Archive
<prelim.oh.seven.fav.list>
Well, my 17-day vacation/ holiday break/ hustle-and-rent-the-house-2,600-miles-away trip went well… alas, my oft “too time consuming” year-end list of all that is fantastic to my ears is not done/barely started.
Now that I’ll be back to school, I’ll have some time to re-listen to my 2007 music. Expect something in mid-to-late January (perhaps). In the meantime, for those that care (all 2 of you)… here are some preliminary choice tunes from last year (in no particular order, except for likely the 1st two):
2. Radiohead – In Rainbows
Wussy – Left for Dead
Ken Andrews (from Failure/On/Year of the Rabbit) – Secrets of the Lost Satellite
Puscifer (Maynard from Tool) – V is For Vagina
Elliott Smith – New Moon
Antibalas – Security
Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Hiromi – Time Control
Holy Fuck – Holy Fuck LP2
Marc Ribot – Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 7 (Asmodeus)
John Zorn – Six Litanies for Heliogabalus
Dave Douglas & Keystone – Moonshine
The Lithuanian Empire – The Lithuanian Empire
The full “Top ??” list will be jam-packed with more info, pictures, and links than you cared to know about said artists… as I would have it no. other. way.
~Dan – np: Gaston Zirko‘s experimental music on myspace
Favorite Concerts of 2007
Well, there are still some 2007 CDs that may or may not arrive in my hands before the year’s over (specifically Eyvind Kang, Dave Douglas, Greydon Square, Radiohead, Doug Pinnick & La Mar Enfortuna — all of which have Top 20 potential); so I’m not ready to post my “Best CDs of 2007” list, yet. Look for that one sometime in early 2008…
This blog is for my favorite concerts of 2007. I went to too many to recount in detail, but these are the tip-top ones…
- Music Now Festival 2007 (Pedro Soler, Bryce Dessner, David Cossin, the Clogs, the Havels, Osso, Amiina, My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan Stevens) at the Memorial Hall, Cincinnati-OH (4/5/07 to 4/7/07) my review
- Masada (John Zorn, Dave Douglas, Greg Cohen, Joey Baron) at the Rose Theatre at the Lincoln Center, New York-NY (3/10/07) my review
- Nellie McKay at the Shedd Institute, Eugene-OR (10/5/07) my review
- Silverchair at the Fillmore @ the TLA, Philadelphia-PA (7/28/07) review snippet
- Secret Chiefs 3 at the Bowery Ballroom, New York-NY (3/15/07) my review
- John Zorn’s Moonchild (Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, Joey Baron) at the Moore Theatre, Seattle-WA (11/4/07) my review
- Holy Fuck at the Southgate House, Newport-KY (4/1/07) my review
- Antibalas at the Southgate House, Newport-KY (4/29/07) review snippet
- Noctaluca at the Taste of Cincinnati, Cincinnati-OH (5/28/07)
- Blackfield (Steven Wilson & Aviv Geffen) at the Bowery Ballroom, New York-NY (3/16/07) my review
OK, I guess I’ve still got coming up in 2007 Iron & Wine in Portland (12/2) and maybe David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) in Eugene (12/14); but the above concerts were my favorites of 2007…
Happy thanksgiving, yo! One thing I’m thankful for is definitely music… :-)
~Dan – np: npr jazz profiles (podcast) – duke ellington: the bandleader, pt. 1
12/24 Update: wow… I totally forgot the kick ass Zappa Plays Zappa show at Moonlite Gardens in Cincinnati, OH on 7/24/07. I think I forgot because I didn’t blog about it when it happened (gettin’ ready to quit my job and pack up and head west at the time)… but now reading this week’s CityBeat, tons of people listed it as a favorite, and man, I was at that show, too… Dweezil = awesomes! Ray White = awesomes! Frank on a big screen behind the band, singing and soloing with the live band = awesomes! 2nd time seeing the ZPZ tour in 2 years (completely different setlist, too). I think it needs to be a once-a-year thing… in perpetuity.
\\\the future of electronic improvisational music///
This is wicked…
Reactable Demo 1
Reactable Demo 2
Reactable Live in Berlin
Being a fan of improvisational, sound art… this is the good kind of wicked.
~Dan
PS- Bjork Live using a Reactable (2007 Volta Tour)
REVIEW: David Bazan [Pedro the Lion] @ Indigo District (Eugene, OR – – 12/13/07)
Ah… the out-of-place statues, randomly sticky floors, quite decent beer selection and open room with a stage right by the kitchen makes the Indigo District a perplexing place. It’s got great things, weird things, bad things, and ambivalence on top of great music. I’d only been here once before, and that was for the 25th anniversary shindig for Eugene Weekly to which my wife’s boss invited us. First time for a concert… I’m sure it won’t be the last if they get artists like David Bazan coming through more often. But it is an odd place… I just can’t put my finger on why. Eh… it’s gotta be the statues.
I showed up at 8:15 or so. I thought I was going to be late (ie- halfway into the opener’s set). Apparently the artists were late getting out of San Francisco from the night before; so they weren’t on schedule. I had a pint of Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter (sidenote: “butte” is pronounced like the beginning of “beautiful”). It’s fantastic, and it travelled only 2 hours away from Bend, Oregon to get to my mouf. Anyway, as I was sipping my beer, I hear a familiar voice… it was David Bazan ordering a pitcher of Blue Moon for he and his tour mates. The bartender was doing too many things at once and started pouring a pitcher of Blue Moon, then stopped, did something else, then started filling the rest of the pitcher with Pabst Blue Ribbon. Oy! Luckily David and Co. didn’t end up with that concoction. Blech.
Before the music started, I ran into David again in the facilities. After handwashing pleasantries, I asked him if he came through Eugene often, as I just moved here from Cincinnati. To which he said that he liked to stop by here, but it was the first time at this venue. Then we had a small exchange about the Southgate House (a quaint indie rock venue in the Cincinnati area).
