Archive
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
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-
REVIEW: Talkdemonic @ Sam Bond’s Garage (Eugene, OR – – 2/9/08)
Sam Bond’s Garage is a small venue with good pizza and beer on tap. Small venue meant having to show up early (ugh). I showed up at around 8:30 for the 9:30 show. Alas, the band, Talkdemonic, was all set-up and ready to go. Score!
Then… around 9pm three guys walk in, talk to the guy up front, and then go tell Talkdemonic that they are the opener and need to set up. So, Talkdemonic need to move their stuff from the stage so this other band (Heavenly Oceans) can set-up. Unscore?
By 9:50 or so the Heavenly Oceans were playing. They are a three-piece instrumental band from Eugene… guitar, drummer, and percussion/ blowy-toy-piano guy. Kind of a surf-rock-meets-exotica band. To explain (as my wife didn’t know what I was talking about, I figure others won’t either), “exotica” can be easily called “spy movie music” (Ennio Morricone, et al).
Anyway, I dug (the) Heavenly Oceans a-plenty. They sell these their vinyl albums with these things called “compact discs” in them… which is a nice treat for an audiophile who also wants to be able to rip the music to an iPod. :) Alas, I didn’t pick up their record on Saturday (I was short on cash), but I shall hunt it down sometime in the near future… so, not unscore… Score!
Talkdemonic, went on next… I got into them while browsing the racks at Gem City Music in Dayton, Ohio, a few years ago. Talkdemonic is a two-person band from Portland, Oregon. It’s Lisa Molinaro on viola and Kevin O’Connor on drums. They also have a laptop with pre-recorded beats, banjo, whatnot. They also busted out a blowy-toy-piano (what the hell’s it called?). Antithetical to their naming, they are instrumental (not talky) and quite delightful (not demonic*). They play what might be called electroacoustic chamber rock, or post-rock.
They were much rockier than expected… I even had to bust out the earplugs due to scoring such a close seat. :-) I’m horrible with their song names (as I am with most other post-rock outfits). I do know that they played “Final Russian” and “Manhattan ’81.” I also think they played “White Gymnasium” and “Cascade Locks.” They played a great mix of songs, regardless of my knowledge of names (*blush*). They also played some new songs from their forthcoming third record (due out later this year). Seeing as Eugene’s only 1.5-2 hours away from their homebase, I hope I’ll see more of Talkdemonic in the future.
*- assuming a standard definition of “demonic,” mind you… some people do indeed find demonic music delightful. I may even be considered one of those people from time to time.
The required linkage:
http://www.myspace.com/talkdemonicmusicmaking
http://www.myspace.com/heavenlyoceans
Next shows:
* Ornette Coleman @ PDX Jazz Fest, 2/15
* SFJazz Collective (with Dave Douglas, etc) @ PDX Jazz Fest, 2/15
* Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) @ WOW Hall, 2/21
* Belà Fleck, the Flecktones, and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra @ PDX Jazz Fest, 2/23
word,
Dan – np: Ornette Coleman – the Pulitzer Prize winning Sound Grammar
REVIEW: Peter Evans & Dave Swigart @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 2/4/08)
Randomingly spotting of a picture of a guy with a trumpet in Eugene Weekly led to quite an enjoyable evening of music. I imagine I’ll be seeing a lot of artists at Cozmic Pizza over the coming years while I’m here in Eugene. I love the beer, pizza, and desserts. And they bring in some great musical talent, and quite frequently get good jazz artists in the door as well. Monday’s show was no different… pizza, beer and jazz.
Opener: Dave Swigart Collective / Quintet / Group / Whathaveyou put on a great set. Dave Swigart is a UO music student, and his ensemble, while young, has some great chops. The quintet (I didn’t write names down) was comprised of Dave Swigart on trumpet, and then a saxophonist, guitarist, upright bassist, and drummer. Dave’s got some MySpace profiles up (here – and here), and I hope to check him out again soon.
The group played for about an hour, playing some standards and originals: “In a Silent Way” (Miles Davis/Joe Zawinul), “The Fragile” (NIN), “Salad Song” (with some nice Zorn-y sax work), “Strange Day,” “Johnsburg, Illinois” (Tom Waits), “Grocery Shop, Funky? A Little?” (smooth), and “Dream Comes Play With Me” (Cuong Vu).
Peter Evans (MySpace – and here – and also here) came on around 10:20pm. I stayed until about 11pm… as he blasted his solo trumpet improv. Being a fan of the downtown (NYC) jazz scene, his experimental solo trumpet was right up my alley. It was a little loud at times (I was too close to a speaker), but luckily I had my Hearos—. He played one continuous onslaught that can best be described as this:
Great show all around… I wish I could have stayed longer, alas it was a school night…
~Dan – np: David Buchbinder – Odessa/Havana
REVIEW: Eric John Kaiser @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 1/17/08)
Well, this was my first show of 2008…
Eric John Kaiser played tonight at Cozmic Pizza. One of the best things about living in a small town is that we can catch an early show (7pm), have a wonderful meal (pesto, artichoke, garlic, vegan-cheese & kalamata pizza with a wonderful pint of local Ninkasi stout), and still be home by 9pm. Fuck yeah.
Anyway, I literally first heard of Eric John Kaiser {heretofore known as “EJK”} about a week ago. He sent me a potentially (but ultimately not) dreaded “friend request.” You know, those friend requests “from bands” you might like. Well, I usually give them a 4 second listen then mark them “DELTEATED.” Well, EJK’s music ended up being quite good… I’ve got a soft spot for French music (Jeanne Cherhal, Yann Tiersen… um… yeah, those two). And, whoa… he (EJK) is from Portland-OR (though born and raised in Paris-FR). And he was playing Cozmic Pizza in literally a week.
Well, I literally went to the show. And it was literally good. Literally.
We left at the first break (8:30pm or so), but got a good hour+ of music. he played some tunes from his CD (L’ODyssée) that I recognized… “L’animal blessé” and “Le Puzzle” (a least). He also played a french version of “Sweet Home Alabama” and a took-us-almost-all-song-to-figure-out-what-it-was version of André3000‘s “Hey Ya!” :-)
Overall a great show, great performer, and great CD (I heart CDBaby).
Next show(s): maybe UO/LCC Jazz Fest tomorrow or Saturday (if any of the artists strike my fancy)… maybe 3 Leg Torso the following Saturday… or maybe next monf’s PDX Jazz Fest (Ornette Coleman, Dave Douglas/SFJAZZ Collective, and Belà Fleck/Flecktones/Oregon Symphony Orchestra… all of which I’m mucho excitedo).
Upcoming CD(s): ah geez… the first of the 2008 Tzadik‘s have been physically conjured by the best non-for-profit (by design) record company ever… new John Zorn (Filmworks XIX: Dimitri Geller’s The Rain Horse) and Sex Mob frontman/trumpet-feasin’ Steven Bernstein‘s Diaspora Suite…
~Dan – np: The Geologic Podcast 49
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
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
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)
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~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/
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
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
REVIEW: MusicNOW Fest (Sufjan Stevens, Amiina, My Brightest Diamond…) Cincinnati, April 2007
I’ll start this 1st review by saying that I truly feel fortunate to live in the city that is hosting this truly wonderful MusicNow Festival. It is elegantly and professionally put together and a trove of new and exciting music (many of the pieces from last night were world premieres).
Music Now Festival – April 5, 2007 (Day 1)
Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
http://musicnowfestival.org/
Pedro Soler:
selected works for solo guitar
We showed up a little late (maybe only 10 minutes), but luckily there were some fabulous seats up near the front left. Pedro plays an amazing flamenco guitar. Very much a virtuoso. I’d say the music was not quite noodling, but also not quite all that melodic either — sort of a cross-between. His technique was fascinating to watch, and it was oft stunning. He played probably 50 minutes or so, ended with a standing ovation. He’s 68 or 69 years old and a world renowned flamenco guitarist, but this is apparently his first tour of the U.S. — with Cincinnati being one of the first dates. Bizarre choice in city to start.
