Really have no idea what made me decide to go to this concert — except for CAT 2 journal assignment requirement.

It took me 40 mins to listen to a guy doing meaningless things, and try hard to figure out the hidden message of music.

Should this be called music? If there is only one person who can really understand the meaning of this concerts among the whole bunch of audience (most of whom come here just for credit), that person could not be me.

When I went into concert hall, I saw Erik Carlson, a middle-aged man sitting lonely and quietly. Finally, when the concert was about to begin, he stood up and introduced Manfred Werder – another performer of this concert. Manfred Werder sit at the right-hand side of stage, and we can hear the gentle sound made by his chair; Erik Carlson went back to the left-hand side, sitting in front of a laptop and keeping his eyes watching on it.

The audiences went silent and we were all waiting for the concert to begin. I didn’t know what kind of concert it was, so I was surprised when I finally confirmed that those two people are the only ones who will presented today.  Manfred Werder left his seat and crouch in front of a toolbox, with floor squeaked slightly. He lifted a roll of paper tape and folded it again. Each time he lifted his hands up, the paper tape gave a extended sound, like a girl crying softly. When he folded the paper tape again, the sound of rapidly vibrating paper was more like coughing. The combination of lifting and folding produced a rhythmic sound just like a snoring person. It repeated again and again, until we realized who is the protagonist of this concert.

Manfred Werder went back to his seat and began to flip pages of a book. The sound was crisp, along with intermittent voice of reciting. During the whole concert, he move between seat and toolbox several times, try to make some noise with paper tape, typewriter, gavel and book. The other performer Erik Carlson kept sitting in front of a laptop, doing nothing but listening.

During the whole concert, the meaning of noise and the definition of music changed. When you make these noises in everyday life, they are just noises; but when you are sitting on the stage, in front of audience focusing on you, these noises have become what is called music.