Oh, Suzahn...

 

A visit to the Night Owl bar in Finsbury Park, north London, is always interesting – but it was particularly so at a recent jazz jam session where I was introduced to Nashville singer/songwriter Suzahn Fiering, dropping in on her way from the US to Portugal.

Charming and talented in equal measures, Suzahn also whipped out a guitar that was quite amazing. She'd just picked it up from Snap Dragon, a company that specialises in fold-up guitars and which she endorses.

The picture above shows what her latest acquisition is like when it's unfolded (compact and cool) and below you can see what it's like when it's folded up – even more compact and ready to be put in a smart little carrying case and taken wherever a guitarist needs to go.

You can find out more about Suzahn Fiering at www.suzahn.com and about Snap Dragon at snap-dragon-guitars.com.

Circles of Life

 

By chance, I wandered into London's Serpentine South gallery and was instantly taken with Kamala Ibrahim Ishag's State of Oneness exhibition there.

Her art is weird but wonderful... and her recent work has explored what she sees as "interchangeability and metamorphosis" between plants and humans (and women in particular).

She says: "I believe vegetation and humans are one and the same. We eat plants for sustenance, we die and are buried. We become sustenance for the plants."

It all sounds a bit Lion King but actually, to me, it makes perfect sense. Life is eternal – not our own lives, but life – in all its inextricable manifestations.

And Kamala Ibrahim Ishag's paintings do a rather good job of putting us in our place.

State of Oneness continues at Serpentine South, Hyde Park, until 23 January 2023.

Abba Fabba Do!

I've been away... I'm back.

As the world falls apart, at least we have music. There seems to be great live music everywhere now in this post-ish-pandemic period.

But of all the gigs I've been to recently – and that includes seeing Bob Dylan's resumed and wonderful Never Ending Tour at Le Grand Rex theatre in Paris – the most mindblowing, back in London, featured ABBA. Or at least the Other Fab Four's 3D avatars.

Performing alongside a live 10-piece band and with a light show and visuals worthy of a Pink Floyd wet dream, they left me and my companions speechless – which is quite an achievement.

There had been endless hype about how groundbreaking this show was going to be. But it didn't live up to that hype – it went far, far beyond it.

The music – 90 non-stop minutes of it – is just about all of ABBA's finest moments, with the dial turned up way past 11. The only pauses are for some genuinely funny and poignant comments from Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid – via their avatars but, like the whole extravaganza, full of warmth and humanity.

It's expensive but worth every pound. Just go!