‘Reconfiguration: An evening with other lives’ at BAM
Judging by the crowd pouring in, one could well imagine the smell of marijuana filling the entry hall at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House Friday night just before Other Lives, an indie rock group from Portland, Oregon, took the stage. A ticket usher screwed his eyes suspiciously as he regarded my long hair and unshaven face.
“Wasn’t me, man, I just got here,” I said as I rushed in to take my seat.
From the start, it seemed clear that Other Lives’ show was probably made for — if not by — stoners. Cross-hatched light displays, looping animations of a boy falling, a boy riding a horse, a boy in the fetal position, a scowling young man in ’70s disco pimp garb behind the wheel of a ’60s sedan and other boy-themed images served as a dynamic backdrop for the band’s songs. They seemed to be building toward something — an overarching message or depiction of time passing — but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Perhaps it would have been clearer if I’d taken a toke in the bathroom before the show.