Yesterday afternoon Paul and I braved the flooding of Storm Bert to go up to glitzy Manchester (4 hours up and 6 hours return thank you very much Avanti West Coast) to see one of our heroes Laurie Anderson perform her latest work Ark: United States V.
United States I - IV is seminal and so we had high expectations of part V. And we weren't disappointed. The three hour running time of the multimedia extravaganza simply flew by.
The main theme of the gig was an ark. The end of the world. Biblical floods, rain clouds, iClouds, mushrooms clouds, and revengeful weather. All rather ironic seeing how the weather was to fuck up our journey home later.
What I didn't expect though was what an emotional impact one particular piece would have on me.
At the end of the first act the music swelled and swelled as the Manchester Sacred Harp choir took to the stage joining in the chorus of that last piece. The effect was magnificent. It was intoxicating. The wall of sound almost overloaded my senses. I was ecstatic.
And then the following words appeared on the screen...
When my father died we put him in the ground.
When my father died it was like a whole library burned down.
I became utterly overwhelmed. I was overcome with emotion and I couldn't stop crying. Paul gave me a massive hug. I was in floods of tears. I couldn't walk I was in so much distress. I had to be helped out of the auditorium in case I was to fall.
My own Dad died exactly four years ago. And the words had blindsided me. The grief came flooding back. I’m actually a bit shell-shocked even now the following day. Even when I got home at well past 2 am I couldn’t sleep.
Funny how art can get you like that.
I love Laurie Anderson and I think I always will. A day of floods. A day of walking and falling at the same time.
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