hilites - the incredible solo piece by jim o'rourke which he dedicated to niblock was both full of phil & as unique as o'rourke himself, with melodic piano manipulations played over sound collages that he had taped & brought with him. this set was much better than his duo with licht later that evening which would have worked if licht wouldn't have been so aggressively overpowering at times. tho both sets far surpassed o'rourke's set with a violinist a few days later (a bot too tony conradish for my taste) as the opener for those ever feisty unpredictable anti-musicians No Neck who threw lots of stuff all over the stage. o'rourke is "young & is daily growin" as the old folk song states so we forgive him his obvious flaws, for his genius knows no bounds, & hopefully he & we will be around a long time to witness that growth.

the other great defining moment was larry seven, a unique & brilliant figure on the scene who, prior to the set, had lugged a washing machine off the street to use as a noise prop. soundwise it did not work out but as utility it was perfect because larry is all about recycling, he is all about theatre without being theatrical. i love his use of light & shadow while low-teching it all the way, no pomp, no flash. & no dull laptops for him. his art, his music & his almost naive tho intricate presentations are highly recommended.