By this time, the opener J.Tillman was playing. He played about 45 minutes. He was quite pleasant. His voice was what I’d call smooth, yet right on the edge of raspy… but not raspy. I don’t know. I was trying to characterize it last night, but just couldn’t. I enjoyed his set… check him out on MySpace sometime…
Next up came David Bazan… who has also recorded under the monikers of Pedro the Lion (indie rock) and Headphones (electronic). Perhaps his music can be described as indie rock or electric-fuzzy singer-songwriter fare. I dig him mainly for his poignant lyrics. His lyrics are witty, against the grain, many times religious in a somewhat skeptic slant, and usually full of sarcasm or what people want to say but never do. I also love David’s down-to-earth persona. His banter via the “Q&A” breaks in the set really connect the audience to the performance… and the answers are usually funny.
He only played about an hour, as the venue had a time limit (they had dance time after the show) and David and J got off to a later start than planned. It was just David, an electric guitar and a microphone. Oh, and an amp.
Here’s the setlist:
Cigarettes and Beer
When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run
(No Name) per David [new]
Please Baby Please [new]
Transcontinental
Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (with add’l Bazan lyrics)
Harmless Sparks / Fewer Moving Parts
Foregone Conclusions
Curse Your Branches [new]
(something with “look the other way” in the lyrics) I didn’t recka’nize it
Hallelujah [L.Cohen]
Great show. Short, but good nonetheless. I’m glad he still plays “Foregone Conclusions.” The 2nd verse has some of my favorite lyrics of his ever.
If’n y’all want to hear some music from this tour… the show in Asheville-NC is posted here for free download >> hardtofindafriend.blogspot.com <<
Well, that’s all for now…
~Dan – np: Rob Price Quartet – I Really Do Not See the Signal
new musical finds…
Elsiane… she’s like Björk meets Portishead meets the Cranberries… ie- quirky electronic-fused pop with lush vocals, a trip-hop feel and tempo, and a unique vocal delivery. And the fact that Elsiane has dredg as a “Top 8” puts her in good place in my musical interests, per se. Check out this Montreal artiste…
This next artist is somewhat of a “parody” or “tribute” band of a fairly unknown artist… but it’s a fairly unknown artist that I love…
Secret Chefs 3 is a “tribute” band of Secret Chiefs 3. Anyway… the original (Chiefs) is a Mr Bungle spin-off band that does middle-eastern style metal mixed with surf music and dance beats on occasion. I love the Secret Chiefs 3 (led by mastermind Trey Spruance). The Chefs (no “i”) do a middle eastern, surf, metal mix of their own original tunes on instruments made from found objects… whether it be shovels, oars, or kitchen utensils. It’s a fun, original take on it all. And they’re only a “tribute” band in influence, not in actual songs. The Chefs material is comprised of all original compositions.
That is all… for now…
~Dan – np: Richard Dawkins – The Root of All Evil? (BBC documentary)
REVIEW: Reptet @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 12/9/07)
Well, the first thing I want to say is “shame on you, Eugene.” Just because school is out, that’s no reason to not hang about town to hear some wonderful music!! The crowd at Cozmic Pizza was very small on this particular Sunday evening… which I blame on school letting out only 2 days prior, this being primarily a college town, and Sunday night at 9pm not being conducive to concert-going anyhow. Cozmic is usually hoppin’ (and a great place to get a local Oatmeal Stout and a great slice of pizza). Cozmic also having nutritional yeast available on their condiment rack is niiiice. Regardless of the lackluster crowd size, the band played on and seemed to be having a wonderful time trying out some new tunes for us.
The band was/is a sextet from Seattle comprised of Izaak Mills on reeds (sax & clarinet) & flute, Samantha Boshnack on various horns (primarily trumpet), Christopher Credit on reeds (sax & clarinet) and a (mini) trombone, Nelson Bell on trombone & tuba, Tim Carey on bass (upright & electric), and John Ewing on drums. All members tended to throw their hat into the percussion ring throughout the night. They played for just over an hour solid.
The tunes I jotted down that they played: “Eve of Threve”, “Chicken or Beef”, and “Fish Market.” They also played a latin-sounding number, a rabbit/carrot number and few other tunes mixed in. They were fun on stage, cheering and ranting and even walking around the room on the last number. Solid musicianship, great songs, fun stage presence, and adventurous without “gettin’ all Zorn” on us (not that I’d mind that, though). :) Reptet is not smooth jazz*, but rather an adventurous sextet with great sense of melody and playfulness.
*-Thankfully.
After talking to the band after the show, apparently the whole set was new tracks for the upcoming 3rd album. I recognized some of the names of the songs due to downloading them from the Monktail website (here).
Anyway, I fully recommend both of Reptet’s releases thus far… Reptet (2003) and Do This! (2006). Both are available online for a great package price… ie- “a steal.” I also recommend seeing them live when they come around your neck of the woods… they’re playing down the West Coast as I type this.
/ 
Check ’em out online… Reptet & MCMC…
http://www.reptet.com/
http://myspace.com/reptet (free samples)
http://www.monktail.com/ (their collaborative group/record label… tons of free tunes)
http://myspace.com/monktail (more free samples)
I’m definitely looking forward to Reptet album 3… and more Oregon visits from them. I just hope we [Oregon] show up next time.
Concerts coming up tomorrow… a free jazz show (by the Shedd Jazz Ensemble) at the 5th Street Public Market in downtown Eugene… and then David Bazan (the Pedro the Lion guy) at the Indigo District for $8. Not a bad deal, in either case. Look for a Pedro review later this week…
~Dan – np: Ken Andrews – Secrets of the Lost Satellite Tour
REVIEW: Iron & Wine @ The Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR – – 12/2/07)
Well, the evening started with my wife finding a good parking space for us… not too far from dinner and the venue. Dinner was at the lovely Blossoming Lotus. I had the BBQ tempeh with black bean soup, ginger salad, and quinoa. My wife had the Indian bowl, which had loads of mango something-or-other on it. Pumpkin muffin and brownie parfait for dessert. Belt loosening for dessert as well. ;) Blossoming Lotus is right in downtown Portland (NW). They’re a yummy, reasonably priced, organic café, and they have a delightful cookbook as well (we bought one after our trip out here in Dec ’06).
