like Merlini's Romeo is quite similar to that of Sargue so comparisons were flying.

Guilietta - Giulia Luzi

I liked her from the word go. I think she was directed well and I liked her voice and presentation. I also liked her dresses but that says nothing about her as an actor!

Mercuzio - Luca Giacomelli

When Mercuzio is first introduced (at least the first time the English speaker noticed him!) during 'Kings of the World' he seemed to be playing quite a cold character rather like Philippe d'Avilla in the original French cast. This character interpretation isn't quite my own but if an actor is good then I can enjoy it. However, during the Queen Mab song we suddenly saw another side to this Mercuzio, a fear and a confusion that echoed really strongly with the character. The more I saw of him the more I wanted to give him a hug.

Benvolio - Riccardo Maccaferri

I find it quite tricky to comment on Benvolio generally. He's a bit of a nothingness within the plot and is really overshadowed by the other young men in the play. I had the added problem of lack of language which I think matters more with your understanding of Benvolio. However, Maccaferri was a very skilled singer with a soft voice, a soft face, and a seemingly soft personality (onstage) and therefore worked as the character very well.

Tebaldo - Gianluca Merolli

I didn't like Tebaldo. I think you need a really good actor to get this role right (Tom Ross in my opinion manages 100% better in the more recent DVD than in the original cast recording because he's matured as an actor). However, with Merolli's Tybalt I don't think this was the problem. The end of his first solo showed some real emotion and real vulnerability in an otherwise rough character so how come the character of Tebaldo was so meh the rest of the time? To be honest, I think this was more down to directing than anything else. Not to mention the fact that even in 'It's the day', when he got a chance to show off vocally, I couldn't enjoy it because the make-up was so distracting.

Principe - Leonardo di Minno

Okay, I can't get over the yellow eye-shadow at the start; it was weird but wonderful. And then in 'power' there's the moment with the cape when he seems to be channelling Dracula... As an actor, I think he's quite tricky to judge because he's mainly working alone with little actual interaction with other characters meaning that, again, language understanding becomes more important. He is however, quite scary and seems in control when he's on the stage so I don't think there are any complaints. He's also got a powerful voice.

Lady Capuleti - Barbara Cola

I'll get the major negative out of the way: her wig was really, really off-putting. Again, I had some problems with the way this character was directed. Cola, however, has a blooming amazing voice, and shows herself to be a great actress too in the rare moments she's allowed to do so.

Lady Montecchi - Roberta Faccani

Faccani was a big surprise for me. She has this sweet little voice when talking to Benvolio at the start of the musical and then, when she first sings in 'Hatred', she's suddenly got this coarse witchey voice straight out of Macbeth! 

Conte Capulete - Vittorio Matteucci

I liked him to start with. In particular, I liked the ball scene where he's arguing with Tybalt (and goes to hit him, a moment I thought was very clever) while keeping up appearances. However, I couldn't help but not detest him once we got into the second act. Okay, I felt sorry for him when he was singing his solo but come on, what a [insert expletive of choice]. Guessing this means that Matteucci is a good actor but I wouldn't mind if his Conte Capulete jumped off a cliff. 

Nutrice - Silvia Querci

I didn't like her character that much to start with, possibly because she was speaking and I was missing out on the nuances of the speech. Actually, the fact that when she was onstage she was surrounded by weird choruses with weird dance routines didn't help either. However, when she performed 'And now she is in love' I was won over. That was truly stunning. Vocally she's amazing and the emotion was so beautiful. It was perfect.

Frate - Giò Tortorelli

Possibly my favourite member of the cast. He was just right for the role which is something I've not felt able to say about any other cast. He seemed had a maturity of appearance and voice that made him seem kindly, worldly, and perchance a little disenchanted (even at the start of the production). His singing voice was lovely too.

Overview

Once you get over the weirdness this is a very strong interpretation. There is an exceptionally strong cast who all act and sing wonderfully even when there are directing choices that, I feel, detract. The chorus scenes seem to let it down but it's well worth watching. I think that it's probably a love or hate interpretation.

Since I first wrote this post the show has been taken down from the link provided (as it was on a TV catch up service) but I'm sure it will be around on the internet if not on DVD very soon.

CD Review - 'Von den Elben: deluxe edition' by Faun

Genre: Medieval Folk

Review:

Faun has been one of my favourite bands for some years now so I’ll not beat about any bushes: I am incredibly biased.

