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REVIEW: Zappa Plays Zappa @ McDonald (Eugene, OR – 6/12/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Five years running, Dweezil Zappa and his precision-cut Zappa Plays Zappa band have toured the world bringing us a different slice of Frank’s music to our ears. Past tours have featured players from Frank’s own classic ’70s and ’80s band arsenals: Steve Vai, Terry Bozzio, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ray White and more. There are no “old guard” members present in the 2010 incarnation — but regardless of which musicians surround Dweezil’s guitar mastery, the fact remains that the genius, adventurous spirit birthed in Frank’s songs is still alive.
The ZPZ band this time around is Dweezil Zappa: Guitar; Scheila Gonzalez: Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals; Pete Griffin: Bass; Billy Hulting: Marimba, Mallets & Percussion (and lead vocals for a bit); Jamie Kime: Guitar; Joe Travers: Drums & Vocals; Ben Thomas on lead vocals; and introducing Chris Norton on Keyboards & Vocals.
With no opener, the band kicked into their long set a little after 9pm… they played a super tight, super long set. Having seen the ZBZ band with Napoleon Murphy Brock and Ray White in the past, I was skeptical of this “new guy” Ben Thomas. He joined the ZPZ band after Ray White left the tour last year. After the first vocal belt, there was no more skepticism… Ben can sing (and plays a mean trumpet, harmonica and cow bell, too). He handled the lows and highs, and carried the tunes in a way that would have made Frank proud.
Throughout the set, each band member got their time to shine… “Echidna’s Arf” was probably the tightest song the band played… lightning fast, and spot on. Dweezil had killer solos on “Florentine Pogen” and “Pick Me, I’m Clean.” “Big Swifty” & “Mystery Roach” showed off great solos from Billy on marimba, Scheila on sax, and Jaime on guitar. Joe’s drum solo at the end of “Latex Solar Beef” could have ended the show, but (lucky for us) they stayed out and finished the main set with “Apostrophe” that featured Pete’s fuzzy, dirty bass groove and solo.
Here’s what they played:
Setlist: about 2 & 1/2 hours
- Purple Lagoon
- Stinkfoot
- Daddy Daddy Daddy
- What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are?
- Florentine Pogen
- Big Swifty
- Mystery Roach
- Advance Romance
- The Blue Light
- Pick Me, I’m Clean
- Blessed Relief
- Echidna’s Arf
- Keep It Greasey
- Easy Meat
- The Little House I Used To Live In
- Latex Solar Beef (with hints of Willie the Pimp)
- Apostrophe
- Encore: Lonely Little Girl
- City of Tiny Lites
- Cosmik Debris
- I’m the Slime
As in the past, amazing musicians this time out. Some of the highlights were the aforementioned tight “Echidna’s Arf,” “Florentine Pogen,” and the more gentle “Blessed Relief.” The only song I was craving that wasn’t played was “Peaches En Regalia,” but it was nice to hear some older, rarer Frank songs being trotted out in lieu of the “fan fave” Peaches. As far as sound quality, near the front it was OK, but I heard from people in the middle and back that it was a bit muddy. Regardless of that downside, the evening showed off a super tight band who gave their all! ZPZ band, Eugene loves you! Come back soon!
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Zappa Plays Zappa’s Site
- ZPZ on MySpace
- Dweezil on MySpace
- Prior Review~ ZPZ w/ Ray White – Jan 2009 (Portland, OR)
- McDonald Theatre
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Jóhann Jóhannsson – & In the Endless Pause There Came Sound of Bees 
DWEEZIL ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (18 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (32 pics)
Tour Dates
- May 30, ’10 Chilicothe, IL Summer Camp Music Festival
- Jun 3, ’10 Mexico City, MX Teatro de la Ciudad
- Jun 5, ’10 Ozark, AR Wakarusa Festival
- Jun 6, ’10 Kansas City, MO Crossroads
- Jun 7, ’10 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
- Jun 8, ’10 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
- Jun 10, ’10 Ventura, CA Ventura Theater
- Jun 11, ’10 Santa Rosa, CA Harmony Festival
- Jun 12, ’10 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
- Jun 13, ’10 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
- Jun 14, ’10 Seattle, WA Moore Theater
- Jun 15, ’10 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theater
- Jun 17, ’10 Richmond, VA Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
- Jun 18, ’10 Pittsburgh, PA Palace Theatre
- Jun 19, ’10 Tarrytown, NY Music Hall
- Jun 24, ’10 Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater
- Jun 25, ’10 Providence, RI Lupo’s
- Jun 26, ’10 Westbury, NY Westbury Music Theater
- Jun 27, ’10 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
- Jun 28, ’10 Verona, NY Turning Stone Resort and Casino
- Jun 29, ’10 Niagara Falls, NY The Rapids Theatre
- Jul 1, ’10 Bridgeport, CT The Klein
- Jul 2, ’10 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
- Jul 3, ’10 Great Barington, MA The Mahaiwe
- Jul 4, ’10 Oxford, ME Nateva Festival
- Jul 5, ’10 Moncton, NS Capitol Theater
- Jul 6, ’10 Halifax, NS Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
- Jul 9, ’10 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg
- Jul 10, ’10 TBA, TBA Soon
- Jul 11, ’10 Weert, NL Bospop Restival
- Jul 12, ’10 Antwerp, BE Openluchttheater
- Jul 14, ’10 Tel Aviv, IL Hangar 11
- Jul 19, ’10 Nice, FR Nice Jazz Festival
- Jul 21, ’10 Cambridge, UK Cambridge Corn Exchange
- Jul 22, ’10 Brighton, UK Brighton Centre
- Jul 23, ’10 Wolverhampton, UK Wolverhampton Civic Hall
- Jul 24, ’10 London, UK London Classic Rock Festival
- Jul 25, ’10 Liverpool, UK Liverpool Summer Pops Festival
- Jul 26, ’10 Glasgow, UK Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
- Jul 27, ’10 Gateshead, UK Gateshead The Sage
Pink Martini @ OBF (trailer)
Here’s a great new trailer for the upcoming Pink Martini performance at the Oregon Bach Festival (they play Saturday, June 26th at the Hult Center).
