Knob twiddler TNG opened the show. Solitary figure at center stage with two boxes of wires and connectors that unleashed a wall of synth sound. It's hard to assess the skill needed to "operate" the synth, it appears the musician (electrician?) is jump starting a car in slow motion. It was an interesting juxtaposition to open for GY!BE because the wall of sound was just getting started, but the tools used were about to change dramatically.
Canadian outfit GY!BE came with two drummers, two bass players (one often bowed a standup), three electric guitars, violin, and an occasional female apparition who played sax with her back to the crowd. No vocals, no inter-"song" banter, the evening was a wordless affair. The music was accompanied by grainy black and white video of epileptically scrawled "hope", desolate country scenes, a MAGA rally, train tracks, a bird trying to fly among others. The sound was meant for the live experience, droning passages coalesced and diverged. I couldn't help but relating this music to a metal-tinged Philip Glass offering with some passages sounding like a lonely Ry Cooder playing on the soundtrack of Paris, TX. I was able to get close to the stage so I could feel the wash of sound and reverberations that added to the music so impact.
No comments:
Post a Comment