KT Tunstall & New Designers 2013

So I have just got back from the New Designers exhibit in London. There was so much cool stuff. Lots of amazing, well crafted furniture and one of the products that really caught my eye was these wooden clips (pictured below) that you can clip onto any inanimate object and when you hit the said object, it gets relayed back through the cord to the unit then to the computer which then produces the corresponding drum sound back through the speakers. I don't quite understand the technology but just the fact you can use any kind of object as drums I thought it was pretty incredible. I saw lots more stuff, a selection of which is below also.

I have also been meaning to post photos of the KT Tunstall gig I went to, like a week Thursday ago. Better late than never. Such an enjoyable gig that I have purchased my ticket to see her at the Symphony Hall later on in the year. Lets hope she puts on the same quality gig she does in a small venue into quite a large venue.

 

Amy Macdonald

Yesterday night I went to see Amy Macdonald at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. As you can see, my seat location was brilliant, right up in the grand tier a few rows from the back. It was my first visit to Symphony Hall and it is quite a classy affair. I felt a little under dressed when near enough everyone was in formal attire and I was in scrappy jeans and a T-shirt.
As a general rule I do prefer the smaller venue and due to my seat location I was dubious about what kind of sound quality I would be able to hear. And as it turns out, Any can fill the room with supposed ease. She has a much more powerful voice than I expected, and I don't think the quality diminished over the distance at all.
Most of the concert was with her full live band, but just after half way through she did a slightly more stripped back few songs with just a drummer on a smaller kit. A couple of covers were played, Higher and Higher and an acoustic Dancing In The Dark which she sang beautifully. I think there are a few videos on You Tube if you're particularly interested.
Supporting Amy was a chap called Ben Montague who was an artist along the same kind of lines. He performed with just a drummer and him playing acoustic guitar. He came across as a pretty friendly guy, chatting to the audience after each song and even hanging out by the merch stand after the show for signatures, which is a lot less common than other gigs I've been to.

Great gig, definitely recommend her!