OBF tickets are on-sale now… http://oregonbachfestival.com/
~Dan – np: Carissa’s Wierd [sic] – They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave
REVIEW: final ISIS tour @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 5/29/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
On May 18, 2010, post-metal powerhouse ISIS officially called it quits. They did everything they wanted to do, and said everything they wanted to say… and this May & June tour would be their last. It was a good run: 13 years and 5 brilliant studio albums.
The break-up news was deeply saddening news to the fans, but at least we get one last hurrah.
The show opened with Jakob (a three-piece from New Zealand). They played a solid 40-minute set of instrumental post-rock. They had heavy moments, but they were decidedly the “calmest” of the trio of bands last night. They were really tight and created a great, building wall of sound. Great for fans of a harder edged Explosions in the Sky. Jakob’s debut, Solace, is out now.
Tombs (a four-piece from Brooklyn) were more in the metal category. Guttural vocals, double kick drum blasts, but more building in their guitar sound compared to other metal fare (e.g.- similar to ISIS versus Slayer). A great 40-minute onslaught to our ears. Check out their album, Winterhours.
ISIS went on just before 11pm and came out hard and heavy… while both Jakob and Tombs were tight, it seemed as though things got kicked up a notch when Isis hit the stage. The audience crowded the stage to be pummeled by the sweeping and soaring musical backbone amidst Aaron Turner’s powerful voice…
They played a hauntingly brutal mix from Wavering Radiant, In the Absence of Truth, and a few oldies thrown in as well. There were a handful of moments of Aaron’s more melodic vocals, but that was few and far between… the show tended to show off Isis’s more pained vocal cuts. They played about 90 minutes…
Setlist: (thanks for corrections from a fellow fans)
- Deconstructing Towers
- Not In Rivers, But In Drops
- So Did We
- Threshold of Tranformation
- Ghost Key
- Collapse and Crush
- From Sinking
- Encore: In Fiction
- The Beginning and the End
It’s sad to see Isis end, but at least they are ending with a kick ass tour. Also, if you go to one of the shows (see below), there is a TON of merch… they’ve brought about everything each member has ever been involved in. I dropped some coin for the Japanese limited edition Panopticon, Oceanic, 7.23.06 live, and the Melvin split 12″ vinyl. That was barely scratching the surface for this excellent “Isis Garage Sale.”
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out the final tour dates for ISIS below.
~Dan – np: Ellery – This Isn’t Over Yet
ISIS, Jakob & Tombs PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
ISIS – 2010 TOUR DATES
May 26 2010 The Casbah w/ Jakob & Tombs San Diego, California, US
May 29 2010 Wow Hall w/ Jakob & Tombs Eugene, Oregon , US
May 31 2010 Rickshaw Theatre w/ Jakob & Tombs Vancouver, British Co, CA
Jun 1 2010 Neumo’s w/ Jakob & Tombs Seattle, Washington, US
Jun 2 2010 Doug Fir Lounge w/ Jakob & Tombs Portland, Oregon , US
Jun 4 2010 Great American Music Hall w/ Jakob & Tombs San Francisco, California, US
Jun 5 2010 The Troubadour w/ Jakob & Tombs Los Angeles, California, US
Jun 12 2010 Bonnaroo Festival W/ Clutch, Melvins, Flaming Lips, etc. Manchester, Tennessee , US
Jun 14 2010 40 Watt Club w/ Melvins Athens, Georgia , US
Jun 16 2010 9:30 Club w/Melvins Washington, Washington, US
Jun 17 2010 Theater Of Living Arts (TLA) w/ Melvins Philadelphia, Pennsylvan, US
Jun 18 2010 Webster Hall w/ Melvins New York, New York , US
Jun 19 2010 Music Hall Of Williamsburg w/ Melvins Brooklyn, New York , US
Jun 20 2010 Paradise Rock Club w/ Melvins Boston, Massachuse, US
Jun 21 2010 Paradise Rock Club w/ Melvins Boston, Massachuse, US
Jun 22 2010 Port City Music Hall w/ Cave In Portland, Maine , US
Jun 23 2010 Club Soda w/ Cave In Montreal, Quebec , CA
REVIEW: Charlie Hunter @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 5/18/10)
Charlie Hunter‘s new CD Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid was the first CD through the gates in 2010. The CD is named after a saying from an undisclosed curmudgeon musician who used to pull that on his players (no, it’s not indicative of Charlie’s payment habits).
The album is a fun jaunt full of the groove-laden jazz that Charlie Hunter fans know and love. It’s a highly recommended purchase for 2010… (pictured to the right)
The current “Evening with Charlie Hunter” tour is slightly stripped down compared to the album… it features Hunter on guitar, Ron Miles (trumpet) & Eric Kalb (drums). They hit the WOW Hall stage just after 8pm and played two sets and a long encore… well over two solid hours. All three men played effortlessly… their first set was smokey and soulful. Their second set was a bit more upbeat with more solos, including a few standards mixed in with the Neglected tunes.
Eric and Ron were very tight players, with stunning solos in their own right. Eric had a great feel, and while I think Ron stayed in the shadows more during the sets, the trumpet flavor he added to the trio was a perfect fit.
One of the most amazing things from the night was watching Charlie play. His seeming ease at which he plays bass and guitar on one instrument is stunning (and curse-worthy for the guitar aficionado in the crowd). If you weren’t watching the stage, you’d easily be fooled that it was a quartet and not a trio. It’s quite an amazing thing to see and hear. He’s so unassuming about it, too… a showman without the show-off attitude.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Charlie Hunter’s Site
- Charlie Hunter on MySpace
- Ron Miles on MySpace
- Eric Kalb on MySpace
- Charlie ‘Neglected‘ interview on NPR Music
- WOW Hall
~Dan – np: Method of Defiance – Inamorata
CHARLIE HUNTER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Charlie Hunter @ WOW Hall (5/18)
The Charlie Hunter review with photos will be posted either late Wednesday or Thursday… in short: amazing!
~Dan
REVIEW: Kaki King with An Horse @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 5/16/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Last night the fine folks of Eugene were treated to two lovely indie rock acts… Kaki King and An Horse. 
