s h o w
t r i a l s
scott allen & the break dance/o'death/arnoux/noiseboat/5o% beam splitter
12 october 2oo2
detroit art space
can't really talk about the 5o% beam splitter duo (much), we're talking some major nepotism here. suffix 2 say, they completed a 20 minute set of theremin & effects (by chris pottinger also of cotton museum) and tabletop guitar & electronic hexes (will s.). very few dangerous objects were catapulted from the audience. cdr document 4thcumming.
omaha, nebraska's alex boardman appeared as noiseboat, playing a 10 minute set of improvised acoustic guitar alongside self-generated feedback drones. alex can seriously play, with sensitivity, and was well-received. i think this set was the suprise favorite of the night. if only david grubbs had a clue, he might be able to temper his shows this well. there is a review of a noiseboat cdr around here somewhere, too.
claiming residency in "bleaktown", lonnie methe led the arnoux collective thru a half hour plus set of improv descended, perhaps, from both free jazz & folk. some miscegenated art-rock contributed some chromosome damage in there somewhere too. violin (methe), banjo (dylan shearer), impossible-to-pin-down-the-source-of effects, percussion, tabletops guitar-neck, etc (james davis) and more aural damage with mics & effects (by local guest jon browning of marine city's honeymuzzle) completed the lineup. i thought they put on a pretty good set, working thru road-weariness. the whole group i found to be very positive and supportive of experimental musicians, and if you look, you will find lotsa reviews of self-released stuff from this collective & their fellow travelers. the music is a eclectic combination of very well-played violin & banjo, with experimentalist sound textures interacting. volume was not extreme, the emphasis was in the way these musician listen to each other and react to what is being played. i was impressed by the space that was left in the mixture, the restraint demonstrated. i was impressed, and have a much better understanding of the origins of the recorded works i hear by them. it was unfortunate that human abstract (davis & shearer) did not play tonight, as scheduled, other than as part of arnoux, as i would have liked to have heard their set.
o'death was described as an ambient/environmental fahey-esque-type guitar duo. they played an inobstrusive set, which seemed to mostly end up accompanying the audiences conversations, as background, rather than demanding attention.
headliners scott allen & the break dance finished up the show. honestly, i had no idea who they are. i guess they are a side project of local youth faves the red shirt brigade. either way, the desired hordes of their young fans failed to attend the festivities, but i was impressed by the sincerity and performance qualities of their set, despite being played to an audience of less than a handful. not exactly my kind of music, but honest & played without any perceptible pretension. i wonder what alexia would have said?
25 suaves/total shutdown/mammal
2 november 2oo2
detroit art space
this is the 4th time i have gone to the detroit art space. first time i was there early, no one at the open door, gate locked, i waited a half hour and drove off. second time, was the subarachnoid space/paik/persona show, and i was kinda surprised to see the absence of a crowd. subarachnoid space have made a buncha cds, and should be somewhere in the black sun ensemble/bardo pond arena, and there had to be more than 20 ppl who would wanna see something like this, i thought. the next show is the one reviewed above, and i didn't expect much, it turned out to be a saturday night of music/noise ppl playing for pretty much the other music ppl, which coulda been my own fault, since i played too, and that coulda kept the live bodies away right there. but here is another saturday night show, bands that should draw a similar crowd to the cpop or detroit contemporary or 3rd street saloon shows, but what do we got? the same 15 people that larson says he is tired of seeing at every experimental music show? 'scuse the rant, but what the fuck?. anyways...
the ubiquitous midwestern mammal put on a great show for the sparse audience. burnt-toasted beats, slathered with melted distortios, with enuff changes to keep the interest level high. seems to keep getting better every time i see him. could be ready to break out of the old northwest territories for national beachheads. more than good enuff to make me finally grab a tape.
total shutdown frantically set up (on da flowah, prov-style) some interesting equipment (anyone who tells you that equipment fetishes are only for the laptoppers is fullo'wit), including a busted-up looking keyboard, and an alto sax, mics wid effexes all around ('cept for the drummer). cranked to 11, then... 10 seconds later the guitar player is in the fetal position playing on the floor. singer all over the place (or as far as the mic cord would allow) bass fishermun had the best parts vocally tho, some kinda ancient-sounding declamations from on-low. seems kinda like somewhere between the hair police & no doctors, which is a highly-beloved (in some circles) trend i have yet to be enlightened to. the ahhht is (or seems to be) in not playing and being really sweaty and aggro about it. i guess it might be called hands-off dumb punkrok wrasslin'? maybe i am just too too damn old for cluin' into this shite.