While not having a good knowledge of I&W song names (outside of the obvious ones), this is gonna be a total “cheater review”… here’s a setlist from another show on this tour:
Peace Beneath the City
Innocent Bones
On Your Wings
Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car
White Tooth Man *FAV*
House by the Sea
The Devil Never Sleeps
Boy With A Coin *FAV*
Sodom, South Georgia
Carousel
Upward Over The Mountain
Jezebel *FAV*
Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog)
Resurrection Fern
The Sea And The Rhythm
Flightless Bird, American Mouth
—
History of Lovers
The PDX show was not too far off this one. Well, actually, we left at the song right before the encore (long drive ahead of us in the rain); so I can’t vouch at all for the encore selection. Cheater review, indeed.
Definitely a good show. The opener, Califone, was also enjoyable. I heard some of their selections on their MySpace page, and I wasn’t necessarily giddy. I’ll admit — I was busy that day; so I really didn’t give them a fair listen. Anyway, I really liked their more jammy, experimental elements.
Iron and Wine came on about 10:20 and played for a good hour and half… good mix of songs (as noted by the cheater setlist above). I loved Sam Beam’s whispy delivery, but oft-times the band got in the way of his vocals/guitar. I think it’d be good to see a more stripped down version of Iron & Wine, but this show was a treat as well.
Oh, if you want to hear a streaming concert… NPR has the Washington DC 9:30 Club show from earlier this year HERE. It’s also downloadable if you get their “NPR Live Concert” podcast.
Oh, the venue… weird set-up. Show was on the 3rd floor. The ballroom was split up with a big barrier segregating the drinkers from non-drinkers. There were odd paintings on the wall and pretty ugly plastic-looking chandeliers. Ugly… but they (Crystal Ballroom) definitely get some good artists coming through… heck, just this week: Iron & Wine, Cake, Tegan & Sara, Jon Butler Trio, The Shins.
~Dan – np: Doug Pinnick – Strum Sum Up
Favorites of 2007… local music, vinyl, internets, podcasts…
Well, this is Round 2 of the traditional year-end wrap-up… Round 1 (here) was all about concerts I attended. Since I’m still not ready for my favorite album recap, I’ll ease into with some non-standard categories…
Favorite Local Music 2007
Well, being caught in a move 2,600 miles away this year, my “local” is not quite Oregon-related, yet. In fact, I built up such a battalion of favorite local Cincinnati/Dayton artists, that I may always consider them “local” for me…
1) Wussy – Left for Dead – Simply a fantastic record through and through. “Airborne,” from the first Wussy record (Funeral Dress), may be one of my favorite songs as of late… and the new Wussy record had many songs up to its caliber. Don’t be shocked if this album shows up in my Top 20-something overall albums of the year. It’s a beaut.
http://www.wussymusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/therealwussy
2) Kelly Evans – Easy (ep) – I heard of Kelly Evans barely a year ago (MPMF in Sept ’06). Her debut -EP- is something of a gorgeous effort. Great guitarwork, great vocals, fun songs… sorta jazz with a world beat in spots. She’s posted roughly 10 more songs to her MySpace page over the year… this girl needs a full length record. :-) Her record is not in stores, as far as I know… so ask her how you can get one…
http://www.kellyevansmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/skyfeathervivella
3) Auragami – +/- (ep) – This was a gift from a very talented bassist in the Dayton area named Michael Miller. I’ve been a fan of his music since Space (circa 1998). He’s got a great feel for groove, experimentation, and melody. To quote another SW Ohio bassist Mike Georgin, “bass is good.” His record is not in stores, as far as I know… so ask him how you can get one…
http://www.myspace.com/auragami
Favorite Backwards Technology Releases 2007
What’s not to love about vinyl? It crackles when you play it, scratches easily, and it a pain to put on your iPod, and some artists like to release things on it as special releases that won’t see the light of day in a more accessible format. That’s what not to love about it. With that being said, I still love it. Here are my favorite vinyl-only releases of 2007:
1) Secret Chiefs 3 – four 7″ vinyl singles – Cool design and music to boot. I wish they’d crank out some more music soon, but these vinyl singles were a good layover until Trey Spruance and the SC3 can get Book of Souls or his take on Masada Book Two out (in 2008).
http://www.webofmimicry.com/
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
2) Pearl Jam (with U2) – Love Reign O’er Me (fan club 7″ single) – PJ and U2. Nuff Said.
http://www.pearljam.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tenclub
3) Sufjan Stevens – I Went Dancing with My Sister / Waste of What Your Kids Won’t Have (7″ single bonus with Seven Swans vinyl re-issue) – I dislike the “only way you can get this is by getting this, too” aspect of it all… but, hey, it was cheap(ish) and it is Sufjan. He’s new to my camp of “can’t do wrong.” I’m a sucker.
http://www.myspace.com/soundsfamilyre
http://www.myspace.com/asthmatickitty
4) Sigur Rós – Hljómalind 7″ single – Of any current band that I’m happy to “grow up” with, this will be one that I’ll be happy to tell people 30 years from now that I saw live.