Kaki had played a short, but fantastic set earlier on Sunday at CD World (review with photos/videos) – and she brought up Kate Cooper from An Horse at the end, which had been my only exposure to An Horse outside of the WNYC Soundcheck podcast a month ago. Kate’s “Camp Out” with Kaki solidified it to me that I shant be late to the opening set…
An Horse went on right around 8pm and played a SOLID melodic indie rock set. Being only vaguely familiar with their songs didn’t matter. It was 45 or so minutes of indie rock goodness. “Camp Out” was played, which is perhaps their “single” but it far from being their only good song. The Aussie duo put out a nice wall of sound, too. Mighty big for a two person crew! Check out their latest record, Rearrange Beds!
After a short break, Kaki came on with her band…
They started off strong with a powerful few numbers. “Bone Chaos” may have been my favorite of the night… it really shows off Kaki’s guitar prowess combined with some haunting EVI by Dan Brantigan. It was pretty obvious early on that the drums were taking over (unfortunately). The mid-section of the show was nice, as we got to see Kaki shine solo with some “Pink Noise”…
Kaki’s Setlist: just shy of 2 hours
- Falling Day
- Bone Chaos in the Castle
- Life Being What It Is
- Pull Me Out Alive
- Death Head
- The Betrayer
- Hallucinations From My Poisonous German Streets
- Playing with Pink Noise [solo]
- Goby [solo]
- All the Landslides Birds Have Seen
- Doing The Wrong Thing
- My Nerves That Committed Suicide
- unknown song
- Spit It Back in My Mouth
- Everything Has An End, Even Sadness (which is not new age)*
- You Don’t Have to Be Afraid
- Encore: unknown rock jam
- fucking around on the lap steel
- Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers
- unknown dance song
*– don’t ever call Kaki new age… especially if you have balls and would like to retain them.
any help on unknown songs is appreciated
Kaki came out for an encore and treated us to another instrumental favorite, “Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers,” which featured Dan trading the EVI off for a theremin, alongside Kaki’s lapsteel. She then capped the show off with a “dance number,” which unbeknown to us involved her jumping amongst the crowd and dancing it up while her guitar went on loop above us… a great end to a great day full of music.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Kaki King – How I Got Lost (soundtrack)
KAKI KING with AN HORSE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Spring 2010 Tour Dates
Apr 15, 2010 Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, New York
Apr 16, 2010 Bowery Ballroom – New York, New York
Apr 17, 2010 Middle East – Boston, Massachusetts
Apr 19, 2010 Iron Horse – Northampton, Massachusetts
Apr 20, 2010 Port City Music Hall – Portland, Maine
Apr 21, 2010 Higher Ground – Burlington, Vermont
Apr 28, 2010 TLA – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 29, 2010 9:30 Club – Washington, DC, Washington DC
Apr 30, 2010 Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, North Carolina
May 1, 2010 The Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, Georgia
May 4, 2010 Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, Ohio
May 5, 2010 The Ark – Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 6, 2010 Park West – Chicago, Illinois
May 7, 2010 High Noon Saloon – Madison, Wisconsin
May 8, 2010 Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 9, 2010 The Waiting Room – Omaha, Nebraska
May 11, 2010 The Fox Theater – Boulder, Colorado
May 12, 2010 Cervantes – Denver, Colorado
May 14, 2010 Neumos – Seattle, Washington
May 15, 2010 Wonder Ballroom – Portland, Oregon
May 16, 2010 WOW Hall – Eugene, Oregon
May 19, 2010 Knitting Factory – Reno, Nevada
May 20, 2010 Mystic Theater – Petaluma, California
May 21, 2010 The Fillmore – San Francisco, California
May 22, 2010 The El Rey Theater – Los Angeles, California
May 24, 2010 The Belly Up – San Diego, California
May 25, 2010 The Glass House – Pomona, California
Kaki King @ WOW Hall (5/16)
The Kaki King review with photos will be posted either late Monday or early Tuesday…
~Dan
REVIEW: Kaki King @ CD World (Eugene, OR – 5/16/10)
As a warm up for her show tonight at WOW Hall, Kaki King stopped by and wowed us at CD World (i.e.- the best CD shop in Eugene). Here’s what she played:
(click on the photos for larger)
In-Store Setlist:
- Bone Chaos in the Castle
- The Betrayer
- Death Head [YouTube]
- Sunnyside
- Camp Out (An Horse song w/ Kate Cooper) [YouTube]
http://www.kakiking.com/ – http://www.anhorse.com/
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
See y’all at WOW Hall tonight!
~Dan – np: Ani DiFranco – Live at Bull Moose Music 4/17/09
REVIEW: That 1 Guy & Boy Eats Drum Machine @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 5/15/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I’ve been a fan of That 1 Guy and the Magic Pipe since seeing him a dank club in Cincinnati opening for Drums & Tuba in the early 2000s. 
He’s toured incessantly throughout the decade, hitting some major festivals and being a supporting act for some big bands. It’s been nice to see his fanbase grow, and at many times I didn’t think his music was growing all that much. Well, he proves us wrong with his fourth record, Packs a Wallop. He seems to have found a nice balance between the experimentation and the groove. The lyrical silliness is still there, but that’s part of the charm…
The opener was Portland’s Boy Eats Drum Machine. Boy Eats Drum Machine is a one man band made up of Jon Ragel and his musical toys. I was only familiar with the video for “Hoop + Wire” (see below). It’s a clever video, but I didn’t think it gave any insight into his live set. Well, the Eugene crowd was blown away, to say the least. He put out an incredibly danceable mix of record spinning, drum machine, live drums, saxophone and vocals. He has a great voice, passion, and energy.
Boy Eats Drum Machine “Hoop + Wire”
Well, no, his live set wasn’t stop-motion animation, but it was as full of energy and fun as the video shows. Eugene ate Boy Eats Drum Machine. Portland, you can’t have him back!!
