07/31/2015
Spectrum announces an effort to emphasize ambitious, progressive music by dedicating the first Friday of each month to such. Our first full-night program for this is slated to be Friday 4 December, starting at 7 PM.
In this case, we mean solo or ensemble acts involving at least some traditionally-amplified instrumentation (e. g., electric guitar, synthesizer) performing material at least heavily influenced by contemporary-concert-repertoire sensibilities. Virtuosic performances and innovative, ambitious structures (both frequently derided by less-interesting / culturally-impoverished critics as "pretentious" or "self-indulgent") are strongly encouraged.
Ideally, there would be two acts, each performing a single set of 35 - 55 minutes (perhaps more than 55 minutes, if someone has something extraordinarily important to communicate; this is, after all, prog . . . ) The first set (at 7 PM) may be quiet and nuanced. The second set should be of at least moderate amplitude (but should also have some nuance - again, this is prog), as the live music from downstairs tends to kick in at about 8 PM on Fridays.
There is frequently the temptation to bring in three or four different acts and deploy Spectrum more as a standard rock club. Spectrum, however, in presenting over 1,000 concerts during the past few years, has has learned that the sort of musical intensity and density characteristic of our most-memorable performances is best limited to two sets per evening. We have no intent on presenting ordinary rock music. There are several other places on Ludlow Street (or within two blocks of it) very good at doing that; Spectrum staff on occasion enjoy visiting those venues for said purpose.
Please contact Spectrum management ([email protected] will do) if you have a progressive music event you would like to propose or present.
Spectrum is an intimate, technology-intensive music venue on Manhattan's Lower East Side. We have a carefully-maintained Steinway D (full concert grand) purchased new in 2010 that is frequently cited as one of the best pianos in New York. We have a professional surround-sound system, as well as a unique, specialized sound system invented and built by our Chief Science Officer for electroacoustic music. We appreciate and respect our artists, and we expect the artists to respect our venue as well as its equipment.
