One crazy week in London

It has been non-stop ever since getting back from Morocco. Nothing major, but lots of small events in a short time, so I thought it justified a post.

First up, Monday night - a very cultured evening out at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. I have wanted to visit Royal Alert Hall for months now - ever since seeing a DVD of a gig The Killers played there. It is an an amazing circular building, beautifully decorated. There are three levels of tiered seating, and above a series of intricate arches. Above that, a massive roof with a field of upside down mushrooms, or flying saucers (see pics) - apparently they improve the acoustics. That evening the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was performing, with Stéphane Denève conducting and Paul Lewis on piano. I'm not a huge fan of classical, but hearing it live in that venue, I can completely understand how people get so passionate about it. It is really something you need to experience to understand. At times the music was soft, and light; barely audible, and other times it was overcoming and all-powerful. The music really did tell a story, the two hours flew by.


Three days later, Thursday, I went to see the New Zealand band Fat Freddy's Drop. If you are an avid follower, you will know this is the second time I have seen FFD in London, and although the first was good, it was not great. I firm believer in second chances, so I gave them another go. And I am glad I did. They put on an awesome show, music - perfect, stage presence - couldn't fault them. For those interested, a couple of vids:
Roady
Wandering Eye

Friday evening I went out to a show that I had bought tickets for 10 months earlier. A show that had sold out in a day. I went to see Muse at Wembley Stadium.
I have wanted to see Muse for years now, but something has always gotten in the way. A few years ago I even had tickets to a show but had to sell them as I was starting a new job and couldn't take the day off! Seeing Muse was one thing, but seeing Muse at Wembly Stadium; that is out of this world, you can kill me because my life is now complete type scenario. I arrived nice and early, and got a relatively good spot. There was a huge 'runway' coming off the centre of the stage. I was about 5 people back from the front of the runway. For some stupid reason, Lily Allen was supporting. I, along with about 90% of the audience, was not a fan. She put on a mediocre performance, even for her. Finally Muse came on. The only word I can use to describe their set is EPIC! The music alone was amazing, flawless! But the whole thing was like a stage show. The stage in itself was a huge structure that lit up with patterns and colours, pictures etc. At one point a huge inflatable UFO hovered out over the crowd, and if that wasn't impressive enough, a person fell out the bottom and was doing acrobatics. One of the highlights for me was during 'Plug in Baby' they released a whole lot of these large balloons filled with confetti out over the crowd. At the end of the runway (where I was) there was a platform that raised up over the crowd and rotated. I have never seen a concert like it before, and I now know why Muse is dubbed as the best live act in the world. If you ever have a chance to go to one of their shows, even if you don't like the music - do it.


Videos:
Take a Bow & Plug in Baby - Awesome. Just watch.
Second half of Plug in Baby - They released a whole lot of huge confetti-filled balloons!
Soldiers Poem - The whole of Wembly Stadium with their cellphones lit up like stars
Undisclosed Desires - Close up on the rotating platform
Inflatable UFO - The massive inflatable UFO flying around
MK Jam - Drum and Bass solo. Close up

On Saturday night I was at a bit of a loose end, so I went on a mission to take some photos. I stupidly forgot to charge my camera batteries, so only got about 30 minutes out of them. But here are the results -


Sunday was The Mayors Thames Festival in London. Lots of events going on around London, especially music. I didn't participate so much during the day, but during the evening I went to watch the parade and fireworks. The parade was so good. The amount of effort that people had put into it was above and beyond - costume and props. It really was next level. The fireworks were also very cool. I had a perfect view over the river to St. Paul's cathedral. The fireworks lighting up and sky and water below.
Fireworks
Parade 1 and Parade 2

Monday night, crazily, I did nothing but catch up on sleep.Tuesday was another story. I went to see Wilco at the Royal Festival Hall, in Southbank. I thought the concert was good, and they are really great musicians, but played mostly their older stuff, which I either didn't know, or wasn't much of a fan of. But still, they put on a good show. Philip Selway was supporting (drummer for Radiohead), who has just put out his own solo album. He was very good and I really enjoyed his set.
Impossible Germany
I'm The Man Who Loves You

So you are all up to date. I am heading off to Munich for Oktoberfest today. I'm away for five days, so I'll have plenty of stories and photos to share. I am only back in London for two days, then I head to Ibiza for four days and Barcelona for a week! So realistically I won't have anything up here for at least three of weeks. I am sure you'll survive. Prost!