Current mood: CALM...
Category: CALM... Music
The memorial is covered in gold leaf
Yes boss, if you thought rappers did bling, you should feast your goggles over this faceful of the foolish stuff...
Both these monuments are the products of the height of Empire and both were named after Queen Victorias late Husband Albert.
The Hall was built for the furtherment of the arts and a mosaic winds around the top which depicts "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences"..
It reminds me a lot of the Pantheon.
The Pantheon is my favourite building OF ALL TIME!!
Yes boss, the only time I can remember my jaw dropping at the sight of a building is for The Pantheon (the achievement for the times and the beautiful hole in the roof) and St Marks in Venice (inside)
That said, I often wonder how I would see London if I was to visit here for the first time next week - I reckon there's a few buildings here that - had I not have been made aware of them through drips and drabs of pictures over childhood - would blow my head off...
So, about the first thing that became clear upon completion of the Hall was it's appalling (or wonderful depending on your viewpoint) acoustics...
Yes boss, the natural reverb is something else - it lasts for seconds as the sound drifts up V E R Y V E R Y S L O W L Y....
It follows that the RAH isn't the kind of venue that was built for loud or amplified music, but nowadays, it often pays host to such events....
The only time I've been there for a rock or pop concert was to see Spiritualized.
That show was recorded for this double disc set...
I remember that show for 2 reasons:
Firstly, I bought an original issue of Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (the limited PROMO run that starts with the Elvis cover as the first track) on the way to the gig. It cost £30 which was a bit much and I think I sold it for a bit less, but at the time I was mad for Spiritualized and that LP, so was happy to pay up..
The other was that the gig wasn't all that - at least from where were sitting, which was right up at the top - too far up and away even for Spiritualized...
(right about here)
Our enjoyment was also blighted by there being some foolish loons sitting in front, who kept on jabbering away about Bertie Bassett the Liquorice Allsort man being in resident in the ceiling.
They were clearly tripping on something and they couldn't get over this one simple idea throughout the entire gig..
The marsh mellow aliens hang from the ceiling to improve the acoustics.
They were installed in 1969
But they haven't improved the volume.
No boss, there was no serious volume at that level - and these two things made the whole thing a bit ignorable..
Essentially, I have the impression that the RAH is the kind of venue that bands and acts love to have on their CV for the glitz, rather than because it's a great venue to hear amplified music...
 | Currently listening : Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997 By Spiritualized Release date: 1998-11-10  |
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