After only a short break, Mike Silverman aka That 1 Guy joined the Magic Pipe on stage for almost two and a half hours of lights, smoke, lasers, and all around jam-worthy tom-foolery…
Mr. Guy played almost non-stop, busting through his catalogue… playing many tunes from his latest album…
Setlist: almost 2 1/2 hours
- Modern Man
- Packs a Wallop
- Buttmachine (with extended jam)
- How’s Bout Them Holes In The Moon (Butter Side Down)
- Heaven or Heck
- Jam
- Stones Throw
- Oranges
- Bananas
- Laser Beans
- Step Into Striped Light
- Mustaches
- Jam
- Rainbow
- Dig
- One
- “Magic Show”
- Credit Card Jam
- Lounge Outtro
- Encore: Weasel Potpie
- The Moon is Disgusting
- Word Up (Cameo cover)
- Lounge Outtro
Of the frequent stops through Eugene, this one seemed to be the most action packed. He had full reign to play a longer set, and his light show has definitely stepped up a notch (I did miss the Mustaches & Laser Beams tour; so maybe this is just a continuation). He pulled out the magic saw and magic boot near the end of the show. He also treated the crowd to his magic card tricks and laser bows. Ever the showman, he was soaking wet by the end of the night, yet still full of energy…
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- That1Guy’s Site
- That1Guy on MySpace
- Boy Eats Drum Machine’s Site
- Boy Eats Drum Machine MySpace
- WOW Hall
- My Prior T1G reviews~
- Sept 2007 @ John Henry’s (Eugene)
- Mar 2008 @ McDonald (Eugene w/ Buckethead)
- Feb 2009 @ WOW Hall (Eugene)
- Sept 2009 @ Roseland (Portland w/ Porcupine Tree)
~Dan – np: Ben Goldberg Quartet plays Masada Book Two – Book of Angels, Vol 15: Baal
THAT1GUY & BOY EATS DRUM MACHINE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Oregon Bach Fest preview with Trio Voronezh
The good music is matched by the good deals at the University of Oregon when the Oregon Bach Festival and the Duck Store present a season preview party Thursday, May 13 from 5:30 to 7 pm. On tap are ticket discounts, book discounts, beer, wine, and other refreshments, and a live performance by Trio Voronezh.
Conservatory trained in their native Russia, the members of Trio Voronezh played for money on the streets of Europe until discovered by a friend of the Oregon Bach Festival. Playing classical favorites on Russian folk instruments with showmanship and virtuosity, they made their American debut at the festival in 1996. After several return tours they became U.S. citizens, with Eugene as their home base for recording and touring.
During the OBF preview event participants can get vouchers for ticket discounts of up to 20% for selected concerts, and get discounts for 20% off general books in the Duckstore, an OBF sponsor. OBF staff members will be present to answer questions and assist with ticket orders online at the event.
The party takes place in the “Literary Duck” on the second floor of the Duck Store building at 13th and Kincaid in Eugene. Free refreshments include beer from Eugene City Brewery, wine, soft drinks and snacks.
The UO’s Oregon Bach Festival takes place June 25 through July 11 in Eugene, Bend and Portland. Tickets for the Festival go on sale over the counter at Eugene’s Hult Center ticket office on May 11. For complete schedule and ticket information call (541) 682-5000 or click http://oregonbachfestival.com.
For regular OBF-related updates, check out the Official OBF blog.
~Dan – np: King’s X – Out of the Silent Planet
REVIEW: MEDGE presents Karim Nagi @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 4/30/10)
The Middle Eastern Dance Guild of Eugene (aka MEDGE) hosts monthly shows at Cozmic Pizza. Great food, great music, and great dancing come to mind when I make my way over there the third Fridays of each month. For a special International Dance Day celebration, they brought in Karim Nagi for special workshops and moved their event down the street to WOW Hall.
Karim Nagi is an Egyptian musician, composer, music arranger and DJ. He specializes in traditional Arabic music but works in other musical mediums. He has two CDs out under the artist moniker of Turbo Tabla. He has also recorded music for Bellydance Superstars, Bellyqueen, and the Bellytwins, as well as mainstream artists like Alicia Keys, and The Urban Griot Project.
Sadly he didn’t pull out a traditional Indian tabla last night (apparently an Egypt table / darbuka is very similar to a dumbek). Regardless, we were treated to a lot of wonderful dancing and drumming. Here’s a pictorial review of last night’s show… Enjoy!
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld & Margaret O’Brien,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Karim Nagi (stick dance, traditional folkloric dance of Egypt)
Mem Aleph (troupe consisting of Candice Nelson, Barbie Griggs, Jeannie Anderson, Amanda Bounds, Marie Scott and Monica Trent) performing three folk dances: Syrtos from Greece; Hands Talk (a Jewish Yemenite dance); and Ma Nava (an Israeli dance)
Siobhan performing a Ghawazee-inspired dance choreographed by Hassan Khalil
Amani (choreography by Mahmoud Reda — Oriental piece with his signature balletic movements incorporated into Raks Sharqi)
Elena Villa (Arab Flamenco Fusion)
Caravan Dancers (Troupe consists of Deena, Zendra, Crystal and Erin performing a Folkloric Suite: Basket Dance, Turkish 9/8, Cane Dance, Tambourine Dance)
Sabine (Indian Sapera Dance of the Kalbeliya snake-charmers)
Karim Nagi – improvisational finger cymbal dance
>> << intermission >> <<
Jamara (dance performance to live drumming by Karim Nagi)
Devi Safir (dance performance to live drumming by Karim Nagi)
musical performance by Karim Nagi & Ishmael, a qanun player (stringed instrument from Egypt), followed by an audience participation debke, a traditional Arabic folk dance
Be sure to check out MEDGE on the web to find out about the monthly shows and upcoming special events & workshops… http://medge.org/
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Karim Nagi’s Site
- Karim Nagi on MySpace
- M.E.D.G.E.’s site
- Dancer’s links above (if available – pass along additional links if you have them)
- WOW Hall
~Dan – np: Carla Kihlstedt – 2 Foot Yard
REVIEW: Jake Shimabukuro @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 3/16/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Jake Shimabukuro is an amazing guitar player. The media that he uses to express that phenomenal talent is on the diminutive instrument known as the ukulele. The ukulele’s use is more popular in traditional Hawaiian music, but it has made its way into mainland pop music recently via the likes of Ingrid Michaelson, Amanda Palmer, and one of my favorites – Nellie McKay (review / ukulele pic).
Well, Jake brings his music from Hawaii, but he is nothing resembling a “traditional” Hawaiian ukulele player.He is a master fret-worker on the ukulele and brings sounds out of it that you wouldn’t necessarily find on the islands.
