[DID NOT ATTEND: May 28, 2024] Negativland / J Lesser
I saw Negativland in 2000. I was a big fan of them in the 1980s and 90s. So seeing them live was a real trip. Hearing and seeing The Weatherman in person was something I never thought I’d be able to do.
I didn’t really realize they toured from time to time (they played PhilaMOCA in 2022!). I really haven’t paid too much attention to them in the last twenty years, so when I saw this tour announcement I jumped at the chance to see them again. It would have been cool to see them 24 years later.
I didn’t realize that it was the same night for a show that I really wanted to see, Francis of Delirium. So I debated on which artist to check out. A seated show at PhilaMOCA or a bouncy show at Johnny Brenda’s. Logically, this was the show to go to, but I went with my heart and went to Francis instead.
Sue Slagle (SUE-C) is an award-winning artist, engineer and educator whose work in “real time cinema” presents a new, imaginative perspective on live performance. Her performances blend cinema and technology into an organic, improvisational and immersive act, created from live cameras, light pads and video algorithms. She has always pushed the boundaries of human-computer interaction, employing emerging technologies and inventing many of her own, both through performance and tinkering with hundreds of students in her well-established teaching practice.
I mean, it does sound like a cool show. I’m just not in that headspace anymore.
J Lesser is the stage name for Jason Doerck–between 2003 and 2006 Doerck was a member of the laptop group Sagan, alongside Blevin Blectum, Wobbly, and video artist Ryan Junell.
He was listed as Lesser on the bill, but there is a band called Lesser from the UK. It’s not that band.
I listened to some of his stuff on Soundcloud, and I guess it’s exactly what you might expect a laptop musician who is opening for Negativland to sound like. Lots of noises and sounds and no beats or rhythm. If I was in the mood, I’d have enjoyed this, but I definitely wasn’t.
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