in football that is, or soccer, as it is known as well. I always loved what the English call ‘the beautiful game’ – did play myself as a kid and youth and even twice a week while working in Austria. Not now – just tennis, which is less injury likely for older men …. For me a good game of football is a bit like jazz – there is a lot of ensemble play, then the one or other solo effort and tons of improvisation. Quick decisions are asked for and the rest of the team reacts to them; the better the individuals work together, know what each other player is doing, expect their forthcoming moves …, the better the team will be. Barcelona being the best ensemble in that respect – they play to give their star space and opportunity to solo, as in the end it will enhance the performance of the team.
For the European Championship there are a few favourites – Spain, as the holder, Germany, Netherlands and France and maybe one surprise package like England or Portugal or Russia, which look pretty well organised and strong. 3 weeks of heaven and luckily promoters haven’t scheduled too many gigs in that time, knowing that a lot of people (mostly male, but not all) would like to watch the games, especially the big ones.
Talking of gigs – we did see Spanish band Chambao – pretty good as a band and lots of fun live – the audience knew all the lyrics, even of the new album, and sang along in good voice. Then another show by La Shica – with a different guitar player (this one acoustic in comparison to the electric guitarist of the last show we saw) and a new bass player, who sang a beautiful duet with her as the last encore. Powerful, emotional songs about life. This show seemed to be even better and had more energy and I think that the acoustic guitar player was amazing and fitted the music perfectly. Some acts one can’t see often enough, as they always have something new, surprising to offer and always quality – she is one of them!
Back to the football – 2 more games today … and tomorrow and the day after …..
Wulf's Music + Blog 