I was so happy when, earlier in the week, I got an email from the High about their First Friday event for September that said that Sonic Generator would be performing. Their website was taken down from the GA Tech servers some time ago, the FB group for them was renamed to “Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology,” and they’ve only performed a few times since the Sherwoods left for Cleveland, so I figured that they were no more. But, yes, they are still more! I didn’t see Jason Freeman there, so I’m assuming that they’re continuing with just the remainder of the ensemble and are no longer affiliated with Tech, but I’m perfectly happy with that as long as I get to hear them play now and then. I do hope that they develop some kind of way to let people know of their concerts, though: I very nearly missed this one.

I’m not going to do an in-depth review of the program – partially because there were no announcements nor a written program so I’m not sure of a few if the pieces and partially because I ended up chatting with someone for half an hour afterward rather than jotting down notes to help me remember – but it was made up of reasonably accessible works that tended toward lyricism moreso than more abstruse sonic exploration. And, especially given that the performance was on Sifly Piazza at 6ish in the evening with a ton of people coming and going, they played very well. I generally don’t expect much more than a pleasant evening from such pubic, uncontrolled settings but I think that they rose a bit above that. The weather was perfect for it: overcast so that the late Summer sun wasn’t beating on our heads on the bare concrete. And there was a delicious breeze that would blow through every so often that made me close my eyes and drink in the music as the air caressed my skin.

While I was there, I finally popped in to see the Odundo exhibit. It was even better than I hoped: her ceramics have an entrancing sensuality to them. I seriously wanted to caress a few of them and just sit with one or two of them in my arms. None of this was in a sexual way; it’s just that Odundo somehow distills that certain essence of the human form that makes us inclined to touch those we care about and instills it into her works. I loved how her use of colloidal slip finishes retains the earthiness of the terracotta without taking away from the smooth elegance of her forms.

It was a perfect evening. The music, the breeze, a few friendly chats, and the ceramics all together managed to really wipe away a week of work that left me longing for escape.