From Mat Vašíček’s album
„Salt Lake“, production by Thomas de Balder, guest artists Ivana
Morysová and Louise Hallgren. For more information visit www.matmusic.cz.
Back in 2007, you could hardly
escape the unbelievable story of a young Czech musician, Markéta Irglová: she
started playing the piano at the age of seven; at thirteen, she met Glen
Hansard with whom she later shot the low-budget, yet highly acclaimed film Once. In February 2008, nearly
twenty-years-old, Markéta was at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood accepting an
Oscar for Best Original Song.
After the collaborative project with
Hansard, The Swell Season, announced
its hiatus in 2010, Markéta began working on her first solo album, Anar, released in 2011. Its follow-up Muna (Sept 23, 2014), thematically a lot
different, straying from human relationships to the question of a higher being,
had been finished for a while but the release date had been postponed due to Markéta's
pregnancy. Now a year old, little Árveighas been on her very first tour. Markéta and her band had
graced the United States and Canada with their gigs throughout the month of
October, proceeding with the European leg of the tour until mid-November.
The concert at Divadlo DVA on
November 10 was the last one out of the three in the Czech Republic, following
Brno and Markéta's hometown Valašské Meziříčí. With my Once re-watch and the date quickly approaching, I was getting, reasonably,
more and more excited to hear her ethereal voice and mellow piano-driven
melodies in the intimate theatre atmosphere.
For once, I thoroughly enjoyed even
the opening act. The Israeli-born singer-songwriter Rosi Golan played a
forty-five minute set of acoustic songs, and the applause was getting
observably louder with each one. After a
quick break we were presented the premiere of Markéta's new music video for This Right Here, and after that, shortly
before 8:30, Markéta herself finally appeared on stage, starting the evening with one of my personal
favorites, Phoenix. Most of the
performed songs were off her latest release but she threw in some of the
well-known Once sounds. As I had not
attended her show before, getting to hear the beautiful, Oscar-winning Falling Slowly that concluded the
setlist was quite an experience! Shortly after, Markéta was back with a
three-song encore: first, The Hill, performed
solely by her on the keyboard. Then she was joined by Rosi and Aida for Golan's
Can't Go Back and one more Swell Season's piece, I Have Loved You Wrong. After the well-deserved and persistent
standing ovation, she came back once again, laughingly remarked that that would
really be the last song of the night,
and sang Karel Kryl's Jeřabiny acapella, encouraging the audience to
join in. After the show, she was signing autographs, taking photographs, and,
of course, humbly accepting a shower of praise by the merch table - where, by
the way, people were queuing up, and both Markéta's and Rosi's albums were
selling like hot cakes.
It is
safe to say that the night was an epic musical experience that exceeded all of
my expectations that were set pretty high. The aura of eeriness, fragility and
modesty that Markéta has always emitted was present on stage as well as outside
of it, and the way she plays combined with her angelic voice rightly leave
concert halls all around the world filled with awe.
I was hoping to write quite an
ordinary article about the Colours of Ostrava festival, using phrases like
'colorful, but stitched together from fine materials' confidently, making you
aware of the many wonderful acts performing there or navigating you through the
city, elaborately describing every band's style, all serious stuff like that.
But since it was a festival
about music, it is the songs that can navigate you through my experience;
which, on top of that, is all too intimate to be read as more than a diary
entry, really. Sure, I will give you written hints – but mere names would be
all mute. So, without further warning, here's the first bit.
Matt Berninger goes into the
crowd during “Mr. November.”
If I'd say I was going there
to see The National, it would be partly true. Lots of bigger or smaller (namely
Chet Faker or Ólafur Arnalds) acts I like were going to be there, but The
National? A treat! Of course, you can feel the atmosphere only partly from
shitty videos like this. But, for sure, the lead singer taking a little walk is
a sensation (even if he does it regularly). Mr. Berninger coolly strolling on
the stage, drinking his wine, dived into the people with the strangest kind of
self-confidence.
Sir Robert Plant &
Sensational Spaceshifters!
Old, but still roarin'. Mr.
Plant's got it all – the voice, the ideas. The performance was not his only, as
the band stole a large portion of the spotlight. The guitar in the classic Led
Zeppelin song “Going to California” was so crafty I could not believe my ears
(Jimmy Page wearing a mask?). Gradual tasting of new sounds from an upcoming album
was keeping on toes even the most devoted Led Zep fans, who waited to sweat
their four-symbols-T-shirts to “Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.”
