My goal for 2019 is to write at least a little something about every show I see, preferably by the next day, we’ll see how it goes. I will compile weekly and post here as-is.
So, in that spirit, this is the twenty-fourth of hopefully 52 posts…
13Jun19
With livemusic’n in NYC you always win, but sometimes you win a little bit more and last night was definitely a little extra special…
Ezra Feinberg, Saadi @ Sunview Lunchnet
Started off the night in Greenpoint at this space I had hit once earlier in the year. It’s like an old school lunch counter solidified in amber from a few decades ago and now is a somethingorather… a community space and/or a venue and/or who knows what goes on in there. Via Facebook I learned that Ezra Feinberg would be playing again and I’m way into his playing so I stopped by. What I didn’t realize is that the scene was going to feel very “private party” in there. I think everyone else in the space knew each other, the hosts announced there was salad ready and dinner coming shortly. Someone introduced himself to me and asked how I knew everyone else. I said I didn’t know a soul there and he smiled and said “that’s the way to do it!” Friendly group for sure. Felt like I was crashing a party in the best way possible. The room really is just a lunch counter with a few booths on one side, lots of shit on the walls (menu with most items under $2 to give you an idea of the time period), board games and books on a shelf, an old school phone booth at one end… very much like stepping into a period piece.
The music is at one end of the place and the first act was (Boshra) Saadi who apparently I had recently seen playing bass in a band opening for Landlady earlier this year. She had a lot of prerecorded music — guitars, violins, drums, etc — and then played bass and sang and some synth as well. I know some people might get annoyed at the prerecorded nature of this kind of thing, but I find it an interesting peek into the creative process. Like music is unique in its ability to sort of play with time, it exists almost purely in this 4th dimension. When you see an act like this, that sense of time gets even more distorted because suddenly I’m in her living room as she’s assembling these songs from bits and pieces, imagining it coming together. I dunno, I think it’s kind of cool. Her songs were good, a sort of experimental pop with some nice melodies and interesting directions.
Ezra Feinberg played the next set. He played two songs that stretched to 20+ minutes. These were slow, haunting, beautiful guitar pieces with some ghostly echoing loops and to go with his acoustic guitar picking and strumming. He used an e-bow heavily in the first piece creating really chilling lovely soundscapes. The room was totally rapt. This guy really makes gorgeous music.
The internet can be a cesspool of the worst of humanity, but without it, Feinberg would never be on my radar, this gig would have not even registered as a blip, it was such a wonderful, weird only-in-Brooklyn kind of thing. I hope to have a chance to revisit both the space and Ezra’s music again soon.
Didn’t stick around for the third act because it was off to…
William Tyler @ Union Pool
This would prove to be a night filled with guitar mastery and while I knew I’d be getting something wonderful with William Tyler, I had no idea just how great it would be. While the Tyler show at LPR earlier this year was nothing short of magnificent, there is really something about a guy like WT in a place like Union Pool. Just a perfect match. I mean, Union Pool has good sound, not the best, but it’s decent; and it’s a comfortable room, maybe not the most comfortable, but it’s enjoyable. But there’s something about that place, you walk in and you just think I want to see music in here. It just works, like you meet someone and just know you want to be friends with them. That’s about how I feel about William Tyler’s guitar playing. He’s got excellent technical skills — not the end-all-be-all, but he’s a great, great player; and he’s got very good songwriting, he tells a story with his music and creates real emotional resonance, but, I mean, that’s not what attracts me to his music. You listen to William Tyler and you just want to listen more, you want to embrace that music, you want to be friends with it. It just feels right the way Union Pool just feels right in some intangible way.
So, Tyler played about 30 or so minutes of his excellent material. Creating this warm, friendly awesome vibe in the room. His banter is the banter of someone playing for his friends in a living room. I often cringe when people in the audience shout out to a musician, trying to engage them in conversation, but last night he was so affable about it, so welcoming, it really felt like he was chit-chatting with friends. Over the course of the set he chatted about New Orleans and his jacket and Grateful Dead jams and more, all with his intelligent, informed southern charm.
