Re: Philly loop show reviews?

[Michael Preston <michpres@erols.com>]

Adam asked:
> Does anyone who attended the Philly loop show care to share their
> impressions of the show?

To which Jonathan Brainin replied so well. Thanks Jonathan.
 
I was there too; I drove up to Philly from Baltimore, and had a great 
time. Jim Speer and the LionFish staff were very receptive hosts. The 
space was well suited to the highly appreciative audience. At one point 
near the beginning of the third set, the owner of the LionFish was 
wondering out loud behind the bar about whether he would have to stop 
letting people in the door. It seems that the loop show had brought in 
so many people that the Philly fire marshall might have disapproved. I 
don't think the LionFish proprietor ever had to lock the door or turn 
anyone away; everyone who wanted to come in was welcome. The LionFish 
served some tasty food, and strong coffee (I especially enjoyed the 
carrot cake). Jim Speer ran the whole show smoothly, and did an 
excellent job of running the house PA system. The sound was very clear 
and dynamic.

The music was pure effort and art, mostly improvisational, and well- 
looped. Each set revealed wonderful struggling to co-create musical 
ideas and momentary plans for more spontaneous possibility and 
co-creation. Emergence of Man, Fingerpaint, Charles Cohen, and Accidents 
Will Happen all rattled my cage in different ways. They were all quite 
different, yet they all fit together as the evening unfolded. I wanted 
to hear more at the end of each set. (I heard more Fingerpaint later, on 
tape, in the car, on the trip home.) 

Charles Cohen's set was pure delight for me. As I sat craning my neck 
around the backs of the folks sitting along the bar, trying to catch 
glimpses of Charles Cohen's quick and precise knob twisting and slider 
tweaking, I noticed that most of the heads in the place were bobbing to 
the infectious polyrithmic arpeggiations Charles was massaging out of 
his Buchla rig. I thought that all of us head bobbers were all drawing 
loops in the air with the points of our noses.

The musicians all seemed to be having a great time as they played 
through the struggles of improvisation. Bruce Panula, drummer of 
Accidents Will Happen, had a sometimes beatific smile on his face as he 
alternately pounded and brushed his way through the mix.

I loved it, and I'm ready for more mid-atlantic loop shows. Go Jim!

Michael Preston