MENEO (band)

Medium: Performance Art

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Artist: MENEO

Confronting Bodies: K2 Club

Dates of Action: 10th August 2007

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Description of Artwork: The MENEO performance investigates artistic concepts that imply the surprising and unforeseeable, accidents, mistakes and coincidences as a means to alter the dynamics of creative performance and to discover new aesthetic presentations. Intentional coincidences produce paradoxical irritations that allow for a re-enchantment and sensualisation of abstract structures whether applicable to technological systems, social situations, or communicative and collective processes in an open venue or space. MENEO plays with the unpredictable also as a method of conscious disorientation, of asserting a provocative independence, and as immunization against the growing desire of public and commercial organizations for security and control.

This leads to a hot and spicy atmosphere that sometimes has motivated the two performers and some of the crowd to experience disorderly conduct, like taking off their clothes completely while playing and dancing, zooming the attendants into a deep and full flavored rhythm vibe.

The band members are Rigo Pex, who plays direct gameboy reggaetón and electro-dancehall, produced on stage with vocoders, keytars and lo-fi toys. Along comes VJ Fruity Booty Liger with a visual mission to flash your eyes with his made-to-measure vjing application that's been the envy of many on several video art festivals.

The Incident: In the night of Friday the 10th of august, the Microdisko crew, one of the leading 8bit music and chiptune collectives in the world, organized one of their monthly concert parties in the K2 Club, a small venue located in Götgatan, 99. Around 1:00 am the presentation of Gothenburg's artist Goto80 along Raquel Meyers of Bilbo's Entter in visuals ended; now it was the turn of Barcelona's MENEO, also being paired with a member of Entter at the visuals: Raúl.

Although there was no audio monitor, the latin rhythms and blips lead to a hot and funky atmosphere that motivated the two performers on stage to take off their clothes completely while playing and dancing. However, the security of the club stopped the music arguing that it was improper conduct and forced them to dress back in order to continue the show. The crowd was patient and welcomed back the act that played again; some fans took off their shirts in sign of support and these got the bouncers from the club to get nervous and once again removed the members of MENEO from the stage. The artists promised not to provoke these kinds of reactions in the audience and renew their performance, which was halted for the 3rd time by the security guards who this time alleged drunken behavior. It was now really over and most of the attendees went out to talk to the band. In this moment the manager of the club head banged a guy from the public that had demonstrated its support, and if it wasn't for Goto80 and his crew who formed a human barrier he could have taken some more.

Also in site was Palle Torsson, an enthusiast of 8bit sound that has also had some problems with legality in his art, since he used to project visuals in his buttocks. He called the police and they told him that it was the club's decision and they couldn't do anything about it.

Results of Incident: At the end, the club also wanted to charge a special fee of 200 Euro approx. accounting as damages to their reputation by having such a disappointing event. They didn't collect it, but kept half of the ticket entrance that corresponded to the Microdisko organizers.

Source: myspace.com/meneo