1. Katchmare aka Nick Hoffman
2. Otani Yoshio, Yamamoto Tatsuhisa, L?K?O?, Cal Lyall
3. Miclo Diet
Visuals by onnacodomo!!!!!
Half way through the first set, when I was beginning to question how many live laptop improvisers it takes for us to realize we've got to move beyond this, I started to stare off into the ether, or actually, the wall behind the laptop performer Mr. Katchmare, and understood--aha! this series, Test Tone, is precisely about collaboration and "experiments in music" (as the sub-heading of the series indicates). So, moving my attention away from the stage to the other (arguably more real) stage, I saw onnacodomo--a trio of industrious mad video scientists--waving all kinds of objects like mirrors, prints, decorated cassettes, string, a magnifying glass, a cup, a crystal geyser bottle, at two hand-held video recorders. The person in the middle operated a kind of mixing board. If this sounds tacky, it's not. It looks great. In the spirit of improv, and collaboration, the video performers interact constantly with the live sound. If they weren't so damn faithful in responding directly all the time (i.e., tremolo on guitar-->shaking object; noise-->busy visuals; aka "mickey-mousing"), it would make for a more interesting counterpoint, I think.
Mr. Katchmare, could have used some more interesting samples and thought about balance and rhythm in his performance to make his use of "ma" more effective.
The second act started with some nifty solo drumming by Yamamoto Tatsuhisa. His playing style reminded me of Susie Ibarra's although he went for some more straight-ahead rock grooves at times. Still, the delicate and playful kind of free drumming was a welcome alternative to the aggressive showy styles prevalent in so many free jazz groups. Tatsuhisa was joined by turntablist L?K?O? who played in a similar sort of complementary style was nice. The addition of saxophonist Otani Yoshio, and guitarist Cal Lyall completed the quartet.
Miclo Diet was another laptop performer, who ended the evening with some more club/noise/glitch sounds.
I like the idea of the Test Tone series, which puts on a new line-up once a month at Super Deluxe. It's free, so you can't get mad if you hate it (and you can just get up and leave) and all you have to do to show your love is buy good beer at the bar. It's a deal.
Link to Test Tone: http://www.soundispatch.com/ttsnews/home/test-tone-vol-35/
Rating: *** out of 5 stars
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