Bryce Dessner’s “Memorial” (2006):
Bryce Dessner (guitar), David Cossin (percussion), Padma Newsome (viola)
This piece for trio showed off some great playing and composition. It was originally composed for the New York Guitar Festival to show off Bryce’s Spanish guitar playing. I’d say it was probably 10-15 minutes (no idea really) with some flair and highlights from Padma and David as well. David’s percussion on this piece made us excited for the next piece…
Tan Dun’s “Water Music” for solo percussion (2007):
David Cossin (percussion)
This was a third arrangement of Dun’s “Water Music.” The initial being for percussion and orchestra and the 2nd being for a percussion quartet. The solo percussion from David Cossin was brilliant and subtley played. Not brilliant in the Alanis “My Humps” way, but brilliant in the soundscapes and avant-garde asthetic kinda way. :P His main “drums” were two big plastic bowls… BIG bowls (10 gallons each is my guess). The opening was a rainfall from a colander. Next up was an odd-looking bulb with water in it, and a stem with strings (or spokes) that David played with a cello bow. It made primarily shreeking, dissonant noises; but then he warbled it around near the mic and the water in the bulb at the base ossilated the sound. Quite neato. He then went on to play different cymbals over (and in) the water and different depths with different mallets, sticks, et cetera. Two of the cooler parts of the set — 1) the wooden bowls of different sizes placed upside-down over the water… think “water tom” drums. Nice, full sounds… he played these with bigger tympani-like sticks, as well as with his hands. And 2) the water trombone… it was a clear boxy basin of water with a clear, slender tube in it. He hit it with something that resembled a Croc shoe (but wasn’t), and he raised the tube up and down. Again, “water trombone” is the best description.
Anyway, I’m a fan of one-man musical freak-shows (That1Guy, Buckethead) and a fan of composed and avant-garde music (Zorn, Zappa, et al). This was a pleasant combination of all three of those aspects of experimental music. David Cossin’s performance wins my “surprise enjoyment” award for the evening. Surpise in that I didn’t know so many artists were playing Thursday night, but I’m glad he did. The other musicians that evening were also probably glad that their gear wasn’t set up too near his 20 gallons or so of water… as some of it made its way on to the stage.
Maria Huld Markan’s “Thorri” (2007):
Hildur Ársælsdóttir (saw), David Cossin (marimba), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
Written by Markan of Amiina and performed here for the first time in public… it had a good vibe. Very much like most chamber music I’ve heard, but with a slight world feel (marimba) and oddities from the saw. It wasn’t as captivating/electronic as Amiina’s music, but I enjoyed it. Maria’s intro to it was funny. The title of the piece (Thorri) is all about what Icelanders call the Jan/Feb period in winter. They have a festival where they eat traditional, yet disgusting foods… “rotten shark” and “sour ram testicles” were uttered in an accent that was not-unlike that of Björk. Quaint. Anyway, she wrote the piece in London because she missed the bright, crisp winters she had in Iceland while suffering through a grey, rainy London winter. Great music, too…
Sufjan Stevens’ selections from Enjoy Your Rabbit arranged for string quartet (2007):
Michael Atkinson (arrangements), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
Enjoy Your Rabbit is Sufjan’s experimental, instrumental electronic album. When I first got in to Sufjan, I actually liked this album the best (it’s fucking weird as was what I was craving musically at the time). Anyway, “selections from Enjoy Your Rabbit arranged for string quartet” was actually one of the biggest draws for me for this festival in the first place. I heart Enjoy Your Rabbit; and, bonus, I heart string quartets. The formerly unnamed string quartet (named themselves “Osso” {aw-so} from the stage last night) played the selections in a very chamber music way, but paying attention to the electronic blips-and-beeps from the original by vocally “shushing,” playing pizzicato, and plucking or beating on their instruments to translate the electronic structure for their organic instruments. They played what I figured they would… the more melodic tunes from the album: Year of the Ox, Enjoy Your Rabbit, Year of the Lord, and Year of the Boar. Great stuff, and I was thrilled to be part of this world premiere.
