Peter Hammill - ARTmania Festival, Sibiu, 07.08.14 |
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Ricochet
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 27 2005 Location: Nauru Status: Offline Points: 46301 |
Topic: Peter Hammill - ARTmania Festival, Sibiu, 07.08.14 Posted: August 09 2014 at 07:51 |
To this incredible, bright artist do I owe my very
brief return here, in order to relate with great excitement, for whomever might
take pleasure in reading it, my experience at this concert - or, more
appropriately and truthfully, this recital. This sort of rekindled passion was
probably my biggest surprise. It's safe to say that prog is something I've
grown out of, the past couple of years (as well as getting out of touch, even
if with sincere apologies, with the community). That doesn't mean, of course,
that I've stopped listening to the masters, paying attention to new finds (even
though though I find myself growingly impatient with fresh releases rather than
with the older stuff I may have neglected) and going to any significant concert
I might get the chance to. But these things are usually fated with mixed
results; for instance, my long dreamed attendance at a Tangerine Dream concert
- basically my favourite band ever - turned into an utterly dire affair, with
music that felt almost dead at its core. This,
however, was an entirely different matter. First of all, it was pretty much a
phenomenon for Peter Hammill to be playing for the very first time in Romania.
The fans, whether local or foreign (given that Sibiu / Hermannstadt is a highly
multicultural city), certainly didn't shy away. The rather intimate and
improvised venue, inside Brukenthal Museum's inner garden, ended up being packed,
with a dozen more people standing beside the 350 or so seated. Heavy clouds
loomed dangerously throughout the entire evening, but didn't break upon us in
the end - not that it seemed likely that this would have discouraged anybody, Hammill
least of all wary or anxious about it! A mixture of hype and the feeling of
meeting a musician you probably listened to and liked your whole life naturally
amped the enthusiasm - Hammill himself going from gracefully acknowledging the
loud cheers he received even before playing a single note, then nodding with a
both cheeky and purely happy look to the audience after each song, to feeling
absolutely pleased as punch by the end of it. Of
course, one can get such pleasures from any prog gathering in the company of legends
of the genre. Years ago, at concerts like these, I would joke about feeling
like a rookie or a greenhorn amidst veteran fans, who'd pull out and wear their
favorite band shirts for the occasion, would geek about the music, the records
and "the days" and would cheer and clap at the first sounds of every
classic or favourite song. But perhaps my own years as a progger (closing on a
decade, as much as I can remember) weighed in this time. Not sure how much I
declared this on the forum back in the days, but Hammill along with VdGG were
probably the ones I ended up identifying with the most (once they suddenly
clicked to me, that is), with their intellectual, poetic, mysterious and
slightly knotty ways of making music. Having already seen VdGG, I guess that - Hammill
duos with Gordon or Lucas notwithstanding - the circle is pretty much closed.
But Hammill's recital alone probably resonated with every fan there, young or
old, in the same manner. What
made it all the more special for me was hearing Hammill precisely the way I
imagined, the way I recognize and acknowledge him on his music (something I
also felt about Laurie Anderson, when I heard her live a few years ago) - not
only did he not give up on his (old) virtues, but actually brought forth nothing
else, never trying to change or spice up anything. In its simplicity and almost
candidness, in the form of accompanied chansons
(played from the heart, except for The
Mercy from the still quite recent Thin
Air), was this recital at its most gratifying. Switching
from the piano to the guitar and back, it was a very balanced three-part show.
