LPR continued its boundary-blurring ways Monday night with a program by toy pianist Phyllis Chen, who proved to be no less a virtuoso than those who play on instruments ten times the size. The toy piano is less an instrument of tone than of percussion, her plinking notes accompanied by bells, chimes and toy beat boxes.

She also revealed a fiercely inventive streak. For one piece, she rigged the space with wires tied to handmade chimes, literally creating an acoustic surround sound experience. On another, she pulled old audiotape of herself playing through an open tapehead, creating an angry, scratching sound. I'm not sure what it all meant, but it looked really cool. 

Openers Arturo En El Barco used a MacBook, banjo and saw to create a pretty, shimmering soundscape reminiscent of Icelandic minimalism. The group's composer/singer/accordionist, Angelica, was painfully shy as she tried to speak between numbers, which succeeded in being disarming enough to open up to the music's full impact. 

The show was hosted by Concert Artists Guild's "New Music New Places" program, which promotes its roster of young, mostly classical musicians by having them perform in bars such as Barbes and now LPR. Details on the website; more pics below.)