Piano and The PepTides

Two very contrasting concerts to continue December's music madness. First, another U Ottawa School of Music concert, 'Piano Duets and Duos' on 7th December. 17 performers under the direction of Frédéric Lacroix presented a variety of well-known and lesser known pieces arranged for four, six, eight and twelve hands on 1 or 2 pianos. Whilst Rheinberger's transcriptions of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations were the headline pieces, I preferred some of the other pieces, such as Rachmaninoff's Romance and the comedy of Lacroix's arrangement Für Malcolm in homage to Beethoven's Für Elise. A fun festive treat for the appreciative crowd in Tabaret Hall.

Having missed their last few shows (including the 360 show at the Elmdale that won Best Live Show 2011 in Ottawa Xpress), it was interesting to see The PepTides again and in a different venue. Whilst atmospheric, the stage area at Mercury Lounge seemed a bit cramped. In the support slot, the excellent Django Libre provided a warm, nearly-Friday-feeling wash of sound.

Sadly I can't seem to find names for the 5 instrumentalists; once again, their performances blew me away. The set was another 'For Those Who Hate...' based blast of satirical indie-pop-retro fun, with a hint of blues. Compared to my previous PepTides experience, it seemed that there were more 'first time' listeners in the audience, but they still seemed enjoy the show. This time, the film clips projected behind the band were easier to see - a good touch. I also enjoyed hearing new songs 'Live Love Get High' and 'Homme Love Whore'.

There are more shows coming up as well - all in the aid of funding new album Love Question Mark: this Saturday The PepTides join the lineup of Guerilla LIVE at the NAC's 4th stage, 8pm; 27th January at the Black Sheep In; and Irene's Pun, 18th February. As a preview, the Youtube channel is here. For more info on the new album's recording and to add your support, go to their rockethub site.

Pigeon Funk

Notes on a very random purchase. Earlier today I acquired Venetian Snares 'Rossz Csillag Alatt Sz ü letett ' purely on the basis of the language and artwork. Its certainly something different - and most definitely not pop. After a bit of searching: Venetial Snares is, according to Wikipedia, the performing name of Aaron Funk, who seems to specialise in experimental tracks in odd time signatures. Article here . The sleeve notes for this album (whose title is Hungarian for 'Born under a bad star') poses the question: what if, for just a day, we could both be pigeons? Interessant. Apparently this concept (a day in the life of a Hungarian pigeon) is non-typical of Venetian Snares sound, but one could ask, does Mr Funk do 'typical'? On first listening, the sound of this CD mixes classical/traditional Hungarian sounds and breakbeats. but aside from that? Definitely a 'listen for yourself' artist; try the website , fan site or myspace .

Piano salons

Catching up on LinkedIn after a vacation, I came across a link for The Saturday Piano Salon . This caught my eye as I organise and attend an adult amateur piano group here in Ottawa. The Saturday Piano Salon, based in London, is an impressive step up from our friendly afternoons, giving amateur (and semi-professional, according to their site) pianists an opportunity to perform on a Steinway Model D at Steinway Hall. I read the review of their first Saturday event with interest. Maybe next time I find myself in London...

Bits and bobs

Bit of a gig lull these past few weeks but we did go and see Walk The Line, the new film about Johnny Cash. Really enjoyed the film - even if you're not a Cash fan its a good story (and need I mention about the Oscars?) Something else to add to my list when next browsing! Back to new music, recently acquired the new Arctic Monkeys (me too) and Kooks albums (on vinyl). Not quite got all the songs stuck in my head yet but I would recommend them (despite the hype). Bonus disc with the Kooks is an acoustic session of their album recorded at Abbey Road, which I really like as acoustic that's not James Blunt!! Final bob (fraid its unrelated to music): http://www.no2id.net/. I'd like to keep my rights!

PrettyInScarlett

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