Jake Shimabukuro hit the stage around 7:30pm. His set bridged gaps between traditional Hawaiian music, to jazz, to blues, to classical, to folk, to classic rock, to bluegrass, to flamenco, to traditional Japanese music. He played a few new tunes from his forthcoming album including “143” and “Piano-Forte.” The latter was written with two piano parts (left and right hand), and due to Jake only containing the standard issue “two hands” only played the left-handed rendition. We’ll have to wait for the album for the full version.
Here’s what he blessed us with last night…
Setlist: about 90 mins
- 143
- Blue Roses Falling
- Me & Shirley T.
- Let’s Dance
- Dragon
- “Bowing for the Queen” story
- In My Life (Beatles)
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Beatles)
- Sakura Sakura
- Piano-Forte (left hand rendition)
- Trapped
- Five Dollars Unleaded
- Orange World
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
- Encore: Crazy G
Jake was a very talkative person, full of stories about song origins and his childhood: the too many sugary drinks induced “Me & Shirley T.,” the Carlos Montoya-influenced flamenco number “Let’s Dance,” the Bruce Lee meets Eddie Van Halen song “Dragon” (beautifully full of finger taps), playing with Bette Midler and bowing a lot for the Queen of England, the Ralph McDonald (of Jimmy Buffett’s band) 9/8-time rhythm that inspired “Trapped,” and riding around Hawaii in his dad’s old pickup truck. Full of stories, full of excellent melodies and wicked fast hands – Jake Shimabukuro was a treat.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Haftor Medbøe Group – A Box of Monkeys -EP-
JAKE SHIMABUKURO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (3 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (12 pics)
REVIEW: Fishtank Ensemble @ House Show (Eugene, OR – 3/5/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Fishtank Ensemble hit the scene in 2005 with Super Raoul. The first record hit my radar with members from bandmembers from bands I was already into: Kevin Kmetz (from God of Shamisen/Estradasphere/Secret Chiefs 3 on occasion), Doug & Tim Smolens (El Douje’s record & Estradasphere), and Adam Stacey (Estradasphere). Only Doug “El Douje” Smolens remains from that first group of guys who got me into the band, but the other members definitely kept me around…
The band is Fabrice Martinez (pictured above – violin), Ursula Knudson (pictured above – vocals, saw, violin, etc), El Douje (guitar) and Djordje Stijepovic (Bass). They play a mix of Eastern European “gypsy” music mixed with a heavy dose of Django Reinhardt influenced French jazz (dominated by guitars & violins). Think… Hot Club de Baltic States. On their records thus far, they also add in some Japanese music (from former member Kevin Kmetz’s shamisen work).
This was my first time to one of their shows. Last time they came through Eugene, I was up in Portland for another band, but my wife gave a rousing thumbs up (she ended up going to see Fishtank at Cozmic Pizza).
The band played about two hours, split up with a nice intermission / snack time in the middle. The band was red hot, and the intimate living room setting made this concert very special. I’ll admit, I’m not usually a fan of vocals as of late, especially in world music. However, Ursula nails it. Seeing her perform in concert 4 feet in front of me was quite stunning. Besides the stunning dress (!!!), her vocals were utterly fantastic! She did a lot of vocal acrobatics, which worked amazingly well with violin, bass and guitar acrobatics that the rest of the band was giving us as well.
They played a lot of material I recognized from their second album, Samurai over Serbia, as well as some new and/or traditional tunes. Here’s what I scribbled down (fixed by bassist Djordje – – Thanks!)…
Setlist:
- Espagnolette
- Saraiman
- Arabo Andaluz
- After You’ve Gone
- Fraima
- Woman in Sin
- Swing 2003
- Hopa di Bida
- Am Furat de la Haidouks (Romanian Sirba dance medley)
<<intermission>> - O’Dewel
- Kolo Suite (Serbian/Transylvanian Medley)
- Tchiki Tchiki
- Djordje’s Rachenitza
- Coucou
- Opa Opa
- Samurai Over Serbia
- Encore: Ursula’s high school song
- Ciocarlia
They’ve got a new record coming out soon, called Woman in Sin. Keep an eye out for it on their webpage, MySpace, et cetera. Thank you to Michael & Carolyn for putting on a great house show! I look forward to the next Rolling & Tumble house show — Tuvan throat singers!!
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Bill Frisell – Rambler
FISHTANK ENSEMBLE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
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REVIEW: David Bazan @ Sam Bond’s (Eugene, OR – 3/4/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, what is there to say about David Bazan that I haven’t already said? Well, not much; so I’ll just recap. In short, he’s a genuine song-writer, an honest thinker, a gentle soul, and a wonderful song-weaver. Since moving to Eugene, I’ve had the opportunity to see him three times… now a fourth. All in a shorter window of time compared to the rare opportunities when I saw him in Ohio.
The show last night was one of the first shows from his Winter/Spring Tour (and the first with opener Headlights). For more tour dates, check out the list at the bottom. At Sam Bond’s Garage, David Bazan isn’t on the same A-frame as a delicious quiche (click for picture from a recent gig), but he does share the venue with some mighty fine pizza and beer.
Headlights were really good. They played about 45 minutes and had some good indie rock / pop songs with nice melodies. They are a traditional four piece (guitar, keys, bass, drums) and swapped lead vocal duties around a bit. Their sound at Sam Bond’s Garage last night was a little too loud, but that’s definitely not the band’s fault. I think Sam Bond’s doesn’t seem to have the acoustics for rock bands (this issue spilled over into David’s set, too). Anyway, Headlights = good. Check ’em out! Here’s the video for their song “Secrets“:
David went on with his band a little after 10pm. His band this time around is Blake Wescott on guitar, Andy Fitts on bas, and Alex Wescoat on drums. The set was filled with songs from his most recent solo album, Curse Your Branches, as well as older material – including a nice collection of Pedro the Lion and Headphones songs. Outsider of the aforementioned curse that Sam Bond’s Garage has on rock bands’ sound, it was a highly enjoyable show. The mix of tunes and passion with which David sings is fun to take in.
