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REVIEW: King’s X & Extreme @ Union Center Blvd Bash (Cincinnati, OH – – 8/10/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
My wife thinks I’m crazy. I think I agree. I used SkyMiles to fly from Eugene, OR, to Cincinnati, OH, to see two rock bands. I don’t do this often (fly somewhere for a show). Anyway, this time it was for two bands I’ve liked for 15-20 years: King’s X and Extreme. While I love King’s X, I’ve seen them a bunch and they tour a bunch; so the main reason to fly was to see Extreme* – – who broke up 12 years ago.
*– Extreme is much more than that “More Than Words” band (or that “Beethoven jamming in the mall on Bill & Ted’s” band). They wrote great rock songs, great guitars & insightful lyrics, and bordered on art rock in many cases, i.e.- the IIIrd Side (unofficially) starting with “God Isn’t Dead?” and moving into the 23-minute, three-part with orchestration, epic “Everything Under The Sun” on III Sides to Every Story. “Everything Under the Sun” is most likely my 2nd favorite song ever written (Kevin Moore’s “Space-Dye Vest” being #1).
The closest this double-bill tour was coming to me (in Eugene, OR) was Las Vegas… which would mean expensive ticket, expensive hotel, expensive meals, and a city that I find kinda boring (unless you add an expensive Cirque du Soleil show). With that being said, a FREE show with a brother within 2 miles of the festival with a FREE bed to sleep in made this one too good to pass up. [Thanks, David & Alicia!]
The day started with a yummy vegan biscuits & gravy brunch at MELT in lovely Northside and ended with Nuno Bettencourt wailing on guitar in West Chester (home of the Union Center Boulevard Bash). Well, on to the show…
This was my 15th time seeing King’s X. Did I mention I like them? The only thing that’s kept me away from one of their shows within a 200 mile radius would be a wedding. My own wedding. :) Anyway, they put on a great show tonight. Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor, and Jerry Gaskill are the epitome of a power trio. They put out a wall of sound, heavy, chunky, yet melodic. They were scheduled to play 45 minutes (the ills of a free festival opening slot), but they got a good hour and change to play. Great crowd response, and kudos from Nuno & Co later in the evening. They put on a great set, as usual. And a friend from Nashville texted me unexpectedly while at the show. [It was great to see you, WalruSteve!]
(Doug, Ty, Jerry – not my pic, obviously)
King’s X Setlist:
- Groove Machine
- Alright
- Rocket Ship
- Black Flag
- Move
- Dogman (one of my favs of the set)
- Pray (with Doug on 12-string bass)
- We Were Born to Be Loved
- Go Tell Somebody
- Looking for Love (one of my favs of the set)
- Over My Head
- Encore: King
The spiritually searching lyrics to “Looking for Love” has been a mantra of some sort for me since way back in ’96; so it’s always good when that’s in the set. Doug seemed to be in pretty good spirits. Ty’s hair kept blowing in his face, but that didn’t stop him shreddin’ up the frets. Jerry was killin’ the skins, as usual. The sun was beatin’ down on the band, but they muscled through. Here’s hopin’ this Extreme tour helps them bring some new fans on board.
As for Extreme… This was my 2nd time seeing them. I saw them on their Waiting for the Punchline Tour in 1995 (@ Bogart’s in Cincinnati). They broke up shortly afterwards, as Nuno Bettencourt went on to do some solo stuff and Gary Cherone went on to join Van Halen (which turned out to be a poor choice… as, you know, Van Halen sucks ass). Anyway, when Extreme broke up, it was truly amicable. The band had run its course, the landscape of music wasn’t all that into hardrock with solos (but rather flannel and apathy rockin’ the suburbs), and the guys in Extreme all had different opportunities. A reunion was always a possibility, it was just a function of time…
They had their new CD (Saudades de Rock) at the show… even though it doesn’t come out until Tuesday. Only $10, too. Rock on!!
(Pat, Gary, Nuno, KFigg – not my pic, obviously)
Extreme ripped up the stage for almost two hours, playing a good mix of old songs, new songs, hits, fan favs… KFigg did a great job filling in Paul Geary’s drum “shoes.” Pat Badger’s bass playing was superb. Gary’s voice was on. Nuno was Nuno (i.e.- God) — meedley-meedley-meeeeeeeeeeee (Strongbad Email link)…
Extreme X Setlist:
- IIIrd Side Intro Music (strings)
- Decadence Dance
- Comfortably Dumb (new one)
- Rest In Peace (one of my favs of the set)
- Star (new one, with Star-Spangled Banner outro)
- Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
- 1989 medley: Kid Ego /
Little Girls /
Teacher’s Pet /
Play With Me (Nuno’s solo ripped — one of my favs of the set) - Midnight Express (instrumental — one of my favs of the set)
- More Than Words
- Ghost (new one, Nuno on piano)
- Cupid’s Dead
- Take Us Alive
- Am I Ever Gonna Change? (one of my favs of the set)
- Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee (Nuno’s guitar-only take on Tchaikovsky — one of my favs of the set)
- Get the Funk Out (one of my favs of the set)
- Encore: Hole Hearted (one of my favs of the set)
- Communication Breakdown [Led Zeppelin]
Overall… fuppin’ awesome! I am crazy for music, but I love being crazy. :) Being crazy is what keeps me sane.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.kingsxrocks.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/kingsx
- http://www.myspace.com/dugpinnickpoundhound (bass/vocals)
- http://www.myspace.com/tytabor (guitar/vocals)
- http://www.myspace.com/jerrygaskill (drums/backing vocals)
- http://www.extreme-band.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/extreme
- http://www.myspace.com/garycherone (vocals)
- http://www.myspace.com/nunobettencourt (guitar/backing vocals)
- http://www.myspace.com/pbadger (bass/backing vocals)
- http://www.myspace.com/kfigg (drums)
- http://www.unioncentreblvdbash.com/
Yeah, that’s a lotta links… I took a bunch of pictures of both bands. I hope to have them up soon, once I get back home to Oregon and have a chance to edit and upload ’em…
~Dan – np: Extreme – Saudades de Rock 
KING’S X (24 pics) & EXTREME (70 pics) CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click to enlarge)
King’s X Band (6):
More band shots: #3, #4, #5, #6
Doug Pinnick (8):
More Doug shots: #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8
Ty Tabor (8):
More Ty shots: #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8
Jerry Gaskill (2):
Sorry, no more Jerry shots.
Extreme Band (19) + Gear (2):
More band shots: Mourning Widows racks, Drums, Band #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, Bow #18, Bow #19
Gary Cherone (7):
More Gary shots: #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
Nuno Bettencourt (21):
More Nuno shots: #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21
Yeah, I’m a bit obsessed with Nuno. :)
Pat Badger (2):
Sorry, no more Pat shots.
