Nadeem Salaam
Last night after walking around the circle stage setup in LPR’s main room floor about 5 times just to appreciate it, Haitian born Brooklyn-based artist Val-inc soon hopped on a little past 11:00pm. No one knew what to expect, but deep down the question rumbling was soon answered with a yes; someone who opens for the avant-jazz trio Dawn Of Midi, has to push boundaries in some form and Val-inc did that readily. When you think DJ, do you think, push and play? Last night was not the night for predictions, Val-inc played the crossfade with off-time decadence and simultaneously triggered effects with the other hand; she was a one women show. The audience was beginning to get fleshed out by now. Her last few songs used political snippets as samples which felt very timely and stirred my emotions up, they were paired over traditional hymns and deep house beats.
After getting my bases covered by speaking with staff, getting asked technical questions about cameras by a few concert attendees, Dawn Of Midi took to the stage and wasted no time playing a long first number and eventually blended songs well into the night. The psychedelia was prevalent and the room felt like it was spinning. I spoke to Akaash Israni (pictured on the bass below) we tossed around somewhat hopefuls for progressivism after Bernie’s loss, talked about the security at MSG,—the band had played there earlier that night, (chances were if you there to see this encore set, you didn’t have the money to buy a Radiohead ticket, or you were a big fan of DOM’s.)
The band went on to say that they had to be escorted by Johnny Greenwood or Thom Yorke most of the time because of how tight security was and that it was such an odd yet wonderful experience playing to something the size of Madison Square Garden. Enjoy the photoset below.
