Blog

out and about - Little Dragon. MarkLee

so I made it to the Mark Lee presentation at the Art Institute. Well worth going. Mr. Lee had a projected presentation composed of slides. He generally flew through each image. Not rushing but "Here is the front of the house", "here is the intended circulation pattern", "This is where the idea was derived".... slide after slide, the volume and quality of the firm's body of work is impeccable. he was engaging as a speaker, primarily by speaking about his work. his firms 3D rendering capabilities are hollywood quality. that was cool to see as well. His firm has been retained to create a master plan for the Museum of Contemporary Art and redesign their cafe. I look forward to seeing that work in person. 

 

Coincidentally, I was at the MCA yesterday for a teen-curated exhibition called 21 MINUS. many good things, there was a teen band called Save The Planet. I enjoyed it, very musical keyboard player, very modern-groove oriented drummer. the band swung between bitches brew era grooves and modern/alt R&B skitter groves. I dug it. I hope they can keep their upcoming release raw. 

 

In that vein, Little Dragon at Concord Hall on Friday night. Sold out show, felt good to get in, Concord Hall always feels like a rave. I'm on the fence about that one. Staff is always friendly. Opener was a DJ, tough move. nice beats but that's not quite it. Little Dragon had an interesting series of diamond light rigs on stage and for the first time, I saw a connection to late disco like Blondie. It's not like disco, in that Little Dragon seems much more authentic, but there is glam there, through a modern lens. (Disco was best with a touch of cool indifference). A great set, everything was faster than the recording. Constant Surprises was played as part of a medley. Closed the set with Ritual Union. The best part was an extended jam where you could see the chemistry between the bandmates. I imagine that their studio in Sweden probably sounds like that a lot.