Sigur Rós is. They just are.
http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/sigurros
Favorite Internet-only Releases 2007
1) Ben Elliot – Fairytales (ep) – Rarely do those “band spammers” who claim to sound like “such and such” actually get much attention. Well, Ben Elliot actually bothered to message rather than just friend requesting me. His claims of Silverchair/Dissociative-ness seemed suspect. Alas, I found his music to be QUITE GOOD… so far his stuff’s only available online (no CDs), but well worth whatever change-per-song you throw his way. Do it!! You’ll thank me.
http://www.benelliot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/benelliot
2) Derek Webb – One Zero (Remixes) – I’ve been a fan of Derek since the Caedmon’s Call days. The “remix” notion wouldn’t seem like it’d fit a primarily acoustic singer-songwriter. Alas, it does. Fun stuff…
http://www.derekwebb.com
http://www.myspace.com/derekwebb
3) Xenuphobe – 2.0: Electrolux – OK, technically, this one is not internet-only… but I only had funds to get the download version. Xenuphobe is Wally Farkas (of Galactic Cowboys fame) and Ty Tabor (of King’s X fame). It’s an experimental, psychedelic, ambient rock album… I dig it a bunch. I loved X1, and this one beats that one… great works, guys!
http://www.xenuphobe.com/
http://www.myspace.com/xenuphobemusic
4) My Brightest Diamond – Tear It Down (b-sides) – I hate exclusives on iTunes… but at least I didn’t have to buy the whole album again to get these extra gems. I can’t wait for MBD’s next one, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. Shara’s vocals are sublime.
http://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mybrightestdiamond
5) Puscifer – Don’t Shoot the Messenger (ep) – Ah, Maynard James Keenan, you wiley tool of the devil. Not for the faint of heart or ears…
http://www.puscifer.com/
http://www.myspace.com/censorshipisacancer
Favorite Podcasts 2007
I blame two people for this new addiction of mine… Gary Lenaire and Kevin Smith. Gary Lenaire was interviewed on The Infidel Guy show, and I got hooked on that podcast. I had stayed away from podcasts until that show. And then, Kevin Smith started pod’ing with the also amusing über-producer Scott Mosier… ensuing hilarity. Anyway, podcasts help fill my “new audible content” addiction… for free.
1) Smodcast – Filmmakers Kevin Smith & Scott Mosier discuss things that probably should never be discussed. For fans of their movies/commentary tracks, this is right up your proverbial alley. Guests include Kev’s wife Jen, Jason Mewes, Walt, Bryan, Malcolm, and others in the askewniverse.
http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/smodcast
2) Real Time with Bill Maher – Posted a few days after the show airs on HBO. This show is fantastic. I wish I had HBO for this show (and Curb Your Enthusiasm), but this podcast is the next best thing. Great sociopolitical content, discussion, comedy, and world class guests (almost as world class as Ali G’s guests). :-)
http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/downloads/
3) Ken Laster’s In the Groove, Jazz and Beyond – There seem to be a bunch of jazz podcasts out there that are just plain weak or irregular… or play things that simply aren’t jazz. Ken plays a great jazz mix from old greats to up-and-coming to local… not too “smooth jazz” and enough hard bop and experimental thrown in to keep me interested.
http://jazzandbeyond.com/
4) The Infidel Guy: The Way of Reason – Reginald Finley, Sr. puts on a great free-thinker show, hitting many topics primarily revolving around religious dogma and other atheistic topics.
http://www.infidelguy.com/
5) Dogma Free America – RIP. It just ended at 50 episodes… after lasting about a year… it’ll be missed. (Note: this podcast came back to life in May 2008… woot!)
http://www.dogmafreeamerica.com/
6) NPR: Jazz Profiles – Superbly crafted A&E-type audio biographies on the greats. Duke, Monk, Bird, Dizzy, Miles, Billie… I came into jazz via the avant-garde scene (Zorn, et al); so getting some exposure to the founding fathers (and mothers) of jazz is awesome!
http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles
7) Jazz NW with Jim Wilke – A Seattle-based radio show that more often than not makes me happy to be living in the PacNW. Who knew there’d be such a great jazz scene? Favorite find thus far has easily been Seattle-based Monktail Creative Music Concern (and side band Reptet).
http://www.kplu.org/wilke.html
8 ) George Hrab’s Geological Podcast – I just got into this one… it’s fuuuuuuun. and his love for all things Zappa can’t be bad. Geo’s music is pretty damn good, too.
http://www.geologicpodcast.com/
9) Soccergirl, Incorporated – I just got into this one, too… because of GeoHrab. SG’s very similar to Sarah Silverman in comedy stylings — oft-raunchy, un-PC, oft-ridiculous. And that’s a good thing.
http://www.soccergirlincorporated.com/
10) Compassionate Cooks: Vegetarian Food for Thought – One word: quinoa. It changed my life with regards to home stir-fry, salads, burritoes, and all around superfood goodness. :-)
http://www.compassionatecooks.com/
best videocast: (tie) Les Concerts à Emporter -and- Liam Lynch’s Lynchland – One for intimate performances in public places by indie-rocks’ biggest indie-stars. One for crazy videos and tidbits from the guy who brought us the puppet-rific Sifl & Ollie (an unrelated pre-cursor to Greg the Bunny), who happens to be friends with the Tenacious D guys and Sarah Silverman, etc…
http://www.blogotheque.net/concertaemporter/
http://liamlynch.net/
best internet mini-series: Clark and Michael – Michael Cera (George Michael from TV’s Arrested Development) is one of the funniest young men in comedy. He is straight-man GOLD. He and Clark made a witty, pseudo-documentary, 10-episode internet series. Clever.
http://www.clarkandmichael.com/
That’s all for now…
~Dan – np: Iron & Wine – The Sea and the Rhythm -ep-
Mike Patton and Will Smith
re-posted from the Ipecac blog…
Hooray for Hollywood!
Take note if you are a movie fan. There is a little film coming out in December called I Am Legend that features our very own Mike Patton. It also stars some actor named Will Smith. The tricky part is, you won’t see Mike, but you’ll hear him. He is the voice of the creatures in the movie. That is right, the evil screams and howls coming from the “creatures” will be courtesy of Mike. Seems he is getting a lot of requests to do evil/monster/zombie noises and sounds. Remember he is the Darkness in the game of the same name and even shows up in the game Portal as well!!!
