A great show: The Schick Machine

The stage before the show

The stage after the show

Tonight we've been to the Z Space to see Schick Machine, a show created by The Paul Dresher Ensemble (Paul Dresher, composer, instrument inventor and builder, artistic director; Steven Schick, virtuoso percussionist/solo performer; Rinde Eckert, director/writer, Matt Heckert, mechanical sound artist; Daniel Schmidt, instrument inventor and builder) where the amazing percussionist Steven Schick plays large, invented instruments, noise-making sculptures and everyday objects turned into musical instruments. I loved how the weird and fascinating objects scattered onstage became alive in the hands of Schick (I found the beginning particularly striking, with a big steel ring that spins and spins, looking completely alive: you can see it well in the video below), and turn out to be able to make real, beautiful music. I also loved how at the end of the show the audience was invited onstage to play the instruments themselves.