Well, those were the big
names! Of the acts completely unknown to me beforehand – here are some that
really got my full attention. They were all excellent performers.
Seasick Steve, whose pal
playing drums looks even older than he does, but the energy! Makes his own
guitars out of beer cans, vacuum cleaners (and at one point the drummer became
'broommer,' producing the rhythm in a rather unusual (sweepy) way (sounded
awesome, though; gotta tell mum):
Denver Broncos UK, “the band
with the native American girl in it”; their sound was so full of quietness that
they stood out in the ocean of noise:
Graveyard Train, with their
chains 'n' voices:
Musicalities of August
OK, here we go. (“Can he get
even more personal? What is this – a space for showin' off?!”) I know this is
supposed to be more or less coherent – but not only Ostrava stays tuned during
the summer.
Prague's MeetFactory brought
the legendary, un-thought, un-hoped-of experience.
Neutral Milk Hotel were in town.
If you don't know them – give it a try. That should be enough, I'll leave it as
it is.
And just this Saturday, Jakub
and Hanka, two classmates of mine (or maybe even your mates as well) performed
in Napa Bar. Naming the event “The Last Last Sprinkles gig” was not that a
bright idea as a) we want more and b) none of the explanations of “Why Last
Sprinkles exactly?” were all too satisfying. The all-acoustic show was great
and the duo even sang “Bloodbuzz Ohio” by The National (see the coherence?).
But one singer-songwriter should be especially mentioned, as the event was
somewhat a reaction to his performance:
Charlie Rayne and “Laura's
Song” from the EP Thirty Sunsets.
Jakub performed Charlie's
“Blue Eyes” and a few of his own stuff as well – while Hanka accompanied him
with her voice and played the piano. In a couple of songs they were even joined
by their friend playing cello.
And that's practically all you
could have been missing and I've been hearing! At least I tried to transmit
some of the vibes here and there – if you'd like, you can follow Charlie's
facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CharlieRayneMusic) as he will be
touring in two months and Prague is surely going to be a stop. But even until
then I'm sure there will be some live performance I'll be surprised and amazed
by.
A green paper bracelet was enveloped around my wrist, but imprisoned I
was not – for it was the entrance ticket to Spotlight, the finale of this
year’s Strings of Autumn festival and a few hours’ enjoyment of live music. The
evening began with a Q&A session between Ian Mikyska and the guest
musicians. I know that one should not give first impressions much value, but to
me the Gogo Penguin band members seemed a bit dry and Andreya Triana frigid in
her serious behaviour that involved no smiles. It would be an over-dramatized
statement to say that I was worried the evening would be boring, but then, with
the first performance, all of my initial negative feelings vanished.
The three members of the Gogo Penguins kicked off the evening in the
then quite empty ROXY club. However, by the end of their 45-minute show the
under-stage area was filled with people that were stomping their feet to the
amazing drumbeat and swaying laxly from side to side like a pendulum. I was
fascinated by how the members seemed enclosed in two universes: one being with
their instrument (keyboard, bass or drums) and the second was with the rest of
the band. So absorbed were they in their music, they seemed to ignore the
enthusiastic audience. Most of the songs began with the soothing combination of
the keyboard and bass, but with the entrance of the drums, massive energy did,
too – that was the moment most people whooped and jumped.
The headliner of the evening was Andreya Triana. Having “studied” her
music for about a week, I felt slightly cheated by the succession of her
unreleased album songs performed, yet I was all the more exhilarated when the
familiar (and much adored) melodies of songs such as Town Called Obsolete or Lost
Where I Belong filled the concert hall. Lost in the notes, I simply could
not understand those individuals who pushed themselves right into the first
rows, just to take a photograph or video of the performance and then sharing
their “catch” on social networks. The light emitted from the smart phones
interfered with the colourful spotlights on the stage. This was the time to
enjoy the presence with the music; the sensations created by Andreya’s soothing
voice, the time to mutely mumble the lyrics, to dance with the flow, to forget
all essay deadlines, personal battles and the cold weather outside - for the
music of the night was warm both for the body and soul.
While I slightly grieved the end of the two performances, the evening
ended positively in the Chill-Out room, where the British-Czech band Profound
Bass with Ian Mikyska performed. The smile-filled and light-hearted
improvisations and cosy sofa atmosphere made a delightful combination and
finale of the evening. I am already looking forward to next year’s Spotlight,
for I have greatly enjoyed this one.
