BIG MISTAKE. Garageband does not export midi. Funny enough, Logic (both Express and Pro) will read midifiles from Garageband projects. So, the midi is in there somewhere. And no-one has written a tool to extract the midifiles. In that lies the drawback of the Mac: unlike in the Apple // days where there was a program for almost anything you could think of, ranging from serialport-programmable lasers to extracting text from Appleworks, somehow the Mac has become more of a “I’m content with what I have” community. Otherwise, someone would’ve come up with a way to extract the midi from Garageband files.

Other than that, I’m happy with the MacBook Pro. I really am.

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The next gig will be at the Archeon, after which we’ll take a leave, as mentioned. The first gig for the next year is planned for February. Since Joop left, we booked almost a complete tour for 2008. So stay tuned!

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Anyway, it lists what songs are coming by on my WinAmp. If you’re interested, you can even click the small play button next to the tracks to get a preview of the song. If you’re on Last.FM too, please add me (I’m intGod) and we can listen to each other’s tracks.

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Het zou kunnen dat Anne niet mee kan naar Springsteen op 30 november in het Gelredome te Arnhem. Veel zal afhangen van hoe de zwangerschap er op dat moment voorstaat.

Daarom zoek ik dus iemand die graag number two wil zijn – mijn allereerste en waarschijnlijk allerlaatste Springsteen concert wil ik toch niet alleen meemaken. Alhoewel, ik lees altijd wel dat het een feest van gezelligheid en cameraderie is. En als je live optredens van The Boss ziet zitten er echt alleen maar lachende gezichten in het publiek.

Edoch! Meld u aan – liefst via mail, maar in een antwoord op deze post mag uiteraard ook.

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Cast.

Agnieszka Piass as Madama Butterfly
Vasyl Grokholskiy as Pinkerton
Dorota Sobczak as Suzki (I think – I forgot the booklet at the theater)
Henk Poort as Sharpless.

Madama Butterfly is your typical Puccini Opera. It’s got interesting melody lines, interwoven with a lot of musical accompaniment. Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed the night out. We had rather crappy seats although they were the most expensive available. On the other hand, we were alone in our row of seats so we could stretch our legs any way we wanted.

As a whole, the cast didn’t entirely convince. I most enjoyed Henk Poort’s incredible voice and Suzuki’s performance was near flawless. Miss Piass started off very strong and caught me from the very start. Unfortunately, she lost that attraction throughout the performance and by the end, she had dwindled down and couldn’t convince anymore. Mister Grokholsky never really convincing as Pinkerton. His voice didn’t have the roundness of Mister Poort’s and especially the louder parts didn’t sound as full as they could have been.

Don’t misunderstand me – to have such an international cast is wonderful and they certainly did not disappoint. It’s just that, after having heard wonderful renditions of Madama Butterfly on CD, I’ve been spoilt rotten with really really extraordinary renditions. And the cast of tonight was just plain extraordinary.

The costumes were very well done – not entirely oriental but very nices pieces of work nonetheless. The choreography was wonderful and worked very well, while the backdrop and the setup of the stage were simple but effective and very well done.

All in all a very good night out. Puccini is always a pleasure to listen to, even when the orchestra drops a little note here and there. Some people know how I adore the French Horn and there’s French Horn’s a plenty in this masterpiece. Definitely worth its money although one always hopes to catch a glimpse of a rough diamond instead of a very very well cut Cubic Zirkonia.

Verdict: 7/10

As an afterthought: I think the average age of the audience was about 60. Which makes me wonder if we’ll still have large-scale opera’s in 20 years. That and the fact that it’s still incredible that old men and women think they can just bump into you and then give you the evil eye as if YOU are the one that bumped into them – well, that, and skipping ahead in the line to the coffee-and-tea bar – and bumping into people who just got coffee, thereby spilling that person’s coffee and not even apologising. When I was young, the elder were a lot nicer.

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Maybe I need to order tickets for the whole season again so I am sort of “forced” to go see some cultural activity in my own town.

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Melaina has been singing all her life and is an artist of the purest blood. She draws, writes her own music and is generally very creative. We’re happy to have found such a creative force to join us and we’re looking forward to what the future will bring.

At the moment we’re working hard with Melaina to bring her up to speed on the repertoire. Stay tuned for more information.

We will introduce her live to the audience somewhere in the near future.

In the meantime, you can take a look at her profile.

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Right now, Magic is blasting through my speakers and it’s making my heart race. While Radio Nowhere was enough to get my blood pumping and make me anticipate the new Springsteen record, You’ll be coming down only intensifies the experience and makes me feel 20 years younger. I remember sitting in my bedroom and upsetting my parents with the Born in the USA CD pumping through the speakers.

Livin’ in the future confirms it: finally another “real” Springsteen record. The sax that opens this song, combined with the clear and bright sounds that are so easily associated with the E-street band makes this song one of the most nostalgic new songs on this record.

Hearing this record only makes me feel better about spending way too much money on Springsteen tickets for November. Going to see Springsteen for the first time in my life on my birthday – what more can I ask for?

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