Live Performance Response #1: Red Giant at Smith’s Olde Bar
Last week, I went to a jazz fusion show at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta, Georgia. The band was named Red Giant, and they are a fairly young band based in Atlanta. I have never been to a full-length jazz show, just a few sporadic single performances at open mic nights and school performances, so this was a new experience for me. I was worried that I would not be able to stay engaged for the entire set, because I’m not used to listening to instrumental music, but this band was so incredible that I was surprisingly able to pay attention the entire time.
The venue was very small, kind of dark, and a bit old-looking—it was definitely not their main stage. However, even though it was not the most visually interesting venue I have ever been to, I found it to be a great space to watch them perform. It was very intimate, with a very simple set-up, which allowed for minimal distraction and a room to just focus on the music. The clothing that the band members were wearing were also somewhat ordinary. They were probably just wearing their school clothing (all members of the band were either high school or college students). Aesthetically, what made the performance visually interesting was the lighting design. Without the lighting, the space would have just looked like it were taking place in an unadorned black box. The lighting on the stage was very effective in distinguishing the space for the performers from the space for the audience. The lights used were very brightly colored, lots of greens and pinks, and helped create a calm yet engaging atmosphere. Overall, while the stage was visually pleasing, it was easy to tell that the focus of the night was to be on the performances, rather than the production or design aspects of the event.
The performances by the band are certainly what I am going to remember most about the night. I was amazed that the band members had such skill and focus at such a young age. They looked like seasoned professionals. They had many long solos where they would each show the audience what they could do but they never felt too long, and I felt that they were tasteful and deliberate. I also appreciated their original pieces along with their inventive takes on popular songs. They often bended genres, causing me to be unsure of how to categorize each piece I was listening to into a specific tradition of music, which is what usually draws me to musical artists.
While I’m glad I went to the show because it was free admission, I am also glad that I went because I was able to see performers that have clearly put many years into their craft and who are able to make incredibly complicated lines of music look easy. They were all very professional, very calm, and created something that I will gladly pay good money to experience again.