malediction & prayer reviews

    I just returned from seeing Diamanda at Royal Festival Hall in London, where she performed these pieces:

Last Man Down
Abel and Cain
Iron Lady
25 Minutes to Go
Si La Muerte
Supplica A Mi Madre
Insane Asylum
The Thrill is Gone
My World Is Empty Without You
Dancing In The Dark
Death Letter



Encores:

See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Gloomy Sunday
Let My People Go





    It was incredible to hear the voice and piano version of 'Last Man Down' - this piece is from 'The Sporting Life' and Diamanda has substituted a VERY percussive piano for the material that John Paul Jones originally played. He was in the audience for this show, and seemed to appreciate the new adaptation.

     'Abel and Cain', 'Supplica A Mi Madre', and 'Si La Muerte' all reflect a similar mood to 'Saint of the Pit' (especially), and 'The Divine Punishment'. All are sung in a language other than English (French, Italian, and Spanish); and all were written works (by Baudelaire, Pasolini, and Miguel Mixco) for which Diamanda has adapted and written music. Of these three my favorite was 'Si La Muerte' which is a beautiful, plaintive song with equally beautiful accompaniment. I can only imagine that Diamanda often hears 'you have such a great voice - if you would only sing something pretty' - well, here she is singing something very, very pretty. This song reminds me, in sentiment if not in style, to 'Deliver Me' from 'Saint of the Pit.' Both are plaintive cries - a mourning for those who are left behind: by a mourner in the case of 'Deliver Me' and by the author in 'Si La Muerte.' It is the cry of a person who knows he may have to leave behind his family and friends in order to purchase their survival (land) with his blood [the original work was written by a member of the FMLN in El Salvador.] The piano work in this piece is beautiful, and sounds (to my untrained ear) as if it is inspired by masters such as Bach and Brahms.

    'Iron Lady' and '25 Minutes To Go' are both chilling death row songs. 'Iron Lady' is a euphemism for the electric chair. Phil Ochs originally wrote this song, and Diamanda often dedicates the song to Aileen Wurnos a former prostitute on death row in Florida. [If you want to find out why Diamanda makes this dedication, you might want to rent the video 'Aileen Wurnos: The Selling of a Serial Killer' by Nick Broomfield.] These death row songs are a new focus for Diamanda's laser voice and vision. At the end of '25 Minutes To Go' she hits a note which makes you believe that her spirit might, in fact, leave her body.

    This tour introduces a new effect that I call 'bendy piano'. It appears on 'My World Is Empty Without You' and 'Dancing in the Dark'. This effect seems to bend notes and shift them from one tone to another. It also blends the decay of one set of notes with the attack of another. The affect that this stirs is a hollow, sad feeling - as if you had lost your purpose (or your way.) In 'My World' it seems tied to death (as opposed to the original meaning of a lost love); in 'Dancing' it seems to indicate the loss of focus that being jaded or addicted can bring (the 'bored with life' feeling of ennui.) In the hands of another this might sound like an 'Eno-esque' exploration - but it is the purpose here which changes them meaning here. It is quite an effective tool for Diamanda's exploration.

    'Insane Asylum', 'Gloomy Sunday', and 'See That My Grave Is Kept Clean' are all favorites from 'The Singer.' To this pantheon she has added 'Death Letter' and 'The Thrill Is Gone'. These songs continue to reflect the mood of death and love gone wrong (in the blues format) found in 'The Singer.' It is worth mentioning that we can now view songs like 'The Thrill Is Gone' through the lens of 'The Sporting Life.' In 'Sporting Life' her voice replaced the guitars of the traditional 'power trio'- here her voice fills in for the blues guitar of B.B. King.

    If there is one song which I think of as a signature piece by Diamanda, it is 'Let My People Go'. It has come to us from 'Masque of the Red Death', where it presaged the later blues work. It was in 'Plague Mass.' Now, it is here. If you are very good to her, and applaud loudly, perhaps she will honor you with this piece.

    As I closing note I should mention that I have almost become paranoid about attending Diamanda's concerts due to audience reactions. I've already covered this ground in a review I did of 'Vena Cava'. I had a similar experience this year at 'Schrei' when I had a crazed fan (who smelled to be a fan of Jack Daniels as well as Diamanda) enter the venue late, sit next to me, and explode into applause during the quite interludes in the piece (until shouted down by the audience.) Needless to say, I was a little nervous about this performance. I am glad to report that nothing untoward occurred during the performance.