Tim Hecker at the Wick – Extreme Noise Meets Extreme Darkness.

 

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I love Tim Hecker. I’ve spent countless hours in the subway with Virgins on full blast and endless repeat. I’ve dazed out over and over again on “In The Fog” and I’ve hoped that the movie industry will finally catch up with him and I’ll hear The Ravedeath 1972 as the soundtrack for a movie, preferably a good one.

Tim Hecker’s music captures perfectly the times that we live in – it’s a gritty urban mix of synth poetry and industrial noises, a real trip into the dark corners of the subconscious. So when I heard that he is playing at The Wick as a part of The Tinnitus Music Series, I couldn’t wait to see the show. Well, I was up for a surprise since there actually wasn’t a show to see. Not that he didn’t attend – he was there, on stage, in a packed venue, but there was literally nothing to see. The light was so dimmed that even our camera couldn’t capture a single shot. It was complete and utter darkness.

You I’ll probably say: “It’s supposed to be a journey into sound”. Yeah, the sound. I’ve attended my share of pure noise oriented events – from punk to rave through experimental shit in between, but Tim Hecker raised the weird bar a foot higher. Screw Meghan Trainor – this guy is all about that bass! The bass was so strong that I felt like a crash test dummy on a new military super weapon subwoofer test. No wonder that they were giving away free ear plugs at the door! Even that didn’t help – at the end of the show I felt gang raped by the sound. And it wasn’t just me. A friend who took a short straw on joining us, ran for his life outside the venue, hands on the ears like in a cartoon. Nobody seemed to enjoy it – most people were just staring into the nothingness with empty mesmerized eyes. If they were giving away special designer drugs to go with the sound, I missed that part.

I think Tim Hecker should seriously consider hiring a VJ next time around – the only way to enjoy music where literally nothing happens on stage is to distract attention from that fact. The Chemical Brothers are a landmark in that direction – they are two nerdy guys playing with a racks of equipment with their backs towards the crowd, but still there is Matt Cox who makes sure that every sound has a thrilling visual cue attached to it and their live experience is simply spectacular. That’s why after a show like theirs you feel on top of the world and after Tim Hecker’s live I was in the Mariana Trench.

 

1 comment for “Tim Hecker at the Wick – Extreme Noise Meets Extreme Darkness.

  1. March 9, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    The whole point of Tim Hecker’s performances is to happen in full darkness. He hates being photographed and he abstains from using visuals, this is how it has always been. Saw him in Bucharest few years ago and he was kind of pissed for the darkness wasn’t complete.

    Also, when performing live, Tim Hecker, just like Ben Frost and Lawrence English, is about making you perceive the music physically, with your body. If you’re in for a quiet listen – stick to the subway experience. Not to mention the name of the event series “Tinnitus Music Series” should have been quite a hint for what’s going to happen to your ears.

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