Nosferatu con Tortoise

Some ideas are just brilliant. When I became aware that the band Tortoise was playing the score for the silent film Nosferatu at Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue I knew this was a must see. Macy's sponsored "A Day of Music" at Orchestra Hall, which earlier in the day had performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a klezmer ensemble.

It all seemed amazing to me. How had Macy's come up with Tortoise as the band? Though fairly popular among those "in the know" on the music scene, Tortoise has an audience, but we are way under ground. To me, their music is spacey and psychedelic in an experimental sort of way. It's amazing what the music itself says, or at times, how much the sparseness of the music speaks to you, especially when you're in that 420 zone.

So in anticipation of the show, I hurried downtown to make sure I was at least an hour early. Underground parking came out about two blocks from Orchestra Hall. Coming up the stairs from underground loud music could be heard blaring through the streets. As I emerged from the underground, my body engulfed in the sounds and presence of a rag tag marching band. The people were all dressed in their own way, but all had that hipster sort of chic. As it turned out they were marching to Orchestra Hall not stopping for traffic or stoplights as more and more people joined the march. They were playing music that Tortoise would later use in an odd sort of Benny Hillesque chase scene. Upon entering the theater, the marching band did a full lap around the hall playing that same odd tune. Fans in the hall showed their enthusiasm with rousing applause

A little while later, the movie started with Tortoise playing the score. Since I'd heard about this show, the thought that it could be amazing stood out in my head. I was not disappointed. Tortoise was dead on illuminating the story of the movie for you, with there mastery of creating mood with their instrumentation, rhythm, tone changes, and variations in volume. The were amazing linking their sound with what was happening in the movie. For instance, as carriage was racing down a path the music was frantic in its speed using percussion instruments to create the sound and feeling that horses were galloping along. These subtle nuances Tortoise worked in made it one of the most amazing cinematic experiences that I've ever seen. (For Tortoise's offical site)