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| From BT River of Music |
Another series of musical events as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Of the six available venues, we went for the European Stage at Somerset House, partly because I wanted the chance to see the Penguin Cafe Orchestra perform, and partly because Somerset House seemed as if it should be an interesting music venue.
The evening did not start well for me as I was refused entry because I was carrying illegal substances - in this case a Pret club sandwich and a packet of cheese and chive crisps. I was forced to sit outside listening to the first act whilst eating my sandwiches, in the company of a sizeable crowd of fellow potential spectators who had been similarly caught out by the previously unannounced food policy.
I'm not sure that I missed too much. The first act was a Finnish punk accordion player accompanied by a beat-box, dressed like a character out of Mad Max. Very weird!
Next up was Mariza, a fado singer from Portugal, who put on a good performance with loads of audience interaction. It would have been helpful to have karaoke captions though, so that we could have seen what we were meant to be singing along to. She handed over to an Afro-Spanish singer called Buika, who launched into a series of very self-indulgent numbers, which mainly consisted of her wailing and screeching like a demented version of Bjork, and went on far too long.
Which was a shame, as it encroached on the time available for the headlining act, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Under the direction of Arthur Jeffes (son of the original leader, the late Simon Jeffes) they sped though a selection of their greatest hits. I say hits, but of course none of the Penguin's tunes were actually hits back in the day. But they were the sound track to countless TV programmes, films, and adverts, and as a result they are firmly etched in the conciousness of anyone who was around at the time. A fitting way to end the evening, in what turned out to be a perfect musical entertainment venue. Well done to BT and Somerset House (apart from the sandwiches).
The evening did not start well for me as I was refused entry because I was carrying illegal substances - in this case a Pret club sandwich and a packet of cheese and chive crisps. I was forced to sit outside listening to the first act whilst eating my sandwiches, in the company of a sizeable crowd of fellow potential spectators who had been similarly caught out by the previously unannounced food policy.
I'm not sure that I missed too much. The first act was a Finnish punk accordion player accompanied by a beat-box, dressed like a character out of Mad Max. Very weird!
Next up was Mariza, a fado singer from Portugal, who put on a good performance with loads of audience interaction. It would have been helpful to have karaoke captions though, so that we could have seen what we were meant to be singing along to. She handed over to an Afro-Spanish singer called Buika, who launched into a series of very self-indulgent numbers, which mainly consisted of her wailing and screeching like a demented version of Bjork, and went on far too long.
Which was a shame, as it encroached on the time available for the headlining act, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Under the direction of Arthur Jeffes (son of the original leader, the late Simon Jeffes) they sped though a selection of their greatest hits. I say hits, but of course none of the Penguin's tunes were actually hits back in the day. But they were the sound track to countless TV programmes, films, and adverts, and as a result they are firmly etched in the conciousness of anyone who was around at the time. A fitting way to end the evening, in what turned out to be a perfect musical entertainment venue. Well done to BT and Somerset House (apart from the sandwiches).
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