Kevin Figueiredo (4):
Gary & Nuno (10):
More Gary & Nuno shots: #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10
Nuno & Pat (5):
REVIEW: Secret Chiefs 3 @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – – 8/3/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
The Doug Fir Lounge is an excellent venue in Portland. Pretty good sound, big enough stage, and a weird/comforting log cabin motif… a tout les monde aime l’arbre…
Primer: Secret Chiefs 3 was an offshoot from Mr. Bungle (but have now outlived MB). They play middle-eastern-influenced world/progressive metal musics. Secret Chefs 3 (no “i”) is a band that one might say is an homage to the Chiefs, and they play world music/avant-garde songs with instruments made from ordinary household items (see Ken Jacobson‘s creations in the Chefs’ MySpace photos).
1st opener… The Secret Chefs 3 (again, no “i”) is made up of Steve Parris (bass paddle), Julie Baldridge (crutch fiddle), Scott Adams (kettlevina / percussion), Rick Isotalo (drums), and Ken Jacobson (paddle / percussion). They were pretty damn good, but played far too short of a set (20-25 minutes). The drums were trash cans and water jugs. The bass and guitars were oars. There was a violin made from a crutch. Per Ken Jacobson, a string broke on it; so Julie had to switch to a regular violin for the rest of the set. The Chefs were more avant-garde than I was expecting… which was thoroughly entertaining. Trey and many of the other Chiefs came out to watch the Chefs’ set as well.
Secret Chefs 3 Setlist: (per their pre-show MySpace blog)
- Ritual of the Bowls
- Advieh (the Spice)
- Kettlevina Sadaqa
- Book of Tea: Lapsang Souchong
- Discotheque at the Gates of Jahannam
- Fruit of the Zaqqum
2nd opener… Diminished Men were quite good as well. They started out as a trio (guitar, bass, drums) and were joined by a saxophonist for about half of their set. I guess I’d describe their sound as rock instrumental with a heavy touch of exotica/surf guitars. Nice sound, but I couldn’t hear the sax too much in the mix. It may have been due to where I was standing, but I wandered out for a few minutes and didn’t notice much change. They played for about 45 minutes of smoke-machine filled fury… I was right by the guitarist, and got a face full of smoke/steam most of their set. At least it smelled pretty much like water. Great sound, despite the smoke. :)
The Closer… The Secret Chiefs 3 (led by a very bearded and cloaked Trey Spruance of Mr. Bungle “fame”) were fantastic. This was my second time seeing them, and my first time seeing them play a full “headliner” set. WOW… they played without much stopping for around 75-80 minutes. They started out with Jason (bass), Trey (sas) and Peijman (drums) playing “Medieval.” And they didn’t let up much until the ender “Renunciation”… the lineup for the SC3 this time around was Trey Spruance (sas, guitars), Timb Harris (violin, guitar, keys, trumpet), Jason Schimmel (bass, keys), Rich Doucette (sarangi, bass, guitar), Jai Young Kim (keys), and Peijman Kouretchian (drums). Timb and Jason are in a Web of Mimicry/SC3 brother band, Estradasphere. I picked up Jason’s new side-project (as well as the Chefs -EP-), Orange Tulip Conspiracy. Wow… it’s rad.
Secret Chiefs 3 Setlist:*
- Medieval
- The 15
- Vajra
- Personnae: Halloween
- Zulfikar
- The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun)
- Bereshith
- Castle of Sand
- Fast
- Assassin’s Blade
- Dolorous Stroke
- Brazen Serpent
- The 3 (Afghan Song)
- Encore: Renunciation
*– Outside of a few songs, I’m shit for remembering their song titles. Luckily, I was close enough to Timb’s setlist to take a picture and scrawl the info down.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
- http://www.webofmimicry.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/secretchefs3
- http://www.myspace.com/diminishedmen
- http://www.dougfirlounge.com/
- My blog about SC3’s Xaphan
- My blog review of SC3 in NYC (Mar 2007)
Great show, all around… if you want to hear some Secret Chiefs 3, check them out on iTunes. I recommend all of their stuff, but I guess for newbies, I could limit it to: Ship of Fools (Stone of Exile), Renunciation, The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun), Book T: Exodus, Assassin’s Blade, Zulkifar / Zulfikar / Zulfiqar III, Jabalqa / Jabarsa… or check out their Xaphan album on other music shops that may have samples (it’s not on iTunes, yet). Xaphan is my fav CD of 2008, so far.
~Dan – np: Greydon Square – The CPT Theorem
SECRET CHEFS 3 (6 pics), DIMINISHED MEN (6 pics)
& SECRET CHIEFS 3 (34 pics)
CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
REVIEW: Bill Mallonee of the Vigilantes of Love @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 7/14/08)
I showed up just as the opener, The Old Believers, was going on. Their first few songs were just a girl-n-guy folk thing. Later they added two friends (one on keys, one on bass). They branched out into a very fun, very catchy quirky folk ensemble. Great for fans of Sufjan Stevens or Daniel Smith (ie- Danielson Familie). They played right around 30-40 minutes. I gave all of my remaining cash to Bill Mallonee/Muriah Rose; otherwise I’d have picked up one of their CDs. Anyway, The Old Believers… GREAT STUFF. Formerly from Alaska, currently from Portland, OR. Check ’em out on MySpace… The Old Believers (not just Old Believers).
Bill Mallonee and his wife Muriah Rose came on around 10pm… and they played for about an hour (which was a good amount for a Monday night). This was my 9th time seeing Bill (sometimes with a band, Vigilantes of Love, sometimes solo, and sometimes as a solo artist with a band – not VOL). I’d primarily seen him in the Midwest (OH, KY, IL, IN). Probably my favorite time seeing him was on the 1999 Audible Sigh tour with Kenny Hutson on slide guitar and Jake Bradley on bass (and some fuzzy dude on drums, I’m forgetting his name). Anyway, last night’s show, while way stripped down, had a really good intimate feel. This is probably due to it being my first time seeing him with his wife play with him (she sang backing vocals and played keyboard). They had good chemistry, and they played a great mix of songs.
Oh, for any VOL-heads, there’s now a 4th version of Audible Sigh :) I didn’t pick it up, as I think I had everything from it (Room Despair -EP- plus demos from the AS sessions & maybe some live from the era). He sure knows how to milk that record, but at least it’s one of my fav Bill/VOL albums (along with Blister Soul, Welcome to Struggleville & Slow Dark Train). Heck, I have three different versions of the Audible Sigh album on my CD rack. :).
The setlist: (about an hour of tunes)
- Solar System (*great tune*)
- Goes Without Saying
- High and Lonesome
- Nothing Like a Train
- Bottoming Out
- Skin (**my fav of the night**)
- Bank (“unintentionally acoustic” after amp blew out unexpectedly… Bill came down into the crowd to finish the song off)
- Resplendent (*great tune*)
- Flowers
My only disappointment for the night? They didn’t play “Bearin’ the Load.” ;).
