Archive: July, 2009

J'hann J'hannsson and Lichens, 6/28 @ St. Mary's Church

POSTED: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 4:30 PM

Filed Under: Critical Mass | Music | Show concert photos

Photo | Molly Campbell

Lichens

The pews of St. Mary's Church were packed tight this past Saturday, but with a nontraditional congregation. Midway through its fifteenth year of presenting ambient and experimental performances, the Gatherings Concert Series really outdid itself with the Lichens / J'hannJ'hannsson show. A friend and I sat in the front row but we were promptly told that we could move closer onto the floor surrounding the stage, if we liked. We liked, and upon sitting down were then offered pillows and a blanket. Thus set the tone of the evening. Gentle people listening to gentle music. And loving it.

Besides being the oldest living organisms on the planet, Lichens is Robert Lowe, formerly of progressive/experimental rock band 90 Day Men. Lichens is an exploration of what one (and occasionally one more) musician can achieve with a looping pedal, the occasional instrument and human vocal chords. To begin, Lowe meditatively closed his eyes, raised a microphone to his lips and out poured of realistic bird chirps, which he gradually looping it into an ostinato web of tweets, coos and cackles. It was an entire forest created out of thin air' and then he began to sing. Like a siren, a banshee, a choir of angels, an enchanted Bobby McFerrin, Lichens' looped, wordless vocals eventually drowned out the birdcalls and enveloped the entire audience in a sea of astonishingly beautiful droning cries and screams. A capella ambient music, how awesome is that? Simultaneously natural and ethereal, witnessing the creation of this music was a bit like witnessing the creation of the universe, like listening to God breathe life into the elements.

Photo | Molly Campbell

J'hann J'hannsson

J'hann J'hannsson is one of Iceland's foremost musicians. He is currently two albums into a proposed trilogy exploring the game of tug-of-war that is humanity's all-consuming desire to expand, progress, take over and otherwise conquer the universe, versus nature's all-powerful restoring force. As if to mimic this juxtaposition, his ensemble employs both natural (string quartet, for this tour featuring members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble) and electronic (Johann and another musician on synthesizers, drum machines, and all manner of electronic noisemakers) instruments. Together they create a super-lush timbre, as overwhelming as it is beautiful, where sweeping strings dance in and around ambient textures, gradually evolving, crescendoing, drawing back and introducing a countermelody. Magn's Helgason's projections of photographs and impressionistic shapes and swirls, and the seventy candles that someone had strewn about the stage between sets shed just the right amount of light on the performers, giving them a magical glow to match their majestic music. The sea of sound filled the volume of the church to the point that it was almost overwhelming. 'Its always great when you can play in a place that sounds as good as this,' remarked Johann after the performance; and indeed it was. Nearly every number ended with a solid 10 seconds of silence as the audience sat with bated breath, not wanting to interrupt the serenity of the moment.

Posted by kylepress @ 4:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Montreal Jazz Fest: Day 1

POSTED: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 3:27 PM

Filed Under: Music Montreal Jazz Fest

Getting my bearings in a labyrinth most challenging.

Dark clouds loomed over the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal last night, but for the most part, except for a bit of spitting around 8:30 p.m., the rain held off.

I arrived this afternoon, day two of the festival, 24 hours too late to catch Stevie Wonder's three-hour performance kicking off the 30th-anniversary festival, which will continue through July 12. A couple hundred thousand had crowded the Place des Arts to see Stevie run through his hits, reportedly a few too many newer tunes, and the now-requisite tribute to Michael Jackson. (When I got back to the room last night, a local news station ran a piece on the fest featuring Jamie Cullum's show, in which he performed 'Thriller' from crib notes. Look, man, I know you're the 'shockingly hip' nouveau-jazz crooner and all, but if you weren't a big enough fan to have learned the words by now, skip the friggin' homage.)
This being my first fest (and first visit to Montreal), yesterday was mostly an exploration day, wandering the festival grounds, figuring out which stage is which, ruing being an ugly American with a barely-there knowledge of Francais ' in general, getting my bearings.

Not much to speak of on the outdoor stages throughout the evening, but my first ticketed event was a killer ' the Monterey Quartet, a super-quartet formed for the jazz festival most likely to be mispronounced as the one I'm presently attending. (Afterwards, I had intended to catch French pianist Baptiste Trotignon's quintet with Mark Turner, Jeremy Pelt and Matt Penman, but the fact that it was more than half over by the time that Monterey wrapped up and a sudden onset of travel exhaustion led me back to my room instead.)

Led by bassist Dave Holland, the group consists of saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and drummer Eric Harland. Their 90-minute set was made up of compositions by all four, the highlight probably being Potter's 'Minotaur.' The tune opened with a rumbling drum solo that echoed the ominous clouds outside, picked up by all four in a brief improvised section which dissolved into breathiness before launching into the melody. The rest of the tune is largely a showcase for Potter's limitless invention, but I was most struck by how Holland and Rubalcaba worked underneath him, seeming to find secret doors in the piece that led into unexplored passageways. Once or twice you could actually see Potter having to rethink his direction, an appreciative grin playing across his eyes. A labyrinth most challenging.

