RIP: Charlie Haden

Well the Jazz world lost another great today, bassist, Charlie Haden.

I'll have to look through my collection, and find some suitable recordings from his vast discography to listen to this evening.

Devo at ACL Live

So, I was anxious to see Devo on this tour, since they were featuring music from the earliest days of the band. I was familiar with some of these songs, since I loaded up on a fair of amount of bootleg albums, in highschool. It's hard to be believe that 36 years have passed since I first saw them play, at the Painter's Mill Music Fair, on 12/29/1978. Amazingly, most of the material during this tour, predates even that show.

This show didn't disappoint, with the only low note being the absence of Bob Casale (aka. Bob 2). The show went by fairly quickly, and I was able to capture the setlist.

The encore included an appearance by Booji Boy.

In closing, the only other thing I was going to say is, "I am always amazed at the following Devo has here in Austin." It was a full house, as you can see in this picture.

California Guitar Trio at the One World Theater

My three crafty friends returned to Austin, and played the One World Theater, once again. I must say, it was a much needed respite from my day to day worries. The muse walked into the theater Sunday night, and sat with me for several hours, as we enjoyed the show. I can't say enough good things about this group.

Sticking to my usual pattern, I attended both shows. I highly suggest doing that, as they often play different sets. I have included both setlists, here and here.

Tool at the Cedar Park Center

Almost Missed It

For some reason, I had forgotten that about the date of this show, thinking it was in May. I was about 5 minutes away from heading out the door for a meetup at Capital Factory, when my friends called and reminded me.

There were several reasons I wanted to go to this show. One, it was Tool. Two, it would be the first concert I had attended at the Cedar Park Center.

Getting there seemed easy enough, although it is somewhat challenging to stay off of the Tolls Roads. The parking situation at the Center leaves a lot to be desired.

Failure

The opening band was Failure. I can't speak for my friends, but I found this band to be boring. They were tolerable, but I can't say I would feel compelled to listen to any more of their music.

Tool

Fortunately, Tool was on stage soon enough.

The lineup

As you probably know, Tool has had the same lineup for over 20 years.

• Danny Carey – drums, percussion
  
• Adam Jones – guitar
  
• Maynard James Keenan – lead vocals
  
• Justin Chancellor – bass
  

The setlist was posted immediately after the show. Since they have not released a new album in 8 years (10,000 Days), the show contained no new material. The show was broken into 2 sets, with an intermission between them. Like Porcupine Tree, they displayed a clock on the screen behind the stage at Intermission, and had it count down the 12 minutes.

I really enjoyed the show, but the sound left a little to be desired. In particular, there was an annoying amount of rumble and distortion in the bass register throughout the set.

The multi-media display and the lighting however for this show were up to the typical excellent standards for a Tool show. Tool is unsurpassed in this area, and on the same footing as Pink Floyd/Roger Waters, and Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree.

All in all, it was a good night of music, and it helped take my mind off of other things.

SxSW 2014 Wrap-up

This year, SxSW was a bit a letdown for me. With a sudden change in employment status, my focus changed from casual enjoyment to job hunting and networking. As a result, even with a Platinum Badge, I was forced to miss several mornings, and two complete days of music. (Thanks Ginni!)

Film

When not preoccupied with other things, I spent a majority of my time at film screenings.

Here's a quick list of what I was able to see:

That Guy Dick Miller

A great film. I was flabbergasted by how many movies I had seen with Dick as a character actor.

The Infinite Man

An interesting Aussie film with time travel and lots of plot twists.

The Heart Machine

Poignant commentary on young romance in our modern social media world

Harmontown

This was just plain fun. I love Dan Harmon's comedy.

Penny Dreadful

Going in, I didn't realize this was a pilot for Showtime series. In my opinion, dreadful is an apt description.

I Believe in Unicorns

A interesting drama about a young girl who runs away from home, on a romantic fling.

Animals

Basically, what if Trainspotting had taken place in America?

Raid 2

Yet another projector fiasco at the Paramount! It seems like that this has been the case for 3 out of the last 4 years. My brother and I finally made it the rescheduled screening the next night, not sure that it was worth the trouble. Not as good as Raid Redemption.

Silicon Valley

Mike Judge always seems to find your comedic nerve. This time, he has Silicon Valley start-up culture in his gun-sight.

