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I went to a MLB game in London's Olympic Stadium pre-Covid and paid £50 to sit in near nose bleed territory.

[Ahmed] - Giant Beauty disc 'Nights On Saturn' This is shaping up to be one of the releases of the year for me

Yeah, give it a try, at that price. The matches are evenings here too, part of the reason behind the 40 overs is it can be scheduled for a post-work crowd

Well deserved success given the investment in the ground and building the profile.

Thanks, I can hear it now, sounds great. Good to hear he's still playing some of the early tunes too. There's very little like a Springsteen live show. My last one was also a football stadium, Villa Park in Birmingham, 1988.

Giogio Gaslini Quartet - Dall'Aba All'Alba [La Voce del Padrone, Italy 1965] continuing my recent Gaslini investigations. This is great

How was The Boss?

Agree completely

Just for a while there it looked like the almightiest of shocks might be on. Giving away a 5 run penalty, not a good idea

The Quartette Tres Bien - Our Thing [Decca, 1968]

At least one Decca made it over here, I have it and enjoy it. I recall posting a question about them when it was bought and both you and Jsngry obliged with responses.

Not only American attention spans, the success of the Indian Premier League (T20) has spawned equivalents in every cricket playing nation. The time frame of play is a lot more attractive to broadcasters everywhere. The simplification also makes it so much more easy for new audiences to grasp. Here's hoping some of them choose to investigate the 5 day format too. That connection between MLC and Willow TV is mentioned in one of the articles you posted already I think, otherwise I wouldn't have known of it which I do.

Artifacts - ...And Then There's This [Astral Spirits, 2021] just announced playing in London in a couple of months, very much looking forward to hearing them live. Giorgio Gaslini - Composizione Cameristiche [Durium, Italy 1966] Giorgio Gaslini Quartet - 2 degrees [CineVoxRecord, Italy 1974]

I'm very envious! I've seen him four times but not for 30 years, I thought it was time again but missed out on London tickets.

Those Hills are great, if they had been on BN they'd be so much better known and regarded.

Your insta post was the reason for today's SME mini-fest

Spontaneous Music Ensemble - Birds Of A Feather [BYG, France 1972]

John Stevens - Spontaneous Music Ensemble [Polydor, UK 1972 RE]

Spontaneous Music Ensemble - So What Do You Think? [Tangent, UK 1973]

There's a cheap joke there about Manchester and rain but seeing as it's been heaving down in London today I'll resist. I've never made it to OT, you haven't sold it to me ... Watching the rain fall waiting for some play, it takes a cricket fan or a foolhardy stoic or both. I lived in Luton for a while years ago and Northants played there a couple of times. Lovely small ground made Curtly Ambrose look even more impressive

👍

Mombasa - Tathagata [Wind Records, Germany]

That's a really interesting article. Good to see such in depth reporting too Here's one from over here https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jun/08/cricket-t20-world-cup-india-pakistan-new-york-super-bowl-on-steroids

On the 5 days, the joy of that format is the ebb and flow across the time. Only the most ardent, and there are plenty of them, fans would watch the entire match. I'd watch/listen (cricket and radio are a beautiful partnership) to 2/3 of a match if work/life allowed and I wanted to fully immerse. Bear in mind each day is 7 hours long. Attendance at international Test matches is costly £100-150/day (they sell out) in London so that restricts most people to one day, although some will attend more. Locally cricket is played by 18 counties across UK playing a 4 day and 1 day format, prices are cheaper but attendance a lot lower. This is why more user-friendly format like T20 has been introduced to secure new audiences and a financially viable future. As you suggest a 5 day match may come to an exciting conclusion anytime from about half way through day 2 so more folk will tune in then. Some of the most exciting finishes can be a draw on day 5! I once spent an admittedly drunken cross channel ferry trip to France explaining cricket to an American. He absolutely got it until I landed the bombshell that the four innings took 5 days. At that point, total bewilderment and another beer...

Have followed it to varying degrees since I was a kid, so for about 50 years. I get to at least a couple of day's international Test each summer (long format, very different to what you're watching - it takes 5 days!) Good to hear about the T20 format making inroads in the US. It's a relative new format designed specifically to appeal to new audiences. And USA team seem to be doing alright so far. India v Pakistan is probably the biggest cricket rivalry in terms of audience. England v Australia (boo!) the oldest.