~Dan – np: reptet – do this!
http://www.myspace.com/reptet
Holy Funk, Batman!!
um… this announcement made me so incredibly happy.
Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, and Pat Badger (with Kevin from Nuno’s other band Population-1 on drums) are coming back with a new EXTREME album and tour in 2008.
Sweet muscular Jesus, that is AWESOME NEWS!! they’re one of my favorite bands… ever. The only downside is that my brother may get a chance to see them live, and I won’t have that to hold over his head anymore… :-)
~Dan
REVIEW: John Zorn’s Moonchild @ The Moore Theatre / Earshot Jazz (Seattle, WA – – 11/4/07)
Two statements needed to be made prior to really starting this review… 1) caveat for the non-Moonchild enthusiast: “They’re like an audible Jackson Pollock,” and 2) I feel sorry for the ushers who obviously didn’t know what they were getting into when they signed up for this.
A little background / sidenote… I came into being a John Zorn fan through first being a Mike Patton fan. One of Mike Patton’s (and Trevor Dunn’s) early bands, Mr. Bungle, had a Zorn link early on (JZ produced their Warner debut in 1991). However, I didn’t really start getting into Zorn until about 2-3 years ago when I stumbled on his jazz-klez band Masada. I didn’t know that John Zorn did such melodic work; so Masada totally caught me off guard. Anyway, by that time in my musical meanderings, my interests had started getting into more experimental bands anyway. When I dug deeper into John Zorn’s back catalog I really dug most of his work – whether it be the melodic Masada incarnations, Bar Kohkba, FilmWorks, et cetera or the experimental, harder-edged Naked City, Painkiller, et cetera.
By the time the first mention of the upcoming album Moonchild: Songs Without Words (on his label Tzadik or an email from Downtown Music Gallery), I about flipped… as an experimental/avant-garde trio with Mike Patton (the aforementioned Mr Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, Faith No More, many many more), Trevor Dunn (the aforementioned Mr Bungle, Fantômas, Trio Convulsant, many more), and Joey Baron (Masada, Barondown, many more) was right up my alley. After that initial album in early 2006, Moonchild: Songs Without Words, the trio has put out two more albums of John Zorn’s compositions… Astronome (late 2006) and Six Litanies for Heliogabalus (early 2007) which also includes a chorus and other players (Ikue Mori, Jamie Saft, and Zorn himself).
All beautifully packaged and musically brutal, I don’t know where composition from Zorn stops and improvising by the Trio begins, but it can be as breath-taking as it is ear-hurting (remember my line above about it being an “audible Jackson Pollock“…?).
OK, now on to the concert review… note: 6 video snippets and 14 pictures are linked at the bottom of this review.
I took this concert trip alone… While I ease my lovely wife into listening to some of Zorn’s music (like Masada), I know when to not even bother (like Moonchild). I’m sure she’ll check out the video below and think I’m even more crazy than she already thinks I am for all of the cross-country concerting. But I think she’ll at least be thankful that I didn’t try to drag her to it, too… :)
I really had no idea or expectations for this show. I mean, I knew what to expect musically, but I didn’t know what to expect of the venue or the crowd. The venue, the Moore Theatre in downtown Seattle, was um… OK. I’ve been in better places, but I’ve been in worse. I was surprised at how big it was (capacity of 1419) compared to what I was thinking (a small venue, maybe not as small as The Stone, but not much bigger than 100 people). By the time the start time rolled around, the theatre was fairly full (the main floor was sold out, and I know the balcony was also open, too). Great turnout maybe due to the Earshot Jazz Festival or maybe due to the potentially “handful of shows only” nature of this band.
The band came on around 8:15pm… and blistered through around a solid hour of compositions. All three of them had sheet music on stands; so I’m fully aware that it’s somewhat composed music. Again, where the composition stops and the improvisation begins… your guess is as good as mine. Due to the lack of other players (like Saft, Mori, Zorn), and my lack of identifying the Moonchild trio’s “song” names… let’s just say that they stuck to a good mix of Moonchild and Astronome tracks.
Mike Patton was fairly wild for most of the set: jumping, squat-walking, tying himself up in the mic cord, swallowing the mic while screaming into it, spitting and belting out noises that made my throat sore just listening. He left the stage maybe 30-40 minutes in to let Joey Baron and Trevor Dunn have their way with our ears. I’d only previously seen Dunn in Mr. Bungle and Baron in Masada. In this entirely different setting with Moonchild, they really put out a veritable wall of sound. Even without Mike Patton’s screeching and guttural belts, Dunn and Baron were menacing in their own right.
The sound in the room was brutal. Loud, loud, loud. I thank my local music store for Hearos(tm). And, again, bless those poor ushers who didn’t know what they were getting into. I bet they were equally stunned with this “music” and the overwhelming positive crowd response. I wonder what they told their loved ones after going home from this ushering gig. hmmm…
The capper for the show proper was when Joey and Trevor left the stage. Mike Patton ripped into a 12-minute vocal solo which to me had many elements of “Litany IV”… probably the only Six Litanies piece in the set.
After a short break, they all came back for an encore… with the man himself, John Zorn. I had hoped that he was there, but after the main set was half over, I had written that off. He came out and directed them through a rippin’ tune… it could’a been 10 minutes, it could be 20 minutes, it could’a been 2 minutes. All I know was that it was intense, and Mike/Joey/Trevor definitely fed off of his energy on stage with them. My only desire on this one would have been for John Zorn to come out with his alto sax and do some of the call-and-repeat sax vs. voice that he did with Patton on Six Litanies… alas, I’ll have to wait another lifetime, perhaps.