Well, great show. I hope he can make it back to Oregon again (from his home of Georgia). I won’t hold it against him if he doesn’t. That’s a lot of gas money. I’ll be grateful if he does make it back, though.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.myspace.com/billmallonee
- http://www.billmallonee.net/
- http://www.myspace.com/oldbelievers
- http://www.oldbelieversmusic.com/
- http://www.cozmicpizza.com/
Taking dead aim at preachers…
~Dan – np: R.E.M. – Accelerate
REVIEW: Indigo Belly Dance @ Oregon Country Fair (Veneta, OR – – 7/13/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Rachel Brice, Mardi Love & Zoe Jakes are three tribal fusion belly dancers from San Francisco who go by the name The Indigo Belly Dance Company. I’d heard of them before, and my wife has gone to performances & workshops of theirs in the past when we lived in Cincinnati (at least Rachel & Zoe). Anyway, they were here in Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair (actually closer to Veneta than Eugene). Rachel Brice is pictured here (photo credit: Kristine Adams from the Indigo BDC’s MySpace page):
Here are Zoe Jakes and Mardi Love (photo credit unknown):
Well, on to the Oregon Country Fair ~ We braved the heat, the stinky bus passengers, and the heat (yet again) for the Country Fair this year. All around, the Fair was hot but shady (which was a pleasant surprise). It was also expensive, dusty, greasy and stinky. Alas, it’s a country fair in Oregon in July; so that was all expected. :) We came away with a nice table purchase, but that’ll be for a separate blog later.
We had a good time at the Country Fair… we started out with a fun show with the Stage Left Vaudeville Show. It started strong and, well, we left during the “free-style rap” section. Needless to say, it drifted from its big band flair entrance into something that wasn’t our thing. We went on from that to snag some yummy popsicles (Baja Coffee popsicle for me, i.e.- coffee with cinnamon, and Lemon Ginger popsicle for my wife and our friends Chris & Melissa).
We got to the Gypsy Caravan stage around 2pm for the 3pm show of The Indigo. We got there at just the right time… we scored some nice bench seats in the center of the audience. The Gypsy Caravan band was playing… and we saw some good shimmying from Aziza, Colleena (sp?), Claudia, and some other that I couldn’t remember how to spell or pronounce.
Up next was The Indigo… Their backing band was dubbed something along the lines of the Balkan Brass Band / Brass Menagerie (they were made up of several bands). It was interesting to see bellydance to something different than middle eastern music, and I dig Balkan music…
Rachel, Zoe & Mardi did a trio number to start things off. Then Zoe did a solo song, Rachel did a solo (complete with her quite phenomenal “drop move” – see around 1:17 in that video link), then there was a duet of some sort (Rachel & Mardi then Rachel & Zoe, if I remember correctly… likely I’m not remembering correctly). A special guest, Elizabeth Strong, came out and did a fantastic number with a sword. Then the group came out and did a few more numbers, along with Mardi doing a slow moves solo. They danced for about an hour, or slightly under an hour.
Photos of the performance that my wife took are BELOW…
~Dan – np: Charlie Hunter & Bobby Previte – Come in Red Dog, This is Tango Leader
Gypsy Caravan & The Indigo @ Country Fair PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 emobie,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
From the Gypsy Caravan Stage (Aziza, Colleena) & Misc Other Fair Pics
The Indigo (Rachel, Zoe, Mardi, Elizabeth) Pics
REVIEW: EARTH & Jesse Sykes @ W.O.W. Hall (Eugene, OR – – 6/23/08)
Prior to the show, I stopped by Cozmic Pizza for a chai muffin… two wonderful singer-songwriters were playing, Breanna Paletta and Justin Bennett. I caught a few of their songs (3-4). Great stuff. They’re from Portland. Maybe when I have more time, I’ll check out one of their full sets. OK, now on to the main event…
After some much stupid hesitance, I went to go see Earth at W.O.W. Hall last night. Much stupid hesitance in that… I won’t hesitate to go see Earth again. Holy rusted metal, Batman… they’re a great live band!
I hadn’t heard of Earth, the band, until last month when I went to see Stebmo (Earth’s keyboardist) open for Skerik’s Maelstrom Trio (review of that show here). Anyway, a possibly inaccurate Wikistory on Earth, the band… signed a million years ago to Sub Pop Records, and Dylan Carson (founder and linchpin to Earth) was a friend of Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain wrote Burger King jingles (or maybe he sold bicycles), I think. Anyway, Kurt hated Burger King (or bicycles), shot himself, and later Dylan bought the shotgun.
Side step to 2008… Earth are now spawn to several tribute bands (in style, not content) – – Sunn 0))) and Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine (per Wiki). Their style is ambient, doom, drone, post-rock, or something of a mix of all of that. I’ve heard of Sunn 0))), dig ’em. Listened to some Earth, and didn’t like it with vocals, but loved it without vocals (clip below):
Then I decided to go to the show…
For a local club, I like W.O.W. Hall. I’ve seen a couple shows there this year. I hope to see more in the future. If anything, I like the fact that it’s a not-for-profit venture (they don’t seem to act like cacks like the clubs with bouncers and whatnot). The opener was Parade of Storms. I showed up a little late, but if they went on on-time, they played about 45 minutes. Fuzzy metal with keyboards. Pretty powerful wall-of-sound, and a very good group. The next to play was Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. She also played around 45 minutes and was very good. Only a few songs were catchy/hooky, primarily she would fit into a dark americana rock meets singer-songwriter realm. The W.O.W. write-up called it country-noir. I suppose that fits.
Earth came on about 11:15. I stayed for the first hour (I don’t know how much beyond that they may have played. Here’s at least a partial set list:
- Omens and Portents II: Carrion Crow
- Hung from the Moon
- Engine of Ruin
- The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (Stebmo played trombone at the beginning)
- Junkyard Priest
- …
After the first song, some wise-ass yelled out “slow it down.” I think most people got a good chuckle out of that. I did at least. :) Great hour of music… definitely drone rock / metal. Captivating, especially if you’re into ambient / drone instrumental music. As for the sound, I thought Earth had the best sound of the night. The drums (specifically) sounded pretty darn great. The band for last night’s show was Dylan Carlson on guitar, Steve Moore (Stebmo) on keyboards, Don McGreevy on bass, and Adrienne Davies on drums. Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell guests on three tracks of their 2008 release, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull.
