176/365: Village Party

176/365: Village Party, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

June 25th

So, thanks to the power of Facebook, I know what parties are happening in town even though I never go and don't have many friends. I don't like parties. But I LOVE photo opportunities.

This gig was in someone's barn, with hay all over the place, that's why they called it a Village Party.

142/365: Carving workshop

142/365: Carving workshop, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

May 22nd

A year ago, on Palm Sunday (photoset here), I met mr Staśkiewicz, a folk artist. He promised to make me a hurdy-gurdy.

A year is a long time to wait, but I caught him at a folk picnic in the park- what luck that I was in Warsaw that weekend. He promised he'd get to my dream drehleier as soon as possible. But he's so busy with workshops and fests...carving saints and birds...repairing basolias and surdinkas and countless other folk instruments I've never even heard of.

But I won't stop whining about my hurdy-gurdy until I'm turning the crank.

60/365: Not 77

60/365: Not 77, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 1st

This morning, at breakfast, dad suddenly stopped eating, his face frozen in an expression of shock.

"Wait...wait a minute. It's not 2012 yet! I'm...I'm only seventy-six years old today!"

Well, true. But we didn't have any other candles.

The cake was made by my mum and was a big hit. It's flourless- all ground nuts to make the base. And the cream is coffee.

There was also some singing by Marcin and Orzełek.

And it wouldn't have been a proper birthday without Dad giving numerous speeches:

352/365: Bryll&Styczeń on stage again

352/365: Bryll&Styczeń on stage again, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

December 18th

A while back, a young man came to visit my dad and said, sir, I'd like to put some of your poetry to music. Now the two of them are excellent friends and they do several performances a year- the set is Marcin singing, with or without his band, and dad reading poems and telling anecdotes from when the world was young. The dynamic between them is great, despite the 40 year age difference. I can vouch that the audience has just as much fun as they do. :D

I've covered it on the blog before. More photos there.

225/365 Music at the market

225/365 Music at the market, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

August 13th

These musicians show up at the market near my place on most Saturdays. They play what are called courtyard songs, songs from the city streets about love, adventure, and urban legends.

I always drop a few coins in their hat. I love music in my neighbourhood, and street bands like this one have become rare.

Sketchbook Interlude

I thought I would share the few sketches I did in Amsterdam.

Sketches below from Bitterzoet, waiting for Phosphorescent to come on stage. I did mean to actually draw the band but when they got there I was too busy listening. Very, very nice concert.

135/365: Radesh plays

135/365: Radesh plays, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

May 15th

The cat in question, in my mother's kitchen, playing for his dinner.

122/365: I wanna dance with somebody

122/365: I wanna dance with somebody, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

May 2nd

There is a place in Berlin called the Mauerpark, a bit of green on what used to be the Death Strip just by the infamous Wall. There is a flea market there today, and music, and song, and waffles and beer. There are performers, picnics, swings, a stadium, and just by what is left of the Wall, a little stone amphitheatre which is host, every Sunday, to the Bear Pit Karaoke.

As my German friend linlen aptly put it, spending an afternoon in the park was like walking into a perfect Nokia commercial. An impromptu gathering of people of all races, ages and backgrounds dancing and singing together, with a crowd of hundreds to cheer them on no matter the quality of their performance. Magical.

The skeleton

The skeleton, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

Playing with light and shadow.

This and other recent drawings brought to you by Clogs:

72/365: He sings, too.

72/365: He sings, too., originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 13th

I say he sings, too, because Radesh has a dulcimer which he plays for food.

No, really. It's a toy I got when I was younger, and I brought it over to the new apartment hoping to find a tuning key. One day, Radesh started fiddling around with it.

Since then I've decided the best use of that instrument would be to give the dear cat an alternative to meowing desperately when he is hungry. I've tried to capture the results on camera many times, but my musician is elusive, and camera shy. I have not caught anything substantial until today.

And here, at last, is proof of Radesh's musical talent:

66/365: Bryll&Styczeń in concert

66/365: Bryll&Styczeń in concert, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 7th

In celebration of Women's Day (which was the next day) my dad (right) and Marcin Styczeń gave a concert of songs and poems. It usually goes like this- Marcin sings, dad reads something, then they say something funny...but sometimes dad joins in on the choruses:

Lots of fun. Happy Women's Day!

62/365: Buskers in the Warsaw Metro

62/365: Buskers in the Warsaw Metro, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 3rd

With a little help from two very polite lady friends, this woman was collecting money to feed their brothers and sisters back home. They are not all as well-behaved, she said, so she can't bring all of them to busk in the underground passage at Metro Politechnika.

She was kind enough to agree to a photograph- naturally, I dropped some money in the hat first.

Here are some more buskers and street performers I've seen at home and around the world: