Cross-posted from my Live Journal:
*****
Last night, or should I say this morning, Lisa and I went to the
Minimalist Jukebox show at the LA Phil. This was the first time we've been inside the new Disney Hall, and I have to say I was impressed. To some extent I'm kind of Frank Geary-ed out. I mean it seems every major city has it's Frank Geary building so that the whole thing struck me a bit pretentious - "ah yes now LA gets one too..." But now that I've been in it, I have to say I love it.
It seemed well suited for a night of chill-electronica, all these hidden curvilinear spaces sporting projections from various video artists - and the music just filled the space. We could hear the DJ from the parking garage underneath as the shows grew from base-lines to melodies as we ascended the escalator into the lobby.
We got there a little before 1:00 AM just before Boom Bip took the stage. We were in the upper terrace which is perched right above the side of the stage. The set up puts the bands in the center, and for the kind of music we were seeing it was a cool vantage point. Boom Bip pretty much played facing each other so that it was you were looking in to a jam session. They were unique for the night as they had actual traditional instruments along with all the electronic equipment - of course they had effects on everything so even the drum was a sort of polyphonic rythym machine.
In contrast John Tejada's set up was 4 electronic boxes - God only knows how he got those sounds, but he was fascinating to watch essentially pulling out a sound, adding effects, looping it and building another layer - quite mesmerizing, I'd never think I'd find watching musicians like this so entertaining.
We got a chance to wander the facility, which was great. My KCRW membership got us access to the "VIP Room" AKA Founders Hall - or whatever it really is. Which was a really cool set up - again a tall curvilinear space with a skylight looking into the building's infrastructure. This was more a bar/dinning space and was quite swanky by all rights - again this event was perfect with an eclectic mix of patrons, cool projections, and ever present sound. There was also a dance area set up in the main hall, and the café remained open through-out. We stopped there between sets for some fuzzy water and a snack.
The Orb took the stage at 3:00AM and the crowd was still full of energy. They had a more traditional DJ set up sampling LPs from his magic bag of vinyl - but the overall effect was likewise mesmerizing. The biggest audience reaction was probably to a version of Little Fluffy Clouds. Overall it was fun to see the stamina of the audience. We left a little after 5:00 as we both were sort of drifting into and out of consciousness. It's amazing how this loud wall of rhythmic sound can just feel so comforting and well - trance inducing. We were among the last to clear out of the Terrace level on our side, so I really have no regrets no staying till the bitter end - we caught the sampled essence of Minnie Riperton as we descended into the garage - Loving You lyrics cutting through the beat.
We pulled out of Disney Hall just as dawn was breaking - so cool to see LA at this time of day - illuminated and empty. It was just beautiful. Of course leaving when we did we got home in about 24 minutes - unprecedented. Makes me wonder if all concerts should go from Midnight to 6:00 AM - of course there's the rest of our lives to consider.
Naturally we slept in - a good satisfying slumber. I'd do this again in a heart beat.