So, for the first half of the show we got a supremely excellent William Tyler show. Then he announced that he wanted to do something extra for this show and so he’d be bringing up special guests. The first guest was Adam Schatz. I was like whaaaa? I mean, if you know me or have followed along with anything I’ve written or tweeted about music, you should know that I love Adam. I think he’s the underrated genius of the NYC music world (I booked him for a show later this month! You should go!!!0 and while I knew he knew everyone, I was still surprised when Tyler called him up, like when you find out two of your friends from different worlds are also friends and like, what? As good as the dialog comfort was between WT and the crowd, it was even better between Tyler and Schatz. If I’m remembering correctly, they did “Rebecca” off Tyler’s Goes West album, but it really was like this delicate jazz Freakout with Schatz playing saxophone in the way he does, he has this tone on the sax that’s both soft and brash with some light electronic modulation, not necessarily something you’d expect to fit in with Tyler’s elegant acoustic guitar fingerpicking, but man, it worked so well… they just jammed on some great themes, a superb bit of improv for sax and guitar, something you don’t expect to see at a William Tyler show, but sheesh, it was really great. Then they changed gears, taking advantage of Schatz’s equally unique and excellent singing voice on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” What a killer song and what a killer version, sort of straightforward, sort of forward looking. When a musician and his guest and the song choice(s) just click like that, like they just know what song to pick and how to play it and it just goes, that’s some serious voodoo magic, the kind of moments you leave your house for, chase each night you get you pay the gal at the door and get your handstamped. That good. That was a great freakin’ cover, I have to say.
After that Tyler invited an old friend Aaron Roche up to join him on electric guitar. Roche is someone I don’t think I’ve seen before. He had this look like he was going to be a heavy guitar shredder, but in fact, he was the opposite, playing very floaty licks. His sound was wrapped in bubble wrap, a quiet, soft sound that paired perfectly with Tyler’s acoustic guitar. They played two songs together and where Schatz brought this tangible, catchyjazzy energy to the set, Roche brought an ambient, spaced-out thing. What a nice contrast.
After that it was none other than Steve Gunn, my third time seeing him in a supporting role in 7 nights (did I mention that Ira & Georgia from YLT were there and that was the third time in a week they’ve been at a show I was at… those two see more music than you, just an FYI). I had seen Gunn play with Tyler at that LPR show earlier this year and it was quite marvelous and I had no doubt this would be just as good. Basically they did a nice long version of Gunn’s “Old Strange” which is such a killer song. They stretched it out like pizza dough with a long intro and lots of intricate chemistry and physics going on between their two guitars in between, multiple improvisations and there’s just so much yesyesyes that an audience can handle. When two great guitarists also work together as a sublime guitar duo, that’s some serious wizardry. That’s some Lage/Cline shit, how high is the ceiling, what’s the exponent when you combine two musicians like that together. WT actually moved to the support role for most of this one, Steve leading things, taking the bulk of the guitar solos while Tyler happily comped and bedazzled. Again, it wasn’t so much that these guys are so fucking great at guitar that you’re thinking how do they do that? It’s more like two guys creating something so beautiful, so lovable, finding spots in your brain/soul that make you question whether there’s a difference between your brain & soul, inventing new religion with 12 strings and four hands. Next fucking level.
Finally, William brought out the 4th guest of the night, Alexis Powell who was in the opening act (which I believe WT also played in). Again, Tyler showed a completely different angle… I mean each guest brought out a different shade of William Tyler, so we had jazz improv and Dylan covers and ambient zero-gravity drift and primitive guitar mastery and more and with Powell, he went straight to the heart of it, playing an old school country song, singing duet with Powell for a new and most excellent feel for the end of the night. If you didn’t know it, William Tyler is one talented muthafucker.
But wait, we got him to come back for an encore. What more can you ask for? The first time I saw him at Union Pool he encored with the most painfully beautiful cover of the Dead’s Attics of My Life and I almost called out for it, but bit my tongue and instead we were treated to a medley of Handl pieces. Yes, he went full classical and just showered the room with one more dose of guitar goodness at a level we certainly didn’t deserve. I’ve seen Tyler several times and am always blown away, but this put the icing on the biggest and best piece of cake he’s served me, easily the best I’ve seen him and probably one of the best sets of music I’ve seen so far this year. It was everything and more, almost perfectly served up for my personal taste, the livemusicgods certainly happy with me on this Thursday evening.
Wayne Krantz, Orlando le Fleming, Kush Abadey @ 55 Bar (late set)
Satisfied beyond believe, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t go against the grain into Manhattan for one last bit of guitar mastery. Krantz on a Thursday night.
When I arrived I was worried something was wrong. Did we set the clocks back and I didn’t realize it? Did I miss the set somehow? Was Wayne playing tonight? The room was empty. I mean, like less than 10 people in there. At 11:45 when the music usually begins for the late set, there didn’t seem to be any indication that anyone would be playing anytime soon. I took a seat 3 feet from Wayne’s pedals and realized that he was just waiting to see if anyone would show up. Finally, at 11:55 they began.
