I’ve been stupid busy lately with shows. Thankfully I have a couple of weeks off until more great music rolls our way.
Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks:
Concert Review – White Denim, Maps and Atlases, Tiny Victories at Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC
Album Review – The Infamous Stringdusters, Silver Sky
Concert Review – Jimmy Herring Band & Victor Wooten Band, Carolina Theater, Durham, NC
Enjoy these shots from the shows!
At The Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh, Steve Mang embodies the phrase “he’s a regular”. The guy is second only to the employees when it comes to attendance, and he’s seen a ludicrous amount of music at the venue, so you know he won’t steer you wrong when vouching for music. “The Oatmeal Conspiracy is always good,” he said, heading into the venue for a St. Patrick’s Day triple-bill that featured them along with two more bands, Triple Wide and Waylandsphere.
Pearsall, Bryce, and Morton
Anyone that frequents the bar knows that those three names on a poster means one thing – a night of non-stop collaboration where three bands take on a group mindset. The difference on this night, though, was the deep, rich sound of two relatively new local bands turning the corner and heading toward bigger and better things. The Triple Wide foursome is coming up on two years together, and there’s been a pronounced increase in familiarity amongst the band since their inception. Their newfound confidence and tightness has greatly benefited every aspect of their music. The Oatmeal Conspiracy has been together for much longer, but recently unearthed an entirely new sound thanks to the addition of a full-time bassist. The two bands are playing better than they ever have right now, and the combination of the two groups on this holiday night only amplified that fact. Continue reading
Check out my review of Umphrey’s McGee’s recent stop in Charlotte, NC at Glide Magazine!
My review of the Zappa Plays Zappa show at Raleigh, NC’s Lincoln Theatre is now up at Glide Magazine!
The track “Purgatory,” which comes a little more than halfway through Garage a Trois’ Power Patriot, bears the mark of Marco Benevento. The core of the band – sax madman Skerik, thunderous drummer Stanton Moore, and vibraphone master Mike Dillon – have never shied away from heavy fuzz and boiling drums, and the addition of Benevento introduces another lover of noise to the mix. But that’s not what makes “Purgatory” so reminiscent of Benevento’s style – it’s the spacey, ambient twinkling that bookends the fuzzy noise.
Some may say that adding another composing, performing powder keg of virtuosity to this band’s already volatile mix is overdoing it, but Power Patriot proves otherwise. There is an astounding amount of music to be made from the combination of these musicians. Granted, Garage a Trois isn’t going to take over the world as long as Stanton Moore has Galactic going, but they’re more than deserving of attention from instrumental music lovers, and Power Patriot is a big lovin’ slice of dark-edged mysteryfunk (to cop a word from the band).
The mystery of their funk lies in the Zappa-like compositional feats and melodic workmanship that occurs every time these guys gather in a room. Also, there’s the matter of Skerik’s fascination with jarring effects and noise, Dillon’s barely-controlled genius behind the vibes, and Moore’s ability to manage any rhythmic need. With Benevento adding even more note-grinding insanity into the mix, Skerik is allowed to blast away at will, and within his bleating, distorted sax work lies the reason that Power Patriot works: it never gets too out of hand.
“Rescue Spreaders” is a bit of a jarring opener, but the album quickly gets into a groove. “Fragile” is as representative a track as these guys could have recorded, full of unthinkable melodic ideas and noisy outbursts that never overstay their welcome. “Dory’s Day Out” is driven by Dillon, and the song has the feel of Tortoise circa turn of the millennium: gliding melodies, dramatic tonal flourishes, and drums that nudge instead of push. “Electric Door Bell Machine” puts more weight behind Moore’s drums, showcasing the band’s endless dynamic range and letting some funk action enter into the proceedings.
The title track alone is worth seeking out. “Power Patriot” is a playful tune that lives up to its name with stomping sax-metal hooks and delightful interplay. Each track of this album impresses more than the previous, and by the time the monstrous closer “Computer Crimes” graces your speakers, you’ll be ready to go again.
