Lotus

1.28.2005

Northstar Bar - Philadelphia, PA

I: 2-Step Improvisation > Arupa, Something You Said > Fulafre, Greet the Mind, Mellow Rock IDM, Shimmer and Out (intro tease) > Flower Sermon

II: Jack it Up > Did Fatt, Music for Mallets Winds and Percussion, Through the Mirror, Improvisation at 136bpm > Nematode

This is not a great recording. It is maybe not even a good recording. But, I wanted to highlight this show because I think it is an interesting one. Over the years Lotus has used a number of special sets to experiment with different styles and  performance techniques. These include the 2.22.2010 Post-Rock set, 10.29.2016 Space Disco set, 8.31.2019 Modular set and the 5-Petals all-improvisational sets. This one went down on Jan. 28, 2005 at Northstar Bar - a small rock club in Philly that packed about 250 into a narrow hall with a small balcony. We called it “Loops, Improvs and Experiments” and tried out all kinds of things from electronica loops from my Zip-Disk driven sampler to a West African all-drum piece to a minimalist composition I wrote in college. The crowd (as is clearly heard in the recording) is quite inebriated, but seems to be having a hell of a time despite the (at times) jarring swings between genres. Enjoy this small piece of Lotus history. Remastered from audience recording by Chris Kantner. - Jesse Miller