Journey, Whitesnake, and Thunder Live at Manchester Arena 23-05-13

Well, it's been over a week since this gig, so I've had plenty of time to reflect on an interesting evening.  By interesting, I don't mean paying four pound for a can of bitter inside Manchester Arena.

First up, Thunder were much better than I'd expected.  I'd seen them many moons ago at Castle Donington, but couldn't really remember much about them.  Thus, it was a pleasant surprise that I recognised and liked several of their tracks such as 'Dirty Love'; 'Backstreet Symphony'; and 'Love Walked In':

Was really impressed with vocalist Danny Bowes' powerful voice and good warm rapport with the crowd.

Next up, Whitesnake were the real surprise of the night.  What do I mean by this?  Well, I was blessed with having seen the early bluesy Whitesnake at Castle Donington in 1981 and Manchester Apollo on New Year's Day (or therebabouts) in 1983, but hadn't thought that much of them when seeing David Coverdale and the young American lads on stage at Warsaw Stodoła about 5-6 years ago. 

However, last week at Manchester Arena, Coverdale and the rest of the band (including the legendary Tommy Aldridge) were well and truly inspired going through several of the old classics like 'Ready and Willing'; 'Don't Break My Heart Again' (my favourite Whitesnake tune); 'Here I Go Again'; and 'Fool For Your Loving' (when Bernie Marsden was brought on stage for the 35th Whitesnake anniversary festivities).  Of course, they also did later stuff like 'Is This Love' and 'Still of the Night'.  However, the real standout tune of the night was the far more recent 'Forevermore', as it was simply sublime, I loved it:

Besides the above, David Coverdale was his usual loveable self, mixing up liberal use of the F-word with some wonderful prosaic statements in his best received pronunciation (e.g. 'Is that vampire's blood in your glass?').  Yeah, Coverdale is still a wonderful character.

Last band up, Journey, these were the band I'd mainly come to see, as I'd always liked them over the years, but had somehow never found myself in a position to see them.  However, from the outset, it seemed that Arnel Pineda may've been struggling to reach the high pitch needed for faster numbers like 'Separate Ways' which they came on with:

I like Arnel as, for me, he can reach let's say 90% of Steve Perry's high pitch notes, but it's been suggested that too much touring is putting a real strain on his voice, which I think may well be the case judging from the above.  Still, if Arnel has been struggling a bit with his voice, full credit to him and the band for going through with the Manchester show and tour, which allowed me to see Journey for the first time (this contrasts well with ZZ Top who've just cancelled playing at the Ursynalia Student Festival in Warsaw, and, as a result, they've well and truly pissed lots of people off in Warsaw, but that's another story).

Despite the above, Arnel sang the classic ballads 'Open Arms' and 'Faithfully' perfectly, and everybody was going to love 'Don't Stop Believin' no matter how it was sung:

What is it about this song?  Well, it just seems to strike a profound emotional chord with everybody, encouraging people to go out and live life to the full. 

As always, thanks a million to the good people who put their videos on Youtube, allowing all of us to remember and value our great concert experiences.

Corpus Christi in Warsaw, Poland

Today it's the Catholic Feast of Corpus Christi, and, during the late afternoon, I ran into the Corpus Christi procession in Warsaw below:

What these pictures don't show is that there were about 2,000 parishoners following the canopy-covered Blessed Sacrament.  Yeah, I love this kind of procession, as it would give the politically-'correct' Nazis, who inflict their abject misery on the  Western world, kittens.

Rush Live at Manchester Arena 22-05-13

Flew over from Warsaw, Poland, to see Rush at Manchester Arena in Britain last week.

This was always going to be the big gig of the year for me.  First saw Rush at Manchester Apollo back in 1980 on the 'Permanent Waves' tour, when lady luck was shining on me and I got a ticket on one of the back rows for the second night.  Moreover, if I had to decide on a favourite band, it would have to be Rush, as they've offered some real profound continuity over the years. 

This was my 11th Rush concert over 34 years or so, and the band were as good as ever with their set having a tripartite structure.  First, the band did a lot of tunes from the 1980s, coming on with 'Subdivisions' followed by 'The Big Money' (well done to everybody who recorded videos at the show and put them on Youtube for others to remember the gig):

In the first half of the show, Rush proceeded through 'Analogue Kid'; 'Red Sector A'; 'Territories'; 'Grand Designs'; 'Force Ten'; 'The Pass' etc.  However, my favourite part of the gig was after the break when the band did the new stuff off 'Clockwork Angels' with the strings section behind them, as it had a real hard crunchy sound to it all. 

Having said this, I especially liked the highly melodic 'We Wish Them Well', and the (almost) elegaic 'The Garden'.

