MSG (Michael Schenker Group): The First 2 Albums

For me, 'On and On' (above) from the second MSG album is still the most interesting track that MSG have ever done:  it just nicely combines a delicate 'winter-like' keyboard into with a solid guitar riff and surprisingly poetic lyrics (if analysed). 

Remember seeing MSG with the classic (Schenker, Powell, Raymond, Glen, Barden) line-up on the front row at Manchester Apollo in 1981, as a young teenager at the time, not realising that being crushed at the front of the stage is no fun.

For the first time in say 25-30 years, I played the second MSG album recently, and while some of the tunes now sounded somewhat dated ('Attack of the Mad Axeman'; 'Never Trust a Stranger' etc.), like 'On and On', 'But I Want More' (below) seems to have a more long-lasting quality:

Really enjoy going back to albums that I liked donkeys years ago, to see which tracks have 'lasted the test of time' (don't sound 'dated').

Also saw MSG at Manchester Apollo in 1980 after they'd just released the first 'Michael Schenker Group' album, and, for a 13-year-old schoolboy, Schenker just looked like a magician, a deity almost, especially when doing the canonical UFO stuff ('Doctor Doctor; 'Love To Love'; 'Rock Bottom' etc.). 

Having also played the first MSG album recently, the two tracks that have (for me) 'lasted the test of time' are predictably 'Lost Horizons' (probably Schenker's most canonised non-UFO tune):

and rather surprisingly the delicate acoustic tune 'Tales of Mystery' (had completely forgotten about this, but it in no way sounds 'dated'):

After the first two MSG albums and tours, I got to see MSG once or twice more (the memory really does fade) at Manchester Apollo, also in the early 1980s, but the only MSG track that I can now recognise or name after the first two albums is 'Captain Nemo':

Just think that MSG were a great band at the start of the 1980s, and, nowadays, some of what the band did back then is seriously underrated.

Gary Numan Concert Poster in Warsaw

Love the fly poster above advertising the upcoming Gary Numan concert at Warsaw Palladium on February 20th. 

Never seen Gary Numan live before so it'll be an honour to catch him on February 20th.  Have really enjoyed listening to the mix of new and (towards the end) old canonical Numan stuff (especially 'Down in the Park') below in preparation for the Palladium gig:

Like a lot of people, I find the 'Splinter' material really dark and interesting, especially 'In The Dust'; 'The Calling'; 'Lost'; and 'My Last Day'.  Guess that when I'm in the mood, I have some kind of soft spot for dark existentialism (read enough Sartre at university to kind of put me in tune with this sort of thing).

Never really liked Tubeway Army/Gary Numan in the late 1970s/early 1980s (when I was only a young teenager), but now it's a completely different story.

A Yellow Tram Driving through the Snow in Stare Bemowo, Warsaw

Been trying for a while and at last I've got a decenr shot of a modern yellow tram driving through the snow up at Stare Bemowo, a district on the outskirts of Warsaw where I teach twice a week:

Stare Bemowo is an area that contains a big army camp and soldiers can be seen walking around all day long, but this area also has some really pleasant and easily accessible woodland like above.

In the picture below, I'm trying to do what my Cornish artist friend Ross calls 'developing the abstract eye', as these footprints just seemed well worthy of an attempt 'to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary':

Youtube Surfing: Some of the Don Kirshner Concerts (1973-1981)

Quite bizarrely, mainly through having always lived 'on the wrong side of the Atlantic', it's only over the last few years that I've finally got round to having a proper look at some of the Don Kirshner Rock concerts, such as UFO above, through Youtube. 

Think that the Don Kirshner concerts cover the years 1973-1981, for me, some of the greatest years in contemporary music, as this was when the different Rock bands around were both incredibly creative and unique (noticeably and positively different from each other), including the 1975 Black Sabbath below:

Love the way that Ozzy and Sabbath send an American audience almost completely delirious above.

Like with UFO and Black Sabbath above, while watching Bad Company below, it's fascinating to see how some of the great 1970s British rock bands were wooing American audiences in this truly golden age of music:

Having said this, my favourite clip from the Don Kirshner concert archives has got to be that of one of my favourite American bands Kansas doing 'The Pinnacle' (one of their most underrated tunes):

A massive thanks to the good people who have put such sublime archival material on Youtube, including the footage of Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush below:

Just wish that this era of music was still fully alive: I only caught it from about 1977 onwards as a young teenage schoolboy back then, but it was magical, full of meaningful enchantment.

A Baby Snowman in Warsaw

Today, the weather was above zero in Warsaw so the snow started melting.  Thus, I'm really glad that I got this shot of a baby snowman yesterday.

The Warsaw Mosque Moving Towards Completion

Was up near Blue City again last week in freezing temperatures of about -10 or -15, but I could clearly see that the new metallic mosque up there was nearing completion, although it's still hemmed in with a fence full of modern-day advertisements (above).

However, this time, I really braved the weather conditions and took some shots of the metallic mosque close up:

What is noticeable is that the Islamic crescent has now been put in pole position at the top of the building:

Having finished taking close-up shots of the building and having moved a bit further up the road, I turned back to have a look at the mosque from the distance, and could see that the building looks quite fetching from here:

Just wonder how many Polish curiosity/religious seekers the new Warsaw mosque will attract.

The Warsaw Stodoła Upstairs Tables

After the Clannad concert on Friday night, I decided to get some shots of the incredible tables upstairs, near the balcony, inside the Stodoła. 

My favourite is the fish design below, simple and yet really eye-catching:

Having said this, I also really like the martian-type thing below, whoever did this had a fantastic imagination:

Again, another fish below:

Some of the tables are quite long with artwork covering the whole length of them:

Finally, here's a shot showing just how effective the tables look together as a group, full credit to whoever had the idea of putting such a collection of colourful tables together:

Of course, no prizes for guessing that the Stodoła is a students' club.