Chicago feedback

[Daryl Shawn <highhorse@mhorse.com>]

This is tangentially related...possibly interesting. I did a loopy 
improv set w/my tape decks last night in Chicago, at a very open-minded 
establishment called Ronny's. One of the other acts playing, called 
Sunglasses, had a fascinating approach. They had a couple of cheap 
Yamaha keyboards, plus two or three pedals each, mainly delays and some 
fuzz. Their set started with both of them playing a few massive notes on 
the keys, then twiddling knobs for a moment, then they simply stepped 
back from their gear, grabbed their beers and simply let the echoes die 
down, listening along with the crowd. Not only was it interesting 
musically, hearing different things emerge as the delays overlapped and 
faded away at different rates, but somehow it was fascinating to watch 
them...listen. I can't quite explain it, but there was something great 
about these two guys simply drinking some beer and being totally 
absorbed in the sound they'd created. They nodded their heads a bit, 
even chatted for a second about what was going on, then simply closed 
their eyes and waited along with the rest of us for the ten minutes or 
so until all sound had disappeared.

Definitely made me think about what makes a good performance, because 
this went against most rules that I know. Unlikely as it sounds, their 
shtick totally worked for me, on many levels, I think because they 
clearly knew what they were going for, and were intently involved in it, 
even if more as listener than performer.

For a longer description, here's my tour diary (the earlier dates have 
yet to be filled in).. http://www.swanwelder.com/tour/spring10.htm

Daryl Shawn
www.swanwelder.com
www.chinapaintingmusic.com