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Concert on March 1st, where ?

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Bart
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Concert on March 1st, where ?

Post by Bart »

Hello everybody...

Perhaps a dumb question (but hé, who could "ban" me for asking such question :? )...

On the latest info I have it was uncertain where Chris would perform on March 1st. The plan was Kiev, but this could have been replaced with Minsk. Is there anyone who can give me the exact city and venue where he played yesterday? Thanks !

:D
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Re: Concert on March 1st, where ?

Post by Chris »

Bart wrote:Hello everybody...

Perhaps a dumb question (but hé, who could "ban" me for asking such question :? )...

On the latest info I have it was uncertain where Chris would perform on March 1st. The plan was Kiev, but this could have been replaced with Minsk. Is there anyone who can give me the exact city and venue where he played yesterday? Thanks !

:D
-------

Hi Bart,
Chris was in Minsk on Friday, February 29, and gave a press conference at the hotel "Minsk." He spoke about all different things including vinyl recordings and the whole concept of special radio and TV programs, magazines dedicated to music which are all but gone now. At one point he ventured into "the real music" made by people from wooden boxes and sang by big choirs like the Russian Army's "Aleksandrov's" choir - 80 people in it....
At another point he promised to play (at the Minsk's gig) a song "dedicated to British soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and who keep on asking themslves 'what are we doing there'", and said that "it's' better to build hospitals and organize the Olympics instead of venturing into global, world politics..."
He pointed out that "had the mp3 existed (was invented) some 20 years ago, we would not have all these great musicians because they would not record on vinyl..."
Chris said that while in Minsk he wrote - on the spot - "a very good", emotional blues for his wife, to express his feeling of yearning to (for) her. For me, he said, "the song is perfect when I write both: the music and the text at the same time. This way I can remember well and exactly when I wrote (composed) a particular song."

Here's the link to a short video and some written information in Russian, I believe. Anyway, I could read it all right. The difference between the two languages - Russian and Belorussian (the country itself is being called now: Belarus) is not that big.
This page says clearly: "he is to perform on March 1 at he "Sports Palace" in Minsk", so I presume the gig took place there on Saturday, March 1, as planned.

http://naviny.by/rubrics/culture/2008/0 ... _117_1669/

There are also bits of written information about Chris, but it's all in Russian....sorry.
Just "click" on the red links some 10 centimeters under the video to open these text messages.

--------------

Buy the way, a week or so ago, I've asked you in an e-mail whether you would like me to send you a scan of my ticket from Warsaw (Feb. 20), but apparently you didn't get a chance to read the mail (sent to your webmaste's address.)

Take care,
Chris
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Bart
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Re: Concert on March 1st, where ?

Post by Bart »

Chris wrote:This page says clearly: "he is to perform on March 1 at he "Sports Palace" in Minsk", so I presume the gig took place there on Saturday, March 1, as planned.
Thanks !! I have been working last weeks on a very special (large) database for all Chris Rea tour dates (with much added information, etc.) so I can add this date to it. I have no clue about when I can finish this project, but I hope very soon, as I have so many other things to do...
Chris wrote: Buy the way, I've asked you in an e-mail whether you would like me to send you a scan of my ticket from Warsaw (Feb. 20), but apparently you didn't get a chance to read the mail (sent to your webmaste's address.)
I am very, very sorry; I really must have mist that one... I am really totally behind on all my mail response (excuses to everybody), as I receive numerous mails each day and I would love to take the time for each and every mail, but regrettably time has proven to be VERY scares lately !! You may always use the webmaster@chrisrea.nl mail address to send my things, I believe it is 100mb large, so that wouldn’t be the problem. In this new database, the tour tickets will get their place as well!!

Thank you very much !!!
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Re: Concert on March 1st, where ?

Post by andrew fischer »

Hi Chris and Bart!

Thanks for an amazing link! I made a translation of the press conference review:

The famous British musician Chris Rea ain’t gonna dedicate his songs to any politicians. “I ‘d rather write against them, contra” – he said on Feb, 29 while answering to journalist’s questions.

Chris noticed that at the gig, which is to be in the Byelorussian capital on Mar, 1st a song about soldiers struggling in Iraq would be played. “I know much ‘bout them from my friends. People come back from there and say they don’t know what are they doing there and that it’s a shame of them to take part in this war so that’s why no one of them likes Blair.” – declared the musician.

In his opinion it’s better to “erect the hospitals and organize the Olympics than touch global politics”.

On the press conference Rea told that while making sound-check in Minsk he heard “Soviet Army Choir” (Alexandrov’s Russian army ensemble)

“It was great to get to the Soviet Army choir concert, - said Rea. – That’s serious music. People around gazed at us and could not understand why were we listening to that music. It seemed to us it was an ancient kind of rock’n’roll. 80 voices in a choir – that’s great.”

“For me live music and live playing is all that still rest with me” – declared Chris.

In his opinion, earlier music and relations to it were quite different. “There were special broadcastings, special magazines been bought, vinyls brought home and played. Now it’s all gone.Vinyl recordings are like paintings, having its definite sound and atmosphere” – Chris considers. He’s sure the musicians of his generation would not be so well-known if MP3 had been invented those times, an obviously commercial idea.

“Just today I wrote a song how I miss my wife. It’s gonna be a good blues.” – noticed Chris. In his opinion hits happen when “music and lyrics are born in a same moment”. “I always can remember how I wrote a song”- said the musician.

“Blues is often supposed to be the blacks music, but it’s not so. It’s the music for all the people who can feel it anyway. Chaikovsky played a kind of a blues,” – Rea considers.

In his plans there’s a continue of making music books. It’s “not just discs but something more amazing”. “We try to make fans who’ve been listening to us for twenty years feel the same emotions nowadays. We’re trying to make a product a bit more interesting than just 10 track album,” – Rea noticed. The 1st earbook “The Blue Guitars” was sold in 165000 copies.

From Chris’s words there’d be 80 pages in the forthcoming book. “There’s an idea to use an instrumentation close to 50’s and then down to 60’s blues,” – said Chris. All the compositions would be played on European guitars. “There’d be no any American guitar, - underlined Rea. – We all loved those guitars as they were cheaper and later became very famous. The Beatles used such ones ‘coz had not been able to get American in the beginning. But then step after step those guitars became a kind of symbols or icons, expressing the dreams of music.”

As Chris says, those times he appreciated writing soundtracks for movies. “Before the digital era it was cool to make music appropriate to the emotions on this film. And now it goes the following way: exists such an emotion in the movie and according to this emotion the sounds are being made. A musician asks what arranging do you want – like Wagner’s, Chaikovsky, Vivaldi? And processing it all on PC. I don’t like that.”, - said the musician.

According to Chris’s words, in his works he uses “very old-styled stereo recorders”. “Every digital device I buy I lose it”, - said Chris.
My VK fan page for Chris Rea in Russian: http://vk.com/chris_rea
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Re: Concert on March 1st, where ?

Post by lilybee »

Thanks for the translations Andrew and Chris, :D

Lily B.
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