From one favourite to another - Alexander Rybak deserves another very solid performance. It's looking good both in the hall and on screen. On the first run there were clearly some sound issues for Alexander as he spent a good part of the song readjusting his ear piece, however at least in the hall I couldn't notice it in his singing.

Cyprus 2nd rehearsal. There are artists who are good on stage, there are artists who are very good on stage and then there's Eleni. Perfect match of song and artist bringing ethnopop renaissance. On screen gimmicks for me not really needed. #eurovision

— ESCKAZ Chris (@EsckazChris) May 4, 2018

It's the second rehearsal for Cyprus but only the first time I get to see it. It sounds better than I had expected it to be. Eleni and her dancers perform a very slick choreography and with it being one of the few straightforward uptempo pop songs, it will probably indeed do quite well.
I like that there are not any props in use, apart from the visual ones where we have the fire circle that cannot be seen on stage.

Ireland 2nd rehearsal. Improved lighting. As much as I'm not a fan of the dancing at least it looks professional. #eurovision

— ESCKAZ Chris (@EsckazChris) May 4, 2018

The staging for Ireland looks very dark from the hall. In the middle of the first run some strange things happen as there are sudden spotlights everywhere - looked more like a mistake than anything intentional. Ryan's vocals were good, however in the second verse a male backing vocal could be heard that sounded really bad. Let's see if this will be improved in the next runs.

The second run looked and sounded a lot better - still a pity though that people in the hall will hardly get what's going on on stage.

Switzerland 2nd rehearsal. Effective staging at the start and the middle eight. Movement on stage fine line between cool and sluggish. Good vocals despite in-ear issue in first run. #Eurovision

— ESCKAZ Chris (@EsckazChris) May 4, 2018

Taking time away from Eurovision - it was a chance to attend performance of the amazing band from US Bent Knee, who play progressive art rock. This is quite a unique sound to expect from America and in general the progressive and arti rock is something so difficult to find nowadays. The sound of the band was completely amazing, so if their albums on sale in the venue were not priced 20 Euros each I would have bought their whole catalog - instead I had to go digital when I got back home.

The violin player Chris Baum is the highlight of the band and he will make Alexander Rybak jealous with his impressive electro violin music. They also have lovely bass guitar player Jessica Kion who was celebrating her birthday yesterday.

Band existing now for 7 years gave a rare concert in Europe which also was their first appearance in Portugal. On 6 May they can be caught at Gouveia Art Rock Festival. At the concert at Tajo river venue there were around 80 listeners attending who were quite active supporting the band. I'm again a bit surprised with the late start of the concert, supposed to be at 23, it started at midnight, and as a result I had to run away amid last song to catch night bus at 1.30 (the next one would have been at 2.30).

You can listen to the music of the band at https://bentknee.bandcamp.com and http://www.bentkneemusic.com