When we hear our songs in our heads we hear them in a very orchestral way but we have never had a chance to hear see/hear/feel these songs dripping with strings, covered in a fine layer of violins, laid down in a bed of cellos and upright bass and wrapped lovingly with viola.
September 28th, in a warehouse in Allston Massachusetts, with
A Far Cry our dream came true.
8 songs were chosen 6 days before the show.
M@ transposed all of the songs within 3 days and e-mailed them off to Courtenay Vandiver (cello) and Ashley Vandiver (violin) who then built parts for all the songs in 2 days.
Day of the show
Sunday
A Far Cry trickled into the space
we went over each song once
The moment we heard the first song
We were seeing the song or real
for the first time
and a few hours later
our dreams came true
Ken from Brighton, MA said,
"I really enjoyed the performance and the backing strings section - it brought back the mystique of one of Pan 9's *you just had to be there to see them* shows to Rugg Road."
Then night began with
What Time Is It? Mr.Fox, a welcomed, reoccurring visitor of Vinland, who filled the room with songs from their new album, tales of Joan D'Arc, love and Religious interference performed by
Brian King (piano/guitar),
Nathan cohen (violin),
Courtenay Vandiver (cello)
yes she was in all three bands! and Mike Leggio (double bass).
Brian King said,
"I have spent countless hours, driving through snowstorms, hurricanes, to concerts, shows, plays, movies, anything, hoping to be moved, shaken, or transformed. Unfortunately I'm often let down. Something is missing. I'm just not taken over or taken in. Or I just don't believe it. But I still continue to go, knowing that at some point someone is going to reach into my chest and shock me back to life. Sunday was one of those nights.
Everything felt real. No clever aesthetic. Just the raw beauty of true passion and talent transcending ego and creating something alive. I'm beyond thrilled to have been able to be there and part of it. That night I dreamt in strings. "
The center of the evening was filled with the sounds of Boston's Unconducted String Orchestra,
A Far Cry who's set included the likes of Bartok & Mozart performed by
Andrew Eng,
Annie Rabbat,
Ashley Vandiver,
Courtenay Vandiver,
Frank Shaw,
Jesse Irons,
Loewi Lin,
Margaret Dyer,
Megumi Stohs,
Sarah Darling,
Sharon CohenAmy Toxic said,
"It was a fantastic night. You sounded brilliant! Like it was meant to be that way.
It can’t get much better than hearing both Bartok and HUMANWINE live on the same night!"
Afterward members of
A Far Cry came up to us and said, "I've always wanted to play to a standing audience."
Think about it
you're in an orchestra
the audiences generally are sitting and reserved
they clap at the end of each piece
and remain silent otherwise.
The set up of a Concert Hall lends a hand in creating
the atmosphere of institution unless you look deeper into ART.
It can seem like a "one way energy stream".
If the audience doesn't give back
the energy coming from the stage
hits a sponge.
The CYCLE is broken
it can be drainingwhereas
when the energy coming from the stage
is allowed to be a CYCLE
it is so enlivening
you don't even feel like
you're pushing.For example
2 shows
1 week apart
The artist(s) put 100% into both shows.
NIGHT #1 the audience is like the aforementioned audience (sitting, reserved, docile)
NIGHT #2 the audience is REACTING to you (standing/sitting/crawling on the rafters, laughing, dancing, singing along, standing perfectly still with their jaws open in appreciation), the 2 shows will "feel different" to the artist(s).
The first night will be more of a drain and the second night will leave the artist(s) energized.
It's a symbiotic relationship between the audience and the stage.
As lovers of ART, we are often in an audience
as a part of the audience
you can tell whether an audience
is a CYCLE or a SPONGE
HUMANWINE shows have been filled with positive and open energy for a long time running.
We all feel honored to collaborate with so many wonderful bands
who we love
and to know that there will be the likes of YOU there reciprocating, inspires us all
to do it a while lot more.
