Rod - 9-12-2007 at 03:07 PM
Folks,
Joe Tawadros talks on The Art of Taqasim next week at the Art Gallery of NSW, in association with the fabulous "Arts of Islam" exhibition... Wed 19
Sept, 6.30pm. Entrance Court, ground level (exhib downstairs).
Regards,
Rod
Rod - 9-19-2007 at 01:02 PM
Beautiful concert - real "fire-in-the-dark", entrancing playing.
Huge space with high ceilings (this is where Brandenburg Orchestra played years back) but sympathetically miked.
Standing-room only, very much larger crowd than I expected, but JT is a third-time nominee for the Aria awards after all and is the "public face" of
Oud here.
The stoney-faced audience in the front rows must have been intimidating - these are the same cerebral types who go to the opera and don't 'lower'
themselves to clap, let alone cheer.
JT's patter was great (how much more can anyone explain to a non-musical audience beyond demonstrating quarter-tones? It's all about hearing the
music...) and I liked the way he socked it to 'em a few times, reminding them that musicians and other humble humans are part of the equation in the
current environment.
The oudistes in the audience won out though and we managed to bring him back for an encore. If there were enough of us, he might never have left the
stage - but we respected too how much of himself he'd poured into the taksim.
The exhibition (next stop Abu Dhabi) was too important NOT to have had JT perform in association with it, no question. I hope young kids from the
western suburbs managed to see the exhib.
A grand night, in a city where there are so few opportunities to hear live oud!
Regards,
Rod
Lintfree - 9-21-2007 at 02:52 AM
Those guys in the front row weren't clapping because they were recording and clapping screws with the mics. I have to deal with that all the time and
it really gets to me, especially when C.D.s of the concerts come out FOR SALE and I didn't record them! Some people don't mind it but I really do. I'm
sure that there are many musicians who woul;d like to sell their own C.D.s and instead you get these....................weasels doing it for you and
pocketing the money. When I find them I take their gear.