Rating: 8.7 out of 10
Karl Denson spent more than a decade at the top of the jazz-funk-jam heap, and his band Tiny Universe became legendary for non-stop funk frenzies that tested the limits of time and space. On Brother’s Keeper, it’s clear that he’s trying for more sophistication, continuing to focus on his own vocal stylings while offering new songs with a touch of 
mass appeal. Denson’s craggy voice and the band’s stalwart wall of funk are intact, but his measured attempt to bring the music to a wider audience stops the party in its tracks. Unfortunately, there’s a stylistic tug-of-war that ensues on this album, and the conflict never resolves itself. On one side, there’s the immeasurable instrumental talent of Denson and his band, which includes longtime cohorts Chris Littlefield (trumpet), Ron Johnson (bass), and Brian Jordon (guitar). They’re allowed plenty of room, especially on the title track. But the song structure and slick production tug against the band’s desire to burn down the studio with fiery solos and hammering funk grooves, and some of the songs leave a lot to be desired lyrically (and I’m being nice there – I laughed out loud at some of the lyrics). Even the album cover seems like a less than graceful attempt to shoehorn Denson into the adult contempo/R&B market. With several numbers on the verge of R&B cheese and few memorable highlights, you might want to keep this album away from your ears.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
My review of Medeski Martin and Wood’s Radiolarians III is now up on Jambase.com! Check it out, along with all the other awesomeness they’ve got going on…
Once in a while, I’ll be writing short reviews of things on my hard drive that are probably already old but I haven’t gotten around to. They’ll be very informal and less analytical. The music will be chosen at random, too, so complete disorganization is assured.
Archive – Controlling Crowds – This is the first release I’ve heard from this enduring British act, and it’s an intriguing one that makes me want to go back and hear their recorded history. Controlling Crowds is an all-inclusive album that shows a wide array of influences. Trip-hop clashes with arena rock, dancehall meets ambiance, and prog melds with psychedelia to create a beat-heavy, atmospheric experience that owes as much to “shoegaze” guitar rock as it does to the electronic aspirations of Massive Attack. At once carefully symphonic and jarringly experimental, this album falls neatly into no pigeonhole. 7.7 out of 10.
Animal Hospital – Memory – Taking a look at Animal Hospital’s website and hearing this album crystallizes a certain kind of image. Is the website bare-bones because there’s no time or money for flashiness, or it is just staunchly understated in that lovable half-caring indie kind of way? The man behind the moniker, Kevin Micka, travels overseas frequently, takes artsy photos, and participates in far-flung artistic concepts like performances that feature 200 guitars. He’s performed with and produced a slew of bands you’ve never heard of. This mysterious information perfectly fits his droning, pastoral music, which utilizes an endless variety of sounds and embraces the subtleties of each. This is indescribable house-cleaning music for disenchanted robots, who can identify with the endless array of parts and pieces that comprise it. 7.1 out of 10
Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care – This sensuous, beat-worshiping album offers a dark electro-pop experience for those who grant it passage. Heavy on thumping beats and pinging, zinging synths, Begone Dull Care is a cathartic, sexy listen that hammers away at the listener’s central cortex. Once Junior Boys have made their way into your brain, they won’t soon leave, and their classic techno sound serves as a perfect canvas for their seductive, evocative lyrics and vocals. These guys have a memorable way with music that makes them stand out in the crowded dance-pop genre, and they’re capable of many variations, from percolating synth-pop (“Hazel”) and woozy sit-down trance (“What It’s For”) to lusty dance music that’s quite dark around the edges (“Work”). “Practice is over,” indeed. 8.1 out of 10
Bill Laswell – Invisible Design II – People often discuss types of music that they find unbearable. Usually, it’s some sort of pop band or country music that grates on their nerves. While I’m guilty of hating many kinds of music, I have always proven an adventurous sort. I doubt most people who despise Dave Matthews Band, Kenny Chesney, Lil Wayne, or other patriarchs of pop music have ever had the frame of reference that an album like Invisible Design II can provide. If the American masses think they want to change the station during 3 minute pop songs, I’d love to see them try this meandering improvisational beast on for size. Laswell, an undisputed master of the bass guitar, spelunks by himself in effects-strewn caverns of low-end, finding an exponentially bizarre range of sounds, tones, and textures along the way. The kind of ambient, experimental soundscapes that he offers aren’t that far removed from the dub and psychedelic work he’s known for. As solo bass albums go, this one is unlike any other, but it takes a wide-open musical mind and plenty of tolerance to make it through the whole thing. 7.4 out of 10
Black Dice – Repo – Brooklyn’s Black Dice almost seem to be making fun of music itself with this album, a dizzying collection of half-baked intentions and over-the-top noise-mongering. The album’s few vocals are mostly shouted nonsense, electronically manipulated syllables, or primal gibberish that make a mockery of premeditated songwriting and lyrics. A battlefield full of sounds skirmish for control of this album, but none gain the upper hand, and the listener is therefore constantly assaulted by music that’s almost maddeningly directionless. Repo wants to be a robustly experimental record, then it wants to be a psychedelic record, then a record of fractured instrumental apocalypse, then one of vaguely melodic avant-garde trance, and even one of demented futuristic jazz. If you can stomach the meandering structure, you might just find sublime pleasure in this hour-long deconstruction of expectation. 7.5 out of 10
Having recently pressed their collective “reset” button after a half-decade of nonexistence, the guys in Phish have so far used 2009 as – to cop a phrase from the sports world – a “rebuilding year.” The indulgent comeback shows in March served as an enticing prelude to an early summer tour that satisfied but merely hinted at what the band is capable of. Glimpses of the relaxed, confident, daring band that once destroyed America on a yearly basis gradually became visible through the careful murk of predictability that otherwise dominated the shows.
