Music Features

Rare Frequencies: Callithumpian Consort, Thurston Moore and Bill Nace

Louder than bombs

By SUSANNA BOLLE | January 20, 2009

Thurston Moore

Although composer JOHN CAGE is best known for 4'33" of silence, he could raise a ruckus when the mood struck. After all, even the calmest, most optimistic person can feel the need to shout or, at the very least, write a really loud piece. Cage wrote Lecture on the Weather, which will be performed this Tuesday by the CALLITHUMPIAN CONSORT, in honor of the American Bicentennial. The piece starts quietly enough, with individual voices intoning fragmentary passages from Thoreau, but then it erupts into a whirlwind of sound featuring deafening recordings of storms made by Maryanne Amarcher.

"I think when I heard the American premiere over at Sanders Theatre, the people at Harvard borrowed Aerosmith's sound system," says STEPHEN DRURY, Callithumpian's artistic director. Lecture is one of Cage's most overtly political works, and in its preface he is pointedly critical of the US government. "While a new president was not what Cage had in mind, I think it's safe to say that the last eight years are a very good example of what he was railing against. At the very least, this piece is about wiping the slate clean."

Oh, and to prepare your delicate ears for this onslaught, you can do a little pre-emptive listening with the bracing guitar duo of THURSTON MOORE (yes, of Sonic Youth fame) and BILL NACE. Moore's name may be the one that lights up the marquee, but the young Nace — a veteran of the amazing Vampire Belt — is no slouch. They're part of a bill at the Milky Way featuring all manner of avant-rock strangeness from Western Mass.

Related: Bound for greatness, Interview and photos: Gerard Malanga, Review: (Untitled), More

Bound for greatness
Twenty years ago, Damon and Naomi founded Exact Change, a small publishing house (okay, a small publishing room) specializing in a wide range of near-forgotten texts from the far-flung fringes of Dada, Surrealism, Fluxus, and other outcroppings of the 20th century avant-garde.
Interview and photos: Gerard Malanga
In Walt Whitman’s notebook for the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass , he writes, “Every soul has its own individual voice.” That notion rang true for photographer/poet/filmmaker Gerard Malanga as he put together “Souls,” an exhibit of 100 portraits spanning five decades.
Review: (Untitled)
Woody Allen might have passed on making this film 35 years ago because it was too dated and middlebrow.
The best is noise
One night last winter, Thurston Moore and Swedish sax kingpin Mats Gustafsson popped into the Middle East upstairs for an off-the-cuff performance together. The loose group arrangement — Bill Nace and Chris Corsano joined in at the last minute — made for a thrill that you hardly ever get in rock-music circles.
The Big Hurt: Broken bones and stripper poles
Only a few weeks ago, I was making fun of Aerosmith for their inability to present Aerosmith in their Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Presents Aerosmith tour.
Review: Suzanne Vega at Sanders Theatre
At the request of former Czech President Vaclav Havel, folk/alt-rock legend Suzanne Vega performed in Prague on Saturday with the likes of Lou Reed and Joan Baez to honor the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
The end that could have been
For a few wonderful days, it seemed that Aerosmith were finally kaput.
Dropping by with an old friend
Even before there were festivals like All Tomorrow’s Parties to formalize the concept, Sonic Youth have always given off a curatorial air.
Photos: Sonic Youth at the Wilbur Theatre
Photos of Sonic Youth on their 2009 tour
Review: The Christmas Revels
" 'Tis a gift to be simple," goes the beginning of the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts," and it's been taken to heart in the 39th annual production of The Christmas Revels (at Sanders Theatre through December 27). The theme this year is America — Shaker America, Appalachian America, African-American America, and Native American America.
Best week ever!
Edgy gigs likely to be booked solid
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ARTICLES BY SUSANNA BOLLE

ASSAULT AND BATTERIES | February 20, 2009
After a brief stint in Pittsburgh, guitarist and electronic musician GEOFF MULLEN is back in his native Rhode Island, and the New England music scene is so much the better for it.

SO MUCH IN STORE | February 10, 2009
Australia's the NECKS are the sort of band who thwart classification.

A COMPROVISATIONAL WHAT? | February 02, 2009
Local saxophonist and electronic-musician JORRIT DIJKSTRA combines a variety of styles ranging from jazz to electro-acoustic improv and noise to create his own emotive and often idiosyncratic music.

WINTRY MIX | January 26, 2009
There are so many interesting and unusual musical happenings this week, it's almost more than this little column can bear.

RARE FREQUENCIES: CALLITHUMPIAN CONSORT, THURSTON MOORE AND BILL NACE | January 20, 2009
Although composer JOHN CAGE is best known for 4'33" of silence, he could raise a ruckus when the mood struck.