RE: [microsound] process vs achievement

[Philip Sherburne <philip@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> A performance should create a deeper environment than a recording.  
> Witnessing a band play together draws you into the music, 
> because you feel
> part of the process.  If you can't see any of the performers actions,
> where is the value in getting them to perform in front of you?

I'll note only that I saw Oval play once, in Providence, Rhode Island - as I
remember, it wasn't even a laptop show, but a full-on *desktop* performance
- anyway, he stood on stage, one hand in his pocket, the other hand doing
lord-only-knows-what with the computer, the screen (predictably) turned away
from the audience.

and yet:  it was a fabulous, and fascinating show - not because of what he
was doing (as far as i know he could've been playing a cd), but because it
was completely immersive, sonically.  The bass rumbled up through my knees.
The static raised the hairs inside my ears.  It was 100% *musical*, to the
extent that the visual components became completely irrelevant.

Of course, for an extreme example of this, just think of Francisco Lopez'
philosophy, whereby *all* non-sonic elements are a distraction.

p