Matenadaran, Yerevan, Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

If British folk-rock legends Jethro Tull materializing in the country last week — with the Armenian prime minister going hell for leather in his return from Kazakhstan so he could catch his favourite band perform live in Yerevan — was bizarre enough, then nothing could prepare anyone for the latest surreal development in post Soviet Armenia. Faced with a crucial municipal election in the capital this weekend, how on earth do you find a reason to block off access to the main venue for the opposition to hold rallies?

Actually, it’s quite simple, really. In the past the government would suddenly hold children’s concerts in the same venue although after last year’s bitterly contested and controversial presidential election they tried a different approach, deciding to instead build an underground car park in Yerevan’s Liberty Square to keep it off-limits to everyone until Autumn 2010. But now the opposition are holding rallies at the manuscript museum in Yerevan, what do you do then?

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The full post where comments can be left is available on The Frontline Club.

Ian Anderson, Yerevan, Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

With the Armenian prime minister rumored to be one of the biggest Jethro Tull fans in the country, rumors circulating last year that the legendary British rock band would perform in Yerevan were certainly not to be sneezed at. However, while initial efforts to have the band perform last year didn’t come to fruition, the speculation was only confirmed a few months ago. Their concert which some joke might be attended by as many government members as ordinary citizens is scheduled for tonight. PanArmenian.Net covers the news.

Within the frames of its European tours, Jethro Tull legendary rock group will organize one concert in Yerevan on May 22. Armenian rock fans and connoisseurs of the British rock group can attend the concert in Sports-Concert Complex after Karen Demirtchyan. During the concert which will last two hours, the group conducted by Ian Anderson will perform both old and news songs of its repertoire.

“World-famous celebrities, Jethro Tull musicians turned out exceptionally modest, and unlike Scorpions, didn’t demand 7 limousines of latest fashion,” Head of Vibrographus company Vardan Grigoryan told a news conference.

The group’s music is a mixture of blues, folk-rock and a little bit of jazz. Jethro Tull was formed in 1963, out of the amalgamation of the John Evan Band and McGregor’s Engine, two blues-based local UK groups. Over the 40 years of its existence Jethro Tull has released 40 albums and sold over 60 million recording discs.

Concert organizers say they are now negotiating with Deep Purple, Paul McCartny and Russian DDT and Mashina Vremeni groups for inviting them to Yerevan.

The full post accompanied by a video interview with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson where comments can be left is available on The Caucasian Knot.

Sirusho, Arabkir, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

With the first of the semi-finals in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia, just days away, the countries of the South Caucasus are becoming increasingly excited about the international song contest and how their representatives will fair. What makes the situation all the more interesting is that this year will be the first time all three republics compete.

While this will be the third consecutive appearance of Armenia in the competition, Georgia entered for the first time last year, and Azerbaijan will be making its debut. However, of the three contestants, it is Armenia that currently appears to be the favorite not only from the region, but in general as well.

The British bookmaker William Hill currently has 21-year-old Sirusho at 6/1 to win and the popularity of her song, Qele Qele, has extended way past the borders of the country as the Eurovision Blog confirms.

Another tune almost certainly destined for the final is the Armenian entry, Qele Qele. As one of the countries whose national final we paid attention to, we’d heard this one before it was chosen but having heard the other options, we were screaming “Armenia! Choose! This! NOW!!!!!!!!!” before a note of the contest had even been sung. Coming over as Shakira crossed with a healthy dose of Helena Paparizou, only an entirely tone-deaf performance from Sirusho can possibly stop this one from bringing the house down on the night.

All Kinds of Everything for Eurovision 2008 agrees.

ARMENIA : This just gets better and better with every run through. Sirusho sounds confident and looks a lot more confident that before. The choreography is complex and involves a lot more rolling on the floor than I would like, but it is effective for the overhead shots. They have almost all the camera angles right, which is more than can be said for several entries, and even if the song is a tad repetitive, the dancing and fireworks add a bit of variety.

