The official "I just saw an awesome concert" thread.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Last night I saw Flight of the Conchords at Kent State University.

Fantastic concert. They are two highly talented players, which comes across far more obviously live than it does on TV. They played most of their favourite songs, including Bowie, and Hiphopapotumus. The banter was hilarious. Overall I'd recommend seeing these guys wholeheartedly.

The only downside was the terrible acoustic in the Kent State Macc Centre. It was hard to hear all the words sometimes. Still, it didn't spoil the evening. I had a terrible headache all day yesterday and almost made up my mind not to go, but I overdosed on tylenol before the concert and had an absolute blast.

9/10 (minus one for the poor Kent State acoustics)

[MrScratch 294]

I saw Conchords too last Monday in DC. Great show, was Mel (Kristen Schaal) with them? She did some unfunny standup before the concert. I like her on the show, but her standup wasn't that good.

My next concerts are Leonard Cohen in May and then Bugs Bunny On Broadway in July.

[Henry B 50]

Sure, my university's orchestra just did Bernstein's "Slava Overture," Prokofiev's piano concerto and some other great stuff.

[Jay 37,287]

The last concert I went to was Weezer last year when the red album came out. It was awesome.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

Unfortunately, the Reno Philharmonic is not really doing anything for the next few months....

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Pixie and MrS, I with I could have seen them! Lucky bastards...

[pixie_twinkle 48]

I saw Conchords too last Monday in DC. Great show, was Mel (Kristen Schaal) with them? She did some unfunny standup before the concert. I like her on the show, but her standup wasn't that good.

Yes, she did the opening 20 minutes or so. I thought she was pretty funny. Could have done with more Conchords though. Disappointed Murray didn't make an appearance!

Pixie and MrS, I with I could have seen them! Lucky bastards...

I should have titled this the "gloating thread"

[ChrisAfonso 186]

I went to several concerts last week, as there was a music festival "Easter sounds" over the Easter weekend in Hamburg Most amazing has been Schönberg's orchestral arrangement of Brahms's first piano quartet... it really sounds awesome in this setting, like a fifth symphony of his Other great pieces were Brahms's first string sextet and Schönberg's "Transfigured Night".

And this weekend the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra played a piece by Tan Dun, "Orchestral Theatre I", great stuff! ... at times the orchestra was breathing loudly (in unison!) or shouting Syllables sounding like they come directly from a Kung Fu movie The conductor (Muhai Tang) was great too, making me expect that he would jump into a martial arts cadenza any moment, the way he led the ensemble!

[AlohaBlunts 1]

Simian Mobile Disco at Metro. They rocked the place! It was awesome (as the title of the thread implies).

[Trent Hoyt 13]

I took a road trip to Virginia to see The Dave Matthews Band. The second night was clearly better as they were they jammed out all night long for a show that was 30 minutes longer that the first night. Can't wait to see them at Fenway!

[MrScratch 294]

Yes, she did the opening 20 minutes or so. I thought she was pretty funny. Could have done with more Conchords though. Disappointed Murray didn't make an appearance!

Yeah, I wish Murray had been "present." I also was hoping they'd do the BOOM song, my wife and I love that one.

[MrScratch 294]

Two nights ago I saw Leonard Cohen, who still sounds amazing and played for three hours. Last night, I saw Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean performing songs from Spinal Tap and Mighty Wind. I got to meet Michael McKean after the show and get an autograph.

[Jay 37,287]

Did their amplifiers go up to 11?

[Wojo 2,453]

This is the set list of the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show that I saw. Easily the best concert musically that I've ever been to, and I'd go see him again in a heartbeat.

