Laurie!
Last night was Laurie Anderson.
While I absolutely adore her, I have to confess I was a little bit disappointed. The show was great, but understated. All of the material was new and cohesive, but there was very little “new”. I don’t mean new as in new songs (they were all new), but there was nothing really new in style or approach compared with the last couple of albums. This could well have been the second disk for Life on a String. But maybe I’m being too harsh, because I really did like it. And it’s growing on me as I recall it.
Her music seems to be getting more and more spare as time goes on. Her earlier stuff was full and rich, packed with nuance and body. There’s less and less of that as time goes on. But I still love it. Maybe part of the problem was that she didn’t really look like she was enjoying herself. And unlike previous shows, she never engaged the audience at all. It was scripted from start to finish. Aside from introducing the other three musicians on stage, there was no back and forth of any kind.
That said, the album isn’t actually out yet, so the show may well have less instrumentation than the album when it’s finally released. When I saw her at the Sanders Theatre in support of Life on a String, it was a one-woman show, whereas the album, is richer by far. And even various incarnations of Home of the Brave/Mister Heartbreak varied a lot in how much was included in the different shows.
This is also an angry show with a very strong anti-war theme, right the way through. Some of it is quite haunting and all of it is well done. Parts were very topical (cranes crashing down on buildings, for example), so some continual development is going on. No encore, though. I’m not sure what to think about that. An encore would certainly have been nice, as she seems to tour so rarely that it would be nice to hear at least something from the prior album. Then again, this was a thematic show and an encore out-of-theme would probably have diminished the message. Then again, maybe not.
The other musicians in the show were very good, especially the cellist. I found this video of one of the better pieces of the night: Only an Expert.
I love her stuff and always will.
And an interesting interview on Swedish TV
And a bunch of clips from throughout the show
