Concerts
Green Day
17-Jan-10 21:30
I went to the Green Day concert last night at the Asia World Arena in Hong Kong. I know of the band and am familiar with a few of their songs, but do not follow them religiously. I ordered the tickets early and looked forward to experiencing the sights and sounds of a live rock concert. I sat stage left and had a side view of the band.
At times I experienced a sensory overload: loud and fast music, flashing lights, pyrotechnics, cheering crowd, clapping and waving, jumping. This is to be expected, of course. Looking out at the crowd and watching everyone dance looked "really cool." Looking at people dancing individually was another story. Let's just say that there were very few people eligible for the show "So You Think You Can Dance." I am definitely included in that group. The band did a great job of getting the audience to participate through call and response singing, clapping on the beat, and chanting "Hey" on the offbeats.
I wore ear plugs throughout the entire concert. It really allowed me to hear the instruments and voice clearly without the reverb from the venue. The band played well, but everything was in a 4 beat pattern. The band finally played in a 3 pattern for about 45 seconds at the end of the show. It was refreshing for the music teacher in me to hear something other than 4. The band used the typical show format of starting with new music and ending with some of their classic songs.
For a few moment during the concert, I looked out at the crowd enjoying the music and thought about how interesting it is to be living in this moment in human history with the advancements and technology in our grasp. Despite our busy and hectic lives, music can still bring thousands of people together for a common purpose. It's a beautiful thing.
At times I experienced a sensory overload: loud and fast music, flashing lights, pyrotechnics, cheering crowd, clapping and waving, jumping. This is to be expected, of course. Looking out at the crowd and watching everyone dance looked "really cool." Looking at people dancing individually was another story. Let's just say that there were very few people eligible for the show "So You Think You Can Dance." I am definitely included in that group. The band did a great job of getting the audience to participate through call and response singing, clapping on the beat, and chanting "Hey" on the offbeats.
I wore ear plugs throughout the entire concert. It really allowed me to hear the instruments and voice clearly without the reverb from the venue. The band played well, but everything was in a 4 beat pattern. The band finally played in a 3 pattern for about 45 seconds at the end of the show. It was refreshing for the music teacher in me to hear something other than 4. The band used the typical show format of starting with new music and ending with some of their classic songs.
For a few moment during the concert, I looked out at the crowd enjoying the music and thought about how interesting it is to be living in this moment in human history with the advancements and technology in our grasp. Despite our busy and hectic lives, music can still bring thousands of people together for a common purpose. It's a beautiful thing.
I Still Love the Firebird
20-Sep-09 21:13
I enjoyed another concert this afternoon at the HK Cultural Center. This time it was the HK Philharmonic side by side with the Academy for Performing Arts Orchestra playing Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. It has been awhile since I've heard this live and wanted to see if it still moves me. The answer is a resounding YES! BAM! The ending is especially brilliant and continues to send chills up my spine. Do yourself a favor and check out this piece. Enough said.
Kids with Rhythm
19-Sep-09 07:08
I had the pleasure of attending a Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Concert last night. It was called "The Soaring Dragon: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China." I was curious about how the concert would be organized. Would politics or propaganda play any role in the concert? It didn't feel that way at all. It appeared to simply be musicians from Hong Kong and Mainland China coming together to present an energizing concert celebrating chinese music and the art of drumming.
The concert opened in a spectacular fashion. Young students from local primary schools performed a mass drum piece. There were about 60 drummers on stage. I was impressed with the amount of communication going on in order to keep the large group together. I was also impressed with the energy given off by the students (approximately 7-17 years old) as they played complex rhythms and single stroke rolls. BAM! It reminded me of the potential of young people and the vast amounts of knowledge and skills their young brains can process. Despite all of the bad news we tend to hear about "young people these days," the performers really brought some good back into this world through their music.
The concert opened in a spectacular fashion. Young students from local primary schools performed a mass drum piece. There were about 60 drummers on stage. I was impressed with the amount of communication going on in order to keep the large group together. I was also impressed with the energy given off by the students (approximately 7-17 years old) as they played complex rhythms and single stroke rolls. BAM! It reminded me of the potential of young people and the vast amounts of knowledge and skills their young brains can process. Despite all of the bad news we tend to hear about "young people these days," the performers really brought some good back into this world through their music.