INB essay

Public space merely means that addition restrictions do not apply.              Ownership lines and what those ownership lines mean define private space.  If there are tons of extra rules and they are enforced then the private space is really private.  This however does not mean that people are unable to access it or intrude upon it.  In fact it is much easier to both someone inside private space than in public space.  This comes from the fact that when people interrupt you it ruins your control over the private space. In an ironic twist, private space, which is usually meant to give you security from the outside world, really creates more anxiety about outside influence inside.

Grey areas occur in urban places where space is tight.  Buildings do not own the sidewalk outside their house, however they do attempt to assert control over it.  Because of this parades like the Infernal Noise Brigade cause a level of stress that is heightened by the fact that all they can do is tell them to leave, but to no avail. This is one of the compromises of living in an urban area because you have to share the streets with everyone.

Encountering a random parade or performance in my opinion creates a heightened level of excitement for the observer.  The surprise of seeing the event also lends to a sense of discovery and getting in on a secret.  This also breaks expectations of what a performance is.  Usually at performances there are set roles: performance, observer, bouncer/staff.  At a performance on the street like All Souls Procession that paradigm is broken and the observer can become part of the performance, increasing their enjoyment of it.  This however also allows for them to not participate if they do not want to, which is a happy medium between a standard performance and asking for audience participation.

In terms of performances public and privates spaces operate quite differently.  Public spaces allow for an observer to interact with the performers and in fact often will invite them to see what is going on rather than show up with an expectation.  Because of this the sense of control is different empowering the observer in ways that simply cannot be done at a venue. However the straight forwardness of a private venue or gallery can be useful to have people pay attention to the performance rather than attempt to help perform in it. This attention can be more useful for attempting to get a message across sometimes.

One thing that I felt symbolized the idea of what the INB was doing was their Capoeira rodas.  Having been part of that community, when you hear the music you walk over and see what is going on.  Whether you go to play or go just to watch you become absorbed in the situation.  The music is almost like a secret code calling to Capoeristas saying, “Hey guess what we are doing?”  In a way the INB is doing the same thing.  They show up to events where the marching orders of the day are already west but they call people into order and give them something to rally around.

Music is especially powerful in engaging people. All cultures have some form of music and with the exception of much of Western Europe have had thousands of years of dance ingraining into their culture.  Western Europe repressed dance for about a thousand years and Europeans still dance, however it does seem to be more of a venue/event thing instead of a general way of life like in many African and Middle Eastern cultures. 

Something I find fascinating about music how different progressions seem to evoke similar emotions in people.  While an augmented 7th sounds dramatic, a minor 7th sounds wistful, even somber.  This makes it easy to use music to inspire emotions into people because while we may not experience every song the same way, people will be imbued with similar emotions. 

This allows for a band, especially a marching band, to motivate large crowds in interesting ways.  Whether you are calling people to dance from the crowd or commanding the to march with you, it is music easier to coerce crowds without disenfranchising them by saying, “Hey! You all should listen to me.”  While at the same time forcing them to literally listen to you.

With a large group playing music or performing something out in public areas it becomes harder to point at any one person and say, “This is the player.”  Without that ability one can only point at the group as a unit.  With the INB the group becomes larger and larger as other people fall into step, and with every person the effect is amplified.  Even if someone is not playing music, but just dancing, they add more gravitas to the performance.  Because of this people are able to perform more openly without the fear of being singled out for their performance.

When playing as a group in a private venue there is a sense of each person for the audience.  In a quartet you can see and hear the guitarist and because of this there is a lot more pressure on the individual performer.  This leads to more stringent playing and more stress.  It also creates expectations for the audience reinforcing the pressure.  Some performers are able to thrive on this, for example violin soloists must live off that pressure and some performers are scared off by that and only play in large bands.

Overall the physical context of a performance so heavily affects the rest of it that one could say location is everything.  Not only will location draw different crowds but also it affects those crowds differently.