A Wolf at the Door

An engaging and suspenseful, but very disturbing crime drama from Brazil. Unlike typical U.S. crime dramas, this one seemed too realistic, and probable.

Wetlands

After failing to get into Wes Anderson's premier, My brother and I ended up here, because it was the only screening with seats. All I can say is that this was close I as I ever want to get to seeing a German Shizer Flick. ;)

The Internet's Own Boy: The Aaron Schwartz Story

A fantastic documentary about the prodigy, Aaron Schwartz, and his contributions the to Internet, particularly his fight for online privacy. After watching the film, his suicide seemed even more tragic.

The 78 Project

This film was a documentary about connecting modern musicians to the past. In particular, the 1930's when the 78 rpm record was king.

The main story line involved taking a vintage, portable rig on the road, that was able to cut 78 rpm discs, to make live recordings of modern musicians. Also included in the film were trips to multiple archives and collections containing 78's.

The coup de grace for this screening however, was that they actually had a musician cut a 78 recording on stage during the Q&A.

Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton (This is Stones Throw Records)

Great documentary about an influential Indie record label. Kudos to the film maker for showing how it was waning in this new era of the Music Industry.

The Winding Stream

The Carter family, Johnny Cash, Roots Music, what's not to like about this film? As they said in the film, the Carter family ignited the Big Bang that created the Country Music Industry. I learned some fascinating things about Border (aka. Mexican) Radio, and there was a lot of previously unreleased footage of the Man in Black.

Music

For Music this year, I only really went to things on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, I started out the evening with my friends Cedric Theys and Jakes Srinivasan for the GlobeFest showcase at the Speakeasy. As that started filling up, I opted for a more serene experience at the St. David's. The acts I saw included:

• Lo'Jo from Angers, France at the Speakeasy - All I can say was this band was fantastic
  
• Imarhan from Timbuktu, MALI at the Speakeasy - Interesting, but a little thin on the musicianship
  
• Tennis from Denver, CO at St. David's Sanctuary
  
• Gungor from Denver, CO at St. David's Bethell Hall - A very good band playing out of the element, acoustic.
  
• Vance Joy from Melbourne, VIC at St. David's Sanctuary
  

For Saturday, I was able to catch the following:

• Ramesh from Austin (whoops) at the Central Presbyterian Church - A good pop band, once you got past that, they weren't very interesting.
  
• Andy Shauf from Regina, SK at St. David's Bethell Hall
  
• The Wood Brothers from Nashville, TN at St. David's Sanctuary - Chris Wood from Medesky, Martin and Wood teamed up with his brother, Oliver. These two are fantastic.
  
• Kumbia Queers from Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Russia House - I went here to catch up to Jakes. Was a bit underwhelmed by this band, although others seemed to be getting into them.
  
• Pigpen Theater Company from Pittsburgh, PA at the 18th Floor - Outstanding Irish influenced stuff.
  

BBQ

I managed to get over to the BBQ. It was a bit anti-climatic this year, because it felt like I had attended half of a SxSW. I did run into my good buddies Hillary and Marvin, once again.

Here's to SxSW 2015, and hoping that things are much better then.

Fred Frith at the North Door

This was my first trip to the North Door, and it appears the show's producer, Epistrophy Arts is trying in ernest to bring experimental, improvised music to Austin. I applaud the effort

I arrived about half an hour early, and was able to get seated and situated for the hour long set. I ran into my friend, Austin Composer, Graham Reynolds, waiting in line. I was surprised there were very few other people I recognized, even though it was a full house.

A bare footed, Fred Frith basically played one improvisation that lasted about a solid hour, then stood up to take a round of applause. I took the opportunity to run to the men's room, and when I returned he was in the midst of a shorter improv lasting somewhere between 7 to 10 minutes. That concluded the show.

Frith isn't necessarily one my favorite artists, but it was interesting, and afforded me an opportunity to visit a new venue that is taking some interesting risks.

Stick Men at the One World Theater

What better way to follow-up the Corea/Fleck show than with my buddies from Stick Men? I found it kind of humorous that I not only knew the band, but about half the people in the audience. If you had me told a decade ago that I would be on a first name basis with musicians of this caliber, I would have never believed you.

To summarize quickly, SM played about 2 hours, with a healthy dose of new material. Here's the setlist

After the show, I spent the better part of an hour talking to Markus, Tony and Pat. Unfortunately, this was their last evening in Austin, before heading to the West Coast. I have to say, Tony's touring schedule is insane. He'll be doing tours with Stick Men, the Crimson Projekct, more Peter Gabriel shows, then finally King Crimson this year.

