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West Regional Report
Edited by Sarah Bruner - sarah@syrup.orgIn This Issue
Phil & Friends at the Warfield Widespread Panic at High Sierra Music Festival Kimock Vega Hertz Whatever String Cheese Incident Are You In? Tales From The Oregon Country Fair Sky Cries Mary Bonanza - Olympia, Washington Jive Talkin' Robots and Fat Mama
Editor's Note: Extra special thanks to Liz Warren for her help with this month's West Region Reports! While I was busy grooving and frolicking on the mainland for two weeks, she did the tough job of coordinating and putting the following reviews together for your enjoyment.
Phil & Friends at the Warfield
July 3, 1999 - San Francisco, CAby Brian Hardy
For those of you who missed it, this show was more than just another "great show" - this was an INCREDIBLE show. I mean, there was some amazing synergy going on - we knew we were in for more than just a good night. Things came to life about 30 minutes after the show was supposed to start - Phil and Billy K. were first onstage.
Billy started to do a light and flashy drum tease before the first set while Phil began to tell a story about a man who goes into the jungle and hears the drums always playing. "Why do the drums play?" he would keep asking. "Umm, VERY bad if drums stop playing!" Phil would say over and over, each time with more emphasis.
Then a few familiar crunching bass twangs and the show started with Cold Rain and Snow. Theme of the night: Jamming. This song echoed off the plastered ceiling and surrounded us in rich musical flavors. While the vocals were not perfect, the harmony of the individual band members together was crystaline. There was a clean come down at the end and a perfect landing - the audience clapped and hooted for a good minute or two without obvious ebb in the intensity.
After a brief nod and wink between Phil and Billy, they fired up Sugaree. Great guitar trade-offs between Barry Sless on right stage guitar and Kimock on the left, who did some noodling then handed it off to Dave Nelson in the middle and back again - really good stuff. By now the pot smoke on the balcony was already a thick haze and we were in heaven - Jam Central. Another sweet climax and the audience again howled and screamed for what seemed like forever - a signature event the entire night.
Uncle John's Band rolled out next with a strong baseline and again, what seemed like perfect timing between Phil and Dave Nelson as they provided the backbeat and rhythm that Kimock and Sless took advantage of - dare I say it was reminiscent of days gone by - not so much in its quality as in its spirit - you could feel that old familiar flush of appreciation.
As things turned direction and started to level off, a Dave Nelson song I never heard before (i.d.'ed as Edge of the Wire - thank you Greg!) Solid guitar work, which set the pace for what came next - an instrumental Stella Blue, and my wife and I got goosebumps it was so well done - Thank You P&F! The audience was again most giving in appreciation and for a time we were all clapping obliviously.
Did I mention the theme of the night was jamming? In came those rolling single guitar notes that open Wish You Were Here. The band wasted no time building slowly and keeping us along for the ride as Phil did heroic vocals, at moments off-key, at times with a growl.
What came next I would classify as "technical jamming", i.e. a full throttle mix of guitar, keyboards, drums, and bass for long extended runs and trade-offs that covered Help On the Way (long), Slipknot! (long) and then with audience anticipation and an explosion of cheers into Franklin's - it was just amazing how clean and well-done the blending was. After a good build at the end it landed to end the first set (which went almost two hours). Bravo!!!
Back in our seats after the cattle action at the bar to get water for everyone, some preliminary hints and set two opened with Cosmic Charlie! This was a great Phil tune. His delivery of the lines was all there and did I mention jamming?
Well, if there was a "signature" Phil tune last night it had to be the Pride of Cucamonga that came next. The country twang, the narrative lyrics, Phil's sneakers keeping rhythm and a collective feeling that things couldn't get much better. Kicked in the Head was a nice change of pace with Dave Nelson and Barry Sless driving a strong effort for a while, then into another long jam complete with spotlights, colors, and trade-offs from guitar to keyboard to bass and around (Big Sir Jam).
