LIVE music photography

I guess as far as historic landmarks go Hampton Court needs no introductions. Situated on the the banks of the Thames a few miles from Kingston Upon Thames in Surrey, Hampton Court is one of the best preserved pre-Elizabethan palaces in the UK. I know it well as I often cycle pass it and the hoards of tourists however this was the first time that I had visited the Place to watch a concert. I expected the auditorium to be in the front of the building, where the ice skating is situated in the winter months however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the seating was inside the palace walls and the auditorium is designed in a manner which highlights the grandeur of it’s surroundings as well as being intimate. I have never been a fan of open air concerts however being situated within a courtyard worked perfectly.

As festivals go this was pretty posh. The catering menu in the hospitality area had been created by Gordon Ramsay, and if you wished to have a waterside picnic overlooking the canal this would cost you £120, excluding your concert tickets and booking fees! That said your picnic would be from Carluccio’s, and they’d throw in VIP parking passes to make your evening more enjoyable.

Katherine Jenkin’s performance was excellent. She has received a a lot of criticism from classical music critics and aficionados for dumbing down opera and bringing it to the masses however, in my opinion we need singers like Katherine Jenkins who hopefully will introduce people to opera and classical music who otherwise may have dismissed it as being for the middle classes. Again her dance effort “Viva La Diva” with Darcy Bussell was extremely successful however was shunned by serious critics who regarded it no better than a second class musical. It would appear that snobbery within the dance and opera circles is still rife!

Katherine Jenkins has been extremely successful over the last five or so years largely because she has managed to connect with her audience on a personal level, and has produced accessible cross over opera marketed in a manner which is easily digestible by the masses. Her last few albums have sold millions of copies across Europe and through her success she has introduced classical music to normal working class kids who otherwise may have passed them by. This is a real achievement and is imperative in order for the medium to survive.

On a personal level I don’t think you can carve up a 3 hour opera into bite size chunks. In order to appreciate and understand opera you need to listen to it in it’s entirety. That said the world of classical music is changing and whilst the likes of Jesse Norman, Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas will always be remembered as the greats I think there is now room for cross over artists who open up classical music to the masses.

Written by John Rahim

It would seem that 2008 will be remembered as another landmark year in producing a diverse breadth of talented female singers. Beth Rowley, who has been cited in many circles as the next Amy Winehouse, performed an excellent show at London’s Dingwalls in Camden. Her debut album “Little Dreamer” which entered the UK album charts at No.6 may not be as melancholy as Winehouse’s “Frank” or “Back to Black” however is an confident debut which contains two really strong singles “So Sublime” and “Oh my life” both of which deserve to be hits for her. Beth who was born in Peru however grew up in Bristol and has been performing since she was 16. She has been helped and mentored by soul singer Carleen Anderson and at an early age sang backing vocals for a number of successful bands and singers.

It would seem that success has come quickly to Beth and she was visibly nervous tonight playing in a very intimate gig where some members of the audience were actually sitting on the stage and perched on monitors. After the first few numbers she seemed to regain enough confidence to introduce her co-writer and saxonphonist, Ben Castle who has been instrumental (excuse the pun) in her album.

Beth Rowley is truly talented and I would be happily recommend her album to anyone who enjoys Dianna Krall, Norah Jones or even Jamie Cullen.

Written by John Rahim

I have to admit that I was really looking forward to this gig. The Black Kids have so far received unanimously positive press for their first couple of singles, and their track “I won’t teach your boyfriend how to dance with you” has been certainly one of the more interesting singles to have been released this year. Everything was looking pretty good until I reached the front of the Carling Academy and saw their most ridiculous tour bus. Straight out of Spinal Tap the bus was probably the most self indulgent thing that I have seen for years. To make matters worse the letters “VIP” were emblazoned across both sides and the back. If they see this as a suitable mode of transport for a mini tour of England no doubt they’ll be borrowing George Bush’s Air Force One to fly them into Glastonbury, or Wakestock where they are also performing.

