Friday, 24 April


Composer Matthew Welch walks into the room, playing repetitive, minimalistic sounding musical figures on the bagpipes, his music complemented by choreographer Rachel Bernsen's precise movements, tracing geometrical shapes in the air with her limbs.  

Thus, "Singular Simple Present" (aka "Traversing Mad-hatten" sans dancer) served as a short prelude to the main event of the night, the premiere of Welch's Jorge Luis Borges-inspired opera, second in a series of short operas with librettos drawn from the Argentine writer. 

Lasting about thirty minutes, Borges and The Other #2 is an opera for Welch's ensemble Blarvuster and two male voices, Older Borges and Younger Borges, the two being the same man, meeting each other on a riverside bench.

The opening is upbeat and jig-like, abruptly halting before the beginning of Scene 1, in which the younger and older Borges confront each other, the older proving his reality to the younger.  The music is fluid, mysterious, the flute commenting with short melodies periodically over the current of sound coming from the rest of the ensemble (viola, vibraphone, electric guitars, bass guitar, drums).  There is a brief pause, in which the sound floats in the air, and then the music resumes as the voices join.  Particularly nice was the pulsating bed of reverberation resulting from the vibraphone and electronic guitar tones' sympathetic vibrations inside the open piano,  through which the instruments moved in gentle, continuous motion.  The upbeat jig returns at the end of this scene, and at the end of each of the scenes, jerking the listener out of the fantasy of Borges and into a visceral reality.

Like a strong light coming through a dark glass, the music of Scene 2 was somber but motion-heavy, the constancy of the sound rendering the music somewhat hypnotizing, while Borges' older and younger selves reminisce/foretell. 

Scene 3 is upbeat again, with a minor feel, and impressive swells in volume come from the ensemble before each entrance of the voices.  Here, at the end of the piece, the older Borges suggests "we meet again tomorrow, on this same bench that exists in two times and two places."

Friday, 17 April


Would you like a cookie with that new music? 
The first annual New Music Bake Sale, an unusual combination of baked goods and music performances, drew a large crowd of composers, performers, and new music enthusiasts Friday night.  

Held in the dining hall of First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights, several groups set up tables displaying their concert schedules, CDs and Frankenberry-inspired baked goods, to be perused in between performances.  Starting off the festivities, Loadbang's performance of Matthew Hough's "Silhouette," a blast of sound followed by quiescent suspense, literally jolted the audience to attention (one audience member admitted to having inadvertently screamed as the piece exploded into existence). 

The raucous styling of Newspeak---an experimental ensemble with rock-rebellious overtones---was featured later on in the evening, followed up by the electric guitar quartet Dither, whose set engulfed the audience in increasingly louder and louder interweaving guitar threads.  

Thursday, 2 April


Glad to be home (if only briefly), Asobi Seksu thoroughly gratified an audience apparently athirst for their music at a sold-out Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night.  
A giant wave of sound continually breaking against the ears, Asobi Seksu's music came on bright and visceral, and an involved light show complemented the band's energized stage presence.  The mixture of distortion-walls from the guitar and timbral nuance from the keys/lead vox was made complete by a solid and rocking rhythm section.  
The last song of the very full set grew to ear-splitting intensity, the lead singer abandoning her keyboard to play the drums at one point during the extended chaotic outro.  Eager for more, the audience called the band back for a two-song encore.  The first encore was perhaps the calmest song of the entire set; chaos was reestablished by the end of the second and final song.


Asobi Seksu return to NYC April 16 at Irving Plaza.

Monday, 30 March


"Wow, Monday night and there's, like, people listening!"  Sharon Van Etten was shyly pleased by the healthy turnout for her solo set Monday night at Cake Shop. Drawing the crowd into her quiet, intimate music with a warm voice, rich guitar sound, and solemn face, Van Etten played a full set (including an encore) of pretty, semi-depressing songs. 
"My Dad really wanted to be here tonight, but he's doing his taxes.  He's really stressed out.  He asked me to play this song," called "Have You Seen," Van Etten's lips barely moving as she sang the twisting, floating melody. 
Singing in a low voice, Van Etten's eyes glanced up at the ceiling periodically during "I Am Giving Up on You," which featured hypnotic guitar-picking.  
Other highlights included a cover of "Save Me a Place" by Fleetwood Mac, and the dark "For You," from her new album.
"I'm Sharon, and you can talk to me.  I'm approachable."