Tag: Concerts

Hyde Park, the Police, KT Tunstall and a frisbee

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The Police in Hyde park

That was it then, but it could not have been better weather for it. The Police played their final UK concert ever in Hyde Park yesterday, and according to the number of people wearing Police t-shirts a lots of their fans met up to say goodbye to them. It was a nearly 2 hour long extravaganza of their hits and apart from Sting having a beard making him 20 years older, and Steward Copeland wearing the complete wrong specs – it was good!

There were an estimated 35.000 people in Hyde Park, but we were surprised how relaxed it was. We were not very close to the stage, but the sound was good and we could sit/stand without having to touch our neighbours.

Just as good as The Police was to hear KT Tunstall live. She is cool, she is great live and I love her Eye to the Telescope album, which is on high rotation in my ears at the moment. I will certainly catch one of her concerts should she come to London again.

On Saturday I returned to Eastbourne and had another walk in the Beachy Head area. The weather was amazing, but the beach was nearly empty. Which made it safe enough for us to play some frisbee for a while which was fun at the time. Today I can feel pain in muscles on places I didn’t even know I had muscles. Don’t say it’s an age thing.

Oh, and we will soon be 2 + 1 + 1 = 4.

Bring on the night

thegirlinthecafe 5 Comments

The Police and full supporting Bill

In September 2007 I saw the Police in Twickenham, with a delay of about 25 years. It was a fantastic concert.

My good friend made me aware of the fact that The Police is playing their final ever gig in Hyde Park on the 29th of June. The very last the Police concert? I did manage to both convince her to come along, and to buy tickets for it so on the 29th of June it will be “Every little thing he does is magic” for the very last time live.

Another reason why we wanted to go is because KT Tunstall plays that day too. As does Starsailor, The Bangles and The Stranglers – seems like we get transferred back to the 80’s all day!

But most of all we want to go because there will be a full supporting Bill. We love Bill, we really do!

(More on Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park, London)

The breathing in my neck and music from the movies

thegirlinthecafe 1 Comment

“So …” Davy begins.
“So” I say, knowing that something is coming.
“How many pages have you written of your 90 page feature film script?”
“Ehrm, well ….”
“Ahrr, I thought so.”
“Yeah, but you know, Dan and June … They hold my head hostage at the moment.”
“You will be in trouble if you don’t start soon. November remember.”
“I … *deep sigh* know”. And I do, I really do. And it worries and stresses me a bit.
“Which is why I made a plan.”

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Masoko Tanga

thegirlinthecafe 10 Comments

Looking back, with my eyes closed, I have had 3 major inspirational influences in my life, which means that inside my head you can find 3 fairly large chunks of information from all three of them.

Steffen Brandt‘s lyrics guided me through life in Denmark and they became the basis of my Danish vocabulary. His philosophy about life – seize the day – live your life before it’s over – live your dreams – has definitely had its effect on my life as well. I think it is safe to say that however sad it was to leave him and his music behind in Denmark he more or less pushed me to London as I could see I had to live my dreams. I still listen to their music often but there now is a distance to the language which no longer feels that natural anymore.

Not surprisingly Bill Nighy is the second one, still very much present. If Steffen Brandt pushed me too London, he was metaphorically standing at the other side of the water pulling me over. If my Danish consists of quotes from TV-2 songs, my English is filled with all possible quotes from films he has been in. He made me realize how cool Brits really were, how I loved the English language, he gave acting a whole new meaning and became the force to get me to give screen writing a go in the first place. Not bad.

The third one however goes quite a bit longer back.
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Bob in London

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Bob Dylan

It’s one of Steffen Brandts favourite songwriters.
Richard Curtis likes him too.
And Bill Nighy is obsessed with him.

I like and respect all of the above 3 men, so there must be something about him.

He is a legend.
I really started to like him when one of his songs was featured in a play.
Yes that play.
My heart melts when I hear that song.
He is the musical discovery of 2007 for me. (Better late than never).
I like his older albums better than his new ones. (that’s because I have a weakness for a harmonica)
He has a weird way of singing.
He is steadily climbing towards the top of my Overal Top Artists list.
His lyrics seem to make more sense than I sometimes like them to make.
I wanted to see the brand new Wembley Arena.

And so it was simple. I bought a ticket.
Bob Dylan – Wembley Stadium, London, the 16th of April 2007.

Cool.

I should have been in bed 2 hours ago.
Not so cool. The Science of Sleep.

Tina Dickow – Dingwalls, Camden

thegirlinthecafe 7 Comments

Drawing with Light
Drawing with lights in Dingwalls : Love Actually in Lights

It was about half a year ago I last saw her, in Dingwalls in Camden. At that time I had just arrived in London. Now 6 months later, Camden is a place I know relatively well, and I am no longer that intimidated by the “Do you want skunk” question. I rushed there right after work, needed something to eat and decided to give the happy hour ?2 Chinese shop a go. I hoped my stomach would be happy for more than an hour with this, and I didn’t want to know how long this food had been simmering, probably all day. A large coke in Dingwalls takes care of most of the possible stomach disturbers. Tina Dickow is magical, her songs still seem to hit something as I found myself crying more than once during the concert.
It was a good night.

Here is a bit for you to hear

(limited availability – you’re too late …)
She is touring the UK at the moment, highly recommended.

One
One touch can fill a life of longing
Not much is so much more than nothing
Yeah – All you need is
One
An open smile to win you over
One single step will bring you closer
Yeah – All it takes is one

And when you?re running for cover
And you feel the sky falling down upon you
And when it feels like forever
Since you?ve seen the face of someone who loves you

Then one is all that you need
All that you need to keep you warm
Is all that you need
All that you need to move you on
It?s all that you need
All you need is

One

Sigur Ros in Hammersmith Apollo

thegirlinthecafe 2 Comments

Just a short review of yesterdays Sigur Ros concert.

