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Ambient musician Lee Noble has a good sense of humor, and last night at the Empty Bottle he needed it. Noble performed to a small and rather indifferent crowd on the final night of the Adventures in Modern Music festival, and the Nashville native reached for some sort of connection with the crowd by cracking jokes—even at his own expense. “Here we go, karaoke to my own songs,” he announced, pressing play on a prerecorded track. Noble’s set was more than just karaoke-ready instrumentals, though; he spent parts of it on his hands and knees making subtle adjustments to several effects pedals, which helped him create his lush, beautiful melodies. His performance inspired little response, and even his gleeful announcement that his set would be followed by a couple of crowd-pleasing acts—producer Holy Other and avant-pop outfit Micachu & the Shapes—was initially met with apathy. “Welcome to the most mellow festival ever,” Noble said.
