Taking those first couple steps into the sanctuary of Saint Mary's on a Gatherings weekend, I sometimes think of one of those old ViewMaster kid's toys. Slide a little picture wheel into a binocular-shaped block of plastic, and yank on a lever. Click-clack, and the scene changes in an instant. It's a similar feeling - clacking into the same church, a few weeks after your last visit, same soaring ceiling, same worn-down stone floor - only the altar is populated with a slightly different set of gear - perhaps a laptop, or a piano, or some chairs for string players. It all looks so effortless and smooth. But that does no justice to the extreme amounts of hard work and dedication that Chuck van Zyl and his associates put into these shows - not least of all this summer, when quite a few years' worth of effort finally culminated in the biggest "get" of the Gatherings' sixteen years. Here, with the installation of a couple tables, a laptop and keyboard, we were in for an evening with the celebrated Manuel Göttsching. Besides being a source of great excitement for anyone who knows their Krautrock, or who has listened to the shivering tones of "E2-E4," this night marked, for Chuck, what I'm sure was a personal highlight of his many years as ringmaster of these sublime shows.

The first rumblings came during a sleepy night in the XPN studios in 2005, when I first heard the story of the ongoing conversations with "Mister Ashra" himself. A preliminary visit or two by the artist to the church found him very receptive, but the stars needed to whirl around a few more times before all was correctly aligned. In the end, Manuel came over the ocean for a couple dates in New York, one in a club setting and one at an outdoor festival, and a more traditional solo concert here, behind the red doors of Saint Mary's.

The evening was clear and beautiful, breezes stirring up a few scattered leaves, barely any sign yet of the incoming Penn student population. People were beginning to line up an hour ahead of time, turning old vinyl copies of Schwingungen and Join Inn over and over in their hands in anticipation of a face-to-face meeting. A bunch of unfamiliar faces ambled though the doors, along with many tales of the previous night's rain-soaked performance of "E2-E4" at the Lincoln Center in NY. Before long the church was warm and clattering with laughter and eager conversation. So as not to be mobbed by fans, Manuel made use of the church's secret back door to go get some last-minute food.

With the rows comfortably packed, and a few folding chairs in back for the last stragglers, Manuel stepped onto the stage to wild applause, tall and poised, clad in a loose Bermuda-style shirt, and taking his place behind the laptop and mixing deck. The first half of the show featured a rare live rendition of "Die Mulde", a suite of music made for an outdoor mirror installation in 1997. Perhaps echoing the experience of this outdoor venue, the music was somewhat more nimble and active than most Ashra output. A beatless first segment gave way to a clacking rhythm around the 20-minute mark, after which time Manuel scooted his seat back to treat us all to some guitar soloing. Just like recognizing the voice of an old friend, the plaintive swirl of the guitar playing crackled in my ears, familiar as a face. Those notes couldn't have come from any other pair of hands but this man's. All this time, archive footage of the original art installation played on a screen overhead. People ducking and walking through and around the wall of mirrors, plopped right in the middle of a pale green field. Footage of Manuel playing live, only a few steps away, looking much the same (minus the salt-and-pepper stubble). A couple chuckles ensued as people's attention was drawn to passing scenes on the video, people checking zits or fluffing their hair in the mirrors, with the Krautrock legend twiddling at his mixer in the background. A simple fade-out brought the first half of the show to a close, leaving people time to check out the merch table and chat about what would come next.

The second half of the show was the kicker we'd been wanting, a thoughtful and expressive look back at the man's vast catalogue of work. More shouts and applause, opening with a few thankful remarks from Manuel and then a stirring version of "Sunrain", from Blackouts, with strong and swaggering synth work pointing the way toward moden dance frameworks like those of Carl Craig or Âme. Three more excellent extended tracks followed on, full of rich melodic detail and occasionally bringing in a housier beat. After all the good E2-E4 did for the nascent techno community in the late 80's, it's fair to assume that a piece like the swinging "Trunky's Groove" doesn't borrow a little inspiration back. Best of all were the heart-stopping bits when Manuel's red guitar sang out with a crispness that belied a lifetime of playing and living the music. Jeff Towne's lighting for this second set was a subdued mix of blues and purples as the audience sat in excited attention. The entire church seemed buoyed by the blissful final piece and the encore (of course), both of which made use of those wonderful guitar solos.

The night ended to a delighted standing ovation as Manuel blinked at the rows of pews and bowed and bowed again. Later, the baptismal font filled with a line of extremely patient and gracious fans, as the artist signed and shook hands again and again. One entire family, mom, dad, teenage daughter, and young son, squeezed into the bench around him and smiled for a picture. For nearly an hour, the table and lights were broken down and packed away while Manuel heard story after story and praise after praise (including one fan who fired off some rapid-fire questions about which amps and guitars were used on which Ashra albums). When the line had drained through, I quietly sidled up to the table to get my copy of Live at Mount Fuji autographed, and to make a bit of small talk. Manuel seemed tired beyond belief but groggily happy - probably something to do with the non-stop one-on-one admiration.

Packing all the gear into Manuel's rented car and watching him putt away with his wife in the driver's seat, it remained only to retire to WXPN for a bit and listen to STAR'S END, talk, and ponder what had just passed. Chuck, also tired beyond belief, professed that he wasn't yet fully processing it all. So long in the planning, and suddenly here and gone (click-clack). But a few weeks, and several ruminations later, I feel very pleased (as Chuck probably does too) to have been under the apse of Saint Mary's that night, to see a piece of the history of Spacemusic celebrated live - dusty old records in the audience's hands, conjured up in living color.

by Scott Kelly (a.k.a. DJ Kel)   5 November 2008

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Concert Photos by Jeff Towne

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CIMA of PA - The Corporation for Innovative Music and Arts of Pennsylvania

Manuel Göttsching at The Gatherings Concert Series on 16 August 2008 is funded by CIMA of PA (The Corporation for Innovative Music and Arts of Pennsylvania), the all-volunteer, non-profit organization responsible for organizing and producing The Gatherings Concert Series. The basic mission of CIMA of PA is to bring innovative music concerts to the public and further the advancement of this artform.

• MySpace Webpage: http://www.myspace.com/manuelgoettsching
• MySpace Webpage: http://www.myspace.com/ashratempel (fan site)
• Official Manuel Göttsching website: http://www.manuel-goettsching.com
• http://www.imperialteutonic.com
• Music Pick in The Philadelphia City Paper 14 August 2008