Here I'm back with the magical medieval town and UNESCO site of Kotor in Montenegro. This shot is of Kotor Catholic Cathedral with the mountains in the background. Montenegro is a mainly Orthodox country where many Catholic churches are said to have been (possibly forcibly) turned into Orthodox ones in the past.
Really liked this wooden engraving of a pre-Vatican II type Pope on the door of Kotor Catholic Cathedral:
I'm only a layman, but I guess that some real profound craftsmanship must've gone into carving this small Pope figure.
The above, 'Empires Never Last', is one of my two favourite Galahad tracks, and is a kind of signature tune for this massively talented but underrated band. A quick bio of Galahad reads that the band were kind of borne out of the back end of the '2nd Wave of British Prpg' (Marillion; IQ; Twelfth Night; Pallas; Pendragon etc.) in the mid-1980s, but only started properly recording in the early 1990s on their own indepemdent record label (and occasionally in conjunction with a Polish label), and, since then, they've largely remained beyond most (even discerning) listeners' radars.
Indeed, up until a few months ago, I was kind of only vaguely aware of Galahad as being an underground British prog band, but couldn't have named you one of their songs, which is more the pity. However, I've tried to put this right by giving the band an extended listening over the last few months, which brings me to the second of my favourite tracks by the band, 'Richelieu's Prayer':
Love the way how the beautiful gentle melody of the first few minutes of this track gives way to archetypal (but much valued) Prog self-indulgence.
Well, the two tracks above are currently my favourite Galahad tunes, but which other songs do I really like? Well, I now find myself repeatedly playing both the title track and 'Seize the Day' from the 2112 'Battle Scars' album:
So there you have it: here's where I'm at in the early stages of properly discovering and appreciating a great but massively hidden/underrated British Prog Rock band.
Can't wait to see Galahad at Warsaw Klub Progresja on October 25th. Seen a lot of good Prog-type bands at Warsaw Klub Progresja over the last couple of years: The Flower Kings; Threshhold; Enochian Theory; Riverside; Pain of Salvation etc.
While in Dubrovnik Old Town itself, I didn't really feel that much as it seemed to amount to pretty much what I'd expected. However, through looking back on my pictures, especially the panoramic scenes taken from the city walls, I was forced to acknowledge that the place had a certain charm with its red-tiled roofs intermingling with several taller church buildings and an interesting-looking island being fully visible not far out to sea.
As you pass through the small gate and archway into the magical medieval coastal town of Kotor in Montenegro, you encounter this incredible religious stone carving on the wall.
Through originating from Britain, a politically 'correct' restrictive state where Christian expression and symbols have become inreasingly censored over the past 15-20 years, it was a massive joy to see such open aesthetic religious expression at the heart of daily life. Yes, this was a place where I could feel fully free to appreciate the aesthetics of the religious art on offer.
Kotor is one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic, fully deserving of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kotor old town was built in the second half of the 12th century and still to this day very much retains a kind of noble medieval atmosphere.
As soon as the coach dipped down from the mountains, settled at the quayside, and I set my eyes on the city walls with the dark mountains in the background, I knew that the old medieval city of Kotor would be a magical place. And that's how Kotor turned out to be with its rich labyrinthe of pleasant outdoor cafes; famous clock tower; and charming Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Had this Serbian beer while staying at a seaside resort in Montenegro recently. Hope it really is Serbian beer as I only have a waiter's word to go on this, although the latter should know, shouldn't he? However, Serbian or not, the beer in question was more than decent, a lager with just the faintest of bitter tastes. A lager with any kind of bitter taste, does, of course, always get my vote.
This is Dubrovnik (Old Town) Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. I was enchanted by this building as soon as I saw it, sensing some mystery surrounding the place. Shortly afterwards, I overheard a tour guide explaining in English that Richard the Lionheart is said to have been shipwrecked in Dubrovnik on his way back from the Crusades, and that the Cathedral was built to commemorate this event. Of course, the tour guide stressed that this was only a legend or myth, but still the sense of enchantment remained.
Loved this short ferry crossing in Montenegro. It was not long after crossing the Croatia-Montenegro border. A few hours earlier, we'd experienced a still pure heat of 42 degrees celsius in Dubrovnik, so the soft watery breeze of the ferry crossing offered a welcome therapy and relief. This was just one of several lakes surrounded by 'black mountains' that we encountered in Montenegro.
Finally got round to seeing 'The Wall' live at the Warsaw Football Stadium on Tuesday. Just viewed it as a personal obligation to get to see Roger Waters' vision of being haunted by the death of his father; schoolday altercations with draconian authority; and the pain of neo-solipsism and personal alienation/isolation done live.
