alfacinha in nyc: bjork

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Updated old posts (now with talking pictures)

Well, it's a new year and I'm already behind on posts. But since it's now been almost a month and 2 weeks respectively since my last two musical interludes and my memory's just not that great, i've decided to instead tweak the old blog a bit. So i went deep into the bowels of my macs (one of which at least is still working ok) and found some teeny gems that had been hiding away. Rather than let you all try to figure out where i've added the goodies, i thought i'd add the links right here, in this handy post, for all to quickly peruse my film-making abilities. The next Spielberg I'm not ;o)
There's been new video added to:

I've also tweaked those lists over on the right side of the screen, so you can now click directly on the gig review you'd like to read (i.e., Reviews of Shows I Graced with my Presence - 2007), rather than try and hunt it down in the Gig Archive.

Enjoy and a very belated Happy New Year to all! :o)

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Bjork @ Radio City Music Hall - 5.2.07

I had crap tixs to see Bjork back in May, but was happy to have them regardless. I've been following her career on and off since the Sugarcubes and knew that I had to finally see her, even if my seat was in the rafters. It wasn't quite that bad, but close ;o)

I ended up missing about 3 verses of the first song due to a parking spot mishap, but we quickly managed to make our way to our second balcony seats. Pretty good too. That's the great thing about Radio City - b/c of its' architecture, any seat turns out to be quite decent.

Bjork was on from moment one - a teeny orange ball of spunk flitting about Radio City's huge stage. I'd wondered about that - whether one tiny Icelandic sprite would be able to fill up that stage. Yeah, I shouldn't have worried. That voice was made for large stages and she brought enough props with her to keep us all visually entertained. Heck, even her dress was entertaining - I spent some time trying to figure out how it had been put together (my photos don't do it justice).

She sang some of our favorites - Army of Me being a particular standout - but she really blew me over with some of the new material. An amazing techno/punk call bravado - Declare Independence - had me jumping in my seat.

And then the best part for me of the whole night - she brings out Antony from Antony and the Johnsons - and they duet on a couple of new songs, most notably - The Dull Flame of Desire - which has become one of my favorite new songs - so damn beautiful. According to Bjork.com, the lyrics were taken from a translation of a poem by Fyodor Tyutchev (1803-1873).

I love your eyes, my dear
their splendid, sparkling fire
when suddenly you raise them so
to cast a swift embracing glance

like lightning flashing in the sky
but there's a charm that is greater still:
when my love's eyes are lowered
when all is fired by passions kiss

and through the downcast lashes
I see the dull flame of desire
and through the downcast lashes
I see the dull flame of desire

Bjork never disappointed - she was all and more than I ever expected. She brought beautiful imagery, kooky outfits, fancy-shmancy lighting, and best of all, an ethereal voice like no other.