My Summer in Music Festivals, Part 2: Montreux Jazz Festival
As I mentioned last year, the Montreux Jazz Festival is really a two-week series of concerts rather than a traditional festival. The line-up this year was quite good, though the expense of tickets made seeing many shows cost prohibitive. As it was, I went to two concerts the first week which combined were more expensive than my Lollapalooza 3-day pass.
Even so, I’m glad I was able to make it. The sound, lighting, and video production at MJF are stellar and it was a fine way to start saying goodbye to Switzerland.
On Monday, July 7th, I joined my friend Lee and some other folks to see Vampire Weekend (who I’d just seen in Belgium) and the Raconteurs, the second band of the White Stripes’ Jack White. I’d seen the latter band two years ago at Lollapalooza and it was easily one of the highlights of that weekend. The band puts on a killer live show and the chance to see them at a more intimate venue like MJF’s Miles Davis Hall was irresistible. And, unsurprisingly, the band were amazing. It was definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen recently and Vampire Weekend were a great opener, though they didn’t play any longer than at Rock Werchter even though they had more time allotted.
Vampire Weekend
that band’s Ezra Koenig
the Raconteurs
the crowd getting into “Steady As She Goes”
On Wednesday my brother, who had arrived in Europe the weekend of my parents’ departure and spent the subsequent weeks touring the continent, passed back through Switzerland on his way home. We returned to Montreux that evening to see Paul Simon with several of my Geneva friends including Darryl, Katie, Robyn and Frank. The concert was excellent with Paul supplying a mix of tracks from the classic Graceland, his terrific 2006 release Surprise, and several Simon & Garfunkel tunes including my personal favorite, “The Sound of Silence.” The band brought down the house on “Call Me Al” and brought out Patti Austin for “Bridge Over Troubled Water” which I’ve now seen both halves of Simon & Garfunkel perform independently. It was well worth the price of admission and late train home.
It’s events like MJF that make Switzerland special and I’m pleased that I was able to make it part of my summer again this year. Maybe someday I’ll make it back there…
Even so, I’m glad I was able to make it. The sound, lighting, and video production at MJF are stellar and it was a fine way to start saying goodbye to Switzerland.
On Monday, July 7th, I joined my friend Lee and some other folks to see Vampire Weekend (who I’d just seen in Belgium) and the Raconteurs, the second band of the White Stripes’ Jack White. I’d seen the latter band two years ago at Lollapalooza and it was easily one of the highlights of that weekend. The band puts on a killer live show and the chance to see them at a more intimate venue like MJF’s Miles Davis Hall was irresistible. And, unsurprisingly, the band were amazing. It was definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen recently and Vampire Weekend were a great opener, though they didn’t play any longer than at Rock Werchter even though they had more time allotted.
Vampire Weekend
that band’s Ezra Koenig
the Raconteurs
the crowd getting into “Steady As She Goes”
On Wednesday my brother, who had arrived in Europe the weekend of my parents’ departure and spent the subsequent weeks touring the continent, passed back through Switzerland on his way home. We returned to Montreux that evening to see Paul Simon with several of my Geneva friends including Darryl, Katie, Robyn and Frank. The concert was excellent with Paul supplying a mix of tracks from the classic Graceland, his terrific 2006 release Surprise, and several Simon & Garfunkel tunes including my personal favorite, “The Sound of Silence.” The band brought down the house on “Call Me Al” and brought out Patti Austin for “Bridge Over Troubled Water” which I’ve now seen both halves of Simon & Garfunkel perform independently. It was well worth the price of admission and late train home.
It’s events like MJF that make Switzerland special and I’m pleased that I was able to make it part of my summer again this year. Maybe someday I’ll make it back there…
Labels: Montreux, music, Paul Simon, The Raconteurs, Vampire Weekend
posted by Aaron at 7:25 PM
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