Dave Viner's Weblog

Black Rider

On Saturday, Diana, Brandon, Erika, and I went to see the Black Rider, a musical by Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs, and Robert Wilson.

It was spectacular... in every possible way.

For a long time, I've been a Tom Waits fan... ever since Brandon introduced me to his music in college. Some of my favorite Tom Waits songs are in the Black Rider. So, to see it live was... well, it was mind-blowing.

Actually, it's pretty hard to describe why this show was so great. The music was awesome. The singing was really good (in my uneducated opinion). It was similar to Waits' original, but not exactly identical. I suppose no decent actor would sing exactly like Tom does... since he sounds like he's just woken up from a night of far too much alcohol and tabacco. Nevertheless, the actors did a great job in my opinion. The writing was... well, it was William S. Burroughs... it was wild. Funny, witty, convoluted, rhythmic... everything you might want from a theatrical production. And the staging was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was really far out there... Imagine the most bizarre Faustian storyline set in scenery reminiscent of the scary tunnel/boat ride from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original Gene Wilder version). With that picture in mind, throw in a massive dose of wacky mechanical devices that float around the stage (Robert Wilson's touch). If you are having trouble imagining it, don't worry. Just buy some tickets and go see it. (BTW - if you're a KCRW member, you can get huge discounts. See KCRW's homepage for more information.)

If you have never heard of Tom Waits or Black Rider, you can find him in iTunes... Here's one sample which is one of my favorite songs.