Searching for a sound

Music Row
By Brian Rademaekers

As good as Philly’s established venues are, it never hurts to wander off the well-traversed course in search of music in places not usually regarded as live-music havens.
Such was the case last Sunday, when Fishtown guitar virtuoso Jack Rose showed up at Brickbat Books in South Philly for a set with fellow string-champ Glenn Jones.
It was a full two hours of mesmerizing guitar goodness that left the healthy crowd packed into the bookstore completely spellbound. The evening culminated with a feverish pairing of the two masters, with Rose on the lap guitar and Jones jumping in on a 12-string.
A couple of cases of good beer didn’t hurt either, and fans got all that for just $5.
If you missed the show, another chance to check out some pretty wild music in an offbeat place comes on Friday.
Also priced at the extremely reasonable charge of five bucks, Fishtown’s newly opened Highwire Gallery will host a show featuring some homegrown talent as well as two West Coast acts.
Having already hosted a psychedelic freak-out that featured Radio Eris and the Red Masque troupe, Highwire is making a name for itself as a place to catch fringe acts.
The show planned for Friday night seems to indicate things are just going to get more bizarre. In fact, it’s hard to say if the artists scheduled to play the Highwire could have gotten booked at a "traditional" venue even if they wanted to.
But that doesn’t mean the show isn’t worth checking out. Take Oakland, California’s MaryClare Brzytwa — an acclaimed flutist whose music often blends her preferred instrument with a sack full of odd electronics to create haunting soundscapes.
Her songs are warped journeys through twisted pathways of noise that explore and test boundaries on a whim. The flute, as played by Brzytwa, is an instrument that can quickly jump from a tortured nightmare to softly drifting lullaby.
The California artist adds another layer of surrealism to her work with the help of strange sound effects that tease out the otherworldly aura of her music. It is an unnerving cocktail of beauty and dreamlike melody that will be well served by Highwire.
Also hailing from the West is San Fran’s Dominique Leone, whose eclectic sound is an uplifting flurry of pop ballads, disco and electronica.
Like Brzytwa, Leone’s music is heavily influenced by a myriad of computer-induced sound effects, but his overall vibe is wholly different.
Leone, for one, takes an approach that is far more in line with pop music conventions, even sounding like a postmodern take on the Beatles at times on his latest EP. However, he is not averse to taking listeners down paths of sonic experimentation, either. That ethereal quality makes him a good pair with Brzytwa, a theme that is continued in Philly’s own Ashley Deekus.
Deekus, a marimba player who has done work with groups ranging from Feist to local jazz ensembles, is likely to be a highlight of Friday’s show.
As one might infer from the aforementioned groups she has played with, it’s hard to guess just what she has in store for the Highwire.
But the Deekus of late is busy studying a host of musical traditions, including Cuban, African and South American folk.
Wherever her work appears, it is crisp, fresh and full of potential.
The intimate confines of Highwire should prove a perfect setting to get an up-close look at her playing and a chance to soak up her latest sound in pure form.
Besides the music, Friday night will also be one of the last chances to get a look at the intriguing visual works of Jeff van Osten, Piety Choi, Lydia Hamilton-Brown and Mike Seeber.
As always, nearby art galleries at Germ and Bambi offer plenty of diversion, and David Kessler’s Shadow World (which comes down Jan. 20) at Bambi is a must-see. ••

Check it out . . .
Who: Philly marimba artist Ashley Deekus, along with West Coast experimentalists MaryClare Brzytwa and Dominique Leone.
What: A night of sonic madness at Fishtown’s newest gallery.
When: Friday, Jan 18, at 8 p.m.
Where: Highwire Gallery, 2040 Frankford Ave. Cost: $5.