Lee Ronaldo at Bush Hall
Lee Ronaldo at Bush Hall, Shepherds Bush. 1st November, 2022
Lee Ronaldo opened his intimate solo show at Bush Hall in the relaxed and confident manner one would expect from the seasoned alt music legend and former noise guitar extraordinaire of Sonic Youth himself. Wandering on to the stage and casually taking his seat, he spent a good 5 minutes chatting to the audience before he played a note. What he talked about was the background to his most recent release, In Virus Times . He explained that prior to the global pandemic hitting, he and his current musical collaborator Raul Referee had just finished recording his previous album: Names of North End Women, a complex work made outside of their comfort zone, experimenting with digital effects and with much of the creative process occurring ‘in production’.
When Covid happened, the pair had been about to embark on an extensive tour promoting the album, but like us all, Ronaldo found himself instead stuck at home in New York City with nothing to do but lots to worry about. At first, having just completed an album and geared up to perform it, writing new music was the last thing on his mind and, like many of us, he spent a long time not knowing what to do with himself. However, over time he found himself picking up his acoustic guitar and, as he put it, beginning to ‘relearn how to play guitar’.
As can be heard in the 22 minute instrumental solo-acoustic record that eventually resulted from this process and which he played tonight from start to finish, this involves a lot of heavily struck single chords that he allows to resonate and eventually fade out before repeating. He said he found inspiration in the relative stillness and silence of this strange period; the lack of urgency and odd passage of time, and in the simple yet complex sound of his acoustic guitar echoing through his empty apartment and beyond into the eerily quiet city. This is certainly all evoked in the resulting music.
For perhaps the most melodic and straightforward of Sonic Youths songwriters, this album can be somewhat ‘difficult’ and certainly more experimental than the rest of his solo output. Having listened a couple of times to In Virus Times prior to this gig, I found that his eloquent explanation, along with the experience of seeing the music played live made a huge impact on my appreciation and understanding of what he was trying to do.
These are tunes that really require a lot of attention, concentration and patience from the listener, but this audience of devotees really made the effort and as a result, there was a magical atmosphere during this part of the set. The music really took us somewhere and there was not a peep nor a mobile phone related infraction from the audience. At one stage a siren could be heard outside the venue over the hypnotic music within, and I briefly felt that I had been transported in time and space to New York City circa 2020.
After finishing In Virus Times, Ronaldo played a mixture of his previous solo works, many of which needed to be adapted for single guitar and voice, but which are generally more melodic and traditional in structure with lyrics sung in Ronald’s distinctive detached Lou Reed-esque talking / singing voice. After the set finished the friendly and down to earth Ronaldo said that he would be at the merch stand to chat to anyone who fancied it, but somewhat ‘spaced’ by the whole experienced I made my way out of the venue and home, those heavily struck chords of In Virus Times still ringing in my ears.
James lawson
Photos by Joe Harris Instagram
