DBR & The Mission

Last Friday night Chad and I went to see a performance at the Lied Center. I received complimentary tickets to a show, and I thought the one that looked the most interesting of those available was called A Civil Rights Reader by Daniel Bernard Roumain, featuring DBR & THE MISSION SQ UNIT and DJ Scientific. The Lied website included a video clip, and it looked like something I would really like. Even though a normal string quartet wouldn't be something that would interest me in the slightest, I was actually kind of excited about this!

The show started with a solo violinist playing an electric violin plugged into an effects box, which is certainly unique and produces some interesting sounds. On one hand, the effects box could make the violin sort of sound like a guitar, but on the other hand, when a violin is plugged in, it sort of amplifies every screechy note played. Maybe I'm biased because I was a screechy violinist for a few years as a kid, but I generally find the instrument to be rather annoying--kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard. It actually made me feel a little better about my own screechy violin playing, since even these very accomplished violinists had quite a bit of screeching going on! Part of that was because they were playing so aggressively--sort of rockin' out on stringed instruments most of the time. I guess when you're slamming your bow across the strings it can definitely make an evil hiss! :)

Despite all of the screeching, during the first half of the performance, DJ Scientific laid down a mean beat underneath most of the arrangements, so they were fairly interesting and kind of made me want to tap my foot, which is definitely a positive in my book. In fact, just before the intermission, Roumain (otherwise known as DBR) invited people to get up and dance, and several college-aged kids did, which is a little unusual for a performance at the Lied!

After the intermission, the SQ Unit (that's like the "band" name of the string quartet) played a few arrangements without the DJ, and here's where our enjoyment started to wane. It's not that the musicians weren't all very talented, or that DBR was innept at arranging music, but let's just say that he and I don't really share the same musical tastes. The majority of his compositions had a very dissonant sound, which is something that just rubs me the wrong way--kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard. I know there are people who really get into that sound (hence the popularity of Dave Matthews), but it's just not a style of music that makes me happy. It was at this point that Chad leaned over to me and said "That was very interesting music, Marty," which was the movie quote I'd been thinking of pretty much the entire night (and if you can name the movie, you'll get bonus points--for what I don't know).

As the second half of the show progressed, DBR and the DJ "played" their laptops, which as far as I could tell, consisted of them playing audio clips of people talking in strange loops while the SQ Unit screetched on. This was the point at which Chad leaned over and said, "This is getting really weird!" He wasn't kidding--it was pretty bizarre. The show ended with a jam session of sorts where DBR and the quartet and DJ Scientific all just improvised for a while. While it definitely takes talent to make this type of improvisation even the least bit coherent, it was still pretty random and not something that I'd generally choose to listen to.

Overall, while it certainly wasn't our cup of tea, it was entertaining in a strange way, and I'm sure we're more cultured for having attended. You can check out DBR's website for lots more information and samples of his work if you think it would be something you might be interested in!