I probably should have taken a few more pictures. (Oh well) Tony Levin did take a selfie of the two of us, so hopefully he will post in the tour diary section of his site in the next few days.

All I can say is that I can't wait until August for my third TOAPP camp!

Chick Corea and Bela Fleck at the Paramount Theater

If you know me, you know that I have seen Chick Corea and Bela Fleck perform individually numerous times. When I became aware that they had recorded an album together, and were touring behind it, I was very anxious to see them play. Well, it appears that my wish came true.

What occurred during the next 2 hours (with a brief intermission) was absolutely amazing. To make things even better, I opted to sit in the Mezzanine at Paramount for the first time during a concert, rather than down on the floor. This ended up being a fantastic decision, affording me an excellent view from above, of Chick's hands in action.

Here is a photo showing my view of the stage, from above:

There's a reason that these two performers have 35 Grammy Awards between them. As far as I'm concerned, they represent the pinnacle in modern improvised music. I was able to jot down a setlist while they played. I very much appreciated that both artists did introductions to each piece, as the concert progressed.

Their performance was also very loose with both Chick and Bela adding some physical humor ala Victor Borge. In closing, all I can say is this was a unbelievable way to start off a new musical year. Hard to believe it is going to be followed by another great show, tomorrow.

RIP Jeff Marx

I first met Jeff Marx in 1987, when I began studying Jazz Piano with John Esposito. Jeff and John, along with Jeff Siegel, Dave Douglas, Fred Berryhill, and Allen Murphy were playing in the group, Second Sight. With all of these guys being about 10 years older than me, and being very accomplished Jazz musicians, I thought of them as my musical, big brothers.

In addition to being a phenomenal Sax player, Jeff Marx was the consummate prankster. In another life, he probably could have been a stand-up comedian. You had to be on your guard around him, but he was never mean spirited. Most people found him to be very good humored, and it seemed as if he always lifted the spirits, of those around him. You had to work to be unhappy, when Jeff was around.

I last spoke to Jeff in '92, he was sitting in with a group of us at a Jazz workshop. We were working on some Coltrane, but didn't have a Sax player. He sat in on Tenor, and it was amazing. Afterwards, I can still hear him humorously quizzing me about moving to Texas, and what sort things went on down there.

About a year and half ago, I received word that Jeff was in bad health, and was fighting cancer. Today, I noticed a Facebook post by Jeff Siegel indicating that Jeff had finally succumbed to the disease, and passed away yesterday. I'm raising a glass in his honor, and spending some time listening to some of his recordings. Here are some links related to his life, and his art.

• http://sunjumprecords.com/sunjump/Bios/marx_bio.html
  
• http://sunjumprecords.com/sunjump/projects/inyo.html
  
• http://sunjumprecords.com/sunjump/projects/tahrir.html
  

Rest in Peace, my friend!

Vintage Trouble and Govt. Mule at Stubbs

Vintage Trouble

I can't completely recall how Vintage Trouble first appeared on my radar. It may have been when they were featured on the iTunes store.

I do remember buying their album, giving it multiple listens, and noting that they were playing ACL Festival this year. Their retro, blues rock sound, reminded me of Storyville, and I enjoyed their music enough to also sign up for their mailng list.

Although I deliberately opted out of ACL for the second year thus missing both of their appearances, I discovered through their mailing list that would be returning to Austin one month later, opening for Govt. Mule. I was aware of the headliners, and liked some of their music, but honestly this was one of those cases, where I bought a ticket to see the opening band.

Lineup

The band originally hails from Hollywood, CA, and the lineup is as follows:

• Ty Taylor - Vocals
  
• Nalle Colt - Guitar
  
• Rick Barrio Dill - Bass
  
• Richard Danielson - Drums
  

They played a single set about an hour in length, and really knocked it out of the park. The lead singer is very energetic and dynamic showman, and has the vocal chops to deliver the sound in a live context. I ran into a former coworker (and fellow keyboard player), Todd Frenzel and his wife. Like me, they had come specifically to see VT, so there is a bit of a buzz about them.

Not being intimate with their music yet, I didn't capture a setlist, but did recognize songs from their debut album, The Bomb Shelter Sessions.

