the piers by the bay are the last places i'd consider holding a bjork concert. desolate parking lots by day, rusted shadows reeking of tetanus by night. they are companions to the rail yards miles south, an unlikely setting to say the least. but there was in fact a bjork concert on the piers last friday. and nine thousand people swayed and stood drop-jawed at the show. and it indeed was a show. fireworks, strobe lights, passionate alone-with-the-mirror dancing, broadway costumes, and a small orchestra.
many things vaguely church-like about the proceedings. mostly the devotion and fervor shown by the masses of well dressed and righteous brothers and sisters in the audience. the fashions were raging — what else to expect from the devotees of a woman strolling onto stage dressed in a white see-through rippling balloon, pine cones in her hair? not to detract from the exactness and discipline displayed by the players. the best tune in the night for this writer was the "hunter" number near the middle. bjork galavanting over the big unison staccatos of the string octet brought on chills. then the sky exploded. big flames shooting out of the stage, explosions in the sky, revelry and ecstasy among the herds. i don't think she needed the explosions. the point was made by the music and the quietude of the moment. but the show must go on.
opener bonnie prince billy nee will oldham played the autoharp, a zither-like stringed box with keys to tune in different chords. strum it like a banjo. ran into nabob shineywater (old friend of will's and a new friend of mine) back at the soundbooth, an informant, telling me that it was the first time will was playing the autoharp in front of people. the curious expression given by musicians to indicate "for a paying audience." the songs were faster than usual, thrown out one after another — a curious approach to timing out his dark ballads. the sight of a bearded kentuckian in a white painter's getup solo on the mammoth stage was enough to draw a question mark.
indeed, bonnie prince billy played to indifferent ears. it's a shame, the man has shown nothing but courage for years and i feel he should be rewarded with a decent amount of respect. here's a guy with the conviction to expand his usual shtick for us, the aforementioned paying audience. nay an excuse for braying and complaint. i heard (at bjork's site) that the bonnie one was roundly booed at the hollywood bowl two nights later. pure evil. i took from it what i could — a quiet set that calmed me into submission for the onslaught of the rock show. let the fireworks begin.
Posted by snackfight at August 14, 2003 04:29 PM