(photo from the band’s webpage)
GREAT SHOW!! Go see Earth, the band, if they come by your woods’ neck:
Jun 26 2008 Eagles Hall – Olympia, Washington
Jun 27 2008 Doug Fir – Portland, Oregon
Jun 28 2008 Tractor Tavern – Seattle, Washington
Jul 13 2008 Supersonic – Birmingham
Jul 14 2008 Whelans – Dublin
Jul 15 2008 Black Box – Belfast
Jul 16 2008 Stereo – Glasgow
Jul 17 2008 Scala – London
Jul 18 2008 Patronaat – Haarlem
Jul 19 2008 Cafe Glocksee – Hanover
Jul 20 2008 Dour Fest – Dour
The appropriate linkage:
- http://www.myspace.com/earthofficial
- http://www.thronesanddominions.com/ (Earth’s non-Rupert Murdoch webpage)
- http://www.myspace.com/stebmo
- http://www.stebmo.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/jessesykes
- http://www.myspace.com/yersiniapestismusic (Parade of Storms MySpace)
- http://www.myspace.com/wowhalleugene
- http://www.wowhall.org/
they’re taking over
I don’t mean to make this a Sigur Rós-centric blog, but here’s Stereogum‘s great report from Bonnaroo 2008:
They (i.e. Barbara Streisand) say people who need people are the luckiest people. But you know who really are the luckiest people? People who have a ticket to see Sigur Rós this summer. It’s not that I haven’t seen ’em before, but it’s been 24 hours and I’m still paralyzed from the 1AM bliss fest of their set Saturday night in That Tent. Here’s why you should sell all your possessions to secure a ticket to see them right now:
- The current setlist is a catalog-spanning beast, showcasing hallmark moments from each of the band’s style shifts, from the dark and dank Ágætis byrjun, to the slowest-of-core unpronounceabilites of the ( ) stuff, to the triumphant Takkisms. (Saturday brought “Svefn-g-englar” [the “it’s you-oooo” song], “Njósnavélin” [the “yu-silo” song], “Olsen Olsen,” “Hoppípolla,” “Glósóli,” and non-album crowd fave “Hafsól” [the drumstick-on-the-bass song]).
- The Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust stuff crushes it live, comes with lots of horns, ups the band’s overall joy quotient, and really seems to have loosened them up, as people, even more. Last night these included “Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur,” “Godan Daginn,” “Vid Spilum Endalaust,” “Festival,” “All Alright” (the one in English!) and of course “Gobbledigook.”
- Umm, “Gobbledigook.” Which winds up having 12 people on stage (fully clothed, sorry), a drumline powered by amiina, confetti guns, and, most notably, a wildly grinning Jonsi.
- The mariachi band that parades the stage during “Sé Lest” has a pretty great outfit.
- They are the best band in the world.
Read the entire Stereogum Bonnaroo entry **HERE**, plus check out some YouTube videos from the show there as well…
~Dan – np: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog – Party Intellectuals
REVIEW: Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang & Rudy Royston @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 6/7/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Last night was my first time seeing all three gentlemen: Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang, and Rudy Royston. I hope it is not my last.
I’m a big fan of Eyvind from his work with Secret Chiefs 3, Mr. Bungle, solo works on Tzadik & Ipecac (and other indie avant labels). On the upper right of every page on this blog, I have a quote attributed to Eyvind Kang: “I believe that music should be grown on trees, to be plucked like a fruit without the extravagance of harvest.” There’s just something about jazz (and the show last night) where this is most appropriate. Sure, much of Bill Frisell’s music is structured, melodic, and hinting at a modicum of “harvest,” as it were. However, it definitely lives and breathes and is open for exploration within the structure.
Probably the best proof of this with regards to last night’s show was that Eyvind (viola) and Rudy (drums) had only met 4 or 5 hours prior to the show. This was the world premiere of the Frisell/Kang/Royston trio. Judging by how they played so well together, I would have thought they met at least 7 hours prior. ;) No, seriously, they seemed like long-time jam partners. It was great to see the immediacy of the musical “fruit plucking.”
The trio played just over 90 minutes straight-through (with one short break prior to an encore piece), probably anywhere between 6 or 8 pieces. They started with 5 minutes or so of experimental flexing, bordering on avant-garde. By the next piece, Bill Frisell began laying down the melodies that worked well with this trio setting. Many times Eyvind and Bill mirrored each other’s melodies, but Eyvind still was able to cut loose on his own. Rudy knew how to play subtly, but he did let loose a few times as well, especially near the end of their set.
I just got Bill’s new one (History, Mystery); so I don’t know if the songs were from that or not, or just base melodies with improvisation. The set as a whole was very melodic, yet explorative. At several times, Bill pulled out what I thought was an e-bow, but it ended up being a music box that he was playing near his guitar pickup then through an echoplex-type looping device. Very harmonic tones… which would have been intriguing to have gotten from using guitar harmonic picking and an e-bow… alas, I was wrong.
Odd note: again, this was my first time seeing Bill Frisell. Does he always avoid facing the audience? He seemed to be facing towards Eyvind the whole night (so slightly away from the crowd). I never saw his hands or the front of the guitar all night. Odd, but at least the sound was sublime.
This was Bill’s fourth show at The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts over the years. That’s a good indication that he’ll be back. To that I say, “yay!” I hope he brings Eyvind and Rudy with him.
The appropriate links:
- http://www.myspace.com/billfrisellofficial
- http://www.myspace.com/floratone (recent collab with Bill, Eyvind, Matt Chamberlain, Tucker Martine, et cetera)
- http://www.billfrisell.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/eyvindkangeyvind
- http://www.myspace.com/rudyroyston
- http://theshedd.org/
In completely unreleated to Frisell/Kang/Royston news, but posted here since I didn’t want to add another post to “the pile”… you can listen to Sigur Rós‘ upcoming album (Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust) streaming here before it comes out in a couple of weeks: medsud-dot
Enjoy!
~Dan – np: Ken Laster – Jazz & Beyond podcast (link)
FRISELL / KANG / ROYSTON PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
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REVIEW: JUDE Christodal @ Aladdin Theater (Portland, OR – – 6/6/08)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Before I begin… any tapers at the PDX show? If so, email me.
OK, well, I try to see Jude Christodal every time he comes by. Trouble is… the last time I saw him was at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, around Memorial Day in 1999. That was, in fact, the first time I saw him, too. He was opening up for Ben Folds Five… and he blew me away (just as BFF did), and I went to Best Buy and bought his Maverick debut, No One Is Really Beautiful, the very next day.
Anyway, he’s now pretty much 100% independent in the U.S. (and on Naïve Records in France). Being from L.A. and on a French record label, he seems to either only tour the West Coast or France. He also writes for TV shows and whatnot… you, all, and everybody may have heard his song on LOST (the… um… pretty bad “poppy rock song” by the hobbit’s band) and his song on the City of Angels soundtrack (“I Do”)…
“You All Everybody” ain’t his normal fare, mind you. His normal fare is oft-dramatic, oft-comedic, oft-falsetto, oft-witty, oft-poetic singer-songwriter extraordinaire. He’s on the short list* of acoustic singer-songwriters who’ve broken through this metal heart… in short, Jude rocks. If you haven’t heard him, you’re doing yourself an injustice, IMO.
