Different Ways of Seeing

Sam Amidon paying tribute to Papa Jo Jones.

Summer has been really fantastic so far, and it just doesn't stop. A really special show is going to take place tonight at the Lakeshore Theatre, and I'm so excited that I'm financially and physically able to attend. I can't really remember how Sam Amidon's All is Well record made its new-appropriation-of-TRAD-tunes-in-a-digital-world way into our van during the Dosh tour, but it certainly hasn't made its way out of my thoughts ever since. On top of that...


Nico Muhly! What I've heard of Mothertongue is nothing short of incredible and compelling.

Also in show going news... probably don't need to beat this into the ground again but:



LUCKY DRAGONS AT BERRY UMC 8/31

Here's what ArtForum had to say:

"Lucky Dragons... create ecstatic music that completely transcends genres. My attempts to describe what their music actually sounds like always fall short of the magic they are making. I guess you could say it sounds like—ecstatic magic. Challenging stereotypes that electronic music is cold and sterile, Lucky Dragons' live show, though conducted via computers, is a truly great celebration of the human spirit, giving real hope for the techno-future our society is racing toward."

Here's what Lucky Dragons say:

"Lucky dragons shows are about the birthing of new and temporary creatures--creating equal-power situations in which audience members cooperate amongst themselves, to build a fragile network of digital signals connected by touching on the skin. There have been hundreds of these simple yet shifting and unpredictable instances--with audiences ranging from the intense intimacy of one person to the public spectacle of over one thousand people. At the heart of it all is playing together--building up social collectivities, re-engaging the wonder and impossibility of technology and live performance. It sounds--and looks--like simple and ancient patterns coming together and falling apart in a sincere attempt to let wires and screens and words become clear and crystal."

Imagine touching your neighbor and creating a chord via sound transmitted through skin contact. Yes. I'm totally serious. A huddle of humans being thoroughly human. Laughing gently and being entirely curious.

Also performing will be:

1 - Hecuba (fellow L.A. avant-electro-Tom and Jerry enthusiast duo)

2 - Nick Butcher (Chicago's native answering machine manipulator, tape looping mastermind, sound source specialist)

3 - Think/Dance and Younger (Liz Joynt-Sandberg, Megan Cotrell, Ryan Hammer and Matt Joynt constructing a 15-minute movement and sound improvisation).

The details:

Sunday August 31st
Berry UMC 4754 N. Leavitt - Chicago IL
7 PM and 7 dollars

Hope to see many of you there. Please tell your friends and spread the news!