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Friday. November 26 • 8pm
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Dine & Dance! Tickets $10
Early Seating with lull menu at 6um in the BBR
Southwest Cafe
196 Alps Rd. • Beechwood
706.354.6655
WEDNESDAY -11/24 If • 4g§
on The Madison Patio
$3 Safty-Dogs &
FRIDAY - 11/26
The Madison Bar & Bistro
Enjoy $5 specialty cocktails
Now featuring $6
"S’Mores for 2" by the fire
SATURDAY - 11/27
Geonga BuOdog Radio Shows
Uve from Vie Lobby
Pre-game - 4 hours prior to game
Post-game -1 hr. after game
Pre-Game Tailgate & Cookout
1-4p on The Madison Patio
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4H otel
NDIGO
ATHENS, GA
706-546-0430 j 500 College Avenue Athens, GA 30601
indigoathens.com | T: ©indigoathens | F: Hotel Indigo Athens
Do You Want to Stop Drinking Alcohol?
• We are conducting a study on a medication for treating alcohol
problems.
• Participation will include five in-person assessments, including four
sessions of individual outpatient treatment for alcohol problems.
• There is no cost for the treatment
• You will be asked to take a medication or placebo on two occasions.
Call 706-542-8350 for more information.
The University of Georgia
S ubtlety is a rare trait among guitar
ists. Overly earnest singer-songwriters,
masochistic punks, Jimi Hendrix-
wannabees—the instrument takes a lot
of abuse. Navigating the intricately layered
majesty of Infinite Love, the third solo album
from Ponytail's Dustin Wong, it's not incon
ceivable to forget, temporarily, that the
sounds you hear are made by guitar. That this
is true despite the fact that the album, with
the exception of a very seldom-used drum
machine, consists entirely of guitar, attests to
just how remarkable a musician Wong is.
Wong makes use of his proficiency as a gui
tar player to give full rein to his curiosity as
a composer, which is what makes Infinite Love
so engaging. The wizardry on the fretboard
and endless looping are simply extensions of
the instrument's reach—ultimately a means
of serving the compositions themselves. The
technical display is subordinate co the real
elements at work on the album; melody and
atmosphere are always at the forefront. By
eschewing novelty, Wong removes any barriers
between himself and his audience; the listener
is allowed direct access to the music.
Working on his own, the Baltimore-based
artist strives to connect to listeners on a more
ruminative plain. While there is a musical kin
ship wiih the frenetic, fast-paced live shows
that were Ponytail's standard, Wong admits
that, solo, it's a different kind of performance.
"It's definitely more introspective and self
reflexive, whereas [Ponytail] was... democratic
and extroverted. In the uand, you're sacrific
ing yourself to the audience. Solo, it's more of
an offering." Without the charismatic presence
of a full band, and with Wong himself busy
cuing loops, the audience is encouraged to
direct its attention inward; the music becomes
a catalyst for reflection.
The process behind Infinite Love's composi
tion helps further illuminate the effect the
music has. Each of the album's two discs is a
45-minute, contiguous piece of music. Both
discs share the same beginning and ending,
the music diverging in the middle to create
"brother" and "sister" versions. Rather than
mapping out the piece beforehand, Wong
opted for a more free-associative, intuitive
process. "(I would] start with a melody; then I
would listen and lay something on top, and as
something would crystalize, I would listen to
it and decide if I liloed it or not." As a result
of this process, "one piece leads to another."
The result is an album whose multiple lay
ers combine for a rich, textured sound. The
overlappl.ig parts can serve as the backdrop
for soaring melodies or, conversely, can build
to form complex, repeating patterns that
recall the work of New Minimalist compos
ers such as Terry Riley. Because it is such an
iconic instrument, the electric guitar carries
with it an endless number of associations that
each listener is bound to make, and it is to
Wong's credit that he honors so many of the
instrument's different aspects, occasionally
toying with hard-rock riffs and simple, folk
progressions.
When performing Infinite Love live, Wong
has taken to continuing the method of
variation and experimentation that led to
the album's composition. Concert-goers can
expect to hear yet another sibling of the
album's "brother" and "sister" versions. He
is interested, he says, in "reconstructing it
more, mutating it, changing the narrative."
Wong cites The Arabian Nights as an example
of the kind of narrative that draws its impact
from its never-ending quality. Further illustrat
ing his point, he describes the experience of
"[staring] at a color for awhile, like red for
example; you look away and you see green. I
want people to come away with an effect."
Wong and his tourmates, Avocado Happy
Hour and Holy Ghost Party, have been involved
with a growing musical trend in Baltimore that
has been termed "soft music" by some of its
practitioners. The trend has a flagship venue.
Soft House, and a festival. Soft Fest. The term
isn't meant to evoke any particular genre or
style; rather the general aim is to provide, in a
concert setting, the kind of intimate environ
ment associated with a more personal kind of
listening experience. The reaction you might
have listening to a record alone in your living
room becomes one you can share with 100
other people at a show.
Dustin Wong's music invites this fusion of
introspection and community. Describing the
atmosphere at his shows, Wong says, simply,
"people tend to sit down." The small, intimate
space at Ricker offers the ideal setting for this
kind of show, which, though it happens on the
biggest shopping day of the year, won't cost
you a cent. Those who tend to hole up for the
holidays might want to reconsider this time
around. The feeling at this Friday's show might
make your living room jealous.
Marshall Yarbrough
18 FLAGPOLE.COM • NOVEMBER 24,2010