*-others on the singer-songwriter shortlist: Elliott Smith, Peter Mulvey, Glen Phillips, Sufjan Stevens,… and some Cincinnati locals like Ash, Ryan, Jason, Kim, Kelly…
Living in the Midwest up until last fall, I didn’t get a chance to see him again… until last night. I made the ~2 hour drive up to Portland from Eugene last night to the lovely Aladdin Theater (SE side of PDX). It’s a quaint old movie or play house… old, but still cute… not in total disrepair like many of these types of venues I’ve witnessed. Great concessions, too… goat cheese, mushroom & sundried tomato pizza and Fat Tire Amber, Deschutes Mirror Pond & Pyramid heff on tap (score!).
The opener, Ryan Andrew (from Castella), was good. He didn’t get warmed up himself until about the third song. Good voice and interesting songs. He played about 30 minutes, which consisted of:
- I Ain’t Comin’ Home Tonight
- It Hurts Like Hell
- The Only One (fav of set)
- When She’s Gone (guessing on name)
- Wonderwall (great version of Oasis tune… another fav of the set)
- The First Time
JUDE came on just after 9pm, and played with basically no break until about 11:15 and then came back out for a 4 song encore, wrapping up around 11:30… two and a half hours of quality Jude…
One of the funniest things (and there were many) was a girl named Molly brought up a sequined duck to the stage as a gift for Jude. “The prettiest thing a stripper ever owned,” gasped Jude. Then he quickly back-peddled, as to not seem unappreciative. “I mean at some point the dresses don’t fit anymore… I’m gonna sequin ducks.” He even serenaded it with a song later in the night (see pics below).
The crowd was very lively / rowdy / talkative / chatty / request-y. Jude fulfilled most of the requests. Some, though, he just couldn’t remember (his own “Charlie” and the chords to Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy“). He played over 30 songs, 2.5 hours, great concert all around. He also had many crowd interactive sing-a-longs. The best was the “drunk singing choir” for “Everything’s Alright.” It was hilarious… because it was true.
“The Minnesota people” were a bit too loud, but eh… it was all fun.
Oh, and Jude mentioned that the long-promised Cuba CD is on its way. Finally!! Apparently, it’s already done, in the can, what have you…
Here’s what he played:
- Out of L.A.
- I’m Sorry Now
- Mayfair Market
- Indian Lover (here’s where the duck was gifted)
- Break Up Song
- Run to My Room
- Rick James
- I Know (one of the best songs of the long night)
- In Between
- I Do
- Distance contest: Eastern Washington was the winner after a few disqualifications… namely Detroit (Oregon) and Minnesota (moved here from, not travel for show)
- Gay Cowboy (he wrote this before Brokeback Mountain… but check out this unofficial video)
- Prophet
- toying with “Crazy“
- Brad and Suzy
- Everything’s Alright (I Think It’s Time)
- Black Superman
- The Asshole Song
- Baby Ruth in Atlanta
- You Mama You
- Madonna (another one of the best songs of the long night)
- Love Letters / Ain’t No Sunshine (or maybe Love, Love, Love / Ain’t No Sunshine… or maybe all 3 songs…)
- Calling All Friends
- End of My Rainbow
- Cuba
- Fallen Angel (aka Fly Again)
- Money
- Your Eyes
- Encore: On the Dance Floor
- I Want a Duck (improv)
- Paper Towel
- Taking More and Giving Less
Note: I’ve got some pics from the show at the bottom of this blog post. Some of them are “artistic” (meaning: fuzzy).
Go check out his music on iTunes, Amazon… or CDBaby (you can sample songs there, too). My fav albums of his (though all are good) are Sarah (4th album, blue cover) and No One Is Really Beautiful (2nd album, greenish cover).
The appropriate linkage:
- http://www.judemusic.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/judechristodal
- http://cdbaby.com/cd/jude2
- http://www.naive.fr/
- http://www.myspace.com/ryanandrewsmusic
- http://www.officialcastellaband.com/
- http://www.aladdin-theater.com/
I’m going to the Bill Frisell & Eyvind Kang show tonight in Eugene (I’m stoked)… that’s all for now…
professional teller machine user,
~Dan
np: Various Artists – You Gan’t Boar Like an Eabla When You Work With Turkrys
JUDE CONCERT PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2008 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger on photos below)
OK, judefuzz04 isn’t my photo… ::blush::
REVIEW: Stebmo & Skerik’s Maelstrom Trio @ Sam Bond’s Garage (Eugene, OR – – 5/31/08)
Well, last night started out with a stuffed helping of veg food from our mostly monthly Veggie Supper Club here in Eugene. No FBI agents were in attendance… or were they… hmmm… we made biscotti, sweet potato gnocchi with mondo bizarro sauce. They was also fine wine, eggplant tapenade, flatbread pizzas, a nice chard dish, polenta lasagna, and a freakin’ amazing chocolate dessert. Oh no, my stomach a’splode!
Anyway, I hobbled/waddled over to Sam Bond’s Garage for a night of jazz afterwards. Good thing I was full, too… Sam Bond’s got some killer veggie grub (surprisingly killer for bar food). Before the show I picked up Stebmo’s self-titled CD (with Eyvind Kang, Matt Chamberlain, Tucker Martine, Todd Sickafoose, etc) and one of Skerik’s CDs (with Eyvind Kang, Tim Young, etc). Skerik, running the merch at that time, noticed my Secret Chiefs 3 shirt. \m/
Stebmo (aka Steve Moore) started the night around 10pm. I had heard some of his samples from CDBaby; so I knew a little about his sound. Apparently he’s also played in recent live versions of Sunn O))) & worked with Sufjan Stevens & Bill Frisell… or so says his bio. Though he also plays trombone, his set was comprised of keyboards and electronics/loops. He played 40 minutes and had a good mix of experimental and groove-oriented pieces. Perhaps a bit like the organic/melodic elements of the Album Leaf mixed with the building nature of an Explosions in the Sky set mixed with a heaping handful of electronic jots & tittles like those that may have hit the Kid A cutting room floor. I found his set thoroughly enjoyable, as did most of the packed house (80-100 people is my guess).
Skerik’s Maelstrom Trio is Skerik on tenor sax (from Seattle), Brian Coogan on Hammond B-3 Organ & Simon Lott on drums/trumpet (both from Baton Rouge). I’ve heard of Skerik many times via various NYC downtown scene musicians. The Trio went on around 11pm… I stayed for over an hour of their set (12:15am or so). I wish I could have stayed, but I was BEAT.
Anyway, they started out in the experimental / free jazz realm, but didn’t stay there the whole night. Their set was a plethora of sounds… much of it very groove oriented (probably due to the Hammond B-3 throughout). They seemed to be having fun playing together, too – – which ain’t bad to see. :)
Simon (on drums) was fun to watch… he worked well in both the groove and grooveless/experimental compositions. He also pulled out a tiny trumpet for one of the songs which mixed well with Skerik’s sax. Skerik’s sax sound was nice a full (I guess I’m more familiar with alto sax), and he (again) played a good mix of groove and free jazz. On one of the songs he played what I think was a talk box through his sax which was unique to my concert going experiences thus far. Many a guitar talk box, but nary a sax talk box. Fun stuff…
(not from last night’s show)
Great show! I’m glad they stopped by, and I hope they stop by again in some form or another.
