A Big Ears Wrap Up by A Noah Harrison
With a look of soft determination, guitarist Bryce Dessner of The National sat surrounded by the world renowned Kronos Quartet, the festival’s artist-in-residence, to perform a piece he wrote for the string quartet’s 40th anniversary. You could tell the quartet’s founder, David Harrington, used to selling out massive concert halls, took bemused pleasure in playing mere feet away from his audience members—many of whom had stuck around after a performance of mathrocker Tyondai Braxton’s new composition, HIVE Nunavut, CA native Tanya Tagaq belting her heart out to claim seats (later stands) at front and center of Knoxville’s clean-cut event space, The Standard. After a short transition with shrieks and wails and deep rhythmic croaks, period, Dessner left the stage to be replaced by making use of every corner of the Bijou Theatre. Tanya Tagaq, throat-singer superstar from NunWith her hand, she summoned ever-shifting landavut, northernmost territory of Canada. Over the scapes and all the good and evil within them; fear, billowing tension and release of the strings, Tagaq hatred, and ecstasy all unfolded from one another. yelped and whelped to a recorded folkloric narra- She evolved through a series of bodily positions, tive of a girl who spawns a litter of dog children. at one point crouching at the edge of the stage Two days earlier, Tagaq’s trio took the stage of the Bijou Theatre, equipped with violin, percussion, and electronics. After a gentle and charming introduction and a disclaimer that, “I’m always okay! Don’t be concerned,” Tagaq proceeded with most extreme display of human emotion I have ever seen on the musical stage. In this rawer and more improvised setting, Tagaq filled the hall 28
and extending her arm blindly out into her captivated audience. While the performance was highly self-expressive in nature, you got the feeling she was channeling something greater than herself. People, places, and periods far beyond physical reach wound into Tagaq’s story with a passion that transcended her mere body and spirit. It may be tempting to label the festival, brainchild