The opening number, Harland's 'Treachery', showcased the difference between Rubalcaba's and Potter's approaches. Throughout the night, the pianist would play with each tune's melody like a cat with a mouse, toying with it, batting it around, letting it slip away before slamming it back into captivity; Potter, on the other hand, leaps away from the tune, dragging it behind him like a small dog on a leash strapped to the bumper of a pick-up truck. One of the most consistently stunning instrumentalists on the planet today, he is adept at reinventing with each solo. And listening to Harland keep time is like watching a one-man volleyball game, as he heaves it into the air, where it hangs suspended before he dashes under it and knocks it around again.

Holland, the evening's genial host, was his usual mesmerizing self. His lengthy solo outing at the front of Harland's 'Maiden' held the packed room rapt ' until the end, when the woman behind me insisted on blurting out, sotto voce, 'He's a really good bass player.' Indeed.

Posted by shaun brady @ 3:27 PM Permalink | Post a comment

"Revival," June 26, Metropolitan Opera House

POSTED: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 9:04 PM

Filed Under: Arts Dance

Hidden City

Take a look at that ocean-like, blue tarp spread out across the floor of the Metropolitan Opera House. Beneath that ' where the orchestra used to play ' people go to service each Sunday, in a very clean, proper room that looks wholly unordinary. Crazy, right?

Little facts like this were obviously half of the fun of Hidden City's final performance, Revival, put on by Group Motion Dance Company in the opera house that lyricist Oscar Hammerstein's granddaddy built. (Another one: We had to wear hard hats while climbing the dusty, decrepit stairs leading to the show.)

In fact, as impressive as it is, that photograph up top does little justice to how haunting the place is, or how beautiful it is because it's falling apart, not in spite of it. I'm not trying to be gothic ' it's just that all the discoloration, cracked paint and hanging beams make for some gorgeous imagery. Check out more images here for a better look.

As for the actual performance? Tasked with making a set out of stairs (the dancers couldn't perform on the original stage), Group Motion created a show that worked about as often as it clearly didn't. It started off slow, featuring lots of unimpressive moves up and down the stairs, and seemed to limit the dancers' true talents at times. But there were some truly great moments, too: In an ode to the fact that the opera house once hosted sporting events, the dancers moved basketballs around their bodies in elegant, mesmerizing ways. And the mere fact that the dancers could keep count during a 40-minute show that was accompanied mostly by ambient music is, well, impressive.

Posted by Holly Otterbein @ 9:04 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Fiction review: Skeleton Justice, by Dr. Michael Baden and Linda Kenney Baden

POSTED: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 4:57 PM

Filed Under: Arts Books

knopf, 336 pp.

In Skeleton Justice, the dynamic Baden couple teamed up for a sequel to their novel Remains Silent. Characters Jack Rosen and Philomena 'Manny' Manfreda are back, ready to tackle the screwed up ways of justice in New York City.' Jack, a brilliant medical examiner, and' his defense attorney flame Manny, have a tendency to seek the truth, and in turn, attract trouble.' This time, Jack is eagerly working on the case of the 'Vampire,' a mysterious villain who breaks into people's homes, renders them unconscious, and takes a vial of their blood.' Meanwhile, Manny finds herself defending the 'Preppy Terrorist,' America's newest enemy: a teenage boy with Islamic sympathies.' As the Vampire begins to get more violent, torturing and killing his victims instead of merely knocking them out, Manny's client goes missing.' Soon, Jack and Manny come to realize that their cases are somehow entwined, and it's no accident that they're the ones heading up the investigation.

As a fan of the TV show Bones, I was more than eager to pick up a book about a sexy couple using their intellect and scientific and legal expertise to bring justice ' skeleton justice ' to murder victims.' While Jack Rosen is no Seeley Booth (mmmm David Boreanaz), Skeleton Justice is still a captivating read.' The little more than 300 pages go by quickly, and the action never stops.' It may help to have read its predecessor, Remains Silent, but this book is a story all on its own.' Throughout their novel, the Badens effectively demonstrate their detailed knowledge of forensic science and law without killing the reader with technical terms.' Jack and Manny's romance is a cute, subtle addition to the story, and is by no means a raunchy tale of two lovers.' All the Badens' characters have colorful personalities that weave together for a pleasant story.' Skeleton Justice is definitely not an intellectual read, and won't have you intensely analyzing data.' Nonetheless, its mystery is intriguing, and the plot is entertaining.' It only requires as much brain power as you're willing to give while sipping your mai thai at the beach. Pack this book on your next trip down the shore.

Posted by morgandavis @ 4:57 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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What we're trying to do this weekend
Behind the scenes of local film A Man Full of Trouble
CONCERT REVIEW: The Postal Service @ The Mann 6/17
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: Sunny, Tony and the return of Do No Harm
NOW SEE THIS: Salinger film trailer
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: Indian fare rules, Dunder Mifflin lives on, Tom Jones is a god
REVIEW: Archer Live! @ the TLA 1/11
CITY PAPER WRITING CONTEST 2013: Send stories! Send poetry!
CONCERT PHOTOS: The National/Dirty Projectors @ The Mann Center 6/7
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: Pink. Diner en Blanc 2. Breaking Glass and Milkboy at the movies. And so on.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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