Where they’re heading next?
Jun 3 2008 Lion’s Lair [Stebmo opens] Denver, Colorado
Jun 4 2008 Trilogy Wine Bar [Stebmo opens] Boulder, Colorado
Jun 5 2008 Aggie Theatre [Stebmo opens] Fort Collins, Colorado
Jun 6 2008 Telluride Jazz Festival (Fly Me to the Moon Saloon) Telluride, Colorado
Jun 7 2008 Telluride Jazz Festival (McCoy Tyner Stage) Telluride, Colorado
Jun 7 2008 Telluride Jazz Festival (Fly Me to the Moon Saloon) Telluride, Colorado
Jun 10 2008 The Mint [opening for Rebirth Brass Band] Los Angeles, California
Jun 11 2008 The Mint [opening for Rebirth Brass Band] Los Angeles, California
Jun 12 2008 Kuumbwa Jazz Center [Stebmo/Trey Spruance (Secret Chiefs 3) also on bill] Santa Cruz, California
Jun 13 2008 Boom Boom Room [Stebmo opens] San Francisco, California
Jun 14 2008 Hopmonk Brewery [Stebmo opens] Sebastopol, California
Jun 15 2008 Red Fox Tavern [Stebmo opens] Eureka, California
The appropriate linkage:
- http://www.myspace.com/43304272 (Skerik)
- http://www.myspace.com/maelstromtrio
- http://www.myspace.com/syncopatedtaint
- http://crittersbuggin.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/stebmo
- http://www.stebmo.com/
- http://sambonds.com/
Upcoming shows: Or Not to Be (Hamlet Zombies), Jude Christodal in PDX, Bill Frisell/Eyvind Kang/Royston in Eugene… and maybe a JoFederigo jazz show (I’ve got a free dessert coupon; so why not?)…
~Dan – pp: The Book Show – Episode 14 with Richard Dawkins
np: Bar Kokhba Sextet – Masada Book Two: Lucifer
PS- this was posted to Skerik’s MySpace:
“Kickin it with Origami Barack Mandela!! from Tomo in Eugene!!“
mini-REVIEW: Michael Franti & Spearhead @ the Cuthbert Amphitheater (Eugene, OR – – 5/24/08)
WOW! Fantastic show at the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Eugene, OR, last night… it was beautiful day, then it rained for the show… but it was a BLAST!
Openers: Lilla D’Mone Trio with My G – great musicianship in a hip-hop, funk soul rock realm. The lyrics were a little lacking in my opinion… they seemed to mean well but fall short. Alas, it’s probably why I gravitate to more instrumental bands anyway. Good pop lyricists are too few and far between. If I had to grade ’em… a B. Blue Scholars – a DJ & MC duo from Seattle. They were good, but I spent most of their set in the long and slow coffee line. Hmph. What I heard, I enjoyed (B+). The Coup – they were a very good act. Sort of a rap funk rock thing going on. Played for an hour, very enjoyable (solid A). Too many openers for my taste, but they were pretty good (all things considered).
Michael Franti and Spearhead put on a GREAT show. I had never heard them outside of their samples on MySpace, but my wife (and her boss) wanted to go… and the vibe I heard was good; so what the heck. Anyway, amazing show… good mix of rock, reggae, and hip-hop. I didn’t know the names of the songs, but I liked ’em… and even in the rain, it didn’t stop people from dancing in the aisles (and on the chairs). Oh, he did play a song I knew… Nirvana‘s “Come As You Are.”
I’m a fan of his music now… great stuff.
The Appropriate Linkage:
mini-REVIEW: Midnight Serenaders @ Cuthbert Amphitheater (Eugene, OR – – 5/18/08)
It was a little bit cooler today than yesterday… so I decided to head out for some FREE music at the Willamette Valley Music Festival at Cuthbert Amphitheater (near Autzen Stadium & Alton Baker Park in Eugene, OR).
I was really going to see one band… I had heard them previously on their MySpace page, and they struck my fancy… they were Midnight Serenaders from Portland. They’re a hoppin’ sextet made up of ukulele/vocals, guitar/vocals, hawaiian steel slide guitar, upright bass, trumpet, and clarinet/saxophone.
They played about 45 minutes of ’20s & ’30s speakeasy-type tunes (some covers / some originals). Fun stuff, kinda like the Ditty Bops (to give you a frame of reference). Songs I know they played…
- Dirt Dishin’ Daisy
- Everybody Loves My Baby
- You Gotta Give Me Some
- The World’s Jazz Crazy
Some of the songs were kinda naughty… teehee… the little kids in the audience probably were wondering why the lady kept going to the butcher to get some more of his meat… oh my.
Anyway, they put on an enjoyable set… great fun tunes and great musicianship. I hope they come through here again soon!
Check ’em out…
http://www.midnightserenaders.com/
http://www.myspace.com/midnightserenaders
http://cdbaby.com/cd/mserenaders
~Dan – np: Richard Dawkins – The Lava Lizard’s Tale
Eugene’s Saturday Market Live Stage 2008
I usually head down early to Eugene’s Farmers’ Market / Saturday Market for good local veg… then sometimes, if there’s good music scheduled, I make my way back in the afternoon…
Here are my 2008‘s catches, in descending chronological order (updated as they happen -or- as I remember to write about them)…
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May 17th: Pojama People (http://www.myspace.com/glennleonard) Good thing they had a tagline on the poster at Saturday Market; otherwise, there’s no way I’d head back out in the heat (it was bloody hot today). The tagline was something along the lines of “the music of Frank Zappa.”
I found a spot in the shade (thankfully)… I bought an ice cream sandwich (which ended up being a totally messy pile of yum)… I sat down and took in some Zappa and Zappa-inspired tunes (a not as messy pile of yum). They are made up of Alli Bach on percussion, winds, vocals; Glenn Leonard on drums (and a 13-yo student, Spencer Ewing, very capably sat in a few tunes, too); Brian Casey on bass; Ted Clifford on keys; and B-Bo on guitar. Per some webpages, they also sometimes have Ike Willis sing with them sometimes, too… cool.
They played a lot of instrumental songs, and they also played some Zappa tunes with lyrics with “liberty taken to them” — almost all politically bent (which is fine with me… and likely Zappa). Here’s what they played (thanks to Glenn for the setlist corrections)…
- Zoot Allures
- Arrogant Dubya Son (new lyrics to FZ’s “Idiot Bastard Son“)
- Help, I’m Iraq (new lyrics to FZ’s “Help, I’m a Rock“)
- RDNZL
- Duke of Prunes
- Eat That Tin Kong (a mashup of “Eat That Question” & “King Kong“)
- Sofa
- If I Fell (Beatles)
- You Are What You Is / Dupree’s Paradise / Improv
- Alien Orifice / Tribute to American Idol (new lyrics to FZ’s “Tinsel Town Rebellion“)
- McCain (new lyrics to Clapton’s “Cocaine“)
- Let’s Make Blackwater Turn Back (new lyrics to FZ’s “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black“)
- Village of the Sun / Achidna’s Arf / Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? (with “13“)
They’re playing at Sam Bonds Garage on June 28th. If I’m free, I hope to see them again. They were good (ie- not your usual cover band).
