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Brass in Concert 2021
I’ve always had a bit of a thing for brass, initially just those times when it turned up in rock music, but over time I came to love the look and the sound (and the history) of a brass band, so the chance to spend the day listening to brass bands wasn’t one I was ready to turn down.
I made the mistake of thinking that a few years ago and went to the world championships at the Royal Albert Hall - but a day of brass bands playing the same short piece wasn’t really the sort of day out for a casual fan.
But Brass in Concert has each band doing their own themed programme and so was varied - from a band doing a 27 minute programme about Anne Frank, with a contemporary dancer representing her ghost, to bands playing the themes to Eastenders or Tetris!
Now my ears aren’t so good that I can tell a spectacular band from a good one, so my opinions are all about how entertained I was.
Eventual winners, The Cory Band, squeezed Treasure Island into their 27 minute programme, and it was a treat.
Eventual last place band, Redbridge Brass, did a thoroughly enjoyable tech themed set with a hilarious joke iBand piece - maybe it’s triviality counted against them but I (and seemingly most of the audience) appreciated it.
The Tredegar Band had clips from the Barrymore Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - so … a silent film with a brass band - that’s how to push my buttons!
All in all a lovely relaxing way to spend a day. This was also my first visit to the big hall in The Sage, and that was pretty special too.
OK - here’s some of my fave brass in rock music …
Possibly the finest moment in all rock music is when the French horn arrives in The Beatles For No One:
… or maybe when the trumpet arrives in Love’s Alone Again Or:
… and here’s the (sadly no more) Hanwell Band playing with Robert Wyatt
not a penny off the pay, not a second on the day
Everything's swirling / last build: 2024-04-03 11:39