No doubt about it. At $40 a ticket, the “Downtown Comes Uptown: The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984” concert showcase at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York this Friday is a little more than most of our bank accounts can handle, even if seeing visual artist Robert Longo‘s “Sound Distance of a Good Man” multi-media piece (1978) and composer Rhys Chatham‘s “Guitar Trio” (1977) is not something that most fans of New York No Wave would want to miss. More than an epic evening of music and visuals, the event is a document of the artists’ storied collaboration, with Longo returning as one of the original guitarists in Chatham’s piece and resurrecting “Pictures for Music”, a slide projection he created for “Guitar Trio” in 1979.

Luckily, people interested in learning more about Longo and Chatham’s work together can do so for free, by listening to a live interview on John Schaefer’s “New Sounds” program on WNYC, this Thursday at 2:30 pm. Even better, people who tune in to the radio interview can get a $15 discount on tickets for the show, by mentioning that they heard Rhys and Robert on the radio when they reserve spots at the Met by phone, online, or at the box office. Students and artists who mention that they are one of these things when they order the tickets are also eligible for a $15 discount.

Rhys Chatham and Robert Longo radio interview
Thursday, April 23, 2:30 pm
FM 93.9, AM 820, or streamed from the WNYC website