Post by gommer on Aug 31, 2014 19:25:57 GMT
Hello all,
I'm back from London after the most beautiful and moving experience of my life (and that's not an exaggerated statement).
I'm not going to write an elaborate show review here. By now, they are all over the internet. In any case, don't let the self-declared critics fool you. As biased as I my be, the show was a highlight from start to end. It fulfilled and surpassed every expectation. I can't believe that a single fan would have been let down in any way. Sure, there are plenty of masterpieces in her work that she didn't perform. But how could she, there are too many for a single show. What she did, was staging two ensembles in a way that added an extra dimension to the music and lyrics. Incidentally, she only ever made 2 song cycles (concept pieces if you wish) that allow to be performed in a theatrical manner. She performed both.
IMHO the audience of the opening night must have been a mixed bag. There surely were many die hard fans, but I'm sure that there were many others as well, including the critics. These days, especially in the UK, it seems to be fashionable to like Kate's music. Many might have been there in order to fit in. When these people don't hear at least 3 or 4 hits, they're disappointed. Critics claiming she let down her fans because she didn't perform as many hits as THEY hoped for don't know what they're talking about. For Christ's sake, she performed the finest work she's made! My wife isn't a die hard fan at all. She nevertheless thinks of the show in superlatives. She's not particularly fond of The Ninth Wave on album, but she thought it was the best part of the show. She couldn't care less if Kate did or did not perform 'the greatest hits'.
From a completely different perspective: her voice. She sounded better than on some of her past albums. I thought her voice changed over the different albums (let's ignore the first 3 albums in this respect). IMO, she sounded just the same as she did on Hounds of Love, which is very clear, without a trace of grain. Technically everything was also near perfect. This was the first show that I attended where the PA system didn't let down in some way. This is a hard task with Kate's music. Drums and bass are prominently present in most of here music, but it was a delight to be able to hear the bass lines standing out in-between pounding percussion. Her singing was also perfectly mixed in. It stood out, but not overwhelmingly so.
To sum it all up: since last Friday I can tell that I've discovered a new level of emotional involvement. Unfortunately, I don't think that I'll ever experience it again unless Kate performs live again in the future.
I'm a happy man to have been there and the memories of this experience will last a long time.
Ask away if you want, comments also welcome.
Cheers, Marc
I'm back from London after the most beautiful and moving experience of my life (and that's not an exaggerated statement).
I'm not going to write an elaborate show review here. By now, they are all over the internet. In any case, don't let the self-declared critics fool you. As biased as I my be, the show was a highlight from start to end. It fulfilled and surpassed every expectation. I can't believe that a single fan would have been let down in any way. Sure, there are plenty of masterpieces in her work that she didn't perform. But how could she, there are too many for a single show. What she did, was staging two ensembles in a way that added an extra dimension to the music and lyrics. Incidentally, she only ever made 2 song cycles (concept pieces if you wish) that allow to be performed in a theatrical manner. She performed both.
IMHO the audience of the opening night must have been a mixed bag. There surely were many die hard fans, but I'm sure that there were many others as well, including the critics. These days, especially in the UK, it seems to be fashionable to like Kate's music. Many might have been there in order to fit in. When these people don't hear at least 3 or 4 hits, they're disappointed. Critics claiming she let down her fans because she didn't perform as many hits as THEY hoped for don't know what they're talking about. For Christ's sake, she performed the finest work she's made! My wife isn't a die hard fan at all. She nevertheless thinks of the show in superlatives. She's not particularly fond of The Ninth Wave on album, but she thought it was the best part of the show. She couldn't care less if Kate did or did not perform 'the greatest hits'.
From a completely different perspective: her voice. She sounded better than on some of her past albums. I thought her voice changed over the different albums (let's ignore the first 3 albums in this respect). IMO, she sounded just the same as she did on Hounds of Love, which is very clear, without a trace of grain. Technically everything was also near perfect. This was the first show that I attended where the PA system didn't let down in some way. This is a hard task with Kate's music. Drums and bass are prominently present in most of here music, but it was a delight to be able to hear the bass lines standing out in-between pounding percussion. Her singing was also perfectly mixed in. It stood out, but not overwhelmingly so.
To sum it all up: since last Friday I can tell that I've discovered a new level of emotional involvement. Unfortunately, I don't think that I'll ever experience it again unless Kate performs live again in the future.
I'm a happy man to have been there and the memories of this experience will last a long time.
Ask away if you want, comments also welcome.
Cheers, Marc