When I entered the Agora Theater on Friday night, it was the first time I had been in the venue in close to a decade. The new renovations left me awed, but did not wipe out the flood of memories that came rushing back with the little hints of the beloved dingy old theater I knew back in my youth. Morphine in the Ballroom; Dinosaur Jr, Nine Inch Nails, They Might Be Giants, and Medeski, Martin and Wood shows in the Theater were the first to fill my mind. The memories and ghosts of friends from a different era wrapped around me, as I remembered our various exploits and adventures. I was impressed with the beautiful new space and how its designers managed to hold onto and celebrate enough of the old to not abandon it in the past.
Especially after having the opportunity to sit down and chat with him earlier in the day, I was eager to witness Trevor Hall perform live for my first time. Knowing he had two opening acts, but knowing little more than their names, I found my way down to the stage to check out some new music before the venue packed itself with eager fans.
First to the stage was Will Evans… A man and his guitar standing solo to one side of the stage. Yet, as he dove into his 30-minute opening act he quickly revealed much more than the initial appearance suggested. His sultry, smooth voice was intoxicating. Even more so when he looped it through pedals, creating his own backing vocals. The depth of his music came as he pulled rhythms from the body of his guitar and the magic of his voice and a microphone, twisting them and looping them through those same pedals. As his presence and sound filled the theater it quickly became apparent that this night was not just about the music of Trevor Hall.
Next to the stage came Dirtwire—three troubadours of music decked to the hilt in caballero costumes with a menagerie of unique instruments at their feet. The driving grooves spilling forth from the unique musical explorations on stage took the energy of everyone in their presence to the next level. Their diverse instrumentation melded influences and styles from around the world into a metamorphosis of sound that emerged from its cocoon as a unified and cohesive whole that eludes definition. Filled with intricate melodies and rhythms, the fusion of style and sound from the three maestros on stage truly intoxicated the audience.
When the house lights finally dimmed for the third time, the energy in the house was palpable. The eager audience was met with recorded sound before physical presence. And then, came the heavy bass reverberation that shook your very being at the front of the stage, followed by audience focused light illumination of immense intensity… a testament that the experiences of night and the music had the power to shift your very being.
As Trevor Hall took to the stage, his delivery and presence pulled you into the experience of the music. Throughout the venue the crowd was diverse and dedicated—people of all walks of life experiencing the performance and the music in their own right, yet unified together in a common experience and passion.
From the stage Trevor Hall led the journey, his gentleness combined with power as the music shifted between smooth and passionate to powerful and driving. As you watched his presence on stage, you could see him turn inwards and outwards as he combined spirit and being with unabashed enjoyment and energy. He delivered a mix of old and new favorites, leaving some with tears on their faces and others spinning in circles of pure joy.
Throughout the night, an ebb and flow of musical mastery led a wave of musical being that will not soon be forgotten by anyone that felt its tide. The line up of all three of these musical masterminds created an unforgettable night of at Cleveland’s historic Agora Theater.