Heavenly nightclubness

Went with Rhodri last night to see the Heaven in a night club presentation at Grove Chapel. We'd hoped to bring someone along but he couldn't come. Travelling south of the river is always an adventure with me but we were only 10 minutes late and in time to see the whole concert.

Apologetics professor (and that's what he looks like) Bill Edgar (piano) has been making these sort of gospel angled presentations using mostly jazz and spirituals for years. He was accompanied by two fine young African Americans on vocals and saxophone. The concert was followed by a question time, which we could not stay for. A number of things bothered me (I'm not a jazz fan I discover - the two blues numbers were like oases; they were too quiet; they didn't seem to sweat, no drums, the setting, a white man telling us about African Americans and their struggle, etc, etc). One just hopes that someone was helped. I'd be very surprised if anyone was genuinely hindered. The idea is much like the Steve Nicholls book on Blues mentioned here a while back. Probably a book works better but a concert is the logical extension. May be a change of venue would have been enough. Ah, Brady you old fuddy duddy.

Akkerman in Haverhill

On Saturday I went with Rhodri to see Jan Akkerman and Gareth Pearson at Haverhill arts centre. They'd been in London on Wednesday but that's prayer meeting night and in a very short tour this was the only reasonable prospect, although I was a little cagey about using a Saturday night like that. Anyway in the end we made something of a trip of it travelling the 66 miles by way of Saffron Walden. We also took pictures of each other at Ugley and had a little look at the impressive Audley End, which is shut up at this time of the year. Saffron Walden is oozing with history and this was a good bit of reconnoitring for a future trip. It has several old buildings (Tudor, Georgian, etc) lots of antique shops and a nice market square. Everything was about to close by the time we got there and so we had a quick look around then had some chips and headed off across country and over the Essex/Suffolk border to Haverhill.

I saw someone describing Haverhill as the ugliest town in Suffolk - which is rather unfair but you can see their point. We looked for somewhere for a coffee and there wasn't really anywhere we could see so we went into a Wimpy. Rhodri had coke which was fine and I had a coffee which was not. He decided he wanted ice cream. They brought this very nice looking ice cream but it was tasteless. Rhodri was sat with his back to the counter but with a mirror in front of him. Through the mirror he could see a tub of Sainsbury's Basics ice cream. That's what they'd given him! I guess such a product is aimed at shutting little kids up but shame on Sainsbury's for producing it and on Wimpy for serving it.

The arts centre is actually a lovely old place inside and out and we had a great concert. Pity there weren't more there. It was good to see Graham, Gareth's dad, who I was in school with, and who goes to my home church. The Akkernutters (Leigh, Lloyd, Jim,etc) were out in force. Gareth did a nice set and talked a bit as he does. It's a shame that great talent and personality are not enough to win you fame and fortune. It was good to see Gareth again and pass on a copy of Steve Nichols' Getting the Blues which seemed appropriate. I also gave one to Jan later (plus a copy of my own book) and had a chat ranging over the happiness of sea lions, Rabindranath Tagore and the Rabbi's tunnel, etc. His own set was superb. He wandered on stage picked up his battered Lowden and said it was cold waiting upstairs so he'd decided to come down (!). He then sat (Gareth had stood) and got going. First we had what he called a medley of old Dutch carpenter songs (ie Focus stuff - beginning with bits from Eruption, unheard until then the Akkernutters told me, Le Clochard, Sylvia, Anonymus, etc). He then played two of the suites from his acoustic album and rather different version of Tranquiliser. I think it was Firenze and something else next (probably not) and then a bit of Django type stuff plus another track. He then got into a storming version of Hocus Pocus that was mesmerising. Sadly (though not surprisingly) a string broke part way in and so we never got to hear the whole thing. Instead he called Gareth up to do another number while he re-strung. They finished off with a fascinating duet playing with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean which Gareth had tackled earlier. Slightly surreal, Jan ended thanking Gareth then Graham (who's been driving Jan around - usually with his head out of the window trying to have a smoke!) then me (!) then Leigh. He would have named the whole audience if he could have - or at least the Welsh ones!

After a quick chat and some photos we headed off into the wet night and got home just outside my personal curfew looking forward to the Lord's Day.

Music and suffering

One of the many good things to come out of the recent Machen week was the chance to swap books with Steve Nichols. During the course of the week Steve mentioned a plan to meet up with the music journalist Steve Turner which opened up a side to him that I'd missed in a previous encounter. It turns out that Steve (N) has done this whole book Getting the blues looking at 'What blues music teaches us about suffering and salvation' and it really is a brilliant book.

Being a big music fan (though not the blues especially) and a lover of good theology I was immediately drawn to it. It takes you through a sort of history of the blues but all the way it gives you theology too. It is what he calls a theomusicology, a term borrowed from another contemporary writer in this area. The theology is good (ruin, redemption, regeneration, etc) and although there may be a little selectivity here and there his argument that a sound theology is woven through the blues stands up.

I liked this book on many levels - the fine introduction to the music (I'm pretty hazy except for the sound track to Brother where art thou and a half dozen Rev Gary Davis tracks in my i-tunes); the good theology (in a minor key); helpful things on Ruth and Ecclesiastes; the whole idea of looking at what is so often considered by secularists on robust Christian lines. Oh yeah - great title too.

I'm hoping to pass copies on to people who will appreciate it even more than me and who may be will get to understand the theology too.

Interesting interview here.