What could possibly come next on such an incredible night? Think 4 notes played twice and the crowd wooping and cheering as they served up Dark Star. This by far had the best jamming of the night IMHO and set the pace for familiar territory. Things moved on to Mountains of the Moon with Phil providing his usual off-key growling but the song was well delivered.
Aiko came next, with Mookie Seigel doing the lead-in vocals. It started with the right energy but took a minute or two to hit the groove. But once there, the song took off on its own directions and we were all clapping in time and by now numb with satisfaction.
Looking at my watch, I figured there had to be an end in sight, especially since the Aiko picked up energy and could have been a closer, but noooo! The electricity was pumped up, everyone was anticipating, and they came out with a strong Scarlet > Fire that was a powerful mix of old memories and new talent that combined into a visceral jubilee of celebration, then the customary neck hike on the guitar, and down it came to signal the end.
The audience absolutely would not stop clapping or making noise for the entire 5 minutes before they came back on stage for the encore. As things quieted down, we settled in got what had to be the sweetest way to end the night - a sweet rapsody with Ripple... "if my words did glow" - we were indeed taken home... Get the tapes! This one's a keeper.
Widespread Panic at High Sierra Music Festival
On July 2nd, the High Sierra Music Festival in Bear Valley CA showcased Georgia's Widespread Panic as a featured performer. Fresh off an exciting span in which Widespread moved west playing Red Rocks in CO, as well as The House of Blues in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles, High Sierra's intimate mountain venue offered the boys an opportunity to work their magic in a more casual setting. This laid back location also benefited fans, who could enjoy the band up-close while still having plenty of room to boogie.
The first set began with Wonderin', from the 1993 album, Everyday. Wonderin' proved to be a good song to get the festivities started. However, early technical difficulties stopped the early momentum, and led to an untimely break. After the problems were resolved, Widespread recovered nicely to deliver a short, but fun first set.
Highlighting this first set was Big Woolly Mammoth. Included in this song is the lyric: "Somebody throw me a lighter...". This lyric had led to problems the week before at Red Rocks, where the band was overwhelmed with lighters cascading down from the from the sold-out audience. At High Sierra, the band playfully engaged the faithful in the inevitable ritual of lighter tossing. Given how the Red Rocks rendition of Big Woolly Mammoth led to an excessive barrage of fire starters, the High Sierra version of the song showed the band's sense of humor (and forgiveness). Big Woolly Mammoth was also appropriate as it has the lyric "Sometimes I feel like an evolutionary reject, living in this high tech world." This lyric added subtle significance and humor given the technical difficulties from earlier in the set.
Like the first, the second set was shorter than a normal Widespread set. A highlight of the set was All Time Low, a tune which seems to grow stronger with each performance. Goin' Out West also highlighted the second set. One of the more rare tune's from Widespread's repetoir, Goin' Out West was a rewarding treat for the diehard Panic fans.
The band chose Climb to Safety as the encore. With the Jackmormon's Jerry Joseph sitting in on guitar and helping out with some vocals, Climb To Safety closed out the evening nicely. While the sets were short in the festival format, the intimate mountain setting was ample reward. In short, the show was by no means epic by Panic standards, but still a fun night of jamming music.
Kimock Vega Hertz Whatever
June 19, 1999 Fort Ross Firemen's Benefit, Cazadero, CASteve Kimock = guitars
Bobby Vega = bass
Alan Hertz = brand new set of drums
Terry Haggerty = primarily rhythm guitar
(no vocals; an all instrumental gig)Cazadero is tucked away in the gorgeous mountains of northern California, about two and one-half hours north of San Francisco near the Pacific. The Firemen's Benefit for the fire department of Fort Ross (a town near Cazadero) has, in the past, been a wonderful, familial place to see a show, and this show carried on this warm tradition. Zero and Steve Kimock & Friends have played there in years past.
