When Stuart Dempster showed me Then & Now, Now & Then (Taiga), a double LP commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Deep
Listening Band (aka DLB), I almost dropped the damn thing. I’m
embarrassed to admit I had forgotten that well-made vinyl LPs are
heavy.
“Deep Listening” sounds heavy, too, until you realize that the
weight of the music made by DLB—the trio of Dempster, Pauline
Oliveros, David Gamper, and assorted collaborators—resides not in
claiming profundity, but in the act of making natural resonance and
reverberation integral to their performances. By turns playful,
austere, simple, hypnotic (in the old-school minimalist sense),
funny, and complex, the “deep listening” happens among the musicians
and inside the surrounding acoustic space.
The Taiga release documents four live performances; my favorites are
Cannery Row and Deep Sound Exchange. Recorded inside a
cave almost two decades ago, Cannery Row captures the DLB
weaving and slithering through a maze of water drips that sputter and
rat-tat-tat. Amid such exuberant splashes, a conch shell (probably
Dempster) and an alien voice (maybe Oliveros) hum in the background
creating an eerie though somehow welcoming soundscape. The
near-orchestral roster of instruments (notably trombone, conch shell,
accordion, voice, and their custom Expanded Instrument System)
is part of the DLB’s allure, yet no instrument is “exotic,” or a
one-shot special effect. When Dempster plays the didgeridoo in Deep
Sound Exchange, he makes it sound like something else: a sustaining
cello, a guttural-voiced cry, or an air conditioner stuck in idle.
Most of the vinyl I listen to comes from thrift stores (anyone
else dig Oaxaca Field Recordings?), however
Then & Now, Now & Then is my favorite slab of new vinyl
since last year’s Hermeneutic (Soccer Mom Ebonics) by Sparkle
Girl, who perform this Thursday.
I’m also bewitched by Yoshi Wada’s The Appointed Cloud (EM)
and Sonnets for Unamuno (II) by Story of Rats. Released
by Seattle label Debacle Records as part of a heroic 12-part survey of
Seattle experimental music, Sonnets vibrates with crinkly
drones, feedback, distorted bass, and falling, sirenlike tones, all
gruffly laminated into a fine 38-minute piece.
Cloud drones, too, though with bagpipes, whooshing steam
ducts, and computer-controlled pipe organs that slowly sway and
wheeze. An overlooked part of New York’s new music scene of the
1970s and ’80s, Yoshi Wada fashioned Cloud as a sprawling
installation inside the New York Hall of Science. Writing about
Wada in The Voice of New Music, composer and critic Tom Johnson
reports: “In terms of ideas, there is very little in his music either
rhythmically, melodically, harmonically, or formally. Yet the sounds
themselves are very special—special enough to keep audiences
listening closely for quite a while.” 
Thurs 12/18
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
‘Tis the season for Handel’s Messiah, which teems with much
elegance before the thuggish moment when everyone bellows “Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!” Gerard Schwarz leads the orchestra and a slate of
soloists—soprano Sarah Coburn, mezzo Sarah Heltzel, tenor Robert
McPherson, and the sonorous bass-baritone Charles Robert
Austin—in this holiday perennial. Also Fri Dec 19 at 8 pm, Sat
Dec 20 at 1 and 8 pm, as well as Sun Dec 21 at 2 pm. Benaroya Hall,
200 University St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $20–$80.
TUNING THE AIR
I can’t decide what is more impressive about Seattle Circle: their
collective precision or the seating arrangement of eight guitarists
surrounding the audience. It’s like being inside a giant zither;
strums, chords, and melodies not only sail over your head but tilt and
rotate around you. The music ranges from winning covers of “Kashmir”
and Brian Wilson’s inconsolable lament “In My Room” to pieces
influenced by the classical guitar tradition, flamenco, and progressive
rock. This is the last show of Seattle Circle’s season, so plan to
arrive early for a plum seat in the center. Fremont Abbey Arts
Center, 4272 Fremont Ave N, 789-8481, 8 pm, $10.
SPARKLE GIRL
A self-described “garbage noise duet” and “cultural terrorist
affinity group,” Sparkle Girl range from sound collages and defiantly
lo-fi field recordings to freeform compositions and hardcore
electronics. You may have picked up one of their limited-edition
releases at a noise show, in a phone booth, or during a political
protest. This “decidedly non-academic, anti-hegemonic sonic circus of
resentment” opens for the Blinding Light and the head-exploding,
operatic noise-rock mavens Hemingway. In addition, members of Lesbian
collaborate with Hemingway singer Demian Johnston to debut as Shining
Ones. Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave, 441-5823, 9:30 pm, $5.
Fri 12/19
GRETA MATASSA QUINTET
One of our burg’s finest jazz vocalists, Matassa sings standards,
old chestnuts, and forgotten gems. With the fluid stick work and smart
solos of vibraphonist Susan Pascal. Tula’s, 2214 Second Ave,
443-4221, 8 pm, $15.
Sat 12/20
LADIES MUSICAL CLUB
Soprano Natalie Lerch sings two arias from André Previn’s
opera A Streetcar Named Desire. Also on the program: Previn’s
“The Giraffes Go to Hamburg” for voice, piano, and flute along with
songs by Handel and Fauré sung by soprano Beth Ann Bonnecroy.
Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E Prospect St, 622-6882, 2 pm,
free.
SLAVA!
No, not a tribute to the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who was
affectionately nicknamed Slava, but a concert of Ukrainian carols and
new Christmas tunes. Pianist Michael Owcharuk enlisted seven composers
including Jim Knodle and Josh Rawlings to write for an ensemble of
clarinet, trumpets, French horn, and a rhythm section of piano, bass,
and drums. Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 7 pm,
free.
HANDEL’S MESSIAH
The Tudor Choir and the period instrument–touting Seattle
Baroque team up for Handel’s biggest hit. Also Sun Dec 21 at 3 pm.
Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 800-838-3006, 7:30 pm, $19/$22.
Mon 12/22
ORCHESTRA SEATTLE
Fresh from sallying through Messiah earlier this month,
George Shangrow and the band present J. S. Bach’s epic Christmas
Oratorio, a six-part omnibus of arias, chorales, and other music
rearranged by Bach for the holiday. First Free Methodist Church,
3200 Third Ave W, 800-838-3006, 7 pm, $10–$25.
