The dark, basement-level room of Le Poisson Rouge is probably the ideal place to see a Bing and Ruth show. Or rather, it’s the best place to experience a Bing and Ruth show. With the stage so dark that a small child would cry for his nightlight, the 11 –piece Brooklyn ensemble (featuring piano, cellos, upright bass, clarinets, lap steel, and various synths and percussion) played nonstop through their forty-minute set, filling the room with their atmospheric, layered soundscapes. Structurally, most songs started with a solitary sound – a repetitive piano line, a single oboe, a hand clap, etc. – followed by a slow buildup as the rest of the ensemble joined in.

There were no breaks between pieces, as one song flowed right into the next, leaving no space for applause or stage banter. Such breaks would have broken the mood of the eerie and dark set, but at the same time it made for a slightly uncomfortable audience experience. Any incidental noise – a sneeze, a creaky floor, a shuffling chair- pierced obtrusively through the darkness, and it seemed that most of the audience tried to remain as still as possible.

While the overall darkness of the show did suit the entire experience (shadowy figures of waitresses scurrying around with over-priced appetizers added an unintentional surreal quality to the evening), the music of Bing and Ruth seems perfectly suited for some sort of accompanying visual experience as well. Because as interesting as the sound may be, there ain’t a whole lot to look at.

Hildur Guðnadóttir followed the 11-piece ensemble

Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir was more engaging, bantering a bit with the audience about music, feelings of loneliness after following a large ensemble onstage, and visa problems. Accompanied by a laptop and an array of effects pedals, her set was both technically impressive and musically engaging, as she produced an array of loops and samples one would not usually expect from a classical string instrument. As far as multi-tracked cello performances go, this one was tough to beat.