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Tonight: Cages

As a part of the M&T Second Friday program, the Burchfield Penny Art Center will be holding a one night only showing of the experimental 1970 film, Zorns Lemma, accompanied by a soundtrack performed live by local avant garde act Cages, in collaboration with local string section Wooden Cities. The film, directed by Hollis Fampton, will be projected onto three panels in the front lawn of the art center. The performance begins at dusk ( around 9pm), and is set to last one hour. The event is totally free, and the film and music combination is sure to be nothing short of ethereal. This is one you’re not going to want to miss. Get there even earlier to catch Lazlo Hollyfeld out on the lawn around 5:30pm. Cages – “Vivipary” Record Release Show – Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center – 1/10/15 – Set 1 from David Bailey on Vimeo.

Tonight: CAGES

“Vivipary” is the name of both CAGES‘ new album and a biological condition. Vivipary, because I am sure you wondering, means “development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, eventually leading to live birth.” Thanks, Wikipedia. I could clumsily try to walk you through how that process is mirrored on CAGES’ Vivipary, but I’d rather just ask you to sit with the image: the embryo growing inside the body, morphing from a distended hunk of cells into a semi-translucent thing with eyes into a fetus as alien as it is human which is finally, agonizingly brought into into a cruel and arbitrary world, a crying hunk of flesh covered in the primal slime and detritus of birth (and that’s if the embryo is lucky!). To me, that’s not a bad analogy for CAGES’ music. It’s beautiful and powerful in the terrifying, inhuman way that nature is. It pertains[...]

Tonight: Wooden Cities Perform Sigur Ros’ ( )

Released in 2002, ( ), the third album from Sigur Ros, was a game changer for both the band, their fans, and music lovers all over the world.  Ethereal and haunting from start to finish and sung by frontman Jonsi Birgisson in a made up language  akin to angelic mumblings, ( ) is a profound album that’s as visceral and challenging today as it was then. Enter composer and UB PhD student Ethan Hayden and his new book for Bloomsbury Press about ( ), which has it’s local launch tonight at Talking Leaves on Main Street and features a performance of songs from ( ) from local favorites Wooden Cities. Part of Bloomsbury’s rather acclaimed 33 1/3 series of books about popular music albums ranging from Dusty Springfield to Pink Floyd to The Beastie Boys, Hayden’s book about ( ) is actually a fairly big deal, and not just for local[...]