Free For All Posted August 16, 2003 Author Report Posted August 16, 2003 AMG gives it 4 stars, very impressive. Damn! If only I'd have played just a little better! Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted August 17, 2003 Report Posted August 17, 2003 RONNIE'S A great jazz club. Smelly and smoky and very hip, it's the Village Vanguard of the UK. BEER UK wins, hand down. The cascading bubbles in the glass almost bring tears to my eyes. ICE CUBES US wins, hands down. You'd think they were made of platinum the way they dole 'em out. I'd like my Coke cold, please! WASH CLOTHS US wins. None to be found in Europe. BACON US wins. It's bacon, not HAM. And cook it all the way through, please. JAZZ AUDIENCES UK (and Europe) wins, I'm sorry to say. They are more attentive and appreciative IN GENERAL. Of course, a loud drunk English guy is very entertaining. AIR CONDITIONING US, but to be fair, it was unseasonably HOT HOT HOT over there. But to stay in a hotel (or ride a bus) w/no air is a miserable experience. Yes, we Americans are spoiled babies much of the time. Well as a Brit I think I'd agree with your assessment - though I've not been to Ronnies and can't really comment on comparative audiences. Explain the bacon bit though? When I had bacon for breakfast in NY it was frazzled streaks! Oh, and if you really want to experience lack-of-air-conditioning hell get on Swedish public transport! All set up for all that winter can hurl...so in a heatwave... (Incidentally I was in a hotel in Gramercy Park two summers ago during a NY heatwave - I've never been so hot - and the air conditioning didn't work!). Glad you had a good time. Brecon's a nice festival, though I'm not that keen on the Market Hall as a venue. I'm assuming that's where you played. A bit boomy from an audiences point of view. Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted August 17, 2003 Report Posted August 17, 2003 BACON US wins. It's bacon, not HAM. And cook it all the way through, please. As someone who is a dual US/UK citizen, perhaps I can explain. In Britain, they use slices of ham. In America, the bacon is sliced in thinner strips. That's all. BTW, I've never lived in Britain, but have travelled there several times, so perhaps I can't claim "expert" status on this subject!! Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted August 17, 2003 Report Posted August 17, 2003 I'm still lost. In the UK 'ham' is a cold meat you'd eat with salad or in a sandwich. Although it can be eaten hot too. I'd always assumed bacon came from a different part of the pig! Incidentally, do you have ordinary and smoked bacon? To say nothing of 'maple cured' and other variants. Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted August 17, 2003 Report Posted August 17, 2003 Yes, I think you are right. We have both kinds of bacon but the stuff in restaurants and most grocers is the ordinary thin stuff. The smoked might come in larger strips. Quote
David Williams Posted August 18, 2003 Report Posted August 18, 2003 That looks like a penis enlargement operation gone wrong. Quote
Free For All Posted August 19, 2003 Author Report Posted August 19, 2003 Glad you had a good time. Brecon's a nice festival, though I'm not that keen on the Market Hall as a venue. I'm assuming that's where you played. A bit boomy from an audiences point of view. It was incredibly boomy and extremely hot. From what I was told the sound (especially where a big band is concerned) was much better in the back, and worsened as you moved towards the front. The sound crew wanted to mic EVERYONE in the group as well as many drum mics, but we were able to talk them out of doing that and just used mics for soloists. It's always dangerous to put your ensemble sound so completely in the hands of a sound person unless you know how they work. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted August 19, 2003 Report Posted August 19, 2003 I've been there a few times (Roy Hargrove, Mingus BB, David Murray BB, Johnny Griffin, Charles Lloyd and more) and never found it an ideal venue. The sound problems plus the difficult sightlines. Plus the soundchecks all seem to overun leading to everything going out of programm - a real pain if you're wanting to go to something else on the timetable a bit later on). In the end it's the biggest venue the've got so they have little choice. There's a really good theatre in Brecon (Theatr Brycheiniog...no, I can't prnounce it either!) where the smaller groups play, down by the canal. That has a beautiful acoustic. Quote
Free For All Posted August 19, 2003 Author Report Posted August 19, 2003 Explain the bacon bit though? When I had bacon for breakfast in NY it was frazzled streaks! I think the others have explained this adequately. I guess my main gripe is that I just don't like underdone breakfast meats of any kind. I'm not saying it has to be burned, but I like it a little crispy. I sometimes fry slices of ham for breakfast and like to get them fairly well done. Bev, I think you need to experience a nice maple-smoked, thick sliced peppered bacon cooked medium-well and I think you'd see what I'm talking about. The crap you get in hotels in the US is not indicative at all. I guess with all that is going on in the world my little bacon rant is less than significant. Just trying to do my part for whirled peas. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted December 18, 2006 Report Posted December 18, 2006 (edited) Edited December 18, 2006 by Rooster_Ties Quote
JohnS Posted December 18, 2006 Report Posted December 18, 2006 Thanks for posting Rooster Ties. Nice to see that. Quote
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