Last Friday, I was fortunate enough to make it into Concert Number XVIII of The Wordless Music Series, featuring none other than Stars of the Lid.
SOTL is one of the original Kranky artists and a super big deal because although they're not the first to pioneer ambient guitar drone, they're probably the most successful. Also, they tour like once a decade.
I knew the SOTL portion of the show was guaranteed, but what of the rest? Would this be a show of such high profile that me, satcheless with loosened, non-blackened jeans stood no chance of lasting through two opening acts to get the goods? I don't even wear glasses, thick or otherwise. What neighborhood is this? I was in a church. Juilliard was near. Children were involved. Violins. Wine and folding chairs. What was next?
It went down like this (more after the jump...)
The show was in Good Shepherd Faith Church on west 66th street in Manhattan, somewhere around Juilliard and Fordham, lying between Hell's Kitchen and the Upper West Side. I had walked too far up 9th AVE, out of the range of reasonable dive bars at which to prepare for tonight's event.
I found some bullshit bar, and hung out till 7:30pm. After which I decided to head to the show, splitting the difference between the 7pm door time and a show time of 8pm.
I was greeted by a line outside the church and became instantly infuriated.
All things considered, the line wasn't too bad, and it began to move. I got inside and had no problems with the door. Excellent. In fact, I was told that there was wine downstairs (aka the "lower hall".) Making my way downstairs, the mid-sized 112-year-old church was appropriately sparse and understated.
Then there were the kids. The lower hall was a buzzing mix of the Face The Music ensemble and their parents, Wordless broadcasters, and Indy kids. The young musicians tuned and retuned their instruments, and I my Alcoholdar as I closed in on the wine.
The Wordless guy had a massive setup, and when I asked about this Sound Devices hard drive that caught my eye, he explained that they broadcast audio as well as video and that the HD captured 4 channels of separate audio as well as timecode. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where all of this was broadcasted to, or how one would go about experiencing it. Maybe here?
Someone toggled the lights, and the kids lined up like soldiers. The show was about to begin and I went upstairs.
itsnotyouitsme started and while they played well, the sound was low and really muffled. I was buried towards the back of the audience, and I think the band was set up on the ground, so I wasn't really sure what was going on. Face The Music was back here too, and as they were taking their assigned seats, I heard a kid say, "Yo! Back row, not back street!" to his confused peer. I find that funny.
I'm pretty sure Face The Music played well, but it's hard to say because they were reciting what seemed to be an extremely complex repertoire. I snaked around to the side of the congregation to get a better view and hear of what was going on, just in time for Hallelujah Junction, for two (Grand) pianos. Again, I'm pretty sure it was awesome, and totally sure it was difficult to play. Suddenly, I was snapped out of it by a jolt to the shoulder from a beaming Mr. Ge, confirming himself as the father of the young male pianist with an enthusiastic, "That's my boy up there!"
Finally, SOTL took the altar stage. A request was made; "Turn off the houselights, please," and an order was given; "If you have drugs, now might be the time to take them." I didn't need any drugs as I assumed proper ambient concert position; comfortable, eyes closed with head in hands. Something I didn't understand happened to time and space, and I was yanked out of it not my Mr. Ge this time (who, with the rest of the parents took their kids and were long gone, sadly) but by brief pauses between songs movements and flashes of abstract video projected against the Chancel wall.
The sound was huge and excellent. The experience: singular. My only complaint was that annoying Spacetime thing because the show was over before I knew it.
