Sunday, March 27, 2016

Daily Blog 3/28 - Concert Review: Andrew Roachford/The Beat

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I haven't been posting for a long while. My life's been having several emotional ups and downs lately so I've preoccupied. I won't go into much detail, but basically these current events in my life have distracted me from even listening to music, or at least the new music I bought recently. Most days I just watched youtube videos and re-watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of my favorite animated shows ever. I was struggling to even force myself to listen to music because I tend to lean on music that is more emotional, depressing or melancholy, which was exactly how I was feeling. But I knew I should listen to music that's more upbeat and positive, and I did, even though it didn't help like I wanted it to. These days I've just been reflecting on myself with good advice from my sister. Luckily, I'm getting back on track.


Image result for andrew roachfordI went to two concerts this weekend and have started working on my 2000 word essay due next Monday. On Friday night I went to see Andrew Roachford, a UK R&B/Rock artist from the late 80s and early nineties. He first became widely known for his band Roachford and their big 1989 Top 40 hit "Cuddly Toy", as well as other UK hits "Only To Be With You" and "The Way I Feel". These days, when he's not performing as a solo artist, he performs as second vocalist/keyboardist for Mike + The Mechanics, the side project of Mike Rutherford of Genesis. Andrew Roachford was promoting his new album Encore, a collection of reinterpretations of classic songs that influenced him, such as "Family Affair" by Sly & The Family Stone, "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, and "Under The Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The show was fantastic. Roachford had a great band, including his brother Steven on guitar. Roachford was singing and playing keys, and he sounded phenomenal. The performance was full of energy and he really knew how to show great appreciation and love for his audience. After the show he did a meet and greet and signed CDs. He was very nice and gracious. Really cool dude.

Saturday night I went to see 2-Tone British Ska band The Beat, or The English Beat as they are known in the US. The current incarnation of the band in the US consists of sole original singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling. The UK incarnation consists of second vocalist/toaster Ranking Roger. Just a little background, I grew up listening to The Beat. My dad was a fan of them in the 80s, so I grew up with songs like "Mirror In The Bathroom", "Best Friend", "Twist And Crawl", etc. I had seen Dave Wakeling's English Beat 3 times, but had never seen Ranking Roger's Beat. Least to say, this was a dream come true. It was at the London International Ska Festival. There were some other pretty good bands as well, both young and old. My favorite that I saw was a ska/punk band called Sonic Boom Six. I actually recommend them. Why? Because their intro song was the theme song for the Sonic CD video game aka "Sonic Boom". 'Nuff said. The Beat were the headliners and gave a hell of a performance. Roger's son Ranking Junior was the second vocalist and toaster, he is indeed his father's son. They played some new songs, great classics from the first two Beat albums, and a cover of the Clash's "Rock The Basbah". Nothing from Special Beat Service, mostly because the band didn't have a keyboardist at this show, so they couldn't perform songs like "Save It For Later", "Sole Salvation" and "I Confess". Nonetheless, the performance was a lot of fun and like Roachford, Ranking Roger gave lots of love to his audience, and the audience returned the favor by shouting and dancing their asses off, myself included. After the show I went around the back and met Roger. I told him I was from California and basically told him how special it was for me to see his version of The Beat. I got a picture him and told him what an honor it was to meet him. He was kind, gracious and cool to talk with. This was definitely a special experience I'll never forget.

I'm currently working on my 2,000 word essay on the benefits of learning music by ear. I won't go into too much detail about what I'm writing exactly, but I am thinking about posting my essay after I submit next week. I'm about halfway through and just have to read more research material and it'll be done by Wednesday to send to my teacher to go over with in a tutorial on Friday. I'm feeling pretty good about it.

On a sidenote, I saw Zootopia, or as it's known in the UK Zootropolis, and it's a fantastic film. I'll be honest and say that after the two concerts this weekend and watching the film today, it got me completely out of the slump I had been in last week. It's one of those that in its own unique way makes you a better person for watching it, such as reading a good novel or listening to an insightful record. The movie is insightful and makes you think, in a good and productive way, and ironically you leave the film wondering, questioning, in a good and productive way. I won't give away what it's about, you can look that up yourself, but go see it. I will at least say that as an American, it is extremely relevant.

That's all for now. I'll try to write more often this week. Have a Happy Easter!!