justestic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> drowner Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ericaty Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > she get a supporter called ken.
> > > so she doesn't need to have a job.
> > > It is silly to follow every show for
> musician
> >
> > > without having a job especially at
> the middle
> > age.
> >
> > she got good friend called ken. she
> completely
> > have full-time work.
> > brett and they also know real facts well. so
> you
> > have got your facts totally wrong there.
> > you obviously don't know her or ken very
> well. how
> > stupid jealous..
>
> I don't think she has full-time work.
> If she has full time work, it is not easy to take
> a long holiday many times.
> I heard they are living together. Do you know
> that?

What the fuck has it got to do with you or anyone else for that matter?!

[www.concertlive.co.uk]

What a beautiful sting accompaniment!!
How amazing is the intro of she's in fashion?!
Want to give a teardrop for this stunning music intro..
Oh dear! Can't wait to hear the song completely in my copy!!

Far from Space

one of my pals sent me this and I am sharing this with you. If someone speaks Russian, you can tell me what it is. I could have a go myself but I can only read small bits and pieces.


I can say, looks nice. By the way that mag is using the photos from the very talented photo-editor. (see photographs section).

give a hand to Brett, to photo-editor who took the photos and to my pal who spotted the review!

if someone would please translate i would be very greatful. the photos do look nice.

I'll have a go later maybe.

I'm not fluent in Russian, so don't quote me on this, but I believe it's some sort of review of Brett's performances at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on October 20 & 21 of this year ... more or less.



"Dear Casey, Your voice is like butter to our ears. Can you please find a way to get that audible chocolate on the air waves."

WELL MY RUSSIAN IS SHIT HOT SO HERE'S WHAT I CAN MAKE OUT

There was a time when "An Evening with Brett Anderson", to give Saturday's show its full advertised title, would imply the sort of Bacchanalian excess that would leave you confused and with a hell of a headache in the morning. Yet times have moved on from those proto-Britpop glory days, and the man who once seriously threatened to give Bowie and Morrissey a run for their money in the androgynous, homoerotic posturing stakes is settling into his solo career relatively quietly.

London's South Bank is what crisp Autumn nights are all about. Illuminated by the impressively imposing London Eye and watched over by the iconic silhouette of Big Ben, the capitals cultural heartbeat is fed by a wealth of institutions catering for both the bohemian and the contemporary tastes. The National Film Theatre sits nestled under the protective canopy of Waterloo Bridge, the Tate Gallery stands majestic, facing St Pauls Cathedral across the water, and between the Eye and the film theatre stands the Royal Festival Hall complex. For two nights, the middle capacity hall in this complex, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, plays host to an artist 15 years in the game, yet about to break new ground and present himself to an audience like never before.

Brett Anderson is now in the twilight of his first efforts as a solo artist. With echoes of Suede's triumphant final show at the Phoenix Festival in 1995, when the band had endured obligatory touring of an emotionally draining album and a period in their history that required a radical departure in order to move on and reinvent themselves, these two shows simply served notice that Brett isn't finished yet, far from it. What he does next is unclear, but he's ensured he'll step away for a while on an absolute high. And he'll leave, as always, a fanbase demanding more.


Firstly as the front man for 'britpop' pioneers Suede, then the-all-too brief reconciliation project The Tears with original Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, Brett Anderson is a singer/songwriter with nothing to prove. For a decade and a half, he has redefined what being a performer is all about. Constantly pushing the boundaries and asking difficult questions of a notoriously loyal fanbase, Brett has experienced incredible highs and crushing lows, whilst widely acknowledged to have shunned the easy route of nostalgia and resting laurels with dignity and self-esteem intact. Finally delivering his first solo offering 4 years after stating his intentions, his departure from the safe and formulaic sound of Suede (and to a much lesser extent The Tears) to present an album devoid of the trademark glam guitar and rousing choruses earlier this year tested the loyalty of an army of peripheral fans who, equally semi-understandingly and exasperatingly, moved on to pastures new. 'Brett Anderson' the solo album is a collection of intensely personal songs characterized by a starkness and depth of emotion punctuated by textured string arrangements and minimal guitar. The familiar suede lexicon of nuclear winters, satellite towns and high rises was replaced with an intensely personal collection of stories involving walks through the 'plastic dinosaurs' of Crystal Palace and fond recollections of signing on at Lisson Grove. For seven months Brett toured the album around the world with a traditional band, thus foregoing the albums starkness to deliver shows every bit as intense and well received as anything that went before with Suede and The Tears.



