Laurie Anderson: “All the Things I Lost In the Flood”
Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA, USA, April 22, 2018
By Judy Grover
The first time I was introduced to the performance artist and author Laurie Anderson introduces her new book and tells her story…
It was in college Music Appreciation class in 86′ that I first heard the name Laurie Anderson. I was fixated the first time I heard her music. Her fresh, experimental, eclectic approach to music – and the world – fascinated me endlessly, and as a female artist and pioneer in her field, she inspired me.
More recently, I was blown away by her latest work with the Kronos Quartet, “Landfall,” which musically described her experience of Hurricane Sandy. Therefore, I was thrilled to finally have the chance to see Laurie Anderson live and “up close” in an intimate reading of her biopic “All The Things I Lost in the Flood” at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle this weekend! Now, I realize that Laurie Anderson is not exactly everyone’s cup of tea – being as she’s a bit obscure. But she does have a loyal and enthusiastic following, as the packed theatre at this event attested! And my fiend Kari who accompanied me to the event was as elated as I was at the opportunity to witness Anderson’s brilliance live and in person from the fourth row!
The focus of this evening’s performance was storytelling (there was very little music – mostly Laurie playing
Laurie Anderson
short illustrative bits on her synthesizer and iconic electric violin). As such, the setting was quite minimal: just the artist, in a simple black-and-white outfit, a computer tablet with which she controlled what was on the screen behind her, the synthesizer and violin, and a large, comfortable chair in the corner in which she occasionally sat, fireside-chat-like, to tell part of the story.
Laurie Anderson has actually always been about telling stories – and what a riveting storyteller she is! From her reaction to the recent presidential election (which, of course, struck a chord with the Seattle audience – which participated enthusiastically in a Yoko Ono-inspired “primal scream therapy” at the beginning of the show) to a synopsis of “Moby Dick” to describing some of her iconic art projects and recalling her relationship with late husband Lou Reed—all were engagingly presented in Anderson’s distinctive and engaging manner—interspersed with plenty of playfulness and humour.
Some particularly crowd-pleasing moments came, of course, when Anderson recalled some of her most
Laurie Anderson
popular works, such as “Language is a Virus,” her “PSA” about the National Anthem and her most popular piece from United States, “O Superman.” I found the anecdote about the performance of Philip Glass’ “Satyagraha” (translated, “Truth Force”) particularly inspiring, as he quoted part of the libretto to an “Occupy” crowd that was outside the theatre the lines, “When your government breaks, what do you do? Do you just sit there, or do you act?” But the story I found particularly moving was Anderson’s recollection of her “Habeas Corpus” project in which she projected a former Guantanamo Bay detainee into the Park Avenue Armory. Anderson related that this man– Mohammed el Gharani – was taken to Guantanamo when he was only 14 years old and (representative of 95% of Guantanamo’s population, according to Anderson) was held, and tortured, under false accusations. Interested readers can learn more about this project here:
Another poignant moment came when Anderson recalled her late husband, Lou Reed, and talked about how she misses him. She then did a graceful demonstration of the Tai Chi routine that she shared with Reed.
The sounds of birds playing in the background served as a prelude to Anderson’s performance, so a fitting “bookend” was her recollection of the play, “The Birds” by Aristophanes – and how it relates to Trump’s idea of building a “great wall.” Anderson promised that she would be done soon with her rambling, but the audience obviously wanted more. But if more of Laurie Anderson’s story is what you want, well, you shall, as they say, must buy the book.
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