Menche shies away from labels and rightly so: Noise--or even the lesser-used phrase power electronics--does not describe the dramatic, complex sound structures wrought from supposedly "ugly" sounds. From his collaborations with MSBR on Collabodestructivists (Isomorphic) to his recent solo CD The Face of Vehemence (Ground Fault), the Portland-based sound artist strives for what he calls "vehement beauty," a concentrated, trenchant lyricism that draws on the full spectrum of sound. Menche's arresting work encompasses drones, sound collages, and the shrieking roar of over-amplified and processed electronics.
Opening the show is inBOIL, Carl Farrow's electro-acoustic project. Using amplification, sampling, and looping, inBOIL aurally magnifies a small, often overlooked sound--like a tinkling bell or a drop of water--into a turbulent, thunderous tsunami of sound. Think of inBOIL as noisy minimalism. The drama (dare I say the music?) rests not in the finale--heck, most symphonies end with a bang--but in the process of uncovering and expanding our perception of the source material. In addition, Robert Jenkins lectures on the Absurdist Cabaret. I won't presume to blather about the probable bullet points of Jenkins' lecture, but a human voice should contrast nicely with the wordless fury of Menche and inBOIL. CHRISTOPHER DeLAURENTI
Daniel Menche, inBOIL, and Robert Jenkins perform Sat Oct 5 at 8 pm (Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union, 329-4224), $8.
