The Knife - Mezzanine SF 11/3/06

This was the show of the year in my book. Rarely do they perform and when they do it is not to be missed. Your ticket won't bring you closer to great musical virtuosity but it will bring you to one of the best audiovisual shows you can witness on a small scale.

The Knife works with visual talent Andreas Nilsson - or rather he works with them to creat a show in which neither audio or visual is subjugated by or for the other.

Two projection screens are setup: one at the front of the stage that the band performs directly behind and the other at the very back of the stage. When both screens are in use there is a holograhic effect that is produced and it is spectacular.

This phone interview will give some insight into just what the bloody hell I am talking about:

http://blog.podbop.org/archives/2006/09/18/the_knife_from_studio_to_stage/

This is the type of show I've dreamed of making. Working with George Coates was about the closest I ever got to pulling something like this off myself. I'm sort of reinspired to pursue something like this because when done properly, as The Knife did at the Mezzanine on Friday night, it is something very special making the oft random visual imagery that accompanies trance and other dance music what is it - an after thought.

In a sense, we get to literally "see inside" the music. And that my friends is a sensual experience of the highest order.