May 8, 2009

University Park, Pennsylvania

Bryce Jordan Center

Badlands

Out In The Street

Outlaw Pete

She's The One

Working On A Dream

Seeds

Johnny 99

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Raise Your Hand

Ramrod

My Generation

Spirit In The Night

Waitin' On A Sunny Day

The Promised Land

The Wrestler

This Life

Radio Nowhere

Lonesome Day

The Rising

Born To Run

Hard Times

Jungleland

Land Of Hope And Dreams

American Land

Bobby Jean

Detroit Medley

Wooly Bully

[MrScratch 294]

Did their amplifiers go up to 11?

I don't think they referenced the 11 thing at all. The show was called "Unwigged and Unplugged".

[Maglorfin 196]

I've been to awesome jazz festival in Cerkno, Slovenia for the last two days. Mike Reed, Tiziano Tononi, Joëlle Léandre ... Great stuff.

Also, a film music night with Slovenian RTV Symphony this past Thursday. It was cool, but could've been better.

[Marian Schedenig 8,173]

Saw A Woman of Affairs at the Konzerthaus a few weeks ago, with live music by Carl Davis, performed by Ensemble Kontraste and conducted by Frank Strobel.

That's the fourth concert of this kind I've attended at the Konzerthaus (they do a regular cycle of those each year). The previous highlight had been Prokofiev's Ivan the Terrible, but usually they focus on silent movies with "new" scores. Problem is, usually they pick the only sufficiently "serious" or "artistic" films (not a problem in itself, but as we all know, good music does not need good films, and there are tons of scores worthy of concerts which will never get performed under such conditions) and choose scores by sufficiently "serious" or "artistic" composers. Meaning those scores often are as detached from the films as is possible, apparently considering the film to be a nuisance. The first concert I saw, years ago, was Metropolis. I forgot who wrote the score, but it had absolutely no connection to the film whatsoever. It mostly seemed to be the exact opposite of what happened on screen, but not in the deliberate way that's often efficiently used in "real" film scoring. A tense scene (be it action-wise or emotionally) would get brooding music, and a relaxed scene would get dramatic music. The "highlight" was when during the (supposedly tense) evacuation sequence, the orchestra stopped for several minutes, playing out the entire sequence in silence. Soon after the silence started, people began laughing at the over acting typical for silent movies - as bad as the score was before that, in my opinion, at least it kept the audience engaged enough to not be taken entirely out of the film.

The second concert I saw in the series, also several years ago, was Nosferatu, with a new score performed by the composer (forgot who) on the organ. This wasn't completely out of place in the movie and worked reasonably well most of the time; my problem in this case was simply that it was extremely dissonant, and the huge Konzerthaus organ was so loud that the result was nearly physically painful.

Anyway, back to the latest concert. The only music written by Davis I'd heard before was his marvellous score for the silent Ben-Hur. This was different, scored for a smaller ensemble and often in a jazzy way, but it fit the film perfectly. For the first time in a concert, I felt like watching a reasonably entertaining film really elevated by its score. The use of themes and techniques may have been "traditional" (i.e. "common film music" as opposed to high-brow music trying to ignore the film as much as possible), but the result was great.

Coming up next: John Mayall next Friday.

[MrScratch 294]

I just bought tix for a showing of Two Towers with live score at Wolf Trap in Virginia. I cannot freakin wait for this concert!

[Joe Brausam 214]

I saw Bruce Springsteen in concert this past Friday - I know it doesn't quite fit with the theme of this board, but it was a great show!

[Wojo 2,453]

I'd love to see The Boss again. There's a website where they sell official recordings of all the live shows he's ever done. If the show I saw had been recorded from a soundboard, I'd consider buying it.

[Incanus 5,713]

I was at a Harry Potter concert yesterday which contained music from the first three films (yay!). It was performed by the great Helsinki Philhamonic Orchestra. I thought they would be doing a kind of "Grand suite from Harry Potter" that JW has himself been conducting on several instances but instead I was in for a surprise. The conductor, who is obviously a huge fan of JW (he kept calling him "brother John" in his commentary between pieces ), had compiled a suite of his own which was really better than the Grand suite.