The band’s next-to-last tour stop at Maryland’s idiosyncratic Merriweather Post Pavilion found them in yet another transition. Starting in late July, the late summer tour found Phish reaching deeper and deeper into their catalog and producing gems of varying half life. The Merriweather show proved relatively mild in that department, but thoroughly thought-provoking and entertaining nonetheless.
Phish - Merriweather Post Pavilion, August 15, 2009
The first set provided interesting, if not flawless, sequencing. Many bemoaned the aesthetically unremarkable “Crowd Control” opener, but fans with a nose for profundity sensed significance in the song’s standoffish lyrics. Given the venue’s parking woes, porous perimeter security, and divisive seating arrangements, the sentiment seemed appropriate. In spot number two, the upbeat music and regretful lyrics of “Kill Devil Falls” birthed the night’s first pronounced instrumental excursion, a brief but focused stream of fast-paced fretwork and relentless rhythms.
Rocking Saturday-night crunchers like “Axilla I” and “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan” were balanced with more reserved offerings, like keyboardist Page McConnell’s “Beauty of A Broken Heart.” This introspective piece proved a bit languid, while the demented musical short-story “Esther” and the diabolically challenging “Foam” – certain sections of which guitarist Trey Anastasio flat-out struggled with – were better received among the devoted throng.
The eye-popping first segment of the show also featured two aggressive songs that hadn’t been performed since July of 2003 – “The Sloth,” a menacing tale of greed and gluttony culled from Anastasio’s decades-old “Gamehendge” song cycle, and the brief near-instrumental “Ha Ha Ha.” Anastasio commented on the fact that, despite botching the intro to the song, drummer Jon Fishman penned “Ha Ha Ha.”
Anastasio then announced the world debut of another Fishman-penned song called “Party Time.” The song’s moniker, which was once rumored to be the title of the next Phish album, served as its only lyrics. The band offered a fun and funky rock groove during this spirited half-joke of a “song.” I can envision “Party Time” emerging from the chaos of “Auld Lang Syne” during a big Phish New Year’s Eve party.
“Strange Design,” while not particularly rare, served as a noteworthy personal moment. I hadn’t witnessed the song live since my first show in the Fall of 1996, and a huge statistical gap was closed by this performance. Roundly satisfied by the set, I wandered out of the pavilion and soaked up the overall atmosphere during the lengthy “Time Turns Elastic” set closer.
“Time Turns Elastic” spans approximately 12 minutes, but features little deviation in structure from performance to performance, so its become as polarizing as any new Phish song among the fanbase. I enjoy “TTE,” but I don’t feel obligated to stand at rapt attention while it uncoils through several unique sections before finally striking with blazing grandeur at its climax.
A seemingly endless array of food and beverage options await the setbreak wanderer at Merriweather, and it wasn’t long before I had one of my favorite beers in hand and good friends all around as I excitedly awaited set two. It was about time for a “Tweezer,” and there’s no better place for it than the start of a second set, with Chris Kuroda’s light show accentuated by the complete absence of sunlight.