This weekend marked almost a full circle back to the albums roots as Brett performed two nights with just an acoustic guitar, a pianist and a string octet. Both shows would take us through 15 years of a career that many in the audiences have borne witness to from the very beginning.

Indeed, the audience at Queen Elizabeth Hall were similarly dormant for the opening stages of this show. With the exception of the charming Love Is Dead, his solo material just fails to capture the essence of what originally made him a star. Working through the first four songs with po-faced professionalism, his attention seemed focused everywhere but towards his fans and it was difficult to recall the overt histrionics of a decade ago.


Most, if not all, have attended shows throughout the years where they would have bounced themselves to peak physical fitness whilst singing themselves hoarse. But tonight everyone was allocated a seat; they were asked not to take photos, to switch their phones off and to be respectful of the intimate atmosphere. In return, they got versions of the songs they know and love like never heard before. The string octet comprised members of the Dirty Pretty Strings, expertly led by Amy Langley who had been entrusted with the unenviable task of transcribing songs etched into the hearts of all in attendance into intricate string arrangements, a daunting task not dissimilar to being handed the crown jewels and a tin of brasso rub.



As the lights dimmed and the intro music (Adagio for Strings, set the tone perfectly) the eight girls, resplendent in elegant evening dresses, emerged from the darkness to take to their raised platform stage left. As the resultant cloud of expensive perfume swirled outwards over the banked audience Brett slowly emerged from the other side of the stage and absorbed the enthusiastic but ever-so-slightly subdued (more of that later) welcome applause. Both shows would start with a run through of his solo material, the second night starting with the debut perfomance of 'The More We Possess, The Less We Own Of Ourselves', undoubtedly the most indulgent string laden song of the album. Other mainstays of the years shows were given a run through; Love Is Dead, To The Winter and Song For My Father, but now sounding much more organic and true to the album originals. The subdued applause early on in both shows was not that of an expectant-but-disappointed audience. With hindsight now it was painfully akin to the type of atmosphere more common between two former lovers having that first post-relationship encounter…bear with me on this… both parties being extremely familiar with each other in the past and sharing incredible times together now thrust into entirely different situations and shyly aware of a need for an entirely different protocol. Brett seemed to embrace the stand-off with a sly manipulation; on the one hand encouraging the audience to sing along to classic Suede ballads 'Everything Will Flow' and 'Saturday Night', and on the other admonishing the request for the old school Suede rocker 'Killing Of A Flashboy' from someone in the audience with the classic putdown "I'm not quite sure you've grasped the concept of what we're doing here" (or words to that effect). But these were audiences used to the blood, sweat and tears of many a riotous show. Given the opportunity to hear their favourite songs with intimate clarity and revised arrangements, I'm sure Brett knew this was a collective grasping of the moment. On one hand the audiences shyness could be attributed to the unfamiliar surroundings and absence of a mobile Brett (perched as he was for much of the shows on his stool), on the other it could be seen as absolute awe at what was unfolding before them. But to also look at it with the utmost arrogance, both performer and audience knew they'd been there, done that in terms of life defining shared experiences, these two nights were about something completely different, and neither side was going to back down; Brett wasn't going to rip up the stage like the crazed epitome of lust fuelled rockstar clichés of old, and the audiences weren't going to provide the antagonism and energy that fuelled those performances. This was Brett's audience's big night out up west, their chance to do something pretentious and validate their claims to share Brett's wavelength of maturity and dignity. Such was the atmosphere, it was even possible for Suede co-founder and true musical legend Mat Osman to take his seat in the audience on the second night and remain largely unnoticed and undisturbed throughout.



