Aug 2: 2005 - the only way is up

Into 2005. 

Perhaps the best album of the year was a long form instrumental piece from the Pat Metheny Group.

Pat Metheny / acoustic, electric, slide, toy & synthesizer guitars, producer

- Lyle Mays / piano, keyboards, toy xylophone, co-producer
- Cuong Vu / trumpet, toy whistle, vocals
- Gregoire Maret / harmonica
- Steve Rodby / acoustic & electric basses, toy violin, cello, co-producer
- Antonio Sanchez / drums, toy xylophone

With:
- Richard Bona / percussion, toy guitar, vocals
- Dave Samuels / percussion

I went to see the concert as part of the tour for this album at the Hammersmith Odeon with my friend Simon. It was awesome. The Way Up was just the first half and then we had loads more classic tracks as well.

Here's a section, filmed in South Korea....

The album has competition from another album released that year.

A classic from Sigur Rós called 'Takk', featured Hoppipolla, which brought them to the attention of many as it was used as part of the music for the BBC's 'Planet Earth' series.

There are some great tracks on the album. I've heard parts of this album played numerous times over the years since.

The song title is a univerbation of hoppa í polla (the -a in hoppa is not pronounced), which is Icelandic for "hopping into puddles", and the lyrics are mainly in Icelandic, with some nonsensical phrases, a "language" the band calls Vonlenska ("Hopelandic"). As with many of the band's songs, it was given a nickname in the early stages of writing. "Hoppípolla" was "The Money Song", as the band was certain they had written a song which would have commercial success.

Mar 5: David Byrne

Last night, was a wonderful experience down in London. After months of waiting, it was time for my son and I to use our tickets to see David Byrne's current concert tour. 

I last saw him playing live over 30 years ago, at Cambridge Corn Exchange, when he played a mix of his own solo songs and some Talking Heads classics.

Image: Alan Parkinson

After a day in London taking in some exhibitions and other activities we headed for Hammersmith and down to the Rutland Arms for pre-show meal - a nice Saharan dust enhanced sunset was taking shape and the riverside pubs were busy.

The show was wonderful. It was all about joy and love, and storytelling... and the choreography of the band and the imaginative staging of each track was excellent.

David Byrne's tour is called 'Who is the Sky?' (who is this guy?)

The Hammersmith Apollo (as I shall continue to call it) was packed, and after the first half an hour or so, people were up dancing. The energy was infectious and the audience's response to the music, the political asides and humour was up there with the loudest audiences I've heard... If you get the chance to see it then take it.

Luckily most people respected the request at the start by David Byrne to 'be present' and limit the videoing and photography.

Videos shot on a phone never capture the full impact of a show like this, and the sound is always terrible compared to the careful mix. The bass and lighting on this track: "Once in a Lifetime" were particularly memorable...

Lyrics referencing groundwater hydrology...

And here's a shot of mine, towards the end of 'Life during Wartime'... another Talking Heads classic, which featured lots of images and videos of ICE and the response to them...

Image: Alan Parkinson

Check out these wonderful images from Burat Cingi here... these really capture the show brilliantly...

And this performance of another geographically themed song on the concept of place...

Jan 13: Tour t-shirts - what are your favourites?

One part of going to see a band playing live is checking out the merchandise stand and taking home a t-shirt to remember the gig, and also to wear to another concert in the same tour ideally to show everyone that you've already been to see the show before (that works less well these days).

I have some classic t-shirts from years ago, and will be sharing images of them in the blog as the year goes by. I still fit into most of them, and quite a few are still in good nick.

Here's one of mine which dates back to 1984. 

It was a shirt I bought at the Hammersmith Odeon before seeing Jethro Tull on their 'Under Wraps' tour, when they brought in more keyboards and had the excellent Peter John-Vettese playing with them.

The concert was actually recorded for radio broadcast and later released as an album: Live at Hammersmith 1984. 

The full version is also available on YouTube. I remember being particularly pleased to hear Thick as a Brick, and some of Ian Anderson's new solo album: Fly by Night which remains a favourite of mine that I play quite regularly.

My most recent purchase was from the Sigur Rós gig at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2025 - a subtle shirt with the name of the band on the front and a TAKK cover design on the back.

Before I start sharing mine in future posts, here's a chance for you to dig into your drawers to see if you have any old classic t-shirts. 

If you do, let me know which ones you have and when they date back to. Photos welcome.

Use the Google Form here to send me your best shirts.

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license