I went with no expectations. Thirty-seven years as a critic does that to you. You absorb music or theatre not on your terms, but on that of the musicians, composers, actors, directors, designers and playwrights. The latter’s was my hat this time, and the destination was Washington DC, where Scena…
John Shand Posts
CHICKEN CHILI BASIL (elsenprice.bandcamp.com) 7/10 Energy and excitement can be paradoxical elements in music, in that musicians who play with too much vigour can stop their instruments vibrating and sounding to their full capacity, and excitable performances can result is music that is merely overwrought. Elsen Price understands this, and…
CONFLUENCE (Bamboozle Music) 8/10 The first vibraphone notes tinkle like wind chimes in the lightest summer breeze, while a shaker mimics an insect. Soon enough other sounds – breath through a trumpet, swelling cymbals, electronics, a chattering snare – darken the mood. A groove emerges that only amplifies the sense…