New met old with a clutch of expertly transcribed medleys throughout the two shows… solo song One Lazy Morning segueing effortlessly into Suede's She's In Fashion, and cult early Suede anthem My Insatiable One paired with the equally cult-status solo song Clowns. Other songs would be revisited in a metaphorical full circle. The Power, By The Sea, Wild Ones and Indian Strings were performed for the first time with the full album version string arrangements expertly restored. Other songs were stripped of their album version bombast and delivered, one suspects, in their early embryonic forms. With the Dirty Pretty Strings leaving the stage, Brett was truly on his own to perform a stark piano-only version of one of Suede's most celebrated anthems, The Asphalt World to close the first set on both nights.

It was not until the moment One Lazy Morning deftly segued into She's In Fashion that the crowd were enlivened, and for the rest of the set each recognisable classic was greeted with whooping delight.

The voice that crackled through Suede's later efforts even seemed to be approaching its former eccentric majesty, though it was difficult to tell if dramatics or decline forced some old high notes to be replaced by hushed whispers.

The second sets of both nights were characterized by a collective thawing of anxieties from both Brett and the audience. Banter flowed freely and Brett playfully mocked the subdued atmosphere while the audiences indulged his pisstaking.

So when he shoehorned the crooner's classic It Was a Very Good Year into the second half of the show, the lament of a performer in the autumn of his years teetered perilously close to brooding selfanalysis.

After a playful cover version of the old Sinatra classic 'It Was A Very Good Year' (undoubtedly a nod to Brett recently celebrating his 40th birthday) on the first night, a tear jerking 'Living Dead' on the second and a double dedication of 'Europe Is Our Playground' to the new special lady in his life, there's no other way to describe what happened next, other than to say he entered 'the zone'. Alone at the piano, both nights witnessed a double matinee of brilliance. 'He's Gone' and 'The 2 of Us' reminded everyone just why this man has got under their skin in a way very few performers can. Stretched to the limits of its range, Brett's voice soared over the high notes with an unflappable intensity.

Added theatrical drama was provided unintentionally during 'The 2 of Us' by the redundant Dirty Pretty Strings still sat on stage, instruments poised as if waiting to provide a dramatic string laden outro to a song soaring towards a point of no return. Instead, the song played out as it begun, with Brett well and truly in that zone.
Pianist Fred Ball made a welcome return to the stage for a genuinely moving 'The Next Life' with Amy providing a new haunting cello arrangement, before all ten performers, with Brett back on acoustic guitar, eased into Still Life, considered by many to be Suede's finest moment. Only ever played acoustically by first Brett and Bernard Butler in Suede mk1, and then with Richard Oakes in Suede mk2, these two shows would be the first time the song would be played live with its notoriously OTT album string arrangement faithfully replicated (discounting the use of backing tracks during Suede's farewell tour) and after 13 years spent (im)patiently waiting for this moment, the string-rich outro was greeted with an overly enthusiastic standing ovation on both nights.



No-one would have minded the shows ending on such a high, but Brett would return both nights for a second encore of unanimous Suede favourites 'So Young', 'Wild Ones' and 'Trash'… the first night Brett encouraging the audience to abandon their seats and pile down to the front, the second night they did it anyway, without encouragement. Memories of old came flooding back as Brett gave the chorus singing duties to the newly assembled throng who responded admirably.

Earlier, one mischievous punter's request for Anderson to "swing the mic" was shot down with a mumbled retort of "I don't do that sort of thing any more". More's the pity Brett.


Over two nights, close to a total of 2,000 people witnessed a performer right at the top of his game. Gone were the initial nerves that saw a number of mistakes punctuate the set at the earlier Union Chapel acoustic show. There was a defiant air of confidence that was a literal two fingers to the critics among the fans of his seemingly elementary guitar playing as he performed noticeably more intricate arrangements. Amy led the Dirty Pretty Strings through an immaculate performance, though she would modestly tell me later they had moments during the first night that needed rectifying for the second night, but honestly I doubt no-one in the audience even noticed.

