New Turf: Frank Orrall At Symphony Center
On June 7, 1970, The Who performed an afternoon and evening show at the Metropolitan Opera House. The famed New York hall known for housing performances of Mozart and Beethoven became the unlikely spot for the band's rock opera Tommy. At the time, it was an unprecedented move for a rock band to take the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House, a symbol of classical music and the high society establishment.
Jump ahead to March 21, 2005 when Poi Dog Pondering unites with the Chicago Sinfonietta to hold a concert at Symphony Center for a performance of 19th century composer Antonin Dvorak's "From the New World" Symphony No. 9 in E minor. Skepticism is always quick to arise when news spreads of a rock band collaborating with a symphony. The very notion of rock mixing with classical have been generally viewed as a pompous experiment--an attempt to win validation as musical visionaries. But in the case of Poi Dog Pondering, the idea of the band working with a celebrated classical group just made sense. For almost 13 years, Poi Dog Pondering have held a special place in the Chicago scene as being a constant sea of creativity, always changing, and never remaining still. Rock. Folk. Electronica. Dance. There isn't a single style of music this band hasn't adapted into their sound. Since forming in Hawaii it has been nearly 19 years of realizing dreams for singer Frank Orrall and Poi Dog Pondering.
The band was never a stranger to the classical world. As the only original member still working in the band, Susan Voelz provided the classical touch with her talents on the violin. Voelz received a classical partner a few years ago with the addition of cellist Alison Chesley whose resume included the duo Jason & Alison and the once promising rock band Verbow, led by Evanston native Jason Narducy. Poi Dog Pondering was designed in many ways as a self-contained orchestra capable of making musical ideas a reality. Many of their fans also know that the Symphony Center show was not the first time the band had shared a stage with an orchestra. In 1996, the band was backed by the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra to perform their album Pomegranate in its entirety at the Petrillo Band Shell.
Conductor Paul Freeman and the Chicago Sinfonietta approached Poi Dog Pondering about working together. "He's notoriously adventurous," said Orrall about Freeman. Orrall had done a remix edit of Dvorak's "New World" about 4 years ago with his electronic side project 8 fat fat 8. "I just heard it on public radio one day," said Orrall. "I was really involved in sampling at the time. I took a lot of stuff for 8 fat fat 8, and I heard a lot of tones and musical passages that I wanted to grab as samples."
Through the Dvorak piece Orrall had chosen the bridge that could link the two groups together and rehearsals soon began to formulate a reinterpretation of "New World." Voelz and fellow member Paul Von Mertens combined their efforts to make the classical piece fit with Poi Dog Pondering.
For several people attending the show at Symphony Center, it was quite possibly their first time inside a classical venue. It was a far cry from a Labor Day weekend stint at an air conditioned crippled Double Door. Freeman and the Sinfonietta started the evening with material by composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor before leading into a performance of "New World" in its original version. After giving the audience a taste of Dvorak's work, Poi Dog Pondering assembled on the stage to a rousing applause. Looking out to the audience Orrall took to the microphone, "It's a real blessing to be here." Opening with "Angelika Suspended," the band used the instrumental song as a transitional device in the show. Scaled down from their club shows the band took the all acoustic arrangement to provide their own reinterpretations of songs from their catalog like "Pulling Touch," "Bury Me Deep," and "Simple Song." Orrall specifically points to "Bury Me Deep" as a song that needed to be performed. According to Orrall, "We thought it would thematically fit with the end piece."
Building up further to "New World" the Sinfonietta joined the band for performances of "Catacombs" and "Big Constellation." The sheer volume of the non-amplified Sinfonietta married with the amplified band was something that Freeman pointed out as one of the exciting challenges the collaboration posed. Finally, "Fantasy and Remix of Themes from Dvorak's New World Symphony" was introduced. Always one to touch every human sense, Orrall supplied a film to coincide with the performance, bringing Dvorak to the music video era. From life to death, the video projected aspects of today's world; a world of high tech industry, business, communication, fashion, love, and hate. It was Orrall's visual concept of what Dvorak might have thought the new world to be.
With the addition of the Sinfonietta, Poi Dog Pondering masterfully raised the artistic level of their songs to possibly some of the most breathtaking musical peaks ever. "It's a career high point," said Orrall when reflecting on that night. "It strecthed us."
Taking a chance is what Poi Dog Pondering lives for, and their success at Symphony Center is a testament to years of dedicated work to their craft. The venue certainly shed new light on the band and audience members maybe walked away with a stronger appreciation for the type of magic the band produces with every show they perform. "It was very different," said Orrall about performing at Symphony Center. "One thing that was nice is that it changes the dynamic in a certain way where I think everyone listens a little deeper." Dvorak's "New World" may very well have opened a totally fresh avenue for Poi Dog Pondering's future."I think we're going to try and add this to our set list," said Orrall. "I think we can do a version by ourselves."
If there ever was a time and place where music captured emotion, made you feel absolute joy, then Poi Dog Pondering, on that very night, did just that. They demonstrated once again why they are a beloved treasure in the Chicago music community.
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