Setlist: about 75 minutes
- I Do (Pedro the Lion)
- Transcontinental (Pedro the Lion)
- Man in Me
- Please, Baby, Please
- June 18, 1976 (Pedro the Lion)
- Q&A #1
- When We Fell
- Magazine (Pedro the Lion)
- How I Remember
- When They Really Get To Know You, They Will Run (Pedro the Lion)
- Q&A #2
- Shit Talker (Headphones)
- Harmless Sparks
- Fewer Broken Pieces
- Q&A #3
- Bands With Managers (Pedro the Lion)
- Bad Diary Days (Pedro the Lion)
- Cold Beer and Cigarettes
- I Never Wanted You (Headphones)
- Penetration (Pedro the Lion)
- In Stitches
- No Encore
Personally, ending the show with “In Stitches” is perfect. That song sunk in with me last fall, especially the last verse…
When Job asked you a question,
You responded, “Who are you
to challenge your creator?”
Well if that one part is true
It makes you sound defensive
Like you had not thought it through
Like you didn’t have an answer
Like you bit off more than you could chew
So, yeah, the well documented pivot from religious to questioner to agnostic suits Bazan’s songwriting especially well in my book.
more photos below
SO, if you haven’t gotten it already, go check out his new live in the studio recording from his Fall 2009 band tour. Bazan: Live at Electric Audio is a great recording, and it’s out on CD, vinyl, or digital only (for insane people):
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Bill Frisell – Rambler
DAVID BAZAN & HEADLIGHTS PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Winter/Spring 2010 Tour Dates
- 03/03/10 Wed – Salem OR – Ike Box
- 03/04/10 Thu – Eugene OR – Sam Bond’s Garage
- 03/05/10 Fri – Sacramento CA – Blue Lamp
- 03/06/10 Sat – Visalia CA – Cellar Door
- 03/07/10 Sun – Santa Barbara CA – Soho
- 03/08/10 Mon – Long Beach CA – Alex’s Bar
- 03/09/10 Tue – Las Vegas NV – Beauty Bar
- 03/10/10 Wed – Phoenix AZ – Sail Inn
- 03/12/10 Fri – Norman OK – The Opolis
- 03/13/10 Sat – Springfield MO – Gallery Sounds
- 03/14/10 Sun – St Louis MO – Old Rock House
- 03/15/10 Mon – Newport KY – Southgate House
- 03/17/10 Wed – Nashville TN – Exit/In
- 03/18/10 Thu – Asheville NC – Grey Eagle
- 03/19/10 Fri – Columbia SC – New Brookland Tavern
- 03/20/10 Sat – Richmond VA – Alley Katz
- 03/21/10 Sun – Baltimore MD – The Ottobar
- 03/22/10 Mon – Philadelphia PA – First Unitarian Church
- 03/23/10 Tue – Brooklyn NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
- 03/27/10 Sat – Grantham PA – Messiah College
- 03/28/10 Sun – Columbus OH – The Summit
- 03/29/10 Mon – Bloomington IN – The Bishop
- 03/30/10 Tue – Grand Rapids MI – Calvin College
- 04/01/10 Thu – Iowa City IA – The Mill
- 04/02/10 Fri – Urbana IL – Canopy Club
- 04/03/10 Sat – DeKalb IL – House Cafe
- 04/04/10 Sun – Milwaukee WI – Pabst
- 04/05/10 Mon – St. Paul MN – Turf Club
- 04/06/10 Tue – Fargo ND – The Aquarium
- 04/08/10 Thu – Missoula MT – The Palace
- 04/09/10 Fri – Spokane WA – Empyrean
- 04/10/10 Sat – Bellingham WA – Western Washington University
REVIEW: Medeski Martin & Wood @ McDonald (Eugene, OR – 2/25/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
This was my fourth time seeing the great trio of Medeski Martin & Wood… and the second time as an “evening with,” which tends to work out nicely for a weekday concert. No painful opener to sit through, and less likely a late show time.
We got to the venue only a few minutes before they went on. They came out around 8:20 and started off with one or two from Zaebos, their album from John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two: Book of Angels series. From there, they hopped right into a Medeski-keys-oriented tune and a more exotica piece. Overall, their show last night was definitely more of the MMW groove show, versus a improvisational MMW “messin’ around” kind of show. 
Sure, at one point illyB pulled out the ducks calls while Chris and John noodled around, but then they ripped right back into the more lyrical pieces.
McDonald had the floor set up with chairs for the evening, which was a shock for me. The crowd started out in chairs, but by the third song, they were moving up the aisles and dancing. 
When MMW came back out for the second set, it was pretty much a dance party… well, a dance party with a bunch of pesky chairs in the way.
I’ll post the setlist when/if I find it… again, I recognized a couple Zaebos tunes, 
plus I’m pretty sure they played “Amber Gris,” “Padrecito,” “Amish Pinxtos,” “Reliquary,” “Free Go Lily,” and a few more Radiolarians tracks. Don’t quote me on all of those songs, but it was definitely a Radiolarians-heavy show.
Setlist: (thanks, nastyshadows!)
- Set 1: Agmatia
- Pappy Check
- Broken Mirror >
- Disrobe >
- Open Improv >
- Padrecito
- Amber Gris
- Set 2: Free Go Lily
- Jean’s Scene
- Reliquary
- New Planet
- Cloud Wars
- Encore: Bass Solo >
- Chubb Sub
Two hour-long sets plus encore (which started out with a nice Chris Wood bass solo). Excellent show. Medeski Martin & Wood do not disappoint.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- MMW’s Site
- MMW on MySpace
- Nov 2008 McDonald Theatre – Concert Review w/ Photos
- McDonald Theatre
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Dave Holland Quintet – Critical Mass
MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
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February 2010 Tour Dates
- 17 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
- 18 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
- 19 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
- 20 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
- 21 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
- 23 – Petaluma, CA – The Mystic Theatre
- 24 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Club Crown Room
- 25 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
- 26 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
- 27 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at The Market
KLCC Brewfest 2010
Tonight I went to the 2010 KLCC Bewfest in Eugene, Oregon. I volunteer poured, too. Had a great time…
I shant go into the detail I did last year… I’m tired. The best drinks, in my opinion… Oakshire Overcast (espresso stout), the Maui Brewing Coconut Porter, and the Crispin Cider.
It’s all done for the year… but check back at http://www.klcc.org/ for next year’s in early/mid-February 2011.
~Dan – np: Wayne Horvitz – Film Music 1998-2001
REVIEW: The Album Leaf @ WOW Hall (Eugene, OR – 2/9/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, I just saw The Album Leaf & Sea Wolf show up in Portland on Friday. Last night’s show wasn’t much different… which means… highly enjoyable. Since I’m in the midst of “work a ton because I chose the path of becoming a CPA and now is the rough work schedule” month, I’ll keep my comments brief – but include setlists and photos, of course.