Merriweather’s flowing, slow and steady “Tweezer” isn’t going to set a veteran listener’s heart racing by any means. The song’s 10-minute running time is split neatly between the vocal section and the free-form ending, affording the band little time to experiment. Instead, this pleasantly concise weekend warrior of a “Tweezer” hit a moderate peak, quickly grew tired and was replaced by the chiming intro of “Taste.”
Gordon and Fishman - Merriweather Post Pavilion, August 15, 2009
The band has displayed an odd fascination with the “Tweezer” and “Taste” combo this year, offering the same segue at the Hampton shows in March. The gleeful “Taste” easily found the dramatic flourishes and blitzing guitar solo that define it, and Fishman and bassist Mike Gordon happened upon a particularly restless, multifaceted rhythm that nudged Anastasio’s nimble solo further and further into the cosmos.
The night’s most inspired creation was yet to come, though, but there was even a calm before the storm. The band kept the vibe jovial with the jaunty “Alaska” before the horrendously placed ballad “Let Me Lie” brought things to a muggy standstill. This thing is a real groaner and more than enough reason to grab a drink or take a bathroom break. Normally, the Round Room-era boogie “46 Days” that followed wouldn’t be the best way to bust out of a setlist funk, but the band clearly had special treatment in mind for this otherwise ambiguous song.
“46 Days” stayed on a normal course at first, with the accommodating structure giving way to a strutting funk-rock jam. Said jam soon veered off in numerous directions, touching down in foreboding forests of synthesized sounds, entering black holes of ambiance, and scaling majestic improvisational peaks. Mesmerizing atmospheres and pastoral sonic landscapes manifested throughout the band’s deconstruction of sound, which finally, peacefully drifted into the opening strains of The Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’.”
Performed only three times to date and in hibernation since Halloween 1998, “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'” re-surfaced at the Shoreline show 10 days before Merriweather. It seems to be back in the rotation, and I’m for it – it’s a far better choice than “Let Me Lie” or “Anything But Me” if the band just has to play a ballad. It provided a nice moment of measured melancholy before the sly intro of “Harry Hood” materialized from the final chords.
Like every essential Phish song – “Tweezer,” “Tube,” “Run Like an Antelope,” and the like – “Harry Hood” has already seen its pinnacle and will likely never return to the effortlessly glorious quality found in versions from the 1990’s. Still, the band manages to squeeze plenty of moody, cinematic goodness from “Hood”‘s majestically restrained closing jam, and this one soared a bit higher than most recent versions.
Anastasio and Gordon - Merriweather Post Pavilion, August 15, 2009
The second set seemed to fly by, and the encore flew just as fast and with a great deal more volume. Perhaps nodding to the town’s 11 PM cutoff for concerts, the band and crew proceeded to make one hell of a racket around 10:55. Two of the loudest songs in their repertoire – a ballistic version of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” and the bombastic three-minute juggernaut “Tweezer Reprise” – comprised the show’s finale, and the intent of the song selection was unmistakable, even from my spot in row MM. The encore was probably the loudest I have ever heard the band in an amphitheater setting, so if they wanted to shake the very earth beneath Columbia, MD, I believe they succeeded.
This show – my 59th Phish show – strangely stands as one that I was not ready to see end. It’s not that I’m usually ready for a show to end, but I’m always quite accepting of the fact and well aware of flow of the concert. On this night, I couldn’t believe that “Harry Hood” was really the end, and the encore was all that was left. The setlist was uneven and didn’t please everyone, but Phish shows always please as many people as they leave nonplussed. With so many rare treats and memorable moments, I was incredibly satisfied by the show and I felt that the band was just hitting its stride when the encore rolled around. As jaded as Phish’s longtime fans are, it’s becoming apparent in 2009 that Phish’s extended absence will definitely serve to make out hearts – and ears – grow fonder.
All Photos by Esther Rodgers
08/15/09 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
Set 1: Crowd Control, Kill Devil Falls, The Sloth, Beauty Of A Broken Heart, Axilla I, Foam, Esther, Ha Ha Ha, Party Time, Tube, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, Strange Design, Time Turns Elastic
Set 2: Tweezer > Taste, Alaska, Let Me Lie, 46 Days, Oh! Sweet Nuthin’, Harry Hood
Encore: Good Times Bad Times, Tweezer Reprise
The Wounded Messenger 