From Danny Wyatt Sent Thu, Oct 1st 1998, 03:17
From Danny Wyatt Sent Thu, Oct 1st 1998, 03:17
From: Perfect Sound Forever <xxxxxxx-xxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx> >Ideally, it should be the music that's the important thing for the >live shows but you also go out to these things for the PRESENCE of >these artists you like also. Oh man, I studied literary theory at an east coast university and I could bore everyone for days about this: Benjamin and aura, Lacan and the symbolic, Derrida and iteration, but, er, I won't. From: Christopher Fahey <xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx> >>From: Che <xxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx> >> >>My guess is that your experience was more a product of venue & a "we're too >>cool to dance" NYC audience. > > Yes! Both! > [...] > No, no, no! I was only pointing out two of the many differences between >listening to records at home ad going out to a concert... One difference is >that the artist might do something spontaneous and improvisational live, >something I would not ever be able to experience on a record. This show >strongly lacked that element, so I was (with tongue-in-cheek) hoping it >would make up for it with Difference #2, which is all the other things that >happen at nightclubs except the music (people, architecture, freaks, >drinks/drugs, visuals, food, clothes). The show didn't really even offer >that stuff to any great spectacular degree. The music is the most important >thing, but I'd be a liar if I said #2 was a non-issue to me - if the dance >floor was full of flailing longhairs with tie dyed shirts, or fist pumping >frat boys, or spastic first-time-jungle dancers, or all boys, I'd probably >sit it out too. I think this (#2) is the reason most of us go to these things. To get out of the house and see people and dance with other people around, etc. For example, I actually got to meet Chris Fahey at this show, bringing the total number of people from this list that I've met in person up to one. And as far as the dancing goes, I don't think it has much to with Giuliani. The Cooler has a cabaret license, but that doesn't stop it from being anathema to dance. It's a club where people go to hang out and be, you know, cutting edge. Just like this drum'n'bass stuff I've been hearing about on MTV... Chris, I don't know if you noticed, but when you and Paul and I were talking in the back during the opening act, their MC gave up on trying to get people to dance and just started doing d'n'b for dummies: "This is what we call the hardstep," "This last one's what we call darkside." I didn't take that as a good sign. Then, when I moved up front for MMM I finally figured out why there was a one yard gap between the first people and the stage: there were other people *sitting down* in front of the stage. This so amused or bewildered MMM that he took their picture after his set was over. They eventually just got up and left during Amon Tobin's set, which was, I might add, about 20 minutes too long. He just kept going with less and less interesting stuff and it got boring. Judging from people I talked to afterwards, I'm far from alone in this opinion. Then, it seemed like he only got off the stage because the cart on the righthand deck broke. Of course, Jonah Sharp had no way of knowing this until he went on and was forced to desperately kick in his live stuff when the last track that Tobin spun ended on the good deck. He then mixed between his equipment (which I couldn't see since it was behind the mixer from me) and one deck until the roadie guy (who was more than ready to make sure the sound man had everything turned up to 11 for Amon Tobin's set) liesurely got around to fixing the broken cart. The fact that Jonah Sharp dealt with all this, kept everyone dancing (the non-dancers left with Amon Tobin) and then swung it into a *very* enjoyable set was live enough for me. It's too bad I had to leave around 3:00 while he was still going strong, but maybe if those last, boring 20 minutes had been cut from Amon Tobin's set... Don't get me wrong all three sets were (except for, uh, about 20 minutes) terrific and Amon Tobin is a great musician and DJ. I guess it just seemed like there was such a scene there trying to say "hey, look at me, I'm hip to Amon Tobin" that I was put off when the other artists didn't get the appreciation they deserved. Of course, this isn't Amon Tobin's fault and I've learned to expect as much from New York City and the Cooler, but it still gets me mad. So, like Chris, I was disappointed with the crowd, but not with the show (except for the aforementioned 20 minutes). >>Please, tell me which bars in NYC I can hear nothing but Amon Tobin & Funki >>Porcini at, loud and for hours on end, on a Monday night and better yet for >>free. Next time I visit I'd like to visit one of these mythical places. > > Well, okay, maybe they won't play "nothing but Amon Tobin & Funki >Porcini"... they might actually mix in music from other artists, maybe even >from other genres! And okay, maybe you might have to also pay $5 to get in >at some joints. But, yes, on any given night of the week there are probably >a dozen different bars open for free in which you will be able to hear >decent drum and bass for some portion of the evening. And over the course of >one week you'll find probably forty places for $5 or less that will play >nonstop drum and bass for a (illegal) dance floor. Seriously, there are *two* big drum'n'bass parties every week. Even the damn Rivertown lounge has a drum'n'bass night! You can't bend over to tie your shoes in New York these days without hitting your head on a breakbeat. It's as ubiquitous as Thurston Moore was three years ago. Which should remind us how spoiled we are in New York. There are plenty of towns with no drum'n'bass nights anywhere ever that the ninja tour couldn't afford to visit. >' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - > > c h r i s t ø p h e r f ª h e y > >. _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ > xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx >2 1 2 - 6 3 4 - 6 9 5 0 x 2 5 8 > http://www.raremedium.com >- ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . _ . - ' ^ ' - . ------------------------------------- Danny Wyatt xxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx http://www.arbitrary.com