So Percussion and Matmos. Lincoln Center Festival. 21 July 2007

This was a fantastic evening of very exciting music. Among the highlights:
"Aluminum Song" was played entirely with items made of aluminum. Its tempo was based on rhythmic period that began when a can of Bud Light was popped open, continued while it was drunk (actually 'chugged'), and then ended once the can was tore into two pieces after being repeatedly bent in half.
The first segment of "Water Song" was structured by the time it took to empty a bucket of water with a coffee cup. That was the only full-fledged water sound. All other 'water-sounds' were instrumental ones traditionally associated with water.
They closed with a selections from a longer work that proposed to translate Verdi's "Aida" into electronic media. The first two segments were difficult to relate to the opera, though I suspect the new piece borrowed rhythmic (rather than melodic) elements. The final segment employed the grand march from the opera and featured manipulated videos from a 1950s-looking movie (maybe either the Elizabeth Taylor "Cleopatra" or "Ben Hur"?). (The longer work is the result of a commision from the city of Verona Italy.)
Though some of the pieces were probably more fun and exciting to perform than they were to listen to, it was a very worthwhile evening.