Oh man, do I miss the live-score series the Silent Movie Theatre did last February. There’s just nothing else like seeing live music performed to giant moving picture. It’s engaging and thrilling and a lot like seeing live theatre (but added bonus of being able to rock out). So you can imagine how badly I flipped out when I learned that Throbbing Gristle were coming to Hollywood to perform a live score to a Derek Jarman film. I was so excited I didn’t even mind coughing up Ticketmaster fees…
First of all, if you’re not familiar with Throbbing Gristle, wikipedia them immediately. This British, avant-garde performance art consortium were the godfathers of the Industrial music movement. Formed in the 1976, they haven’t played Los Angeles is over thirty years. Over. Thirty. Years. When it comes to disturbing electronic synth noise-art insanity, Throbbing Gristle are legends.
Secondly, this performance wasn’t your standard “oh look, let’s watch these old musicians play their greatest hits while I drink $10 beer” concert either. Isn’t it sad that I even have to make that disclaimer? Any time a “legendary” band plays, it usually means you see one original band member and then go buy your limited edition t-shirts. But Throbbing Gristle were all about breaking past preconceived notions of performance. With two modest folding tables facing each other on the stage, all four members started by sitting quietly and concentrating on the task at hand: movie scoring.
Derek Jarman’s 1974 film, In The Shadow of the Sun, was a grainy pastiche of abstract and gruesome images. Over-exposed images of burning paper mingled with hooded figures and tarot cards. To see an 8 mm film blown up to gigantic proportions on three different screens was a feat of its own, but then there was the soundtrack. Throbbing Gristle created an immense, anxious soundscape. It was all synths and screeching sonic waves. Band figurehead Genesis P. Orridge (famed for his gaudy costumes and showmanship) used a white violin to make piercing cries. Sometimes the lower-register sounds would be so loud that my chair would start shaking. Why can’t that happen at all movies?!
Anyway, the show itself was very abstract and very cool. After the movie finished, Throbbing Gristle were kind of enough to play “Persuasion” (one of their best known songs). So ok, sure, they played one of their greatest hits. And yes, the entire theatre went batshit crazy for it. But the live scoring made the show completely different from the rest of their North American Tour, and you could tell. The best thing about the night was how special it felt to be there. To quote a woman who I was standing in line with, “I had to be here tonight because… I may never get another chance to see Throbbing Gristle again.”
-Rachel K