Padma Newsome / Clogs Songs (2007):
Shara Worden (vocals), Sufjan Stevens (vocals, banjo, celeste), Padma Newsome (vocals, viola, harmonium, celeste), Rachel Elliott (bassoon, celeste), Thomas Kozumplik (percussion), David Cossin (percussion), Aaron Dessner (bass, guitar), Bryce Dessner (mandola, ukelele, guitar), Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin), Michael Atkinson (horn), Irena & Vojt–ch Havel (cellos)
Another world premiere… the Clogs had heretofore been primarily an instrumental band. This collaborative Clogs (fronted by Padma Newsome and Bryce Dessner) featured more “traditional” song structures and *gasp* vocals. Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) lended her operatic voice to the first three songs (“On the Edge,” “The Owl of Love,” and “The Adages of Cleansing”). She’s got a beautiful voice, but I don’t think it matched well with the songs. Viola-playing Padma switched to vocals and harmonium for the 4th song (“Red Seas”). Sufjan joined the percussionist to play the celeste (like a super-sized toy piano). The Osso string quartet also joined the band for some songs (I forget which ones). The last song (“We Were Here”) featured Sufjan on vocals and banjo and Shara Worden came out and sang with Sufjan. All in all, a great set…
I’m looking forward to Day 2 (Amiina & My Brightest Diamond) and 3 (The Havels & Sufjan).
Music Now Festival – April 6, 2007 (Day 2)
Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
http://musicnowfestival.org/
Amiina:
Maria Huld Markan Sugjusdóttir, Hildur Ársælsdóttir, Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir, Sólrún Sumarliadóttir
I like Amiina a lot, having seen them open for Sigur Rós several times, and this show didn’t disappoint. It was good to pick up their debut LP (Kurr) without having to pay tons in shipping. Their sound also featured some gentle vocals in several tracks, which is a new direction for them. It almost seemed to Enya-y for me, but that’s OK. Maybe it’ll replace Bob Johnson‘s Musings as our house’s 1 massage CD (“oh no, not Bob Johnson!“). I dug their hour long set — it was a good mix of the string/organic sound and electronics. It was a very similar set-up as previous shows… instruments everywhere and the girls roaming about and playing just about everything. The saw song (“Seoul”) was played. They also had a short last song where all four girls played saws of various lengths. I can’t say I saw that coming… :D
My Brightest Diamond:
Shara worden (vocals, guitar, piano), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
Shara Worden’s been a favorite vocalist of mine since I first heard her on MySpace. Bring Me the Workhorse, her debut album under the My Brightest Diamond moniker (she has three discs as AwRy), was one of my favorite CDs in 2006. Anyway, I knew what to expect going in, but she still blew me away. Her vocals are quite possibly the richest, most beautiful in indie rock. She’s got the delicate, quirky pixie side and the grandiose, powerful operatic side. It’s compelling to see her sing. The last time I saw her, she had more of a rock-meets-strings setup. This time around, her backing band was solely the Osso string quartet (no drums/bass). I scribbled down the song titles, but I know I’m guessing on some in the italics (she didn’t give the name, or I forgot it/couldn’t hear her totally)… Apples (a very cute song), Dragonfly (from Workhorse), If I Were Queen, Bass Player (a new song), Disappear (from Workhorse), Goodbye Forever (which had the lyrics “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth” which will be her new album title), Clean Through, Gone Away (from Workhorse), Riding Horses (from her AwRy Quiet B-Sides disc), New Dawn/Day/Life (Nina Simone standard), Golden Star (from Workhorse), Black and Gusteaux (the French Sherlock Holmes), Youkali (gorgeous French lyrics, a cover from her AwRy Quiet B-Sides disc). A fantastic performance.
Sufjan is tonight… Shara and the Osso quartet will be backing him. yay!