 

Also really enjoyed 'Halo Effect' when Alex Lifeson was bathed in dried ice type stuff:

Moreover, as the show progressed, the band did 'Dreamline' and 'A Far Cry', two of my favourite Rush tracks, as they headed towards the inevitable finale of 'Tom Sawyer'; 'The Spirit of Radio', and a few parts of '2112':

Yes, as always, this was a beautifully constructed Rush set.  Of course, I love 'Xanadu'; 'Closer To The Heart'; 'La Villa Strangiato'; 'The Trees' etc., but over the years, I've also come to love 'Dreamline'; 'Territories'; 'The Big Money' etc., so whatever you're going to get from Rush, you know that it'll be fantastic!!!

Let's hope we can all get to see Rush again some time!!!

Mudhoney Live at Warsaw Stodoła 28-05-13

First came across Mudhoney live at Reading Festival in 1995 and quite enjoyed them back then.  A couple of years later, while living in the foothills of the Tatra Mountains in Nowy Sącz in southern Poland, I bought a Mudhoney cassette (it's still 'lost' in one of my cassette boxes, but can't recall the title), and, for years, this was the sum of my experience with Mudhoney.

However, a few months ago, I saw that Mudhoney were going to play Warsaw Stodoła, and decided it was time to get reacquainted with the band.  I managed to do this quickly through watching the 'Live at the KOKO' video a few times which made sure of my attendance at the Stodoła tonight:

Last week, I was in Manchester, with about 10,000 others to watch Rush at the Arena (as usual, Rush were fantastic), and Journey plus Whitesnake at the same place the following evening.  Thus, it was great to be back at my small but beloved Stodoła in Warsaw, where it was easy to get near the front of the stage:

Which track seemed to stand out most on the night?  Well, for me, that would have to be 'Touch Me I'm Sick', not that I know many Mudhoney tracks by name, anyway (the video below is from Boston earlier this month where a good soul recorded it):

Also loved 'Sweet Young Thing' (well done to whoever filmed this from the Warsaw gig):

Overall, I enjoyed Mudhoney a lot more than I expected this evening, as I thought that I might have a bit of a 'gig hangover' from the Rush and Journey/Whitesnake concerts in Manchester last week.  Don't usually like seeing gigs in such quick succession, but needs must.

Just found out that ZZ Top have pulled out of Warsaw Ursynalia.  What a load of CRAP!!!  Hope I get my money back for the ticket!!!

A Manchester Tram Begging To Be Cleaned

This is just a bit of fun (but also a bit sad) as the Manchester tram above, passing through Victoria Station,  is filthy and begging to be cleaned.

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll see that in the bottom left hand corner, some good wit has tunneled his fingers through all the dirt and grime to beg on the tram's behalf.

Bury Canoeists on the Burrs River Irwell Stretch

Just back from a week in my hometown, Bury (Lancashire), where I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon walking up to Ramsbottom through the Burrs river valley.  Along the way, I enjoyed getting some pictures of a trio of canoeists going down the river:

Yeah, you wouldn't catch me trying to do this, and I fully take my hat off to the lads who were doing this on a surprisingly sunny Spring afternoon in Bury.

Below, there is a more placid picture of a couple of canoeists on the Irwell:

Still, it looks as if these two are soon going to encounter some swirl, doesn't it?

My Favourite Picture in the Vatican

While visiting Rome recently, this was my favourite picture in the Vatican.  Despite the tour of the Vatican being incredibly crowded, I was impressed by the fact that excluding the Sistine Chapel, people seemed to be allowed to take pictures of whatever they wanted.  This offered a surprising contrast with the Franciscan friars at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi who were lurking round almost every corner guarding against people taking pictures.

So why is the picture above (and below) my favourite one in the Vatican?

Well, I just love the way it juxtaposes the heavenly realm above the earthly realm in such a beautiful medieval format.  It's borne of the same kind of beauty that gets me to the Old Latin Mass on Sunday, it represents some kind of profound high culture that modern-day Western Europe, with its crass political 'correctness', now sadly lacks.

The Chromatics Live at Warsaw Basen 17th May 2013

What a cracking gig this was, much better than I'd expected, to be honest. 

Why better than I'd expected?

Well, a few weeks ago, I'd never really heard of The Chromatics, but saw that they were playing the Basen in Warsaw, and checked them out on Youtube. 

Thus, on the strength of the band doing decent cover versions of Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' and Neil Young's 'My My, Hey Hey' ('Into The Black') and me quickly liking some of their own stuff such as 'I Want Your Love' and 'In The City', I thankfully ended up seeing The Chromatics in Warsaw last night:

What was my favourite track of the night.  Well, that would have to be the quite Gothic-sounding 'Back from the Grave'.  The video below is of the band doing 'Back from the Grave' in London in 2012 (thanks to whoever put this on Youtube):

Also really liked it when female vocalist, Ruth Radelet, did the timeless classic 'Blue Moon' on her own as the first encore:

Also really happy that a good person has already put a video of the band doing 'Lady' at Warsaw last night on Youtube, giving us all something to remember the concert with:

Yes, this was a really enjoyable concert, reminding me a touch of the Beach House gig at Warsaw Fabryka Trzciny last year. 

