REICH ROCKS: MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS

    Steve Reich's masterpiece "Music for 18 Musicians" is polyrhythmic and communal like west African music, as trancey as a vintage Stones fade-out, hectic as midtown New York and yet as serene as its skyline, as profound and moving as a sunset. I've seen it performed many times, usually at places like the Museum of Modern Art or Carnegie Hall.  But last night was the first time I'd ever seen "Music for 18 Musicians" performed in a nightclub.
    The show was at Le Poisson Rouge, the new club on Bleecker Street, and the orchestra actually took up most of the room.  The remaining space, completely surrounding the musicians, was packed.  (Mostly with people under 30 — somewhere uptown, classical music marketers were keeling over in jealousy.)  It was part of the Wordless Music series, the bona fide cultural phenomenon that's drawing adventurous music listeners to sold-out shows of modern classical music – with no advertising.  Reich has always flirted with the rock crowd so this booking was a natural.  And you could stand and drink a beer while watching the music, which is beyond awesome.
    Since 1976, "Music for 18 Musicians" had exclusively been performed by Steve Reich and Musicians, but recently, it was transcribed so that other people could play it.  One of the groups now performing the piece is New York-based chamber orchestra Signal, most of whom appear to be in their late 20s or early 30s, half the age of most members of Reich's combo.  Their performance was great, but it was incredibly moving just to know that this masterpiece of 20th century art has made the crucial leap to a new generation of musicians.  Even better, they really get it – after all, they've been primed by all the music, from Brian Eno to electronic dance to post-rock to Sufjan Stevens (who I think I spotted in the audience), that's been influenced by Reich's work, not to mention spending their entire lives with MF18M already in the modern canon.
    It took them a brief while to get into the 208 BPM groove -- the chord-jumping reverie that prefigures the piece's 11 main sections was occasionally ever-so-slightly out of sync, especially noticeable in a piece that demands impeccable precision, but they snapped into vivid focus thereafter.
    In fact, at many points, it positively rocked, and a lot of people in the audience were bopping like there was a tight little funk band playing.  Signal, especially the guys from So Percussion on marimbas, xylophones and metallophone, grooved hard, expertly constructing Reich's clockwork orange, a bracingly organic whole composed of intricate wheels within wheels.  It was as exhilarating and transportive as any MF18M performance I've seen.  Just ask the guy in the photo at right.
    After the piece faded to a close, the house erupted in applause and hoots of appreciation.  You definitely wouldn't hear carrying on like that at Carnegie Hall.  A beaming Reich came out into the orchestra and hugged each musician.  He surely knows that his ensemble is aging now, and his music needs energy.  It got that energy tonight.  The torch has been passed.

Comments

[Melly]

What a beautiful post Michael! Thank you for placing into words what some of us were left unable to express. It's my third performance with SIGNAL, and it's quite an honor to groove with them. So glad critical ears like yours are out there to appreciate what we can offer!

Be well,
Melly