Feast of Music

The Deli Magazine Best of Emerging Artists Fest - Alt Rock Stage at Spike Hill

by Laura Wasson

Chalk it up to Venus being in retrograde, but there was something off about The Deli Magazine’s recent Best of Emerging Artists Festival (or, cleverly, B.E.A.F.). Admittedly, I’ve been very lucky to have seen a number of really talented and exciting “emerging” bands recently from NYC or otherwise. My expectations were high for the Alt Rock Stage at Spike Hill this past Saturday. While they weren't exactly met, it was still an interesting evening and proved a point that I'd been pondering for a while: much like a great recipe, no amount of talent will make up for the lack of that indefinable, alchemic "it". 

When I arrived bluesy grunge throwback The Nico Blues was playing. All baggy ripped jeans and dirty hair, these boys were channeling the nineties in a very serious way. A little angsty Gin Blossoms here, a dash of The Spin Doctors there and a hefty dose of Oasis and Blur for good measure; the band's sound is immediately likable because it is so familiar. The eighties might be hot in Brooklyn right now, but I have a hunch this nouveau pop grunge might catch on considering the hipster contingent's love of nostalgia. Too bad more of them weren't around to hear the band in action.

Thurston Moore, Bill Nace and Joe McPhee Play Thursday at Roulette

 This Thursday, Roulette presents three titans of the avant-jazz/noise scene: guitarists Thurston Moore and Bill Nace, and reed player Joe McPhee. These three, while all major figures in their own right, have never played on the same stage before. Should be a wild ride - tickets are $20 and are available now on the Roulette website.

Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall: Brahms, Shostakovich, and Saariaho

by Michael Cirigliano II

The Cleveland Orchestra’s program Wednesday night at Carnegie Hall was a mix of conservative and bold choices, as evidenced by a stodgy Brahms classic on the first half juxtaposed with Shostakovich’s most enigmatic symphonic statement and the New York premiere of a brilliant work by the Finnish composer, Kaija Saariaho.

Saariaho has received a lot of exposure this season, thanks to her position as Carnegie Hall’s latest Composer-in-Residence. Given her twilit homeland, her music is exotic and dark—fusing aggressive orchestral passages, exotic percussion, and sensuous strings. Laterna magica, a 2008 work that takes its name from an Ingmar Bergman biography and the first machine to create a moving image, was expansive and rich in color.

Although her music can tend to skew on the cerebral side, there was a clear-cut form to this work, which used extensive percussion—comprising vibraphone, tubular bells, pitched gongs, and sawed cymbal throughout. The effect was devastatingly beautiful and atmospheric, with large cosmic swells emanating from the string body. A master of texture, there were many moments of woodwind flourishes supported by plucked strings against a tapestry of keyed percussion and harp. Adding to the piece’s shadowy demeanor were several passages of whispers spoken into woodwind instruments at different pitch levels, including repetitions of “light” (“licht”), sounding like a distant plea to the darkness at hand.

Brooklyn Phil Gala at Steiner Studios

Last night, the Brooklyn Philharmonic held their annual gala at Steiner Studios, the former Brooklyn Navy Yard way out in the No man’s land between Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. These events are typically mercenary affairs, intended to extract necessary dollars from the wallets of rich patrons in exchange for some rubber chicken, cocktails, and comedy (here courtesy of the "classical comedians" Igudesman and Joo, who came off like a less dignified version of Victor Borge.) Maybe a little dancing.

But, while last night had all of that, it was actually more of a rallying cry, an opportunity for the Brooklyn Phil to restate their reason for being in a borough which is already chock-full of musical outlets, of every stripe. It also brought together all of the Phil’s various stakeholders: not just donors, but composers, community leaders, even the odd hip-hop artist.