Deaf Safari begins and ends on beguiling notes
To hear and see Deaf Safari being played in an intimate setting at the New Space theatre is a highlight most people will carry with them to their next point of certainty. I cannot say which part I enjoyed the most- Felix Laband showcasing his new material after a decade of absence, or reveling in the liberty to share his bottle of wine with his stage mates or the visual friction of nudity versus ritual fertility playing on the screen behind them.
Nothing has to stick out for it to work out. Nobody has to single moments out for it to stand out, but when credit is owed, it shall be given due. Black Major really knew how to ace this one. From the hype they shared on their event page to the humble and warm welcomes we received upon arrival, I honor the integrity they keep in putting a show like his together.
The show came alive with the echoes of the audience. The crowd was split down the middle in terms of ambience. One half was engulfed by the camaraderie of the stage, letting the visual soundscapes take us on a journey. The other was possessed by the need to activate their voice boxes to applaud, ‘coo’ and ‘aaah’ the vibrations at any opportune arousal.
The trio of Felix Laband, Kerry Chaloner and Shane Cooper have been embedded into my mind’s library. They have left their traces behind and will tremor the audiences experience until it begins to feel real again. As the visual propriety sunk into the stem and origin of each bulging or bouncing sound, there went Shane’s double bass honing in and occupying the set, making it believable in every layer.
To reinvent one’s self is to know one’s self, and this performance let Felix know his moments and the audiences, as his tracks were unveiled live for the first of more to come.
All photography by Kelsy Arden
