Given weather, Steve Reich "new music" concert moved just inside the Barclays Center doors, meets enthusiastic crowd (+ "Social Justice" doubts).

The bad weather yesterday afternoon might have been good news for the scheduled free "Counterpoint: Steve Reich" new music concert, scheduled for Barclays Center's Ticketmaster Plaza and sponsored by the Social Justice Fund of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, operated by the couple that owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and the arena operating company.

Anthony McGill greeting the crowd before the 11-clarinet
version of "New York Counterpoint" (Photos/Norman Oder)

Instead of having the metronomic, minimalist compositions on the plaza, competing with traffic along Flatbush and Atlantic avenues and other street noise, the concert was moved just into the arena lobby.

While that likely stymied some passers-by who might have discovered it, enough passionate fans of Reich had gotten the word, and many of perhaps 200 seats were filled, with numerous standees.

And they enjoyed it enthusiastically, so far as I could tell. 

I only stayed for the first of the three pieces, then watched part of the second from the arena plaza, where--wisely--the arena operators had traded in colorful advertising in the oculus and LED "wall" for grey geometric patterns, as shown in the second video below. 

The crowd near the stage.

Some skepticism

Note this Twitter comment from Judd Greenstein: "The year is 2023 and somehow playing Steve Reich in front of a hugely problematic stadium is supposed to be a statement about reclaiming public space for the arts?? am I missing something?"

One respondent snarked, "Reclaiming public space at the Ticketmaster plaza."

That suggests to me that not everyone buys the implied connection between a free concert and social justice, because, well, a lot of things could be sponsored by the Social Justice Fund and help give the Tsais a bit of a halo.

But, hey, people like free concerts--and this was produced well.

Two audiences

The 7:30 pm concert came after the 6 pm Social Justice Fund "Just Brooklyn" prize awards, which honored five Black women and drew a predominantly Black crowd, dressed for an award ceremony. 

Because the latter ran late, some arriving for the concert--a more casually dressed, mostly white crowd--drifted back to listen and partake of the copious free food and drink. Some from the earlier event stayed for a bit, at least for some photos, before exiting during the performance.

Here's a view from inside.

Here's a view from the plaza.

Here's a view from across Atlantic Avenue.