Govt. Mule

The headliners was Govt. Mule, a southern rock, jam band formed as a side project, by two members of the Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, and Allen Woody (now deceased). Normally, I don't enjoy jam bands, but the Mule doesn't fit the typical prototype for the genre.

Lineup

The current lineup of Govt. Mule is as follows:

• Warren Haynes - Vocals and Guitar
  
• Matt Abts - Drums
  
• Danny Louis - Keyboards and Trombone
  
• Jorgen Carlsson - Bass
  

Special Guest

In addition to the members above, there were two special guests who joined the band on stage. Hook Herrera joined the Mule on stage during their set, as well as during the encore, and played Blues Harp. In addition, Nalle Colt, Vintage Trouble's guitarist also joined the Mule on stage for the encore.

Setlist

The Mule posts their setlists on their website, so you can find it here.

I estimate that that Mule played for close to two hours, with the show ending just before midnight. They are very tight, and everything was well done. If I had one criticism, it was that Warren Haynes is nowhere near the showman that Ty Taylor is. All in all, it was a great night of music on crisp, Fall night, in Austin.

Steve Morse and Joe Satriani at ACL Live

The Steve Morse Band

While living in Poughkeepsie from '83 to '93, I saw Steve Morse perform at least 9 or 10 times with the Dregs, the Steve Morse Band, and Kansas. The Chance in Poughkeepsie was always a favorite stop for him. He always put on a superb show.

Since moving to Austin, I have seen Steve play once, with Deep Purple. I did happen to run into him and Dave LaRue in the Dallas airport, waiting at a gate back in '97, and begged them to play Austin. Oh well, you can't say I didn't try.

The Lineup

The band still has the same lineup that I saw, back in the early '90s:

• Steve Morse - Guitar
• Dave LaRue - Bass
• Van Romaine - Drums

The band played about a 45 minute set. My only complaint was that the mix could have been better. It was very difficult to hear Steve's guitar. Several friends of mine, had the same criticism after the show.

I'm not really up on his new material, but I did recognize some of the older songs. He played 2 songs from The Introduction. I have post a partial setlist here, and am hoping the someone else will complete it.

Joe Satriani

The headline act was Joe Satriania. Like Steve, I had also seen Joe play multiple times. The last time was at the Austin Music Hall around 2000 or 2001.

The Lineup

There was a little bit of a sense of deja vu, since I had just seen 2 members of Joe's band perform with the Aristocrats.

• Joe Satriani - Guitars
• Bryan Beller - Bass
• Marco Minnemann - Drums
• Mike Keneally - Guitars and Keyboards

I estimate that Satch played a single set with an encore that clocked in right around 2 hours. For some unknown reason (LOL), the sound was much better for Joe's set than Steve's. I will say that Joe's band is killer, but I already had much love for his rhythm section. This band was firing on all cylinders.

The setlist for the show is posted here.

Austin City Limits taping - the Black Angels

Three years have passed since I attended one of the last Austin City Limits (ACL) tapings, at the old studio, for Spoon. For their next season, 2011, the ACL show moved into the Moody Theater. Although I have attended many shows there, including the first one, I had not attended an actual ACL taping at the new location.

Two nights ago, my friends Ron and Alissa called and informed me that they had won two pairs of tickets, in the lottery for local band, the Black Angels. I was familiar with the band, but can't really say I am a fan. I was more interested in seeing how the taping experience had changed.

As we entered the venue, I was surprised to discover that we had assigned seating, and that the entire theater was being used. Security seemed a little bit heavier, and they were cautioning people against any sort of camera use, which is understandable. As a result, I don't have any pictures of the band playing.

They played for about an hour, and came out for encore, which I didn't understand, because the show is edited to show only the music. The setlist was posted on the ACL TV Facebook page.

It was generally enjoyable, but the Black Angels aren't really my cup of tea. And, the experience is much less intimate with a theater that is 8 times the size and capacity, of the old KLRU studio.

The Aristocrats at the Saxon Pub

Courtesy of one of the my fellow TOAPP campers, I became aware of a three piece, power fusion trio, the Aristocrats.

The band has the following lineup:

• Guthrie Govan - Guitar
  
• Bryan Beller - Bass
  
• Marco Minnemann - Drums
  

You may or may not recognize that two of the musicians, Marco and Guthrie, were members of Steven Wilson's band for the Raven that Refused to Sing tour. Marco was also in Steven's band to support Grace for Drowning, and has played with Adrian Belew, UKZ, along with many others.

