Apr

9

MusicNOW 2007, The Secret Is Out

Posted by Administrator

April 9, 2007 |

sufjanbryce1.jpgThe MusicNOW festival wrapped up on Saturday night in Over The Rhine, here in Cincinnati. And as I left I could not help but feel as if the secret was finally out. I attended the fest last year in a small room downtown at the Contemporary Arts Center that could not have held more than 150 people. In contrast, I arrived a full hour early for the final night of the festivities this year to be greeted with a nearly full Memorial Hall, which held 500.

It didn’t take long for it to fill completely, and it may have even been slightly oversold, as curator Bryce Dessner observed during his introduction for the night. All in all, the three nights of MusicNOW were a huge success. I personally missed the opening night marathon but by all accounts it was an amazing night. Pedro Soler, a 70 year old flamenco guitarist, and quite possibly the best flamenco guitarist in the world, kicked things off. In addition, amazingly unique and talented David Cossin wowed the crowd with his percussion display as well. Clogs, of which Bryce is a founding member, also played and a string quartet gave an interpretation of an early Sufjan Stevens album, 2001’s “Enjoy Your Rabbit.”

I played catch up for the rest of the weekend however, taking in a My Brightest Diamond Lounge Session at WOXY on Friday morning and then hitting up Memorial Hall that evening to see both Amina and MBD perform. This was my second time seeing Amina, previously in support of Sigur Ros at the Taft last year, and they provided an excellent display again. The quartet from Reykjavik packed dozens of instruments into their hour long set, which concluded with the four of them all playing a short tune together on saws.

Shara Worden, (My Brightest Diamond) was next up and had a string quartet backing her. This was a more serene side of Shara than most of her fans may have been used to as she mixed in new old songs, as she put it with some more familiar selections. The backing strings were the perfect compliment to her amazing vocals and I felt privileged to be in attendance for what is likely a rare opportunity to see her perform some of her more delicate songs.
Saturday night saw me rushing back to Memorial Hall in anticipation for the “headliner” of the weekend Sufjan Stevens. It also saw almost double the amount of people doing the same. I can’t say I did not expect it, but almost secretly wished that single night tickets were not an option so that all of the indie kids that turned up for Sufjan would have had no choice to also be exposed to the Pedro Soler’s and Amina’s of the weekend. Nonetheless, it was a huge success for Bryce and all those that made the event happen to have such a large and captive group. And not only for Sufjan, because Irena and Vojtech Havel from Prague opened the night. It was easy to see why Bryce had sought these musicians out for the festival, as their talents on the string of their cellos was nothing short of amazing. And while I would venture to guess that a large amount of those in attendance may have had their attention spans tested, those that remained focused were treated to a special performance.

Nothing, however, could fully prepare us all for what Sufjan had in store. I had seen him once previously right after the release of Illinoise, and of course, documented it here. I have to say that I was prepared for him to play an entire set of unfamiliar songs if he felt like it, since the whole weekend was really about artists being able to push their creative boundaries. But everyone was instead treated to lots of familiar songs, but with some unique and very impressive twists. Each song had the string quartet behind it, and also for the majority of the hour plus both Bryce and Shara were on stage as well contributing. While I do not have the setlist memorized, some things that remain highlighted in my head include. The Predatory Wasp of Palisades…with an introduction of Sufjan describing a wasp sting to the forehead. Some selections from his album, “Seven Swans”, which included “The Transfigurations”, the title tune and an encore of “To Be Alone With You”. A chilling rendition of “John Wayne Gacy” on vintage pipe organ with Bryce providing guitar work. The song, “The Avalanche” being introduced as a current Sufjan obession with the Chevrolet Avalanche. One of the tunes being replayed from the opening night via the string quartet, “Year Of The Pig.” And really, there are more, but those stick out as highlights of a really great set of music.

So, I am stuck with the thought that our little secret from last year is out. The 150 or so of us that gathered last year over the course of four nights of music and tried our best to tell everyone about it afterwards, were finally able to show them first hand. A big congratulations and thanks is due to curator Bryce Dessner and the talented staff and musicians that made the weekend happen. I cannot wait to see how things progress for year three.

View my photoset here.

Some dudes that sat closer than I have photos here.

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Comments

5 Comments so far

  1. anonymous on April 9, 2007 6:19 pm

    Great post. Just wanted to clarify that john wayne gacy was played on a ‘pump organ’ not a ‘pipe organ.’
    thanks.

  2. Administrator on April 9, 2007 9:19 pm

    very true, thanks for that, a pipe organ would have been very different…:)

  3. J-love on April 9, 2007 10:18 pm

    Now I wish I could hear Sufjan perform it on a pipe organ. :)
    Great recap. The Havels almost stole the show, in my opinion. The way they ended their set (before the encore) was one of the most stirring performances I’ve witnessed. It defies orthographical description so I won’t even try.
    In the end, Sufjan lived up to his “headliner” status. The secret is definitely out.
    Thanks for the pictures, too. I’ll be getting my tickets early next year, just in case.

  4. MusicNOW 2008 Kicks Off Tonight! : Each Note Secure on April 2, 2008 9:35 am

    […] like it was that long ago that Sufjan Stevens walked off the stage at Memorial Hall, ending the 2007 MusicNOW festival here in Cincinnati, but here we are, a year later, all geared up for the 2008 […]

  5. MusicNOW 2008 - A Balanced Musical Diet : Each Note Secure on April 8, 2008 10:35 am

    […] where indie rockers could go “undercover” in year one, and I stated last year that the secret was out. This year MusicNOW has become an established tradition, something I expect to attend for the next […]

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