The Blue Heron Renaissance Choir celebrated its 25th birthday Saturday at the First Church of Cambridge with a concert. How else to celebrate?
If you wanted a sneak peek, the ensemble opened their doors a day early to invite the public to a free practice session on Friday afternoon. Same transcendent polyphony beneath the yawning arches of the holy sanctum, at zero cost and much more casually attired. You know, instead of the ties, dresses and patent leather footwear, the choir members kept it comfortable with sneakers, jeans and T-shirts that looked like they had painted a few garages.
About a dozen grayhairs scattered themselves among the pews, cocking their heads at odd moments to indicate a passage here or there that they especially appreciated. Who were these people: well-heeled Cantabrigian retirees enjoying their golden years, or hard-luck cases who just wanted a safe place off the streets for a few hours?
There’s a certain local style of senior bohemian chic that can make it difficult to tell the two groups apart until you get close enough to catch the subliminal indicators of wealth. A watch with a leather strap. An heirloom pendant. A piece of equipment that overly complexifies the task of self-hydration. All of the above can be a sign of a million or more in home equity.
Rich or poor, the audience was in for a treat. Blue Heron was preparing a world premiere performance of Mehmet Ali Sanlikol’s “The Triumph.” Renaissance choirs are rare enough, but one that presents new works rather than shuffling the playlists through the classics? Rarer than a blue lobster. The composer was doing double duty as flutist during practice. As the conductor conducted, he conducted on top of him, producing a surfeit of musical direction. Composer’s prerogative, after all.
If you missed Blue Heron on Saturday, catch them Dec. 20-21 for a concert titled “Christmas in 15th-Century France & Burgundy.” And who knows? Maybe they’ll offer another freebie practice the day before …
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Thursday: Seba (The Phoenix Landing, Cambridge)
This column underreports the steady stream of DJ and club music flowing out of fun spots such as ManRay and Phoenix Landing. Buy me a camera that shoots photos in the pitch dark and I’ll cover those types of gigs with glee. In the meantime, at least be aware, if you’re not already, that Phoenix Landing has resident DJs spinning seven nights a week playing everything from reggae to techno, jungle and more. You can also catch touring acts such as “drum and bass king” Seba, who’s joining us on our side of the Atlantic to play a few dates ahead of his latest LP, “Smoke.”
Sunday: Global Arts Live Presents: Debashish Bhattacharya Trio (Crystal Ballroom, Somerville)
Global Arts Live strikes again. The world music event series offers a real plum with Hindustani slide guitar master Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya. What do they say makes a master? Ten thousand hours of practice? That means he must have played his 22-minute “Raga Des” a little over 27,000 times before earning the distinction. That’s a lot of ragas. He’ll form a trio with his daughter Anandi (Sukanya) Bhattacharya on small harp and his brother Subhasis Bhattacharya on percussion. Expect classical chops mixed with virtuoso improv.
Oct. 31: Skalloween (The Rockwell, Somerville)
Skappy Skalloween! I wrote about this event in September, and since then different cover set shows have popped up like mushrooms after rainfall on both sides of the Charles. Like waking up in the strange bed of a one-night stand, nobody plans to end up at a ska show. Life just happens. But you might need to plan for this one, because the previous editions of Skalloween, presented by Once, have sold out. This year’s bill includes cover sets by The New Limits, Pink Slip, Battlemode and more.
Live: Illuminati Hotties at The Sinclair
Illuminati Hotties, brainchild of producer and performer Sarah Tudzin, toured through Harvard Square last hump day on the wings of her album “Power.” Make no mistake, the night was a celebration of the new release. A barn door-sized neon light hung above the stage, gently burning the title “Power” into the room’s collective retina.
What kind of power? Soft power? Girl power? Mighty Morphin power? Maybe more like the power of “tender punk,” which is a musical premise that Illuminati Hotties have been plugging for at least half a decade. Kind of punk, but with feeling this time? Less “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” more “I Wanna Keep Yr Dog.” Less pit stomping, more pit loving.
You buy that? You don’t have to. Tudzin paints with a broad palette, which is just what you’d expect from a pro who doubles as a producer on diverse and delightful projects such as boygenius, Weyes Blood, Speedy Ortiz, Cloud Nothings and more. Even better than inventing your own genre is not being bound by any genre at all.
The music felt bright, poppy, searching. Producers can be strange and exacting birds when it comes to recording their own music, as if all the time spent helping others find their sound needed to be won back in a single record. Illuminati Hotties mostly avoid programmatic statements and stick to the real bread and butter. Riffs, refrains, fills, hooks, like the especially sticky sweet hook on standout “The L.”
Daffo opened the evening, joined onstage by “a marionette without strings,” which, by most estimates, is just an ordinary puppet.
Michael Gutierrez is an author, educator, activist and editor-in-chief at Hump Day News.
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