28 suaves headlined with a fervent possessed by cub koda rah michigan big big big rok kandy 'sploit the formula, loud guitar riffons, dj partee grrl accompanying on the drumkit, pete 'velocity hopkins' larson screaching voxes and fist pumping, high-stepping enthusiastic rack-n roll revival, halleluyah. amen. btw, i am from smiths creek, find that on your hand, if ur where?
black dice/wolf eyes/plastic crimewave sound
16 november 2oo2
abbey, chicago
plastic crimewave sound features the brain trust of the obsessively hand-drawn & lettered galactic zoo diossier. seemed very much a case of front man dragging along a semi-involved backing band behind, a major contrast of enthusiasm. interesting to watch mr. galactic jumping around while the egghead conehead synth player portrayed a study in disaffection, standing there, lighting cigarets during songs & contributing uninspiring analog patchebay korg parts. front guy was dressed to kill any pleasant recall of the psyche era in vest, fro & shirt that matched his guitar. too bad his vocals were less audible than that shirt. his guitar parts drove the "songs", they seemmed to be pretty much the same thing over & over, re-hashed 60s-early 70s psychodelika minus inspiration & dementia. way too many leaning back guitar hero wannabe posing & painfull facial expression. exceeded the usda recommended opening band time limit by a good 15 minutes. the finale featured vox by the asian rhythm guitarist, made me think that this band should spread around the singing and fronting to avoid sameness & tedium. negative points total for mr. anti-establishment & call the fashion cops.
fierce set from wolf eyes. aaron: "the michigan crew is here" john: sprays beer all over the audience (prompting complaints online afterwards from one claiming to be the target- i didn't see it aimed at anyone, just more of a spinning fountain of beer which i & many others wore home... punkkkkk), also almost loses his table o' bent 'lectronix to gravity & plays a reed mouthpiece connected to some copper pipe. n8: "turn off all the lights- we want it dark". loud punk/industrialisms evoking audience reactions ranging from slamdancing to knowing bobbing by nearby couples. very loud, a physical presence in sound, tour-honed, hardened as if by forge. they set the bar high for black dice.
i seem to be in a minority by being impressed by the beaches & canyons cd, so i looked forward to this with anticipation. live, there were much more drumkit sounds: much of the set was drum-driven. missed the swooping bass swells, the guitar played highly-effected patterns while andy & eric played with their tables full of pedals. a very good variety of songs, some excellent pacing, surprising changes, f'r instance when the gtr emerged from nowhere with an amazing indian sitar-esque sound. by the end of their set the crowd was dancing around to a very rhythmic piece. almost no vocals thatw ere perceptible. more than lived up to the plaudits i have heard. i liked the show enuff to grab all the product they had which i didnt already own. capish?
savage republic/lanterna/tractor kings
17 november 2oo2
double door, chicago
tractor kings (or was it tragic kings?) seemed like a poor fit on this bill. they had their own audience, tho, so i guess that was why they were here. i thought the pedal steel guitar sounded out of tune/wrong key for frist few songs, and the heavily reverbed 12 string just sounded cheap. after awhile, i found their country sound to remind me of dan stuart (of green on red) after he did his really effective not-so heavily countrified stuff. it was all pleasant, and underwhelming. again, an opener played 15 minutes beyond what they should. the good news was that doors opened by 9 & they started playing about 9:15 so the gig organization was efficient.
lanterna came out with bruce licher helping out, first as a guitar duo. then the full band (augmented also by savage republic's robert loveless) went into a longish drone piece. their sound fit well with the creative sounds and guitar textures of savage republic, so i thought they were a good choice. as a three piece they had lots of room for the guitarists strongly effects-ridden streams of soundings. not unpleasant, but i made the trip to chicago to see savage republic, so i was eager to see them take the stage.
chicago was the final night of their week-long cross-country whirlwind reunion tour. got to sit outside on milwaukee & hear a bit of their soundcheck, which whetted my appetite. they had some problems with equipment out of the gate, causing a false start. they soon sorted this out, with a few self-deprecatory remarks about "someone travelled 8 hours to see this?" & "our stage professionalism". no question this is a group who was more or less an ad-hoc regrouping, with some rehearsals, but not very tight. they all are excellent players, there was just a distinctly loose atmosphere to the proceedings. thom fuhrmann, in particular, lit up the stage with some hijinks. the bruce licher-robert loveless axis presented the more serious demeaner, and i was partial to the interplay they showed which was focused on the sound of the music. the trio of ethan port, greg grunke & fuhrman were quite animated in a different manner. ethan port even wore an f-space t-shirt (matching the guitar he played) which caused me to wince a bit, noting bruce licher was not advertising scenic onstage. they poured it all into the show, seeming to leave nothing in reserve, playing everything they knew how to play, which was a joy to witness. this was definitely a reunion tour, and i have my doubts whether there should be any more regroupings in the near future, since licher (in my opinion, the heart and soul of savage republic) is quite well able to express himself within scenic, and the divide between the two parts of the band was obvious (to me). as a kind of nostalgia (like the television show i saw in la earlier this year) it was a splendid experience, but unless the band comes together with a purpose beyond reliving the past, they approach the "tarnishing the reputation" point.