 

This concert was obviously directed to young audience and there was a Harry Potter event preceding the concert where there were different wizardly activities for all the little witches and wizards. I saw a legion of small tots with magic wands, pointed hats and dark capes who seemed to be very enthusiastic about it all. Even some parents had taken the opportunity to dress up. A great family event indeed.

 

But the concert itself was fantastic. Helsinki Philharmonics were in a great shape, their performances rivaling the original score recordings. The conductor Atso

Almila hosted the show and it was very much like "A Young Person's Guide to Orchestra" type of event. After or before a piece he would point out a particular instrument or a group of instruments and how they would play in the selection. A wonderful way to introduce young children to the symphony orchestra. The conductor had a good wit and humour about him and he was really enthusiastic both in narrating and conducting.

 

Here is the programme:

Hedwig's Theme: The wonderful concert version.

Philosopher Stone:This was something new I had never heard before. A concert piece set around the Philosopher Stone motif. It was a series of variations on the basic motif passed around the sections of the orchestra building to a crescendo not unlike the Gringotts Vault from HPPS.

Nimbus 2000: Another favourite. I love the quirky woodwind writing.

Harry's Wondrous World

Fawkes the Phoenix

Dobby the House Elf

Gilderoy Lockhart: Without the harpsichord, which really leaves some of the aristocratic, snobbish pomposity missing from the piece.

The Chamber of Secrets

Witches, Wand and Wizards: Quidditch Third Year (relentless, breathless piece and very well performed), Chasing Scabbers, Secrets of the Castle part 2 (the wonderful flute solo for the poor bird meets the Whomping Willow scene) and Snowball Fight plus a flute coda. The Flautist was really superb.

Aunt Marge's Waltz

The Knight Bus

A Window to the Past: The concert version with the lovely oboe solo. Another piece superbly performed. Highlight of the evening for me.

Double Trouble: Funniest selection of the evening Three members of the orchestra suddenly stand up on conductor's orders, a violinist, an alto violinist and a cellist, and form a wizardly trio (all dressed up in costumes) to sing the song with gusto and funny enthusiasm. Both fun and a good way to end the evening.

Encore: Harry's Wondrous World finale (the last minute or so).

 

It was obvious a serious amount of rehearsal time was put into this concert as the music sounded extremely good and precise with gusto and energy. The conductor was also very energetic, fun and enthusiastic, keeping the HP mood and the whole group of musicians had the good humour throughout the concert (except for the brass players who were quite serious looking when the conductor wanted then to show their instruments to the audience. Obviously brass ain't no laughing matter.) Even the younger children seemed to enjoy this music and there was not much fidgeting in the seats as far as I could notice. A pretty good example of the power of this music. It could hold children in theirs seats for an hour. A very good and rewarding concert which I hope made many new fans for JW and orchestral music in general.

[Johnnyecks 33]

The only concert I have ever been to, (besides seeing John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Howard Shore) was The Barenaked Ladies back about nearly 9 years ago at Nassau Colosseum in NY. I remember it being an awesome show. I don't like them as much as I did back then. Pre-9/11 giddiness.

OH MY GOD A GIANT SPIDER!

Sorry, had to take care of something.

[Jay 37,287]

Incanus, that concert sounds AWESOME!!!

Is the "concert version" of Hedwig's Theme different than the CD version?

[Incanus 5,713]

Incanus, that concert sounds AWESOME!!!

Is the "concert version" of Hedwig's Theme different than the CD version?

No it is the same as the last track of the OST. I just made mention that it was the wonderful concert version as I love the piece so much.

[Marian Schedenig 8,173]

Hearing it live makes you appreciate how challenging the Potter scores must be for the players.

[Incanus 5,713]

Hearing it live makes you appreciate how challenging the Potter scores must be for the players.

That's very true. It is no small matter to be able to play this stuff well. And the conductor made mention of the difficulty of the some of the pieces as well.

[Richard Penna 3,671]

That sounded a great one Mikko. That's payback for FotR live coming over here!

