When a pianist comes to you and says “Come listen to me play some of my compositions”, you say yes. When this pianist is a homebrewer it naturally follows that beer will be consumed. When that pianist is Keith Kirchoff, you end up with the Original Gravity Concert Series with the inaugural event held adjacent to the brewing kit over at Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville, MA.
Shirt and ties were definitely optional for the crowd of roughly seventy people who assembled at 7:PM. Sandals proved to be the preferred footwear of the evening as it turned out to be your typical Boston summer’s evening. Many of the attendees were friends that we recognized as homebrewing customers from the Modern Homebrew Emporium. The taps were flowing freely to prepare the audience for music about to come.
The program consisted of compositions that alternated between a bassoon-led ensemble and Keith at the piano. The fact that the acoustics of the brewery were deemed complimentary was a clue that this wasn’t your grandmother’s night at the concert hall. Each piece was accompanied by either a static track or a dynamically-generated accompaniment processed in real-time. There wasn’t a recognizable melody to latch on to so this reviewer was limited to appreciating the technical skill and obvious talent of the performers creating harmonies by themselves and playing just the right notes to convey the meaning of the piece.
While the solo piano or the bassoon/saxophone duo pieces were great, the final composition really quaffed the pint. Second only to the string quartet in terms of popularity, the combination of bassoon, saxophone, guitar, and percussionist is a combination not frequently considered. It sure was a lot of fun to hear them playing in concert.
The Homebrew Emporium was a proud sponsor of this concert and we look forward to supporting the rest of the series.