The good:
The Hammersmith Apollo hall is a fantastic concert place. Like Shepherds Bush Empire this is a concerthall with style, beautifully decorated and build like a kind of half circle around the stage. Excellent sound too.

Sigur Ros has one of the most beautiful visual appearances I have seen on stage.

They have a very faithful and enthusiastic audience in the UK.

Yes playing your guitar with a bow is very cool.

There were a lot of people on stage, a string quartet (playing on an electrical saw too), a 5 person section with trumpets and such, and the band itself, which, if I have counted correctly, has 4 (5?) members.

Some songs where shiveringly beautiful

The bad
They didn’t play Staralfur, which of course was a bad thing. How could they leave it out. It didn’t come completely unexpected though, as it hasn’t been on their setlists the last months.

Even though there were some highlights, the concert as a whole didn’t really have any surprises and did not impress me too much.

But all in all, it wasn’t bad for a first concert in London.

Sigur Ros in Hammersmith Apollo

thegirlinthecafe 2 Comments

I am off to this long awaited concert in 2 minutes from now. I bought the ticket for this concert on the birthday of the man who is the reason I discovered them in the first place. And at that time the concert was very far away, and so was my move to London. But now months later, the day of the concert has arrived, and I am very much looking forward to it. It is sold out. And it feels so good to be able to say : I’ll hop on the tube and I’ll be there 15 minutes from now.

If they are going to play Staralfur (The song from The Girl In The Cafe film) live I am going to cry.

How does it make me feel …

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to go to my very last tv-2 concert tonight ?

Well it’s heartbreaking. And tonight I am not going to sell t-shirts, I will stand before the stage for a last time, and sing along with the songs I know so well. And listen to the lyrics that have been a big part of my daily life in Denmark. I am going to miss them enormously.

Yes dear readers, this would definetely have been a kleenex moment, if this had been a film.

I will try to force them to come to London not too long from now.

Jamie Cullum meltet the ice in Århus

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Jamie Cullum
I have been to quite some concerts, but this definetely was one of the best ever, if not the best. I once saw a concert with Jamie Cullum on tv, and I admit, that you quickly can get the impression that he is one spoiled brat. The way he is moving around stage, his jumping from his piano, his dancing around on stage and all that. But giving the guy a second chance – this is not a spoiled boy. This is an extraordinary musician with the passion for his music running through his veins. And I happen to like people with passion.

All the fine people of Århus came to this concert, in their nice clothes. The musichall was sold out, and I was curious about where this was going. After half an hour, the men had taken of their jackets, all women were screaming and everybody was standing and dancing and clapping. There was this rare connection between the artist and his audience, and I am sure that everybody could sense that, both on and in front of the stage. There was truly magic in the air.

Yes Jamie is a Londoner. And yes I would have bought a t-shirt, if they had accepted credit cards, but they did not. And no this wasn’t the last time I have seen him live, that’s for sure.

A 10/10 for this concert.

If you can’t get to London yet

thegirlinthecafe 6 Comments


let London come to you.

I know that several people are going to puke (again) because of my music taste, I couldn’t care less. Thing is that this Brit (and Londoner too if I’m not completely mistaken) has been entertaining my ears for quite a while now, and I would glady let him romantisize, the beauty of their London skies . Especially live.

And when you make an album called “Catching Tales” you can’t do any wrong with me, that’s what I do for a living. I look forward to see and hear him in Musikhuset tonight. Probably the last concert in that beautiful place (very good sound, and very nicely designed), for a long time (never say never).

Nothing is certain except everything you know can change,
you worship the sun but now,
can you fall for the rain…

1 down, 7 to go

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tv-2 - Filmbyen, ?rhus
Steffen Brandt, smiling on stage in Aarhus, actually.

Oh I am so going to miss watching this man on stage. And hearing him and his band live. Good to know they play London every second year. And good to know London has some other interesting men running around to compensate …

for i = 1 to 8

remember to put on black t-shirt in the morning
go to work
try to work
answer all kind of mails from fans through the day (what time does it start, how to find the venue, what merchandise can we buy etc.)
go early from work
if i = 1 then
meetup in the cafe to socialize with other fans
dance and sing and enjoy exclusive fan sneak preview concert

else
take the train to other city
live on fastfood like MacD and Burger K.
work hard and try to enjoy some of the concert while selling t-shirts and stuff
count all the stuff sold and the money and check if numbers match
take train home
end if

find bike and bike home
freeze your *ss off because it is still very cold in Denmark
come home very late
crash in your bed

next i

Have a happy one

thegirlinthecafe 7 Comments

The man in the rain (the Girl in the Cafe)
The man in the rain (the Girl in the Cafe)

En dus kocht ik een kaartje voor het Sigur Ros concert. Thanks to Bill, want had ik de film niet gezien, had ik ze waarschijnlijk nooit ondekt. En laten we eerlijk zijn Takk is wel de beste plaat van 2005, en Staralfur, het allermooiste liedje ooit gemaakt.

Waar ze spelen ?

Carling Apollo, Hammersmith
Queen Caroline Street, London, London W6 9QH
op 29 maart 2006.

Ja dan woon ik er al (zei zij overtuigend).

En omdat Bill Nighy jarig is vandaag, heb ik voor u een kadootje, als u ook van Sigur Ros houdt tenminste:

2 uur en 11 minuten Sigur Ros homecoming concert, Reykjavik (video en audio – opgenomen 27. november 2005 – danish radio rocks!) (Klik op de bovenste link onder “Se Koncerten”).
(Nog te zien tot 21 december)

And a very happy birthday to the coolest man in the Galaxy.