Ok, I know I promised this last week, but I've been having a hard
time knowing what to say.
The best way to start is with what I expected. To start, the
only Scanner tracks I have heard are the TEEX2 track, Safety, and the
hidden track on the 2-CD Artificial Intelligence II comp, both of which are
very enjoyable. I sort of expected all the music to be like these two
tracks, and looked forward to an enjoyable, relaxing prelude to the rave
to be held later.
The location was in the McLaughlin Planetarium, in downtown
Toronto. I'm going to assume not everybody has been to a Planetarium,
and say that is a large domed room about five stories high, and 25m or
80ft across. You sit in a chair that tips you straight back so that you
look directly at the ceiling. They can then project all kinds of things
up on the ceiling, stars, videos, colours, lasers, and fixed projections
like slides.
Upon arriving at 11:10, for the 11:30 show, we were told that
"Laser Floyd" hadn't let out. "Laser Floyd" is of course, the music of
Pink Floyd with all the lasers and lights flashing in the planetarium.
Eventually we got in. We were told because we (they)were late that they
couldn't show us all of the new Timothy Leary video, but nobody was
really there for that anyways.
We chose seats close to Scanner. His setup included two
keyboards, a drum machine, and various other glowing things I couldn't
identify.
The Timothy Leary video was bad. Imagine his face, and Acidwarp
running at the same time. He mumbled some garbage about the brain making
more connections in a day than the entire world's telephone system. Big
time yawn for me, as I have a degree in this kind of stuff.
Scanner finally starts. Honestly, I didn't enjoy it. All told,
there were probably about 2 whole minutes of barely comprehensibl scans.
As someone mentioned in an earlier post, I assume he was trying to scan
live, but all he ever got was static. So for approximately 45 minutes,
we listened to his music. To give you the short description, it was a
poor attempt at idm, and minimal acid. I give you this description
because none of it stuck in my head, not a single melody, beat or
anything. Every once in a while, he would lay the fuzz of the scanner
over it all. Not impressive.
The lasers however, were stunning. Red, green, and blue, mounted
in a box, at one side of the room. Did some truly incredible things, that
made anything I've seen at a rave look pretty sick. Imagine your typical
fractal patterns radiating from the center of the screen, now smooth
the bumpiness of the fractal into laser thinness, and let them go all out
on the ceiling. It was so brilliant I had to close my eyes a couple
times. The people on acid probably don't remember a thing. They also
had a way of 'blurring' the laser projections, so there was a lacey,
shimmering, cloud effect on the ceiling.
The question we all debated afterwards was, "On a circular
ceiling, how can a laser machine mounted on the edge, and not the center,
still project perfect circles onto the ceiling?" I honestly don't know
the answer, but a) the ceiling isn't circular, or b) they have really
funky lenses on the lasers. Anybody?
Afterwards, we were bussed to the rave, which was held at Club
Generations in Toronto. It is a Eurotrashhouse club, which was rented
for the evening. They covered everything in black plastic, which was
actually sort of neat. It was HOT. Easily 80degrees (Fahrenheit, and
yes a Canadian doesn't like metric temperatures). Not ideal conditions
for a long haul of dancing. The fifty cent popsicles seemed like they
were from heaven.
The Legion of Green Men came on at five fuckin thirty in the
morning. I had of course, already left. My friends have tried to spare
me the pain, and will only say it was good and dubby.
Scanner interview, maybe someday, we have talked to him and he is
agreeable to it but we weren't able to connect in Toronto.
All in all, I was never in the mood for a party, so was not
terribly impressed, but if I had missed it, I would have regretted it.
Send this anywhere, but if you want to print one, send me one.
Philip Downey
c/o CFRC-FM
Carruthers Hall
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 3N6
CANADA