It’s been a while since I’ve been to a concert, of non computer music anyway. But last night, Jano and I went to the Arthur Russell tribute at Pouisson Rouge on Bleecker St. A lineup of Russell’s old friends Arthur’s Landing, and newer fans rotated onto the stage, including Nomi from Hercules and Love Affair (who looked stunning), and some people who worked with Russell in the early days.
I saw the event as being beautiful in many ways, but what struck me most was the unfinished quality to the performances, much as Russell’s music itself. Songs would start, then restart, sometimes melodies would trail off leaving only a gesture as to what might have been meant. Russell is seen as working in multiple genres, but his flirtations with disco or country were also incomplete and fragmentary, never quite fully embracing them, to my ears anyway. Fragmentation, dislocation, gesture, incompleteness: more than ever these are qualities I admire. But also the ability to contextualize the fragmentation, zeroing in on exactly the right thing to be left out, how much to reveal and what part to forget about. Deciding what not to think about seems more important than ever.
It was a really great show last night, moving even. And hey, it was my first time to hear full-on disco actually played by a band. And as was noted on stage, Russell’s home state of Iowa legalized gay marriage on Friday, a nice note to end on.
