La Jolla concert reviews by Nutters & press

[njperry]

I am about to leave San Diego and want to pass on quick thoughts about the La Jolla concert before the airplane door closes

It was a GREAT show with Stewart doing 2 songs on the drum kit and 2 on a percussion rack.

Celeste
This was as good as Savanah with the violinist and pianist really into the song. I had worried that the violinist might not be up for a piece written for daniel hope but she definitely was as she played a Strativorious (sp?). The song didn't seem different than Savannah. Stewart was on the drums.

Reatil Theraphy
the new piece was very good with Stewart on the percussive rack. Conroy hears Spyro in this song but I didn't. It had the same pianist and violinist as Celeste plus electric bass, bass clarinet, extra drums, and trumpt. The song was orginally for the move She's Having a Baby and it did sound, as EQ predicted, like the song Cute Shopping from that movie that is on the From Rumble Fish to Gridlock'd CD.

Kaya
This had the same performers as Retail Therapy. Very differnt than in the London 2002 concert with use of the instramentns. It was very good but out of time to explain more.

Gene Pool
This was the highlight for me. There 4 percussionist in addition to Stewart on the drum kit. There was no gong but lots of other percussion with the other muscians playing mostly marimba and really in synch. This was the best version of the song I ever heard.


[ETA: Revised review posted below, with fewer typos and more info.]

[ETA2: Posted 2 reviews from San Diego press further below.]

[Shangeris]

Thanks for the review njperry!

...she played a Strativorious (sp?)

Stradivari, tha's the italian spell

[63falcon]

Nice review(s)-thanks for taking the time to post!

[English-lion]

Bass Clarinet


WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[luddite lady]

[quote="English-lion"][size=150]Bass Clarinet[/size]


[color=#00FF00][size=200]WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!![/size][/color][/quote]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Reason # 549 for why I love you people.

[sockii]

Thanks for the post, nj!!!!! I've been eagerly awaiting any comments on the actual concert here but have been feeling starved for info. Guess everyone has more fun things to do than report back, alas.

[smudge]

My thanks too NJP. I'm sure LJ has been a complete whirlwind for everyone attending, and didn't really expect any details of the music until after the weekend, so that review is a real treat. Hope you had a great time.

PS Bass clarinet?! Oh man. Heard one once at close quarters when I was a kid, at a school thing. Such a warm sound you could take a bath in it. Nixed my enthusiasm for playing the squeakier soprano version

[giovanni]

Cool, great, many thanks!

[DirtyMartini]

Thanks for the report, Nick!

[TOWOS]

Nick, fab description even if I can assure you that you should have heard and seen it to believe it.

WORTH EVERY MILE! )))

[oneworld]

Thanks for the review, njperry! I'm sure it was great to be there, wish I was there too.

[njperry]

Now that I have had a chance to rest after the trip and have some more time, I thought I would revise my rushed review I typed quickly (and inaccurately) on the airplane.

It was a GREAT show with Stewart doing 2 songs on the drum kit and 2 on a percussion rack.

Celeste
This was as good as Savannah with violinist Kyoko Takezawa and pianist Joyce Yang really into the song. I had worried that the violinist might not be up for a piece written for the great Daniel Hope but Ms. Takezawa definitely was as she played a Stradivarius. The song didn't seem different than Savannah. Stewart was on the drums.

Retail Therapy
The piece that was premiered was very good with Stewart on the percussive rack. Conroy hears Spyro in this song but I didn't. It had the same pianist and violinist as Celeste plus electric bass, bass clarinet, extra drums, and trumpet. The song was originally for the movie “She's Having a Baby” and it did sound, as EQ predicted, like the song Cute Shopping from that movie that is on the “From Rumble Fish to Gridlock'd” CD.

Kaya
This had the same performers as Retail Therapy, except that the bass player used an acoustic rather than electric bass. The clarinetist switched from bass clarinet to ordinary clarinet through the song. Stewart was again on the percussion rack. Very different arrangement than in the London 2002 concert. The use of the instruments here created a very different sound than the marimba-dominated sound in the 2002 concert. The trumpet, violin, and (I think) piano all took turns as the lead instrument in the song with a nice mix of sound for the song.

Gene Pool
This was the highlight for me. There 4 percussionists in addition to Stewart on the drum kit. There was no gong but lots of other percussion with the other musicians playing mostly marimba, with some xylophone, big bass drum, and kettle drums. The song really rocked with the musicians incredibly in synch on the marimba. Very impressive. This was the best version of the song I ever heard, better than the released versions on Ensemble Bash’s CD “Launch” or Stewart’s “Orchestralli,” and better than the not officially released versions at the 2002 London concert or the 2007 Savannah.

I am curious to hear what other attendees have to say about it.

[njperry]

Here are links for 2 reviews of the show from San Diego press.

Mostly positive review of the concert in the San Diego New Network. I disagree with te reviewer's take on Celeste.

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-08-22 ... summerfest

Far more critical review on sandiego.com. Stewart's pieces are reviewed in the last 2 paragraphs. While the review states that he heard somne concert attendees stating the Stewart's work was "simple-minded," I would note that Stewart got a very strong standing ovation and it was more than the 20 Nutters in attendance who were moved by his work. Here's the link:

http://www.sandiego.com/index.php?optio ... bf8f5c1c67

[conroy]

Nick nailed it in his review. The first half of Retail Therapy reminds more of Dead Like Me than Spyro now that I think about it, especially with the violin, clarinet and trumpet. The familiar bits that evolved from the Cute Shopping track come into the piece about half way through and carry it out to its conclusion. I'm really curious to see the Gamelan piece more so than before after seeing the pieces performed at the percussion rack from the show.

[njperry]

[quote="conroy"]Nick nailed it in his review. The first half of Retail Therapy reminds more of Dead Like Me than Spyro now that I think about it, especially with the violin, clarinet and trumpet. The familiar bits that evolved from the Cute Shopping track come into the piece about half way through and carry it out to its conclusion. I'm really curious to see the Gamelan piece more so than before after seeing the pieces performed at the percussion rack from the show.[/quote]

Now that you say it, there is a sound in Retail Therapy similar to the Dead Like Me tracks in it.