Only An Expert Can Deal With The Problem
Laurie Anderson was brilliant.
Of course, that's an understatement; I expected her to be brilliant, I had steeled myself for it, and it still absolutely blew me away. So incredible, one of the 5 best performances I've seen my whole life, easily.
This was the "Homeland" Tour. "Homeland" is going to be released sometime next year. It's her observations and take on life in post 9/11 America.
This is the best video I could find of probably my favorite piece of the night, "Only An Expert." It also has "Maybe If I Fall" at the end. This was a solo performance at Lincoln Center, though last night she was accompanied by three other amazing musicians.
(This video has a hiccup about a third of the way in...it's not your machine.)
This is more on line with what we saw last night; at one point in the evolution of "Homeland," there had been trademark Laurie Anderson multimedia going on around her, but in a "coffee and conversation" reception afterwards, she said at one point she thought the images were really not adding to the "engine" of the piece, so she removed them. I was expecting images from everything I knew of Laurie Anderson, but I can't imagine how they could have done much to enhance the performance.
It was a miserable evening in Lawrence, KS...driving rains, tornado warnings...fully half the people came in soaked to the skin (including Jeremy and me). I was so pleased to see a very, very even mix of all ages, and I was also pleased to see many kids and teenagers walking out excitedly talking about how much they enjoyed the performance.
If you consider yourself a fan, do not miss her if she performs near you. I gave Jeremy some grief when he first suggested we go, but I'm so glad we did.
Of course, that's an understatement; I expected her to be brilliant, I had steeled myself for it, and it still absolutely blew me away. So incredible, one of the 5 best performances I've seen my whole life, easily.
This was the "Homeland" Tour. "Homeland" is going to be released sometime next year. It's her observations and take on life in post 9/11 America.
This is the best video I could find of probably my favorite piece of the night, "Only An Expert." It also has "Maybe If I Fall" at the end. This was a solo performance at Lincoln Center, though last night she was accompanied by three other amazing musicians.
Click to view(This video has a hiccup about a third of the way in...it's not your machine.)
This is more on line with what we saw last night; at one point in the evolution of "Homeland," there had been trademark Laurie Anderson multimedia going on around her, but in a "coffee and conversation" reception afterwards, she said at one point she thought the images were really not adding to the "engine" of the piece, so she removed them. I was expecting images from everything I knew of Laurie Anderson, but I can't imagine how they could have done much to enhance the performance.
It was a miserable evening in Lawrence, KS...driving rains, tornado warnings...fully half the people came in soaked to the skin (including Jeremy and me). I was so pleased to see a very, very even mix of all ages, and I was also pleased to see many kids and teenagers walking out excitedly talking about how much they enjoyed the performance.
If you consider yourself a fan, do not miss her if she performs near you. I gave Jeremy some grief when he first suggested we go, but I'm so glad we did.