Recording: Spots

Artist: Spots

Song: Revolution

Recorded at The Great Hall's Conversation Room (Long Winter 4.5 – Night 1), March 18, 2016.

Spots - Revolution

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.

Ken Murphy is a familiar sight at Long Winter. As a longstanding volunteer, he helps keep the event's visual side moving smoothly as the master of projectors. It's no surprise that his skill-set there arises from his own artistic practice, which is as much a visual experience as a musical one. Concerned with the carefully-aligned interplay of sound and image his work hews to — and celebrates — the "technical" end of the musical spectrum that is less-represented at LW than scruffy, rough-and-ready styles. But his music (drawing from the quote-unquote uncool terrain of jam bands and contemporary prog) is a reminder that yesterday's stadium spectacle is today's DIY.