Ghent rockers Arid didn’t quite set the world alight with last year’s album, ‘Little Things of Venom’, but securing its release on major US label Columbia was quite a coup for a relatively unknown Flemish act. Produced by former Al Green and Edwyn Collins collaborator Dave Anderson, the album won generous praise for its rich soul sound. Yet it must be puzzling for singer Jasper Steverlinck to have his voice compared to both Mr Bombast himself (Freddy Mercury) and tortured soul Jeff Buckley. Worth investigating.
Archive for December, 2008
La Pegui
This is one of the few eat-all-you-can restaurants in town that doesn’t skimp on quality. La Pegui is located just behind the Olympic Port area, has great service and offers a reasonably priced combination of cold cuts, salads and seafood, plus a selection of roast meat served off wooden sticks, Brazilian-style, for those who want to splash out. La Pegui had a tough first year before being discovered in a big way by the Barcelonans a few months ago. Now you need to get there early to find a table.
Yes
British rockers Yes were the kind of torpid dinosaurs that punk was supposed to swallow, wash down with pints of snakebite and puke up as a horrid green mucus. Yet somehow the band, who once released the ridiculously overblown double album ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’, continues to fill stadia on both sides of the Atlantic. Still featuring their original singer Jon Anderson, they recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first album by releasing a new one, ‘The Ladder’. Prog-rock still lives… but why?
Narcisse blessé: autoportraits contemporains 1970-2000
Self-portraits from the past 30 years by some 150 artists make a case for the self as the dominant issue of contemporary art. The works deal with perceptions of self and identity, of humanity, gender, life and death, and with the self as artist, not just through a traditional focus on the face or body, but through rooms, places, clothes, actions and movements. Identity can be seen in fragments of the body, transformations or in relationships. Unmissable.
Ween
It’s been a long road for the pseudo-brothers Gene and Dean Ween who have evolved from mutant duo out to plunder all existing musical styles, to become one of the tightest and entertaining bands on the planet. They have thrived on taking chances that would cost any other band their careers, but a pure – albeit demented – respect for music has seen them through. Your jaw will drop to every minute of their infamous three hour live show, which will undoubtedly feature songs from their new album, ‘White Pepper’.
Café de la Musique
Occupying the tip of the Cité de la Musique, this quintessential Costes bros café is a swish combination of velveteen and beechwood chairs, gentle curves and straight lines, marble or wood panelling, huge aquarium windows and velvet curtains. It’s cool, but not offensively so – the quietly stylish crowd are largely too engrossed in conversation to observe the rituals of see-and-be-seen, while outside, battalions of aluminium tables and chairs mass under the cantilevered metal and glass awning, providing a fine view out towards the Grande Halle de la Villette and eight bronze lions spewing water into the fountain basin. Live jazz on some weekday nights.
New Etruscan museum
Southern Tuscany, from the coastal Maremma area inland to the Val d’Orcia, is rich in Etruscan remains. Tombs and their contents are continually being discovered and excavated, uncovering numerous treasures from this enormously cultured past civilisation. A new museum has opened in the town of Sarteano. It is small but fascinating and beautifully laid-out. It contains a collection of statues, ceramics, jewellery and bronze knick-knacks which have been found locally, dating from the Bronze Age to the late Roman era.
