The Birmingham Beat

And as clear proof of our total emotional disconnectedness, I move on from writing about the complexities of disaster porn to what I'm going to be doing tonight.

Specifically, I'm going to a great concert in Birmingham's Symphony Hall. It may have the wood and chrome look of a cruise-liner's casino, but it's one of the best venues I've ever been to. Tonight's concert will bring out the hip young gunslingers of contemporary classical: we're getting Thomas Adès conducting his own multimedia collaboration based on the Creation myth, In Seven Days, and Steve Reich's mesmeric, pulsing Music For 18 Musicians.

I can't find any footage of In Seven Days, so here's Adès's Concentric Paths.