Elif’s diary: Two concerts, unlucky timings

Rihanna has gone with the wind!

Rihanna has come to Turkey and gone with the wind. Even the people who were in the concert area couldn?t realize how things went  on. Rihanna?s concert stop was ?Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena? which doesn?t have an alternativebecause of its high capacity. Still there was a couple of problem about the concert setting: Firstly, more than half of the people couldn?t see the stage at all. Secondly, more than half of the people went there to see Rihanna, not just listen to. And Rihanna, wearing briefs and leather boots, was obviously responsive to that. Like in many of the new age ?pop icons? performances, visual aspects were dominant in Rihanna?s concert.

What?s the difference of this concert from the other summer concerts in Turkcell Kuruçeşme Arena? It was quiet crowded and had technical problems.

Last year, one of the Turkish singers Kenan Doğulu was in the same place Rihanna stood last week and I couldn?t see the stage from the VIP platform which is set above. So I had given up the concernt and instead continued drinking at the seaside in the second half of the concert. I was tussling to see the stage in VIP, imagine the situation of others in the large area.

I think there should be some improvements about the stage architecture but Rihanna?s case doesn?t provide a clue about the incoming changes, does it?

The Lost case: Bob Dylan?s Turkey concert

Bob Dylan?s Turkey concert was an important event for the people who know much more than ?One More Cup of Coffee? about Dylan. Yet Dylan had two disadvantages related to the timing of the concert.

Israel?s attack on the Gaza Flotilla led in Turkey cancellation or postponement of almost all the celebrations, concerts and such entertainment activities. And those that weren?t postponed were  quite dull as a symbol of respect to people killed.

Secondly (and related to the first one) Dylan?s Jewish origin became a center of polemics in Twitter.

It?s quiet sure that the origin of people isn?t a criterion to separate them as legitimate or not but especially in the crisis times, the agenda is so vulnerable to all kinds of manipulation.

After Dylan?s concert, many newspaper used ?Hop Dylan Bob Dylan? to indicate and stress high price of concert tickets. It can give you an idea about the attitude about Turkish media against this event in the context of flotilla incident.

A footnote: Next entry will probably about a few cases of the anti-militarist Turkish movies…