mandragora (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mandragora) wrote2004-04-17 11:12 pm
mandragora) wrote2004-04-17 11:12 pm
Ole!
I saw The Gipsy Kings last night at the Royal Festival Hall. In general my musical tastes run rather more towards the indy end of the market and I probably wouldn't have gone to see the group in the usual course of events. However I received an email from a friend, H, offering me a ticket at short notice. I thought the cost of the ticket (£35) was too high so bargained him down. Well, okay, so he was a pushover. *g*
At the pre-concert drinks I ascertained that I was a replacement for T's Aussie girlfriend who is, gloriously, called Sheila. We have to date exercised great self-restraint and refrained from making jokes about her name... I enquired of H why Sheila couldn't make it and he solemnly informed me that it was because she's a religious fanatic and had gone to some fundamentalist retreat. This prompted a double-take from me, as Sheila is this gorgeous, lush Aussie babe with a wicked sense of humour and a propensity for champagne. When T arrived he explained that Sheila had indeed gone away for a religious retreat weekend as she's a devout Catholic. I had to therefore take issue with H's categorisation of her as being a 'religious fanatic', but then H is your typical Godless Brit who regards anything of a religious nature as being ever so slightly dodgy.
We had an interesting conversation about religion. H was of the view that it was all rubbish, whereas R wasn't sure, being a wishy-washy agnostic like yours truly. T's parents are a relative rarity, in that they're non-Catholic regular church goers, CofE turned Methodist because the local Anglican church is too High Church for their tastes. He'd been brought up as a regular church goer but had rejected Christianity in later life. His reasoning was that if God really did intend to send a child of his to Earth to save mankind then that child should have been female given that all men are flawed females with a dodgy chromosome mix. I had to grin at the 6 feet 2 inches tall T, who is a former Olympic rower, categorising himself as a flawed female. But, I like his style.
The concert itself was hugely entertaining. The wail of the guitars brought up memories of Andulacia, of the streets of Granada and Seville. I could almost taste the dust. The irony is that the group is actually from Arles and Montpelier, but then Arles in particular has been hugely influenced by Spain (it has a bull fighting ring, as well as a Roman circus) and many gypsies live there.
The lead singer was wonderful. He sang with a voice crafted from smoke and sherry, the product of a thousand bars. The guitar playing was sublime - the guitars throbbed and wailed and lamented. We remained seated during the first half but after the interval the whole of the audience rose to their feet and danced. And danced. R and myself were reduced to giggles by the antics of Madly Bopping Girl in front of us who had writhed and contorted in her seat during the first half. Her dancing in the second half was truly breathtaking. Breathtakingly bad. Ah well, it was nice to witness such enthusiasm.
So yes, I recommend the Gipsy Kings even if it's not your usual type of thing.
At the pre-concert drinks I ascertained that I was a replacement for T's Aussie girlfriend who is, gloriously, called Sheila. We have to date exercised great self-restraint and refrained from making jokes about her name... I enquired of H why Sheila couldn't make it and he solemnly informed me that it was because she's a religious fanatic and had gone to some fundamentalist retreat. This prompted a double-take from me, as Sheila is this gorgeous, lush Aussie babe with a wicked sense of humour and a propensity for champagne. When T arrived he explained that Sheila had indeed gone away for a religious retreat weekend as she's a devout Catholic. I had to therefore take issue with H's categorisation of her as being a 'religious fanatic', but then H is your typical Godless Brit who regards anything of a religious nature as being ever so slightly dodgy.
We had an interesting conversation about religion. H was of the view that it was all rubbish, whereas R wasn't sure, being a wishy-washy agnostic like yours truly. T's parents are a relative rarity, in that they're non-Catholic regular church goers, CofE turned Methodist because the local Anglican church is too High Church for their tastes. He'd been brought up as a regular church goer but had rejected Christianity in later life. His reasoning was that if God really did intend to send a child of his to Earth to save mankind then that child should have been female given that all men are flawed females with a dodgy chromosome mix. I had to grin at the 6 feet 2 inches tall T, who is a former Olympic rower, categorising himself as a flawed female. But, I like his style.
The concert itself was hugely entertaining. The wail of the guitars brought up memories of Andulacia, of the streets of Granada and Seville. I could almost taste the dust. The irony is that the group is actually from Arles and Montpelier, but then Arles in particular has been hugely influenced by Spain (it has a bull fighting ring, as well as a Roman circus) and many gypsies live there.
The lead singer was wonderful. He sang with a voice crafted from smoke and sherry, the product of a thousand bars. The guitar playing was sublime - the guitars throbbed and wailed and lamented. We remained seated during the first half but after the interval the whole of the audience rose to their feet and danced. And danced. R and myself were reduced to giggles by the antics of Madly Bopping Girl in front of us who had writhed and contorted in her seat during the first half. Her dancing in the second half was truly breathtaking. Breathtakingly bad. Ah well, it was nice to witness such enthusiasm.
So yes, I recommend the Gipsy Kings even if it's not your usual type of thing.