Went along to Murrayfielf on Saturday to see Scotland take on the All Blacks.
During the build up the press made much of the confidence running through the Scotland team following the successful tour of Argentina during the Summer. Sadly the All Balcks soon shattered this confidence and absolutely murdered us - back to the drawing board for us I think.
One positive was that Scotland did lead the game briefly following Dan Park's successful penalty. However, as I said to Barry and Alan it probably just angered the Blacks.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Raul Malo - Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
On Friday night, I had the privilege of seeing Raul Malo in the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh. For those who are unaware of this great singer, he is probably best known to the general public as being the lead singer of the American Country band, the Mavericks.
The concert was billed as an intimate Evening with Raul Malo, and I wasn't sure what format the concert would take - last time I saw him in Edinburgh he was solo - just his voice and a guitar, then when I saw him in Glasgow earlier this year he was with a full band. On entering the venue, all that was on the stage was three mike stands, a guitar stand and a small table - so obviously no band.
The support act was an American singer by the name of Alyssa Bonagura. I had never heard of this singer before, but was impressed enough by her to purchase the cd that she had on sale. She performed a good set which ran for about 40 minutes - just her singing and playing the guitar. She has a a myspac page that you can check her out on.
At nine o'clock Raul Malo came on stage accompanied by Michael Guerra who played the accordion. Raul then proceeded to sing for just under two hours (he was meant to be on stqage for 90 minutes). Raul played a varied set consisting of tracks from his solo albums, cover versions of songs by the likes of Jim Reeves, Englebert Humperdinck, Roy Orbison and J D Souther, and stripped down Mavericks songs. Accompanied only by his guitar and Michael's fantastic accordion playing, Raul had the audience eating out of his hand (except for the idiot who shouted out the Raul should get back with the Mavericks - although a larger part of the audience booed the heckler).
Alyssa joined Raul onstage for part of the encore, then left again to leave the last couple of songs to Raul and Michael.
Once again this powerful vocalist blew me away with his performance (and has me thinking about going through to Glasgow to see him in January).
The concert was billed as an intimate Evening with Raul Malo, and I wasn't sure what format the concert would take - last time I saw him in Edinburgh he was solo - just his voice and a guitar, then when I saw him in Glasgow earlier this year he was with a full band. On entering the venue, all that was on the stage was three mike stands, a guitar stand and a small table - so obviously no band.
The support act was an American singer by the name of Alyssa Bonagura. I had never heard of this singer before, but was impressed enough by her to purchase the cd that she had on sale. She performed a good set which ran for about 40 minutes - just her singing and playing the guitar. She has a a myspac page that you can check her out on.
At nine o'clock Raul Malo came on stage accompanied by Michael Guerra who played the accordion. Raul then proceeded to sing for just under two hours (he was meant to be on stqage for 90 minutes). Raul played a varied set consisting of tracks from his solo albums, cover versions of songs by the likes of Jim Reeves, Englebert Humperdinck, Roy Orbison and J D Souther, and stripped down Mavericks songs. Accompanied only by his guitar and Michael's fantastic accordion playing, Raul had the audience eating out of his hand (except for the idiot who shouted out the Raul should get back with the Mavericks - although a larger part of the audience booed the heckler).
Alyssa joined Raul onstage for part of the encore, then left again to leave the last couple of songs to Raul and Michael.
Once again this powerful vocalist blew me away with his performance (and has me thinking about going through to Glasgow to see him in January).
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Okay - like my attempts in the past in keeping a diary, I have failed to keep my blog up to date (although looking at some other blogs that I have followed this isn't unusual).
I am going to restart this blog - although I have given it a new title, and will try to tidy up the layout etc over the next few weeks.
Since my last post sometime last year, I have continued going to concerts and have seen the following over the last year :-
2009
Simple Minds (although I really only went to see the support band - OMD!!) - SECC
Depeche Mode - SECC
Phil Cunningham's Christmas - Queen's Hall
2010
Raul Malo - Classic Grand, Glasgow
The Wiyos - Eastgate, Peebles
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra - Queen's Hall
Dan Berglund's Tonbruket - Queen's Hall
The Coal Porters - Eastgate, Peebles
The Woody Pines - Eastgate, Peebles
Scottish National Jaz Orchestra - Queen's Hall (2nd time this year)
Sharleen Spiteri - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
The Wilders - Eastgate, Peebles
Pokey LaFarge - Eastgate, Peeles
Pete Molinari - Sneaky Petes
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham - Queen's Hall
Heidi Talbot - Eastgate, Peebles
OMD - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
I have also continued with my flirtations with Sado-Masochism - yes, I renewed my season ticket for Edinburgh Rugby. This means that I get to sit (usually on a wet Friday night) in the cavern that is Murrayfield watching my team getting beat (occasionally winning it must be said) by rugby teams that seem to bring a noisier and sometimes larger travelling support than we can attract.
