Last night I went to see a screening of the 1929 Phantom of the Opera accompanied by live music. Here is the blurb:
Phantom of the Opera,
film with live accompaniment
presented by Aphonia Recordings
The 1929 classic silent film “Phantom of the Opera,” starring Lon Cheney (man of 1000 faces) and featuring a live soundtrack.Rachel Carns – Piano/Organ
Heather Hall – electronics/misc percussion
Derek M. Johnson – acoustic/electric cello
Daniel Buscher – flute/misc percussion
This was put on by a small art room called Gallery 1412 in Capitol Hill. Aside from getting a grand piano through single doors it was a low budget production. I am going to have to go back sometime and see if that piano stays there, because the gallery is obviously a venture of love and not money. It looks like they just moved into a vacant storefront and started doing art without wiring, painting, or lighting, or even sweeping the place.
There where about 60 people in the place and most of us had folding chairs. The person doing drums was in front of the projector, which was resting on the original box in which it was shipped. Her head sometimes got in the way of the video, which for me showed that they were sharp enough to make a judgment call to get the movie started on time rather than make everything perfect. For me, it made the experience more real and I did not mind at all, even though I would have if it had been in a more institutionalized gallery. The girl at the piano and keyboards seemed to have trouble lighting her music sheets in the dark room, and again, I thought it was cool that she could navigate with rent sails. I had never before heard flute with drum and bass, and the cellist’s bow was inches from the front row. It was crowded.
Lee is always clever about taking initiative in crowds. It was hot in the room, and everyone was uncomfortable, and no one was doing anything about it, and obviously the staff were more artists than management. So Lee went and opened the vent, and instantly the cold night air made the room pleasant. It is strange how a group of people can come together and always assume that someone else will take care of details, even though anyone could have fixed the problem. It was an interesting vent, also. It was a 12-inch space above and as wide as the door, and it was horizontally hinged on the bottom with a chain on the top to limit its drop-down to 60 degrees.
The event was using a cheap project to show the movie on a white bedsheet tacked to the wall. They wrote a new soundtrack, like for example in the masque at the opera after the Phantom lets girl-o out of the basement, they replaced the French ballroom music with techno, and again, I had never heard a flute accompany techno before.
It was a donation event and the sign said sliding scale, 5-15 requested. I have been in Seattle since 2001 now and it still thrills me to know that I live in a place that can sustain independently-produced shows like this; it is so much more fun to go to things like this than corporate ideals of fun.