Eighth Blackbird Series:Joyce and Slater In Concert – reviewed by Julia W. Rath

Highly Recommended **** Molly Joyce’s powerful and soulful voice pierced the heavens as she enthralled us with six original songs having to do with the theme of disability. She accompanied herself on a vintage Magnus Electric Chord Organ hooked into a computer with, what looked to be, a Kindle with her notations on it. No matter what she sang, the drone prevailed throughout, with the strong chords being a constant reminder that there always exists some invisible link connecting each composition to the creative process that gave rise to it. But what is this cord within the chord? In Joyce’s case, was it her contemplations about: Weakness? Fatality? Fragility? Disfigurement? Pain? Or the persistent memory of being in a tragic car accident twenty years ago with its never-ending ramifications? Or perhaps the root of her incredible self-exploration has to do with Occhiolism, an aspect of the human condition (and a word I never heard of until now), which means being conscious of the limit of your perspective in the vastness of the Universe, as we are all privy to being a sample size of one.

The livestreamed multimedia concert, presented by the Chicago Artists Workshop (CAW), began with a song called “I Was a Figure.” Listening to this particular combination of Joyce’s lovely singing and Andy Slater’s mighty prose, I felt I had returned to (what was once called) the Medieval and Renaissance Re-Creation Society at The University of Chicago. Of all the songs being featured, this one was the most reminiscent of Gregorian chant. Although the program seemed to get more melancholy as the evening went on, it was not a downer, largely because Slater added tons of visual and metaphoric references to Joyce’s imagery. His resonant, almost mechanical voice, was very distinctive in his inspiring and elegant recitation. Slater, who is blind, described himself as being informed by his synesthesia whenever he writes.

Over the course of the one-hour performance, the focus moved away from a more medieval sound to a more contemporary one. This included fusions of Joyce’s voice with various musical and rhetorical accompaniment, often supplemented by videos of her disabled left hand. Some songs had additional sound tracks behind them, and in at least one, Joyce—who has an incredible vocal range—was singing simultaneously with herself. The last song “Form and Flee” included recorded backup voices. Reverberation and intentionally echoey sounds continually predominated among the sturm und drang.

Captions were projected online so that viewers could easily follow Joyce’s lyrics and Slater’s reflections. This was a disability-friendly performance, with an accessibility icon on the bottom right-hand corner of the computer screen.

By focusing on her perceptiveness and her personal struggles, Joyce has inspired other disabled individuals to look beyond a likely handicap to achieve something greater than they could have possibly imagined. Just as she had to learn to use her disabled left hand, Slater had to teach himself how to morph his various senses to “see through” his blindness. Disability can thus be seen as a source of unique inspiration, in part because it can inform people about aspects of themselves that they may or may not have grappled with before.

Joyce and Slater made for a great team. The exceptional blend of their respective talents made this concert remarkably enjoyable. Both agreed that it is unwise to listen to those ableists who would see disability as being the end—rather than the beginning—of acquiring new perspectives on life and on creativity. Whether we are members of the able-bodied or disabled community or something in between, the lesson we can take away from this performance is the importance of persistence in developing our talents and not listening to those who would have us believe that we cannot accomplish a cherished goal. It is essential to have faith in our abilities and confront our disabilities if we plan to pursue our artistry.

“Molly Joyce with Andy Slater in Concert” was a remote performance sponsored by the Chicago Artists Workshop (CAW) and Eighth Blackbird as part of their online concert series. It took place on live videostream on June 3, 2021.

For more information about this and other virtual shows being offered by CAW, please visit https://www.eighthblackbird.org/.

Tickets for this one-time livestreamed event were $20 per household (suggested), but options include choosing a price or becoming a donor to the organization. Please go to the donate section on the Eighth Blackbird website to help support their mission of promoting performing artists in Chicago and the Midwest.

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