people pray for cold
keep constant minus 5 C
least the concert melts
senryu by M. Nakazato LaFreniere
Playing on ice instruments has it’s hazards. Primarily the heat from the audience can melt them, changing their tonality. As it is, they have to retune after each song as the instruments melt a little with the heat of playing. So concerts are either outdoors or in special ice igloo concert halls made to ventilate the heat upward and outward away from the musicians.
This one is a Wall Street Journal video. In this video, Americans Charlie Sexton, Phoebe Hunt (violin), Michael Blair, Troy Campbell, and Lindsey Verril team up with Danish Anders Bo Eriksen and local Luleå Swede talents Olle Nyman and Rebecka Digervall.
The Austin, Texas musicians had traveled to Sweden to participate in a City of Songs project culminating in two sold out concerts in the Ice Music Concert Hall. They were introduced to their first ice instruments and for a week practiced playing them before appearing in public.
Housed for a week together the Danish Eriksen, Swedes Nyman and Digervall along with the Texans collaborated together writing songs and playing the instruments. They were documented by an Lulea and Austin film crew. When Sexton’s ice guitar broke the day before the concert, he took up the ice cello. You can see Rebecka Digervall singing vocals while playing an ice guitar.
The ideal temperature to play was 23F (-5C) which the Texans were not used to. Verrill said “The landscape is quite alien to me. It is like visiting another planet”. (Lulea Story Magazine, p29). Lulea Story said that that temperature is quite pleasant for the audience. (p39) Being in Arizona, I think that’s one tough audience. Every year Lulea Swedes must build their ice concert hall anew when winter returns.
References:
Dylan guitarist to take Ice Music stage in Sweden, The Local SE, February 26, 2015
In Sweden, Musicians Play Hot Licks on Ice Instruments:Concerts feature violins, cellos and other instruments made of ice; exploding guitar
by Anna Molin and Miguel Bustillo, Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2015
Cool World Premier for City of Songs, Lulea Story Magazine, p. 28-29, 38-39
Constant
Daily prompt, Daily Post
I put up a few more videos at Igloo Concerts, Playing Instruments including videos with more explanations. Ice instruments seem to be a Scandnavian thing as there is a video with Norwegians too.