BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG) have just played a sold-out show at the O2 Academy in Bristol. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, the four-piece jazz group delivered an energetic, technically demanding set as they worked through songs from their latest album, Talk Memory. But as incredible as they were, it was the visuals that brought the whole show together.
Even if they had played in a dark room with no lights and graphics, I would have walked away thinking, “yeah, that was a pretty good show.” There’s no doubting the skill this band possesses – smashing complex melodies, alternating instruments and working as one, tight, unified, their sound is equal parts expressive, experimental and a true treat for your ears.
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However, concerts aren’t just about the music, they’re about the show as a whole and that includes set design and visuals. What a band or artist chooses to do with the stage and space behind them is another way to infuse personality into a show, and last night BBNG exuded artistic vision.
There are several reasons why I was incredibly impressed with BBNG’s decision to use film screenings instead of digital. not only is it a much more complex process, but every shot is carefully thought out and filmed to work in time with the music. The human element of it was refreshing, seeing the rolls of film change and seeing someone operate it made the whole experience more meaningful.
While some might argue that the graphics were maybe trying a little too hard to be cool, for me BBNG gets a 10/10 for effort. No strangers to collaborations, the band has previously collaborated with other musicians such as Charlotte Day Wilson, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Silva who is supporting BBNG on this tour, but for the visuals, they teamed up with Canadian director Sylvain Chaussee . Having regularly performed live 16mm and 35mm film screenings, working directly with other musicians, Chaussee created a short film specifically for BBNG, which he shot, hand-colored and set to music.
In total, there were three shows and either all or some of them were playing at any given time. The projections were superimposed on each other creating a double or even triple exposure where the colors and patterns blended together, almost camouflaging the band into the moving background. The bright light cast shadows on the white sheet adding another element of optical trickery that made it hard to tear your eyes away.
BBNG may be a modern jazz band, but their approach to visuals on this tour is anything but. There’s a quality to the film that you just don’t get from digital emulations – no matter how good they are, and perhaps the use of old-school graphics is a nod to their musical roots dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. . But then again, they could just love the film’s aesthetic like many of us do…
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