All in all… great show – probably an hour twenty or just shy of an hour thirty of Zorn/Patton/Dunn/Baron. Worth the 8 hour roundtrip from Eugene, Oregon. Worth losing a little bit of sleep and homework time reading accounting valuation doctoral papers (blah blah blah). The Earshot Jazz Festival, or at least the only piece I could attend, was fantastic!! Being one of a potential handful of Moonchild appearances ever, I was happy to be in attendance and happy to document some of it in words above and in {cheap/low quality} video/pictures below.
Enjoy! :)
VIDEO SNIPPETS (6 total – toggle amongst them in lower section of YouTube screen)
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B84E0210411747E9
These are digital camera “movie file” snippets. Low quality? Sure. Posted mainly for “(blurry) fly on the (noisy) wall” add-on to this review. MOONCHILD is Mike Patton (voice), Trevor Dunn (bass), Joey Baron (drums), and John Zorn (director/composer). All music copyright John Zorn, 2006-2007.
PICTURES (14 total – click thumbnail for larger)
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
~Dan – np: Hiromi’s Sonicbloom – Time Control
PS– to the guy who was handing out free CDs after the show… I got one… maybe you were trying to give them to Earshot Jazz “bigwigs,” but somehow I got one. I love it!!! Anyone interested in some great instrumental music, The Coma Lilies‘ Memento Mori -EP- is GREAT!! The Coma Lilies‘ MySpace page is HERE. Listen to their stuff, it’s goooood.
PPS– other related MySpace & other Links (some fan sites, some official):
- John Zorn: http://www.myspace.com/johnzorn
- Stephen Colbert Report (Comedy Central) video on John Zorn: HERE
- Earshot Jazz Festival: http://www.earshot.org/
- Tzadik Records (Zorn’s label): http://www.myspace.com/tzadikrecords / http://www.tzadik.com/
- Moonchild: http://www.myspace.com/pattonmoonchild
- Ipecac Recordings (Patton’s label): http://www.myspace.com/ipecacrecordings / http://www.ipecac.com/
- Trevor Dunn: http://www.myspace.com/convulsivebeauty / http://www.trevordunn.net/
- Joey Baron: http://www.joeybaron.com/
asthmatic
an Asthmatic Kitty-related blog…
There’s a nice hour-long streaming interview and sampling of Sufjan Stevens‘ new instrumental piece, “The BQE” (the Brooklyn Queens Expressway). This piece was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and has its worldwide premier the first weekend in November 2007. The link to the interview/sample is here –> http://www.wnyc.org/stream/spinning/spinning102807.mp3
In My Brightest Diamond news, here’s a beautiful clip of her performance on Manchester’s City Centre Social:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1127703951/bctid1213891068
~Dan – np: celldweller & subkulture “erasus” collaboration
REVIEW: Hot Club Eugene @ Luna Café (Eugene, OR – – 10/12/07)
Hot Club Eugene (myspace link), named and styled after Quintette du Hot Club de France (fronted by Stéphane Grappelli & Django Reinhardt), played last night at the Luna Café in lovely downtown Eugene.
I showed up right on time (8:30pm), but little did I know that that was actually late… the room was packed. That’s a great thing for great music, though. Keep the house full, they get to keeping playing out. Anyway, HCE’s violinist (Brian Price) was chatting to some folks and when he went up to play, I saw that they had an extra seat (and they were kind enough to let me use it). Score!
They started their set, and I’m blaming the packed room on my lack of getting any Willamette Pinot Noir. It was all sold out. ::grumble:: Regardless of my failing to score some last night, I do love living in an area with such great music and such great local wines and beers. It’s a yummy town.
Anyway, back to the music… I only had time (and ocular fortitude) to stay for their first hour set. They played a solid mix of self-penned tunes and standards. One thing that struck me after the first few songs was that… hey, this jazz group is all strings – – violin, lead guitar, two rhythm guitars, and a contrabass. Usually you tend to see some reeds, brass, keys, or skins thrown in the jazz mix. My personal jazz preferences goes somewhat towards the brass of a Miles Davis/Dave Douglas/Steven Bernstein or reedwork of an Ornette Coleman/John Zorn/Chris Potter, but this Hot Club Eugene all-string quintet had a great sound. The two rhythm guitars (Jim Lichens & Ben Doidge) and contrabass (Hamilton Mays) had a really full, percussive-at-times rhythm section.
The two lead men, Brian Price on violin and Spencer Doidge on lead guitar, really piqued my interest in the music. It makes me want to go out and check out some of Stéphane & Django’s groundwork… and, n’doy, come back and check out Hot Club Eugene very soon!!
Packed room as it was, there was still a lively/dancy crowd. At the get-go, there were only two people dancing. After only mild prompting, a small gang of folks bounced around up front. Great show overall, and I look forward to seeing them again soon… the wife and I will just know to show up earlier to get a good table… and the Pinot Noir. ::prospective yum::
~Dan
np: radiohead – in rainbows
REVIEW: Nellie McKay @ The Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 10/5/07)
Nellie McKay at the John G. Shedd Institute in downtown Eugene, OR – Fri, Oct 5th
We got to the venue right at 7:30. It’s a quaint music hall that was obviously converted from a church back in the day. There are hymnal racks and communion “empty” holders on the back of each pew. Anyway, Nellie ended up showing up late, as she was flying in from San Fran that afternoon. They pushed back the show only 30 minutes. There was no opener; so we wandered around the Institute for a bit. There’s a place to have dinner before the show… so that’s something to keep in mind for next time. There was also a nice “living room” where they had the concessions and merch. Amongst the concessions was a bottle of wine with Nellie’s picture pasted over the label. A local winery was one of the hosts/sponsors of the concert, and I suppose they were having fun.
We got to our seats and didn’t really like their location (quite right of center with Nellie’s piano blocking any chance of us seeing Nellie sing). The audience seemed to be showing up late; so we moved over to the (better) left side… only had to move over for people with tickets for our seats once (not bad).
