Lawrence English & Merzbow
This Wednesday I took my partner to go and see Merzbow live in Sydney. She'd never listened to him before, and I'd consider myself a casual enjoyer, so I thought it'd be a fun night. I was honestly just interested to see the crowd, as well as see what the show would actually look like.
Doors opened at 7pm, with an opening act played by Lawrence English, and then Merzbow. The show was at Oxford Art Factory, a small venue in Sydney, but one with good vibes - especially for a show like this. The venue was surprisingly busy, but we managed to get in right as doors opened and secure a seat up the back on the brick wall. It wasn't until I went to get a beer that I realized the entire venue was packed shoulder to shoulder - Something I'd surprisingly not seen here before.
Lawrence started the show by coming out on stage, chatting with the crowd a little bit, and reflecting on previous shows, before starting his set. He emphasised how the show is about the people around you, and the shared experience, which I really resonated with. I was actually unfamiliar with his work, but I'm glad I got to experience it live - the ambience was great, the low rumbles and resonance of the room made his whole set an experience that I was sharing with everyone else. Closing my eyes, looking down at my feet, staring into the dimly lit crowd - it all set a mood to think. I really enjoyed it, & so did my partner!
There was a brief intermission after Lawrence's set before Merzbow came out. We grabbed another beer, and chatted about how we really enjoyed the soundscape and "journey" that set had taken us on - visualizing things in our heads, feeling the music, just - taking in the vibe. While Lawrence was playing, there was very minimal lighting, just the dull red ambient lights of the venue. Perfect for just, zoning out. It all meshed as an experience - and I think that's what made it so good.
This set was a stark contrast to Merzbow, I knew the music would be more abrasive & confronting. While Lawrence spent most of his set with bassy rumbles and ghostly overtones - Merzbow started with harsh, gritty, white noise. A whole different experience, but one that I was still excited to feel.
However, there was something different, that honestly - kinda took me out of it. Instead of low light, or even some strobes - there was a cheap projector projecting video over Merzbow onto the wall behind him. At first, I really paid no attention to it, but it was weirdly hollow - it was all looping clips, ken burns, weird looking CG renders. Like, at a glance they're unremarkable, but after seeing the same maybe, 10 clips rotate... it started to look off. They weren't hypnotic, abrasive, loud, they weren't ... well, really anything. That's when I started thinking - fuck, are these visuals all AI generated?
They had no soul, they all had the exact same duration, and they all ... felt flat. I'm always down for fucked, weird, visuals during a show - like damn, even just white noise would have had more "soul". But instead what we had were these weirdly unrelated, kinda clashing 3D renders playing behind him. It made it really difficult to zone out, and enjoy the vibe. Skill issue? I don't know. But coming from the great opening act from Lawrence, Merzbow somehow didn't clear the bar he set, and I was left disappointed. The music was good, it was what I was there for. But the set just didn't come together as a cohesive experience. Which I feel like is critical for this genre.
Afterward, my partner and I walked around the city and talked about the show. We talked a lot about pushing yourself to engage with "difficult art" or, art that you wouldn't consume normally. She also had the same feelings as me - Lawrence was great, but the disconnect of Merzbow's gritty, real and harsh music, with soulless AI visuals felt wrong, it wasn't just a "difficult show" - it was just "bad".
It's funny saying a noise set lacked cohesion, but that's exactly how it felt. I'm 100% certain I'd feel differently if he just performed the same set to a dark room.