The Heat Recedes...

Hooray! I installed the air conditioner over the weekend (with extra-special thanks to Jen for helping), so I'm slowly but surely crawling out of the heat-induced funk I've been in. (Of course, no sooner have I gotten my apartment taken care of than I get in to work this morning to find that the air conditioning had been turned off in our building -- fortunately, it was quickly turned back on as the complaints reached critical mass...)

Anyhow, some words about the Qatsi trilogy, or at least the two thirds I saw (Koyaanisqatsi and Naqoyqatsi). Naqoyqatsi was by far the better performed, and its more polyphonic and complex score better suited the 10-piece ensemble than the more orchestral/choral score for Koyaanisqatsi. I mean, Koyaanisqatsi's "Vessels" was written for a real, live choir, and hearing it fudged by a keyboardist with a "choir" pad just doesn't cut it, you know? (And, dare I add, I caught more than a few performance flubs...) Still, both nights had their great moments, whether it be the blistering performance of "The Grid" (the opening of which still gives me goosebumps) or almost any of the great swooping cello cadenzas performed by Maya Beiser.

Interestingly, the "City" sequence of Koyaanisqatsi always makes me feel a bit homesick for the Midwest -- odd because it was mostly shot in New York City where I live now. Probably because I associate the imagery with KCPT's "Part of the Quality City" station identification, which consisted of sped-up images of Kansas City set to the kind of "fusion jazz" that was inexplicably popular back in the late Eighties. I wonder if they still show it back in KC -- it was a great promo, even if it could have used a better soundtrack. Maybe I'll check when I visit the ol' homestead next month...