Classical & Motown Tunes!

Great music in a day. Best. The afternoon saw us at Tsimshatsui's Cultural Centre (香港文化中心) for Lorin Maazel and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and Hong Kong cellist Trey Lee (李垂誼). The evening took us to Skylark on Wyndham Street at Central. This is the lounge's final weekend before it closes for good. They might have a new address, they might not. We can only hope. We were there for Bobby Taylor and his band who've made Skylark so iconic in the city's live music scene.

Classical We Go

This is the first stop of the Philharmonia Orchestra's 'Far East Tour' for the month. But it doesn't include a stop in Japan or Southeast Asia. It's scheduled for Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul.

While Trey Lee was stunning and spirited in his interpretation of 'Haydn's Cello Concerto No.1 in C Major', it was 'Mahler's Symphony No.1 in D Major "Titan"' that drew me. I wanted to hear how another orchestra would play this; most of all, I wanted to listen to Lorin Maazel's interpretation of one of my favorite symphonies. It would be a good comparison to the Berlin Philharmonic led by Sir Simon Rattle, and the New York Philharmonic led by Alan Gilbert. 

The cheer and floral touches of the first two movements were sweet. The darker notes and clashes in the final two funereal movements in minor melodies were stunning, and imho, the interpretation of these two movements dictate which orchestra I like. Preferences aside, the London Philharmonia did a stellar job for the afternoon.

Some Motown Lovin'

Skylark rotates between all sorts of live music (except punk and alternative). It's been an institution of sorts in Lan Kwai Fong. Bobby Taylor (of 60s soul group 'The Vancouvers') moved to Hong Kong 1.5 years ago, and took up residence at Skylark from Thursdays to Saturdays and Luckily we made reservations. The place was packed out with regulars. Squeezed into the tiny space full of chairs, it wasn't easy to make toilet runs amongst human bodies. So we paced our drinks. Final weekend. The bar didn't serve food, and were out of many drinks. We stuck to beer all night. Asahi. Worked fine. 

78 years old now, Bobby Taylor could still groove, alright, and his voice is still golden. The magic in his band isn't apparent till he got onto the stage. His band is competent, but ummm....not too impressed. Except with the bassist. I didn't catch his name...Keith Williamson or something. The bassist is brilliant. He's got the voicing down pat. Couldn't stifle my laughter when the keyboardist came out. Platform boots, eyeliner, mascara, and a mohawk! He was introduced as 'Baby Prince'. OMG. He sang the fillers of 'Purple Rain', 'Kiss' and all before Bobby Taylor came on.

It was a pretty fun night. I haven't bothered to check out motown tunes or R & B covers for a while. I'm not averse to cover songs, so long they're done well. I just dislike bands screeching them out (a la Top 40s eeeky pub and hotel bar style) without thought for rhythm, melodies and harmonies. For the now, Bobby Taylor and the band will play at Backstage, just behind on Wellington Street.