Blithe Sons.

Hristina and i went to the rx gallery on 040227 for matt d'avignon's jiffy scuttler music series, to see Blithe Sons. The Blithe Sons are Loren Chasse and Glenn Donaldson, 1/2 of Thuja and the principal evocateurs of SF's Jewelled Antler Collective. While Thuja is more dense and has rhythm, Blithe Sons is similar to the sparse, ambient found-sound collages of electronic compositional art, only played with real instruments. The duo had a large setup with about 30 different instruments ranging from guitar and banjo to chimes and whistles and pipes and harmonicas, keyboards. They also relied on handheld taperecorders that played samples of birds and brooks and wind and other nature sounds. They created minimal whining drones with effects boxes/microphones (does this count as electronics?) and also a keyboard/accordian unit I've seen used by Cerberus Shoal (what's it called?) The music was slowly developing, and more like improv soundscape art. The collective likes to focus on nature and plant life but the bar setting quite diminished that.

Hristina and I have found that it is now impossible to enjoy hearing experimental music in a bar setting or anywhere other than a comfortable audience setting such as the loft at 964 Natoma that Quiet American's Field Effects Series takes place at. Drunk people were talking, there were vintage video games as part of an art installation that were making bleeping and ding-ding noises, people applauded at one of the lulls in the music, as if they were playing songs (it was soundscape rather). This last occurrence quite irked me as it forced the musicians to cut off the performance, as Loren rolled his eyes in disdain...

i hate to be all avant-snobbish, but the appreciants of experimental music really need to stick together in underground venues rather than public streetfront establishments in order to fully appreciate the experience of the performance. I've heard that the Jewelled Antler collective plays sporadically in gardens and warehouse spaces. Of course, then it becomes quite difficult for us to find out about these "special" events. The whole conundrum makes me rather sick, so perhaps listening to the cd's will have to suffice until the straights convert to hear the luscious tones of vibrating atmospheres.