Concert: Omar Rios Trio
I currently have a run of Meetups.. Tonight, back with the World Music Meetup (and TunedIn London), for the Omar Rios Trio, playing at St. Ethelburga's. Also livestreamed - and sold out, days in advance!
With time tight, I headed to Liverpool Street Station to eat - I wanted something hot, so made a beeline for Panopolis, where they do moreish steak slices. And wow, was it a tasty antidote to the freezing cold outside.. Afterwards, with a few minutes to kill, rather than wait outside in the cold until they opened the door, I made my way upstairs, to Marks & Spencer, for a snack - where I came across hazelnut paste-filled mini wafer rolls! Oh wow, I lived on a diet of the larger version of these as an undergrad.. bought a pack, and made my way to the venue. Where the door was open by now, and was I glad of the heater at the entrance.. Interestingly, they were giving out red ribbons for people to wear if they didn't want to appear in photographs..
The organiser (of TunedIn London and the Meetup event) was there too, and, as always, looking out for members. I took a seat inside, watching the performers rehearse - figured, as it was sold out, I should get my place sooner rather than later. A couple of members of the group duly joined me, which is always nice - and we had a lovely chat until it was time to start.
We began with just the trio - Omar, Nicaraguan, on guitar:
Probably a good idea to have the mixture of sounds - the guitar, at times, came across very forcefully, and it was good to have the balance (I'll never forget the time I went to a harp concert. Beautiful instrument, but not good if that's all you're hearing.) Anyway, they all blended to a lovely, mellow sound.
At the interval, we group members chatted away again - and at the end of the interval, we had a very interesting Q+A with Omar, who spoke about the Arabic influences in his music, and also obliged one questioner with the details of the folk songs he'd played. For the second half, they were joined by a Peruvian pipe player - sorry, completely unable to find his name! But I was wondering what the array of flutes at the back was for:
Trust this group, and the organiser, Eleanor, to bring us something new and unusual! Really enjoyed the evening - looking forward to more. It was good to get home early though - I'm slightly exhausted with everything that's been going on, and with the cold weather, I just wanted to get in.
Tomorrow, back with the London Classical Music and Theatre Group, whom I haven't been with in weeks.. this is for the Handel opera, Jeptha, at the Opera House.
On Thursday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats - for the first time in over a month, very unusually for me and this group! This is for Phantasmagoria - yes, a horror play, again too late for Hallowe'en, tsk! Showing at Southwark Playhouse - so I've taken out another PAYG subscription (five tickets for £75, no expiry). Terrific value.
On Friday, back with London Hot 100: Socials, Music & Sport - for a meal at Franco Manca. Never actually been to this chain - had to happen eventually, I guess! Anyway, great group, and RSVPs are already closed.
On Saturday, back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners - this time for The Magic of Covent Garden: Secrets & Surprises. And Helen is coming to this one, good stuff! There's a lot of talk about the pro-Palestinian protests due to take place that day - I've already seen one central London Meetup cancelled as a result. Hope this one doesn't fall foul of them as well!
On Sunday, an Indian friend of mine is celebrating Diwali by booking a meal in an Indian restaurant - she finally decided on Flora Indica. With 16 of us coming at last count, we have to pre-order..
On Monday, back on a walk with the 45+s - this time, though, it's Paul's Monday Historic Pub Crawl from Rotherhithe to Tower Gateway. Which has the advantage of being around my current area! not to mention headed home, roughly, for me..
Next Tuesday, still with the 45+s, but now back with Laurence - delighted to be able to make his walk on The Bombing of London! Unemployment does have its advantages.. Jeez, that'll be five days in a row where I get fed as part of the outing..!
On the 15th, back at last with Buddies on Budget (BoB) in London, who are headed to the Belgravia Lights Switch On! V Christmassy..
On the 16th, I'm with a new group - London Smaller Theatre are headed to Soho Theatre to see the comedian Leila Navabi. So I'm giving her - and them - a shot!
And on the 17th, I'm back to Ireland again, for the weekend..
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