The main difference for the Eugene show was the lack of string quartet – but where I was in the crowd for the Portland show, I didn’t get much of the string quartet in my ears anyway. It was about a half-packed WOW Hall, which was good for a Tuesday. Sea Wolf was great. I was more familiar with their songs, and I really started digging them. Same 45 minute set as Portland.
Sea Wolf’s Setlist:
- White Water
- Winter Windows
- Dew in the Grass
- Black Leaf Falls
- Middle Distance Runner
- The Traitor
- O’ Maria
- Turn the Dirt Over
- Wicked Blood
- You’re a Wolf
The Album Leaf came on around 10pm. I could definitely hear more strings this time around, even though there was only the primary violinist and not a whole quartet. Again, that was more due to my location at Portland’s show. They played the same setlist as Portland. I was digging the new songs, as I had gotten a few days now to let the album sink in. I could tell Jimmy was having some problems with his in-ear monitor during a few songs. Overall, the sound quality wasn’t as good in Eugene as in Portland. I moved around the venue and it seemed way more bass heavy than is normal for TAL. All in all, though, a great set…
The Album Leaf’s Setlist:
- Perro
- Blank Pages
- There is a Wind
- Within Dreams
- Falling from the Sun
- Stand Still
- 2214
- Outer Banks
- Shine
- Until the Last
- We Are
- Almost There
- Wherever I Go
- Encore: Always For You
- Red Eye
- Tied Knots
many more photos below
Definitely check out The Album Leaf’s new album, A Chorus of Storytellers…
The Appropriate Linkage:
Check out more tour dates below.
~Dan – np: Sachi Hayasaka – Minga
THE ALBUM LEAF and SEA WOLF PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
The Album Leaf Spring 2010 World Tour Dates
- Feb 3: Sacramento, CA @ Harlows
- Feb 5: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (w/Anomie Belle String Quartet)
- Feb 6: Seattle, WA @ Neumos (w/Anomie Belle String Quartet)
- Feb 7: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater(w/Anomie Belle String Quartet)
- Feb 8: Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight Lounge
- Feb 9: Eugene , OR @ WOW Hall
- Feb 11: Santa Cruz @ The Crepe Place
- Feb 12: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall (w/Magik*Magik String Quartet)
- Feb 13: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater (w/Magik*Magik String Quartet)
- Feb 25: Lisbon, Portugal @ Lisbon Santiago Alquimista
- Feb 26: Madrid, Spain @ Moby Dick
- Feb 27: Bilboa, Spain @ 12 & Medio
- Feb 28: Barcelona, Spain @ Apollo 2
- Mar 2: Toulouse, France @ Le Phare
- Mar 3: Milan, Italy @ Circolo Milano
- Mar 4: Lucerne, Switzerland @ Sudpol Club
- Mar 5: Dunidgen (Bern), Switzerland @ @ Bad Bonn
- Mar 6: Sankt Gallen, Switzerland @ Theater Palace
- Mar 7: Munich, Germany @ Feierwerk
- Mar 9: Vienna, Austria @ Szene
- Mar 10: Dresden, Germany @ BeatPol
- Mar 11: Berlin, Germany @ Lido
- Mar 12: Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
- Mar 13: Rotterdam, Holland @ Rotown
- Mar 14: Koln, Germany @ Gebauude 9
- Mar 16: Antwerp, Belgium @ Club Trix
- Mar 17: Colmar, France @ Kraken
- Mar 18: Heidelberg, Germany @ Karlstorbahnhof
- Mar 19: Paris, France @ Maroquinerie
- Mar 20: Lille, France @ L’ Aeronef
- Mar 21: Bristol, UK @ The Thekla
- Mar 22 Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
- Mar 23: London, UK @ Bush Hall
- Apr 2: Tokyo, Japan @ Shibuya Ax
- Apr 3: Nagoya, Japan @ Club Quatrro
- Apr 4: Osaka, Japan @ Club Quattro
- Apr 7: Hong Kong @ Grappa’s Cellar
- Apr 9: Taipei, Taiwan @ The Wall Live House
And just announced on Feb 3rd (and from Pollstar; so a different format)…
- Tue 04/20/10 – Tucson, AZ – Plush
- Wed 04/21/10 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
- Thu 04/22/10 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
- Fri 04/23/10 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
- Sat 04/24/10 – St. Louis, MO – Luminary Center For The Arts
- Sun 04/25/10 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
- Tue 04/27/10 – Grand Rapids, MI – Ladies Literary Club
- Wed 04/28/10 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
- Thu 04/29/10 – Montreal, QC – Music Hall
- Fri 04/30/10 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
- Sat 05/01/10 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
- Sun 05/02/10 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
- Tue 05/04/10 – Washington, DC – Rock And Roll Hotel
- Wed 05/05/10 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
- Thu 05/06/10 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft At Center Stage
- Fri 05/07/10 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits
- Sat 05/08/10 – Orlando, FL – The Social
- Mon 05/10/10 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
- Tue 05/11/10 – Austin, TX – The Parish Room
- Fri 05/14/10 – San Diego, CA – Birch North Park Theatre
REVIEW: Popovich Comedy Pet Theater @ the Hult (Eugene, OR – 1/31/10)
FYI… A FEW PICTURES from the HULT SHOW at the BOTTOM
So, we got the flyer for the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater in the mail and had to go. It’s sponsored by Greenhill Humane Society – a great pet-friendly organization in Eugene. The show started at 2:30pm and was the same day as the Oregon Truffle Festival. Ack! Quandary! We opted hit the OTF 2010 beforehand. Amazing time at OTF, as usual. Check out my review of last year’s Oregon Truffle Fest, including the Lagotto Romagnolo (truffle dog) demo.
Anyway, back to Popovich… or as I like to call it… Pupovich…
Gregory Popovich has been featured on tons of television shows (Leno, Letterman, America’s Got Talent, et cetera), featuring his amazingly trained pets (all rescue animals – even the geese). Most notably, he has actually managed to train house cats to do tricks.
Let me let that sink in for you.