[Incanus 5,713]

Yes I should say as I got to hear LotR Symphony twice this month and this HP concert on top of that. Good timing and a pleasant conincidence. Bring on more of these kind of concerts!

[aj_vader 533]

Went to see Jean Michel Jarre last night at the MEN Manchester (UK). Was absalootley astounding! Did anyone else manage to see it?

[Marian Schedenig 8,173]

John Mayall and band on Friday were awesome. Very impressive to see a 75-year old guy do nearly two hours of heavy-duty blues on three instruments.

Click for more photos. I also did a first serious test of my cam's video recording feature, and the result turned out to be very useable indeed. Haven't uploaded that anywhere.

[Neimoidian 14]

I watched 4 spectacular concerts this week - one with excerpts from The Perfume (score by Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek), another two with the music of Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Tan Dun and finally live performance of Shore's Two Towers.

Out of them, I liked Dun's the most - he presented couple of cues from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and complete The Map (an extraordinary concept work which binds avant-guarde with traditional chinese music from the composer's home province)

[crocodile 7,984]

I watched 4 spectacular concerts this week - one with excerpts from The Perfume (score by Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek), another two with the music of Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Tan Dun and finally live performance of Shore's Two Towers.

Out of them, I liked Dun's the most - he presented couple of cues from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and complete The Map (an extraordinary concept work which binds avant-guarde with traditional chinese music from the composer's home province)

I couldn't attend Dun's concert unfortunetely, but The Two Towers was a must! I must say this is the best way to expierence these films, with music played live.

Karol

[AlohaBlunts 1]

On Friday I got a chance to check out Peaches (she has a filthy mouth...and I loved it)! Then on Saturday, after waiting nearly three hours for these two DJs to finish their sets (boring after about the first hour), I finally got to see The Prodigy and they kicked my @$$! It was freakin' awesome!

[Neimoidian 14]

I watched 4 spectacular concerts this week - one with excerpts from The Perfume (score by Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek), another two with the music of Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Tan Dun and finally live performance of Shore's Two Towers.

Out of them, I liked Dun's the most - he presented couple of cues from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and complete The Map (an extraordinary concept work which binds avant-guarde with traditional chinese music from the composer's home province)

I couldn't attend Dun's concert unfortunetely, but The Two Towers was a must! I must say this is the best way to expierence these films, with music played live.

Karol

I didn't manage to watch all of it, the cold drove me back to hostel during the intermission.

[crocodile 7,984]

Too bad

What actually surprised me was that much of the unreleased material (like from Gollum's and the rabbits scene, the introduction of Treebeard, the Gandalf's death and resurrection scene, the Dead Marshes segments) were present in the performance. These are some of my favourite segments of the score. It is probably the only chance for many score's fans to actually hear some of the music as originally intended. I was also glad the howling effects (in Frodo/Nazgul scene, the Faramir's seduction) were replaced with the actual score. I'm glad I saw all of it, even if it extremely cold. It was worth it.

Karol - who likes the score more now.

[Incanus 5,713]

Too bad

What actually surprised me was that much of the unreleased material (like from Gollum's and the rabbits scene, the introduction of Treebeard, the Gandalf's death and resurrection scene, the Dead Marshes segments) were present in the performance. These are some of my favourite segments of the score. It is probably the only chance for many score's fans to actually hear some of the music as originally intended. I was also glad the howling effects (in Frodo/Nazgul scene, the Faramir's seduction) were replaced with the actual score. I'm glad I saw all of it, even if it extremely cold. It was worth it.

Karol - who likes the score more now.

Wow that must have been such a great event! And it is really nice that Shore included so many of the passages as originally written for the film. I heard that the White Rider (in Nature) rendition just prior to Theoden Rides Forth was replaced with Nature's Reclamation just as in the film in other performances. I take it that it was the same in this one?

[crocodile 7,984]

Wow that must have been such a great event!