I had never heard or seen Bryan Beller, but was aware that he and Marco had been touring in support of Joe Satriani. Clearly, he is no slouch, either.

Since the band came highly recommended, and I had already seen two of the trio members perform live, it was a no-brainer to buy their CD. I ordered the CD on-line, and was also able to digitally download the music immediately. I liked what I heard, they displayed a frightening level of virtuosity.

It was couple days later when I discovered that they would be playing a show in Austin, and at the Saxon Pub, no less. Even though the show was at 11PM on a Sunday, how could I pass up the show for $15??

Their set started about 10:55PM, after Bryan thoughtfully told the audience that he wanted to make sure that everyone had gotten into the club. They then began a 2 hour set that rocked the house. Fortunately, they introduced every song, and usually had an accompanying story for each composition. I was able to jot down this setlist, as a result.

The playing was incredible and terrifying. There were a lot of musicians in the audience, and I am certain that one or two probably went home and burned their instruments, after watching this band. Marco and Guthrie are indescribably good

I was really blown away, however, by Bryan Beller. I had a great vantage point to watch Bryan up close, and decided that he is right up there with Jeff Berlin. He has amazing alternating finger technique on the bass.

The set ended shortly after 1AM, and I have feeling that this band will be back soon.

Living Colour at Emos

Hard Proof

The openers were an Afrobeat band, from Austin, Hard Proof. I think I recognized some of the musicians in this band from Black Joe Lewis. They played all instrumental songs, with a big wall of sound, and a heavy Afro-Cuban beat, driven by a drummer and 2 percussionists.

Living Colour

My real reason for being at the club though, was to see Living Colour. Almost 4 years have passed, since I last saw the band. This was also my first trip to the new Emos location, next to Antones. The club had moved off of 6th Street about a year ago.

This tour is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the band's first album, Vivid. Even though I had jotted the setlist down on my iPhone, it was already posted when I looked.

If you look at the setlist, you'll notice that they also played 2 songs from Time's Up, as well as covers.

The sound was good, and the audience receptive. A very good vibe floating around the room last night. The Muse was present, and she rewarded us with a gift.

Post Show

After the show, I got to speak to Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish, while poor Corey was surrounded by fans. I couldn't find Vernon at first, but eventually spotted him talking to two other people. I got to reintroduced myself since we are connected by a mutual friend. We then had a little convo about the FNG Podcast. (You should listen to it, if you don't already).

Couldn't have asked for a better night.

Orioles vs. the Rangers

Busy Weekend

I had originally planned on going to the see the O's play the Rangers on Saturday, but that was before I realized that it coincided with the Lone Star Ruby Conference. After trolling around the Nest 512 group, I was able to cut a you buy, I fly deal, with my friend, Matt Sadowsky. He had 2 tickets, 28 rows back right next to the Orioles dugout.

This was my first trip to the new Rangers ballpark, having previously seen a game at the old one in '93. It was a bit of a drag, driving up with all the traffic and delays. We arrived just missing the first inning, but saw the Orioles complete their sweep, of a 3 game series.

Slowly closing in on the Bosox and Rays!

The Psychedelic Furs at Antones

New Location on Riverside

Several months ago, I was surprised to hear that Antones would be moving from the 5th and Lavaca location, to Riverside Drive. This is the third location for Antones, since I moved to Austin in '93.

Antones moved next door to the new Emo's location. Both clubs now sit in the same plaza that once housed the Backroom.

I arrived early and took a look around. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about Antone's new layout. It is two stories now, and feels a little a bit more cramped. I think it holds more people, but I can't say for sure.

By the end of the show Thursday, I was on the fence about whether I liked the new venue. The sound wasn't terrible, but it wasn't stellar, either. There were a limited number of seats and tables upstairs, but these appeared to be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The club is mainly a standing-room, GA environment. I ended up standing in front of the railing, on the first floor, right next to the soundboard.

The Technicolors

The opening act was from Phoenix, AZ. They were a Pop oriented Rock band, that I could best describe as Tonic, with Jeff Buckley as the lead singer.

They played a solid set of original material. To be honest, I may have enjoyed the opening act more than the headliner. I estimate the Technicolors played about a 50 minute set.