What can I say? So often Wayne is feeling it, so often he punches through the stratosphere and leaves the pull of Earth’s gravity. Last night was not one of those nights. Don’t get me wrong, it was great. Wayne was great, at least, he couldn’t be less than great if he tried. But Abadey was just plain off and it made the whole thing feel off. After the obligatory setlist chug of Back In Black and U Can’t Touch This, he seemed bemused that people were clapping for each song, he had this look on his face that was appreciation mixed with, I dunno, confusion? The last couple pieces featured a couple moments that seemed to get to that place, where my eyes closed and my mind’s eye popped open and the after-midnight hour combined with a sudden rush from the back corner, the three of them finding each other and that it what makes it all worth it. They got there a few times, I got there a few times… but by the time 12:30 rolled around there were less than 10 people in the room, and Wayne called out for “Manic Depression,” and I knew it was gonna be a short night at 55 Bar. The show was done by 12:35, 40 minutes long and while quantity doesn’t equal quality, it was just a sign that WK didn’t have it in him like he usually does. That being said, the WK misses are better than almost everyone else’s A game and there was no way I was missing that set last night and no way I’m missing next week… or the week after… or the week after…
15Jun19 DeJohnette/Coltrane/Garrison, Brandee Younger @ Summerstage
My second time back to Summerstage for free music in two weeks. This week for some A+ jazz. The show was great, another idyllic summer evening, a very cool, attentive crowd, just the right sized audience with some people in the back spreading out blankets and picnicking, some families with little kids bounding and dancing about…. Even more than the music, I just love the idea of free jazz in a setting like this (free being the price, not the subgenre of jazz :) ). Free music in the city is so great on so many levels, but at the heart of it, it’s so democratizing — anyone can get on line and see the music, and because the booing at these festivals, at Summerstage and Prospect Park Bandshell, is so good, it just opens up opportunities to see whatever no matter your background or your taste or anything. And putting these free series in these giant parks in the city, centrally located, easy to find and get to, it really couldn’t be easier, it takes almost no effort at all to see top quality music. For jazz shows, though, it’s even more important, I think… I mean, jazz is typically played in small clubs and sadly, it’s kind of expensive to go see the best jazz musicians. If you’re wily and on top of things, sure, you can catch some of the best musicians in cheap or free spots, you can make your way to the Barbes or 55 Bar or LunAtico’s of the city and see the best of the best, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world for just-a-regular-guy-or-gal to do. So, no matter what happened on stage, I’m already a huge fan of the show yesterday. This is also why I’m totally fine with Summerstage investing in their venue in a way that makes it nicer for the VIP’s of the world… in a real way, they (the members and the sponsors) paying for those free shows, making all this amazing music available to the masses, let it not be lost on anyone…
That being said, the music was freaking great. First up was Brandee Younger, a harpist extraordinaire and her set was super impressive. She opened in just a trio, her, a bassist (forgetting name) and a drummer (EJ Strickland) and it was these first few songs that most blew me away. Her bassist was really phenomenal, bringing some serious funky energy to the set, particularly at the beginning. Younger is just a phenomenal presence, somehow bringing in modern day funk/hip-hop influences into her music without letting them overwhelm or losing the beauty of her instrument. He songwriting really reflects that, her originals had this real thoughtful, progressive feel to them, challenging but incredibly accessible, for listening and sinking deep into, but also, kind of, to move your body to. After a few songs she brought out a sax player and she was fine, but felt superfluous. Not that the set really suffered, but I didn’t need anyone to take my attention away from that harp playing and the trio as a unit. Regardless, it was all great, her choice of material to cover was excellent and I had, once again, a feeling of why has it taken me this long to see her. She’s playing another free show later in the summer at Marcus Garvey Park (8/24) that is now on my calendar.
The headliner was Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison on drums (and piano), saxophones and bass. This was a little more jazz jazz than I typically prefer, but they were so good and did so much exploring, twisting and turning, so much “is this 5 songs or just one long song” that it was pretty thrilling nonetheless. Haven’t seen DeJohnette for a while, but dude still has it, no doubt. An all-timer with some crusher rhythms he plays like it ain’t no thing. Ravi Coltrane was great, playing a variety of saxophones and really sounding great… actually the sound in there was pretty phenomenal and Coltrane in particular had such a clear, beautiful tone on his horn that filled up the entire space and probably beyond. Matthew Garrison played this 6-string bass with a laptop nearby and did all sorts of effects and took several solos. In some way, he was the center of the music for the set, bringing a bit of a slick modern feel to it, but also playing some backbreaker bass along the way. I’m still undecided on how much I enjoyed this, at times it felt like it was too much and I just wanted him to pick up an upright and then other times it seemed like he was making it work. Altogether, the trio really was a trio, they had two-thumbs-up chemistry and enough comfort with each other to extend, extend, extend, to go to some weird places the mixed crowd might not have been anticipating, then coming back onto some solid grooves to keep things family friendly. In the end, I appreciated the show as a show, as a trio I might not have paid to see (I imagine a ticket to see them i a theater would be considerable) but am glad I got to see.
Huzzah for free music in the summer in the city.