I have also continued with my other interest of reading - unfortunately I seem to be buying books quicker at the moment than I can read them.
Tomorrow night, I am off to see Raul Malo at the Queen's Hall and then off to see Scotland beat the All Blacks at Murrayfield on Saturday (it's got to happen at some point) - will update the blog about these sometime over the weekend (I promise).
I am going to restart this blog - although I have given it a new title, and will try to tidy up the layout etc over the next few weeks.
Since my last post sometime last year, I have continued going to concerts and have seen the following over the last year :-
2009
Simple Minds (although I really only went to see the support band - OMD!!) - SECC
Depeche Mode - SECC
Phil Cunningham's Christmas - Queen's Hall
2010
Raul Malo - Classic Grand, Glasgow
The Wiyos - Eastgate, Peebles
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra - Queen's Hall
Dan Berglund's Tonbruket - Queen's Hall
The Coal Porters - Eastgate, Peebles
The Woody Pines - Eastgate, Peebles
Scottish National Jaz Orchestra - Queen's Hall (2nd time this year)
Sharleen Spiteri - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
The Wilders - Eastgate, Peebles
Pokey LaFarge - Eastgate, Peeles
Pete Molinari - Sneaky Petes
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham - Queen's Hall
Heidi Talbot - Eastgate, Peebles
OMD - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
I have also continued with my flirtations with Sado-Masochism - yes, I renewed my season ticket for Edinburgh Rugby. This means that I get to sit (usually on a wet Friday night) in the cavern that is Murrayfield watching my team getting beat (occasionally winning it must be said) by rugby teams that seem to bring a noisier and sometimes larger travelling support than we can attract.
I have also continued with my other interest of reading - unfortunately I seem to be buying books quicker at the moment than I can read them.
Tomorrow night, I am off to see Raul Malo at the Queen's Hall and then off to see Scotland beat the All Blacks at Murrayfield on Saturday (it's got to happen at some point) - will update the blog about these sometime over the weekend (I promise).
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Let's Ballad
Last night I saw Richard Hawley at the Queen's Hall - a brilliant concert by one of my favourite musicians.
The night started well as we were walking past the Queen's Hall to go to the Dragon Way Chinese Restaurant for a meal, when I noticed that the centre doors to the Queen's Hall were open, and we could see Richard and the band carrying out their rehersal/soundcheck.
After a good meal in the Dragon Way, we headed back to the venue and were just about to enter when the fire alarms went off - we were prevented from entering whilst the building was evacuated - turned out that the dry ice/smoke stuff had set off the alarm - we waited patiently for the fire brigade to turn up and reset the alarms.
Got into the venue and headed for the bar - bought a couple of drinks then headed over to the merchandise stand, where I parted with my hard earned cash (no laughing there) to buy a T shirt. a limited edition print and a bookmark.
The support band were the Smoke Fairies - two young English girls who play a sort of folk/alt country/delta blues style music - they were joined for this concert by a guy playing the drums and another guy playing violin. Musically they were very good, but the girls seemed a bit nervous when talking to the audience. Once they finished their set, I popped out and bought a box set of three cd singles from them.
Richard Hawley and his band came on stage at 9pm. This tour was to promote his latest album "Trueloves Gutter", and Richard had previously announced that he would be performing the tracks from this new album with maybe a few old songs thrown in. Despite a few problems with the sound, and the monitors failing this was a great concert - the new songs sounded great live (mention must be made regarding David Coulter who amongst other things played the musical saw - I would not have believed that it was possible to get such noises out of a saw if I hadn't seen it being played in front of me), and the old songs were brilliant - especially the new version of Run For Me.
When Richard came out for the encore, he played a brilliant solo version of Troublesome Waters, before being joined on stage by the rest of the band.
All in all this was a great concert and hopefully it won't be too long before Richard Hawley returns to Edinburgh.
The night started well as we were walking past the Queen's Hall to go to the Dragon Way Chinese Restaurant for a meal, when I noticed that the centre doors to the Queen's Hall were open, and we could see Richard and the band carrying out their rehersal/soundcheck.
After a good meal in the Dragon Way, we headed back to the venue and were just about to enter when the fire alarms went off - we were prevented from entering whilst the building was evacuated - turned out that the dry ice/smoke stuff had set off the alarm - we waited patiently for the fire brigade to turn up and reset the alarms.
Got into the venue and headed for the bar - bought a couple of drinks then headed over to the merchandise stand, where I parted with my hard earned cash (no laughing there) to buy a T shirt. a limited edition print and a bookmark.
