Pre-existing plans preclude me from seeing it, but I suspect tonight’s Glenn Kotche/Eighth Blackbird show at the Harris Theater tonight will be excellent. The latter is wonderful live–they exude a joy and a sense of showmanship that makes their more outré selections inviting. And some of what they play is pretty outré; on tonight’s program is Louis Andriessen’s agitprop Worker’s Union, a “symphonic movement for any loud sounding group of instruments,” which you can preview here; here’s an interview with Andriessen from the BBC.
Speaking of Eighth Blackbird, their blog is worth taking a look at. I highly, highly recommend Beginnings. You can listen to some of Kotche’s work on his Web site. Don’t miss his Technical page, which has diagrams of his Wilco and solo drum kits. Not to mention his writings, which include pieces on DIY percussion and a great essay on Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music”:
“When I began to learn the piece I was intrigued by how much some of the hand combinations were reminiscent of the advanced rudiments I was exposed to as a performing member of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps (Rosemont, IL), while others were completely fresh and unlike anything I had seen or studied in any method book or rudimental solo.”