Delusions

I went to see (hear/watch/absorb) Laurie Anderson's new show (project/experience) at Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Delusion". Honestly, I didn't know what I was experiencing, or watching or absorbing, but I left feeling kind of elated. True, it's been a few months since I had seen a live concert, and it's been years since I was part of one (which is a good thing), so maybe it was the fact that I had no idea what was next. But, I also think this non-sequitur program was the point of the entire experienced Delusion. Ms. Anderson is a violinist/story-teller/composer/visual artist. Her show goes from one story to the next, always ending with a perfect one line conclusion. But, if you asked me what those lines where, I can't recall. It was moving so fast from one to the next, one didn't have time to absorb what was happening. Random dreamscapes are described, with mesmerizing strange projections, and then cool Radiohead Kid-A- esque music or minimalistic melodies are played...and then off to another story, again and again for 90 minutes. Some of you are probably saying- this sounds dreadful and exhausting! But, it wasn't. There was no time to day dream, no time to think about my grocery list or what to do for work tomorrow, no time to think "what does she mean?". Which brings the point to all of this. I was finally "in the moment" and it was multi-media that brought me there. With the lights, sound, and stories, I was experiencing my ... experience. No distractions amid the distractions! And it was these distractions that created my own delusion of time and space and thought.

Last year, in a recital, I experienced this "in the moment" feeling. Every note is perfectly crafted and every syllable purposely enhanced. You see the phrase like a straight line of pearls, with each pearl lightly danced on. You are present, non-judgmental, watching and confident of each moment as it bubbles up. Perhaps it is this delusion of hoping for another performance like this which is keeping me going from one audition to the next! ;)