From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V12 #501 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Saturday, November 29 2008 Volume 12 : Number 501 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [AVALON] In Search of a Metaphor: The Pigalle Club, Piccadilly 25th November 2008 [LeeSullivana] Re: [AVALON] In Search of a Metaphor: The Pigalle Club, Piccadilly 25th November 2008 ["Alan Heaton" Subject: Re: [AVALON] In Search of a Metaphor: The Pigalle Club, Piccadilly 25th November 2008 Hi, Lee. Thanks for this excellent review of the Andy Mackay and The Metaphors show. It's nice for this Yank to feel the old jealousy of my UK Avalon friends again. :) I'm very excited about the upcoming album! I wasn't sure that was going to happen. Cheers, Alan On Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 5:03 AM, wrote: > In Search of a Metaphor: The Pigalle Club, Piccadilly 25th November 2008 > > Setlist (courtesy J O'B): Tristan, Love Is The Drug, Three Coins In The > Fountain, All Tomorrow's Parties, Elle, I love Paris, The Pride And The > Pain, > Climbing Up The walls, Loyang Tractor Factory, Bitter Sweet, Waterloo > Sunset, > Tara, New York NewYork. > > Piccadilly, 2008 > > It's 36 years since the recording of the Greatest First Album Of All Time > and about as many yards away the location of its recording, as Andy Mackay > will > point out later during the Metaphors' set. > > For now, taking a turn off main street and down into the lounge area of The > Pigalle Club, there is a feeling of dij` vu. Growing up in the 1970s, the > nostalgic yearning for a more glamorous age was palpable. Movies, fashion > and > rock music reflected a desire for a world that, in reality, existed for > only a > select few during the inter-war years. The dreamworld of Astaire, Bogart et > al > was something that young people saw regularly on television; when they > grew > up they just knew that they would frequent night-clubs where sophisticated > patrons would laugh, rub shoulders with the glitterati, drink champagne > and > dine whilst a band played. For the most part, the reality was more tawdry. > Time > passed, and those ideal-lifestyles were consigned to the trash can. And > then > . . . > > Sitting in one of the scalloped booths of a sophisticated supper club, > sipping champagne with the cognoscenti; eating steak next to Phil Manzanera > having > already chatted with The Great Paul Thompson about the time he played sax > with Bryan Ferry and Andy Mackay on 'Mother Of Pearl'; it feels like a > return > to > a place I've never been before. > > The Pigalle is a far better environment for the type of music that Andy > Mackay and the Metaphors generate than the cavernous shell of Bristol's > Carling > Academy. The stage is smaller, the sound system is sweeter and there is a > full > audience creating a buzzy atmosphere. Hazel Mills (keyboards, vocals) > strides > out followed by Julia Thornton (harp), TGPT (drums), TJ Allen (guitars and > laptop), and Gary Tibbs on bass. > > The stagecraft has been improved too. Having bemoaned the absence of radio > microphones in my review of Bristol, it's especially thrilling to hear > soprano > saxophone from offstage. Mackay drifts on towards the end of the new piece > ('Tristan'?) to warm applause. The bank of mixers and wind-synth equipment > is > now sensibly placed to one side, perhaps reflecting greater confidence in > his > role centre-stage. > > The playing throughout is less tentative than before; this is the second > show in a week for the band at the Pigalle and there's a marked assurance > in > the > material. Mackay is more chatty, speaking into an old-style band vocal > microphone about songs he played in 'another band' and pointing out the > direction > of the studios used in the recording of 'Roxy Music.' > > Highlights: 'The Pride and the Pain' (I still can't believe my luck that > they're playing it) and leaping oboe on 'Three Coins,' but there really > isn't > anything to choose between these and the other songs in terms of quality > and > inventiveness. Speaking of which, a slightly spooky moment comes when Hazel > Mills intones 'All Tomorrow's Parties.' Facing out behind a keyboard, she > is > now > resplendent with a Nico-style fringe and the effect is unsettling. > > Since the gig, I've bought the EP 'Butterfly' in which she collaborates > with > fellow-Metaphor and producer TJ Allen, and it is clear from listening to > this how much The Metaphors benefit from their work. 'Butterfly' has a > gorgeous > blend of acoustic and electronic textures, and they dovetail very nicely > with > Mackay's and Thornton's instruments. Julia Thornton's playing has a lovely > sweetening effect; it's a genuinely unusual mix. TGPT and Gary Tibbs > reteamed > works very well indeed; Paul's playing is by turns powerful and subtle; we > all > know he's Great, but he's more versatile in this context than I'd imagined > before this project. > > Lowlight: the uncomfortable experience of eating whilst the band can see > you. I spoke to Ms Mills about this afterwards and she agreed it was > peculiar. > I > can only say that, having once played Roxy songs onstage to an audience > including my relatives that I could clearly see tucking in to Chicken Kiev, > it's > actually worse to be doing the eating. The real banquet is the music. Oh > look > - there's the metaphor! > > As always, the gig is over too soon. I took the opportunity to get a > photograph taken with my sax hero (my first - I'm shy!) and he said nice > things > about Roxy Magic. I told him I was playing his role in the tribute band > because > of my physical similarity (which apart from my body shape, lack of hair, > sideburns and talent is pretty exact) and he was kind enough to laugh. > > Surreal moment (one of many): talking to Andy's brother about their > chorister days in London, and realising the Mackay boys share the same > vocal > pattern. > > Even if the Roxy album remains in lyric-less limbo indefinitely, there is > more for this Mackay-fan to look forward to than seemed possible for so > long. > There will be more gigs next year to tie in with the release of the album; > what > a happy prospect. > > Required attendance! > > > Lee S > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V12 #501 ***************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest