the aptly named stone gallery in paddington is a superb music venue
i've often thought that churches could or should be used more for live music
other than that which comes naturally as part of regular services
tonight the impressive looking church organ lay dormant
was superceded by a trio of upstarts on their own less impressive looking instruments
i made the mistake of driving to the venue
and then got caught up in the game of let's find a carpark
in a suburb which draws large saturday night crowds of winers and diners
so walked into the show a tad late which was a bit unsettling
mainly because my ears could not adjust to the acoustics
the trio were making a noise that was all thrashing, crashing drums and cymbals
which was bouncing around off the walls and ceilings
leaving me feeling a little bit uncomfortable with my tardiness
unbelievably the place was thin on the ground in audience members
lots of empty chairs amongst the 100 or so set up for the occasion
my eyes went looking for the promised visual companion to the concert
all i could make out was a set of small screens set up like a barrier
at ground level to stage right and obscured from sight for most of the audience
as the first (or second?) tune wound up alister spence took to the microphone
and introduced the band and the special guest of louise curham on visuals
i took the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and make out as though just starting
so eased very gently into a piece of music titled luminescence
this started out with some noise noodling sampling stuff
before the trio took over on traditional instruments
mr spence playing some repeat harmonious chords on his grand piano
toby hall starting out on glockenspiel and moving to gentle drums and percussion
lloyd swanton caressing his double bass to provide the rhythm
louise curhams projectors pushing images from behind in sync with the music
now this is all starting to work for me
as i do love experimentation, improvisation, visualisation
not to mention relaxation which is where i was now heading as i gave into the music
my ears were now tuned in and absorbing all sorts of sounds
the acoustics of this building are so good
that even the low clatter of the projectors sitting on carpet could be heard
i relocated to a front row seat for the second set
from here i could see that the visuals were there more for them than us
in most pieces the trio spent their time with eyes fixed on the random images
as though providing inspiration or detachment
whatever it was worked for them as the music coming our way was superb
this was a trio in complete control and in unison
moving between improvisation and set pieces with ease
at one point i recall being lost in what i thought was an improvised piece
to then witness the 3 musicians do a stop-start with perfect timing
the material seemed to be dominated by tunes from their latest album mercury
this was one very special concert in a very special setting
and with the visuals i have often thought would augment this kind of music
i hope they get to do it again soon
to a larger audience
totally satisfying
