(Guess who got a digital camera recently... and yeah, that's me with Sam in the last horizontal shot on the pictures page...) Click on the collage thing to the left to see the pictures in their entirety. Kara and I headed into nearby St. Louis on February 12, 1999, to catch the Black tape for a blue girl show at the Firehouse. Thanks to Sam and Lisa for letting us take these photos and meeting with us. Opening acts were SCSI and My Scarlet Life, the former consisting of a multi-instrumental 3-person lineup who performed interestingly quirky rock, sometimes reminding me of the Eurythmics (the lead singer bore a Lennox resemblance). Their cover of the "old" Romeo Void new-punk classic "Never Say Never" brought back memories... My Scarlet Life's set was similarly, though more richly, styled... ecstatic, exotic electronic rock, blending a hodge-podge of influences into an energetic performance. Two female lead singers fronted the able and ready musicians in set that was beat heavy and psychedelically charged. I'm afraid though, after the sheer energy of these openers, Black tape's set may have seemed overly subdued to the reveling audience. Rather than travel with the full Black Tape entourage, Sam chose to limit the line-up to three key players... Sam Rosenthal (voice and electronics), Lisa Feuer (flute and vocals) and Elysabeth Grant (lead vocals and viola). A very spare use of lights added a mysterious (and tricky to photograph) air to the proceedings. They performed several pieces from their newest release As one aflame laid bare by desire, as well from earlier discs. It was a great opportunity for fans to gather in a personable atmosphere and actually get to meet the artists. Lisa, it turns out, is a native St. Louisan. For more information about Black tape or any other of Projekt's ambient/ethereal artists simply visit the Projekt website. Finally, I have to plug the Firehouse, renovated from a former life as a St. Louis Fire Department warehouse. We enjoyed the cool fire-station motif, helpful staff, as well as delicious, attractive, and reasonably priced food and drink (I had a wonderful yellowfin tuna sandwich, if you'd care to know). Feb. 28, 1999 AmbiEntrance © 1999-97 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).