After an uncomfortably packed tram ride down to the Stadium from Warsaw city centre, and buying a couple of horribly watered down (maybe even non-alcoholic) pints of Carlsberg (one of the pitfalls of Stadium shows, I'm afraid), around 8.20 it was showtime as the lights dimmed and John Lennon's 'Imagine' gave way to the opening 'Spartacus' scene and 'In The Flesh?':
Absolutely loved the pulsating rhythm of the first half of the set, especially 'Young Lust' ('Dirty Woman'):
Of course, well done to everybody for putting their videos of the Roger Waters Warsaw gig on the net so quickly.
Must say that I (predictably) enjoyed the first half of 'The Wall' set more than the second half, as after 'Bring The Boys Back Home' and 'Comfortably Numb', the album starts to lose a little bit of its sublimity for me, as it approaches its kind of absurdist crescendo. Still, the early part of the second set still has 'Comfortably Numb' (for me, one of the greatest songs ever made) and the moving wartime resonance of 'Bring The Boys Back Home':
So, there you have it, it was great finally getting round to seeing Roger Waters doing 'The Wall'. The experience was also extra special as one of my best mates, Dave Dealy, came over from his Irish rural retreat to watch the Warsaw show. Below, Dave is sampling the dreaded (not far from urine-tasting) Carlsberg, but we both agreed that this kind of awful beer added something to the spirit and atmosphere of the show:
Two days before this small gig, I'd neither heard of Australian (male-female) duo Dandelion Wine nor the small but interestingly decorated Skład Butelek club over the river in the 'Bohemian-type' Praga district of Warsaw. However, I've got to say that I really enjoyed both Dandelion Wine, who gave a very uplifting 90-100 minute set despite having driven from Berlin for most of the day, and the 'avant-garde' type decor of the Skład Butelek club.
So how did I come to discover Dandelion Wine a couple of days before this small Warsaw gig? Well, I'd just got back off a weeklong holiday in the Balkans, and a good friend e-mailed telling me about the Dandelion Wine gig, and that the band were well worth checking out on Youtube. So the latter I duly did, and immediately connected with the band's kind of hybrid Gothic-Folk-Electronic-Rock sound, as in 'Thin Air':
Before the gig I got to quickly speak with the duo (Naomi Henderson and Nicholas Albanis) who after asking me where I was from, told me about seeing My Bloody Valentine at Manchester Apollo where I'd seen my first gig, UFO on the 'No Place To Run' tour, about 34 years ago. How time flies with all types of beautiful music, as diverse and as UFO and Dandelion Wine.
Finally, must stress that Nicholas and Naomi are incredibly multi-talented musicians, Naomi fluctuating between flute, recorder, percussion, keyboards, and vocals, while Nicholas switched between dulcimers, guitars, and several other things that I'm not capable of naming.
Another highlight of my recent Balkans trip was seeing the 'Old Bridge' over the Nereteva River in Mostar. The bridge was originally built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, but had to be reconstructed after being destroyed during the recent Balkans conflict. It was also interesting to read that Mostar is named after the old bridge-keepers who used to guard the 'Old Bridge' ('Stari Most'). The picture below captures something of the mood of tourists walking over the 'Old Bridge':
One of the highlights of my recent Balkans trip was a short hike round the Plitvice Lakes in central Croatia, near the border with Bosnia. A quick raincheck with Wikipedia tells me that this magical land of waterfalls; turquoise-coloured lagoons; and friendly fish was formally established in 1949 and became an official UNESCO site in 1979. Yes, I would say that this place is well worth a visit:
Just back from a short tour of Croatia; Bosnia; and Montenegro, and the beer above, which I supped after a hot and thirsty trek round the Plitvicka National Park in Croatia went down a real treat. It was a lager with a bitter taste, my favourite kind of beer. Thus, for me, it was head and shoulders above any of the other beers I tried on my recent little tour of the Balkans.
I came across this picture on a boarding outside the National Football Stadium in Warsaw on Saturday. For me, the picture in itself says it all about the human ability to triumph in adversity.
Had a really good time crossing the river and just walking around the National Football Stadium in Warsaw yesterday. The last time I was down here was about three or four years ago, and the stadium was in the process of being built (in reality, they seem to have restored the old dilapidated stadium that stood down here).
Must say that I was impressed with the National Stadium, as it looks powerfully built and it has a kind of majestic presence. I'm really looking forward to coming down here on August 20th to see Roger Waters do 'The Wall' which should be fantastic:
Yesterday, it was all bright sunshine down at the National Football Stadium, and I even managed to get a shot of a hot air balloon in the distance:
Yes, all in all, the Warsaw National Football Stadium is well worth a stroll on a mid-summer afternoon.
