Before threw away a prosperous career as a writer and immanent tenure track in philosophy (post-modern, even) for the joy of airport lounges and other people’s beds to make dance, I had a real thing for a world of art and culture that can probably be encapsulated in RE/Search Magazine’s early 80’s edition Industrial Culture Handbook. I read this until it fell apart, as did subsequent photocopied versions, and the interviews with Throbbing Gristle, Mark Pauline, Cabaret Voltaire, Monte Cazazza, SPK, and other issues full of William Burroughs are in no small way responsible for the dance I make today. Naturally I wish I would be in San Francisco in August to see Survival Research Laboratories destroy robots and make loud noises.

Survival Research Labs

Mark Pauline, Artistic Director
Day: Friday
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Behind South Hall
Ticket Price: $25
Special Notes: Very Big, Very Loud, Very Exciting

Some things are purely mythic like Survival Research Labs, which springs from the shell of abandoned buildings, monster robotic history, and fire. An interdisciplinary mash-up like no other, SRL, brings a newly conceived performance to ZeroOne San Jose full of its legendary machines, flame-throwers, and bombastic sound. Humans are only present as audience or operators; in this show it’s all about the machines. As described by founder Mark Pauline, an SRL performance is comprised of “ritualistic interactions between machines, robots, and special effects devices.” Whatever else you call it, (and the title won’t be announced until just before the show), we call it big fun, exciting, and something you won’t want to miss. This one is definitely for more than the brainiac crowd – it’s monster machine, meets hovercraft, meets huge sculptural creatures, meets fire. See you there.

— ZeroOne