Busy busy busy...
I'm going to make the most of the upcoming Easter weekend by doing as little as possible if I can help it. I want to conserve my energy into getting ready for the next weekend!
Why? Well, there's just a matter of a Jean Michel Jarre concert to get ready for (btw, welcome back to Manchester, Jean Michel - been too long a time!) and on the Saturday, there's just the small matter of our local areas annual lantern procession to attend/film/photograph/enjoy.
Firstly, the concert in Manchester - I've been attending to my nerves and my sanity first. Yes, I'm a big fan of electronica and there's nothing like having a Jean Michel Jarre concert just six miles away from home, or 12 minutes away by train (and the 10 minute walk to the Opera House)
The thing I love most about these concerts is the atmosphere. It builds up in a way no other concert by any other artist can achieve or ever dare hope to. In fact, when you purchase a ticket, you're not just buying the right to be sat in a theatre to hear it all live - you're buying an experience. And it all happens the minute your hands touch the tickets. It happens because it can happen and we allow it to happen. It's an all consuming magic that defies any kind of logic or reason. When you approach the theatre, there's a sense of something suddenly magical that you didn't experience before. The electricity in the air is suddenly highly charged.
When you hand over the ticket at the door, the power of it all takes over. You might be physically there in body and soul, but there's a part of you thats escaped into the ether to observe it all and for the duration, you've as good as already lost yourself in the theatre.
As you take your seat (the only other lucid moment you'll have other than finding the toilets) the strains of 'Waiting for Cousteau' pull you into a false sense of reality. You can hear others finding their seats and the dim lighting adds to a newer sense of magic. Then there's that moment, an undefinable moment, the lights in the auditorium peter away to a brief fleeting moment of silence before the curtain raises. You can feel the anticipation in the air as the 'Waiting for Cousteau' finally dissipates into the ether of the theatre, a disjointed sound that never really seemed to come from any one location anyway, the senses tingle, the breath catches your lungs and the adrenalin rush greets you warmly as Jean Michel himself when the curtain raises.
From that moment on, nothing matters... you're swept away on a tide of sound.
As the whole concert reaches a conclusion, when everyone takes a bow, it's like a breaking of the spell thats had you captured for so long - and as you leave the theatre, you have to pinch yourself to wonder if you were ever there at all.
The memories come in flashbacks to remind you that yep, you *were* there and in my own experience, it takes a few days to get back from a concert regardless of the distance thats needed to travel!
And secondly, the lantern procession.
It's been held annually and celebrates its 10th anniversary on the 29th March. I've attended every single one and that too has a mystic air of wonder about it. I like to get there early to see everybody taking part arrive. As night begins to fall, the chatter of excitement builds, then the marching bands play a few tunes to warm up. The numbers build up and soon enough, the lanterns are lit casting a fantastic glow all around. The lanterns are in all shapes and sizes and each one of the large lanterns has taken months to make. I recall the very first lantern procession, it was headed by a rather large illuminated grandfather clock lantern - a superb way of being reminded that the clocks go forward an hour that night.
Over the years, the numbers have grown and the same care and dedication has been put into making the lanterns look even better this year.
And speaking of the celebration, as it's the 10th anniversary, I can't wait! There's the promise of good hot food and a fireworks display.
Usually, I'm terrified of fireworks - but I'll be ensuring that my sanity is preserved for the duration!
I can't wait for that lantern procession... I say the same thing every single year. There's something about it that brings the community together.
Why? Well, there's just a matter of a Jean Michel Jarre concert to get ready for (btw, welcome back to Manchester, Jean Michel - been too long a time!) and on the Saturday, there's just the small matter of our local areas annual lantern procession to attend/film/photograph/enjoy.
Firstly, the concert in Manchester - I've been attending to my nerves and my sanity first. Yes, I'm a big fan of electronica and there's nothing like having a Jean Michel Jarre concert just six miles away from home, or 12 minutes away by train (and the 10 minute walk to the Opera House)
The thing I love most about these concerts is the atmosphere. It builds up in a way no other concert by any other artist can achieve or ever dare hope to. In fact, when you purchase a ticket, you're not just buying the right to be sat in a theatre to hear it all live - you're buying an experience. And it all happens the minute your hands touch the tickets. It happens because it can happen and we allow it to happen. It's an all consuming magic that defies any kind of logic or reason. When you approach the theatre, there's a sense of something suddenly magical that you didn't experience before. The electricity in the air is suddenly highly charged.
When you hand over the ticket at the door, the power of it all takes over. You might be physically there in body and soul, but there's a part of you thats escaped into the ether to observe it all and for the duration, you've as good as already lost yourself in the theatre.
As you take your seat (the only other lucid moment you'll have other than finding the toilets) the strains of 'Waiting for Cousteau' pull you into a false sense of reality. You can hear others finding their seats and the dim lighting adds to a newer sense of magic. Then there's that moment, an undefinable moment, the lights in the auditorium peter away to a brief fleeting moment of silence before the curtain raises. You can feel the anticipation in the air as the 'Waiting for Cousteau' finally dissipates into the ether of the theatre, a disjointed sound that never really seemed to come from any one location anyway, the senses tingle, the breath catches your lungs and the adrenalin rush greets you warmly as Jean Michel himself when the curtain raises.
From that moment on, nothing matters... you're swept away on a tide of sound.
As the whole concert reaches a conclusion, when everyone takes a bow, it's like a breaking of the spell thats had you captured for so long - and as you leave the theatre, you have to pinch yourself to wonder if you were ever there at all.
The memories come in flashbacks to remind you that yep, you *were* there and in my own experience, it takes a few days to get back from a concert regardless of the distance thats needed to travel!
And secondly, the lantern procession.
It's been held annually and celebrates its 10th anniversary on the 29th March. I've attended every single one and that too has a mystic air of wonder about it. I like to get there early to see everybody taking part arrive. As night begins to fall, the chatter of excitement builds, then the marching bands play a few tunes to warm up. The numbers build up and soon enough, the lanterns are lit casting a fantastic glow all around. The lanterns are in all shapes and sizes and each one of the large lanterns has taken months to make. I recall the very first lantern procession, it was headed by a rather large illuminated grandfather clock lantern - a superb way of being reminded that the clocks go forward an hour that night.
Over the years, the numbers have grown and the same care and dedication has been put into making the lanterns look even better this year.
And speaking of the celebration, as it's the 10th anniversary, I can't wait! There's the promise of good hot food and a fireworks display.
Usually, I'm terrified of fireworks - but I'll be ensuring that my sanity is preserved for the duration!
I can't wait for that lantern procession... I say the same thing every single year. There's something about it that brings the community together.
posted by Audio Coffee Productions at Thursday, March 20, 2008
<< Home