critical sound mass

One Sunday evening as Chicagoans and tourists mingled among twinkling lights on the Magnificent Mile, a group of about 35 people carrying about 15 boomboxes gave a performance of mobile electronic music, winding its way from Water Tower to Millennium Park and finally to the Christkindlmarkt at Daley Plaza. "Unsilent Night" was originally conceived by Phil Kline in 1992 as a group and has developed into an annual New York tradition, attracting hundreds or thousands of people. It has also spread to 25 cities around the world, including Chicago.

I went sans boombox (or iPod dock) and, really, sans expectations. It's one of those things that was hard for me to imagine being successful, and so all my feeble attempts at picturing the event ended with disappointment. Fortunately, the actual event surpassed my preconceptions and was a pleasant surprise.

For one thing, the music itself was simply beautiful. At the beginning, a mood of tranquil wonder was set by a sea of bells shimmering underneath a sky full of stars. The sound samples on the Unsilent Night website don't do justice to the richness of the texture created by multitude of speakers both in motion and slightly out of sync. I tried to stay towards the middle of the group to have the "surround sound" experience. 30 speakers is better than 5.1.

The subdued awe persisted as the music slowly changed from twinkling bells to drones to chant. The mass of people moved as a herd leading to the Bean in Millennium Park. We stopped for several minutes underneath the Bean which amplified the sound and gave us a chance to hear things a little more clearly.

There were certainly a mixture of reactions from passers-by ranging from curious, amused, and bewildered to perplexed, indifferent and even angry. And it was interesting to witness the effect of the music on my own perceptions of people. There was a point at which the music felt like the non-diagetic music to a film montage. As that happened, I caught a glimpse of a cashier at a pharmacy watching us through the window with a glazed look of indifference, and suddenly I was watching the documentary of her life.

We ended soon thereafter at Daley Plaza. I would highly recommend finding (or starting) this event in a city near you. It only happens once a year in each location, so you might have to wait until next year. Don't be skeptical, it's worth it. In fact, I would like to see more such similar performances. Someone should start a boombox ensemble and then encourage composers to write this kind of electroacoustic music.

Here's a video of the Unsilent Night in San Francisco. More videos available on their website.