The lead singer was very talented, and had an impressive amount of charisma and stage presence. The band was very tight, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear more from them, in the future. These guys are definitely on their way up.

The Psychedelic Furs

I've always considered the Psychedelic Furs to be one of the prototypical,Post-Punk, New Wave bands of the late 70's. I wasn't a huge fan, but always respected the poetry and lyrics of frontman, and singer, Richard Butler. These days, their shows are dangerously close to State Fair territory.

After a bit of a wait for the stage to be reconfigured, the Furs went on stage a approximately 10:20, if I remember correctly. I estimate that they played a single, 90 minute set.

Lineup

The only original members left in the band are the Butler brothers, Richard and Tim. The rest of the band were the typical young, musical mercinaries you hire to go on tour.

• Richard Butler (vocals)
  
• Tim Butler (bass)
  
• Rich Good (guitar)
  
• Mars Williams (saxophone)
  
• Amanda Kramer (keyboards)
  
• Paul Garisto (drums)
  

Set List

Not surprisingly, the Furs played all of their hits. By the time I had arrived home, I noticed that someone had already posted a setlist, here.

It was good night of music, but I found that Richard's vocal timbre starting to wear thin on me, at the end of the first hour. The only other downer was the two couples standing next me. They were drunk and stoned out of their gourds, and felt it necessary to regale us with their spastic, interpretive, dance routine. I wouldn't have noticed, if elbow room hadn't have been in such short supply.

The Protomen at the Red 7

It's hard to believe that over 3 years have passed, since I first saw this band. I have blogged about the other occasions that I have seen the Protomen play live:

1. Game Over Video Games in July, 2010.
   
2. Emo's in August, 2011.
   
3. Red 7 in August 2012.
   

Excluding SxSW, this was their second straight show at the Red 7. It is not exactly my favorite venue, because of the lack of air conditioning. Also returning was opening band, Urizen, from Dallas.

The Protomen went on shortly after 11PM, and played somewhere just shy of 2 hours. Although they are actively claiming to be working on Act III, they only played one new song, that I can recall. Other than that, the rest of the material came from their first 2 albums, Acts I & II. They did sneak in one cover, Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.

All in all, the Protomen still put on a great show, but the lack of AC, sucked. They're one of the best bands you have probably never heard of. Here's hoping for bigger, nicer, air conditioned clubs, in their future.

The Grandmothers of Invention at Stubbs

Second Time Around

Fourteen months have passed since I last saw the Grandmothers of Invention. When I saw this show announced, I knew I had to go. After meeting the band last time, I feel like the members of the band are old friends.

The lineup

The membership of the Grandmothers has changed. The most noticeable departure being Tom Fowler, who is now playing with another Zappa Tribute band, the Band from Utopia. The current lineup consists of:

• Napoleon Murphy Brock - Lead Vocals, Tenor Sax, and Flute. An original Mother
• Don Preston - Keyboards. The other original Mother
• Chris Garcia - Drums and backup vocals
• Max Kutner - Electric Guitar
• Dave Johnson - Bass

Set-list

The band played two sets that were approximately 70 minutes in length. Unfortunately, I did not keep track of the set-list. The 2013 tour was being billed as the One Size Fits All tour, and they did in fact play every song from that album. The highlights for me were the Sofa No. 1 and No. 2, and San Ber'dino for the encore.

I do now that they also played selections like Village of the Sun from Roxy and Elsewhere, and Burnt Weenie Sandwich.

Prior to the show, Napoleon circled through the crowd, shaking the hand of anyone and thanking them for coming. My respect for this great artist grew exponentially. As always, his vocals and playing were amazing. In fact, the entire band was tighter than a whale's asshole.

Even though there was no VIP access this time, I got to speak to the drummer, Chris Garcia, between the sets. I was happy that he remembered me, from the previous show.

All in all, it was fantastic night of music.

RIP Alan Myers

I hadn't really thought about or looked into why Alan Myers was no longer playing with the Spud-boys from Akron. The reason is now obvious, and Alan is no longer with us.

You can read about it here and here. Sad news for sure.

Robert Fripp and the Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists

Short (but timely) Notice

Around the beginning of May, a friend and fellow attendee of both ToAPP camps, Diego Lanz, sent me a Facebook invite. The event was a short, 3 stop, East Coast tour, by Robert Fripp and the Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists. Had I watched the North American Guitar Circle site more carefully, I would have known about it earlier.