shenanigans/rattling wall collective/jeff karolski
19 november 2oo2
crackle #8: cpop, detroit
gotta hand it to cpop & time stereo & whoever for putting on this very interesting free show, the first one of the crackle series i had been aware of. my loss. karolski, he of the 3cd "the fan, the saw, the aquarium" set, presented an interesting conceptual set of sounds with a strong visual component. i was reminded of the marina rosenfeld show i saw, with the deliberately quiet hands-on artistic manipulation of turntable stylus & surfaces. the main part of the presentation featured a phono cartridge frozen in solid ice, then played on the record player until it reached the record (sounds of southwestern fires or something?) then he jammed the turntable to a stop, and treated the record surface with wax & salt, before allowing more sounds to be produced by the needle. occasional minidisk field recordings punctuated the set. inadvertant sounds were inavoidable, too, from the distracting sounds coming from another part of the building where someone was playing music to the phone ringing towards the end of the performance. while he stopped the set after awhile, he continued to allow the treated record to change, videotaping all the while. a strongly idea-based performance.
finally got to witness a version of the rattling wall collective, an "electro-acoustic" group which deliberately includes outside collaborators with each performance, in this case, members of the shenanigans. 2 guys set up on a table in one corner and played a variety of tabletop devices, while across the room, two others played saxophones, moving around and behind the audience and the art exhibits in the space. one even entered the elevator and played on another floor before returning. the guy in the faux-animal skin coat did a spinning dervish sax that resulted in a nice doppler-like effect. they all seemed to be listening to each other and carrying on a conversation that i thought was much superior to the 2 cdrs i had heard previously. i was told by a friend that his previous experience with the rwc had encountered a much larger ensemble with a more noisy mix. very thought-provoking, and i have to give credit to them for using the space and crossing back & forth thru the audience. at one point, one of the sax players snuck up on me while i kinda listened-daydreamed and i was almost startled by the effect. it is nice to have some unpredictability to a live performance, it breathes life into it.
shenanigans also cross-pollinated with an improvised mix of sounds generated by instruments and a series of laptops. a nice visual display was projected on the ceiling above. a fitting conclusion to an evening of experimental hybrids which gently provoked thoughtful consideration rather than storming the gates of musical taste.
panicsville/pod blatz/viki/mammal
6 december 2oo2
detroit art space
a much better attended show this time around for the d.a.space. especially considering this group of showbiz personaliteaze in deep cover...
mammal seemed intent on kicking this off with some fervor. somewhat stymied by some power probelems, the highlight of his set for me was when he jumped onto his table and knocked stuff over, resulting in a nice electrical flash-pop & burning ozone. the violence worked-up in his performance seems more genuine & less of an affectation than in some of the recent touring groups i have seen (no doctors, hair police, total shutdown). maybe that is because as a one-mammal crew, he is more adaptable to the thin crowds of early 21st century detroit.
viki finally put on a performance that made sense out of the high esteem she is oft held in. i have seen her play a couple of times, and those times she seemed more beat-oriented than the raving noisemonger who showed up here. there were beats, yes, but they were crunching, throbbing, distorted, broken, out-of-control. she also seemed to have an arsenal of customized instrumentalia that i personally found much more exciting. the way she used her voice combined with the substrata of beat rocks & noise boulders like a layer of wild growth. everyone was attentive when she tried to destroy what looked like a circuit bent metal detector (i have often played solos on one of those while supposedly helping my land surveyor father find buried irons marking property boundaries). is there a recording of her in this mode? if so, i gotta have it.
pod blatz seemed very self-conscious, appearing in a very carefully arranged black & white getup & some odd oversize headgear, that kept slipping around and over her face and eventually tossed aside. i found out later that she had cut herself early on, and was bleeding profusely all over her giant keyboard and self. ironically, she was also performing with a film called "blood beast", i think. it all comes down to sounds, tho, for me, and what we heard was a rather diluted set of pawings at her various devices. seemed to communicate a sense of confusion, which is understandable, considering the bloodletting that was going on. i really wanted to like her, she seemed very much to be putting herself on the line. forgive me, miss w., for not talking to you, but my social retardation is not feigned.
panicsville started off right by donning their disguises/costumes right onstage in full view of everyone, which works for me. kind of undermining (or maybe emphasizing) the idea of adopting an alternate persona for performance. kind of an odd couple, the bald older-uncle-looking guy covering himself in leather with lots of extra tendrils, while the 2nd member put on what looked like some factory second nickelodeon characters outfit with a goofier countenance. unfortunately undercut by the constant need to adjust the head part of the costume to that he could see or breathe or something. his main contribution seemed to be a spread-legged fists in the air pose and occasional noise interjection. meanwhile, the black widower carried most of the audible weight of a pretty formless ambulating mess mass of oozy muzak. reminded me of strangulated beatoffs, in that it seemed kind a deliberately underwhelming. the audience (especially the wolf eyes guys in attendance) tried to rally them with some "ooooorrrrttts" sick seal chants, but the thing never really got off the ground. things did pick up as a performance towards the end when things more radically fell apart and spidey moved into the crowd and the crowd reacted by sharing its collective nausea. as i write this, it sounds much more interesting than it was. the idea might have potential, but the execution was not nearly memorable enuff.
~ r e b e l g r i s w o l d
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