We went to The Sinclair in Harvard Square last week. It’s a much needed live music venue with multi levels to view a show. Bruce in the USA was playing and if you’re a Springsteen fan and need a fix, find this guy. Three hours, yes three hours of Bruce. A look alike, with all the mannerisms, a great band and if you closed your eyes, you would think you were hearing the Boss himself Continue reading “There Goes My Cholesterol Level!!”
Ian Hunter does – Last night (Saturday) at the Paradise, Ian Hunter and the Rant Band came to play. They didn’t come to mail it in. They came to rock and did just that playing in front of a packed house for almost two hours. Continue reading “Do You Remember Saturday Gigs?”
What else did we do and love about Madrid?
The Museums
We don’t traditionally visit museums but Madrid has some very impressive ones. We visited two; no, not the Prado. The Reina Sofia and the Thyssen Bornemisza.
The Reina Sofia – The Reina Sofia was founded as a hospital in the 16th century. Going through several modifications it was declared a national monument in 1977 and a permanent collection was inaugurated by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 1992. Since then it has increased in size and collection.
We went to the Reina Sofia for one thing, to see Guernica by Picasso. Some argue it’s his most celebrated and controversial work of art. It’s part of the permanent collection at Reina Sofia and occupies it’s own room. It’s 11 ft. tall by 25 ft. wide. The story is that Picasso was commissioned by the Spanish Republican government to paint a mural for the Paris Exhibition in 1937. His original idea was deserted when the Germans bombed an innocent town by the name of Guernica. Guernica shows the tragedies of war in the suffering of people, animals and buildings. It’s black, blue and grey in color and it is best seen with an audio headset so that you get some idea of what you’re looking at.
When Franco came into power the painting was sent to the United States to raise support for funds for Spanish refugees. Picasso refused a request that Guernica be returned to Spain until the Spanish people enjoyed their country as a republic.
When it returned, it was sent to the Prado at Picasso’s request. It was moved to the Reina Sofia from the Prado in 1992 along with other preparatory works that hang in the room. The move was controversial because of Picasso’s request that it be hung in the Prado.
Opened in 1992, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum completes what’s called the “Golden Triangle of Art”. On six floors are over 1,000 paintings ranging from the 13th century to the present. Each floor represents a period. It’s overwhelming and you can spend days there. We spent a few hours.
The Finale
Posters advertising upcoming concerts are plastered all over walls on the streets. One that caught our eye was advertising Queen – Bohemian Rapshody. We weren’t sure what it was going to be but for our last night, it sounded like the right thing to do, being rock n’ rollers and all. We got to the theatre on time, the tickets said 8PM but I guess in Spain that doesn’t mean that’s when the show starts. We were worried we were going to be the only people in the theatre but people started strolling in and by 9 it was pretty full and the show began. Four singers, 3 guys and 1 female opera singer backed by a 40 piece symphony orchestra. It blew us away. They were beyond fantanstic. They’re interpretations of Queen and the staging was phenomonal and it was a great way to end our stay in Madrid.
But, not without dinner at midnight. Sitting outside at a little Italian retaurant we devoured a pizza. By the way, at midnight the restaurant was packed!
We loved Madrid. We loved walking through the streets, always alive and vibrant, so I’ll end with some street scenes and a little street art.
So, that’s how we spent our summer vacation. We’re in the planning stages for the next trip but there’s lots going on between now and then.
So stay tuned and see you at the bar….
It was just a regular Tuesday until Roy called. I thought something was wrong because he never calls. No, he just wanted to tell me that he broke down and bought two tickets for the Springsteen show seeing as it was going to be a beautiful night and all, and who wouldn’t want to sit under the stars at Fenway Park with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Well, did you hear me scream? I couldn’t believe it seeing as we decided since we saw him in March we’d pass on Fenway. I could barely concentrate for the rest of the afternoon. Continue reading “Rockin’ it at Fenway Park”
It was a regular Friday afternoon at the office with everyone asking “what are you doing this weekend?” “I’m going to hear some music”, I said. Oh? Who? “You probably have never heard of them – Jesse Malin and Alejandro Escovedo”, I said. “No, what kind of music?” And that’s where I was stumped. What kind of music? Alt, Alt-Country, Americana, Rock, hard to put these two musicians in a box. Continue reading “Double Bill: Jesse Malin and Alejandro Escovedo”
It would have to be pretty special to drive to Shirley, MA on Sunday night in the pouring rain to see some music and that’s what we did recently. Graham Parker, the angry young man, now a more mellow older man of 61 was at The Bull Run with the Figgs. How could we miss him. He of the late ’70’s punk scene. His voice and music is iconic – Squeezing Out Sparks, Local Girls, Heat Treatment, Fools Gold and on and on. And, he sang them all along with some new material. Continue reading “Squeezing Out Sparks with Graham Parker”
I thought I’d share this with you. It’s an excerpt from my blog about our road trip to Woodstock last summer and going to Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble for the second time. We were so blown away the first time we saw the Midnight Ramble, we had to do it again and I’m so happy we did!
Now it’s time for the Levon Helm Midnight Ramble. The Ramble is held at Levon’s home in a studio attached to his house and is known as THE place to hear not only Levon’s band but surprise guests. Tonight, Ray Wylie Hubbard is the guest. He’s one of the Austin, Texas legends. He’s a scruffy, gruff, singer songwriter storyteller that you can listen to all night long. After Ray, Levon’s band of 12 appears nonchalantly on stage. 5 horns including sax, trombone, tuba, and trumpet, Brian Mitchell (Google him) on keyboards, 2 female singers, Theresa Campbell and Levon’s daughter, Amy and Larry Campbell as lead guitar and frontman. Larry is well-known. He’s played with Bob Dylan for many years and others too numerous to count. It’s an intimate setting, acoustically perfect and accommodates only about 250 people.
It’s a dream night if you love music. The set list is mixed with something for everyone and of course songs from The Band. Levon’s voice is not well enough for him to sing but his spirit and drumming leads the band. His smile lights up the room and everyone is so happy to see him!
Look at that man – does he look like 72?? It’s Ian Hunter and we love him. Roy introduced me to him back in the 70’s (seems like yesterday). We’ve seen him a number of times over the years but not in a long time. So when we heard he was coming to Boston we didn’t waste any time in buying tickets.
He came to The Paradise a few weeks ago, a rock club with a long history of showcasing some great music. Elvis Costello played his first date in the US at the Paradise. Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Mink Deville, Lou Reed; I could go on and on and we were there to see them all.
Continue reading “All the Young (old) Dudes – A Night with Ian Hunter!”
