Robert Rich and Markus Reuter - Flood Expeditions: Farmington CT, 15 May 2018 (2018) [Hi-Res]

The first performance of our small tour is also an historic one: although having collaborated together on two albums (last year's "Lift a Feather to the Flood" and 2007's "Eleven Questions"), this is the first time Robert & Markus are performing together live.

centrozoon has played Farmington High School before at Edge Media Space, a fascinating "teaching tech lab" jam-packed with all kinds of cool vintage analog stuff, curated by "techno-dude" (and good friend) Evan Foreman; however, tonight's show will be in the auditorium, a much larger space to accommodate the grand piano Robert will be playing.

After a nice visit with Robert's family (who are local to the area), we made our way to the venue plagued by a deluge of rain and threatening skies. Once loaded-in, Robert "test drove" the grand piano on the stage only to discover it was not tuned (at this point, our hearts just sank); determined to "deal with it" (what other choice was there?), we continued to set up the stage. While running cables, we stumbled upon (how does one "stumble upon"?) a beautiful, rich-sounding vintage Steinway hidden in the wings, behind the curtains, stage right!

After swapping out the two pianos (sounds easy!), it's a comforting thought to know we have a future as piano movers if this music thing doesn't work out. ;-)

An outstanding performance from Robert & Markus (as you can hear) is a great way to set this tour in motion on a high note. An intimate group of folks braved the terrible weather...unfortunately, many weren't able to make it; we found out later that four tornadoes touched down in surrounding areas!

Our thoughts go out to those affected by the severe elements. Many thanks to all who were able to attend; special thanks to Evan Foreman for your hospitality and for making tonight’s performance possible.