Ichneumonidae (Toby Driver related) - 04/21/12

April 21^st 2012 – I find myself struggling to stay awake on the NJ Transit train carrying me to New York City. I’m already sleep deprived and dreading the exacerbation to follow after what will certainly be another sleepless night. Given the occasion though, these matters seem rather trivial. For the first time in all my years of being a fan, I would finally see Toby Driver live. Deaths, cancelled shows, and mechanical failures delayed the day, but those lost opportunities just made this all the more exciting. My first show would be matched by a first from Toby: the unveiling of his new trio, Ichneumonidae. 

The Stone featured three musical acts that night, all of whom put on a performance worthy of review. Ichneumonidae unveiled itself in the middle set.  In a space which would strain to seat fifty people, on a non-descript NYC street corner, I sat mere inches from a seated, guitar wielding Toby Driver with a mass of white and purple balloons hovering above us. Timba Harris sat a few feet away with violin in hand. The performance began, serene and mysterious with an air of boding. Superficial initial observations invoked memories of Tartar Lamb II. However, I emphasize superficial. It quickly faded as the work seems to share nothing of the timing, structure, or mood of that project.

After a few moments, slow movement stage-left began to excite the peripheral of my vision, demanding attention.  Michelle Morinaga emerged from the corner, slowly blooming out of the darkness, as an undead figure of pure white skin and burning red eyes. Saying that Michelle demanded the viewer’s attention would do her no justice. She moved across the floor with especially superb lower body control. On the occasion that you locked eyes, she would freeze you like a gorgon and leave you powerless to look away.

The trio worked surprisingly well together to the point that a mere audio recording would leave me highly disappointed. The art expressed itself through all three of the creators with the stage performance and music symbiotically growing together. Michelle failed to ever disappoint, bringing to life bizarre insect behavior, removing prey from her throat, twirling manically with balloons, ritualistically stabbing out at the audience, rattling seashells, and all the while controlling her body expertly. The music maneuvered through similar sets of moods. It appeared to be a work in three movements (slow – slow – fast) to my incredibly untrained ear. Timba and Toby both performed as you would expect from their track records. A blisteringly fast exchange between the two of them served as the highlight of piece for me near its conclusion.

The performance ended with the trio removing themselves to the basement under a thunderstorm of applause. Ichneumonidae was a success. When the night’s music ended, I emerged from the Stone to a deluge of rain and violent wind. I had to walk three miles to Penn Station through the elements. I had to wait until 3:00am to begin by two hour journey home through Amtrak. I needed to think about getting through work the next day not having slept for two nights. But none of that mattered. For the moment, Ichneumonidae left me immune to the demanding minutia of life. What more can we ask art to do?

Ichneumonidae is Toby Driver (guitar, vocals), Timba Harris (Violin), and Michelle Morinaga (parasitomorphism). Be sure to look for future news regarding this project and more from Toby here. Continue to support The Stone, Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3, and Michelle (I couldn't find a link to her work unfortunately).