Sunday, May 9, 2010

Illuminasti Orchestra @ Zeitgeist, NOLA 4/29/10 Saturday, May 1, 2010

No rest for the weary. It was listed as 8:30 and I didn't know what the actual start time might be. I got there at about 8:45. I got on the website with my blackberry so that I could get a map of the location for the cab driver. Unless you know where it is, it's not that easy to find.

They started closer to 9:30 and played 2 one hour sets. Skerik was only available for the 1st set due to another gig. Tim Greene showed up for the 2nd set. Other than that, it was James Singleton, Mike Dillon, Justin on electronics, Mark Sutherland, a guy on tenor and soprano and a guy named Sotero on trumpet. I believe Mark and Sotero were just added the night before. What a good move on James' part - they added a lot!

It was really really excellent. There was something a little different about the improvising, it was a little freer, a little more relaxed than what I tend to get in NYC. It was very special and well worth giving up the rest of the night for. They played til midnight, but I felt like I was going to bed so early when I got back to my French Quarter hotel at about 12:30.

This was very creative. They didn't put any boundaries on themselves while definitely including they were creating this together. There was interesting experimenting with voice. I loved it when many of them were clapping, each to a different rhythm in a different time. The horns would often step away from the official performance area and experiment with playing in various parts of the room.

There was definitely a huge difference after Skerik left. It was still great, but much different. Skerik added so much to the experimentation.

I loved this show and it really was the perfect choice for me that night.

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