Cover photo by Lawrence Belanger.
27 Aug.— Long-running artist-run concert series Wavelength hosted an evening of experimental music, ambient electronics, esoteric metal, and dark, atmospheric performances in the burned out ruins of St. Anne’s—a fitting soundtrack to the lunar eclipse later that night. I arrived too late to catch A Horse Named Friday’s full set, luckily I caught the tail end. I liked what I heard, though I didn’t hear enough to form a more substantial opinion.
Charles Spearin (BrokenSocialScene and DoMakeSayThink co-founder) pushed the evening into stranger territory with experimental sound surprises from “the Local Singers”. Their set moved between musique concrète like experimentation, electronic bleeps, harsh screeches and moments of startling beauty. The violin and guitar(?) created delicate, almost dreamlike passages that contrasted sharply with the harsher sounds surrounding them.
All photos by Danny Alexander
At one point, the PA cut out during the Local Singers section of Charles’ performance. The six singers continued without amplification, refusing to let the technical problem interrupt the piece. They carried on with the confidence of seasoned professionals, eventually bringing the section to a conclusion so seamless that it was difficult to tell whether the ending had been planned or forced by the equipment failure.
Between the live performances, DJ BODY////GRAVE (the DJ project debut by Justin_g_Small, also of DoMakeSayThink) filled the church with ambient, trancey trip hop-leaning electronics and IDM-inspired textures. Samples of priest-like speeches drifted through the music, giving the night an eerie, ritualistic atmosphere.
Völur
After Charles’ and the Local Singers, BODY//GRAVE shifted into darker territory, bringing in more industrial sounds and dark-synth textures. The change prepared the room for the night’s final performance by Völur. Laura returned to the stage to provide vocals in addition to her violin duties, a member of the band alongside Lucas Gadke on bass/vocals and Justin Ruppel on the drums.
Their set unfolded as a slow, dark Gothic dirge. It was long and atmospheric, uncanny and eerie. The music was heavy without becoming blunt, and ethereal without losing its sense of menace. Outside, the lunar eclipse was beginning, making the performance feel almost perfectly timed. As the moon became darkened and red, it was like a soundtrack for the sky. Fittingly, one of the standout tracks of their set was titled “Dead Moon”, evocative of how many peoples have viewed lunar eclipses.
An Eclipse to end the Night
After the show, people lingered for about an hour, waiting for the eclipse to reach its maximum. I spoke with one of the attendees as people moved between the church and the parking lot. When I left, the moon was roughly halfway covered, while the DJ continued playing for the remaining crowd inside.
Some people might object to a concert being held in a church—particularly one that draws goths, experimental musicians and other alternative communities. But St. Anne’s seemed happy to welcome music back into the space.
By the end of the night, the ruins of the church felt less like an unusual concert venue than a natural setting for the event: communal, atmospheric and just a little strange. The Church was more recently used again by Wavelength as a venue for Second Summer festival.
Special thanks to Danny Alexander for the photos!
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