The gig itself was pretty dull, musically the band is bereft of any originality and having two keyboard players who do little more than shriek like banshees added nothing whatsoever. Their single, which is very good sounded like a fluke compared to the rest of the tracks which in my opinion are pretty mediocre.

Today saw the deaths of two creative geniuses, Bo Didley and Yves Saint Laurent. Without Bo Didley and Muddy Waters we would not have had Elvis, Jerry Lewis, Little Richard, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, The Cure, Radiohead etc….YSL inspired every fashion designer from Vivienne Westwood to Alexander McQueen and shaped global fashion in the 20th century. Bearing this in mind I don’t think that it’s unfair to reflect on the current generation of bands and creative people and ask what legacy will they leave future generations? Unfortunately I doubt Black Kids will leave anything more than a massive unrecouped balance to Columbia Records.

Written by John Rahim

As far as splinter groups go Dirty Pretty Things are actually quite good. Although Carl Barat was the main vocalist in The Libertines, he was rather unfairly regarded as the Andrew Ridgley of the band, somber, a bit on the dull side, however at times holding the band together through “challenging” times. I guess having Pete Doherty in your band must have been like having five Bobby Gillespie’s, completely unmanageable and fraught with daily difficulties and traumas. That said finally DPT seem to be getting the respect they deserve and tonight’s show at the Astoria was nothing short of excellent. The new tracks from the forthcoming album “Romance at Short notice” sound a lot bolder and rockier than their debut album “Waterloo to Anywhere” which were written and recorded shortly after the split from Doherty.

The band are currently on a mini tour promoting the new album which is out at the end of next month and are only performing at the 02 Wireless festival and the Reading and Leeds festivals this summer. However if you are attending any of these I’d recommend checking them out.

Written by John Rahim

It’s beyond me why a band with only one album behind them would want to play a venue such as the Royal Albert Hall. I can’t explain why but for some reason it does not seem right. For decades the RAH has been the safe and comfy home to rock dinosaurs and MOR stalwarts however, in the last year the venue which brings us opera and ballet spectaculars is trying to move with the times by attracting new and younger acts. I saw The Wombats for the first time less than a year ago at The Fez club in Reading. With less than a hundred paying punters at the time it seems remarkable that nine months later they are able to sell out the RAH.

Supporting the Wombats were the much superior Lightspeed Championwho along with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly (my new favourite act) are one of the more interesting London bands. This is the third time that I have seen Lightspeed Champion in three months and they never fail impress me. Dev Hynes is a star and genius songwriter of epic proportions and the band is incredibly tight. They also have the most brilliant female drummer that I have seen for years. Whilst looking delecate and elegant she manages to underpin the band without being overpowering.

The Wombats were pretty surprisingly good. For the occasion they had hired a miniature orchestra who jazzed up the arrangements and brought a well needed grandeur to their jaunty Scouse pop songs. I was pleased that the band did rise to the occasion and put on a good show befitting to their surroundings. Unfortunately the lighting was terrible making photographing them very difficult. Bizarrely enough the lighting was worse tonight than at The Fez club, I know that lighting guys don’t care much for making photographer’s life’s easier however if I was standing in the gods I think I’d be pretty pissed off with the boomy bass heavy sound and the back-lit stage lights.

Watching the band tonight it amazed me how quickly and hard new bands are worked these days. Less than nine months after the release of their debut album the label have released three singles, all of which have been extensively promoted, they have been on two tours including the NME new music tour with The Enemy, and they are now embarking on a SIX MONTHS European tour which ends in October. In order for them to keep the momentum up they will need to release a new single in January at the latest which would mean that they’d need to be back in the studio in November. I hope that they don’t burn out before then, or indeed put on any more weight as front man Matthew Murphy seems to have filled out somewhat since I saw him in January during the NME tour. I guess all the touring and recording has caught up with him.

Written by John Rahim