Assailed by Sound

Firstly, many thanks for the response to yesterday’s celebratory blip. 13 years (almost) I never expected that. 

A last minute decision to head into Birmingham for an event at the Symphony Hall by the London Concert Orchestra, the Ministry of Sound Classical. 

It was a complete assault on the senses. It started with DJs playing classic dance tunes from the 80s and 90s. I’d never really analysed it before but now appreciate that they add a heavy base track to the songs, rather than rely on the original percussion. They had two additional arrays of speakers on either side of the hall and it was loud! My phone kept warning me of the loud environment, something it has rarely done before other than when drying hands using the toilet blowers!

The concert itself was no less noisy. At least the bass track wasn’t included so it was more melodious, though it was my impression that they amplified the music from the orchestra. Certainly the keyboard content must have been. Still, I don’t want to sound like a G.O.M., the performance was hugely enjoyable and as we were sitting up in the grand tier, we got the full effect of the laser show below.

We used the train to get in and out of the city, the first time we’d sat in the new coaches which have no doors between the carriages, so you got to see it bend as it wound its way.