Let it be known that in the year 2016, hundreds of people will gather in Times Square in 17 degree weather (not counting the wind chill) at 11:30 p.m. for something other than a product launch or Black Friday sale: It was for culture—and for canines. Artist Laurie Anderson staged a "concert for dogs" at the Crossroads of the World last night.
A three-minute excerpt of Anderson's acclaimed documentary, Heart of a Dog, is being shown on numerous Times Square billboards from 11:57 p.m. until midnight every night in January as part of the Times Square Alliance's "Midnight Moment" program. (Billboard time is donated by advertisers.) The film is a love letter and a meditation on death, with Anderson reflecting on the passing of her husband Lou Reed, their rat terrier Lolabelle and others.
Dog owners, Laurie Anderson fans and Laurie Anderson fans with dogs converged at Duffy Square for the concert last night. Dogs were given priority seating on the steps to be next to the speakers because the concert would be in low, dog-friendly decibels; their parents put on "silent disco" headphones. Much cuddling occurred to ward off the freeze.
One couple from Brooklyn drove to Times Square specifically for the event, bringing their 11-month-old dog. Hell's Kitchen resident Jonathan Nosan walked over with his beagle Clover, resplendent in a cape embellished with pearlescent buttons spelling out "Camberwell" ("We were in London for a few seasons"). Nosan revealed that this was not Clover's first cultural outing. "We've been to the theater many times."
Laurie Anderson's "Concert for Dogs" in Times...by Gothamist
Clover was very at home in the middle of the Times Square din, while my brother's dog Fozzie was a veritable country bumpkin. Overwhelmed by the bright lights, noise and huge subway grates, Fozzie tried to slink away under barriers when not growling at MTA and NYPD K9s dogs—yes, they were there for Laurie Anderson, too—and eating discarded M&M's on the ground ("No, Fozzie!"). He wasn't the only pup freaked out by the subway grates, and the Times Square Alliance workers kindly created an alternate entrance for the grate-averse.
By the time Anderson started to perform, however, Fozzie settled down. With her hands bare to play instruments in the bitter cold, she serenaded the audience and urged dogs to bark and participate:
Laurie Anderson's Concert for Dogs in Times Squareby Gothamist
At the close of her performance, the segment of Heart of a Dog started to play all around Duffy Square. Anderson looked up at her work, beaming:
Laurie Anderson watches her film on Times...by Gothamist
Playing for dogs has long been a dream for Anderson. The NY Times reported yesterday, "Eight years ago, Laurie Anderson recalled in an interview, she was backstage with the cellist Yo-Yo Ma at a Rhode Island School of Design graduation ceremony when she turned to him and said, 'I have this fantasy where I look out, and the whole audience is dogs.' He replied: 'Are you kidding? I have the same fantasy.'"
In 2010, Anderson performed for a crowd of hundreds of dogs and people outside the Sydney Opera House (adorable video here), but last night was special: She confirmed this was definitely her coldest (possibly coolest?) gig ever.
