We chose to walk the dog to Vingio Park Tuesday night, hoping to hear part of the Nick Cave concert. My daughters and I were surprised to see how close we were able to get to the amphitheater, although not quite this close. Through one of the portals we could actually catch glimpses of him on stage, but were too far away to get a good picture in the dark. It just came out a blur. The walls garbled the sound a bit too, but it was still great to hear "The Weeping Song," one of my favorites. He really seemed to enjoy himself as he did two encores, which was essentially what we heard.
I was a little worried there wouldn't be much of a turnout for Nick, as there was a big push the last week on TV and radio to entice persons to the concert. The park has had its share of concerts this summer. Maneskin had come in early June to a rapturous crowd of over 20,000. The Italian band is at its peak right now, stirring crowds at Coachella and gaining the approval of legendary punk rockers like Iggy Pop, who cut one song with them. Iggy was also in Vilnius this summer. I was afraid Nick just wouldn't measure up to a Lithuanian crowd, but there must have been at least 5000 persons there. The sound of the crowd had initially been muted by the pine trees and muggy evening but when we got close we could really hear the crowd was getting into it, with Nick moving along the front line reaching out to extended hands as he often does in concerts.
I had wanted to go but Daina had bought tickets for Asmik Gregorian the same night, so I felt bound to attend. It was a rather dry recital of poems by Lorca, Rilke and Apollinaire that Shostakovich had scored. We were stuck in the deepest row of the balcony at the Philharmonic. She had literally bought the last tickets available. It was insufferably hot. Neither one of us really enjoyed ourselves. We thought about having something to eat downtown but in the end ordered pizza to share with the family back home. It was barely 10 o'clock when we finished so I suggested we take the dog to the park, not more than a kilometer distance from the house. Daina said no thanks. She is not much of a Nick Cave fan. I usually listen to him in my man cave with the headphones on. She preferred to catch up on news from Ukraine instead.
We got back around midnight. A short burst of rain cooled us all off. Loki was notably relieved. Daina asked how the concert was? I left it to Goda and Akvilė to tell her, as I didn't want to sound like I was downplaying the concert we went to. I think I have now made a Nick Cave fan out of my youngest daughter. Goda has always liked Nick.
It has been a very lively summer. Lots of concerts and outdoor events, especially in Kaunas, which has been the European cultural capitol this year. We had been meaning to go to the many exhibits and finally got to the William Kentridge exhibit at the Čiurlionis museum this past weekend. It was indeed impressive, as all our friends have been telling us, a wonderful mix of charcoal drawings, animated featurettes and a multi-screen performance art piece that left us spellbound.
Kaunas is always fun to visit. All its major activities are stretched along Laisvės prospect near the river. The Nemunas and Neris rivers come together in Kaunas at the old castle, where we stopped on the way back to Vilnius.
The Vytis sculpture has been controversial. The mayor had acquired it from Vilnius, after our mayor said it looked too much like the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg. A sentiment shared by many Lithuanians. The mayor of Kaunas didn't seem to mind. There it stands in all its glory. I suppose we will get used to it, as we have Stalinworld at Grūtas Park to the south of the country. Never seem to be able to get completely out of the Russian shadow.
The amphitheater at Vingio Park is also from the Soviet era. It's been gutted a couple times by fire but restored each time and a perfect venue for outdoor concerts. The large grass area is also a great place to toss frisbees and sticks with the dog, as we have done on occasion. It had been the estate of the local Russian governor in the 19th century. A rail line actually ran to it at one time but all you see are remnants of the stone piers in the bend of the Neris river, for which the park is named. It was remade into a festival grounds in the 1960s, similar to the one in Tallinn. It became the epicenter of the independence movement in the late 1980s with enormous crowds gathered to hear speeches and music from the leading figures of the Sajūdis movement.
The most memorable concert in recent years was Bjork, who came in 2008. She did a number of rousing songs, including Declare Independence, with the stirring chorus, "raise your flag!" Needless to say, this went over extremely well with the audience, especially when she came out with a huge Lithuanian flag. Iceland had been the first country to recognize Lithuania's independence in February, 1991.
A lot of history in this park. It was nice to see Nick Cave add to its legacy.
Comments
Post a Comment