There were no words, literally. From the opening moments of Infinite Third’s ambient looping exercise to the menacing last breaths of Gullwing’s rumbling post-rock rumination, not a word was uttered from the stage as three instrumental acts put on a different kind of recital for folks gathered at St. Pete’s Studio@620.
The occasion? The Pinellas stop of a short tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of Atlanta, Georgia’s Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel. Armed with an old Arline six-string lap steel, theremin, a few custom pedals and an Ableton Live session, Scott Burland and Frank Schultz — engulfed by the Ya La'ford work installed at the St. Pete venue — led an intrigued crowd through a set that was meditative without being mellow, solemn without being silent, and marked by a whole breadth of emotions set into motion by an instrument you don’t have to to touch to play (in short, the theremin works thanks to two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control oscillators for frequency). The set is a haunting experience (especially when coupled with the grainy Super 8-ish projections in the background) and a chance to slow down without deactivating your contemplative mind.
Brian Mahar was there to grab a few photos, and you can seem them (plus hear the whole of Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel’s latest album) below.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 4, 2017.