Music Now Festival – April 7, 2007 (Day 3)
Memorial Hall, Cincinnati, OH
http://musicnowfestival.org/
Irena & Vojtech Havel:
cellos, piano strings, piano
The sister of festival curator Bryce Dessner went to Prague in the mid-80’s and bought a CD by the Havels and brought it home. That CD would shape Bryce’s musical interests as he progressed into songwriting. He essentially went on a 15-20 year hunt for this band from Prague, but finally made contact last year in order to bring them to Cincinnati to play at this festival (made possible by a grant from the Ohio Arts Council). Some people in the audience might not have liked the Havels, but I thought they were quite compelling to watch – – except for perhaps when Irena was singing (I liked it more when they were both cello-ing). They played for about an hour, 10 minutes of which was vocal and the rest was all instrumental – – chiefly avant-garde, but more composed in nature than noodling, IMO. There was some bird chirping and kittie meowing cello lines, but there were also some more standard scales. Their dual cello work was all over the place, but still structured, sort of. I loved it when they were complimenting each other (one upbeat, one downbeat). I also liked some of the more adventurous plucking below the bridge and almost strumming the cello like a guitar (rather than pizzicato). Their second to last bit was of both of them playing the piano, Irena sitting and after Vojt–ch finished on the cello he came around and played on her right, then, while standing started playing on both her right and left. It was sweet and romantic.
Sufjan Stevens:
Sufjan Stevens (vocals, guitar, banjo, piano, harmonium, celeste), Shara Worden (vocals, celeste, piano), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Michael Atkinson (horn), Rachael Elliott (bassoon), Padma Newsome (viola), Osso Quartet: Maria Jeffers (cello), Marla Hansen (viola), Oliver Manchon (violin), Rob Moose (violin)
The first time I saw Sufjan live, he and his band dressed up as cheerleaders. The second time I saw him live, he had on huge bird wings, and his band had on butterfly wings. This time, it was all about the music… no costume gimmicks. He and his lovely string-based band put on a great show. Probably my only regret in setlist was that they didn’t play “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!” (my favorite from Illinoise), but all-in-all, it was a great-sounding, moving set… hour and a half, I think.
Here are the songs that they played (I’m not claiming 100% accuracy)…
- “Jupiter to June” (titled guess… song from way back in his unreleased conceptual songbook about the planets)
- “Dad’s Girlfriend” (titled guess… Sufjan on solo banjo… song about one of his dad’s crazy girlfriends)
- Three Stars (new one?)
- The Avalanche (from the vinyl & iTunes version of Come on Feel the Illinoise and the CD version of The Avalanche)
- All the Trees of the Fields Will Clap Their Hands (from Seven Swans)
- The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us! (from Illinoise)
- Casimir Pulaski Day (from Illinoise)
- John Wayne Gacy, Jr. (from Illinoise)
- Come On! Feel The Illinoise! (Part 1: The World’s Columbian Exposition; Part 2: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream) (from Illinoise)
- “???” (a new one… I think I zoned out)
- The Transfiguration (from Seven Swans)
- Year of the Boar (played by the string quartet, Osso… from Enjoy Your Rabbit)
- Seven Swans (from Seven Swans)
- ENCORE: To Be Alone With You (Sufjan solo guitar… from Seven Swans)
It seemed heavy on the Seven Swans/Jebus-y stuff, but seeing as it was “Zombie Carpenter Eve” this night, I understand why… there also may have been an instrumental or two from Michigan and/or Illinoise that I didn’t know the name — thus it didn’t make it in my notes…
Fantastic festival. Day 2 was probably the most favorite, but all three days were utterly enjoyable.