As it turned out, Diego had joined a Guitar Circle back in February, and was actually performing as a member of the Orchestra. I have often wondered whether I should have enrolled in a course, despite being a keyboard player. I am still contemplating doing this.

Almost a Quarter Century Ago

I had seen Robert Fripp and the League of Crafty Guitarists perform at the Chance in Poughkeepsie. Three of the dozen performers that night would go on to form the California Guitar Trio, and eventual King Crimson member, Trey Gunn, was the opening act. That show was a once in a lifetime event, an experience that I will never forget.

Looking back, I think that performance had such an impact on me, because I was very receptive to the Muse, at that point in my life. I was in the middle of my own 5 year drive, consisting of Jazz piano study and practice, along with my first foray, into Chinese Martial Arts. To see a group pull off what they did that night, was both astounding and unsettling. Nothing has ever been the same with me, since that performance on March 30, 1990.

Off to Newark!

After receiving the invite, I quickly made arrangements to get my butt to the NYC show. I was able to score a relatively cheap flight to Newark, NJ on Saturday afternoon, and a reservation at an airport hotel. Bad weather in Dallas almost totally derailed the trip, resulting in a very late arrival on Sunday morning. Finally getting to the hotel at 3AM, I slept, had a late breakfast, and left Newark around 1PM, spending the next hour taking the PATH train from Newark, to 9th Street in Manhattan, then hoofed it the rest of the way to St. Mark's.

I arrived right at 3PM, and encountered the line you see here. I had purchased my ticket before even making travel arrangements. A good move, as it was sold out. Looking ahead, I saw another friend from ToAPP camp, up at near the front of the line.

St. Mark's in-the-Bowery

The performance took place in the nave of the church. When we entered, there was no altar or pews, much to my surprise, since I think it is still an active church. There were doors in the front, which led to a sacristy, where the performers were prepping. There was also a second floor balcony, that extended along both the side and the back walls.

In the middle of the nave, there were chairs for the audience arranged in 4 large concentric ovals, with space in the middle. There was additional seating around the outside, with a structure that looked like bleachers covered with cloth, and on the dais where the alter should have been.

Soundscapes were emanating from the sacristy, as people chatted, and waited. The soundscapes suddenly stopped at 4PM. Immediately, all conversation stopped, as well. Five of the performers then walked out to the center of the floor, and issued a request to the audience in German, French, Spanish, Italian and English that there be no photography, and that no audio or video recordings made. They asked instead, that we give them our attention and our ears, for the performance.

Shortly afterwards, you could hear the almost inaudible sound of guitars. Slowly, a procession of guitarists emerged from a 2nd floor door on the right side, on to the balcony. The proceeded around all 3 sides, into a door on the left side, then down the stairs in the sacristy, before re-entering on to the first floor. They slowly circled the audience seated in the oval. I quickly counted and came up with a number of approximately 60 guitarists in total.

As they walked above our heads, it seemed like we were in a light, rain shower of sound. It was exquisite. Although this is not from this show, I did find a You Tube video of the Orchestra in procession, so that you might get a better picture of how it sounded.

For the first 20 to 30 minutes, the material appeared to have been improvised. With the Orchestra alternating between one large circle, and 6 or 7 smaller circles. All sorts of circulations were executed, including silence, single notes and chords.

After the extended improvisation, the playing stopped. Robert who had been standing quietly at the rear the church, walked to the center of the empty floor, with the Orchestra in one big circle, and sarcastically said, Don't you know any songs with a melody?. When Robert quickly exited, a small circle of 8 guitarist formed and played, Red.

More improvisation followed, as well as more songs. I did notice that the entire Orchestra played Eye of the Needle, and a smaller circle played 21st Century Schizoid Man. The 90 - 100 minutes flew by. I was very happy that they chose the very hauntingly, beautiful song, Asturias for their encore.

After the show, I caught up to Diego, but we had only a short amount of time to talk. Robert had the entire group on a strict schedule, so he had to leave to get back on the bus. (I only realized later that the tour was part of a week long Guitar Circle course, in Mass).

It was a wonderful day of music, and I spent the rest of the day over in Hoboken, my old stomping ground, with a friend from college.

---

Update

I found this picture on Facebook, by one of the members of the Orchestra. It shows the group preparing for the show, inside of St. Marks.