:: Almost Blue ::

Whilst perusing La Foscquette's website recently, I was reminded of a concert I went to last year. This was a "Cabaret" night at Wilton's Music Hall in June. Part of the Spitalfields Festival, the concert was a chance for young composers to showcase their talents in a crossover between popular song and the more esoteric world of modern classical music...

When the gig began with a sprightly version of Say a Little Prayer, worthy of the Boston Pops with a sugar rush, I was apprehensive about what was to come. My taste for sweet things is well documented but an evening of saccharine entertainment would have turned my stomach completely. Fortunately things did not continue in that vein and the evening was a celebration of the intimate and the innovative. The highlight of the show for me was Foscq's version of Almost Blue. This is an Elvis Costello song (it appears on his Very Best Of... album) and another notable version is Chet Baker)'s bittersweet smoky jazz cover. A complex 12-tone saturated sound dominated from the start, and then, layer by layer, note by note, the song was peeled back to its bare bones and sung once through.

For the aurally adventurous amongst you, it is now available to listen to here. Here are the lyrics, too:

Almost Blue

Elvis Costello Almost blue Almost doing things we used to do There's a boy here and he's almost you Almost all the things that your eyes once promised I see in him too Now your eyes are red from crying Almost blue Flirting with this disaster became me It named me as the fool who only aimed to be Almost blue It's almost touching that we're almost through There's a part of me that's always true… always All the things never come to an end now it is only a chosen few I've seen such an unhappy couple Almost me Almost you Almost blue

Nearly had me crying, that...

I'd better move briskly on to coming attractions. For those of you in London, the V&A is hosting a (...wait for it!) knitting frenzy as part of next Friday's Late View. For those of you in the States, you're just about to be spoonfed another slice of grimy British reality TV. And for those of you lucky enough to blag a flight in between on Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class, you could be in for a tasty surprise whilst waiting for your flight.

Well, tonight marks the final episode of Sex and the City on UK terrestrial TV, so I'm heading off to a little cocktial soirée to "celebrate". In a recent poll, Blackadder was considered to have the best ever finale. Somehow, I doubt SJP and chums will top that...