Review - Laurie Anderson Concert @ Birchmere

I had been looking forward to this for quite a while.  My friend Andrea and I originally got tickets when she was supposed to come earlier this year but the show was canceled.  So, this time around I was glad it finally happened.

I have loved her music since Big Science when I was in college.  For my college Modern Dance class, we even choreographed a very interesting dance to her song Walking and Falling.  Costumes, music, movement all intertwined to tell a story of soul searching and our place in the universe.  I think she might have appreciated it.  Of course, it was recorded on VHS back then and is long gone.  Sad.  We did get an A+ and the comment from the rest of the class when we were done was - "Well, that was Modern..."  We found that amusing.  Another interesting this is that another group in the class did their dance to O, Superman.  So she obviously was connecting with a lot of us then.

And why not?  She is a remarkable innovator with music and performance art.  Her show was an experience in sound and light.  Everything intensifying the experience of the song.  A sensory experience as well as a thinking one.  Her songs always make me think I know where she is going, but I rarely do.  that surprise factor increases the fun and often makes me think outside the lines - and isn't that a fabulous thing?

I missed concerts in the past for one reason or another, but I was so glad to finally make it.  So, Andrea and I got there a bit early.  We reminisced and got into a very interesting conversation about fiction, novels and spoilers that will be told in another blog.  Andrea had seen her perform before at the Lisner.  She even had her own story to tell from that - involving t-shirt swapping.  But that is her story to tell.  

So, the lights went down and the experience began.  New songs - none of my favorites from back in the day (a tiny disappointment) but off we went.  My favorite song was one about a dog, a buzzard, 9/11 and shifting perspectives.  It was magical - as I had expected and I loved every moment of it.  Thank you Laurie for the stories you tell and the way you tell them!


Terri