Last night I attended this show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. Stars of the Lid are Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie, a ‘drone-ambient’ duo formed in Austin, Texas. The band’s name refers to “your own personal cinema, located between your eye and eyelid”, suggesting the colors and patterns one can see with closed eyes. And while they did provide quite the visual stimulus, as observed in these photos, I found myself with eyes shut for the majority of the performance.
Rounding out their live presentation are a trio of string players, adding extra heft to an already towering sound. I have to say, what those five accomplished on stage was without a doubt one of the more moving musical performances I’ve ever seen. Really.
Opening the show were Christopher Willits and Nudge. Particularly notable was Willits, a guitarist who uses custom-built software to morph his guitar playing digitally in real time. Half the fun was just trying to decode all the folded rhythms of texture and melody he spat out.
Pictures clipped from Pitchfork:
Christopher Willits
Nudge
