Confession time. There are certain things, considered perhaps unfashionable, or unorthodox, or both, by the mainstream, that I unashamedly love. Eurovision, for one. And besides my general affection for this campest of European traditions, I profess a particular fondness for the cooky- ethnic period which began with Sertab Erener’s winner for Turkey in 2003 and…
Category: a38
Dark Beautiful Things: Cigarettes After Sex@A38
I might have mentioned it a couple of times already, but I honestly cannot fathom which concerts will sell out these days in Budapest, and why. (Apparently the Despacito person’s gig will sell out any time now, in his case I could confidently cover the which part, but will forever stay confused over the why.)…
Dog Day Evening: Black Bartók @ A38
Sound Engineer’s Dog’s Log, Supplemental It’s hot, particularly so here on the deck. Spent most of the afternoon wondering what’s happening to me and the universe in general, and why am I so insanely hot. Concluded I’m here on the boat again, there’s a sound check for tonight’s concert, have no idea about the state…
Summoning the Light: Sóley @ A38
I had sat down in front of the computer intent on writing this review as quickly as I could, riding the wave of fresh impressions, which usually work best- the more you think about the concert the more it will become something you remember, instead of something you experienced. And we all know memory can…
A Most Punctual Man: Thomas Dybdahl @ A38
There are (at least) three ridiculously wonderful things about the roof terrace of A38: it’s in fact covered, so we could pay no mind to the possible impending storm, which actually never arrived, but then again it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s so chill that the sound engineer’s dog can peacefully doze through…
Tricky presents Skilled Mechanics @ A38
I’ve always had a penchant for eavesdropping and got to feel better about it reading that many novelists do too- the similarities between me and them pretty much end here. But the truth is, listening in to a story that’s undisturbed by your own intervention is a perfect way to learn, about the people who…
No Music for the Weak Minded
For some reason that has always baffled me, the classic movie ’Some Like It Hot’ was translated as ’Some People Like Jazz’ into Romanian. At the time I first discovered this strange discrepancy in the Matrix, jazz was safely situated in the most distant of galaxies from my tastes, and frankly, it’s still somewhere out…
Smokers Outside the Pirate Den’s Doors- Editors and Public Service Broadcasting at Barba Negra
One of the deepest darkest fears of a Budapest concert goer is that the band will jovially greet Bucharest at some point, maybe adding a sprinkling of how are you doing, Romania, as a side dish. This fear is of course mirrored across the border by the ominous possibility of a friendly hello Budapest and…
Dark Nights of the Soul- Grooms, A Place to Bury Strangers and Chelsea Wolfe on A38
Two weeks after the Colectiv club fire, here came another Saturday when I went to a concert in the aftermath of a tragedy. As I was waiting in the hull of A38 to hand in my coat, I could not help but notice the last band on this month’s schedule: Eagles of Death Metal, sold…
For the Love of Mondays: Thomas Dybdahl A38 sessions at GMK
Mondays have bad press: they’re like the Pol Pot of weekdays- as such, I always felt tender compassion for the week’s most detested day since, unlike Pol Pot, Mondays are entirely innocent. They can’t be blamed for our deep seated hatred of work and ill-adjustment to life in general. They just happen each week and…
Pocket Diary Budapest 