October Project/Karnataka

The house concert was interesting. I did get the feeling, not that all these people knew each other, but that all of them knew someone there, and a lot of them knew members of the band. (The loft, if I have this right, belongs to Marina Belica, lead singer of October Project.) The "house rules" were that we all left our shoes in the foyer, and that nobody was to talk during the music.

October Project was definitely worth seeing live and unplugged, in part because I found it easier to focus on the lyrics in this context. Lots of lost or doomed love stuff, weird but I liked it. The melodies--at least in this context--seemed more alike than the lyrics. I shushed someone at one point--he'd been taking photos, which they all seemed cool with (and my problem with camera flashes is my problem, not that of people I don't know who have invited me into their home), and then he started telling the man next to him something about how he thought the band should dress. He began between songs, but didn't stop when the music resumed. During the break, Julie, the other singer, stopped by to say "I love you for shushing...somebody gets it", to which my response was "somebody wanted to hear every word you sang." (True, but not quite as flattering as it might sound--I didn't know the songs, so I needed to hear the lyrics.) Apparently the man I shushed was Marina's boyfriend, and may have thought the "no talking" rule had an exception for him.)

I was less impressed by Karnataka. They're from Swansea, and talked a bit about the Gower Peninsula in their intro, but not (as far as I could tell) in their songs. They also said this was only their third acoustic gig ever: they may be better plugged in. The bass player was on guitar instead, which I assume changed the sound. I do want to try hearing more new music and bands, and sometimes I'll be disappointed.

Before the concert, I finally got in a proper, thorough workout:
( Read more... )

October Project/Karnataka

The house concert was interesting. I did get the feeling, not that all these people knew each other, but that all of them knew someone there, and a lot of them knew members of the band. (The loft, if I have this right, belongs to Marina Belica, lead singer of October Project.) The "house rules" were that we all left our shoes in the foyer, and that nobody was to talk during the music.

October Project was definitely worth seeing live and unplugged, in part because I found it easier to focus on the lyrics in this context. Lots of lost or doomed love stuff, weird but I liked it. The melodies--at least in this context--seemed more alike than the lyrics. I shushed someone at one point--he'd been taking photos, which they all seemed cool with (and my problem with camera flashes is my problem, not that of people I don't know who have invited me into their home), and then he started telling the man next to him something about how he thought the band should dress. He began between songs, but didn't stop when the music resumed. During the break, Julie, the other singer, stopped by to say "I love you for shushing...somebody gets it", to which my response was "somebody wanted to hear every word you sang." (True, but not quite as flattering as it might sound--I didn't know the songs, so I needed to hear the lyrics.) Apparently the man I shushed was Marina's boyfriend, and may have thought the "no talking" rule had an exception for him.)

I was less impressed by Karnataka. They're from Swansea, and talked a bit about the Gower Peninsula in their intro, but not (as far as I could tell) in their songs. They also said this was only their third acoustic gig ever: they may be better plugged in. The bass player was on guitar instead, which I assume changed the sound. I do want to try hearing more new music and bands, and sometimes I'll be disappointed.

Before the concert, I finally got in a proper, thorough workout:
( Read more... )