;-) Sheer brillance am I!

wahey! do you speak Russian, Halfpint?

thanks a whole bunch.:)

DKav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wahey! do you speak Russian, Halfpint?
>
>
>
Well, i am so sure I have read this before, Ian?

hugoflash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DKav Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > wahey! do you speak Russian, Halfpint?
> >
> >
> >
> Well, i am so sure I have read this before, Ian?

Maybe the Russki's nicked my review? Seems to have survived conversion to Russian and back again pretty well intact!



Mean? That's not mean. No, no, no. Mean is when I made my childhood sweetheart ride her bike home after I ass-fucked her behind the tennis courts

oh! come on, be serious. My friend was nice enough to scan this, and I was nice enough to host it and put on here, so is there someone nice enough who reads Russian to translate something from it?

Plse?

DKav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> oh! come on, be serious. My friend was nice enough
> to scan this, and I was nice enough to host it and
> put on here, so is there someone nice enough who
> reads Russian to translate something from it?
>
> Plse?
>
>
>
Ok, but i thought maybe Ian's excellent and slightly indulgent review had been picked up by some russian fellows, how was I to know that Halfpint has a devilishly devious side x

hahahahaha I'm so sorry guys I couldn't resist - sometimes you lot are so easy to wind up. Makes a change it's normally me being the one who has the piss taken out of her on a regular basis at work,. Im sorry Dkav it was nice of you're friend to do that. I did try and find out how to translate it and I'm sure microsoft have a package somewhere to do that.

HAHAHAHAHAH

Yes Hugo well spotted - Blue Peter badge for you!! Half of it is YoBlairs review and the other from London Entertainment or something. I mixed it in to try and fit with one another.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I love you guys, can I take you all home with me XX

halfpint Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hahahahaha I'm so sorry guys I couldn't resist -
> sometimes you lot are so easy to wind up. Makes a
> change it's normally me being the one who has the
> piss taken out of her on a regular basis at work,.
> Im sorry Dkav it was nice of you're friend to do
> that. I did try and find out how to translate it
> and I'm sure microsoft have a package somewhere to
> do that.
>
>
> I love you guys, can I take you all home with me
> XX

can we go for a drink first?

I could try to type it in Cyrillic alphabet and put it via Babelfish and see if what they come up makes sense. I have a Russian English dictionary so I can pick up some words from it.

Another friend of mine is having a go at translating it. That should be a few days. I'll keep you posted. The magazine where that article comes from is a St Petersburg music magazine called Fuzz which writes about local and international rock and alternative music scene.

thanks for all the work

hugoflash Wrote:
>
> can we go for a drink first?

of course :-)

See Dkav i knew you'd find away, I believe in you!

ta-daa! Here is the translation. Give a big hand to my hard-working friend from Russia called "J"

"
Well, I translated some fragments of this gig review. It’s a funny text – but I’m afraid that after translation it became even funnier) Sorry for the mistakes. Hope you will understand the essence of article. So:

"Front men of those bands that suddenly burst; front men who bore all the fame and glory of those bands; these front men exist by inertia during the certain time. …They are like children-film-stars who grew up and suddenly realized that previous grimaces don’t fit now and nobody likes new ones.
October 20, evening, one of these front men Sting in company with his mates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, who suddenly decided to resurrect their band Police which had collapsed 20 years ago, performed on Wembley Arena; the very same time another one, Brett Anderson with his solo performance, occupied Queen Elizabeth Hall on the other side of London. …Essentially, Anderson is like a coffer with treasures. He always wrote the most genius song in coauthorship and then tore these relationships with the same genius. …
This time Norwegian musician and producer (who’d settled in London 10 years ago) Fred Ball found a key to Brett. During the year they sketched an album “Brett Anderson” in 7 versions plus a whole basket of b-sides; and month before the releasing, in February, they felt frozen through and through at covered with snow Moscow – making historical concert in B1 club. The new material sounds inspiring and powerful in electricity – but only 2-3 songs performed without the band make real effect. Fortunately, Brett realized that very soon.
QEH is an intelligent music venue on the shore of Thames; it was open at 1967 and its average capacity is 1000. All the nuances of Brett’s lyrics which is full of real melancholy and cry are delivered with maximum accuracy only in this environment. …But may be the main advantage of this string neighborhood is Brett’s voice which rapidly steps into the first plan. Amazing and very specific this voice is sharp like razor, strong and shrill; it seems like the voice just about to be broken but during the next versus it’s suddenly falling until the suede whisper.
…The final set of Suede’s “So Young”, “Wild Ones” and “Trash” was performed in chorus with public; people suddenly left their seats, surrounded Brett with roses, photo-flashes and some absolutely mature love.
“All that is ve-e-e-ery strange” – smiles Mat Osman who had played with Brett and who now watches this grandeur sitting on the 7th row. Probably he’s not absolutely agree that great artist, like real genius, is a loner".
Alina Katran"