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May 3rd: Big Roy and the Twigs (http://www.myspace.com/bigroyandthetwigs) I went to see Big Roy because I know him via the head of the accounting department at UofO, Steve Matsunaga (Roy is Steve’s son). I heard some of their tunes on MySpace, and figured, “what the hell.” I showed up, and they had already started their set. It was hot (not bloody hot), but I caught 4 or 5 songs. They had some decent chops, alas, all I really remember is that they seemed to play a lot of alt-rock covers (Red Hot Chili Peppers’ songs appeared at least twice). It would have been nice to hear some of their originals, too. I was melting; so I headed back to the car. Nice set, though. Hopefully I can catch ’em again sometime…
~Dan
REVIEW: Peter Mulvey & Patty Larkin @ W.O.W. Hall (Eugene, OR – – 5/1/08)
This was my fourteenth (14th) time seeing Peter Mulvey play… and I never get tired of his great guitar style, funny story-telling, and strong-yet-unassuming voice. Last night’s show was no exception to the “never get tired” statement. He’s a treat, and I’m glad he makes it to Eugene occasionally…
* If Love Is Not Enough (complete with Hall and Oates & KC and the Sunshine Band snippets)
* Black Rabbit (aka “The Milkmaid’s Buxom Nephew“ ;-) it’s a gorgeous solo guitar piece originally on his 1992 release Brother Rabbit Speaks… see YouTube video below…)
* The Knuckleball Suite (makes my wife & I want to kick back some Sandeman Port… delish…)
* Dynamite Bill *new* (nice guitarwork and classic Mulvey low-end)
* Shirt (a personal fav)
* Mailman *new* (written for Chris Pureka who sent him a book of poems)
* Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (and Faraway from Home) (another personal fav)
The story leading up to “Sad, Sad…” was about his experience of playing inside of a cave in West Virginia for 100 high-school science geniuses (genii?). I’d never heard that story… wild stuff. I wonder how he got that gig?
After a short break, Patty Larkin came on. I hadn’t heard her before this show.. Peter was the main reason to get a ticket. Anyway, Patty didn’t disappoint either. She’s got a great guitar style… not the usual singer-songwriter style. She knows how to play “more than just a few chords.” I don’t know any of her songs, but they were interesting, usually storytelling pieces. She played a little over an hour, and she was thoroughly enjoying. She hails from Boston, MA; but actually went to the University of Oregon (here in Eugene) for her undergrad studies. Go Ducks!
Peter Mulvey came on a played backing guitars for one of her songs, too. Oh, and she “pulled a Jónsi” later in her set… playing her guitar with a bow…
Great stuff all around…
The Appropriate Linkage:
http://www.petermulvey.com/
http://www.myspace.com/pattylarkinofficial
http://www.pattylarkin.com/
http://www.wowhall.org/
The Trouble with Puppies… is they lick too much…
~Dan – np: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – Lil’ Tae Rides Again
I also found the video for “Shirt”
REVIEW: Raquy & the Cavemen @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 4/30/08)
Raquy and the Cavemen put on a great show last night at Cozmic Pizza. They had put out two CDs since we saw them last time in Cincinnati; so we snagged those (2007’s Naked & 2008’s Mischief). They played almost exclusively from those two CDs (per Raquy & Liron’s onstage banter).
The band is made up of Raquy (pronounced “Rocky”) on dumbek and kemanche (not to be confused with a jalebi); Liron on dumbek, guitar, and riq; and Nezih (per their webpage) on riq, davul, and dumbek. Liron was dred-free since the last time we saw him… he got shorn last time he passed through Cincinnati by the Gaiananda peeps.
Their first few tunes featured Raquy beautifully on kemanche (a violin-type instrument), and she switched between the kemanche and dumbek throughout the night. About three or four songs in, they played a song that featured all three members on a drum of some sort, and it was mezmerizing how in-sync and fast they played. They cued each other with quick hand signals and eye movements, and they played wicked fast (at least for my fat little fingers to try to do).
After about 40 minutes (or so), they invited Eugene-based bellydance troupe Tribalation (led by Sabine) to dance along to the tunes. Tribalation danced to about 4 songs (one with Sabine doing some amazing dual-sword work). The end of the show had about 2 or 3 “open dance” songs. This was clearly right up my alley… as I did the “take the plates to the bin and napkins to the trash can” dance that I learned as a young child growing up in Nigeria*.
We also found out that Raquy has a sister who lives in Eugene (she ran merch last night). That’s exciting, because it means that these Brooklynites make their way here at least once a year. :-)
The appropriate linkage:
http://www.myspace.com/lironpeled
Liron being shorn in Cincinnati
http://www.sabinedance.com/
http://www.cozmicpizza.com/
I’d post some of our own pictures of the show… alas, they were all either dark (due to the flash & low stage lighting) or blurry (due to no flash).
~Dan – np: Dub Trio – Another Sound is Dying
*- NOTE: I am from Nigeria, I did take plates and napkins away… alas, it wasn’t a dance.
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 4/16/08)
Wow… great show last night from Ani and her compadres…
The opener was poet Judy Grahn‘s spoken word to beats and such from Animal Prufrock (formerly of Bitch & Animal) and guitarist Anne Carol. They played about 35-40 minutes. The songs/poems they played are presumed to be something along the lines of…
- Bowls
- Emotional Boner
- Vampires
- Mental
- Love Me
- The Forest
- Bledsung
- (unknown)
- Walk & Taxi Back (my favorite of their set)
Ani DiFranco came around 9pm, played for just over an hour and a half. The background was really cool (but simple). It was a big curtain with different colored lights. McDonald Theatre didn’t seem to pull this out for That1Guy & Buckethead last month… alas, it was nice for Ani’s backdrop.
The last few times that I’d seen her, she only had bass accompaniment from Todd Sickafoose (who has not one but two nice jazz recordings). This time, she also had Allison Miller on drums and Mike Dylan (or Dillon) on xylophone (or was it a vibraphone?) and bongos.
Set list:
- Shy
- Half-Assed
- Not a Pretty Girl
- Swim
- Lag Time
- Decree
- Napoleon
- As Is (a favorite of the night)
- Subdivision (a favorite of the night)
- Here For Now
- Swan Dive (a favorite of the night)
- Fire Door
- Anticipate
- The Atom (new song, presumed title)
- Alla This / Bankroll (new song, two titles floating around the internets)
- In the Way
- Shameless (a favorite of the night)
- Encore: Gravel
- Hypnotized
Eight times in eight years… it’s a good annual (or so) tradition to see Ani at work. The new songs seemed familiar; so perhaps she played them last year on tour, too. I look forward to her next album, which is probably “due” in 55 days based on the scientifically syncronized Ani DiFranco album gestation calendar (currently 9.16 months per Ani release, and 6.46 months if the “official bootleg” live albums are brought into the mix)*.
