the shimmering haze of another reality

[flaviomatani]

Again on a train slowly crawling its way out of London... only 25 miles to Watford where I'll have a very short teaching day, after four hours' sleep. It's going to be a long day... but going to bed late to wake up at 5:00 am was worth it at least. I hadn't ever seen Gertrud Stein (no, not _that_ Gertrude Stein) perform live and I was pretty much bowled over. I only really knew her as a friend of aka_toothbrush and had some idea that she was a musician and a performing artist. Hers was a very good show, deceptively simple with very good use of a few visual resources. And that tiny Casio keyboard, I'm pretty sure I had one of those once upon the time -but I didn't give it such full use (with two fingers... those tiny keys are not for the ten-fingered keyboardist..)

The week-end brought several good events. Friday night was A New Dusk at what is almost my local pub, Aces & Eights (insofar as a rock pub can be my local, I'm becoming increasingly impatient with any pub where I have to shout to make myself heard and where I have to strain to hear what is being said to me -this is not getting better as I get older and my hearing gets more.. difficult..). It was a very good night with good music and people. The only thing was perhaps that it was too popular: it was packed in that tiny basement and the air-con was not coping. It was _really_ hot in there. How did it happen that I found myself discussing early medieval polyphony outside a night-club at some hour in the middle of the night?

Saturday was boxcat's 40th birthday -it was a blast, with open bar (dread to think what the bill may have been for that) and a storming set by the mempunks. There'll be pictures of this at some point.

Sunday... apart from my nightmare morning lesson, it brought silkyraven's birthday drinks at The Bell in Walthamstow. I liked the pub and the gathering but was feeling perhaps a tiny little bit outside. It seemed to me that the birthday girl was happy, though, which was the main thing. Happy Birthday, Raven!

On coming home Sunday night I practised a bit of guitar and played Bach's Chaconnne through. I can do it but clearly it is too early yet -my hand and wrist have been hurting since.

Comments

[flavio-matani.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she is really good onstage. And you're right, after her the band that followed... felt like a student's effort. They tried, they did try but weren't getting anywhere much. The sound wasn't helping, mind, and they were having problems with monitors, but even so.