James just linked to this article on FasterLouder, and it’s reminded me of the great things about MonaFoma13. As well as bumping into someone i knew from Melbourne everywhere i turned, and enjoying the whole experience of being somewhere exciting for 5 days.

Dirty Projectors – i’d never heard of them, and i was just mesmerised. They were so gorgeous. As she pushed further into the crowd at the front, Nina said they were her favourite band in the whole world, and i totally understood why. Amarina said she felt they gave her a new understanding of music, and they did that for me too.

David Byrne and St Vincent. Who wouldn’t love “Burning Down the House” over a dancing brass band. There are few things i love more than a massive euphonium belting out the bass, and here we had Byrne’s classically awkward dance moves played out by the whole band. They even had a real ..ah what’s that instrument you wave your hands against? The electronic one…

Tania Bosak Barefoot Orchestra were just beautiful. Very theatrical and engaging for me, as they played with alternating between wild dancing klezma and stilted off-key jazz. People at the front could appreciate the artistry and theatre of the event, and all seemed to love it. I certainly did. (Unfortunately this one didn’t quite fill the hall, and they lost the attention of the whispering crowds at the back. Don’t know if it was the sound system, or the fact that they followed the Spanish surf rock band, instead of preceding.)

Ben Skeffler looping harpsichord and cello. Beautiful. Apparently he used to play with Miso, and now is incredibly famous.

The crazy art around town, including a huge intricate installation describing the inside of Henri’s brain. They had magnets under turntables with iron filings on top; they had a radio transmitting across the gallery to an enormous receiver made of wood and wire. You could peer down upon the artists via a video feed, as you typed in suggestions for the continual narrative that appeared on screen. (Meijers + Walsh at Detached.)

And a suspended guitar, covered in mirrors. (Wade Marynowsky in a piece called Black Casino.)

The woman who went drumming solo underwater.. in the freaking bay, where it would have been colder than imaginable. There was no sauna on her return. She looked like a drowned rat when she came out. (tinahavelockstevens)

The late night festival club, aka Faux Mo:
Dance-floors,
huge fire-escape stairs with DJs.
The woman who had a naked body projected back onto her naked body.
The man entirely covered in sequins who showed off his incredibly flexible contortions on all the dancefloors.
Chicks on Speed DJ set, with a stage full of mad dancing women.
The organic cider on tap. Very nice.

Here I shall include some relevant music and video, for example (uh later when the unruly blog tech decides to obey my commands):

Dirty Projectors

David Byrne

Tania Bosak

..and perhaps Photos via instagram:

Okay, wordpress is annoying me.. won’t let me upload photos. Bug.

References

• MONA FOMA 2013: The festival that’s changing a city.
• The story of Henri Papin at Detached Gallery (Meijers + Walsh)
• More on Meijers + Walsh amazing exhibit