I'm Your Toy

Gram Parsons is one of my favorites.
 
Here's a video my wife and I shot, this past Saturday, of some of our friends and their performance art theater troupe:
 

 
Hint: If you go *big screen* you get HD quality. 
 
The sound was captured 24bit 48k, on a pocket size Tascam (by Gibson) DR-05 digital recorder mounted on one of the cameras' tripod. I'm glad I had 24bits because I set the level using the make-a-guess method and I walked away to run a camera. :-)
 
I spent a lot of time in post making the sound of the air conditioner from hell go away.
 
I really enjoyed the sound of the real life Wurly.
 
Anyways, I just thought I'd post it, warts and all, just for the heck of it because I think that, despite the numerous technical issues one can point out, the core of the performance was especially strong and emotional.
 
 
edited grammar.

This is the kind of stuff that cult followings are made of.
I was riveted by the interaction between the two vocal protagonists (both visually and sonically), and the rhythm section and extras that were there for the supporting role.
The keyboard selection was sublime.
Yes, the sound production was "low fi", and maybe you could do a version where you dub in a studio vocal, but this in itself added something that made it kind of special.
I think the "song" section of this forum just got a little more sophisticated.

Thanks for the hot tip on the digital tascam...may borrow that one.  Pocket-sized...love it.  The audio held up extremely well, even with your having to sweeten due to the air conditioner issue.  Nice job.  You know I am watching this at a little coffee shop in our town that has a radio station and while playing this clip I noticeably got the attention of several folks hanging around using the WiFi here.  Really liked the use of the monitor within the shot.  The video is artistic, creative and the audio holds up extremely well on my Mac Book Pro here with Classics playing on the big speakers in the room.  Wow!  Pretty impressive piece...would be interested to see/hear the rest of the project. 

Wow, great performance.  So bare-bones, yet so perfect as it is.
 

I don't understand the setup tbh but i like the song and performance and idk, everything about this is so warm and strange-feeling and friendly that I actually want to see more. Good quality video (great editing!!) and audio, too.

I am going to tell you what I got from the performance and please tell me if I am close. The guy on the bed with the girl is the guy in the song that the girl is with now, and all the people with bloody noses represents people banged up by bad relationships. The guy on the bed is just chilling secure in the fact that he has the girl , while the guy and girl both are really wanting to be together.

teego
I am going to tell you what I got from the performance and please tell me if I am close. The guy on the bed with the girl is the guy in the song that the girl is with now, and all the people with bloody noses represents people banged up by bad relationships. The guy on the bed is just chilling secure in the fact that he has the girl , while the guy and girl both are really wanting to be together.

I'll pass this on to the performers. I suspect you are very close to interpreting their intent. I think they'll enjoy learning of your interpretation and I can share with you the idea that I have a similar interpretation.
 
There is one detail I haven't shared that may be helpful to understanding. The set list serves as something that could loosely be described as a concept album about love and expectations. The shows always end with the appearance of a beautiful queen character which I think represents the guy-on-the-bed's *one true love*, and so the girl in the scene which I posted on YouTube seems to play the role of a dangerous temptation. The idea is to illustrate the impact such temptations have on a relationship with one's true soul mate. The pianist/vocalist seems to be the *voice* of the guy-on-the-bed.
 
I haven't asked the artists what they are trying to convey as I expect that they want to leave each of us to use our own ideas and expectations to form a reaction. 
 
all the best,
mike
 
 
edit grammar

The production value was quite high. Assuming the tight shots were intended for effect I feel comfortable making this observations.
 
The clown/circus/troubador motif was cool. But it got a little eerie for my by the sexually suggestive nature and also sadistic nature of the super close camera angle of the clown on the Big Screen tv. It suggests a madman who's sophisticated enough to accomplish his deeds but unaware of social normative behavior; infact he's glued to it. His nerdy shoes and wearing stockings suggests he's effeminate. Her sultry walk and carrying wine, then pouring it on the dead man suggests that she's the real motivation behind the crime - laying upside, singing, suggest she's really the one who's found this mad man and she's figured out a way to live through him and she creates these erotoscapes by simply tuning him to her plans. He thinks he's in control and really it's her.
 
My take away is that we've just seen a murder and the two singers are simply enjoying the premable to the climax of their crime. For me, it was very pornographic in nature...especially the laying around and tight shots of the female. The two other players, were suggestive to me of pawns in the crime. There, participants, but not really "there". Their sullen faces suggested remorse, but not to overcome their ambivalence.
 
The cropping of the video is just a part of the story telling as the actual words, or color or sounds. Your mind fills in the gaps of what you can't see with what's most closely intimated by the motions.
 
I thought it was provocative and suspenseful. I watched the whole thing - but watching it made me feel a little icky...I literally thought...omg, they are going to have an orgy after this song.
 
It's art, so I guess there's what you intend and there's how I took it. :) 

Great audio especially knowing how you managed to capture it and the other things that were interfering with the recording. The video was good too. 
 
I don't really know what my IQ tests at lol....but I guess I didn't get it because I didn't attempt to get it.Attempting to get it would certainly need deeper look from me. I took the performance at face value and it had a kind of relaxing effect between the art and the music. I think the Wurly contributed greatly to the effect of the entire performance. Melancholic for sure.
 
This is certainly a more sophisticated approach to performance. It had to take some major forethought to come up with something like this...I'm sure there's plenty of ulterior meaning I'm probably not up for.

Interesting bunch of people you are working with there Mike.
 
I was kinda tired and thought the bed looked cozy. 

yeah...awesome share and discourse. 
 
I too agree with the relative nature of interpretations of art and music.  And, especially appreciate the way you explained each interpretation as taking precedence.  Much like in scholarly circles, and especially professional learning communities now on the Web, the reviews often take into account what others have thus far discovered only to reach a new level of thought for everyone!
 
Whoa...this kind of work is good for building consciousness.  I think.
 
Much Enjoyed More Opportunity to Ponder,
-Sky