Preferred B Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I got back into the country Sunday afternoon, just in time to see this show at NU on Sunday evening. Crazy? Perhaps. But it's been a long time since I got to see any of Glenn's solo or side project performances, and I really wanted to see what All-Stars were all about. Before the show started, I overheard some middle-aged ladies behind me discussing what was to come. "The guest tonight is a ROCK drummer!" "Oooh, a rock drummer! It's going to be loud!" They weren't wrong, but I think the loudest portions of the evening may have come before Glenn was even onstage. The first half of the program featured the All-Stars playing three pieces. My favorite was the last one, Workers Union, by the Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. According to Evan Ziporyn, it gave them a chance to combine improvisation with more precise orchestration. He said something to the effect that Andriessen "tells us exactly what to do, but not exactly how to do it." Glenn was part of the program's second half, performing Music for Pieces of Wood and Clapping Music Variations with David Cossin before the rest of the band returned to the stage. Glenn took the microphone to introduce the last two pieces of the night: a preview of Snap, and Mobile. Snap was commissioned for the All-Stars, and Glenn's explanation of it was very interesting. As a tribute to the "hard-edged" performers in the group, he took his inspiration from the Stax record catalog, the harder-edged contemporary of Motown Records. Glenn chose bits of songs by people like Isaac Hayes and Sam & Dave, reinterpreting and incorporating them into the piece. The title "Snap" comes from the Stax logo. Mobile was last, and I loved hearing it performed by a full band. They also managed to incorporate more of the "distorted" drum sound that's present on the record itself, but wasn't really part of Glenn's solo performances of Mobile in 2005. If memory serves. The show was apparently streamed live on the internet. I don't know if NU archives any of their streams, but I'd be interested to know if anyone happened to catch it. They were definitely videotaping, though I'm not sure if that was streamed. It's nice that they'll have a video record of the performance, but in such a small space with such a quiet audience it was a bit distracting between pieces to clearly overhear the directions that the people filming were receiving on their monitors. Snap has its official debut next weekend in Chapel Hill, at what promises to be a really cool show. NU was fortunate to have Bryce Dessner playing with the All-Stars, as he will be in North Carolina, but it looks like Lee Ranaldo will also be a guest in NC. If anyone attends, please report back! I'll be otherwise engaged next Saturday. I think I saw Bryan and Jamie (thanks to the most recent LRS pre-party and show photos) at the show, but I wasn't sure at the time, so I didn't say hi. Jet lag was threatening to set in, or perhaps I would have attempted to be more social. Next time! I'd definitely go see the Bang on a Can All-Stars again. I also hope it's not another year and a half or whatever before I get to see another side project or solo performance by Glenn. I miss the Monkey Chant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 My favorite was the last one, Workers Union, by the Dutch composer Louis Andriessen.was this written after he stopped hosting Family Feud? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Preferred B Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 was this written after he stopped hosting Family Feud? Shortly after. I've read that Union was in part inspired by his dealing with feuding families day after day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zebra Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 The show was apparently streamed live on the internet. I don't know if NU archives any of their streams, but I'd be interested to know if anyone happened to catch it. They were definitely videotaping, though I'm not sure if that was streamed.Damn, I really wanted to go to this and looked to see if it would be stream and couldn't find anything. I hope he adds more dates soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
isadorah Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 myself, blindgonzo, and foolinrain went to this. it was so great! i'll post more once i recover from my travels! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foolnrain97 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I think I saw Bryan and Jamie (thanks to the most recent LRS pre-party and show photos) at the show, but I wasn't sure at the time, so I didn't say hi. Jet lag was threatening to set in, or perhaps I would have attempted to be more social. NextYou did indeed! Melissa was there too. I think I can safely say that all three of us thoroughly enjoyed the show.Did you also see Andrew Bird and John S. in the audience? They were there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zebra Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Did you also see Andrew Bird and John S. in the audience? They were there.Nice to hear of the support. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 "Did you hear the crickets last night?" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 My son saw this show in Cincinnati last week, and said he was "blown away". My apples don't fall far from my tree. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blindgonzo Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 You did indeed! Melissa was there too. I think I can safely say that all three of us thoroughly enjoyed the show.Did you also see Andrew Bird and John S. in the audience? They were there. definitely was blown away by the show and was glad to be with such great company! I really loved the preview of Snap, and to hear Mobile with the ensemble was wicked! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Anything more on the live feed captured? P.S., I am so jealous. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fineartoflife Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 I was fortunate to get to see this show as well. I had no idea of what to expect from the Bang on a Can All Stars, but I have to say they were a very talented and experimental group. Some of it was really out there, which was cool, and there were also nice melodies and interactions between the band members that kept it real. I have been a big fan of Kotche's solo works, so I was really excited to see him play. I won't repeat what has already been said, but my favorite pieces were Snap!, i've been a stax fan for a while now and it was great to see it presented in such a different way, even though the rhythm and melodies were the same. Mobile was really cool with the full ensemble, giving a visual and acoustical view of the parts changing and interacting with each other (like the sculptures). Best of all, I got to meet him (his wife and parents were there also) backstage afterwards. He's a really nice guy and took time to answer my questions about writing these pieces, and also what advice he had for me as a young drummer. His answer (in case your wondering) was to have big ears and listen to a lot of stuff, trying to incorporate many styles of playing into your drumset. I was beaming the whole time, lame enough to even get his autograph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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