Last Sunday, I was lucky enough to see Vox Arcana. Yes, this another one of those "weird" jazz bands. No matter how many times I see a performance like this, I am amazed that I get to see it in Lexington, KY for such low cost. I guess we Lexintonians are lucky to have a local guy who has managed to get these musicians to come play in town. It doesn't hurt that Lexington is on the way back to Chicago, where most of these guys live.
I mentioned in earlier posts that the restaurant where these "weird" jazz shows had been taking place closed down. So, this show was in a new place: the garage of an old building which is being restored. It sounds like it'd be a bad environment, but in fact the garage is being rented to a local hacker/technology group that has given the garage a nice coat of paint and has even provided toilet paper in the restroom.
Vox Arcana is three piece:
Tim Daisy - Composer and percussion
James Falzone - Clarinet
Fred Lonberg-Holm - Cello and electronics
The band set up just about in the middle of the room. There were a couple rows of chairs arranged in a semi-circle around the band. One of the main reasons I love shows like this is how close you get to sit to the band. I was maybe ten feet away, and could have been closer if I wanted. You get to hear every little noise the musicians make. This just makes it that much easier for me to get entranced by the music. I also like being able to buy a CD from the band members themselves. There's also something nice about being able to tell them you enjoyed the show.
I have found some videos of Vox Arcan on the web. I'm posting two. The first, shot at the Columbia museum of Art, is the less weird of the two (maybe). The second, shot at the Hideout in Chicago, features the electronic aspect of the band.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG6XCNeesVE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHsVUKXQJjE[/youtube]
