Antony & The Johnsons With The Brooklyn Philharmonic @ BAM: Cripple & The Starfish
Goosebumps. That's what I was experiencing for nearly all of Antony's pitch-perfect set at BAM tonight. Antony & The Johnsons teamed up with The Brooklyn Philharmonic for an 80-minute show at The Brooklyn Academy Of Music (BAM)'s stunning Howard Gilman Opera House. Antony came out center stage, sans piano, in a white kimono-shmata-sweatshirt-type top with matching white marching band pants and white shoes. Roughly five feet behihd him was the Philharmonic in its entirety along with The Johnsons.The setlist began with B-side 'Mysteries Of Love' and predominantly emphasized Antony's new work and rarities. In fact, the only songs lifted from either of his proper full-lengths were 'Cripple & The Starfish', 'Rapture', 'For Today I Am A Boy' and the beautiful, set-closing 'River Of Sorrow'. Antony's vocals were absolutely exemplary tonight - the best I've ever heard him, to date. One of the most surprising moments of the evening was when Antony attmpted a Beyonce cover. Yes, you are reading correctly, he busted into a melancholic rendition (what else would you expect, seriously?) of 'Crazy In Love' midway through the set and it was magnificient!
This show will surely go down as one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. First note to last, this show was impeccable. Now if only the two heavyweights would team up weekly, Antony & The Brooklyn Philharmonic could become the new MisShapes!
Labels: antony and the johnsons, bam, brooklyn philharmonic, concert review
posted by m | 10:45 PM
5 Comments:
a copy of my letter to the BP:
I attended last night's performance at BAM and came away fairly disappointed.
I applaud the the Philharmonic's concept of collaborating with pop musicians, but last night's concert was not, I think, a successful example.
It seems to me that Antony has a dedicated fan base whose loyalty may outweigh its critical ear, to judge from the absurd enthusiasm that greeted his ephemeral compositions last night.
I believe Antony has a real gift, and have been moved to tears by his singing in the past, but the material he performed last night left me cold, as did the overly precious lighting and drifting smoke. One felt it would take a mere flick of the finger to send the whole thing over into satire. Or perhaps just changing one word would do it: "I fell in love with a pie man", for instance, instead of "a dead man, " and the whole gothic pretense would come tumbling down. Not unlike the recent work of his patron, Lou Reed, another musical naif who obscures his lack of ideas behind a gloss of high art.
But what really left me cold, coldest and saddest of all, what truly moved me closest to tears, was the amplification of the orchestra. Before the scrim lifted to reveal the musicians on-stage, I thought Antony was singing to a pre-recorded track. A very well recorded track, mind you, but nonetheless a track , not the sound of actual instruments in a room. How sad. I had coughed up $80 to be as near to the soul-healing warmth of that orchestra as I could get. Instead, I sat through 70 minutes of canned heat. Eventually I put on my hat.
I must also say that it's very nearly offensive to appropriate the historically, politically, socially, and may I say, religiously, significant words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to lend an aura of grand importance to an evening of songs that could best be described as gothic pastoral. (This is a gimmick rock musicians have been resorting to for years -- think of Patti Smith with an enormous image of Gandhi plastered on the backdrop.) While Antony's songs may allude in very private and coded language to a process of freeing oneself from pain, prejudice, and self-loathing, they remain too obscure to resonate with a broad audience. One could almost say they willfully shut out the wider world. I think Antony can lend his voice to more important music than that he is currently capable of writing.
I do hope the Philharmonic's future collaborations will produce music more worthy of its ambition -- and the ticket price.
It would have been great to hear all accoustic knowing that the concert master was playing on a Stradivarius.
But a question for you - don't you think that orchestras like the Brooklyn always have to strive for these kinds of audiences for their financial survival ? Leave the Beethoven for the old battleships like the Philadelphia or the NY Phil. Give me Antony even with the risks involved.
I attended the performance at BAM on Friday and came away thoroughly pleased! Much of my post will be in response to the disappointed critic that posted previously.
I have come to accept that when living composers debut new material or when bands perform new music- the compositions might escape me. This was not a famous overplayed concerto or a cheery peice of conservative modern classical music. These were songs I had not had the chance to become familiar with yet, but that did not diminish their significance or beauty. I would not label a newly discovered Charles Ives' piece ephemeral simply because I didn't walk away humming...
I felt this way the first time I saw Antony perform. I walked away knowing I had witnessed something marvelous, but not able to remember much of the actual melodies or words. Not until I received a recorded copy of the music could I begin to wrap my head around the genius of it all.
I must say it takes such an unimaginative mind to even suggest satirizing Antony's music.
The work is unabashedly sincere and as with any work of this nature, those looking for a cheap laugh
turn their direction to such work to do so. FYI, those performances that you previously cried at were similarly "ready for the picking".
Also, who is dictating where and when King's "I have a dream speech..." should be played? His elocution is truly musical, and that message still resonates today and needs to be heard. Those words are meant to inspire and still evoke chills when I hear them. I don't understand why someone would not want to hear them.
The only thing I really wholeheartedly agree with in your assessment of the show, is your take on the amplification of the orchestra. It could have been grander. Perhaps it has to do with the fact they were situated further back on the stage instead of in front in a pit?
It was the fifth time I have seen A&TJ's, but the first time I left feeling unimpressed. It was a little pretentious. It was after "For Today I am a Boy" when nobody really knew the song was finished and there was an awkward moment where the audience didn't know to clap. It was a poor arrangement. He wasn't his usual funny jovial self and I missed his little anecdotes inbetween songs.
Still though I teared up during the song he said he'd written about his brother.
Hi, after reading this and having attended some A&TJ gigs myself I am a bit confused about the different opinions.
Is this tape / boot floating around somewhere?
Too curious to listen ...
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