In his own words, he leaned more on the older material, interspersed with
"comparatively newer" songs, given the occasion of playing for us for
the first time (but, to be fair, this sort of playlist did pretty much resemble
his recent concerts which he recorded and released in the PNO GTR VOX collection). Of course, "older" for him meant
just as well playing his better or familiar songs from the 80s rather than
actual 70s classics, though he did grace us with a couple, like The Comet, The Course, The Tail and Modern, as well as a handful of VdGG
songs (I failed to recognize any apart from the encore, which I won't spoil
for now; if The Siren Song and Last Frame, from the late 70s Quiet Zone, could slip perhaps anyone's
memory, I did, to my shame, forget how Still
Life sounded). His
form was overall really admirable, my early worries truly dispelled as soon as
he started playing. Sure, there were slips of notes on the keyboard, risky
falsettos and a tad too much obstinacy for long vibratos on syllables, as well
as a bit of a stumble on the opening rhythm of The Comet..., but I believe all these were pardonable. At his
65-year-old, visibly frail constitution, his spirit nevertheless shone
through, his voice echoing deeply across the garden, his charisma, emotion and intensity
as bright as ever. I honestly liked every bit of this set, except perhaps for Driven, from the stronger, rocked out selection
played on the guitar; also, while I initially felt the long and contemplative A Way Out was kind of stretched... out,
I had to appreciate in the end the sheer delicacy of the soft, fleeting
harmonies and weeping, breathed words. If Still
Life was quite something, at the end of a gradually more satisfying set, he
afterwards really melted our hearts with an encore of Refugees, in which every arpeggio felt poignant and every verse
anguishing, all being nonetheless very fulfilling. P.S.: I am god-awful when it comes to recognizing songs and such, but upon doing some research, I believe this was the playlist of the evening: The Siren Song [VdGG - Quiet Zone] Don't Tell Me
(Enter K) Just Good Friends
(Patience) A Better Time (X My
Heart) Stranger Still
(Sitting Targets) ------- The Comet, The
Course, The Tail (In Camera) Amnesiac (X My
Heart) Driven (Clutch) Last Frame [VdGG -
Quiet Zone] Modern (Silent
Corner) ------- The Mercy (Thin
Air) A Way Out (Out of
Water) Traintime
(Patience) Still Life [VdGG - Still Life]
+ Refugees [VdGG -
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other] |
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 17556 |
Posted: August 10 2014 at 11:21 |
Hi,
There are only 2 folks I would love to see before I leave this world.
Peter Hammill and Vangelis Pappathanassiou.
Sadly, I don't think they will ever make it to the West Coast of the US for anything.
AND, btw, "A Way Out" is the one song by Peter that I quote the most. Even from a psychic point of view, it is one of the best and clearest songs about the one thing that we're afraid to do and say, specially when it needs to be said ... we always find a way out to say it. And there is no appreciation I have more than anything for that.
Reminds me, of the ending of the film "Bad Timing" ... when one of the last lines of the film says ... sometimes you have to drop your pride to love a woman!
Same thing here! Edited by moshkito - August 10 2014 at 11:23 |
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com |
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: August 11 2014 at 10:05 |
Excellent write-up Vic, and great to see you back, albeit as you say, briefly.
When a review leaves the reader with a feeling of envy of not having witnessed the event first-hand I count that as a good review - geography not withstanding I wish I had been there. From your description it sounds like a superb recital in what, (from images I can see from looking up Brukenthal Museum's inner garden on the interweb), looks like an impressive yet intimate venue, the setting can so often enhance the performance. I too struggle to recognise track titles and remember set-lists at concerts these days - sometimes you just get too caught-up in the experience to make mental notes or clearly access the memory-cells.
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What?
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Buddhabreath
Forum Newbie Joined: October 09 2014 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 13 |
Posted: October 09 2014 at 20:47 |
You painted a nice picture my friend, having seen PH several times I recall similar feelings and atmospheres to those you've described, but in a unique venue and colored with perhaps a special feeling of the venue, age and perhaps as you mentioned... frailty.
I remember your great contributions to some private forums and very glad to see your post and hope all is well!
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There are more stars in the visible universe than grains of sand on all the world's deserts and beaches.
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Intruder
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 13 2005 Status: Offline Points: 2201 |
Posted: November 10 2014 at 13:19 |
Is Peter ill? Frail is an adjective I'd never think to use with PH.
The venue sounded perfect - certainly a show to remember.
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I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
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Horizons
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: January 20 2011 Location: Somewhere Else Status: Offline Points: 16952 |
Posted: November 10 2014 at 13:33 |
I would too die to see Mr. Hammill in concert.
I thought Modern was a staple for his shows so i was surprised to see it not on the setlist.
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Crushed like a rose in the riverflow.
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