Other people may be less impressed but for me this is an absolutely certain qualifier, and it’s not totally out of the running to win.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

Sirusho, Serge Sargsyan Pre-Election Campaign Rally, Komitas, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

It might be considered a little cheesy by most music lovers in Europe and beyond, but countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia take participation in the annual Eurovision song contest very seriously indeed. Not only does the competition represent the South Caucasus moving closer to Europe, but given that this year has proven to be a political turbulent one for all three countries it might also provide people here with a welcome break from rigged votes and post-election unrest.

Well, maybe that’s hoping a little too much. Spectacular Self-Indulgence, for example, already reports that the venue for yesterday’s national final in Armenia had to be changed because of the state of emergency currently in place following clashes between the opposition and security services last weekend.

[…] The government has imposed a 20 day “State of Emergency” after eight people died in street battles between riot police and citizens who were protesting the result of a presidential election. […]

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There will be a backlash, however. Mark my words. It’s one thing to engage in unlawful surveillance of your political enemies. It’s quite a different matter to f*** with a pop music contest.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

Komitas, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

Today saw Serge Sargsyan pre-election campaign come to my doorstep — literally. Outside my apartment building, a stage erected the night before was having the final touches put to stacks of loud speakers as a huge banner depicting the prime minister and presidential election favorite was strung across above from one lamp post to another.

Security was also tighter than normal although it’s hard to tell whether that’s because of the shots fired first at the building housing the General Prosecutor’s Office and at two Sargsyan election campaign offices or not. Despite the extra concerns, however, security was still lighter than that surrounding the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian. As usual, a mob of people tried to approach Sargsyan as he arrived and also as he left. Pretty much they could too.

Some controversy has been raised by Sargsyan’s campaign, and actually that of Kocharian in 2003 as well as the Republican party a few months later, and also during last year’s parliamentary election. In all three previous parliamentary and presidential elections, Armenia’s top pop stars have been paraded out to perform for the candidate or party of power. Sargsyan’s Republican party have certainly proven adept at controlling youth.

Today was no exception. From Shiker and Hayko to Susan Margaryan and her daughter, Eurovision Song Contest contestant Sirusho, it was a lineup to make any Armenian pop fan happy.

The full post is available on the Armenia Election Monitor 2008.

YouTube has a video of Shakira performing Whenever, Wherever in Tbilisi, Georgia, two days ago. Didn’t even realize Shakira was performing there, but anyway. Reuters, however, posted a story about the pop star’s performance days earlier, but I didn’t realize until today. A pity as I would have considered venturing up there.

For most European capitals a Shakira concert is nothing special, but for tiny ex-Soviet Georgia the arrival of the hip-swiveling pop star may be a sign their economy is crawling back from the dead.

The Grammy award-winning singer from Colombia, known for her hit-single “Hips Don’t Lie,” is the biggest pop performer to play in Georgia, and local media report that her fee for Sunday’s show is between $1 and $3 million.

Shakira is coming to Tbilisi by invitation of a company building the city’s Park Hyatt hotel, part of a wave of foreign investment pouring into Georgia since reformist President Mikhail Saakashvili was elected in 2004.

“We have never dealt with such a big show before,” concert promoter Mikhail Giorgadze told Reuters. “None of the other entertainment projects that we have done before can even come close to this commercial scale,” he said.

Fans of Shakira will listen to her for free at an open square in the centre of Tbilisi on Sunday.

Tbilisi has hosted past concerts by the late Ray Charles and English pop band Simply Red, as well as artists from the Russian entertainment world, but never by a performer with Shakira’s mainstream commercial appeal.

Georgia’s economy imploded after the end of the Soviet Union as the country was pitched into civil war, separatist fighting and political chaos.

But foreign direct investment has been rising fast under Saakashvili and is forecast to reach $2 billion this year. Two years ago it was $700-$800 million. International hotel chains are among the investors attracted to Tbilisi.

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Yesterday a friend told me that I had too much politics on my blog even though not only is it election time in Armenia, but it’s also part of my work. Nevertheless, perhaps it’s time for a break if only for one post, and as music plays an important part in my life, what better a subject to cover and not least since in the past few months, the monotony of the type of music being produced in Armenia has really gotten to me.

