(HOLLYWOOD PRESS CORPS) — New York City — On February 15th, legendary avant guard princess Laurie Anderson joined John Zorn at the Roulette Intermedium Theater in Brooklyn for an impromptu show. Both met in the 1960’s Downtown NYC art scene. Zorn introduced Anderson to Lou Reed and both married in 2008. Anderson’s show started aiming to connect with viewers on a deep level by tapping into core values and concerns about the current state of America.
Her word choices:
* Justice: coming from a desire for fairness and equality within society.
She explored issues of social justice, legal fairness, or holding those in power accountable.
* Safety: she tapped into a sense of security and well-being that many people feel is threatened in today’s world (crime, violence, or even national security).
* Power: she uses this word with multiple layers.
Anderson talks about political power, but also to the power of individuals to make a difference.
Anderson explore who holds power in America and how they use it with unease (and perhaps even, farce).
Anderson grabbed our attention, connecting with emotionally charged words.
Both musicians sounded deluded until Anderson proclaimes: “I AM NOT ANGRY”, with an angelical, almost sarcastic tone.
She then changes the narrative for fluid and diluted sounds, like she was asking for help from unknown creatures, strange forms of life that seens to be observing us from above, for quite sometime.
The musicians’ sounds played with mental imagery and keep us wondering, as introduced a science fiction or otherworldly element.
It feels that Anderson is looking beyond the human realm for answers or assistance, in many of her compositions.
At this point, both musicians moved from a chaotic or misguided expression to something more ethereal and pleading.
The audience wondered what kind of music they were playing and what their delusions might be. Perhaps a loss of certainty or a shift towards vulnerability.
The preceding music, perhaps, was too fueled by anger, was unproductive or misdirected.
The audience, we all left wondering what kind of “help” Anderson and Zorn were seeking and what their music might represent.
Overall, we were left with mixed feelings of of musical emotional descriptions and revelation of a speculative fiction.
Anderson’s digital equipment has a lot of loops that mimic rockets, science and improvisation that she constant duets with herself.
Fascinated by words and sounds, Anderson is multidimensional in her own persona: her voice ingulf us constantly until she decides to let us be free again and we finally can, slowly, get back to ourselves.
Inventor of her own electric violin, Anderson asks Zorn for help to play the beautiful and the bizarre, challenging audiences with unsettling and conforting sounds.
Laurie Anderson: mother, carrier, keeper, inventor, dreamer, has a non stop intrinsical omniprsence quality that constantly impress.
#LaurieAnderson: voice, violin, keyboards
#JohnZorn : saxophone
Great review! The saxophone definitely sounded angry. I was disappointed not to hear any songs from her albums! The audience members were cool though and i made a friend!
Hi Sarah! Let’s get together for a movie< a play or a walk in the park! Cheers!