Moon Jelly illuminated the In-between series.

Posted on by Thor

On Saturday March 5th, Moon Jelly performed at the Gallery at Avalon Island as part of the monthly In-between series. When I arrived at the upstairs theater, Kate Shults was setting up the lighting and video effects. Hanging vines had their branches wrapped in foil as if to protect them from harmful radiation or alien attack. A vibrant green lamp caught my eye to anchor the scene and I sat in the front row to start sketching. Steven Head, the guitarist made a comment about all the “foiliage”.  He let me know that his family would be sitting to my left. He was also surprised that I was working digitally. He got ready to perform by putting on a pair of glitter socks. A photographer asked all the band members to hold plants and she photographed them before the show.

I just wanted to be sure I was fine where I was seated before committing to the sketch. Moriah Lorraine Russo sat next to me, and I felt at ease since she is an artist herself. My concern was that the room would go dark and I would be be the jerk with a giant illuminated tablet. People have been shot in Florida for turning on their digital devices in a dark theater. She reassured me that she enjoyed watching the sketch develop. Hopefully others felt the same. 

Timothy Murray, the other Moon Jelly guitarist, held up the small purple vase to let people know that they could place any tips inside since they were not getting paid for this gig. He was good about reminding the audience that he would be making the announcement multiple times.

Anna Wallace, the lead singer also performed on an Omnichord. She had on giant eyelashes and plenty of glitter around her eyes. The bands music is classified as pop psych. “Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots can’t stay
alone; like the communicative life of people, two or three polka-dots
become movement… Polka-dots are a way to infinity.” – Yayoi Kusama. Before the show, band members joked that it was hard to be weird but accessible. 

The music flowed and ebbed with a mysterious electron vibe. One song flowed seamlessly into another. The lyrics were quirky and fun. I absolutely loved the show which took me back to the brooding seamless concerts of Pink Floyd. Moon Jelly however had a much light flair. Blurred and pixelated images flickered on the screens. Listening was like a dream in which you find you are floating, a bit out control, but certain that things will work out. The audience went wild when the music found its resolution. Moon Jelly was the opening act for Mutual Benefit. I felt satiated when their set was done and decided to slip out before Mutual Benefit was set up. It was a great concert in a great venue. 


After the show, I got to see the plein air art show now hanging in the gallery. Kelly Medford, an American Artist has been living in Rome where she does a plein air painting every day. We collaborated on an Orlando Sketch Tour workshop on Valentines Day weekend and it was such a fun experience.

The Inbetween Series brings cutting edge music downtown.

Posted on by Thor

On the third Monday of every month, The Gallery at Avalon Island (39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida) hosts the In-between Series. It is called the In-between Series because the art gallery is in-between shows. Soon after the concert, new art is loaded into the gallery and hung. Steven Head was listed on the invitation, but the trio consisted of, Doug Mathews on base, Mark Piszczek on sax and Chris Cortez on Guitar. Mark explained that one of the pieces was autobiographical having to do with his childhood growing up on the space coast. Mark’s father was a devout fan of classical music and it played
daily on the family phonograph. This early exposure to concert music and
the presence of highly competent music teachers, instilled a love of
music that later turned into a life long passion.

The music from this Jazz trio was both soothing and cutting edge.  The low resonant base contrasted the energetic searching melody of the sax. There was a yearning to the music, an endless reaching out. There is no better music to sketch too.

Mark and Chris have been working on opening a new music venue called The Blue Bamboo Music Center for the Arts at 1905 Kentucky Avenue just south of Fairbanks in Winter Park. He showed me plans for the 4,000 square foot warehouse which will become a studio quality performance space. The venue will feature state of the art sound, grand piano, back line equipment, stage lighting and a large projection screen, it will also be set up to record concert and performance video in high definition. The Center will also serve as an art gallery featuring local and international artists.

Unfortunately City codes and ordinances have tied up the construction and renovation. Creating a new arts venue in Orlando is not an easy task. The Center will hopefully open in 2016. It is a sure sign that the arts continue to grow in Central Florida.