part 2 of a night of improvised music put on by sima at the sound lounge
the first set an exhilarating experience coming from stringed trio strike 3
so tony buck on percussion and magda mayas on piano have a hard act to follow
presumably these 2 know each other from their common base of germany
mr buck a resident of berlin and ms mayas born and living in germany
a very enticing preview of their show provided on the sima website -
tightly intertwined at the level of both the sonic material they pursued
and the rhythmic pointilism with which they went about their journey
they stunned me into wide-eyed, open-mouthed attention
phew - that's a big rap so i'm up for some jaw-dropping action also
the first impression is that there's a physicality to be overcome
magda is stage left at the controls of the yamaha c7 grand piano
buck is set up centre stage parked behind his impressive drum kit
me - kind of stage right so the 3 of us form a perfect triangle
not that i'm doing anything for them but i want to lock into this
tony buck earns my respect big time for what he has done over the years
the necks such a visionary band formed what 20 years ago
their music now is really not that much different to what is was then
but - to these ears and eyes there are a bunch of acts playing catch-up
fuelled by some incendiary musicians ready to also eschew fame and fortune
in pursuit of following their ideals musically despite limited acknowledgement
but i digress - tonight tony buck has decided to play the game once more
now i really want to be totally taken away by what he has to offer
and great to see him doing all sorts of clever things with his kit
a favourite trick being the dragging of a cymbal across the snare drum
and many other things happening besides in the percussion department
but...oh yes...there's another musician on stage also - better check her out
she seems lost in her instrument and making some very interesting sounds
occasionally she is on her feet and leaning into the body of the piano
bypassing the keys and directly tapping and bashing the piano strings
a nice trick but to me it seems not this beautiful piano was intended for
but put such purist thoughts aside and go with her right to do as she pleases
and then shift focus back to the other musician on stage for a while
which pretty well sums up their performance at this time on this night
a feeling that there were 2 quite independent musicians going for it
hardly any symbiotic connection at all - and not much eye contact either
i don't think i was alone with my impressions of this performance
applause was respectful but not at all wildly enthusiastic
improvisation fans have seen better at this venue
but improvisation can be like that
stunningly original one night
kind of average the next
but nice try anyway
maybe next time
or something