Anyway, she played a great mix of songs from all three of her albums, as well as many standards, and some possibly not-so-standards. Here’s what I jotted down as the setlist (forgive the few that I had no clue on and couldn’t find info on from The Internets):
SET
Change the World
Clonie (start/stop… she complained that she needed to do it “punchier” and restarted it)
In a Sentimental Mood [Duke Ellington]
Oversure
Gin Rummy
The Dog Song
Toto Dies
Won’t U Please B Nice
Yodel
Cupcake
The Down Low (start/stop…. she messed up near the beginning of the song… then said how famous people either have “drugs or a teleprompter” and this show’s too cheap for either of those… then she restarted it…)
Columbia is Bleeding
http://www.columbiacruelty.com
http://www.stopcolumbia.org
Prisoner of Love (beautiful & haunting…) [Kitty Wells version]
Pounce (we sing this to our puppy a lot… a lot…)
Politan
Mother of Pearl
(switched to electric Ukelele)
If I Were a Bell [from “Guys and Dolls”]
Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter [Herman’s Hermits]
(back to piano)
I Wanna Get Married
A-Tisket, A-Tasket [Ella Fitzgerald]
There You Are In Me
Lali Est Paresseux
Mein Auto Zoom (thx for the title, nightlight)
Me Gusta Mañana (thx for the title, nightlight)
(back to front mic… singing to CD)
ZOMBIE!! (she went all out… and it was hilarious…)
Encore:
“Oh Freddie, I’m sorry…” (I don’t know what song this was)
…some song with something about “Jesus on toast” in it
Sari
Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans [Louis Armstrong]
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
It was a fantastic, hour and 45 minute set (or so) from this energetic songstress. She truly seemed to be having a fun time up on stage, and the audience also had a blast. She had a signing session in the living room after the show. Had we known that was gonna happen, I would’a pulled out my VegNews issue with her big article… alas, we didn’t know. Nor did we want to fight the crowd to talk to her… Margarita was tired from working all day, and I was tired from doing geometric average annual returns and stock correlation homework all day. So we called it a night…
Check out some of Nellie’s tunes:
Or check out VegNews:
Anyway… I hope to see Nellie again sometime. I’m glad we finally got to see her yesterday after being a fan of her music for going on 5 years… :-)
~Dan
now playing: groundtruther (charlie hunter & bobby previte) with john medeski – altitude
Music is Best. -FZ
1) Lala is fantastic… it helps having a rabid music obsession and living on a doctoral stipend a possibility.
2) Nellie McKay is playing the Shedd Institute this Friday. M & I have tickets. I’m sooo stoked. I heart Nellie. I’ll post a review-blog afterwards. Other shows in the near future (hopefully for me) are… Melt Banana (see below), Múm/Talkdemonic (see below), John Zorn’s Moonchild (Mike Patton/Joey Baron/Trevor Dunn), Iron & Wine (early Dec), David Bazan (mid-Dec), Do Make Say Think (maybe)…
3) Melt Banana (from Japan aka MxBx) are coming to Eugene’s W.O.W. Hall (~5 miles from me). And it’s $10. They’re a hardcore/noisecore/screamo band (the 2 songs on their MySpace player are not really indicative of their overall sound, IMO)… like John Zorn’s Naked City with less jazz or Mike Patton’s Fantômas with more velocity/ferocity… and Japanese “singing.”
4) Icelandic electronic-soundscapers Múm are coming to Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, and Portland instrumental band Talkdemonic are opening. It’s cheapish, but I don’t know if I am going, yet. We shall see how this month progresses… but it is a show that excites me. Múm are like a more electronic Sigur Rós, in many ways (to me)…
5) Shortly after 1999 or 2000, when I heard about them from a 1¶ blurb in SPIN, Sigur Rós quickly became one of my favorite bands of all time. Their new 2-CD collection, Hvarf-heim, is going to have one CD of “hits” and one CD of acoustic songs. Also, out on the same day, their Icelandic concert documentary DVD, Heima, looks bucking frilliant. The trailers (here -and- here) are astounding when it comes to colors and cinematic vision, IMO.
6) Radiohead are “selling” their new album, In Rainbows, as a “pay what you can” for the download version. They’ve also got this for the physical product fans (decidedly not pay what you can):
Tracklisting:
CD 1 AND VINYL
15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE
CD 2 AND VINYL
MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING
Ooo… shiny…
~Dan
REVIEW: That 1 Guy and Grynch @ John Henry’s (Eugene, OR – – 9/18/07)
Well, I think I’ll start posting concerts reviews here… as my “other outlet” is now not available to me (probably for the best).
On Tuesday night, I had the great opportunity to catch one of my favorite one-man musical freak-shows… That 1 Guy (http://www.that1guy.com/). I’d seen him twice before at the Mad Frog in Cincinnati, Ohio. I moved across country for school with my wife and puppy, and what do you know? T1G was playing here less than 2 weeks after we arrived. Yay!
Anyway, I started the evening with a fantastic meal (gardenburger w/ bleu) and beer choice (a Brother Thelonious Belgian-style ale) at the Eugene City Brew Pub. I walked around the corner to John Henry’s for the early show (it started at 7:30pm). I, luckily, got to catch most of the opening set by local metal band Grynch. They seemed to me to be a good combination of what I like in the Deftones and Fear Factory. They were also fairly tight on stage, and had a very professional sound. A welcome surprise to what you usually end up with local openers.
