Gigs! Art! Gigs! Art!
April’s been a busy month - I’m back chained to a desk full time in The City, which although it hasn’t stopped me going out, it certainly hasn’t helped. Still, my loss is the world of finance’s gain, I guess. And some rich person is now just a little bit richer thanks to my efforts. I can’t begin to describe how happy (or otherwise) that makes me feel.
Anyway, work’s not what life’s about. Not for me, at least. So, what else have I been up to?
The picture shows the Art! part of the title. Or at least a part of the art. It is the Tate Modern, taken (unbelievably, looking at the pic) on a bright and sunny day. I visited the Tate Modern twice in April, once with a group from friend Clare’s Meet at Last website for their Sunday Serendipity outing, and once a week later on a date.
Any more art?
Of course there’s more … I also visited the Hogarth exhibition at Tate Britain with a friend. The exhibition featured both his paintings and his etchings. I was especially impressed with the latter.
Although etchings look like technical pen drawings, they are, of course etched. In this case into a sheet of copper with a sharp point. The etchings are done in reverse, so that the copper block can be inked and stamped to make a picture. Hogarth seemed well ahead of his time in the sales and marketing of his etchings, which were sold through newspapers as a subscription series.
And what about the Gigs?
Having not seen any live music for ages, I managed two gigs in one week. Just the way things worked out. First off was 30 Seconds To Mars at The Astoria. I like their music, so no problem there. What was a pleasant surprise was just how cheerful and upbeat they were with the crowd. I’d been expecting them to be far more po-faced about their music, for some reason. Their cheerfulness extended to them having the audience teach them a football chant (Football’s coming home) and inviting a young audience member onto the stage to meet the band. Thanks to Tom for organising this.
Spiritualized at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire were a total contrast. They played an acoustic set complete with Gospel singers and string accompaniment. Their music was peaceful and mellow, gentle enough to almost lull me to sleep.
And as if all that excitement wasn’t enough for a month (it wasn’t!) I’ve also been playing all sorts of sports, going to the gym, walking whereever I can and exercising at home.
Realising I had lost my Fisher Space Pen through a hole in my pocket was a sad moment, as I’d had it several years and it has travelled with me nearly every day since I bought it. Replacement ones are a sizeable percentage more expensive than they were when I bought my very first one.
And finally, worth a mention because of it’s sheer bizarreness - “Break Out”, which was weird, but definitely fun. Thanks to James for organising.
