PrettyInScarlett

What better way to spend a Saturday than listening to The PepTides at Irene's Pub ? Somewhat shamefully, Saturday 18th was our first trip to Irene's, which turns out to be a very cosy pub and live music venue. Extra plus points for having Waupoos cider on tap! Plus proper pint glasses! Savoured my first pint of Waupoos sat at the bar whilst DJ Memetic played a set. At that point I was sat quite far from the stage but didn't find Memetic's set any better than OK.  Second pint time and The PepTides came onstage. At this point I will own up to having forgot my camera (oops), however ' ThatOttawaGuy ' has a whole host of photos. There were perhaps 120-150 people squeezed in for a fantastic show. Having seen this band 5 times (I think), the FTHHHI part of the set list is like enjoying a favourite record but finding something new every time. M reckoned that some of the FTHHHI songs had been slightly amended to make something of a long medley..  presumably to mak...

Two concerts in short succession to help see off the winter blues, both very satisfying. First up was Jean-Philippe Collard's solo performance on 7th February as a replacement for an injured Louis Lortie. A sizeable amount of Liszt remained on the programme in the form of the B minor Sonata , however the first half of the performance was dedicated to Debussy ( Six Preludes from Book 1 ) and Chopin. I was acquainted with 2 of the 6 Debussy pieces, La Sérénade interrompue and La Cathédrale engloutie , but less so with the other 4. Collard, to my eyes, played with a very measured seated position - the emotive textures of the Debussy Preludes weren't reflected in his gestures - although I still found the 6 Preludes very interesting. The first Chopin piece, Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor, Op 39 , came as something of a wake-up call after La Cathédrale engloutie ! The three Chopin pieces clearly engaged the audience, who eagerly applauded after the Scherzo. There was no such gap b...