Auster & Martin Unscripted

On Friday Gothamist went to check out Paul Auster and Billy Martin perform at Symphony Space in an event called My Mouth Is Tired Now (although Martin says his personal theme for the show was "The Music of Chance is Always Playing".) We walked into the space with no expectations and as we slid down in our seat, the lights dimmed and our minds opened to take in whatever we were about to see and hear. We like Auster's stories and Martin's music, but how were they going to combine the two, and would it work?

At first we weren't sure it was going to work. The sporadic notes being hit, the free form jazz, it wasn't melding with the sound of Auster reading. One part seemed to be distracting us from the other. The two admitted in the beginning they didn't really know what they were going to do in the next hour plus, so it was clear we were all in this together. After about 2 minutes of getting used to the sounds blending and after each performer found the groove they were trying to get into...it worked. Quite well. Auster's voice echoed throughout the space and his words, his stories, invaded each persons mind. Martin, Ehrlich and Wieselman would come in at various moments during the reading, but only mildly. It was background music. When Auster would pause the band would already be building up to what would become the louder musical interlude between sections.

Auster and Martin first met on the filming of Blue in the Face, which Auster wrote and the orchestra that Martin was a part of at the time, performed in. We hope they continue to collaborate on more projects in the future!