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 | Antony Hegarty
no fistful of love?
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She's pretty.
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Karate inspired? I thought it was supposed to be Luke Skywalker inspired.
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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.
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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.
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He's got moobs.
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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"...
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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.
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Which member of Heart is she?
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lol@moobs
i'd stop starin at his tits if his tits would just stop staring at me
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Wow. Paul Reubens got fat.
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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.
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KD Lang in da house!
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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.
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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!!!
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