Radiohead

Review to follow.

The review is still to follow, my dearest readers, as I was busy holidaying and then hosting my dearest auntie and visiting Oxford, which I hope is more than to the point in this post.

I know there is plenty of the three of you waiting for my review of the memorable Radiohead gig in Poland on 25th August 2009 in Poznan in my most favourite Cytadela Park. Before I reveal that afterwards OK Computer brought tears to my eyes, again, long-lost feeling of freshness of this album flooded my oh so Radiohead loving heart back in the day, I would like to tell you the background story - the story of my 5 years of graft in the city to become an educated member of the society. Yes, I was studying in the city of Poznan, getting drunk at the weekends, studying, working and having walks in Cytadela Park and, sometimes, rarely, travelling to Berlin or Dublin to see Radiohead live. Once, in Berlin, one of the Polish weirdo Radiohead fan friends of mine threw a red and white bear with a note 'come to Poland', and yes, the bear proudly reached Thom's piano, if I was in Poland, I would post a photo of the bear. Anyway, I do not think they ever bothered to read the message. After all, it took them years to finally arrive in Poland.

As mentioned above, I have seen Radiohead a few times. Not too many, not too few. The first one was on nine eleven, the day of the big collapse. So every year I am reminded of my private anniversary, of how 'let's go down the waterfalls' brought tears to my eyes while my friends were texting me - come back to Poland, it's safer, unaware of what they meant. Yes, we, people in the first rows did not have a clue about the tragedy, unlike the band who felt unhappy to play. And since then, whenever I saw them, I found them quite unhappy to play. Which made it difficult for me to enjoy. But I am boring you.

So this time, Radiohead were full of beans, playful, with an audience full of unspoiled music fans for whom seeing Radiohead live was a miracle and the happiest moment of their lives. You cannot imagine a crowd more pleasing and responsive. Moreover, it was a beautiful summer day in a lovely city filled in with music fans. Last but not least, the park which used to be a citadel is a magic place with Magda Abakanowicz's sculpture and 2WW tanks and planes on exhibition. And I was a bit drunk.

So they came on stage after unappealing Moderat. Do not get me wrong, my dearest readers, I like Moderat, I spent long nights dancing to Kompakt dj's in the nearby SQ club. I simply cannot imagine why this dance act should be appealing when you're watching the sunset and not sunrise in an old citadel park. And I have seen some sunrises there dancing to Booka Shade, quite memorably, a sunrise the night right after my post-graduation, but it is a different story. And I think I missed the first rays of sun anyway.

Dearest readers forgive my sentimentality, but I hope it partly explains why I was so smitten. A beautiful performance it was, perfect, no mistakes, such positive energy. And oh my, Thom could even take a mickey faking Borat's accent and no one realised. They played the new song 'These are my Twisted Words' and they played 'Creep'. I had my a bit fast tempo 'let's go down the waterfalls' to for the third time in this review so already famously bring the tears to my eyes. And the bit with tuning into a random radio station - when I heard a Polish voice, I fully realised the impact of this idea. The band seemed so relaxed and happy to play and dance - it was a joy to see. And there is proof, out there, on youtube. Go and see for yourselves, dearest readers. And may 'let's go down the waterfalls' bring tears to your eyes.

The Twilight Sad

On 5th August, Wednesday, I had the utmost pleasure of reuniting with my old friend Ama to see The Twilight Sad in Lexington and getting him to make the most of my enemy of a camera. The above pictures are the child of their cooperation, for which I am grateful, as I could focus completely on the gig. I secured my first row position, as close to the guitarist as possible, to watch in amazement the flow of movements that produce the amazing sound of The Twilight Sad. With apparent confidence, Andy MacFarlane is not only on guitar, this would be underestimation, I would call his guitar vocals, yes, dearest readers, I am not exaggerating. James Graham, the traditional vocals, is frighteningly charismatic, but, for some reason, at gigs, his vocals are not as accentuated as on the records, and perhaps rightly so, as the audience can appreciate the instrumental aspect of The Twilight Sad. Needless to say, Mark Devine on drums is fantastic, as usual. Yes, dearest readers, they are one of my favourite bands and I am looking forward to their new album. In many ways, this gig was much better than the one in ICA, mostly because The Lexington is more of an intimate venue and packed for the occasion, which made me happy, as I would love to see The Twilight Sad grow.

Field Day - Big Pink, Malcolm Middleton

As mentioned below, 1st August in London was a rainy day and it was only getting more and more miserable. I just caught a glimpse of Big Pink who are moving to realms of darkness, sadly, unimpressive, then a quick look at Malcolm Middleton whose gig was plagued by technical difficulties. I felt there was not much to look forward to and I had my own health to take care of. Dreaming about a cup of tea with tea with rum, I left and never experienced the famous Mogwai or Fennesz. I also managed to miss Drums of Death but that is mainly because I failed to track down the right tent. Had it been sunny, I would have stayed. I wish!

Field Day - Wild Beasts

My dearest readers must have noticed the change in quality of my still poor photos, yes, my biggest enemy camera has proved to be much better than my good old camera phone. So on the 1st August in Victoria Park, I proceeded to the below mentioned tent to see Wild Beasts of an unconvincing band name. I was not disappointed, they were creative, imaginative, hilarious and talented - my dearest readers must be astonished at the variety of adjectives employed, exceptionally generous of me, I realise. However, what struck me most, was their honesty, they were sincere and genuinely surprised at the warm welcome and cheers throughout the gig. It would be impossible to pinpoint what exactly made them special but I was impressed by their vocal skills, melodies, bass and drums - a most refreshing mixture.

Field Day - The Horrors

It was a rainy festival day, mud instead of hay, slips instead of egg and spoon races. Fooled by a temporary sunshine, pressurized by my dearest readers, I got my ticket on the door, desperate to have fun. First, The Horrors - album of the year, attitude of a lifetime. It started raining and, being not quite impressed by their latest production, I was not carried away. But I will not be moaning as I proceeded to tent number three of four to see what I was hoping to be my highlight.