Block ice & Propane
One of the performances we have anticipated the most is Block Ice & Propane, Erik Friedlander's family's travel photos accompanied by his incredible, innovative cello playing. Since both Steve and I have had a lifetime of road trip tales and I think my family actually had a refrigerator in our 60s camper that used block ice to keep food cold, this was the event we could most thoroughly relate to! (The first photo is Steve's dad 35 years ago)
Described in the program, Adventurous cellist Erik Friedlander celebrates the uniquely American experience of the road trip with a collection of cinematic cello compositions in a distinctly American style – lyrical, plainspoken, and richly satisfying. A multimedia memoir of Friedlander family road trips complete with campers, tourist traps, truck stops, and visits to kooky relatives, Block Ice & Propane pairs Friedlander's cello compositions with poetic photographs taken by his father, the well-known photographer Lee Friedlander; charming snapshots taken by his mother, Maria Friedlander; evocative road movies contributed by filmmaker Bill Morrison; and quietly enchanting short narratives about the American ritual of family summer vacations so familiar to us all.
We met the reviewer, Nick Smith, while meandering around the Festival and his review begins,"Block Ice & Propane sounds like some people's worst nightmare: paying to sit and look at a stranger's old vacation pictures for an hour. There's no escape; audience members are not allowed to leave mid-slideshow. All the old cliches are there, Mt. Rushmore, a cooking grill, gas station signs, mom looking shy, kids wearing goofy clothes."... [hmmm sort of sums up my blog!]
We were both left with intense wanderlust. How can that be when we spent a month getting here and leave next week for a month more of road tripping? I have always said life would be awesome if it had a soundtrack. Erik's did just that and it was exceptional. He shared his tales of "Airstream envy", views from the camper window and the secure cocoon feeling a child has when parents drive at night which evoked nostalgia. We stayed afterward and talk with Erik. It was a uniquely fantastic evening.
Described in the program, Adventurous cellist Erik Friedlander celebrates the uniquely American experience of the road trip with a collection of cinematic cello compositions in a distinctly American style – lyrical, plainspoken, and richly satisfying. A multimedia memoir of Friedlander family road trips complete with campers, tourist traps, truck stops, and visits to kooky relatives, Block Ice & Propane pairs Friedlander's cello compositions with poetic photographs taken by his father, the well-known photographer Lee Friedlander; charming snapshots taken by his mother, Maria Friedlander; evocative road movies contributed by filmmaker Bill Morrison; and quietly enchanting short narratives about the American ritual of family summer vacations so familiar to us all.
We met the reviewer, Nick Smith, while meandering around the Festival and his review begins,"Block Ice & Propane sounds like some people's worst nightmare: paying to sit and look at a stranger's old vacation pictures for an hour. There's no escape; audience members are not allowed to leave mid-slideshow. All the old cliches are there, Mt. Rushmore, a cooking grill, gas station signs, mom looking shy, kids wearing goofy clothes."... [hmmm sort of sums up my blog!]
We were both left with intense wanderlust. How can that be when we spent a month getting here and leave next week for a month more of road tripping? I have always said life would be awesome if it had a soundtrack. Erik's did just that and it was exceptional. He shared his tales of "Airstream envy", views from the camper window and the secure cocoon feeling a child has when parents drive at night which evoked nostalgia. We stayed afterward and talk with Erik. It was a uniquely fantastic evening.
2 comments:
There is always next year! Hopefully you can do this again, maybe???
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