With one or two exceptions, even the rock scene is mundane, predictable and lacking in any spirit. Music for the masses is just as bad, although many would argue that the same is true in the even more commercially-driven Western market. Still, what we do have in Europe and the U.S. is a more diverse selection and five decades of pop and rock music — some of which stands the test of time.

Of late, for example, I’ve rediscovered the Sex Pistols, England’s most notorious punk rock band of the 1970s. Arguably manufactured by music impresario Malcom McLaren, whatever people might think of the Sex Pistols, I remember that they turned the country upside down. Aged seven when they were formed, even now I can remember the shock and outrage that accompanied the very mention of their name in the British media.

Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. The band originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock (later replaced by Sid Vicious). Although their initial career lasted only three years and produced only four singles and one studio album, the Sex Pistols have been described by the BBC as “the definitive English punk rock band.” The Pistols are widely credited with initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and creating the first generation gap within rock and roll.

The Sex Pistols emerged as a response to what was perceived to be the “increasingly safe and bloated” progressive rock and manufactured pop music of the mid-1970s. The band created various controversies during their brief career which captivated Britain, but often eclipsed their music. Their shows and tours repeatedly faced difficulties from authorities, and public appearances often ended in disaster and riot. Their 1977 single, “God Save the Queen”, was widely regarded as an attack on the British monarchy and British nationalism.

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As mentioned in the comments section of my own post on Sksela’s Rock for Freedom event, Anush at Transitions Online’s The Armenian Patchwork has posted some of my photographs from the event there.

This time photographs from Onnik Krikorian of the latest rock event, organized by Sksela movement. The event was generally enjoyed as rock gatherings always are, but raised some controversial opinions because of its security. Several photos here, and more can be viewed in Onnik’s post.

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Sksela Rock for Freedom, Moscow Cinema Summer House, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007

Well, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt despite their known HHSh links and support for the radical opposition, but it has to be said that tonight’s Sksela Rock for Freedom was anything but. First off, the security was tight with a dozen “rent-a-thug” security guards hired by the supposedly pro-freedom, pro-democracy movement called in to separate the audience from the bands that played. Intimidating is not the word.

According to the organizers, the hired muscle, a few of which were dressed in military fatigues, was to prevent any trouble, but as larger rock concerts have been staged in Yerevan without such security, some serious questions have to be raised. In a sense, now that many diplomatic missions in Yerevan want to fund Armenia’s revolutionary-wannabes, it seems as though Sksela are getting too big for their own boots. Arrogant and egotistical, I’d say.

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As already posted, but just to remind anyone interested, Sksela has its Rock for Freedom event planned for tonight in central Yerevan. For those of you on Facebook, there are even Sksela and Rock for Freedom groups set up.

Bands playing include Empyray, Roxygen, Oaksenham, Strife, Sakvoyage, Mher Manukyan & Friends, Army of God, and others.

Sunday, October 7, 2007
7:00pm - 11:00pm
Moscow Cinema Summer Hall
Entrance is Free

Via The Armenian Observer, Tirami Su and Bekaisa, and as mentioned here, the Sksela youth movement will be staging its Rock for Freedom concert on 7 October at 7pm in the Moscow Cinema’s Summer Hall. Bands playing include Empyray, Roxygen, Oaksenham and Impeachment-activist and former Lav Eli guitarist Mher Manukian.

As mentioned in the article I wrote on Sksela in April for EurasiaNet, the concert has been postponed until now because the Yerevan municipality refused to grant permission for it to be held.

Citing previously scheduled outdoor events, Yerevan’s city hall has refused permission for the group to hold an April 14 open-air rock concert, funded, like the February march, by the British Embassy.

Like other observers, Sksel a organizer Kharatian is concerned that such decisions are directly related to the election and attempts by the authorities to prevent alternative groups from holding meetings or staging rallies.

If so, Kharatian argues, the decision is misplaced. “I wouldn’t say that we’re directly concerned with the election as we’ve existed informally as a group since 2003, ” he commented, “but there’s no doubt that the country is about to face a major challenge which is why we’ve become so active now.”

The group has applied for an alternative date, but has yet to receive a response, he added. A fresh refusal would demonstrate whether or not blocking Sksel a events is “official policy,” he continued.

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