Paul Bosse, “The Beat Mechanic,” is always a treat to see. You never quite know what to expect, and you get this feeling that he doesn’t either. That’s part of the beauty of his set —the mystery of not knowing if it’s methodically pre-planned or simply off-the-cuff. With all the instruments, gadgets, and recording on the spot it would seem as though no set could ever be duplicated, and you feel a part of that live moment in time. Whether he’s drumming out a sequence or banging on a hollowed-out fire extinguisher, he seems continuously busy as the sounds multiply and layer one another. With the occasional rant stemming from his life change as a city-dwelling music store manager to a self-proclaimed automobile recycler in northern Maine, Bosse passionately states his position on the environment and politics to the backdrop of this soundtrack he has created before your eyes. He sarcastically claims to have left his laptop and iPod at home, leaving him to make do with this more hands-on equipment. The commitment is obvious.
Headliner 1-Speed Bike, however, left a lot of people scratching their heads. Aidan Girt’s position as drummer for Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Exhaust may have been slightly misleading. It seemed from the crowd’s feedback that they had expectations of more of that sound than what they got. “Hi, I’m Bob Dylan,” he said as he stepped to the stage. (Dylan, however, was two blocks away at the Civic Center playing a sold-out show.) On two CD-turntables Girt shuffled back and forth between his original beats, sounds, and samples burned to disc, and hopped on the mic every so often. People hung around and some filtered out as they waited for the performance to really get under way, but it proved somewhat anti-climactic. If 1-Speed Bike has more gears he might want to use them.
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Topics:
New England Music News
, Bob Dylan, Sonya Tomlinson
