a silver mt. zion

Usually there's not much to do, culturally speaking, in Harrisburg. Tonight, however, A Silver Mt. Zion came to town. I'd missed them in DC, but enjoyed them tonight.

They played in front of about 200 indie hipsters (redundant?) in the basement of the Whitaker Center. Classified as post-rock, a definition I've never really understood, I'd put them more in the new classical genre, one I've just made up. A seven member ensemble, A Silver Mt. Zion plays largely ornamental pieces punctuated by braying, often repetitive vocals. The violins and cello build to a crescendo. Combining the strings with feedback and other sonic goodies, their music, even more so live, is as aural assault as typically defined songs.

Good stuff, though lacking from the absence of the piano often heard on their studio albums.