This review is for the deluxe version of their gold-selling ‘Von den Elben’. The deluxe version comes with a couple of extra tracks and a D.V.D. but is otherwise the same in content to the plain C.D. which I also own. I do believe that it is worth getting the deluxe version if you’re a fan of the band as the D.V.D. is, in my mind, worth as much as the C.D. itself.

So, despite the fact I’ve had the music for a long while, what about the C.D.? It’s different to what you’re used to hearing with Faun but that was expected. It’s not different in a bad way either, but I do think that it’s something you have to bear in mind when listening.

As an overall listening experience, this C.D. is enjoyable. There is, as one comes to expect from Faun, a mixture of different styles of songs from percussion heavy, to dance songs, to softer ballads and, as always, they carry these styles off with musical aplomb. Listening through the C.D., the tracks work as an overall experience and there’s not one song that I would skip and therefore wish to actively avoid. This is a rarity as there tends to be at least one track per album (generally, not talking about Faun here) that bores me and gets skipped. There are, however, a few tracks on ‘Von den Elben’ that I wouldn’t choose to actively listen to because they’re simply not as strong or memorable in comparison to the others.

So what about the songs that I love on this album? I think that it was right to choose ‘Diese kalte Nacht’ as their music video single as it’s probably one of the strongest on the album. It has a strong rhythm, some lovely instrumentation, and a sweet storyline. ‘Tanz mit mir’ is a drinking type song, a raucous duet featuring Santiano and is a fantastic fun and catchy song. ‘Welche Sprache spricht dein herz’ is a slower song, with a slightly rhythm driven chorus, that has a really beautiful melody, in my opinion, and some wonderful vocals too. That said, my favourite song on the album has to be the stunning ‘Thymian &  Rosmarin’ which is simple, soft, and stunning. It’s a real clear cut favourite.

The two news songs on the album do rather stand out as ‘bonus tracks’ as they don’t seem to fit in with the style of the album itself but would probably fit right in on one of Faun’s older albums. ‘Sao Roma’ is a great track that starts off with a haunting melody and then somehow becomes a fast, driven piece of music(**)! ‘Lorelei’ is also quite wonderful and reminds me a bit of one of those dark children’s fairy-tale songs that you come across during the verse while the chorus lifts out of this a little.

The reason to get the deluxe version, however, is definitely the D.V.D. or, more importantly, the documentary. The documentary was really interesting to watch, made me smile a fair few times. it also comes with English subtitles which is great for those people who don’t speak German or who, like me, are lazy (*). It’s accessible, has enough details of interest for long term fans yet is presented in a light and general enough way to make it enjoyable for new fans too.

Overall, I do like the C.D. ‘Von den Elben’ a lot. It has enough positive points to keep the negative at bay and is worth the money spent. I also would hesitate to moan about it not sounding like Faun, as I have heard others do, although it is worth comment. Sure, it’s different to their other albums but each of their albums is different anyway and it’s still got some exceptional pieces on it. I would definitely recommend buying the deluxe edition of the album because, as I said, the D.V.D. is well made and worth the extra money. I don’t regret buying the album twice either.

(*) or have English as a second language but not German!

(**)My mother and I are both guilty of driving around the streets of Birmingham with this particular song blasting out the car windows!

New Month, New Leaf.

It's no secret that September's been a difficult month for me. From some melancholy facebook posts to a general absence from the internet people have been aware that things have been less than perfect in Havanah-land.

However, today's the first day of October, one of my favourite months of the year. October has always seemed like the bridge month. It's mild and almost summery at the start yet by the end winter has started to take its hold. You've had time to get back into the swing of things with work or study but there's rarely any major deadlines. You also get an extra hour's sleep because of the joys of daylight saving time.

This October is going to be a particularly fun one for me. Next week I'm seeing Reckless Love again. Later in the month I'm going to see Rapalje. The same weekend I'm staying with Aimee, having not seen her in ages, and we're going to see the band HIM. Suddenly I have a social life.

It's also my birthday at the end of the month but I'm not really looking forward to that. I don't have anything special planned and I don't really know anyone locally so I think I'm going to just let it pass by a bit but that isn't a bad thing at all.

And then onto November, December, and Christmas.

Oh yes, I think I've found my smile once again!