Jeff and I saw an ensemble called So Percussion play two pieces by Steve Reich at Miller Theatre on Friday. Although it could be argued that Columbia University is perhaps a tad over-enthusiastic about the man they seem to consider “America’s greatest living composer,” in this case I would say that their excitement is justified. The music of Steve Reich seems to have attained some newfound accessibility, or at least popularity, as of late. With multiple remix albums and countless re-issues and re-recordings of his back catalogue, it seems like he is the minimalist composer of the moment to name drop. I’m pretty sure the same people who put Reich Remixed on in the background while they sautee a Rachel Ray recipe, are the same ones I saw giving So Percussion a standing ovation after nodding off for 2/3 of the second piece. But enough about them.

My air of superiority aside, Steve Reich is definitely one of my favorite composers. I love his affinity for polyrhythms, and the way he will repeat a section over and over, before finally displacing one of the voices by a 16th note to make sure you’re still awake. The first piece played on Friday, Music For Pieces Of Wood, was performed by five percussionists hitting blocks of wood with various pitches. Although there isn’t much going on dynamically (or obviously tonally), the piece has some amazing rhythmic ideas. The individual players will be playing along in different time signatures, and everything will be on the verge of just sounding like noise, when they suddenly all pull together and play in unison for a brief moment. It’s a fairly simple premise, to keep building more and more contrupuntal movement, and stripping it all away at once, but the effect it has is pretty incredible.

The second piece is probably my favorite by Reich, Music For 18 Musicians. For the most part, all 55 minutes are built on a couple suspended chords that alternate gradually. The main reason I find this piece so beautiful is the different orchestration techniques he uses, and the various timbres he is able to create with his pallette. You will hear the same chord swell several times in a row, but each time it evolves. First it might be three female voices, a marimba, and a cello; next it might be a violin, baritone sax, bass clarinet, and piano, etc. The colors of the piece are amazing, and in the end, it really can’t be described. If you haven’t heard this piece, you should really check it out. It’s even more moving in a live setting.

The players themselves are obviously very talented, to be able to pull of something so complex, so effectively. It was definitely entertaining to watch, as the performers wandered about the stage between instruments, with three people sometimes squeezed in to play on a single marimba. Of course, the question now is how I will take this experience and use all these ideas in my own music. Jeff and I agreed that we would need another melodic instrument before we could pull off any additive rhythm type stuff, but it’s definitely something we want to do more of. King Crimson was able to do it on Three Of A Perfect Pair with just two guitars, so it is possible.

To summarize, here are the things you should take away from my ramblings:
1. Steve Reich is awesome.
2. So Percussion are awesome.
3. Rachel Ray is lame.
4. If you know anyone who plays guitar, tell them how they’re really not reaching their full potential unless they’re playing with Astronaut Down.

That is all.

Last night was the second (annual?) Waterwell Cabaret Benefit at Joe’s Pub.  It started off good, and I was definitely having a fun time, until the evening came to an abrupt end in the most random and disappointing of ways.  Not even halfway through the set, while the lovely Hanna Cheek introduced the next song, a large portion of the attendees began noisily making their way toward the door.  When the disruption finally couldn’t be ignored any longer, she asked what was going on, and it turned out there was a fire downstairs, and the room was filling up with smoke.  Awesome.  The ensemble did their best to persuade the audience not to retrieve their coats and to wait in the lounge next door until the smoke was cleared, but eventually we had to be evacuated as the fire department axed their way through the floor of the venue.

Words can’t express how bad I feel for these guys.  All the schmoozing and crazy amounts of organizing that it took to set up this show, with all the sponsors and performers and auction items and everything, and it all ends because of a stupid fire.  I didn’t see anyone buying a 50/50 raffle ticket on their way out either.  The thing is, it’s incredibly expensive to put on an independent off-Broadway show, and the proceeds from the benefit were going to be a big part of the funding for this year’s show.  So if you have any tax refund money left over that you don’t know what to do with, or if a wealthy relative unexpectedly dies and leaves you with a huge inheritance, it would be really cool if you could head on over to waterwell.org and put a drop in the bucket.  And if you STILL have money left over, there’s a sale at Threadless!  Wooo.

So Jeremy and I went to see Killswitch Engage at Roseland last night, and they were amazing.  If it’s all right with you, I’ll just skip over He Is Legend and Chimaira, except perhaps to note the following common mindset between the two bands: “This is called 4/4.  Here is the downbeat.  This is where we change the chord, if we decide to change it at all.  Now everybody join the pit and see who gets injured.”  Both bands were mind-numbingly boring, but maybe that’s because I was too lame to participate in either (a) the moshpit or (b) the smoking of copius amounts of weed.  Those engaging in either of the aforementioned activities seemed to have an OK time.

Luckily, Dragonforce was all kinds of awesome.  Sure, they’re silly and over the top, but that’s the point, because they have so much fun doing their thing.  Their singer struggled to hit a good 30% of the notes, but I forgave him because of his enthusiasm and leather pants.  Both guitarists were absolutely sick, and their keyboardist, who had the best stage presence of all of them, even rocked a pink keytar for a couple songs.  I don’t know that their music is anything I would listen to on a regular basis, but their songs have so much wacky energy, making them a great band to see live.

Now on to Killswitch.  Unfortunately lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz is sitting out this tour due to back problems, and Jeremy and I were both excited to see him play.  Luckily the very skilled Pat Lachman (of Damageplan) was sitting in for him, and the band didn’t miss a beat.  The huge, chunky riffs in songs like “My Curse” and “The End of Heartache” sound amazing in a live setting, as do the faster songs like “Unbroken” and “Breathe Life.”   Vocalist Howard Jones was spot on all night, whether unleashing his trademark blood-curdling scream or singing the anthemic choruses (with the help of the sold out Roseland crowd).

There were of course a few songs I wish they had played but didn’t really expect them to, like “For You,” but there were also a couple surprising omissions, like “The Arms of Sorrow.”  All in all, it was a strong setlist, except perhaps for the ill-advised cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”  No matter how flawlessly the song is performed, it will always conjure images of South Park for me.  But overall it was a great show.  In a world full of so many “studio bands,” the live precision of Killswitch Engage is definitely an inspiring thing to see.  If you get a chance to check them out on the No Fear tour, do yourself the favor and go.  You just might want to show up an hour or two late to miss the weak openers.