Antony & The Johnsons W/Brooklyn Philharmonic @ BAM, Brooklyn 3/9/07

There's no shortage of artists teaching the indie kids to dance these days, but Antony Hegarty is leading the charge in teaching the hipsters to appreciate high art. Of course that depends on your definition of what qualifies for high brow these days, but booking a show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and calling in the Brooklyn Philharmonic as your accompaniment is a good start. So is performing your first song in pitch black, gradually increasing the white-light level to retina-scalding intensity by show end. Heart-emblazoned white-on-white outfits are, of course, optional.

The concert's visual concept was an exploration in visibility, with Antony as its spotlight-kissed radial point. Truth be told, his orchestrally-accompanied hummingbird vibrato was arresting enough, but standing stripped of piano, exposed in form and facial contortion ... Antony was pretty sensational. Aside from "Cripple & The Starfish," "Rapture," "For Today I Am A Boy," show-closer "River Of Sorrow," and a tortured take on Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love" (you read it right), Hegarty was showcasing new material. Don't expect any fistfuls of love from his new direction; as the room and the instrumentation suggest, Antony's leaving the piano saloon in favor of the symphony. There's no separating the visual from the aural, not this time. So while we'll have to wait until we can keep the room lights at a set level (i.e. in the steady, warm glow of our laptop screens) to get a good feel for the songwriting, the concert was one of the best we've seen this year. But then, we're suckers for karate-inspired outfits.

Posted at 2:09 PM in Concert
Tags: Antony And The Johnsons

15 Comments

no fistful of love?

Posted by: schwah? at 03/12/07 1:15 PM | Reply
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She's pretty.

Posted by: yomomma at 03/12/07 1:43 PM | Reply
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Karate inspired? I thought it was supposed to be Luke Skywalker inspired.

Posted by: Todd at 03/12/07 2:17 PM | Reply
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So I hate to be an ignorant asshole, but.. is Antony a guy or a girl? Or a guy trying to be a girl? I don't know.

Posted by: Evan at 03/12/07 2:23 PM | Reply
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All androgony aside, this show was amazing. My wife is the bigger Antony fan than I am, but I was really blown away by his performance. Also, the accoustics in the venue were superb.

Posted by: Dan at 03/12/07 2:24 PM | Reply
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He's got moobs.

Posted by: rockersocker at 03/12/07 2:52 PM | Reply
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re: evan - i think antony is generally on the side of "you don't have to be one or the other"...

Posted by: benj at 03/12/07 3:47 PM | Reply
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Uhm, WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE WEARING?
Are those scrubs?

Yes, yes, her (his? does he want to be recognized as a woman or not?) music is beautiful, blah blah blah, but FUCK. Glance at a mirror before you leave your home.

Posted by: Jenn at 03/12/07 5:03 PM | Reply
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Which member of Heart is she?

Posted by: mattshu at 03/12/07 5:16 PM | Reply
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lol@moobs

i'd stop starin at his tits if his tits would just stop staring at me

Posted by: laconic sherpa at 03/12/07 5:31 PM | Reply
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Wow. Paul Reubens got fat.

Posted by: Moot at 03/13/07 12:58 AM | Reply
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so i was going to make fun of his man boobs then i realized those might actually be her lady boobs and not his man boobs.

then i got confused.

Posted by: alvysinger at 03/13/07 1:21 AM | Reply
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KD Lang in da house!

Posted by: Vinny at 03/13/07 3:13 AM | Reply
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I love this guy....uh, girl! whatever! I did hope he would sing "If It Be Your Will", though and he did not.

Posted by: melba at 03/14/07 9:55 PM | Reply
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I came from the Uk just to see this concert....6000miles and I would do it again. This guy is in another planet and its good!!!

Posted by: Enrico at 03/15/07 12:28 PM | Reply
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