Johanna Hedva to Perform Solo at The Lab

Johanna Hedva (photograph by Oscar Rohleder, courtesy of The Lab)

The next concert offering to be hosted by The Lab will be a solo vocal performance by Johanna Hedva. She will present a new work (whose title has not yet been announced) based on the drone sonorities of an electric guitar. Her vocal work involves lyrics that quote Clarice Lispector, but her delivery goes beyond simply accounting for a text. Her technique involves pushing her voice into the muscles of the throat until it breaks. That style emerges in the context of that drone background of her guitar, which drags and pulls as it continues. The result is not a “song cycle.” as such, but, in Hedva’s words, “a ritual to bring communal exhaustion and rage into corporal [sic, probably intending “corporeal”] space.” This will be Hedva’s first live performance since January of 2020.

This performance will take place on Saturday, January 22. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening half an hour in advance. The Lab is located in the Mission at 2948 16th Street. This is a short walk from the corner of Mission Street. The venue is particularly good for those using public transportation, since that corner provides bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel as well as a BART station. Prior to the pandemic it was usually the case that a long line would accumulate before the doors open. The event page provides both background material and hyperlinks for ticket purchases. General admission will be $15, and members of The Lab will be admitted for free.

Masks, proof of both vaccination and a booster shot (or negative COVID-19 results from a test taken within 48 hours) will be required for entry. For those feeling sick or preferring not to be part of the audience, the program will also be given a live broadcast. Information necessary for live-stream viewing will be provided closer to the date of the performance.