A change, and Cornelius

Alright. This Blog is officially no longer strictly a blog about my travels because, let's face it, I haven't gone anywhere too recently. So, since it has already often been about live music, it will now also officially be about Live Music as well. And the most recent show I went to was Cornelius at the 9:30 Club.

The Cornelius Group: Sensuous Synchronized Show
Initially I wasn't sure about this show. I only even first listened to Cornelius because my friend Stef had plans to go to the upcoming show at 9:30 and needed someone to go with, so she sent me some tracks. I took a liking to it rather quickly. Cornelius, aka basically the solo act of Keigo Oyamada, is often described as the Japanese version of Beck. I think that's a pretty accurate description, actually. Both dabble heavily in the experimental, electronic, and production sides of their music, but have heavy influences in the music that surrounds them in their unique cultures. Cornelius delivers sounds that vary from pleasant acoustic twangs to borderline video game music to heavy metal to just plain weirdness, and every bit of it is sonically delicious.

The big question was: would he deliver the goods live? With his Cornelius Group and a Sensuous Synchronized Show in tow, I can attest that he did, way more than I expected. For starters, the music was every bit as engaging and listenable live as on record, and didn't have to skimp at all. Armed with guitars, basses, keyboards, chimes, drums, and theremins, Oyamada and his band reproduced the fine details of Cornelius' catchy numbers, and with good presentation: matching outfits, a nonstop pace, and even some very ingenious crowd participation. One of the greatest moments was when Oyamada pulled an audience member up on stage and use him as a prop to work the theremin (an instrument which changes and volume pitch based on how far an inductive object such as a human limb is from its antennae). Another part had the audience deciding how many beats the band should hit during a breakdown, and yet another allowed audience members to play a sampler. Good times.

All this alone would be impressive, but true to the presentation's name, it was a real Sensuous (and Synchronized) show! As the band played, synchronized film clips were projected behind them. Yeah, yeah, everyone's seen bands with projected visuals. But not like this. The clips started out interesting but and well-fitting but ultimately not amazing. However, each new song carried with it a new experiment in filming technique, animation, compositing, editing. A couple songs had drips of paint moving, appearing, and disappearing in sync with different instruments. Others provided perfectly timed trips through the highways and railways of tokyo, and yet others experimented with every light in an apartment, moving and flashing to the beat while electric exposures danced around them. As a casual viewer I would've been overjoyed. As a former film student, I was amazed, intrigued, and impressed. The best part was, in time with the lights and the band, it all came together: The music and the musicians on stage, the lights behind and on them, the projections at the back. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Incredible.

I don't know if I've even been to any other shows so far this year. It doesn't matter. Cornelius is going to be somewhere on my best of 2008, and twenty-oh-eight's barely just begun!