The Lovely Carla and I participated in an event last night organized by the Black Mountain Collective, a group inspired by improvisational work done by John Cage back in the the fifties and sixties of the last century. It was a blast. I mean, it was strange and fun, and well, I guess you had to be there...it was ridiculous too...
The concept: get a bunch of painters, poets, musicians and dancers together, put them on stage, and see what happens. No rehearsal, just kind of a controlled chaos. It was quite fun, and we actually (surprise) had a nice, attentive audience that kind of went along with the proceedings.
I played guitar, or, well, I kind of manipulated my wah pedal, and basically played feedback. It was quite liberating. The Lovely Carla recited some text from our upcoming play, as well as her own poetry. Her voice stood out in the madness.
There were moments of complete cacaphony as well as quiet beauty. The proceedings were "conducted" by Dan Godston (trumpet, percussion) and David Hawkins (paint & canvas).
One of the highlights as described in the event's directions:
Section C: 8:50: Hear the Building Breathe (10 min.): During this piece the performance space is seen as a giant organism. Spectator / spectacle reversal. Focus moves from the “stage” to “audience” to other spaces in the building. We become the “doctors” who give the building a “check up.” We will be the stethoscope listening to the full organism of the building. Then we become oxygen cells that travel through the building’s circulatory system. Some of the time we will be “playing” the building, and some of the time there will be silence. The building is amplified—with contact and other microphones. Distortion and other effects can be used. The rafters, windows, radiators, and other building elements will be heard.
Hmmm, yeah, well,....you had to be there...!