Warsaw: Gdynia Open'er Festival Poster

Would never dream of going to this particular music festival, but I've got to hand it to this poster advertising it, it's incredible.

The Poland Warsaw LDS Mission 25th Anniversary Picnic at Wolska Chapel

Was up in the Wolska district of Warsaw today for the Poland Warsaw LDS Mission 25th anniversary picnic:

Not an LDS (Mormon) myself, but I like this religion a lot, especially its teaching about people being created as heterosexual spirit children by God (and a Goddess Mother) in pre-mortality.  Yes, the LDS get my vote because they staunchly defend the beautiful concept of heterosexuality (e.g. in their eternal marriage doctrine). 

Thankfully, the rain just about held off and everybody was treated to a fantastic lunch.  I really enjoyed my pork, oatmeal and (mainly beetroot) salad.

Below, there's a picture of the main hall at Wolska where, after the picnic, everybody watched a presentation about the 20th/21st century history of the LDS Church in Poland:

And of course, for the budding anthropologist/ethnographer, the picture below is fascinating, as it shows young missionaries playing basketball with a mixture of converts and investigators (pre-baptismal recruits) on the basketball court in front of the Warsaw Wolska chapel:

Of course, LDS conversion process may start with young LDS missionaries (or local LDS members) befriending/networking recruits before gradually or quickly introducing them to their religion.

Toto Live at Warsaw Torwar 24th June 2015

Few shots of Toto from last night's show at WarsawTorwar.  Remember Toto coming onto the music scene in the late 1970's (when I was a schoolboy) with their debut album (especially the hit single 'Hold the Line').

However, somehow or other, it has taken me over 37 years to finally get to see Toto (did see Steve Lukather at the old Warsaw Klub Progresja 2-3 years ago, though).

After the first few opening tracks, which included 'Stranger in Town' and 'I'll Supply the Love', things really started hotting up with 'Hold the Line' and 'Georgy Porgy' (so glad the band did this fantastic Jazz-type tune).
  

But my favourite tune of the night had to be 'Great Expectations' (being a Prog-lover, this was always going to be my favourite tune) from the recent album.

And as we headed towards the end, the band did 'Roseanna', and came back on stage to do 'White Sister' (one of my favourite Toto tunes) and 'Africa' as the encores to end a great two-hour set.

And thus ended my four gigs in a week in Warsaw which wasn't too exhausting as I took it easy on the beer.

Roxette Live at Warsaw Torwar 22nd June 2015

Roxette taking their thoroughly well-earned applause at the end of their concert at Warsaw Torwar.

So glad that I decided to go and see Roxette last night (had never seen them before), and would rank this concert as one of the very best that I've seen over the years.

Really happy that it was a kind of 'Greatest Hits' show, as I knew most of the tracks ('Fading Like a Flower'; 'Listen To Your Heart'; 'It Must've Been Love'; 'Dressed for Success'; 'Joyride'; 'The Look' etc.).

And my favourite tunes of the night?  Well, they'd have to be 'Spending My Time' and 'Crash! Boom! Bang!' (really like the 'outros' to these two cracking tunes). 

Also, being near the back in a crowd of about 4,000-5,000, it was good that the band had a good colourful, constantly changing backdrop on stage:

 
Overall, it was just nice to relax and listen to some great, highly melodic music live.

Yeah, Roxette exemplify in melody, what music should be about.

Rebeka Live at Warsaw Wianki Festival 20th June 2015

A few shots of Polish electronica band, Rebeka, from this year's Warsaw Wianki  Festival here.

Got down there just in time to catch Rebeka, and I'm glad that I did as they were really good, reminding me a bit of the Canadian electronica band, Austra.

So I'm now having a good listen to the Rebeka album 'Hellada', to tunes like 'Stars'; 'Melancholia'; and 'Unconscious' (really good stuff).

And the stage backdrop at Wianki threw up some interesting visual designs that seemed to fit in perfectly with the Rebeka electronica sound:

Will have to catch Rebeka again some time.

The Charlatans Live at Warsaw Wianki Festival 20th June 2015

The Charlatans are a band who, over the years, have generally escaped my radar, but I've now caught them live twice (first time at the Warsaw Impact Festival in 2012), and really enjoyed them both times.

Got this shot of vocalist Tim Burgess from one of the screens at the side of the stage:

The picture below captures how the audience faithfully endured getting drenched during The Charlatans' set, as the heavens started to gradually open just before the band came on stage.  Still, the audience were going nowhere and stayed put, which the band genuinely appreciated:

Of course, most people's favourite tune of the set was going to be 'The Only One I Know', a great tune that's always stayed at the front of my mental jukebox over the years.

 

About the rain, I was going to take a coat, but my wife told me that the weather forecast had predicted no rain, so I got absolutely soaked.  In fact, the last time that I got this badly soaked at a festival was probably watching Blue Oyster Cult at Castle Donington in 1981.

Warsaw Wianki 2015: The Dancing Fountains

A few shots from the 'Dancing Fountains' at the Warsaw Wianki Festival on 20th June here, with Warsaw Old Town being just about visible in the background (above).

