The other night I went to see a Hawk and a Hacksaw at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. My friend Fliss had a spare ticket at the last moment. I had seen them a few times before, the picture above is one I took at ATP around 6 years ago. She had booked the tickets so long ago she had forgotten the details of the show. It turned out to be a collaboration between A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the BBC Orchestra. The orchestra played pieces by Bartok and Ligeti, a Hawk and a Hacksaw played folk songs from Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, and the two joined together for some songs at the end. It felt very civilised to sit watching an orchestra in plush padded seats. It’s not something I do that often. I had an ice cream in the interval too.
The South Bank is one of my favourite spots anyway. I’m always happy to have a reason to go to the Festival Hall. I’m a little sad they have got rid of the sound art installation in the toilet though. They had a recording of a man whistling the whole Rite of Spring playing in there. It was great. Once when I was at my mum’s, I was watching a film about the riots at the opening night of the Rite of Spring. One of my mum’s cats was watching it with me. She loves watching tv, and normally isn’t phased by things like shouting, or gunfire or explosions. However, when the music started, she jumped bolt upright with a look of “No! Not this!” and ran out of the room and stayed in the kitchen until the music was finished. She clearly has a pre-1913 mind.