Pondering on the Intricacies of Life

Laurie Anderson in Concert @ the B3 Biennale in Frankfurt, Germany.

Laurie Anderson gave her one and only concert in Europe 2013, Nov. 3rd at the Gibson Club in Frankfurt, Germany. Invited as the guest of honor by the newly established B3 - Biennale of the Moving Image she received a special “BEN”, an award for her lifetime achievements as a composer, musician, performance artist and vanguard of “Expanded Narration”. Her concert after the award ceremony was proving her mastery in exactly this: extending the dimensions and expanding the meaning of words, music, and images by weaving together the sounds of her famous electric violin, her natural and “audio dragged” voice with video projections, gadgets (singing with a ”pillow speaker” in her mouth), and overdubbing audio effects. During her 90 minutes solo-performance, 71 candles lit the black floor of the stage while Laurie fathomed incongruence in our perception of natural and social evolution. Structured by intense and sometimes sacral violin sequences her strong narratives brought into question how we treat each other once the veil of normalcy cannot be held up any longer.

Sitting in a comfortable lounge chair she pondered about the intricacies of live and how to cope with the end of it. Her clear and steady voice, straight countenance and precise gestures conveyed an air of sobriety, but also humor and confidence. An audience of more than 450 people enjoyed a thoughtful and surely remarkable evening with Laurie Anderson.

Werner Lorke (Initiator)

All photos by Clemens Mitscher.