It was Sunday the 21st of July, approximately quarter
to eight. I was standing in front of Prague’s O2 Arena among thousands of other
fans of folk-Gypsy-Jewish music and great Canadian poetry and I was waiting to
get through the ticket control to experience an evening I had been looking
forward to a long time. It was the day of the third concert of the Canadian songwriter,
poet and novelist Leonard Cohen in the Czech capital. Cohen’s first Prague
concert took place in 2008 and the second just a year after that, and having been
present during the last, it was a promising event for me as a great fan of
Mister Leonard. Although I knew the concert would be an outstanding and
exceptional experience, I was still given more that I had expected.
The atmosphere in the O2 arena was amazing from the
very beginning. Never before
have I seen a standing ovation the moment the performer stepped onto the stage
for the first time. The audience showed its admiration and appreciation for the
musician and applauded him and his great band even when no string was plucked
and no voice had begun to please the listeners’ ears yet. The concert
opened with the songs “Dance Me to the End of Love” and “The Future” – the same
as during the last couples of Cohen’s tours. Also, Mister Leonard forgot the
lyrics a few times and the audience could see that it would take the band a
while to get into the mood. This made me worry for the first and the last time
during the concert, but everything changed with a fabulous bandurria intro to the song "Who by Fire" and it was with
a sequence of songs from Cohen's latest album "Old Ideas" that he
seemed to have gained confidence. After that, the concert got better with every
song and verse.
The concert was divided into two parts; however, the
two sets of encores took approximately the same time as one of these halves. In
total, Cohen and his band spent more than three hours on the stage and almost
all the essential songs were played. It was really pleasant that Cohen’s
probably best known song “Hallelujah” which can be heard every day on radio in
many different cover versions was included in the concert’s playlist, as by
chance, and gave room for other, less well-known songs.
The peak of the concert was an acoustic set during
which (the normally only singing) Cohen played the guitar and which ended with
a great, but very sad song "The Partisan". Its lyrics are half in
English and half in French; it deals with the life of a partisan during war and
the leaving of his family and the loss of his friends. After the song, the
screen behind the band turned red – that was a very moving moment for everyone.
I have been to a few great concerts in my life - I
have experienced Ian Anderson, Mark Knopfler as well as Bob Dylan and all these
musicians were really great. Yet in their cases the evening was
"just" a great concert; Cohen’s performance was simply a gift to all his
listeners. No-one really knows if it was Mister Leonard’s last visit to Prague
– but if it was, I was honoured to have been a part of it... And if it was not,
then next time I am definitely buying myself first-row tickets!
You know that feeling when you plan something for months and months, you expect a spectacular experience and in the end it seems just like a brief moment? This was the exact case of the Two Door Cinema Club concert at Lucerna Music Bar on the 26th of February. The ticket had been winking at me since September, my friends came to Prague for this special occasion... we were ready.
The long long queue in front of Lucerna certainly made the night seem promising, but also made us very anxious: what if it is going to be too crowded and we will not be able to enjoy it properly? As you know, Lucerna is not big at all, but it has the huge benefit of a certain cozy atmosphere. You feel it right away once you step in, disregarding the smoke and sweat, it makes you feel like you are the chosen one for whom the band is playing. Chosen or not chosen, the actual band kept us fans waiting for quite a long time, we were praying for the other bands to say the magic sentence: ”Okay, so this is our last song...” We were ready to sing, jump, dance and yet the satisfying sound of these Northern Irish musicians did not appear, the crowd was impatient.
But then the moment came and it was all like a routine for me. I knew which song they were going to start with, how the singer was going to be dressed like, the lights, the atmosphere –all was familiar and suiting. They are just one of those bands who do not surprise you with false tones or hyperactive behaviour. What had certainly changed, however, was that they had gained confidence since I had seen them last, but again, this could be just the benefit of having less fanatically staring eyes at them than at a major festival. Nevertheless, this small crowd had no intention to stand still. No, we danced through every song. Their most popular songs made some of the people go bananas - there was crowd-surfing, hitting, bouncing without stopping.
Yet as it is usually with good things, the blueish pleasing feeling created by the band, the comforting voice of the singer, the accords that make you dance no matter what disappeared eventually along with the adrenalin evoked by listening to what you love. Overall, even if it was not particularly a breath-taking, life-changing experience, it carved a hole into my heart and even though it was the third time I have seen them live, I am already looking for the fourth opportunity to “look past the blinding light...“
