Hatifnats Live at Warsaw Basen 29-09-13

Went out to see The Raveonettes last night thinking that I was just going to see the headline act with possibly a nondescript support band, but how wrong I was. 

First, I never expected there to be three Polish support bands on before The Raveonettes.  The first two were okay but ended up playing to an almost empty audience, as most of the crowd had either not arrived yet or were just relaxing in the bar area.

However, when the third Polish band, Hatifnats, were about to start, the bar area suddenly emptied, and things started to seriously liven up.  It only took a couple of tracks to see that this was a band with a 'tight as hell' rhythm section and a seriously talented guitarist who also handled the vocals.  Yes, the whole mood and atmosphere of the night changed here, as the band's subtle kind of Gothic sound reminded me a bit of The Bolshoi (a massively underrated band from the late 1980s).  Must also say that I also interpreted the band's Gothic-type sound as a lighter version of The Chameleons.  But what two great bands to be compared to:  The Bolshoi and The Chameleons.

After Hatifnats, The Raveonettes just seemed a swirl of strobe lights and fuzz mixed in with some good melodies, although they were, admittedly, idolised by the crowd (I'm too old to idolise anybody these days).  Thus, for me, Hatifnats were the surprising band of the night, but what a nice surprise.

Moreover, throughout today, I've been having a good Youtube surf of Hatifnats tunes, and the subtle kind of gothic sound they have mixed in with the vocalist's high-pitched vocals makes them well worth a listen.  Currently, really enjoying listening to tunes like 'Before It's Too Late'; 'Mathematix'; and 'Horses from Shelville':

Yeah, I'm sure you'll agree that from these tracks, the band definitely has something, namely a beautiful sound.  Also really love the tune 'Iris':

A Small Catholic Shrine in Warsaw

While out walking in Wolska, Warsaw not yesterday but the previous Saturday, I came across this incredible old small Catholic shrine stuck on a corner of the modern metallic Expo (some kind of exhibition) building below:

Despite the fact that the small Catholic shrine was hidden round a corner, for me, it just seemed to be a symbol of an old treasured identity refusing to disappear in the midst of increasing waves of socio-cultural change.

My Favourite Business English Coursebook: Business Benchmark Advanced

If you ask most EFL teachers about what their favourite Business English coursebooks are there, nine times out of ten they will mention the 'Market Leader' series which certainly is a useful teaching-learning resource.

However, I would have to say that 'Business Benchmark Advanced' by Guy Brook-Hart is the most useful Business English coursebook that I've ever encountered.  First, I really like the fact that the book is self-contained with all the answers being readily available at the back of the book.  Second, there are 24 short but well-designed chapters in the book, perhaps offering a wider topic variety than the traditional 10-12 topic coursebooks.  Third, what I like most is the eclectic design of the individual chapters themselves which include concise sections on gambits for speaking; topic collocations; not excessively long reading tasks from which additional collocations can be extracted; and business writing models (e.g, reports) that are not excessively long.

Which is my favourite chapter from the book?  Well, that's probably 'Unit 4:  Chairing Meetings', as I've seen many materials on participating in meetings, but not that many on chairing them, and this unit gives a short but concise list of gambits for chairing meetings which can be easily added to with a bit of thought from the teacher.

So there you have it, just a quick concise appreciation of my favourite Business English coursebook:  'Business Benchmark Advanced'.

Warsaw Solidarity Building: The Workers Mural

On my walk through the Wolska district of Warsaw last Saturday, I was fascinated by this 'Workers Mural' which was in front of what looked like the main Solidarity Office in Warsaw.  My first impression was one of disbelief as more than of the faces in the 'Mural' seem to look more like Pakistanis rather than Poles.  Having said this, it might just be my eyes.

Warsaw: Postmodern(-Type) Roadside Art in Wolska

After visiting the Old Gas Works in the lower Wolska area of Warsaw on Saturday afternoon, I veered right and a little higher into Wolska, and initially came into contact with about 10-12 or so pieces of postmodern(-type) roadside art. 

Amongst the first few pieces that I saw was the cube-type design above which quite nicely captures the photographer's shadow.  These pieces of art were roughly 50 metres or so between each other running upwards, then they suddenly stopped.  However, after veering further right to opposite the Eastern Orthodox cemetery, it came as a pleasant surprise to receconnect with this art trail, as there were another 10-12 pieces there, including the two below:

Now, these are not the greatest pieces of art that I'll ever see or run into, true, but they just made what would've been a short colourless walk that much more interesting. 

My Two Favourite EFL Coursebooks: Innovations Upper-Intermediate and Advanced

Why are 'Innovations Upper-Intermediate' by Hugh Dellar and Darryl Hocking (pictured above) and 'Innovations Advanced' by Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley (pictured below) my two favourite EFL coursebooks? 

Well, quite simply, both books seem to balance the teaching of gambits (natural speaking expressions); phrasal verbs; and idioms well against more traditional teaching items like grammar; vocabulary; and pronunciation.  Due to this, students notice that a genuine attempt is being made for them to learn/acquire a more natural kind of English rather than just some formal abstraction.

Moreover, 'Innovations Advanced' has the added attraction of containing some interesting topics that usually don't make it past politically 'correct' censorship.  Indeed, this coursebook contains chapters on War; Politics; and, wait for it, even Belief/Religion.  Thus, students often pick up on this as well, recognising that they're not being simply fobbed off with some moronic politically 'correct' dogma or diatribe. 

The Boxer Rebellion at Warsaw Hydrozagadka 22nd September 2013

Must say that I had a really pleasant evening watching The Boxer Rebellion at the Hydrozagadka in the Praga district of Warsaw last night.  I've only recently discovered The Boxer Rebellion, but very much like the kind of profound subtlety that they do. 

Last night, I was glad to see that the band did my two favourite tunes of theirs:  'Semi-Automatic', the second tune in, and not long afterwards, 'We Have This Place Surrounded'.  However, the song that they seemed to absolutely nail on the night was 'Diamonds'  (below from the Jay Leno Show in the US):

Was also really impressed with the Hydrozagadka itself, as you can get nicely chilled bottles of both Perła and Lomża (two of Poland's better beers) there.  Also, with the stage being set in a kind of small, almost triangular corner, it creates a kind of tight intimacy between band and audience, which was smilingly noted by The Boxer Rebellion vocalist, Nathan Nicholson, last night.

Also liked the decor and general atmosphere of the Hydrozagadka:

With the Hydrozagadka being next to the Skład Butelka, where I saw the Australian band Dandelion Wine a few weeks ago, it's interesting to see that these intimate concert places were once some kind of industrial units.