The Bang on a Can All-Stars tore up the joint at Charlottesville's Jefferson Theater, Saturday night.
That's the first time in my life I've used that line about a classical music group, and it's absolutely true. Bang on a Can ended its four-day residency at the University of Virginia with one of the best gigs I've heard in years. I was lucky enough to have been there, shooting for the university's music department.
Evan Ziporyn, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011. (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011. Click directly on any photo to see a larger versions.)
I'm actually cheating a bit when I call Bang on a Can a classical music group. One way of explaining what they do would be to say that they're 75% new music/contemporary classical, 25% rock. A better way would be to quote something Alex Ross, the New Yorker's music critic, said about composer Michael Gordon, one of the ensemble's founders. Ross described his music as having “the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism.” That's Bang on a Can in a nutshell.
Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
But Ross's description leaves out one important point. Bang on a Can is a lot of fun to listen to.
David Cossin, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
Much of the music that Bang on a Can made last Saturday was explosive. If it never settled into what you could call a groove, it sometimes achieved a powerful forward momentum.
Mark Stewart, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
Bang on a Can's energy is no accident. Guitarist Mark Stewart, for instance, has played with everyone from Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen to Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
Ashley Bathgate, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
But Bang on a Can doesn't need drum and electric guitars to sustain its intensity. Ashley Bathgate performed a solo work by Michael Gordon for solo amplified cello that was spell-binding.
Ashley Bathgate, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
Some of the most interesting parts of the concert came when the group slowed things down and played in a whisper.
Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
An arrangement of Brian Eno's meditative, spacious "Music for Airports" was one of the highlights of the show.
Vicky Chow, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
As a former musician, one of the things enjoyed most about the concert was the staggering levels of instrumental virtuosity that was on display. Each and every one of the All-Stars has amazing chops. (And, yes, they've got soul, too.)
Sometimes that virtuosity shows up in very unexpected ways. On Friday night, I heard David Cossin, the group's percussionist, perform a piece for solo amplified cardboard tube. Sounds like a joke, but it wasn't. It was music, much of which was made by manipulating feedback. The guy could shame Jimi Hendrix, at least as far as feedback is concerned.
Gregg August, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
People who compose, play, promote, and write about classical music (traditional and contemporary) are constantly fretting about what they see as a shrinking audience. Maybe the size of the crowd at the Jefferson, last Saturday, was an anomaly. But I don't think so. From all that I've read, Bang on a Can has found a way to draw audiences into new music.
Evan Ziporyn, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
As is always the case, the ultimate success of Satuday's concert depended on the relationship that the performers built with the audience.
Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
I have to believe that to some extent, the band was feeding off the energy that it was receiving from the crowd.
Mark Stewart, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
Bang on a Can's residency and Saturday's concert were made possible by the student-run University of Virginia Arts Board. As someone who teaches at the University, I was particularly happy to see the board make such an adventurous choice.
Bang on a Can All-Stars, Charlottesville, Virginia, 19 February 2011.
It's hard to imagine how it could have been better.
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