Steve Reich & Musicians
Palace Theater, Stamford, CT 1987

1.Clapping Music
2. Drumming Pt.1
3. NY Counterpoint (Richard Stolzman, clarinet)

DBX cassette master>DAT>aiff>FLAC

Time: 31:19

Sound quality: B

1987 in Stamford was a funny time...sure, the economy was going ballistic and Stamford, being the city with more corporate headquarters than anyone else in the country, was right on board. But at what a sacrifice...the entire historic downtown had been razed 15 years earlier to clear the way for corporate business, and all places of local color and interest, not to mention any non-commerce-oriented meeting places were erased. It was in this void that the Palace Theater, smack in the middle of the old downtown (by then a ghost town of steel & mirror tumbleweeds) chose to try and lure in some semblance of civic life and culture by having a 'New Music' program. My best friend and I were delighted and puzzled to see, coming to our city, Philip Glass, Morton Subotnick, Mother Mallard, Kronos Quartet, and Steve Reich, among others.

Unfortunately, it was apparently too big an ask of the city, as all the events (even the Glass!) were sparsely attended...the Reich concert had a shameful attendance of under 50 people. It was a fantastic performance, with Reich and the ensemble ripping through the opening of Drumming with a renewed intensity, having just put the piece down in the studio for Nonesuch's release. I was ashamed of my city for being given such pearls and totally missing the boat, but it did make for a very memorable summer of music that didn't necessitate hopping the train into New York.

This is the recording I made from the audience that night, with a Panasonic DBX cassette walkman and two microphones. The sound isn't great, but definitely listenable, and I can guarantee no-one else recorded that show!

Cheers

seasob