Finally went to see David Shrigley at the Hayward Gallery today and as hoped, it was a pretty amusing exhibition. Unfortunately, no photographs allowed inside so you will have to go see it for yourselves but there were some really amusing sketches and very funny taxidermy displays!
Beneath the gallery, alongside the skaters, a really good band was playing although I forgot to find out what they were called, if anyone knows, please comment below…
It’s been quite a tough week really. On Thursday I was supposed to go to see Ryan Adams at the Union Chapel in Angel which would quite literally been my dream concert; sat right at the front of my favourite venue to see Ryan would have been wonderful. Unfortunately the website selling my ticket let me down and the ticket never came leaving me incredibly disappointed. On reflection though this was perhaps a blessing in disguise as it meant I could get a little more work done.
I have to spend all Sunday at work so we are taking it easy today. I picked up a parcel from the post office this morning which turned out to be my Ashes & Fire Limited Vinyl set. So although I didn’t get to see Ryan this week as planned, I have been lying on the floor listening to his latest album all afternoon. And yes, those ARE official Ryan Adams 3D glasses… : )
We saw this guy in Brick Lane long ago with another but this time he was alone, playing along the Southbank. Incredible rhythm from simple buckets, tubs and the odd cymbal or cow-bell, so very skilled. At times he was making music simply rapping the sticks against each other and on the pavement.
Check out the video from our previous encounter here.
We accidentally found ourselves at the heart of the Thames Festival as we wandered along the Southbank on Saturday which was pretty hectic and with so much going on, it was a pretty exhausting walk! However, we came across a hang-drum player that changed our mood completely.
I would imagine the hang is an incredibly difficult instrument to play but makes a beautiful sound. I came across the hang-drum years ago when I saw the now famous Portico Quartet also busking on the Southbank. To give you an idea of the rhythmic sound of the hang, you can listen to the Portico Quartet on YouTube here. I haven’t been able to find out this musician’s name but if anyone knows, please comment here.
Just across from London Bridge, in the shadow of The Monument, there is another Street Piano. When I excitedly described Street Piano to Atsuko on Friday night, I didn’t really imagine she would want to play so publicly, but to my delight, with a few conditions, she did.
We arrived just after 7am and she played in the deserted square for about an hour undisturbed and despite having not played for perhaps 15 years, she quickly relaxed and found her rhythm. I had long wanted to hear her play so this was a real treat; I was so proud of her just for being able to read music let alone play so beautifully…
Dotted through London at the moment are twenty pianos, free for anyone to play, anytime. It’s an art project that has been running internationally for the last 3 years or so. Find out more here ☞ Street Pianos London
I accidentally came across the piano on Millenium Bridge earlier this week so on Friday I planned a route that would take me past 5 of them, on the way to meet friends in the pub. I had never really thought about how rare it must be to play piano outside but the social aspect of this project was what really struck me. Playing an instrument for many people is a very private thing and the wonderful player I met at One New Change said he was terrified of playing in public. I have to say, it didn’t show. Another player joined (a brilliant concert pianist) and they spent time turning pages for each other and sharing stories. Many city projects try to get strangers talking with little success, but Street Piano seems to do it effortlessly.
Having heard about the unplanned gig at the 12 Bar on Denmark Street at the first Barbican show, we quickly called to get tickets the following morning. We were half-hoping Ryan would join Jesse but cannot say we were even slightly disappointed. The venue is fantastic; a tiny, sweaty 400 year-old blacksmith’s forge on Denmark Street. Jesse was the middle act of a 3-part session but he must have been on stage for 2 hours maybe, it was an amazing acoustic set shared with only maybe 100 people, all crammed together in one room.
It was so hot and packed I couldn’t even move my feet at times (I certainly couldn’t change my camera-lens!), thankfully they opened the back door out to a small courtyard filled with the recording studios and tattoo parlours, so some air came in. It was cool to be listening to Jesse onstage but also have people drinking and chatting in the yard and police sirens passing on the street not too far away.
We came away feeling we had seen Jesse play in a place way more suited to his style than the big theatre halls, I have lost count the number of times we have seen Jesse now, but this historic venue made this impromptu concert easily the most special.
I think it’s incredible that despite being quite a long-time listener of Ryan Adams, at an acoustic set, old songs can suddenly seem new again. Some were played differently but other songs I simply hadn’t listened to in ages. He’s probably released around 14 albums in 10 years and there is a wealth of unreleased material too, so that’s a lot of songs.
As he flipped through his songbook on-stage, there were a few nice surprises last night, a couple of tracks I never would have dreamed to hear and it was totally different to Sunday, he seemed a little more at ease with things and there was less guitar-tuning.
Many people think I am crazy to see him once, let alone twice in a row, but the chances to see him are few and far between so I am really happy we saw him both nights. People were again pretty respectful of the no-pictures rules through the show, I have just this one picture as he settled on-stage for the encore.
I had been waiting a while since the last time I saw him, but Sunday finally came and we went to see Ryan Adams play the first night of his two ‘Acoustic Nightmare’ sets in London.
The fact that this was a no-phones / no-taping / no photography gig really did make a difference; no bright screens to distract from the music. There was a very short burst of photographs as he left at the end of the show, and I took advantage of that, but to sit in darkness for 2.5 hours listening to him play acoustically alone was heaven. Despite a few guitar-tuning issues, the sound in the Barbican was amazing, it shocks me every time to hear just how good his voice sounds and how skilled a guitar player he is.
The acoustic black-metal / spanish-guitar improvised song made us laugh, as did his stories of norway. The two new songs he played were brilliant and I can hardly wait to hear the new album.
We slept in a little this morning and missed the postman. I went to pick up the parcel later, completely expecting it to be one thing but ended up picking up another. I ordered Ryan Adams’ limited edition vinyl release of III/IV November last year and had completely given up on ever receiving it but now here it is. It sounds and looks amazing, I am so happy.
And it is double-special because tomorrow we will be seeing his acoustic set at the Barbican, supported by Jesse Malin. To see these two friends play together again is like a dream come true. I am so excited and even a little nervous for tomorrow night, expect another post about Ryan soon but I guess photos will be difficult since it’s an all-seated concert.
