I agree that there'll always be people coming through; there's a demand for music. The problem is that the experience of playing to live audiences is important. You can see what works and what a difference changes make. You can get over the terror of performing in front of people. You learn how to keep your audience happy. You can try new material and judge the way it's received. You have a motivation to practise. Every performance is more practice in all aspects of your game. You learn what it's like playing to five people, four of them having a chat. It builds character. There's going to be a generation of musicians coming through who won't have any of that lot. Vin
There's still quite a few small live music venues in London. Not sure about Southampton as I moved away eons ago, but a quick google suggests there's no shortage of venues. Is there a problem with live music? I thought it was just the recording side of the music business that was suffering, not the playing live part. Joiners still going strong I see.
Plenty of rain here too. And I have to walk along a station platform in a minute. Hope I don't get washed onto the track.
You and me both. Find it frightening. In one house, a tree came down and the very top branches scraped down my conservatory and my little son was standing there looking puzzled as the world suddenly went dark. He would have been covered in glass if that tree had been even a foot or two taller. Later, a tree smashed through my bedroom ceiling....luckily I had moved out that very day. Hard luck on the couple who bought the house....uninjured I hasten to add. In this house it is just garden fencing....I must have paid out about £600 over the years as my garden is like a wind tunnel.
About 50% of the pubs within a mile of me have shut in the past 15 years. Some used to have live music. Further away the Talking Heads was only saved when someone stepped in with cash to save it. The Bent Brief, which had live music seven days a week, went last year. That's 365 small band gigs gone every year. These are the places that startup bands could play to be seen performing as a way of getting to better-known venues. Look at the Brook's line-up and you'll see that probably over 50% of their acts are tribute acts. That can't be sustainable in the long run and advances music not one jot. Apologies if I sound a tad upset but this lack of venues will be the death of quality music and I really care about it. Vin
Kind of a snoozer of a Super Bowl. Coldplay did not help matters. Seriously, whose idea was that? When you think "Coldplay" you do not think "excitement." Even Beyoncé couldn't save that. Manning clearly is past it, but he still knows how to manage a game. That and the Denver defense was all they needed. Mostly the defense. Carolina was terrible. I think they have been overrated all year, but they are still a good team and should have done better.
I am really annoyed. Did not think to check if it was on the BBC, so only found out by chance after waking up and not being able to sleep!!!! I guess Pat is the dead owner?
Sky giving coverage to Superbowl. No problem with that....after all I don't have to watch it. I just can't stand over excited Americans...I'm sure they are not bad people, but it makes me cringe. Last whinge (promise)....okay for American commentators to say deeefence, but no British commentator should say it....ever.....on pain of death.
They had to turn down the volume of the crowd during the game. There was some weird guy shouting "woooooooo" very loudly every 5 mins.
Another film review. Bridge of Spies. If you like Tom Hanks in films, and there appear to be few people who don't, then this is another one that could be for you. Based on true events surrounding the early 1960's prisoner exchange involving USA reconnaissance pilot Gary Powers, and the, as then, cutting edge U2 aircraft. This film tells the story behind the scenes, and the events which lead upto, and made possible, the exchange of 3 men in total. The first half of the film deals with lawyer James B. Donovan's [Hanks] attempts to find true justice for Rudolf Abel, a man accused of being a Russian spy in the late 1950's. Abel's character is superbly played by Mark Rylance, and some of the most powerful and enjoyable moments of the film are the exchanges between He and Hanks. The verdict and Donovan's part in it sets up the personnel exchange several years later. Interchanging with these events is the story of the U2 plane and the men who will pilot it [referred to as drivers]. The second half deals with the exchanges. The film manages to capture the essence of the late 50's-early 60's Cold War mind set. In such circumstances not a shot is fired, nor is there any violence beyond a soldier hitting a student in the stomach and some scenes of mild interrogation. Yet the menace and mistrust is all too well conveyed. Through it all is the honour between two men who stayed true to their convictions. yet understood one another's motivations and duties. It's not a feel good film and neither is it about crashes and bangs, so if you want that don't go here. If you want something that reeks of the era and is headed up by two great acting performances and a very good supporting cast, then you'll enjoy this a lot.