How would I generally describe The Chromatics?  Well, for me, they're a kind of mixture of Psychedelia; hypnotic New Order type sound; and almost Prog-type Dream/Synth Pop.  Yeah, it's really difficult to pigeonhole the band, as they seem to draw on multiple genres for producing their own beautiful sound.

I'm also starting to like Warsaw Basen as it seems to have a nice, dare I say it 'cool' atmosphere.  The picture below is a shot looking down at the concert area after the gig last night:

St. Clare's Basilica, Assisi

At the opposite end of Assisi from St. Francis' Basilica lies St. Clare's Basilica.  Below, you can see a Franciscan friar with a group of pilgrims outside St. Clare's:

Unlike St. Francis' Basilica, St. Clare's didn't seem anything special inside, but outside, the wing-like structures on the side of the Basilica were very striking:

Moreover, St. Clare's was well positioned to get some good panoramic shots of Assisi:

Was really happy to have a zoom here.  Not sure if I'll ever get back to Assisi, but at least I'll always have my pictures to remember the place.  It really was a wonderful tranquil place where time kind of stands still. 

Rome: The French Church on the Hill

When in Rome for the May holiday recently, I fully expected to be impressed by such places as the Coliseum below:

However, it was equally great to come across some beautiful places that I'd never heard of.  One such place was the 'French Church on the Hill' which became spectacularly visible in the distance:

It wasn't bad close up either:

From here, I could get a nice shot of the colourful scene below:

And, of course, down in the Square below, there was the characteristic Italian fountain, offering sprinkled relief to tourists on a hot day:

Yeah, Rome is everything that it's cracked up to be, and even more  . . .

My Favourite Italian Beer

Yes, Moretti beer in Italy tastes like a beer from heaven, reminding me of both Perła and Lomża in Poland, as it's a refreshing lager with a distinct bitter taste (both the Czechs and Slovakians also excel at producing this kind of beer).  Anyway, it goes without saying that the wonderful 'pint' above went down a treat on a balmy dark evening in the small tourist town in the picture below:

If I remember correctly, this little town was somewhere between Florence and Rome, and the wonderful beer above only cost 2 Euros.

Additionally, in the garden of the hotel I was staying in, I found a great little statue of Padre Pio:

For me, a statue of Padre Pio occuping the ground usually reserved for a garden gnome shows just how intrinsic Catholicism still is to Italian culture.

The Jewish Ghetto Memorial in Warsaw

For months, I'd been walking past a large fenced off area where a large glass building was being constructed, not having a clue what it was, but just the other day, I finally found out that it was a giant building accompanying the Jewish Ghetto Memorial below:

Of the Memorial itself, I was first drawn to the Jewish Passover Chanukiah symbol below.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, I saw that there was a 'stone offering' accompanying the picture of a young person in front of the chanukiah:

The young person must've been a victim of the Nazis, as the date 1925-1943 lay in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture.  Of course, like anybody else, I found this moving.

A few months before this, I'd seen this kind of  'stone offering' on a grave in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, and some months before this, I'd seen the same thing at a prehistoric, Stonehenge-type site in County Cork, Ireland.  Thus, the offering of small stones to the dead may've been a central religious ritual of early man, still kept alive by modern-day Jews and Pagans. 

Besides the above, I was drawn towards the ornate design of the glass on the huge building accompanying the Jewish Ghetto Memorial:

Think that I'll have to visit the Jewish Ghetto Memorial again to get a fuller picture of the place.

The Gondola Experience in Venice

Got a good taste of the gondola experience in Venice.  The picture below shows a Polish family enjoying their gondola experience:

The gondola was regularly rocking about, and getting this shot was more difficult than it looks.  The gondolier at the back was a bit of a star, singing 'Don't worry  . . .  be happy' most of the time.

During the gondola ride, we passed the back doors of houses and a statue dedicated to Thomas Mann ('Death in Venice' being the only Mann I've ever read), but I wasn't sharp enough to catch the latter. 

The above shot is of the main waterway in Venice city centre, and I got this shot from the bridge in the picture below:

Yeah, Venice was far more picturesque than I'd expected, I absolutely loved the place. 

At the time, it was pouring it down back in Warsaw, but, in Venice, it was perfectly sunny, about 27 degrees celsius, with a nice light breeze.  What more do you want at the back end of April?