Re: [microsound] mutek just as you're missing it, part 2/4

[tobias v <tobias@xxxxxxxxx>]

and once again, here are some thoughts on the
evening david missed:

the programming was off !

unfortunately I only caught the last 15 minutes of
solvent + lowfish (bloody impossible to make it
from ex-centris to the SAT in any reasonable amount
of time) .. which was HOT if you are into electro.
good, solid electro. not pimping retro-80s rockstar
electro, the sort you see more and more from NYC, but
solid beats and sounds and lowfish (?  pretty sure)
singing into a beautiful vocoder, eyes closed, sorta
heavy guy in his 30s given it all .. it was beautiful
and the crowd called for numerous encores ... more
was certainly in order and the set was way too short.
it was obvious that S+L wanted to play more but could
not -- bolo were on next. Bolo was every bit as amazing
although less a dancing affair and more a complete and
utter mindfuck with their intense visuals that, if you
have not seen them, I can only say you simply must --

after bolo was ensemble, who gave us a post-it on his
laptop (projected) saying "I am not gescom djs" as the
autechre pair had cancelled .. then he put "riot
riotriotriotriotriot" and a bunch of us started yelling
"trio" "trio" "trio" ... unfortunately his set that
evening was rather downtempo and ambient and people were
not wanting that .. they wanted the electro beats ..
and so the evening ended on a pleasant note but not
a high one. certainly the lineup should have been
ensemble - bolo - solvent+lowfish to really leave
everyone sweaty at the end of the evening and to
give the electro duo the chance to lay down some more
tracks and improv late into the morning ...

it's stinking hot here. although as I write this Friday
afternoon after waking up nary an hour ago it is POURING
outside and there is a strange noise coming from my bathroom --

HOLY FUCK.

well that was interesting, when the storm drains overflow
here it comes out your toilet -- all the rainwater -- in
a big gurgling mess like the thing is possessed. pray to
l'oratoire st joseph!

until david posts again,

tobias

> so here, as promised & unexpectedly due (i reckon the delete key is always
> near), the largely credibility challenged report from the heart of
> montreal, whose population just nearly doubled with the afflux of visitors
> from every corner of the universe.  & here i'm not just talking about the
> mosquitoes.  there are really people who attend to these concerts.  & they
> like what they hear!
> 
> see how sometimes the context skews your appreciation of music.  tonight,
> i'm finishing off my set for tomorrow.  i usually do everything at the last
> minute, so this is no exception.  seems to be easier for me to get into it
> all at once, otherwise i'm lost behind my machine & i don't know what i'm
> doing.  the whole evening i have been thinking that i really ought to get
> back home as quick as possible so that i feel ready when i wake up
> tomorrow.  this has proven quite problematic when also wanting to keep
> track on the music.  still, this was a very interesting night, as you will
> see...
> 
> as i had planned it, i arrived at the free SAT show while duul_drv had just
> begun playing, with surprise guest vitaminsforyou.  the latter however
> seemed to be taking care of the video, so it seems like duul_drv was the
> only one playing.  wheew, it was abstract.  but unfortunately for my
> attention span, it was also very long & details were hard to discern amidst
> the chatter.  this seems to me like music for headphones or very loud
> volumes, & the listening environment was certainly less than ideal for
> this.  it's a bit like when richard chartier & taylor deupree played at the
> laika with everyone chatting.  or maybe it's meant as sonic design, which
> sometimes rewards but never requires attention.
> 
> the programme at ex-centris was good in every aspect.  helen of troy
> (montrealer leon lo) did the best set i've seen of him so far.  his work is
> usually quite "simple", in that it is made out of simple repetitions borne
> out of very little gear.  this rudimentary aspect was most evident during
> the first half of the set, which reminded me of his previous live
> appearances.  then, in a luminous moment, he grabs his violin & begins
> playing!  what more, surprise!  the violin goes into the mixer as well &
> begins looping with the rest.  fantastic!  it could have been done a
> hundred times before, the result tonight was excellent.
> 
> i had not heard ghislain poirier's CD, but after seeing his set, & although
> i'm pretty sure it's different than his studio work, i'm definitely looking
> for my own copy.  it started inocuously enough, with wishy-washy synths,
> making you think this is going to be "ambient" again.  but as soon as the
> beats begin, there is no turning back, so to speak.  the evolution
> throughout the set is to say the least awesome, culminating into a second
> half dominated by beats inspired by reggae & ragga (*RAGGA*!) & barely any
> vacuum cleaner sounds except for keeping the aesthetic afloat.  in a sense,
> it provided an interesting complement to snd's performance yesterday.  but
> anyway, wow, most satisfying concert of the evening for all i'm concerned.
> 
> all those BEATS! had me wishing for MORE BEATS! which neither of the
> following performers decided to pour out of their magical baskets of
> sounds.  as stephan mathieu's set had turned into a vague feedback drone
> following a rather abstract, cut-up beginning, i lied down which helped me
> enjoy the music a lot more, as the discomfort of sitting down on the wooden
> floor was beginning to erode my patience.  & patience--what a strange
> concept when i sit down here knowing i have stuff to do before
> tomorrow.  the public reacted very cheerfully to his set (as with the whole
> evening, i must say) which led me to think that i was probably the only one
> out of the loop.  i enjoyed the extremely minimal visual backgrounds!
> 
> janek schaeffer captured the attention of the crowd before he was even
> there.  his material, contrary to the other performers, was right in the
> middle of the room.  it consisted of a 2-arm turntable & some gear.  his
> set was actually quite raw, mostly unmelodic, & building into a great
> tragic finale.  i was really into that.
> 
> despite all of my criticisms the whole show was nothing short of
> great.  now, i'm presently missing the following show (solvent, lowfish,
> bola, ensemble) which should help fill the blatant lack of idm shows in
> this town.
> 
> tomorrow: stop anything you're doing, camp is doing a free show along with
> vromb, xenofonex & capsule.  5 PM is when the event begins.  the SAT is
> where it will take place.  i'm going to be doing a few different things,
> either recent tunes or old ones which i like playing when i feel
> cheesy.  prepare for 199 mHz of ruckus!@#  it's a brand new era...  it
> feels great...
> 
> i'm quite sure the following show at the metropolis will be all floor
> material, but i'm quite willing to go anyway, if only to extend my
> reporting duties to the outskirts of the "night life" (ohhh boy, now we're
> acting serious.)  maybe i'll come up with a comparative analysis?  at any
> rate, i will be checking out the fallt/12k exhibit, also at the metropolis,
> until saturday.  i have no idea what it'll be like so i can't say very much
> more than that, but who on this list will say with a straight face that
> they don't have a soft spot for graphic design?
> 
> have a nice day
> ~ david
> 
> 
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tobias c. van Veen -----------
http://www.shrumtribe.com
http://www.targetcircuitry.com
------------- tobias@xxxxxxxxx
---McGill Communications------



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