Noise Night at Doors Sunday, August 13,6pm—11pm P.W.Y.C ($15) By: Gentleman Jeff
The Doors pub, at 56 Hess Street South has, in recent years, become a home to many punk/metal shows and plays an important role for those scenes. In addition to this, every second Sunday of the month the venue hosts a “Noise Night”, which has been running for nearly nine years, most recently under the stewardship of Babette De Jong and co. From the smooth and hypnotic to the brutal and discordant, every sub genre of “Noise” is and has been represented.
On this Sunday night’s bill were three local performers and one from Saint Catherines, all with differing styles and approaches to sound, as will be illustrated.
I confess that I had not been to the Doors Pub in over a decade, but it is mostly the same, and under the same ownership. The dank and sloping pool table remain. The only thing that has changed is the amount and variety of music showcased on the second floor.
Klunk
These local noisemakers started the evening off well. A duo of drummer and guitarist, both members took turns in manipulating signal and sound through an array of effects, as well as micing analogue objects. Lots of delay and reverb added an interesting dimension to a music box ballerina, creating an otherworldly melody. They managed to swell and ebb in sync, and I enjoyed the “live” drum kit. For one piece, they broke out from a droning loop into a very funky breakdown, before resubmerging into the sludge. At times, discordant or jarring moments in their set were perhaps too loud. I know this genre welcomes the jarring and discordant, but this was more of a volume issue. Overall, they were high energy and very capable musicians and sonic architects.
Haydon Lee
Next up was solo artist, Haydon Lee. Described in the artist bio as playing “bedroom beats”, Lee did just that, using a workstation and Mac. He created very ambient tones and interspersed them with subtle samples. Very chill and inventive. He managed to keep his performance interesting without being sleep inducing. Many people consider ambient music to be without thought or true form, but Haydon broke this stereotype by breaking out into swells of sound. My thinking was that it was more like a soundtrack than a performance. At times, he was in sync with the silent movies being played on a screen behind him, which was a nice touch.
https://haydonlee.bandcamp.com/album/1996
Just Normal
Another duo for the third act of the evening. This time, two distinct voices that intermingled with each other over sound processors. Almost a call and response between them, that reminded me at times of Inuk throat singers. Their vocal ranges were stunning, and it struck me that there were two voices, but at key moments in their performance they harmonized to the point of being a third, different voice. They also used objects to create sound, including a mandolin to good effect. On a purely visual level, their positioning was interesting. They faced each other, cross legged on the floor, the table piled with pedals, keyboards, etc. Perhaps this helped with the “oneness” of their duet performance? Regardless, they were enjoyable and engaging, and often provided the soundtrack to the short films being screened behind them.
https://www.sarahgoodandthebads.ca/
https://shantyawe.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/earthwindandchoir/
Euchrid
Closing out the evening was Saint Catherine’s Euchrid, a solo performer who uses electronics along with violin to create a signature sound. My first thought upon hearing him was that he sounded a great deal like Arthur Russell, composer, and performer, who used the cello in a similar way. The pluck or draw of a bow across strings creates interesting tones to manipulate, and Euchrid did so by creating loops of violin to run around each other. The results were highly satisfying. I particularly enjoyed hearing notes rise and fade, to be replaced with others and differing intervals. I’ll admit it, I was quite transfixed. Although the Arthur Russell comparison stayed in my mind, Euchrid created their own sound.
Overall, the evening was a good overview of the differing styles in the genre. The turnout was quite good and grew steadily until the end. The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, as I found myself in several conversations about Noise artists, styles, electronics etc. with some of the patrons, staff and even performers. The next Noise Night will be held on Sunday, September 10th, starting around 6 pm. For the discerning listener, you can always check the links in the Facebook event page to preview each act, or, throw caution to the wind and just show up, like I did.
*Small potatoes—I enjoy a good craft/ micro brew, but a few tap stalwarts would be good as well—why does it always come down to beer for me? *
https://euchrid1.bandcamp.com/
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