see I told you you could do it Dkav. All it needed was a gentle persuasion. Thank ya mate for us.
Hope you saw the funny side though :-)

halfpint Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> see I told you you could do it Dkav. All it needed
> was a gentle persuasion. Thank ya mate for us.
> Hope you saw the funny side though :-)

I would like to live in a "string neighborhood" bet it's really relaxing.

Also we need to know more about the album “Brett Anderson in 7 versions" sounds like the russians have got 60 extra songs!!

Mat couldn't get better seats than 7th row?!?



"Dear Casey, Your voice is like butter to our ears. Can you please find a way to get that audible chocolate on the air waves."

Joe Col Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mat couldn't get better seats than 7th row?!?
>
> "I can handle things, I'm smart. Not dumb like
> everyone says. I'm smart & I want respect!!"

Are you not aware that here in our green and pleasent land you get allocated seats according to height and income. No exeptions

Dint know that. But Mat is rather tall & I would think he's pretty well off financially. Thus ... shouldn't he get better than 7th row?!? I would think at least 3rd.



"Dear Casey, Your voice is like butter to our ears. Can you please find a way to get that audible chocolate on the air waves."

Cool - that means I'm rolling in it then as I was sat near him on the row higher (I think can't remember the night was a blur must have banged my head as well as my knee hehehe) some one tell my bank manager.

I think the taller you are the further from the stage you should sit. In fact I reckon it would be well funny if the next gig Brett does he has photo's of every single person going to the gig and he gets to decided who's face he stares at all night in the first two rows. Sorry devious side coming out again.

halfpint Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cool - that means I'm rolling in it then as I was
> sat near him on the row higher (I think can't
> remember the night was a blur must have banged my
> head as well as my knee hehehe) some one tell my
> bank manager.
>
> I think the taller you are the further from the
> stage you should sit. In fact I reckon it would be
> well funny if the next gig Brett does he has
> photo's of every single person going to the gig
> and he gets to decided who's face he stares at all
> night in the first two rows. Sorry devious side
> coming out again.

Men should be seated according to penis size, this way I would have a particulally good seat

Heard Hugo Singing this song the other day '.....all I ever do is dreeeeam ....' So i assume all the guys on the forum will be sat at the front with you then. But I think I know who will be just a couple of inches nearest the stage than anyone else.

Oh dear sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Halfpint!

halfpint Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> But I think I know who will be just
> a couple of inches nearest the stage than anyone
> else.

Please ... flattery will get you nowhere.



"Dear Casey, Your voice is like butter to our ears. Can you please find a way to get that audible chocolate on the air waves."

halfpint Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heard Hugo Singing this song the other day
> '.....all I ever do is dreeeeam ....' So i assume
> all the guys on the forum will be sat at the front
> with you then. But I think I know who will be just
> a couple of inches nearest the stage than anyone
> else.
>
> Oh dear sarcasm is the lowest form of wit
> Halfpint!

Clearly i meant that smaller men should be compensated and get good seats, such a judgemental lady!!!

i am curious as to who you think has that extra couple of inches though?? is there something you want to confess about someone??