House cats. Here’s a USA Today article/interview with Gregory with a cat-training Q&A.
The show started shortly after 2:30pm… with a little doggie announcer (see video below). The first set was about 45 minutes until the intermission. It was jam packed with juggling, acrobatics, tight-rope walking animals, and more. Some of my favorite bits were the train intro (cute stuff going on), the snowy park scene, and the class scene (full of about 8 dogs). The end of the train scene with the dog dressed up as an elephant was hilarious. I’m more of a dog fan; so the way they were all working together with Gregory in the class scene was really cute. The dog & cat interaction during the snowy park scene was also really endearing.
(more pictures below)
The second set (about 30 minutes) started off with a cute doggie balloon soccer game. Up next was an adorable doggie medical clinic set, followed by impressive human rope jumpers. The finale was the cat show… about a dozen cats climbing posts, jumping through hoops, tight rope walking, parallel bar work, and all around being cats! At the end one of the cats didn’t want to leave; so Gregory brought out a dog and it got on its hind legs, and then the cat jumped on its shoulders and rode away on the walking dog.
Overall, the afternoon was highly entertaining and adorable! If you are in Vegas or if the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater comes to your town… go!
The Promo Reel:
Now, we need to get our cute, but lazy, dog to do some tricks…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Popovich Comedy Pet Theater
- Greenhill Human Society (Eugene, OR)
- The Hult Center
- The Oregon Truffle Festival
~Dan – np: Mycale play John Zorn’s Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 13 – Mycale
POPOVICH COMEDY PET THEATER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Margaret O’Brien,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (8 pics)
That1Guy Packs a Wallop
That1Guy was just here in Eugene. He’s coming back in May (15th @ WOW Hall). I didn’t know if was his new album that came out this past Tuesday. Do I just not pay attention sometimes? Yes.
Go get his new album… CD, download, or both…
http://music.that1guy.com/album/packs-a-wallop
I’ll be at the T1G show in Eugene. For other tour dates (and there are a’plenty), go to…
http://www.that1guy.com/events
~Dan – np: Heatmiser – Dead Air
REVIEW: Bill Frisell Trio @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 1/23/10)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I saw Bill Frisell about a year and a half ago with Eyvind Kang & Rudy Royston… fantastic show, but more on the experimental, avant-garde edge (my review of that June 2008 show). Last night’s show was a trio of guitarist Bill Frisell with bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen (Sex Mob, Electric Masada, etc):
They hit the Shedd stage around 7:30pm. Differing from the retro live photo above, Tony Scherr was on electric bass. Kenny Wollesen played a standard kit, and Bill Frisell had a few guitars, pedals, gear to loop his sounds… and a big screen above them to show the congruous films as they played.
At the beginning of the show, Bill explained the accompanying film pieces: four by Seattle animator Jim Woodring, one by Bill Morrison, and two Buster Keaton classics. The band started out with a Jim Woodring computer animation – all black and white, but with many interesting, morphing shapes. The music started off slow, had some interesting wandering scales with a nice build and finish. The animation was quite enveloping, and the 10 minute piece seemed to fly by…
I was only allowed to take photos for the initial fifteen minutes, but the rest of the Woodring cartoons were somewhat related to the initial computer animations – 
many of the same morphing shapes show up, whether in a character, a beer tap, or a lamp. The primary character in the animations was “Frank.” We follow him around in his travels that either end in a big mess, a violent picnic, or death.
The second Woodring piece introduced us to the aforementioned “Frank.” He tooled around his house and then went up into the hills to some odd looking palace, and when he returned, his house had been ransacked by some fat, troll-like human character. The animation appeared to be paper-based stop-motion animation. The music had a Floratone or possibly Disfarmer feel… I actually recognized the melody that Bill played midway through, but can’t place it now.
The third piece was another Woodring “Frank” animation, but this time with either colored paper or possibly fabric animation. 
The setting was a picnic and got fairly violent near the end. The piece was shorter (maybe 5 minutes), which led into the fourth and final Woodring piece… a claymation “Frank” with a devil-type character. The music had a nice groove, and the animation ended with the beer tap looking piece of furniture tipping over to expose the phrase “And You Call Yourself a Gentleman.”
Up next were three silent films… and quite frankly, I lost the music in the viewing. I think the music worked really well and enhanced the pieces, but it definitely fell to the background of what I was paying attention to …
The first was a short film called The Mesmerist by Bill Morrison featuring a re-worked 1926’s film The Bells which featured Boris Karloff. It had been altered from the original, and I’m not sure what was part of the original and what was part of the re-imagining. It started with a very old, sepia & scratchy feel and grew into more animated splotches. The storyline is of an innkeeper who murders a rich visitor and is haunted by the murder he committed.
Up next were two Buster Keaton films… The High Sign (1921) and One Week (1920)…
Each film was in the 15-20 minute range. I was quite amazed at Buster’s utterly ingenious physical comedy. I was familiar with his work a little bit (trumpeter Dave Douglas and his Keystone band has used Buster Keaton in the past). The first one was a gangster caper with a really basic (but stupendous) cross-section of a house with tons of trap doors and moving walls. The second one was of a cheap home that was hurriedly built after a wedding with hilarity ensuing. For the video (with non-Frisell music) check out YouTube of The High Sign and of One Week.
Seven songs, 90 minutes… the Trio took a bow and left the stage. They hit the stage one last time for a short animation of Woodring’s Frank called Whim Grinder:
I enjoyed the film and animation accompanying Frisell’s music; though, I’ll say again that the music really dropped to the background on some of the wild imagery of the Frank cartoons and storylines & physical comedy going on in the films. Upcoming tour dates of Frisell’s include Eyvind Kang/Rudy Royston dates, some Ron Carter/Paul Motion dates, some 858 Quartet dates, and these Scherr/Wollesen dates (which would presumably feature the films/animations as well)…
- 1/24/2010 – Seattle, WA – Triple Door
- 4/2/2010 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Music Festival at Charles Morris Center
- 4/3/2010 – Savannah, GA – Savannah Music Festival at Charles Morris Center
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Bill Frisell’s Site
- Bill Frisell on MySpace
- Tony Scherr’s Site
- Tony Scherr on MySpace
- Jim Woodring – Animator
- The Shedd Institute
BILL FRISELL TRIO PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (10 pics)
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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