Future Perfect
featuring Dylan Hicks, Anna Voog, Ousia, Satoshi Shinozaki, J Wix, Aumana Letters, A Most Happy Sound, and Uneven
Weisman Gallery, Minneapolis, MN • 5.30.98
Holly Day
The second Future Perfect show came off without any noticeable hitches, despite one of the worst electrical storms the Twin Cities had seen for a few years and a leak in the gallery roof right next to the light show equipment. The event was one of the most all-encompassing geek affairs I’ve ever been to, including several Star Trek conventions – everyone from black-clad Lo-Tek wannabes sporting piercings in every outcropping and orifice to very distinguished older men and women dressed in cocktail dresses and Italian suits. The Weisman Gallery itself is a major landmark in Minneapolis, composed entirely out of aluminum panels bolted together and shaped into a huge, angular monstrosity with glass skylights and wood accents. On good days, the Gallery looks like Art; on bad days, it looks like a poorly-constructed parking garage for UFOs.
Headlining this year’s event were the incomparable Dylan Hicks, who surprised everybody by doing only techno-instrumentals during his set, and Anna Voog, who managed to keep her clothes on the entire time she was on stage. The best and strangest part of the show, however, came when Ousia took the stage, dressed in floor-length black monk robes and wearing gold masks. Their whole performance looked like some alien religious ceremony, and I half-expected some sort of blood sacrifice to take place.
The rest of the show featured a variety of mix-masters and techno whizzes from the Midwest, including Satoshi Shinozaki, J Wix, Aumana Letters, and A Most Happy Sound. Not on the program but one of the best bands on stage were Uneven, which provided a nice interlude between electronic trance bands by playing a few good old-fashioned rock tunes, with lyrics and everything.
The most enchanting part of the Future Perfect events are the light shows – this time provided by Richard Tatge and Chuck Schlensig. Tatge is a former U of M graduate and has performed with Sun-Ra, the Velvet Underground, and the Doors. Currently, he tours back and forth across the Midwest with his Magic Lantern Traveling Light Show and performs at raves and rock concerts all over the country. Schlensig, also part of the Magic Lantern, has done shows with Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and rock gods Uriah Heap.
The main drawback of the Future Perfect show was that no alcohol or food was served in the Gallery, only canned soda. The no-alcohol thing is probably not a big deal to most people, but I only get out of the house once a month or so, and when I do go out, I like to drink. Luckily, I happened to bump into the one guy at the show who had smuggled in a six-pack of Pete’s Wicked Ale (shameless promotion) into the show, and sat outside sharing beer with him until the storm hit and almost literally swept us off the smoking balcony and into the Mississippi. ◼
