AMPLIFY 2013: rotation

[jon abbey]

for those not on Facebook, very excited to announce a mini-AMPLIFY fest, in conjunction with Issue Project Room:

==========================



January 15:

Keith Rowe/Michael Pisaro (premiere)
Keith Rowe/Graham Lambkin (premiere)

January 16:

Christian Wolff/Keith Rowe
Keith Rowe solo

TEMP Art Space
57 Walker Street, New York, New York
http://tempartspace.com/
price TBA

==========================

these shows have been made possible, in part, by Bowerbird (Philadelphia) with funding from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, The Presser Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Dina and Jerry Wind, and John J. Medveckis.

[jon abbey]

FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/523327914351612/

[MinimalistPianist]

Looks awesome

[jon abbey]

I mostly update on FB these days, but this starts tonight!! here is my kitchen last night:



Yuko says the background is a tribute to Taku Unami.

[drip]

nice photo!
Keith Rowe/Graham Lambkin - that's an interesting duo. was it your idea?

[jon abbey]

yessir.

[Dohol]

I mostly update on FB these days, but this starts tonight!! here is my kitchen last night:



Yuko says the background is a tribute to Taku Unami.

"Yuko says the background is a tribute to Taku Unami"

heh...


that photo is a keeper..

[Dan Warburton]

[quote="jon abbey"]I mostly update on FB these days, but this starts tonight!! here is my kitchen last night:



Nice. What were you folks drinking? Good luck with the fest and all my best to the participants.

[jon abbey]

three bottles of California reds that Michael picked out, one of which Yuko said was her favorite wine she ever had (she and I are not normally drinkers).

tonight was maybe the most fully satisfying single night of shows I've ever put on, from every possible angle. hopefully Brian will write it up tomorrow if he has time, I'll put any compelling and detailed feedback from FB here also.

[joeperucki]

tonight was maybe the most fully satisfying single night of shows I've ever put on, from every possible angle.

A bit of what I expected and exactly what I did not want to hear (but not completely selfish... psyched for you guys - looking forward to hear what Graham pulled off in particular)

[jeffp]

I don't ever post here, mostly because I'm not all that inclined to get into debates over personal tastes, technique, or music in general. First, you deserve a hardy congratulations for bringing so many people in to see the show last night. It's wonderful to see that so many folks are willing to attend non-mainstream music events these days.

To give you some background, I began, working with "experimental" music as a filmmaker in college around 15 years ago. I was soon transfixed by the radical possibilities inherent in these new sounds, new methods of creating sounds, and new methods of performance. I began performing, touring, and booking shows. As I got older, I lost a lot of the drive that compelled me to work in this field. These days I rarely get time to attend shows or make music, so when I do I want just a shred of that original feeling that compelled me to be a part of this community. I want it to be exciting, new, sexy, provocative. Even if my mind is not blown, I want to feel something... love, rage, hate, bliss, something. I want to be surrounded by people that are excited, curious, impassioned.

Last night, I felt nothing. I was in the back of the room last night so maybe I did not have the best prospective, but in general I thought the show was flaccid. Let me clarify, I only managed to stay for the first set + 10 minutes of the second set. So most of my critique is of the first set. It felt like an overly composed and drawn out attempt by two older men to create something profound. This sincere attempt at profound music made it's eventual failure even more pronounced. The second set began with the same feeling as the first, so I left. The sound was not great, the sounds were not great, the composition was not great, the performance was dull. There was just nothing to hold onto. Now, I am fully willing to accept that to some this music was inspiring, creative, exciting. I just don't see it, nor did I feel it from the crowd so I was a little blown away when I saw your comment that the show was the most fully satisfying for you.

Maybe it's nostalgia, but every time I attend an event like this I lament what this type of music has become. "Experimental" music seems to have codified around a sort of worship of this light-weight compositional approach masquerading as avant-garde improv practiced by mostly older white men. The "experimental" is gone, it is simply a form of music for snobs, music geeks, beards, and the privileged. The democratic exhilaration is gone. The possibilities are gone.... Or perhaps, it was always this way and I was too naive to ever realize it.

My question is thus, why was this a "fully satisfying" evening for you?

Please, excuse me if this is not the appropriate forum for this dialogue... I was forwarded your post by a friend that had a similar take on the show and I felt compelled to respond.

[jon abbey]

yeah, you should have stayed for the second set, which was my favorite Keith live duo since Sachiko in Tokyo in 2008, really fucking exciting music for me. also I know there were issues with the sound outside of where the speakers were and past the first 40-50 people, but that was unavoidable in that space no matter how we set it up.

I will probably answer this more at length later, you may be surprised that I don't totally disagree with you, but also keep in mind that these four sets (including the two tonight) are all very linked (so, for instance, a Rowe/Pisaro set on its own would have been very different from the one last night), and while of course they can be judged on their own, the big picture is Keith's main goal.

[jon abbey]

Brian O's initial writeup from FB, he will probably write it up more at length when he can:

"Two very different sets. Pisaro/Rowe quiet and subtle, one that I'm pretty sure will yield new layers upon relistening but was very enjoyable first time through, Michael doing some wonderful "bending away" from Keith toward the end. Lambkin/Rowe far more in your face and absolutely delightful and riveting, the pair creating drawings (tools, tables, etc. mic'ed, of course) through which Keith floated Casals playing Bach amidst radio chatter and Graham discreetly inserted Beefheart's "Well" (hey, it was his birthday!) buried in static swathing. Great set, incredibly well attended."

[Matt Wuethrich]

jeffp said: '"Experimental" music seems to have codified around a sort of worship of this light-weight compositional approach masquerading as avant-garde improv practiced by mostly older white men. The "experimental" is gone, it is simply a form of music for snobs, music geeks, beards, and the privileged. The democratic exhilaration is gone.'

Why does this argument always get trotted out? Would the music have been more exciting if, say, a young black woman had been performing?

[mono tony]

Why does this argument always get trotted out? Would the music have been more exciting if, say, a young black woman had been performing?

possibly because of a generally held notion of "older white men" as physically slowed-down, less animate beings. stereotyped to a figurative ossification. subtler physical activity/lack of obvious 'action' is cause for disinterest.

os·si·fi·ca·tion: a. The process of becoming set in a rigidly conventional pattern, as of behavior, habits, or beliefs (thefreedictionary)

[jon abbey]

Graham is still in his late thirties, and can we please not go down this unnecessary road in this thread? thanks.

[mudd]

graham lambkin is punker than fuck.

m

[Matt Wuethrich]

Totally agree, Jon. I'd like to hear about the music myself, which is probably what I should have said in the first place!

[Matt Wuethrich]

graham lambkin is punker than fuck.

m

Indeed! Is that a toolbox he's got? Did have any actual instruments or even a computer?

[jeffp]

Matt, my intention was not to discuss race...more about status quo and my personal thoughts on these passive experiences (as opposed to a more democratic form of performance/music making.) I probably should have dropped the "old white men" bit from my post. I don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll leave it there. Happy to continue on a different thread or answer your question elsewhere.

Hi Jon, Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I can't make it out tonight, but I look forward to hearing more about where we align and what exactly your take is. I realize that with any work of art to isolate one piece in a series diminishes the overall impact, and perhaps I was premature to judge the work so harshly. That being said I think I (perhaps unfairly) posted my response largely out of frustration experienced at the last several shows I attended.

FYI I am in my mid-thirties and feel old, so it's not toooo unfair to call Mr. Lambkin an old man, is it?!?!?