gryllosblog   Gryllo's (aka Ian Lewis') blog. All things to do with travel, wildlife especially birds, history, architecture and anything else that interests me.

Our weekend in London started with a visit to Portobello Road market.

Portobello Road was absolutely packed with tourists and progress was very slow.

Brightly coloured buildings are typical of this attractive part of London.

Attractive arcades full of interesting stalls.

…. all to the sound of steel drums.

Our main reason for going to London was to see the rock band Muse at the Emirates Stadium. Muse are a relatively modern band (been around for less than twenty years!) and their complex style which includes a mix of electronic music and heavy rock with classical influences reminds me of the progressive rock I loved as a youth. Unfortunately our seats were in the ‘gods’ at the highest point of the stadium and Margaret got an attack of vertigo, however the stewards got us seats lower down on the extreme left of this photo, which was actually closer to the stage.

In a huge football stadium the band members look tiny (the guitarist in real life can just be seen below and right of his screen image), but images projected on giant screens allow a good view of drummer Dominic Howard and guitarist and vocalist Matthew Bellamy. The huge back drop was used for some fantastic visual effects.

These jets of flame were so powerful that the heat from them could be felt on the other side of the stadium,

As darkness fell it was time to dim the lights and for the audience to wave their mobiles around.

With it now fully dark, the lighting effects could really get going.

Bizarrely a giant robot appeared on stage ….

…. but my favourite moment was during the song ‘my guiding light’ when this enormous light bulb floated around the stadium, then an acrobat dropped out of the screw thread and performed above the crowd. A great show, great music and a great day out.