If you've ever gone to Laser Floyd or the like, where all of your co-patrons in the planetarium were making overt gasps and sedated mutters of "far out," we'll tell you off the bat that this experience was not that. Boston's Museum of Science has been fine tuning their programming with inventive performances, and last night (June 20), Grammy-nominated TOKiMONSTA performed two live sets in the museum's Charles Hayden Planetarium, complete with accompanying visuals displayed all around her. Supporting her newly released Young Art Sound II, the performance was a truly unique visual sensory experience.
Two digital artists created visual arrangements to pair with TOKiMONSTA's beats live and in the moment. At times, they were awkward, with 1998 Angelfire-looking aliens dancing across laser fencing. Structures collapsed into one another, folding and turning like an Escher painting. Other sections layered sophisticated plasma structures organically intertwining; the in-depth aesthetic is one that Natalie Portman may have endured in her film Annihilation. It was one worm hole after another with deep visuals. Lounged deep in their chairs, the audience was fawning over the intricate process all done in the moment reacting to sounds.
While DJing, TOKiMONSTA and opener Bad Tuner danced along with the soundscapes created. Audience members fully immersed in their musical journeys joined in, wiggling with glee from their seats. Scan through a visual gallery recap of the night's opening performance by both artists below.
