Excited by: a very large gin and tonic
Listening to: Linda Hirst's recording of Berio's 'Sequenza III'
Cups of coffee achieved: 2, large but mellow...
Those who know me well know about my eclectic (some have described it more as ‘horrendous’) taste in music. From P. Diddy to Penderecki to Pergolesi, my ipod on shuffle is basically a prolonged session of musical schizophrenia. As a regular clubber in London and a lover of club culture, the idea of the new Yellow Lounge ‘classical music club’ night seemed perfect. This was supposed to encompass everything I believe in. I had grand visions of the Yellow Lounge freeing up classical music to the masses, dispelling elitism and of course helping good old Boulez with his most elegant suggestion of blowing up the opera houses. However, what I got was an incredible ‘classical’ concert, but a less than average ‘clubbing’ experience.
What the Yellow Lounge execells in doing is offering an informal platform for some of Universal’s most incredible classical artists. The sassy Danielle de Niese shined on stage last night, performing arias from her new (and highly recommended) CD ‘Beauty of the Baroque.’ Not only was she accompanied by a wonderfully fresh and dynamic consort, but she revelled in this informal setting quite simply beaming with enjoyment and enthusiasm for this repertoire. Bringing a sexiness to Baroque music is something I always think can be faux and sickly – it also troubles me seeing sopranos regularly stroking their cleavage on any slight mention of ‘dying’ and ‘torment.’ Danielle brings a cheekier and more playful side to the proceedings. Her wonderfully simple account of Dowland’s ‘Come again’ (you get the idea...) really showed that playing it cool often works wonders for sexual suggestion. All of her songs were packed full of high-octane energy, never faltering even with the background noise of chattering and the clinking of beer bottles.
As soon as Danielle had finished her wonderful performance we were treated to a DJ set accompanied by some ethereal video art which was, in a word ‘nice.’ Unfortunately that’s as far as I can go; having a drink, a sit down and a chit chat over this worked perfectly, but it was, after all, ethereal furniture music, just there as a background. Yellow Lounge is a bar culture, with an informal concert platform. To describe this as ‘clubbing’ is really quite misleading. Clubbing culture is all about the experience - the highs of having your body pulse to a bass beat; those indescribable moments of tension waiting for the beat to kick back in; manic dancing like there’s no tomorrow; the feeling of deafness as you leave the club and the world sounds like a different place; staying up till the early hours of the morning waiting for your favourite tune you’ve requested from the DJ... all these are part of the culture I love and that were all, sadly, missing. I obviously don’t expect people to be boogying on down to the latest Gabriel Prokofiev or requesting Ligeti remixes for their mates’ 21st birthday, but I don’t get how this can work, without it being a ‘turn up, listen quietly and leave’ affair – in other words, like any other concert you would go to needless of the setting.
I love the concept of Yellow Lounge and I was really hoping for something special. What I got was a little disappointing – maybe its because I enjoy clubbing so much. Just before I left around midnight, a guy spilt half his vodka and orange on me. Rather than freaking out about my white shirt being ruined, at that moment I smirked at a glimmer of the post-club activities I am so used to, and sauntered back home via my local kebab van. Classical ‘clubbing’ it wasn’t. A fabulous performance out of a concert-hall setting, it was. For now, I’ll stick to my regular haunts for my clubbing needs. For the habitual night-owl expecting an alternative clubbing experience, Yellow Lounge is currently a bit too clean, a bit too coy and to the average Joe, a bit too ‘classical.’
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