Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Le Quan Ninh/Tatsuya Nakatani/Sean Meehan, Tonic 9/28
Rainy night, the musicians set up in the round, with chairs onstage, and the three percussionists in the middle as a triangle. I sat about 5 feet behind Meehan, a good choice. It was more crowded than I'd imagine for 10pm on a rainy monday night. The sheer ugliness of the weather made me think twice about coming, but within 2 minutes of it beginning, I resolved that I'd never miss Le Quan Ninh play if it was in my power not to. There is a grace and virtuosity with him that is unparalleled in improvised music, there really isn't anyone like him playing, I don't think.
The set worked better than I'd imagined, very stormy with lots of high drama, but also with quieter, more contemplative moments. Meehan sat out a fair bit as would be imagined, but his contributions really changed the action everytime he came in, less commenting than adjusting. I got to see him reprise the effect of his solo set before the Jerman/Barnes/Daniell show, with him playing very, very loud, hitting the cymbal on his snare with the mallet. Much of the interaction was between Nakatani and Ninh; with Ninh's classical grace playing against the Nakatani's more muscular approach. The set was about 30-45 minutes long, well, well worth seeing.
The set worked better than I'd imagined, very stormy with lots of high drama, but also with quieter, more contemplative moments. Meehan sat out a fair bit as would be imagined, but his contributions really changed the action everytime he came in, less commenting than adjusting. I got to see him reprise the effect of his solo set before the Jerman/Barnes/Daniell show, with him playing very, very loud, hitting the cymbal on his snare with the mallet. Much of the interaction was between Nakatani and Ninh; with Ninh's classical grace playing against the Nakatani's more muscular approach. The set was about 30-45 minutes long, well, well worth seeing.