~Dan – np: klezmer podcast no. 33 (here)
*- Go on, tell yourself that I’m making these numbers up. The sad truth. I’m not.
mini-REVIEW: Dominique Leone @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 4/2/08)
über-mini review… saw Dominique Leone (from Texas) yesterday at Cozmic Pizza. Great stuff. Quirky, keyboard-and-flute-based avant-pop(?) with vocals not unlike some of the Danielson Familie (in spots). I dug it…
http://www.myspace.com/dominiqueleone
~Dan
REVIEW: That1Guy & Buckethead @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 3/22/08)
’twas an oddrocker double bill yesterday… That1Guy and Buckethead.
This was my fourth time seeing Mr. 1Guy. My review of his show last fall is here. That1Guy started right after 9pm and played for just about an hour. He started out with the haunting strings of “Forgotten Whales” (a song that actually made it on our wedding CDs for the dinner… teehee). He played a lot of instrumental tracks on the magic pipe (a big metal pipe jacked up on electricity), but he also did “Buttmachine,” “Weasel Pot Pie,” and “The Moon is Disgusting.” I kinda wish he would’a done “One,” alas he didn’t. He pulled out the magic boot (a cowboy boot jacked up on electricity)… it’s got a nice tabla-like sound. He also pulled out the magic saw (a large saw jacked up on electricity) and played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” A couple times in his set he went to a very repetitive place, alas, still an overall great show from That1Guy. Check him out sometime if he comes to your town… todays show was a solid 4.5 stars.
Check out some videos of That1Guy (click the pictures)…
Live in Oz:
One:
Buttmachine:
Buckethead went on at 10:30pm. This was my third time seeing him, and my wife’s first time. I was bummed with no live band backing him. He played along to drum & bass & ’lectronic DAT tracks… that were TOO LOUD. It was too hard to hear him play his guitar half the time. Plus the live band atmosphere is much better. Anyway, he started out with “Jump Man/Night of the Slunk”… played a bunch of other stuff… also played “Stick Pit”… we had to leave 45 minutes in. The volume levels were PAINFUL (and we had earplugs in)… but not so much the guitar volume levels, mainly the backing tracks… ::sigh:: Guitars: 4.5 stars… everything else: 2 stars… so much so that it was unenjoyable past 45 minutes. I totally missed the potential for his patented nun-chuk robot dancing.
I hope to see him again soon (July in Dayton with my brother, maybe)… I hope he has his band back with him.
The appropriate linkage:
mini-REVIEW: Slavic Soul Party! @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 2/28/08)
well, in keeping with an unwritten “review the shows I see” pact… here’s a mini review…
Slavic Soul Party! at Cozmic Pizza on Thursday was fantastic. They went on shortly after 9:30, took a short break, and then started a 2nd set. I had to leave at 11pm (I was heading up to Seattle the next day for school). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed their music. They are a 9-piece instrumental band with an occassional singer on a little bit less than half of their songs (the singer was also fantastic). The nine-pieces: drum-mer, snare-drum-mer, tuba-er, trombone-r x 2, trumpet-er x 2, clarinet/saxophon-ist, and accordion-squeezer.
At one point, they invited musicians from UOregon to join them for a song (SSP! taught a ‘master’s class’ that day at the university). With UO musicians, they had 21 people playing a tune, complete with student and band member trumpet solos.
“gypsy funk balkan soul“… Fun stuff… check them out on the MySpaces: http://www.myspace.com/slavicsoulparty
~Dan – np: Osso plays Sufjan on WNYC
mini-REVIEW: Bela Fleck & Oregon Symphony Orchestra (Portland, OR – – 2/23/08)
Mini-review… we had to leave at the intermission due to a rapid onset illness… alas, still a good music intake (roughly an hour)…
Our seats were in a good spot, and cheap, too… student rates rock! we shuffled in right as it was starting… the Oregon Symphony Orchestra (based in Portland) was led by Gregory Vajda. They played two pieces prior to Béla Fleck and the Flecktones coming on stage… “The Cowboys Overture” (by John Williams) and “An American Treasure” (by Hoagy Carmichael).
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones came on and played two (long) songs by themselves, then they played about 2 or 3 songs with the OSO. It was a fantastic hourlong 1st set. Béla’s got a very non-hillbilly banjo style. :) Sorta classical meets jazz meets rock. The Flecktones are fantastic, too. Victor Wooten is one of the most melodic bassists around… great style. I think he was playing a fretless electric. Jeff Coffin is a great reedman. He played saxophone and did the two-at-a-time trick, too. Fun stuff. And Future Man… well, his drum contraption is crazy (live drums hooked up to a guitar-looking instrument used to triggers them — picture below).
Anyway, great 1st set. We weren’t able to stick around, but it was some good music, what we caught of it…
The Appropriate Linkage:
http://www.orsymphony.org/
http://www.myspace.com/belaflecktones
http://www.myspace.com/victorw0010 (likely unofficial)
http://www.myspace.com/jeffcoffinmutet
http://www.myspace.com/futuremanmusic
~Dan
REVIEW: Glen Phillips & J.Kingham @ W.O.W. Hall (Eugene, OR – – 2/21/08)
All-in-all, it was a very enjoyable evening. The opener was great, and Glen played a great, long set as well. I’ll be brief in my review because I’ve got too much homework… so here goes…
Jonathan Kingham’s set:
I’ll Be the One (nice R&B tune)
All That’s Missing Is You
Every Little Step [Bobby Brown] (fantastic, long free-style rap)
Grace (with Glen on backing vocals)
/ 
Glen Phillips’ set:
Courage
Easier
Return to Me *new on EP* (he’s trying to corner the market on privatized space travel EPs)
Back On My Feet
I Could End This Now (?)
Walk On the Ocean
Drive By
I Still See You As You Are *new band -tbd-*
Rise Up *new band -tbd-* (on Concert to End Slavery compilation)
Brother
(The rest of the songs also had JK on guitar & backing vocals)
Duck and Cover
I Want a New Drug [Huey Lewis]
Solar Flare *new on EP* (the world’s 1st childrens’ song about radiation sickness)
True
Train Wreck (I had no idea this was about a friend on meth… yikes)
Waiting
Released
Last Sunset
Dam Would Break
All I Want
Everything But You
Click on the picture to get Glen’s new CD, Secrets of the New Explorers:
It was a GREAT show all around. If only more people showed up… hrmph… well, there’s always next time he swings through Eugene. Otherwise, we’ll make the trek up to PDX to see him… as we need our occassional Glen fix.
~Dan – np: Estradasphere – The Pegasus Vault -EP-
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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