Concerts
Rodrigo y Gabriela
The story goes that Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero played in a thrash metal band in their native Mexico. Presumably having failed to thrash the charts the band split, jettisoning our nimble-fingered …
- Originally published: 1 Dec 2008 in Concerts
Omara Portuondo
At the time of writing, the Cuban singer is seventy eight years old and when she wants to, she can still belt them out. There just wasn’t much cause to do so …
- Originally published: 28 Oct 2008 in Concerts
Lambchop
Before I saw the band in concert, I would never have called the music of Lambchop romantic. Somehow, within a couple of tracks from their new release OH (Ohio), I found myself …
- Originally published: 28 Oct 2008 in Concerts
Seun Kuti & Africa 80
Seun is the youngest son of the late Fela Kuti, the politically active leading light of Afrobeat. Having grown up in the thick of that scene, Seun now heads Africa 80, the …
- Originally published: 25 Oct 2008 in Concerts
Arthur H: L’Abondanse
H, the son and nephew respectively of eccentric singers Jacques Higelin and Brigitte Fontaine, is something of a musical lacuna himself. Throughout the course of thirteen albums, the Frenchman has pinballed between …
- Originally published: 23 Oct 2008 in Concerts
Matthew Herbert Big Band
After an awkward warm-up from studenty noodlers Wixel, who might be the Flemish answer to Sigur Rós, the stage of Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique was quickly cleared and rearranged for the main event …
- Originally published: 3 Oct 2008 in Concerts
Buena Vista Social Club presents (2008 Tour)
Last year, we managed to get tickets for the Buena Vista Social Club presents date at Sheffield City Hall but we were in the cheap seats. Having long since learned that the …
- Originally published: 9 May 2008 in Concerts
Toumani Diabaté
For over 700 years, the griots have wandered the plains and villages of Mali, as much a part of the landscape as cottonfields and the Harmattan dust clouds. Griots (or “jeli” to …
- Originally published: 4 May 2008 in Concerts
Salsa Celtica
I first heard of Scottish band Salsa Celtica back in 2004, courtesy of WFMU radio’s Doug Schulkind. I was just starting to get interested in latin and world music at the time and …
- Originally published: 28 Apr 2008 in Concerts
The Lion roared
Cadillac Jukebox @ The Lion, Castleford The problem with being a covers band is that your audience tends to judge you on the quality of your renditions rather than the quality of your …
- Originally published: 27 Oct 2007 in Concerts
Elsewhere on MikePadgett.com …
Soggy Buxton
What could be more thrilling than a wet summer’s afternoon in Buxton? Well, I could think of a few things but there wasn’t much point in doing that as we descended into Buxton. …
- Originally published: 17 Jul 2007 in UK
Mud in the Hageland
On the weekend after Armistice Day, I was reminded that the British have a difficult history with the Flanders mud. In the Hageland, it’s rusty, oozy, sticky stuff and it takes just …
- Originally published: 14 Nov 2009 in Walking
Manu Chao in Concert
Serendipity. That’s what I thought when I managed to secure a couple of tickets for J and I to see Manu Chao on his short tour of the UK with the Radio …
- Originally published: 11 Oct 2007 in Concerts
Making a song and dance about it
Brief Encounter, The West Yorkshire Playhouse Noël Coward’s play Still Life (1936) formed the basis of the wonderfully restrained (or rather dry, depending on your sympathies) 1945 film Brief Encounter. The film tells the …
- Originally published: 4 Nov 2007 in Theatre
Zwartboek (Black Book)
Director: Paul Verhoeven Netherlands, 2006 With the turbulent Hollywood years behind him, Verhoeven is back in Europe and the opening salvo is a freshly energetic epic that firmly suggests Amsterdam’s finest has rediscovered his …
- Originally published: 26 Jan 2007 in Film
Who is that guy?
Hello you. I'm Mike Padgett and I work in the technology sector as an Information Designer.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm based in Brussels, Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is St Feuillien Brune.