Connecting the Dots @ Spaces 12/3
The scene was definitely post-modern at Spaces, as the second event in the alternative gallery’s Friday Night Live series presented cross-cultural entertainment from four different acts who mixed musical and theatrical metaphors with wild abandon. While attendees browsed the predictably-cool art exhibits that have consistently earned the artist-run venue national and international respect for experimentation and integrity in terms of presentation and content, alcohol flowed smoothly, finger foods were copiously consumed, and some fine auditory entertainment was heard by all. DJ Brandon Gill was on hand to set the night’s tone early-on with some fine beats that helped Clevelanders unwind from their workday. J. Kyle Moyer, who has in the past described himself as a “technology-dependant musician,” rebooted his performance with acoustic numbers on guitar, even dropping some blues and folk into the ear canals of the audience. And playwright David Todd, contributing to the Cleveland scene much as he has in New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C., presented one of his Mash-Up plays—short “dramedies” that sample films, novels and plays into a new synergistic mix—with Last Tango in Paris, Texas, starring Cleveland Public Theatre’s own Dan Kilbane and Great Lakes Theatre Festivals’s Magdalyn Donnelly, among others. The real treat for this sound hound was the final act, the humbly-named dot. A duo in true Eurythmics style, dot. is comprised of the siren-angeled vocalist Shelly Gracon and sonic raconteur Craig Pearsall, lately known as Plasticefx as a DJ but in past incarnations as half of the Industri-Goth Critikill, who recorded a disc but then promptly vanished. With swirling low-budget light effects, the ever-popular string-o-Christmas lights, and a sweet video projection wall of minimalist band Low’s videos which encouraged a streaming consciousness, Gracon sang lilting, extended syllabic melodies over selections by Massive Attack and Explosions in the Sky, or Pearsall’s own recorded instrumentations, while Pearsall manipulated the soundscapes via his technologically adept Chaos Box. “We’re taking a post-Dadaist approach, a post-Cubist approach, with our live performances. It gives us a lot of freedom,“ he explained. It was a captivating set by dot., and an all-around artful way to spend a Friday evening. Spaces next Friday Night Live is scheduled for Friday, February 11, and promises to provide another shot of much-needed culture for our fair city. The gallery is located at 2220 Superior Viaduct, or visit http://www.spacesgallery.org. from Cool Cleveland contributor Daiv Whaley dwhaley@fathomseo.com (:divend:)
The scene was definitely post-modern at Spaces, as the second event in the alternative gallery’s Friday Night Live series presented cross-cultural entertainment from four different acts who mixed musical and theatrical metaphors with wild abandon. While attendees browsed the predictably-cool art exhibits that have consistently earned the artist-run venue national and international respect for experimentation and integrity in terms of presentation and content, alcohol flowed smoothly, finger foods were copiously consumed, and some fine auditory entertainment was heard by all. DJ Brandon Gill was on hand to set the night’s tone early-on with some fine beats that helped Clevelanders unwind from their workday. J. Kyle Moyer, who has in the past described himself as a “technology-dependant musician,” rebooted his performance with acoustic numbers on guitar, even dropping some blues and folk into the ear canals of the audience. And playwright David Todd, contributing to the Cleveland scene much as he has in New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C., presented one of his Mash-Up plays—short “dramedies” that sample films, novels and plays into a new synergistic mix—with Last Tango in Paris, Texas, starring Cleveland Public Theatre’s own Dan Kilbane and Great Lakes Theatre Festivals’s Magdalyn Donnelly, among others. The real treat for this sound hound was the final act, the humbly-named dot. A duo in true Eurythmics style, dot. is comprised of the siren-angeled vocalist Shelly Gracon and sonic raconteur Craig Pearsall, lately known as Plasticefx as a DJ but in past incarnations as half of the Industri-Goth Critikill, who recorded a disc but then promptly vanished. With swirling low-budget light effects, the ever-popular string-o-Christmas lights, and a sweet video projection wall of minimalist band Low’s videos which encouraged a streaming consciousness, Gracon sang lilting, extended syllabic melodies over selections by Massive Attack and Explosions in the Sky, or Pearsall’s own recorded instrumentations, while Pearsall manipulated the soundscapes via his technologically adept Chaos Box. “We’re taking a post-Dadaist approach, a post-Cubist approach, with our live performances. It gives us a lot of freedom,“ he explained. It was a captivating set by dot., and an all-around artful way to spend a Friday evening. Spaces next Friday Night Live is scheduled for Friday, February 11, and promises to provide another shot of much-needed culture for our fair city. The gallery is located at 2220 Superior Viaduct, or visit http://www.spacesgallery.org. from Cool Cleveland contributor Daiv Whaley dwhaley@fathomseo.com (:divend:)