That1Guy came on around 8:30 perhaps? I don’t know… but it was good to see him set-up the pipe (how does he get it through customs when doing his Aussie gigs?). For those of you who aren’t familiar with That1Guy… well, he plays what most would consider to be plumbing (see picture below). Yet I’ve come to the realization after three shows and many spins of his CDs that he’s not even close to being a novelty act. He makes such well-conceived rhythms and melodies from his triggered-up & strung-up pipe, kick drums, magic saw, and tabla-stylized cowboy boot. His lyrics are usually plays on words and rhyme-y nonsense, but the main draw is his ferocity and skill in wielding that magic pipe to do his bidding. It’s a drum machine and stringed-instrument all in one. Truly a sight to see…
He played songs from his two albums (Songs in the Key of Beotch and the new The Moon is Disgusting)… Bananas, Oranges, the Moon is Disgusting, Buttmachine, Birds, Weasel Potpie… et cetera. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and the crowd seemed uber-into-it as well.
http://www.that1guy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/that1guy
the opener: http://www.myspace.com/grynch
~Dan
mini-REVIEW: Over the Rhine @ Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR – – 9/15/07)
Great show last night (my 50th). Set not-unlike Seattle. “And Can it Ever Be” was great (don’t know how I missed that when glancing at the Seattle setlist). “Don’t Wait for Tom” also excellent (my fav of the night). “Ohio” was actually quite a good version, and I don’t really prefer that song… so something was up. Linford’s very walking/bouncy bass on “Orphan Girl” was cool… and he seemed to be having fun playing while standing up. 
The venue (Doug Fir) is also neato. I was bummed because I missed The Album Leaf & Under Byen there in July, but it’s nice to know a great venue like that is only 1.5 to 2 hours away.
~Dan
mini-REVIEW: Silverchair in Philly & Detroit (late-July & early-August ’07)
two little blurbs… two great shows… too much driving…
Philly~ I drove too much over this past weekend (16 hours of driving in a 34 hour window)… but I got to see Silverchair for the first time. It was at the Fillmore at the TLA in Philadelphia. The opener, We Are the Fury, was “alright.” I’ve seen better, but I’ve definitely seen worse. Silverchair came on around 10:10 and played around an hour and a half. The first two songs were muddy as hell, all bass and vocals, but luckily the sound guy fixed it by the 3rd song. They played most of the new album, Young Modern, “The Lever” and “Greatest View” from Diorama, “Emotion Sickness” and “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)” from Neon Ballroom, “The Door” and “Freak” from Freakshow, and none from Frogstomp (thankfully).
Detroit~ great show!! “Without You” instead of “The Lever” and no “Low” when compared to Philly. Fantastic set regardless!!!
~Dan
REVIEW: Ric Hordinski & Leigh Nash @ the Monastery (Cincinnati – – 6/26/07)
great show last night. Ric‘s set was loud and buzzy, but good songs nonetheless. he didn’t play anything from his new record, The Silence of Everything Yearned For, which was odd… but it was a good set anyway. and his new record is great. listening to it now… perhaps more similar to Hush but more straight-forward guitar rather than ambient guitar. Josh Seurkamp joined him on drums, and Mark Lukie (sp?) on bass (aka “Shaggy” per Bruce).
Leigh Nash‘s set was great as well. She played roughly an hour, containing songs from her solo album (last year’s Blue on Blue) as well as “Breathe Your Name” and “Kiss Me” from the 6p catalog. Cute persona and beautiful voice. We stayed for her whole set, even though I’m known for liking sleep on a weekday. It was a highly enjoyable evening.
~Dan
np: ric hordinski – the silence of everything yearned for
REVIEW: Ellery, CSO, Antibalas (Cincinnati – – late April 2007)
Great three-concert weekend… Ellery/Over the Rhine on Friday, Paavi Järvi’s CSO with Alison Balsom on Saturday, and freakin’ ANTIBALAS on Sunday. Wow… I don’t mean to sound bitchy, but Over the Rhine was the lowlight of the weekend. I think I’m done seeing them live for a long time. So, yeah, you won’t hear me bitching about how bored I was anymore. I think I’ll set my self-imposed boycott at 4 years, and see how I do. 
I might sneak a Taft show in or a Portland show in… but I’m definitely/officially on the bubble these days for their live shows. Eh. It was a good run.
Anyway, Ellery… great stuff. Can’t wait for a follow-up album… Tasha’s got a great voice. This was my 9th time seeing them… and it doesn’t drag. Great songs, great music. I’ll miss them when we move to Oregon. Maybe they’ll have to come out and do some label showcase shows for their Seattle-based Virt Records. As for Over the Rhine, I liked some of their newer songs… but left after/during “Ohio.”
M & I saw the CSO with guest pianist Hélène Grimaud in the spring. I enjoyed it, but the piano didn’t seem to work as well (and Margarita was bored, to say the least). This show with solo trumpet, though… it was fantastic. The Paavi Järvi-led Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra played SIBELIUS’s Night Ride and Sunrise, then solo trumpeter from the UK Alison Balsom came out for HAYDN’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major. It popped, and the symphony and solo trumpet really meshed. Also impressive was the way she was belting out the notes while wearing a quite elegant and long evening gown. After the intermission, Paavo led the CSO through SIBELIUS’s The Bard and SCHUMANN’s Symphony No. 4 in D Minor. Fantastic evening… including dark chocolate pretzels from Divine’s at the show… mmm…. oh, and a veggie phillycheese from Northside’s Melt to start the evening off anyway…. mmm… Hail Seitan!
Last night was Antibalas (aka Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra). Wow. They’re an 11-piece band from NYC… maybe like an east-coast Ozomatli, but instead of the Latin feel, they’ve got the Nigerian thing going on. They’re similar to Ozo in that they’re also very funky, dancable, and political-infused. They went on around 10:15 and M & I ended up bouncing and dancing with some friends until we had to call it quits around 12:15am while they were wrapping up their last pre-encore song. Of the 2 hours, they probably played 6-8 songs… Very groove oriented and some fantastic solos by all members… they had a keyboardist, congo-player/singer, 2 guitarists, a bassist, a gourd/percussionist, a drummer, 2 trumpeters, and 2 saxaphonists (1 alto, 1 baritone). Fun evening… the main singer’s shirt was also quite spiffy.
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
Creative Commons
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news 