Saturday night offered an intriguing variety of acts around town, but in the end I decided to indulge my taste for the more avant-garde side of music (something which is fairly scarce in this city) and go off to Zaphod Beeblebrox and see Colin Stetson and Emily Wells.
Wells hails from New York - "I'm here because I evacuated" she joked, since her home town is currently under meteorological siege. Live, she makes her music by looping melodica, violin, drums, (real and electronic), guitar and her own voice. You can't tell from the photo below, but she was sitting on a kick drum which she played by swinging a mallet between her legs.
Emily Wells at Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 27, 2011
Guitar action!
Emily Wells at Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 27, 2011
As for Colin Stetson, he's performed with a who's-who of hipster idols, including Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits, TV on The Radio and Arcade Fire. For 2011 he'll be touring with Bon Iver. His sophomore album
New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges is on the shortlist for this year's Polaris Prize. He's also a member of Bell Orchestre, though I don't recall him being in the lineup when I saw them perform at the First Baptist Church. If you listened to Steetson blind, you might think he was running some kind of looping machine for his saxophones, but in fact it's the use of a throat microphone and circular breathing that allows him to blow a continuous stream of sound. Also, he must be in terrific shape since it obviously takes a herculean effort. Although he plays a wide variety of wind instruments, for this show he confined himself to bass and alto saxophone.
Bass.
Colin Stetson at Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 27, 2011
Alto.
Colin Stetson at Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 27, 2011
Very engaging sets from both performers.
- Show reminder: Tightrope and Inside Riot play the Avant-Garde; Greg Smith & The Bad Dreamers and Andy Swan perform at Raw Sugar; David Russell and Yes Please & Thank You are at The Rainbow; The Elmdale hosts Selina Martin Triage, Jeff Meleras and F & M.
