Somewhere
among the heap of silly rock ‘n’ roll clichés sits “the rider”: that list of
odd accoutrements touring artists require of their venues. Things like dry ice,
sparkling water, pretzels, groupies, etc…
Next
Friday, March 25, at the A\V Space, the rider is being taken to a whole new
level.
“I
have new requirements for some of the performances,” writes Mexico’s Sarah
Glaxia to one of the gallery partners. “Need white cardboard of the size of the
stage wall behind, three mop and three metal bucket, three gallon of each paint
colors red yellow and blue.”
Glaxia,
who describes her performances simply (“uses playback and a microphone”), joins
a clutch of noise musicians and performance artists from around the world who
will be winding through Rochester next week on their way back from Brooklyn’s
No Fun Festival.
Take
Australia’s Lucas Abela, who, with a fistful of funding from his government, a
pane of glass, and a mouthful of KY Jelly, transforms himself into the
distressingly squeaky Justice Yeldham.
“it
would also be useful if you all could find me some glass to play as i have a
very busy schedule and may have trouble finding time to search for glass before
shows,” Abela writes the A\V. “any window glass is fine head size or larger.
i’ll be traveling with a glass cutter so if huge is ok. i’ll trim to what i
like.”
Abela
attaches a couple of contact microphones to his glass and runs them through a
series of effects pedals hanging from his belt. So the sound of his well-lubed
face smearing the glass can be distorted and contorted in limitless directions.
Then
there are the contemporary Aktionists: folks like Switzerland’s Rudolf Eb.er
and Dave Phillips who take their cue from the Viennese abject art movement and
push it further and further, incorporating things like dead fish, vomit, and
tubing into their animalistic but meticulously choreographed and executed (not
to mention Swiss government-funded) “aktions.”
Whatever
your sensibilities, there’s no denying that these artists put on shows you can,
quite literally, feel. No detached irony or written-in performances here. These
people are invested in what they do. And what they do is like your worst
childhood nightmare come to life.
Whether
the A\V Space will survive to tell the tale is anyone’s guess. In one
particularly funny exchange between gallery partner Joe Tunis and Lucas Abela,
Tunis writes: “just wondering what your experience is with getting blood out of
hard-wood floors? : ) seriously though, i’m wondering if i should put some sort
of drop cloth down. my gallery partners might get weirded out. let me know what
you think. cool man.”
Luckily,
A\V will embark on something of a trial run three nights prior, on Tuesday,
March 22, with performances by other No Fun vets like the kissy-faced and
relatively subdued Dead Machines (Tovah O’Rourke with husband and Wolf Eyes
member John Olson) and Rochester improv provocateurs Pengo, who join the
amplified needles and kitchen utensils of Wisconsin’s Right Arm Severed, The
Haunting, and Sick Llama.
The
A\V Space hosts “Post No Fun Week” with Dead Machines, Right Arm Severed, The Haunting, Sick Llama, and Pengo on
Tuesday, March 22, at 9 p.m. and Rudolf Eb.er’s Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock,
Justice Yeldham & the Dynamic Ribbon Device, Dave Phillips, Sara Glaxia,
and the Mariano/Tunis duo on Friday, March 25, at 10 p.m. A\V Space is located
at 8 Public Market (second floor). $5 each night. 423-0320, www.avspace.org.
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2005.
