There's a charter bus waiting for us, and it quickly fills up with bodies and gear for the hour long ride into the city. We're being put up at the Strand Palace Hotel, where we settle in before figuring out what to do with the rest of the day. Saturday is a long day. Then it's back on the bus for the ride over to the Barbican and a day of setup and soundchecks. Soundchecks go in reverse order, so Branca is up first, running through sections of his piece, which is debuting that night.
Similar stories play out the rest of the afternoon.
I'm only in one group, the Wharton Tiers Ensemble, which finally gets its turn late in the afternoon, after which we retire to the restaurant upstairs to grab some food and catch part of Page and Ben's set. When evening arrives I wander out into the main hall to catch the show. Jon Bepler is up first, leading off the evening with an engagingly skronky piece. Then Jon Myers' Blastula takes the stage, and his massed E-bowed guitars fill the hall with warm, dense drones. Unfortunately I end up listening to most of it from backstage, one of many people who seem to be pacing and chatting and tuning and retuning.