Lots of video of Rhys Chatham and Liquid Liquid @ Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center

Written by Paul

Pics and vids by BAL

Audio recorded by Rego, BAL, and Paul

Audio mixed by Silvadough

 

Saturday rolled around and you know BAL was on the case as it provided yet another kickass evening of free music. However, unlike previous free shows, Saturday’s event featured a bit more than SubPop’s latest signing and hipster cleavage (although this too made an appearance). Saturday’s show featured the hotly anticipated New York City premiere of Rhys Chatham’s A Crimson Grail, which as the BAL crew recalls was scrapped last minute a summer ago, due to a torrential rain. Fortunately, at least last year’s rain didn’t stop Manuel Gottsching from catching mad wreck and flipping his out-of-print classic E2-E4.

Whereas last year’s scrapped version was modestly packed, this year’s concert was stuffed to the brim with avant-music dorks, foreign tourists, and “adventurous” hipsters whose ingestion of all things sophisticated (read: they heard Animal Collective this year) prompted them to pack the avenues surrounding Damrosch Park clamoring for a seat. It’s pretty remarkable how a bit more publicity (generally focusing on the massiveness of the 216 piece ensemble), and some unexplained sudden rise of interest in avant-garde ambient pieces can compel the casual concertgoer. Interweb estimates say more than 10,000 people showed up, and it’s pretty certain the vast majority of the audience had never heard of Rhys Chatham or the other delight of the evening, New York’s rarely seen but often heard icons, Liquid Liquid. Big ups to Wordless Music who continue to tear shit up with thoughtful, adventurous and delightful programming.

More videos and Liquid Liquid after the jump!

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