 
The 'Dancing Fountains' started operating properly at about 9.30 when it started going dark:

Harold Bloom: 'The American Religion'

Probably more famous for his heroic defence of the Western Literary Canon against the politically-'correct' mob, but my favourite book by Harold Bloom has to be 'The American Religion' (above).

Have recently dipped back into 'The American Religion' for its three chapters on the LDS (Mormon) Church as I've been revising a chapter about the origins and theological uniqueness of the LDS Church in my thesis about LDS conversion process in Warsaw, Poland.

Like the way that Bloom waxes lyrical about Joseph Smith being the creator of a sublime American religious vision of men being able to progress towards godhood themselves.  Also like the way Bloom explores how the LDS lost some of this sublimity through officially ending their practice of polygamy in 1890, and regained it through emphasising their pre-mortality doctrine and baptism of the dead temple rite.

But this book doesn't just offer insights about the LDS, as it assesses how other American religions were borne from a 19th century, American, religious imagination: the Jehovah's Witnesses; Christian Scientists; Seventh-Day Adventists; Pentecostals; and Baptists.

In his assessment of these American religions, Bloom is often witty and ironic but also fair-minded.  However, he does go after the Jehovah's Witnesses a bit, but I don't mind this one bit as I also have a negative impression of this religious group.  While I view the LDS as being in the middle of a fascinating journey from sect (new religious movement) to genuine religion status, I can only view the Jehovah's Witnesses as a sect.  For me, the Jehovah's Witnesses exert too much control and limit the agency of their adherents, while the LDS more subtly balance the religious/socio-cultural conditioning-recruit agency issue.

Blues Pills (and Spiders) Live at Warsaw Klub Progresja 17th June 2015

Great entertainment at the Klub Progresja last night with the Retro Rock of (Swedish bands) Blues Pills and  Spiders.

Decided to go to this after checking both bands out on Youtube, and much liking what I heard (for me, Rock music getting back to the way it should be with an early/mid-70s kind of feel).

About Blues Pills, I really like the pulsating rhythm of drums and bass (especially in 'High Class Woman'):

 Like many people have said, Blues Pills take you back to the times of Led Zep; Janis Joplin; early Fleetwood Mac, to better times in music.

It's stating the obvious to say that Elin Larsson has a great voice, but she's also incredibly energetic on stage:

 Contrasting nicely with the incredible composure of young guitarist, Dorian Sorriaux:

But for me, the thing that impressed me most was the pulsating rhythm section, especially the bass play of Zach Anderson:

Before the band did 'Devil Man' as their final encore, they did a much slower, new accoustic tune which kind of gave a nice taste of things to come.  Really feel that this band will continue to be really interesting if they experiment enough.

And Spiders?  Well, having had a look at them on Youtube, I made sure that I got up to the Klub Progresja in time to catch them.

Like Elin Larsson from Blues Pills, Spiders' front woman, Ann Sofie-Hoyles has a great voice and a massive amount of energy on stage.

Without knowing any of their tunes, I enjoyed Spiders as much as Blues Pills.

And the band got a great reception from an appreciative crowd.

Just feel that the future of Rock music seems to be in really safe hands with the likes of Spiders and Blues Pills (and the German band Kadavar too).

And the Klub Progresja was almost packed out with an air of expectancy, a great response to two up-and-coming kind of bands.

Warsaw: Sue Ryder Charity Main Office

While walking back from Mokotow towards Metro Politechnika last week, I passed what seems to be the Sue Ryder charity main office in Warsaw:

The week before, I'd passed a Sue Ryder clothes shop in another district of the city.  Before this, I can't recall having seen any Sue Ryder charity shop during my 12 years or so in Warsaw.

Hildegard von Bingen: Perfect Music for a Sunday

Having missed (the Old Latin) Mass today, one of the things I was able to do to feel a bit better was to listen to some Hildegard von Bingen (above).

Don't know much about Hildegard von Bingen but have just read that she was a 12th century abbess somewhere in what is now the Rhineland in Germany.

Have also just read that she was a writer; composer; and Christian mystic/visionary, having been multi-talented despite not having come from a massively rich or privileged background.

Was interesting to read that she appears to have started having mystical experiences, contact with God, through all the five senses, at the age of three.

Just find the music and story of Hildegard von Bingen incredibly uplifting, must read something more substantial about her life and work.

Warsaw: 'Wianki nad Wisła' Concert Poster

Saw this poster advertising the 'Wianki na Wisła' concert in Warsaw which The Charlatans are headlining on 20th June this year.

Having looked at the internet, I've just found out that this free concert takes place every year near the dancing fountains, just outside Warsaw Old Town, down by the river Vistula.

Warsaw: Lutheran Church in Mokotow

The short five-minute walk from Pole Mokotowskie metro station down into Mokotow is quite relaxing taking in the Stodoła concert hall; an interesting lone wooden (Eastern Orthodox or Uniat Catholic) cross in a field; and then a Lutheran church as the full hub of Mokotow comes into view.

Had been aware of this church for years, but only got to have a closer look yesterday, finding out that it was Lutheran.

Just read that the Lutherans are the biggest Protestant denomination in Poland.  Remember teaching somewhere years ago in Warsaw, and two Lutheran students being mightily proud of being Protestant rather than Catholic (guess that they valued a certain uniqueness that was attached to their identity).