Being an avid attender of both indie and new music concerts in NYC, I’ve noticed these two beginning to share the stage at shows.  I experienced this just the other night at Zebulon, a no-cover venue in Brooklyn (employees come around with wicker baskets after each group plays to collect donations).
The show opened with Kidambi/Bracken Ensemble, performing voice and percussion works by Cage, Feldman, Polanski, and Brooklyn composer Dave Ruder.  All of the pieces Kidambi/Bracken played seemed to share a pursuit of the unpredictable, and it definitely took guts to perform such sparse, often very quiet music in front a large crowd in a leisurely bar setting.  Tartar Lamb followed, an electric violin and electric guitar duo, with trumpet, clarinet, and electronic manipulation/effects, whose “long-form” songs painted sprawling, Siberian landscapes.  Then finally there was Seaven Teares (a Charlie Looker project), opening with a “cover” of John Dowland’s “Flow my tears”; with guitar and two-part vocal harmonies playing central roles, instruments such as a hand-held Renaissance-style organ, bowed vibraphone, and timpani were also used.  Interestingly,  the vibe morphed from “new music concert” to more “indie-rockish concert” as each group took the stage.
I wonder if this kind of thing is just an NYC phenomenon, or if it’s happening elsewhere in America, too…anyone else come across this, in NYC or elsewhere?
Until next time,
Meg