A NIGHT IN NYC

Pianos in New York City / The Video Series Part 2

The Thursday night performances during my artist residency at Pianos consisted of two parts. First, a one-hour VJ set followed by a 45-minute live set. During the first hour, I showcased sourced footage of live performances from all genres of music throughout the 20th century. In addition to being entertaining, I was filling the audience’s subliminal library of imagery that I would cull from during my live set. Striving for a “oh, how cool, I know where that clip came from” experience.  

I describe the concept, process, and execution of the video performances in a previous story, “We Will Rock You.” The video in that story was created solely using clips with its associated audio—video as sound source, editor as composer.

“A Night in NYC” builds on this concept and adds a narrative element by adding drum loops, live bass, and footage taken during a Lower East Side, late night, cab ride across the Brooklyn Bridge. The footage gives the piece a sense of story, a visual elegance, and opens up a palette of possibilities for future video content.

I always started the live set with the piece “A Night in NYC.” It’s provocative and acts as a primer for the elements that make up these multi-media creations—sourced footage, B-roll footage,  musical composition, edited video, and live execution.

In the video’s first clip, Paul Stanley delivers a humorous talking point that is uniquely him. His banter rips through the crowd noise and demands attention while beautifully setting the stage for the—see musician / hear musician—concept for the show. The music starts via a hard cut to violinist David Oistrakh who is shredding over a simple drumbeat. A couple of measures later we see/hear Ace Frehley creating feedback layered and in tune with Oistrakh.

The three minute and nineteen second journey begins…