Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and John Zorn Spark Walk-Outs at Montreal Jazz Festival

How many of those people would have booed John Coltrane off the stage if they heard him perform 'interstellar space' back in the day?

The music was exactly as I had expected: highly experimental, highly unpredictable and highly enjoyable. So why did I march out of there after 3 songs and demanded my money back in an embarrassingly indignant tone of voice? Well, the absurd sound level that totally destroyed any effort at experiment by the three musicians. Sitting in one of the loges to the left, no more than about 3 metres away from a massive bank of speakers, the performance was one of unmitigated physical pain from the very first note. At the start of the third piece, my fingers plunged ever deeper into my ears, I realized that the sound level was no aberration or temporary thing, this was going to be it for the entire performance. I did not experience discomfort or displeasure, I experienced intense aural pain. So I voted with my feet and left. Standing in a queue waiting for reimbursement I did speak to many people and have to comment that of those I spoke to, most objected to the sound level and not to the experimental nature of the music.

Sure, ridiculously high sound levels are nothing new and often can be an integral part of a work. I was reminded of a particularly loud performance of Diamanda Galas in Paradiso in Amsterdam many years ago, where some songs would have been unthinkable without fairly outrageous sound levels at times, the medium there being very much conduit and part of the message. But in a still otherwise loud performance, sound levels approaching the physical pain level proved the exception. Not so the Reed-Anderson-Zorn performance, where the physical experience of the sound was one for me of sheer, non-stop aural pain. So on July 2, when the performance crossed the pain threshold for what promised to be an entire event, it did beg the question whether the technician involved (the musicians' own technician, not the venue's, as the organizers were quick to point out to me) simply acted without a thought as to what constituted an acceptable sound level or whether the fact that there will be an audience was simply not taken into consideration, the expression of the music taking full precedence? If the former, then such a technician would rightfully be seen as acting in a most callous and irresponsible manner. If the latter, then a performance in a hall that holds probably 2,000 clearly is not the right venue (should there even be an audience in such a case?).

I was annoyed at not having been able to sit out the performance as I was greatly looking forward to seeing those 3 musicians together on stage. I was annoyed at probably not having the opportunity to see Lou Reed perform any time soon again. I was performed at feeling petty when I demanded my money back - a first time ever that I demanded money back after a performance, and hopefully the last time ever.

Checking later with friends who sat right at the top I learnt that they experienced none of the ills of the volume knob gone mad. While happy for them this only fed my anger at the fact that here was a technician with precious little knowledge of the acoustics of a venue, and probably precious little regard for the audience that will enter that venue.

The concert was wonderful. The sound superb. The audience loved it enough to offer two ovations and still did not want the concert to end. If I have any complaint, it is just that the concert was a bit short, but that's understandable considering John Zorn's mind blowing performance. This concert was an intense piece of political theatre and not meant as entertainment. The shrieking sea creature and immense tidal wave of sound were apropo to the hideous events taking place in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sounds alot like the critics' reaction to Lou's Metal Music back in the day. It is art performed by artists that caused a strong emotional reaction. Sounds like, on some level, it was a success.

I found myself line dancing. Good times.

Oh no!
Who would've expected Lou Reed and John Zorn to go up on stage and play something somewhat challenging?
I was absolutely shocked when I payed to see this and was greeted by something not quite half as abrasive as some of the artists' most famous material!
I was looking forward to hearing them to play a heartfelt rendition of "Free Bird" just for me, not this avant-garde crap that they've been playing for literally decades!

When I started out I was inspired by people like Ornette Coleman. He has always been a great influence- Lou Reed
Even though John Cale's influence and the work he did with minimalist composers John Cage and LaMonte Young heavily influenced the early work of the Velvet Underground, there was another strong influence at work with the band. Lou Reed said that "European Son" was his way of trying to imitate Ornette Coleman with guitars- I don't think it was successful but it was still a mind-melting blast. Later on, Lou would follow this influence by using the late Don Cherry (a Coleman sideman and a great player himself) as part of his stage band in the late '70s and recording The Bells with him. Reed actually can full circle when he made a guest appearance with Ornette and Prime Time at their live show at Avery Fisher Hall in New York in '97: since Lou is playing the elder musical statesman nowadays, he decided to do 'Satellite of Love' rather than 'European Son' (which would have been more appropriate).

John Zorn plays avant noise and is known
For making bird calls
Lou reed made metal machine music
Laurie plays tape loops on
A
Violin. They alreadyade a cd
Of this group.
I did see
Lou once with zorn as a sideman
For his ban , Lou reed band ,
He did
Sweet jamme walk on wild etc,
You canadiens would have hated it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Zorn

I'm glad you dummies got your money taken.
If only I could figure out who to charge idiots $100 and then ruin their day in such a glorious fashion.

I read through the majority of the comments and find it quite odd that Joseph, who had the most to say, and that was in strong defense of the artists, WASN'T THERE.......I repeat WASN'T THERE!