The support band were the Smoke Fairies - two young English girls who play a sort of folk/alt country/delta blues style music - they were joined for this concert by a guy playing the drums and another guy playing violin. Musically they were very good, but the girls seemed a bit nervous when talking to the audience. Once they finished their set, I popped out and bought a box set of three cd singles from them.
Richard Hawley and his band came on stage at 9pm. This tour was to promote his latest album "Trueloves Gutter", and Richard had previously announced that he would be performing the tracks from this new album with maybe a few old songs thrown in. Despite a few problems with the sound, and the monitors failing this was a great concert - the new songs sounded great live (mention must be made regarding David Coulter who amongst other things played the musical saw - I would not have believed that it was possible to get such noises out of a saw if I hadn't seen it being played in front of me), and the old songs were brilliant - especially the new version of Run For Me.
When Richard came out for the encore, he played a brilliant solo version of Troublesome Waters, before being joined on stage by the rest of the band.
All in all this was a great concert and hopefully it won't be too long before Richard Hawley returns to Edinburgh.
Catching Up No 5 - Phil and Aly
Saw Phil Cunnigham and Aly Bain at the Queen's Hall (looks as if I've got a season ticket for this venue).
The usual tunes from the duo, but with some new jokes from Phil.
Great concert as usual
The usual tunes from the duo, but with some new jokes from Phil.
Great concert as usual
Catching Up No 4 - Edinburgh Fringe
Managed to catch two more shows in the Fringe before it finished.
The first one was Camille O'Sullivan's latest show - while I enjoyed it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I have the previous times that I have seen her. Not sure why - it may have been the choice of the songs in this show, but more likely it was due to the size of the venue. Previously I have seen Camille perform at the Spiegletent, but this performance was in the Chuch of Scotland Assembly Hall - it is quite a large venue, and seemed to lack the intimacy that the Spiegletent has. Bought the latest cd and dvd after the show.
The second show was Dead Men Tell a Thousand Tales by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen. This was a brilliant show - a group of Australians who pretend that they are cabaret artists from the Balkan states who perform songs about death, sex and love (sometimes all in the one song). The frontman (Mikelangelo - the Bull of the Baalkans, the Nightingale of the Adriatic) has a great stage presence. Bought two cd's at the gig.
The first one was Camille O'Sullivan's latest show - while I enjoyed it, I didn't enjoy it as much as I have the previous times that I have seen her. Not sure why - it may have been the choice of the songs in this show, but more likely it was due to the size of the venue. Previously I have seen Camille perform at the Spiegletent, but this performance was in the Chuch of Scotland Assembly Hall - it is quite a large venue, and seemed to lack the intimacy that the Spiegletent has. Bought the latest cd and dvd after the show.
The second show was Dead Men Tell a Thousand Tales by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen. This was a brilliant show - a group of Australians who pretend that they are cabaret artists from the Balkan states who perform songs about death, sex and love (sometimes all in the one song). The frontman (Mikelangelo - the Bull of the Baalkans, the Nightingale of the Adriatic) has a great stage presence. Bought two cd's at the gig.
Catching Up No 3 - Eric Bogle
On my return from Majorca, I saw Eric Bogle at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. For those who do not know who Eric Bogle is, he is a singer/song writer who comes from Peebles, but who moved to Australia in 1969. Eric is probably best known for the songs "No Man's Land" (also known as The Green Fields of France) and "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda".
This concert was part of a Farewell Tour by Eric and his touring partner John Munro (another Scot who emigrated to Australia) - Eric and John have decided that long distance touring is a young mans game, and that they are no longer going to do these tours - they will still produce music and carry out local tours but no more International tours.
As would be expected, the Queen's Hall was extremely busy (probably a sell out) for this concert. I had front row tickets so had a great view and managed to take a couple of photo's of Eric and John. The concert was the usual high standard of musicianship from the performers, with the usual mix of anti-war, social commentary and comedy that you expect from Eric Bogle's work.
As usual a great night from Eric Bogle and John Munro, just tinged with a hint of sadness that it is unlikely that I will see them performing alive again.
This concert was part of a Farewell Tour by Eric and his touring partner John Munro (another Scot who emigrated to Australia) - Eric and John have decided that long distance touring is a young mans game, and that they are no longer going to do these tours - they will still produce music and carry out local tours but no more International tours.
As would be expected, the Queen's Hall was extremely busy (probably a sell out) for this concert. I had front row tickets so had a great view and managed to take a couple of photo's of Eric and John. The concert was the usual high standard of musicianship from the performers, with the usual mix of anti-war, social commentary and comedy that you expect from Eric Bogle's work.
As usual a great night from Eric Bogle and John Munro, just tinged with a hint of sadness that it is unlikely that I will see them performing alive again.
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