Mr. Largebeat

continued

Any Theremin player, seeming to practice magic by producing sound simply with hands waved through the air, is coolest when seen and heard live. But Mr. Largebeat may be even more compellingly mysterious in this respect. When I saw him play last winter at Arbor Brewing, thanks to a friend who is among his devoted cadre of local fans, he delivered a barroom rock show, with the high volume you would expect in that setting. Rock music, at one level, works by removing a layer of analytical reaction and producing a heightened visceral and communal response (not to analyze this thing and take all the fun out of it). Put a Theremin on top of that, and instead of representing an artificial construct of technological advancement it will take you to a whole new plane.

Mr. Largebeat makes the Theremin rock at Liberty Plaza at noon on Saturday, August 22.   

[Originally published in August, 2009.]