by Alexander Varty
June 30th, 2005
Unconventional instrumental techniques noted at the Saturday performance by koto player Miya Masaoka, trombonist George Lewis, cellist Peggy Lee, and flautist Nicole Williams: suction-cup trombone, in which Lewis plunged the mouthpiece of his horn against his face to produce various intestinal gurglings; Mitchell’s application of a house- painter’s brush to the strings and soundboard of an African harp; the belly of an amplified koto being stroked with a rubber ball on a stick, to unearthly effect; tapping the bell of the trombone with a mute to simulate the sound of a snare drum; playing slide koto with a tuning wrench; bowing the cello behind the bridge to produce eerie, high-pitched quavers. Despite the music’s unremitting abstraction, this Western Front show was extraordinarily intimate and affecting, thanks to the mutual respect evinced by the players.