Newsgroup: it.arti.cinema
Titolo: [La "prima" dei film su Nick Drake] resoconti di olandesi...

stanz <stanz...@NOSPAMlibero.it>
: The Nick Drake night yesterday at the Paradiso, Amsterdam
Ehy, ma il Paradiso di Amsterdam  non è lo stesso leggendario locale del
leggendario concerto dei leggendari Joy Division???
[ho forse un po' esagerato con gli adolescenziali «leggendari»?]
--
Vorrei ricordare
alla direzione
che le bevande sono annacquate
e che la guardarobiera
ha la sifilide
e che l'orchestra è composta
da ex-mostri delle SS
(L. Cohen)

___________________________________________________
The Nick Drake night yesterday at the Paradiso, Amsterdam was absolutely
brilliant!! They started off with a string orchestra (dutch!) directed by Robert
Kirby and with Ben on Guitar (quote Kirby:"We couldn't find anyone who could
play the guitar parts of Nick until we met the young Ben Parker"). It was
chilling, so beautiful. With many, many compliments to Ben, who
played his parts very precize. After that there was the film, a very good film
indeed, filmed very intimate. And finally there were Ben & Jason (with the
string orchestra again)!! They played a very short set, I thought it was 5 songs
they played. They played
'Joe's Ark', 2 new songs (great!!), 'Halfway up a tree' and 'Pink Moon'. Beth
Orton rounded off a perfect evening.
_________________________________________________
It was amazingly beautiful. But boy, was it hot in there.
Incidentally, the film will be broadcast on Dutch tele tomorrow night.
_______________________________________________-
I took the 4 1/2 hour drive to Amsterdam yesterday to be a part =
of the Nick Drake night at Paradiso. It's always great to be in this =
city, but this time was special and the event was certainly something I = will
not forget. It was a resounding success for all involved, I guess - = especial
for those who staged it, of course. It was also very hot! I was = struck by the
fact that the lighting was quite intense sometimes - even = on the audience -
and the lack of air condition made it a pretty sweaty = affair - especially for
the artists. On the downside, there was a = continuous hum in the P.A. from the
lights, but as the music was so = strong and beautiful, it was easy to ignore
after a while.=20
I did not take notes, this is all from memory so bear with me.... After =
waiting for what seemed like a long time, a youthful looking woman = climbed the
stage from the audience, introducing herself with some Dutch = words I could not
understand and "I am Gabrielle, sister of Nick = Drake....". She looked very
beautiful - certainly no strange to the = stage - and seemed to be very happy to
be hosting the evening. With her = immaculate presence and choice of words she
radiated an air of refined = Englishness, A quality which is in many ways also
present in her = brother's music, of course. She continued by saying (roughly):
"let me =
tell you about my brother..." reminiscing about his ways, his =
stubbornness when it came to having things his way and getting exactly = the
shoes he wanted when the familiy went shopping. She stressed the = fact that
Nick was stubborn when it came to his music as well - then = read an extract
from a letter he wrote to Rodney and Molly about Robert = Kirby. It was very
favorable, of course, leading into her  introducing = Robert to the audience. It
was quite funny because the long hair = mentioned in the letter has given way to
a gleaming pate and the = stockiness also mentioned in the letter is quite, er,
visible these = days. But he seems to be a very jovial character and genuinely
happy to = contribute to this night. He introduced the ensemble of Dutch players
=
for the evening with the highest praise and stressed the fact that they = had
had "very little time to rehearse". Nervousness was palpable from = where I sat
(about row 10 central). The ensemble entered the stage: 2 = violins, 1 viola, 1
cello, 1 double bass, 1 flute, 1 oboe. Last but not = least and after an
unsettling moment of "no-show", Ben Parker joined = this cast with a guitar,
after having received Robert's praise of being = the only one they met who could
play Nick's parts convincingly. Ben was = very nervous, it seemed.
They played "Introduction", "The Thoughts of Mary Jane", "Fruit Tree", = "Day is
Done", "Way to Blue" and "Sunday". It was magic, of course. I = felt my jaw drop
as soon as the strings set in. I have listened to these = songs for a number of
decades by now and hearing this music live made me = quite emotional. Ben did a
great job of playing the Nick's original = parts (I do know how to play most of
the stuff myself.... so,  WELL = DONE, Ben) and the strings were the exact same
as one the records. = Robert mentioned the fact (forgetting to speak into the
mic sometimes) = that he had forgotten where he had put the arrangements for a
long time =
but finally found them in "my mother's shed in Norfolk". Now they are =
computerized and safe for eternity. AND - Brian Wells was present and = had
provided Nick's final guitar (not the Guild) for Ben to play on. Ben = changed
between a Martin dreadnought and this special Martin = 00-something. Another
premiere in itself... So - as moving as listened = to this LIVE music was, there
was something missing - Nick's voice and = personality. It was a little bit like
seeing Mona Lisa without the lips, = still beautiful but not perfect. And
everyone was sweating intensely...
After that Gabrielle took the stage again, raving about Jeroen Berkvens = and
his persistence in making this film project a reality, telling the = story of
how Jeroen had approached her. It was clear that Gabrielle = really loves this
documentary and she gets to play a major part in it, = of course. Being familiar
with the BBC docu myself, I must say that this = really is a very beautiful film
by someone who obviously loves the = music. And who knows about creating the
right pictures to go along with = it. While not providing a great deal of new
information, there are some =
wonderful sequences, for instance: home movies of the Drake family, very =
atmospheric sequences centering around Nick's room, Tanworth-in-Arden = through
the seasons, John Wood and Robert Kirby demonstrating the = arrangement of "At
the Chime...." in the studio complete with a = "late-night rainy London"
sequence. The 48-or so minutes went by in a =
flash and the audience was spellbound. It ends with a home movie: the = Drake
family on a beach in Burma with Nick about 3 years old. "Northern = Star" is the
song the film builds up to and ends with.=20
A bit of silence - then huge applause. Hugs between those involved and a =
visibly moved Gabrielle Drake taking the stage again with more words of = thanks
and respect.  She went on to explain that those involved had = agreed upon
making the night a celebration and how "very very pleased = Nick would have
been" if he had known how his work would continue to = inspire young musicians.
Such as Ben & Jason and Beth Orton, who were to =
take the stage (with the string ensemble) in part two of the program = called
"The Legacy". "Nick's tragedy has turned into triumph," =
Gabrielle said. She then accepted thanks of folks coming up to her and I = saw a
long hug between her and Brian Wells as well. Jeroen Berkvens and = his producer
looked very happy, indeed.=20
(nota: esiste un sito del film, 
http://www.nickdrakefilm.com
 )

Ho visto quest'estate il documentario della BBC su Nick. Interessante, ben
fatto, ma inevitabilmente triste...
Ciao BP
NP Gato Barbieri - The third world