Last Friday, I had the opportunity to witness an indescribable showcase of experimental electronic hullabaloo when Austin-based The Octopus Project took the stage of the Granada Theater. Sure, it would probably be categorized as electronica...but that doesn’t mean throbbing bass and glowsticks. No, this was a little different. Electronic beats backed by guitar, bass, drums, and some random, off-the-wall instruments.Undoubtedly the awesomest parts of the show came when Yvonne Lambert, complete with Mary Tyler Moore hairstyle and old-school prom dress (why not?), showed off her talents on the theremin. In case you don’t know -- because I sure didn’t -- the theremin is played without even touching the thing. From Wikipedia: "The controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker."
The timbre of the theremin (at least at the show) is sort of an electrified whistle, reminiscent of a ghost. It took a while for me to realize that Yvonne’s deliberate mid-air hand motions resulted in pitch and volume changes coming from the instrument.
Anyway, it was a good time, and their music was noticeably more enjoyable than their recorded stuff. Nevertheless, here's "The Adjustor", from One Ten Hundred Thousand Million:
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