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From:
Kurt Hoffman
To:
Date:
Thu, 31 May 2001 04:41:09 -0400
Subject:
[idm] Otto von Schirach/Phoenecia in ny
Msg-Id:
<p05100308b73b90f51a26@[216.220.110.124]>
Mbox:
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Hope i've correctly identified the performers...no one identified themselves, and being pathologically shy I was unable to query those in the know. Otto von Schirach's eyes had the look of one well-aquainted with psychedelic drugs. Maybe they were just blue. Moreover, he kind of had a psychedelic/lowlife/shaman thing going on, what with his brimmed hat, heavily tattooed arms, and gold jewelry. In keeping with the vibe, he opened with a snatch of a frenetic old (1920's?) harmonica and orchestra recording of "The Can Can". This was overtaken by the dsp-fucked-breakbeat classic Schematic sound that constituted the bulk of his set. Really good stuff, too, harder than the tracks on 'House of Distruction'. I could have sworn I heard the big "Can Can" riff burble out through many layers of metamorphoses at one point. (everyone's on a Moulin Rouge trip these days, huh?) Later he grabbed a microphone -- echoing the little 'gold' one swinging from his neck -- and croaked out unintelligables as a brutal waltz played; kind of like wrecked 'Three Penny Opera'. I bet his real name isn't Otto. one thing you can say for powerbook concerts is there's none of that endless setup time between acts that plagues rock concerts. Three minutes later Phoenecia came on... Phoenicia looked like young professionals (if they run Schematic, I guess they are). Crisp, sober, friendly and efficient. Says one to the other, as if they're about to start the helicopter, "We'll start at 140, okay?". Nods. Fader. Take off. Again, very nice stuff in that Schematic vein, a long mixed-together sequence. Robustly grooving. Unfortunately, the room filled up to the point where Phoenicia, seated at a table, were obscured by folks standing around having a chat. This soon led to half the room forgetting that anyone was performing, and the latter half of the set had to compete with an awful lot of chatter. Openair was an okay place to see some music, mainly because it's small and has comfortable seating. the small PA seemed overextended trying to get up to concert volume. the birds have started to tweet. it's time for bed. k --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org