It was indeed Howard Shore mentioned in a video right before the performance that he hopes to visit Kraków for the performance of ROTK next year. I already have it in my plans as well.

And it is really nice that Shore included so many of the passages as originally written for the film.

They all worked very well and the score as a whole felt "fuller". I was disappointed with its treatment within the context of the film and I didn't expect them to appear. So you cvan imagione it was quite a delight.

I heard that the White Rider (in Nature) rendition just prior to Theoden Rides Forth was replaced with Nature's Reclamation just as in the film in other performances. I take it that it was the same in this one?

Yes. As I understand this, all the things that were originally in the film are left untouched. Which means the first statement of Evenstar is performed by women choir (instead of soprano), just like in the original film. For moment I thought there was a mistake in the performance or something, but I later checked in the annotated scores and that was the film version. The difference is in the fact much of the unreleased material is now in the film. I remeber in the "The Three Hunters" track there was a silence when we cut to Isengard and the music resumed when we see Barad-dûr. In this performance the missing fragment is restored. I suspect there are more small insterts like this this I didn't spot.

Karol

[Trent Hoyt 13]

DMB at Fenway Park in Boston this past Friday and Saturday. My 13th and 14th DMB shows.

[Jim Ware 526]

I suspect there are more small insterts like this this I didn't spot.

Obsessive documentation

[Incanus 5,713]

I suspect there are more small insterts like this this I didn't spot.

Obsessive documentation

Great work Jim! As always 8O And a bit of obsessiveness is just good for you

[Jay 37,287]

DMB at Fenway Park in Boston this past Friday and Saturday. My 13th and 14th DMB shows.

Did they duplicate any songs between the two days?

I suspect there are more small insterts like this this I didn't spot.

Obsessive documentation

Hey Jim,

Thanks for that PDF! My first question is, where did those cue titles come from? Is there a list of them all available somewhere?

Also, what are the "changes in lyrics" to Gollum's Song?

Finally, throughout the PDF you spelled "dialed out" as "dialled out"

[Trent Hoyt 13]

They played the same new songs each night. Each night was the debut of another new song. You can't blame them for playing a lot of new material they haven't had a new album in awhile. They ended the second night with "Dirty Water." Needless to say that place was going insane.

[crocodile 7,984]

I suspect there are more small insterts like this this I didn't spot.

Obsessive documentation

Great work! Thanks

Karol

[Jim Ware 526]

Thanks for that PDF! My first question is, where did those cue titles come from? Is there a list of them all available somewhere?

Cue titles are from the (weighty) conductor's score.

Also, what are the "changes in lyrics" to Gollum's Song?

There's a change to one or two words - the specifics elude me but I'll check. I believe there was a linguistic reason and this may only have been for the first performances in Lucerne.

Finally, throughout the PDF you spelled "dialed out" as "dialled out"

'Dialed' is an Americanism.

[crocodile 7,984]

I didn't notice any changes in the Gollum's Song, to be frank.

Karol

[Jim Ware 526]

I didn't notice any changes in the Gollum's Song, to be frank.

Karol

As changes go, it's really minor - I'd forgotten that it was listed on that document!

[Jay 37,287]

'Dialed' is an Americanism.

Ahhh! I did not know that!

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Saw The Dave Brubeck Quartet live in Cleveland's Playhouse Circle last night. Wow! Amazing concert. The guy is almost 90 and didn't even start his set until 9:45pm. These day's I'm getting ready for bed by then. This is a man who was pushing 60 when Star Wars came out! Great performances. His fingers are still amazingly expressive. The other members of the quartet were all up there in age too, and were amazing. I may never have got to see Miles Davis, but I'm proud to have had the chance to see Dave Brubeck. A story for the grandchildren!

[Trent Hoyt 13]

Aerosmith. They performed Toys In The Attic front to back. I've never seen a band do this and its something that should be done more. I would love to see them play some other albums in their entirety. Great show.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I only like a handful of their songs.