Recording: JOOJ

Artist: JOOJ

Song: Crystalline

Recorded at The Great Hall's Black Box (Long Winter 4.5 – Night 2), March 18, 2016.

JOOJ - Crystalline

You can't fault Long Winter for being ambitious and for wanting to close out the season by cramming in as much music and art into the Great Hall as possible, but their plan to close the year out with a two-night stand didn't entirely pay off. Giving patrons the choice of two nights (and holding them at the end of Spring Break) seemed to especially cut into the younger crowd and both nights (especially Friday) lacked that "about to burst" feeling that makes LW unique. But even if the crowd was at less than maximum strength, there was no certainly no lack of music spread throughout the building.

In its recorded version, the monologue at this song's end is delivered by Soon-Yin Lee in a hushed whisper; on stage it comes out more like a fever monologue, pumped along by the heartbeat rhythm. Its minor/epic internal drama (vividly set on Vancouver's Lion's Gate Bridge) always leaves a bit of a tightness in my chest until its blood-pumping-in-your ears escape/resolution. Lee and Adam Litovitz played to a darkened basement, giving everyone in the audience their own safe space to sway or otherwise react to the music before ending by declaring winter's end.