Transmodern Festival / ROOMS PLAY

So the Transmodern Festival is this weekend.  It is huge.  Really big.  Honestly, I don't know where to start.  So instead I'm going to focus on this one thing I really think you ought not to miss...  The ROOMS Play is going to be amazing.  Scores of actors and artists get together and make a series of interactive environments and immerse audience members in a journey that is guaranteed to surprise you.  I had the opportunity to tape last year's ROOMS play, which wasn't part of Transmodern at that time, and the video is posted below.  [Please forgive the brief tape malfunctions in the first 5 minutes.]


ROOMS - Presented by the Copycat Theater from Guy Werner on Vimeo.

Rye Rye & Dj Say Wut @ Metro Gallery April 9th, 2011

Rye Rye is easily one of the most energetic young performers coming out of Baltimore today.  She is an intriguing hybrid of traditional hip hop, Baltimore club and current indie-hipster culture.  Not only that, but she can dance her ass off.  T-Mobile, in what turned out to be fairly graceful for a corporate-produced event for the sake of getting people to look at their phones more, brought Rye Rye to the Metro Gallery April 9th.  The event was over-produced and the videos that were released look very slick.  DJ Say Wut opened for Rye Rye and a nice video was released for him as well.  Check out the links below and make sure you listen to more of the music if you haven't already!  Thanks to Josh Sisk for the picture I stole.

Wye Oak this Friday 04/22 @ the Metro Gallery!

Wye Oak are playing their second Baltimore show this month at the Metro Gallery this Friday! The night is the closing party for "Paper Fish", the current exhibition up at the gallery. Featuring the paper musings of painter Katherine Fahey and photographer Michael O'Leary, the works were the shadow-puppets in Wye Oak's newest video off of "Civilian", their new LP. See the video for "Fish" below, and check out the band this Friday as they perform with the shadow-puppets live at the Metro Gallery.


Wye Oak - Fish from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Mobtown Modern: Video 03/09/11

Todd Reynolds, world-renowned violinist and composer, visited Baltimore last month for the new music series Mobtown Modern.  Backing him up was a very different kind of band.  Specifically, the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots (or L.E.M.U.R.).  The robots were created and aided throughout the evening by Eric Singer, who was based in Brooklyn and worked with the Madagascar Institute until his recent move to Pittsburgh.  Together man and machine made great music that evening, despite some technical difficulties that were solved by a soldering gun onstage.  You don't see that everyday.   I cut a short video of some highlights...

Wye Oak tonight!

In a few hours Wye Oak, the dynamic duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, will be taking the stage at the 2640 Space in Baltimore. They've been on the road for months and this is their triumphant return home. The show is predictably sold out, but if you aren't watching this evening you can still watch this video of them playing the first and last Rufustival in 2009. Good times...

Vetiver 03/11/11

Vetiver is an excercise in polished-ease and jangly-looseness wrapped up in a vintage sound that is timeless.  Hailing from San Francisco, Vetiver is a solid band with superb song-writing from their charismatic bandleader Andy Cabic.  They played a great set at the Metro Gallery last month on the 11th of March, and I caught it on tape.  Uncharacteristically, I have the track listing, which has been included in the text accompanying the track on Soundcloud, so follow the jump...



Vetiver 03/11/11 by Guy Werner

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion 03-11-11

Two of the nicest people with the sweetest songs stopped by the Metro Gallery last month.  Sarah Lee Guthrie (Woody's granddaughter) and Johnny Irion regaled us with some honest folk and beautiful harmonies.  The couple calls Northern Massachusetts home, but they seemed pretty comfortable in Baltimore as they opened up for Vetiver on the first day of their tour with them.  The audio is below, and if you follow the link to Soundcloud you'll find the track listings. 

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion by Guy Werner