04/16-04/19/09 -- NYC, NY @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

SET LIST NOTES 
"Merce Cunningham: Nearly Ninety"

SY wrote some specific pieces for this event, which were played in a different order each night and mixed with TK & JPJ's music:

TOGL LO - 30 sec
TOGL HI - 30 sec
SLIDE - 1 min
ELECTRIX - 3 min
SMASH GRIND DISTORT - 3 min
FILE/METAL - 6 min
NODAL SPEAR - 6 min
PLUCT/SKWDRVR - 8 min
EXPWY - 10 min
  • Sonic Youth participated in four performances for choreographer Merce Cunningham's 90th birthday, beginning on April 16th (his actual birthday) and continuing for the next 3 days as follows:

  • 04/16/09: 7pm
  • 04/17/09: 7:30pm
  • 04/18/09: 7:30pm
  • 04/19/09: 3pm

    SY, John Paul Jones, and Takehisa Kosugi took turns providing a soundscape backdrop for the dancers.

  • To quote sonicyouth.com quoting from the brooklyn academy of music's website: "April 16 marks the 90th birthday of Merce Cunningham-one of the most important choreographers of our time-whose radical approaches to space, time, and technology continue to redefine the way we experience dance. Over the course of his celebrated career, he has forged a distinctive language of movement, illuminating the body’s inherent drama and limitless capacity for change. And as a longtime collaborator of John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, he has played a leading role in fostering innovation across art forms.

    In celebration of his birthday, Merce Cunningham Dance Company returns to BAM with the world premiere of a dazzling evening-length work created in collaboration with and performed live [in alternating turns] by underground rock legends Sonic Youth, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and mixed-media sound composer Takehisa Kosugi. With an intriguing multi-tiered decor by world-renowned architect Benedetta Tagliabue, lighting by Tony and Obie-winning designer Brian MacDevitt, and costumes by Romeo Gigli, this new masterpiece is testament to the boundless imagination of a man who, on the cusp of his ninth decade, still keeps us on our toes."

    Have any information on this show? E-mail me!

     

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