Moonchild

Lars and I went to see John Zorn's latest incarnation of musical insanity, "Moonchild" at the Great American Music Hall. We went primarily because it involved Mike Patton. Lars will see him anywhere, anytime, and I enjoy stalking Lars. Anyhow, Mike Patton made quite an impression when we saw Fantomas.

It was a fairly surreal setting. We arrived at the beautiful GAMH, classical music wafted through the PA, and it was full of mostly men that defied easy classification. The show started at 8pm, no opener. We got a great spot on the right side balcony, and dug our heels in for the ride.

I pretty much lost my shit during this hour and twenty minute performance. It slipped right in to the epic category. I forgot how intense Mike Patton is. He shoves the envelope for vocal performance into the next dimension. It was often scary to be in such proximity to his raw emotion. This music is something you'd never ever want to listen to on a CD, but seeing it live was a life affirming experience. Intensely composed, atonal dark soundscapes in wacky evolving time signatures. You couldn't wipe the smile off the drummers face - he was having a blast.

I snagged a couple snippets for you to check out. They really don't convey the ferocity of the performance. Note that they we're using sheet music.



Anyhow, it surely wasn't for everyone, but I was totally bowled over. We had a fairly emotional evening following the performance. It was something special, to say the least.