“How many of you are here because of the Post or the City Paper articles?” opener TL0741 asked of a packed-house crowd at Pyramid Atlantic last night, which prompted fully a third to a half of the audience to raise their hands. This may have been one of the more thoroughly previewed shows ever put on in the Silver Spring art space, between a City Paper pick and a feature-length story on Richard Pinhas in last Thursday’s Post.

Pinhas is an experimental French guitarist who made his name in the ’70s with the prog-rockers of Heldon and has, since 2008’s Keio Line, been collaborating with avant-garde luminaries from Merzbow and Wolf Eyes to this year’s new releases with Oren Ambarchi and Yoshida Tatsuya. His all-too-brief set at Pyramid Atlantic sounded familiar to longtime fans, although his soundscapes—-simultaneously ominous and relaxing—-are so masterfully done that familiarity never bled into boredom. A quick collaborative set with Surak + Hawkins kept things fresh as well. All told, well deserving of all that coverage and the subsequent turnout.

Check out a dozen photos in the full slideshow.