Enter/Exit Hard Rubber Orchestra @ The East Vancouver Cultu

Enter/Exit Hard Rubber Orchestra @ The East Vancouver Cultural Centre

Hard Rubber Orchestra has been in the local and international scene for over fifteen years creating and performing some pretty nutty yet critically-acclaimed pieces. In 1994 and 1996 John Korsrud (the band's leader and head trumpeter) produced The Elvis Cantata and Elvis Cantata II, respectively. Both showcased songs associated with the King that had been remade/remixed by Vancouver composers in styles not associated with the King. In 2004 HRO performed Ice Age at the Kerrisdale Arena. Hockey players, skaters, curlers and dancing zambonis were all part of the piece. How cool is that?

SUPER COOL. And that's the same thing I thought when I saw an ad for Enter/Exit. The copy started out with the term rave-inspired. Well, I love anything rave-related (unless it's also sexy house-, candy raver- or epic trance-related) and it sounded whimsical and hardcore all at once so I was game to go. Unfortunately 'rave-inspired is a stretch. A couple of laptops, some drum 'n bass and a few bass lines don't merit the description: a spectacle that draws on raves and psychedlica.

I was right, though, that it would be whimsical and hardcore but not in ways I could even hope to understand. The music was totally cacophonous to my untrained ear. When the orchestra was handling a light composition something that was conservatively created or a piece that was played by just a few instruments I found myself enjoying it. However, when HRO started some of the more busy compositions where everyone seemed to be playing their own song I found myself discombobulated.

Same thing with the dancing. I appreciated the girls being cute and funny but I hadn't a clue when they were actually dancing.

Because it was 'multi-disciplinary they had tonnes of visuals and those were somewhat reminiscent of the eye candy that you find at raves. There were projections all over the place, including the covered walkway that takes you to the Cultch's front door. In the lobby they had even more projections, this time there was a series of translucent sheets hanging off the ceiling. It looked dope. In the performance area the projections weren't so interesting. There were two screens, side by side, above the orchestra. A lot of the time they just changed colours. For a while video of two of the dancers were shown while they danced below. At times the projections mirrrored the reverberations of the bass. It seemed to be a hit with the audience but it seemed pretty basic to me. The best was during Five Alive (or perhaps it was Improv Quartet II there are thirteen pieces in Enter/Exit and I only counted eleven so that shows you how lost I truly was) where there was a cartoon of a woman sadly looking out at the rain. It was reminiscent of the William Kentridge cartoons I saw at the Vancouver Art Gallery a few months ago (during The Divine Tragedy exhibition).

The best part of the whole spectacle was at the very beginning. The members come out and are introduced and then they leave. The drummer is left alone and he traverses the orchestra pit, lifting his knees super high as he climbs over chairs, music holders and instruments. He looks a bit baffled by the obstacle course and then one of the dancers pops her head from behind the curtain and gives him her hand. He takes it and steps off the stage. Then the guy who presented everyone comes out and says, And now for Act II. Even though they are all accredited and esteemed musicians they have a sense of humor. That was basically the only thing I really understood.

Enter/Exit was created in part by having won this year's Alcan Performing Arts Award for music. Each year Alcan awards $60,000 to performing arts companies resident in BC. It rotates annually amongst Dance, Theatre and Music/Opera. A panel of arts professionals have the task of deciding who wins.