Virtuosity to the nth degree...

Playlist
Cheryl - Only Human
Glasperlenspiel - Grenzenlos In Diesem Moment
Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Boris Blank - Avant Garden
Enchant - The Great Divide
Van Der Graaf Generator - Merlin Atmos Live Performances 2013
And One - Propeller
Marco Minnemann - EEPS
And One - Magnet
Dieter Meier - Out Of Chaos
The Samuel Jackson Five - Seasons in the Hum
Bryan Ferry - Avonmore
Farin Urlaub Racing Team - Faszination Weltraum
Hammock - The Sleepover Series Volume Two
Neal Morse - The Grand Experiment
Max Richter - Retrospective (3) 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Yes - Heaven & Earth
Justin Rutledge - Daredevil
Marco Minnemann - EEPS
Boris Blank - Electrified
John Lemke - People Do
Substaat - Macht
Bend Sinister - Animals
Pineapple Thief - Magnolia
Asia - Gravitas

Beautiful morning...

...and breakfast at nearby Fork...

The clotted cream re my giant scone was a nice touch...

Into town and found ourselves outside Selfridges pre its Sunday opening time...

There were some interesting window displays being displayed...

Up a couple of streets to the Wigmore Hall - again, slightly early - our recital was due to start at 11:30...

...so we took a walk around the environs, including Harley Street...

...and back to the Hall..



..and inside, cough sweets at the ready...

The large "no phones" sign was of course removed for the recital itself by Italian 21 year old Van Cliburn prize winner and Wigmore Hall debutante, Beatrice Rana...

Her superb programme comprised J S Bach's Partita No.1 in B flat major BWV825, Chopin's Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor Op. 39 & Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 35 and Ravel's La Valse...

Finally, for her encore, she returned to Chopin, playing his Prelude in D flat major, No 15 from Preludes Op.28...

What a great way to spend a Sunday lunchtime...

Complimentary drinks downstairs from the hall followed...

...as did a couple of purchases by your correspondent from the Wigmore Hall Live selection, on display in the foyer...

We wandered down towards Trafalgar Square, noting some nice shopping and gallery opportunities on the way...

Picasso in a window...

...passed the Royal Academy of Arts...

...and through Chinatown...

...towards St Martin in the Fields...

...and into the National Portrait Gallery, enjoying the last day of their exhibition on the Tudor dynasty, topical re the recent "Wolf Hall" viewing...

...and some more "up to date" items...

We noted this Tom Phillips portrait of Brian Eno...

After some refreshments, we took the bus journey from hell (as the tube line was closed for repairs) to Fulham...

...where we took shelter from a rainstorm in a cafe, before gaining early entry to Under the Bridge for tonight's concert by Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Alex Machacek and Virgil Donati aka UK...

At the soundcheck, we were treated to various snippets of tunes to be heard later, along with a full run through of "Caesar's Palace Blues"...

When gigging, I always find the soundcheck to be more stressful than the gig itself - even more so if the audience is already present, as was the situation here, the attendees having paid slightly extra for a VIP early entry to witness said soundcheck and have the opportunity for a meet and greet...

A long wait ensued, during which time I took some fanboy equipment pics...

Around 8:30 the quartet took to the stage and gave us a superb performance of songs from the two UK studio albums, their self titled debut from 1978 and the following year's "Danger Money"...

Solos from Jobson and Donati were slotted in alongside the lions share of the material from the two LPs...

An amazing display of musical virtuosity...

The Exec Producer has been hearing this music for years and, as it turned out, had been believing it to have been Asia, due to Wetton's vocalising...

Now she realises the error - special praise from the EP for Donati's drumming - she likes a drummer...

For the record, the setlist was as follows:-
Thirty years
Nevermore
Carrying No Cross
Alaska/Time to Kill
Eddie Jobson - Keyboard/Violin Solo
Rendezvous 6:02
Virgil Donati - Drum Solo
In the Dead of Night/By the Light of Day/Presto Vivace & Reprise
Forever Until Sunday

Encore
Caesar's Palace Blues
The Only Thing She Needs
Carrying No Cross (Finale)

All too soon of course, it was over...

..and the guys took their bows...

Just a few more gigs to go now before they finally call it a day...

Mr Wetton looked quite dapper in his waistcoat...

A standing ovation from the average age "middle aged" crowd who had travelled from around the world for this rare gig...

All over...

A couple of trains and we were back at Russell Square, enjoying a quick late night snack before heading to the apartment and hitting the sack...

An excellent day...

Highlight of the Day : UK Live for the final time...

PS My previous UK gig, back in 2012, is here...