~Dan
REVIEW: Holy Fuck @ Southgate House (Newport, KY – – 4/1/07)
Holy Fuck put on a great set. Say what you will about their potentially unfortunate moniker, they really master their art. They play groove-oriented, experimental post-rock (like a louder, vocal-less Sigur Rós meets a groovier Mogwai). This show was a one-off, as their tour with fellow post-rockers Do Make Say Think didn’t have anything scheduled. They played about an hour, and it was jammed packed in the Southgate Parlour. I was the first one there and caught some of their soundcheck… drinking a Guinness sitting amongst their gear and a box of t-shirts. After soundcheck, their “leader” (I think his name was Brian) chatted with me for a bit… how I heard about them, etc. After oogling their newly arrived vinyl, they started playing their opening set. By the end of the show, there were probably 20 people there. And for a SgHouse Parlour show on a Sunday night, 20 people ain’t a bad crowd.
The band set-up… drummer, bassist, and 2 keyboardists. The keyboardists play everything from keyboards, to electronics devices, to 35mm film audio editing equipment (scratch-like), to toy mouth-pianos, to drum machines… it was wild. It’s very much like a live electronica experience. Gadgets and gizmos and a good groove.
Anyway, I loved LOVED loved their set. Way better than on record, but their new record (the Holy Fuck -EP-) gives a great taste of their new groovier direction (the precursor Holy Fuck -LP- was more experimental and drummy).
Holy Fuck = Reco-fucka-mmended.
Their webpage: http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
~Dan
REVIEW: Blackfield @ the Bowery Ballroom (NYC – – 3/16/07)
The Blackfield show last night was excellent!!!
I showed up late (on purpose) as Jordan Rudess was opening. I had a slow subway ride to the Lower East Side, walked through the piles of snow to Leela Lounge (a tasty “hip” Indian restaurant), ate too much, then had a slow walk to the Bowery Ballroom. I still managed to catch about 20 minutes of Jordan’s set. I swear, it was painful. Nothing’s as boring as a rocker keyboardist playing piano-sounding keyboard classical-style songs for 45 minutes straight. I mean, yeah, he can play piano-board, but he still can’t write “a song” to save his life. I know I’ve griped about being bored at OTR shows. That’s mainly due to being tired and the music being slow. Jordan was truly bad, though (whereas OTR ain’t). I turned my iPod on and walked to the corner of the room to avoid it. I love 
love instrumental music. Jordan Rudess is just 
-ingly boring, though. The Dream Theater fans were eating it up like it was Chicken Pot Pie.
Ugh… I hate prog fans. No offense Steve, but I about had that reaction to you when you first started going on about PTree… “yeah, yeah, they’re a prog band.” They’re actually so much better than just about every prog band out there. Anyway, I’m glad that Porcupine Tree and Blackfield know things or two about song structure. I’m glad you pimped PT to me 4 years ago (wow… it doesn’t seem that long ago), but I couldn’t care less about the Dream Theater/Queensrÿche fans anymore… it’s just too much like watching a train wreck in a social setting.
Anyway, on to positive thoughts…
Blackfield came out. Steven Wilson was dressed like usual (t-shirt and jeans, glasses, floppy hair). Aviv Geffen (the other half of Blackfield’s songwriting) was dressed more like a rocker, dark shirt and tie, with glitter mascara and everything. The rest of the band was… the rest of the band (hired guns or friends or whatever). They played a good mix of Blackfield I & II songs (obviously). Steven also did his Cover Version I, which is Alanis Morissette‘s “Thank You.” It was just Steven singing and Aviv playing piano (no other band members on stage, and Steven not playing his guitar). It sounded great. Aviv also played a song on piano that was just him singing, too… I forget which song, but it was one of the quieter Aviv songs (maybe “The Hole in Me” than never got ‘boomed’ up like it does on disc).
Songs I know they played from I: Open Mind, Blackfield, Glow, Pain, The Hole in Me, Hello. Songs I know they played from II: Once, Miss U, Christenings, Epidemic, Where Is My Love?, End of the World. Other songs played: Alanis Morissette’s “Thank You” …and they probably played some that I’m forgetting…
I hope the filming turned out good for the upcoming DVD. I may have gotten into a few shots, as there was a guy filming the crowd some… I was in the back, though… so I doubt I’m in it too much… I bet the film crew started focusing on “shirtless Aviv” by the end… 
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
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