A Far Cry [
Official Site][
MySpace site]
“Homage” Quincy, Massachusetts - October 16, 2008
Tickets $5/$10/$15
7:30pm Eastern Nazarene College Cove Fine Arts Center, 23 East Elm Avenue

- Pärt: Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten
- Mozart: Divertimento #2 in B-flat Major, K. 137
- Muffat: Concerto Grosso No. 12 in G major “Propitia Sydera”
- Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Hailed by the Boston Globe as “one of Boston’s most promising classical music groups,” A Far Cry is making waves, experimenting with how music is performed and heard. A tightly-knit group of 16 young professional musicians, A Far Cry formed in early 2007, seeking the freedom and flexibility of a string quartet as well as the power and beauty of an orchestra. Operating with rotating leadership and no conductor, A Far Cry is generating interest not only in the concert hall, but also with its innovative model. All artistic decisions are made by vote as a collective, and the musicians take care of all the behind-the-scenes work, from booking concerts to designing programs. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, A Far Cry is also committed to social change and harmony, donating proceeds from concerts to homeless shelters in the Boston area, and partnering with other non-profits such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. A Far Cry’s 2008-09 season holds engagements at the Yellow Barn and Kneisel Hall Festivals, concerts from Minnesota to Florida, and a growing hometown series in Boston.
What Time Is It ? Mr.Fox [
Official Site] [
MySpace Site]
10-23-2008
T.T. the Bear’s
10 Brookline St
Cambridge
Massachusetts
02139
with Dorian Wood (L.A.)
Black Fortress of Opium
Garvy J
We are thrilled to bring Dorian Wood to Boston! A monster talent: "The androgynous emotionality of Wood’s singing voice lends itself to the demanding theatricality of [his] lyrics, arrangements and production. The nakedness of a lover’s need and the wide-eyed madness that ensues when that need is not met twine around one another." - LA Weekly ----- "Dorian’s voice is evocative of those persons, places and things in your mind that ring like cultural archetypes (the carnival ring leader who knows everyone’s secrets, the fool lamenting at the moon, the gregarious saloon piano player), but these apparently familiar characters he seems to be depicting yank at the proverbial rug under you and demonstrate his dynamic cultural literacy. Though they draw from different sources, his songs’ emotional roots are firmly planted in his own experience." - Signal Tribune ----- "Wood unleashes gospel-infused wails and testimony that bring the audience…to a frenzy.” – The Advocate ----- "Dorian Wood is an instigator extraordinaire. A shape-shifter. A subtle court jester posing as a harmless house pet. An inspiring addition to the freakish world we now live in...a true artist in the purest sense of the word. Fearless, confident, filled with passion. His songs are beautiful without being pretty, well orchestrated, and creepy almost to the point of being masochistic, all the while continuing to work under the guise of ’folk music’." - Citizen LA Mr. Fox goes on at 9pm sharp Garvy J: 10pm Black Fortress of Opium: 11pm Dorian Wood: 12 midnight
WHO is MR. FOX? a dahl character? bluebeard-like bachelor? a teacher? a friendly furry creature with an intimate knowledge of clocks? any ideas are welcome. Never fit into a scene. never subscribe to a specific genre. just try to be true to the guts of the song. whether it be gospel, carnival, psychedelic blues, folk, country or a collage, we hope the truth of it comes through. Lots of songs about relationships and their many beautiful and demonic manifestations. songs about identity, and trying to make sense of the inner workings of our own clocks. and of course the occasional "i just got dumped," "i'm afraid you're going to dump me," or "you smell" songs. So i write the songs and fantasize about being some sort of male annie lennox. nathan travels abroad like bartok, collects ideas, and basically proves you can play any type of music on a violin. so when we make music we get to be transported to turkey, alabama, ghana, hungary, ireland and sometimes pluto.
Labels: a far cry, Boston, holly brewer, HUMANWINE, live recording, m mcniss, music, Paul Dilley, What time is it mr fox