It was a return to the days of Psychedelia at the Duncan Garage Showroom Saturday night, Sept. 7.
David Hickey was in town, bringing his Crystal Journey show to the stage, and that meant a fantasy trip.
On a stage hung with tie-dye and banners redolent of the 1960s, and dressed himself in a tie-dye T-shirt, Hickey played Paiste planet and symphonic gongs: amazing huge metal disks that seem, when struck with soft, fluffy looking mallets, to make the whole room vibrate. Each gong is tuned to a strong fundamental note in a natural harmonic series.
He also performed on Persian santoors: trapezoid percussion instruments that are played by a seated musician striking the keys with long-handled metal spoons, like a hammered dulcimer. The santoor is ancient, dating back to Babylon, and is still the national instrument of Iran today.
In addition, Hickey swirled sticks around crystal singing bowls of different sizes, adding their other-worldly vibrations to the overall atmosphere.
The resulting soundscape gave each listener the feeling that they were a single note in a huge chord, vibrating around the universe: astonishing, and assuredly the reason Hickey regularly tours Canada and the U.S. with his uniqe presentation.
