Recording: Expo '70

Artist: Expo '70

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 1), June 12, 2015.

Expo '70 - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. On the vibe front, this first night showcased Geary as an excellent destination for avant-mellow, with the bulk of the crowd quietly lounging around in the room's various corners and crannies.

Kansas City's Justin Wright has been crafting looming chunks of cosmic psych-drone for over a decade now. (His excitingly-crowded bandcamp documents his various paths and diversions.) This set, just under an hour, featured three extended musical ideas, each based around keyboard generated drones and loops that would then be adorned by his guitar playing. This first section tilted the balance furthest into guitar-driven territory, climaxing with Wright rising to his feet to rip off a planet-smashing solo; otherwise, he was mostly content to sit on the floor in front of his gear, concentrating more on increasing the gravitational density of the more keyboard-dominated sections.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!