tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post6055965353282744657..comments2024-03-04T01:47:18.750-05:00Comments on Lemurian Congress: Open Ears Festival: April 28Adam Thorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-47996468736291022052007-05-02T17:12:00.000-04:002007-05-02T17:12:00.000-04:00Someday I'll write the post that explains my recen...Someday I'll write the post that explains my recent "Thought DOESN'T Count" revelation, and how it connects to drum circles and pointless self-expression (I like that phrase!).<BR/><BR/>In short, though, professionally executed Latin beats are impressive and (yes) professional. They involve skill and technique and knowledge, and possibly ideology and history.<BR/><BR/>Whereas self-expression CAN be professional, it usually isn't, and is all about how "the thought counts." Since you can't know what a person is really thinking, and since we're conditioned to simply accept that "the thought counts," nobody's allowed to step up and say "hey, you're not very good" or "hey, we're not here to be entertained by you."Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-86041907106222564602007-05-02T14:30:00.000-04:002007-05-02T14:30:00.000-04:00I admit that when I see a bunch of hand drums, I w...I admit that when I see a bunch of hand drums, I want to run like hell. It's a revulsion to those hippy Tam-Tams (or whatever you want to call them), or some men's movement 'inner-warrior' group, or some new age group therapy thing. PEEEee-UUuuoo!<BR/><BR/>Now, some professionally executed latin beats...I can dig it.VanillaJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362795443692420358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-3474761163212759322007-05-02T09:22:00.000-04:002007-05-02T09:22:00.000-04:00That's probably the first time you've had the oppo...That's probably the first time you've had the opportunity to kick a flugle horn player out of an event.<BR/><BR/>Akufen would have been good to see, I was looking forward to a DJ playing something out of the ordinary!<BR/><BR/>I heard about the "fruit code," and I certainly felt your pain about the problems with the building. Suddenly you parted the gathering crowd asking if anybody there was a certified electrician. This reminded me of those airplane movies: "Can anybody fly a plane?"<BR/><BR/>Seating would have been VERY good, but I can see that "plumbing" and "lights" and "a door that isn't padlocked by the fire department" would take priority.<BR/><BR/>It's the sad truth that we fickle public are never all happy. Given the different origins and expectations of the crowd on Saturday night, the task was probably even more difficult.Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-16228900871723920292007-05-02T09:15:00.000-04:002007-05-02T09:15:00.000-04:00You're in Toronto, Eli...you have no excuse!Except...You're in Toronto, Eli...you have no excuse!<BR/><BR/>Except for the excuse that I use, which is that it takes a lot of effort to seek out these performances, weed out the bad ones, buy tickets, clear your schedule, work out transportation, and still manage to get to your job the next day.<BR/><BR/>So if any of those apply to you, I suppose you DO have at least one excuse.Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-38807000858868088872007-05-02T01:53:00.000-04:002007-05-02T01:53:00.000-04:00eeeww, drumming free-for-all! That's horrible! I a...eeeww, drumming free-for-all! That's horrible! I admit we want beats because we want people to dance but we don't want pointless self-expression which smells up the place. Akufen, the headliner, plays near-experimental, deep & sexy minimalish dance music and he's performed his more conceptual work in many galleries including London's Tate Modern. We don't do tribal drumming.<BR/>It was very difficult to mount an all-night party in a city owned building that has been left to rot for five years. The fire chief is still fuming. We didn't even have working plumbing until Friday. We couldn't even cut up the fruit we were serving because there was no time for the 'health inspector’, and we were not allowed to serve <BR/>'processed foods'. What is this, Ontario? I just wish we had time to make a nice place to sit..<BR/>Peter Hatch stayed late and liked it a lot...<BR/>And the flugelhorn player from Belle Orchestra was a schnerg so we asked him to leave. <BR/>But the girl who made a closet into a change room and came out in a new crazy dress every 20 minutes was brilliant.<BR/>Anyways, forget the public, I'm making my own art for a while...<BR/><BR/>IAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-76657543106835401822007-05-01T16:44:00.000-04:002007-05-01T16:44:00.000-04:00I really have to make it out to more adventurous m...I really have to make it out to more adventurous music shows.<BR/><BR/>I really have to make it out to more music shows, period.Eli McIlveenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01788862908104582523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-53672282163918818002007-05-01T11:55:00.000-04:002007-05-01T11:55:00.000-04:00I didn't hear any techno while I was there, I was ...I didn't hear any techno while I was there, I was going from comments I heard from several (enthusiastic) people who kept calling it a "techno party."<BR/><BR/>As for the drums, I assumed -- since the drums were appearing at the edge of the dancefloor -- that it was just going to be a "drumming free-for-all" along with whatever music the DJ was playing.Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-42541908421023065072007-05-01T09:57:00.000-04:002007-05-01T09:57:00.000-04:00I'm sorry it didn't appeal to you and that you wer...I'm sorry it didn't appeal to you and that you weren't feeling well. But in our defence, there was no thermostat and we shut off the radiators by hand a few hours before, who knows why they were still on. Maracatu perform a percussion style that dates from colonial Brazil and is an interesting mix of african and colonial drums and rhythms and the singer's voice is like glass. We played no techno. These nights often take until 2 or 3 to settle in and are marketed to people who find bars boring and 'usual' social spaces completely uninspired. A lot of the music was great, Patti Schmidt's set was amazing.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09751418846699907510noreply@blogger.com