Recording: Labikova/Parker/Liu

Artist: Bea Labikova/William Parker/Germaine Liu

Song: [first section]

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (Women From Space Festival – Night 4), March 8, 2020.

Bea Labikova/William Parker/Germaine Liu - [first section]

After spending three nights at the cozier Burdock, Women From Space wrapped up its second festival on International Women's Day, moving to the more expansive surroundings at 918 Bathurst — and it packed the place out for a triumphant conclusion. In retrospect, this was for many of us "the last big night out", the last night when hugs and handshakes were exchanged without reserve. The words "social distancing" had been uttered, but they were still an abstraction, compared to say, sharing a piece of cake or lingering with a group of friends. It is possible that these things might be thinkable again when International Women's Day rolls around again next year — one can only hope that Kayla Milmine and Bea Labikova get a chance to build upon the success of this year's festival.

Leveraging the festival's timing, co-founder Bea Labikova combined her appearance with esteemed NYC bassist William Parker with a recording session — the fact that these musicians (including percussionist Germaine Liu) has been intensely playing together was apparent from the way they tore right into it when this set began, roaring through a non-stop set of free explorations that skipped right past the tentative getting-to-know-you stages that these encounters often feature.