# Gabriel Kahane & Caroline Shaw at Herbst Theatre, November 14, 2024

[San Francisco Performances](https://sfperformances.org/performances/2425/shaw-kahane.html) presents [Gabriel Kahane](http://gabrielkahane.com/) & [Caroline Shaw](http://carolineshaw.com/)  
[Herbst Theatre](http://www.sfwmpac.org/herbst-theatre)  
[Veterans' Building, San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-4522 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Veterans'+Building,+San+Francisco+War+Memorial+Performing+Arts+Center,+401+Van+Ness+Avenue,+San+Francisco,+CA+94102-4522+USA&hl=en)  
7:30 PM, Thursday, November 14, 2024

[[2024-11-9|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2024|Up to the 2024 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2024#November_events|Up to the 2024 event list!]] ☸ [[2024-11-17|On to the next event!]]

## One Set

[7:31 PM] {lights down; pre-recorded announcements; waiting}  
[7:32 PM] {applause for entrance of GK & CS}

01. [7:32 PM] _Winter Song_ (Gabriel Kahane)  
[7:37 PM] {GK thanks}
02. [7:37 PM] _And So_ (Caroline Shaw)  
[7:42 PM] {greetings from DK; talk from both performers about tonight's effort_ (Caroline Shaw)}
03. [7:46 PM] _In manus tuas_ (Caroline Shaw)  
[7:52 PM] {GK introduction of the next work}
04. [7:53 PM] _Better_ (Gabriel Kahane)  
[7:57 PM] {GK & CS talk about their friendship}
05. [8:00 PM] _To Be American_ (Gabriel Kahane)  
[8:03 PM] {GK asks the sound engineer for more of his voice in the monitor wedge; brief pause; lighting change}  
   
**_Hexagons_** (Gabriel Kahane & Caroline Shaw)
06. [8:03 PM] _I Dreamed a Book_ (GK)
07. [8:07 PM] _A Loaf of Bread_ (CS)
08. [8:11 PM] {GK spoken interlude: "I used to go often to a public library..."}
09. [8:12 PM] (unidentified tune \#1) (GK)
10. [8:14 PM] _My Grave Shall Be the Fathomless Air_ (CS)
11. [8:15 PM] _Let Heaven Exist_ (GK)
12. [8:19 PM] (unidentified tune \#2) (CS)
13. [8:19 PM] {CS reading from an unidentified text‚ "i've tried to feel that my blindness is not just a misfortune"}
14. [8:20 PM] {GK reading from what appeared to be Carl Sagan's **Contact**‚ "As for infinity..."}
15. [8:21 PM] _Home_
16. [8:26 PM] _Cryptograph_  
[8:29 PM] {both GK & CS head upstage‚ collect a box‚ bring it downstage‚ dump it out (revealing books)‚ then proceed to read random snippets‚ first alternating‚ then talking over one another‚ while stacking the 'finished' books haphazardly upon their respective reading desks}
17. [8:30 PM] {readings by GK & CS}
18. [8:32 PM] (unidentified tune \#3)
19. [8:32 PM] _The Blind Librarian_  
[8:42 PM] {final applause; bows and two curtain-less calls}  
[8:43 PM] {lights up! done}

## Performers

* [Gabriel Kahane](http://gabrielkahane.com/): piano, Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer, vox;
* [Caroline Shaw](http://carolineshaw.com/): viola, keyboard, sampler, electronics, vox.

## Notes

Tonight's show turned out to be a musical reflection of Jorge Luis Borges' 1939 short story, _the Library of Babel_. I think I read that during college... And in a recursive reflection of that infinity, I'm pretty sure that book is tucked away on a shelf in my tiny library.
My initial impression of tonight's performance was that it was an engaging bit of art. Nice to listen to (in a melodic and sonorous way), and quirky enough to leave space for wandering thoughts stimulated by the musical text. I look forward to hearing a studio recording of the work soon!

[Program Notes](https://sfperformances.org/img/perfnotes/2425/ShawKahaneNotes.pdf) or {{:2024:2024-11:20241114pn.pdf|program notes}}

GK posted an interesting [piece](https://gabrielkahane.substack.com/p/hexagons-where-do-we-go-from-here) about last week's election results -- along with a tangential mention of _Hexagons_ -- on his Substack blog. Tonight is the third of 13 shows touring this program, and hence the West Coast premiere, for folks inclined to keep track of that sort of thing.

I wish I'd picked up the printed addition to the program notes offered that night -- it might have identified the additional sections of _Hexagons_ as performed tonight -- but I neglected to avail myself of that opportunity. Self: meet your worst enemy!

## Photos

Today's photo gallery comes from ol' squinty!

{{gallery>:2024:2024-11?20241114-*.jpg}}

{{:wip.png?nolink}}  **Whoa!**  This section is incomplete for now, sorry! {{:wip.png?nolink}}

{{tag>music Gabriel_Kahane Caroline_Shaw Herbst_Theatre  }}

[[2024-11-9|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2024|Up to the 2024 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2024#November_events|Up to the 2024 event list!]] ☸ [[2024-11-17|On to the next event!]]