The folks who organize this event basically take over some generous person's private property for a day, converting a few spacious pastures on several hills into an amphitheater and parking areas. The "stage" was actually somewhat below the audience (at least the audience down front), though views of the band on the stage were possible from the vantage point of the "amphitheater" seating area itself (a hill, covered by a few large parachutes and tarps in various places). Views of the surrounding hills abounded. To get there from 101, one had to drive about 25 miles west on 116 (just north of Santa Rosa), and then a few miles into Cazadero, and then a few miles on a windy, very very steep, practically one-lane road. There were a lot of families and children of all ages. It was a beautiful scene.
Several bands played before KVHW, including "Vinyl," a large band that fuses reggae/funk/salsa/samba/etc. in their repertoire. I enjoyed Vinyl quite a bit, and hope to catch them again at some point in the Bay Area. I had hoped that they would jam certain tunes out farther than they did, but that'll probably come in time. Then again, maybe not. They are a large band (brass, bass, keyboards, guitarists, drums, percussion, etc.), and so full-scale mega-improvisation of the sort that (for example) Phish and KVHW regularly perform might not be in their cards. Belly dancers charmed the crowd for about 20 minutes after Vinyl's set, and then a worthless, loud, annoying rap/reggae/whatever band called "Cohesion" played a set (enchanting many of the sixteen year old girls in attendance). Several other bands played earlier in the day, of course, but I missed them.
KVHW came on shortly after 9pm, which concerned some of us, since they had been billed for 8:30pm. Some were worried about whether KVHW would get two sets after all. They did, and though the gig was short for a KVHW show overall, they wound up playing nearly an hour past the time that the promoters had planned. Kimock made a comment before the second set which implied that 10:30pm was more/less supposed to have been quitting time for the event (the second set started around 10:50pm). The fact that the promoters let KVHW play until almost midnight says a great deal about their integrity. They knew that many people who were there supporting the benefit -- which was $25 admission for an adult, I might add -- were there to see KVHW and had driven a long way to be there. Hats off to them not only for putting on a great afternoon and evening of entertainment (fun for the whole family), but also for letting KVHW play until almost midnight!
The young woman who introduced KVHW actually called them "KVHK," which elicited a bunch of laughter and snickers from those in front of the stage. Kimock apparently told her (off mic) not to worry about it and to announce them as "ABCD Goldfish," which she then did, to the amusement of many.
The opener was a brand new instrumental that, at least for now, is (lamely) being called "Dah-Ti-Dah." It's a catchy instrumental with a jam section, and it definitely has potential (this version was a little rusty, IMO). It reminded me somewhat of a fusion of "Bad Hair" and "Rainbow's Cadillac," but with a little bit more OOMPF than those songs, in regards to the complexity of the composed section. Alan wrote it (well, primarily Alan). Alan was playing a new set of custom Sonor drums, made in Germany, for this gig. Green shells. Kimock remarked at one point that Howard Danchik, running sound at the board, thought that Alan's new kit looked like a bunch of buds from back up there. The sound, I might add, was incredible at this gig, so the tapes should be pretty good (despite all the chit-chat from many attendees.. who were there, of course, more to be with their friends and family for the local Big Event, than they were to see KVHW).
"Five B4 Funk" was pretty good, but definitely not "over the top" as some have been in the past. "It's Up to You" was well-played but similarly, like "Five B4 Funk," struck me as a typical, "average-great" version. Very Kimock-heavy, for the most part, the version lacked a lot of the full-band improv that graces the finest versions. "Cissy Strut," on the other hand, was excellent, and included a strong solo from Terry Haggerty (as well as a few Kimock leads). It was easily one of the better versions I'd ever heard played of the song, even though it didn't have the loud, full-bodied, deep, funky flavor of Funky Meters versions.
Another brand new instrumental came next, and I'm at a loss for words to describe it. Like many KVHW instrumentals, it is very melodious and has "THAT charm." But unlike most KVHW instrumentals, it has this awesome R&Blues section. It's basically a two-jam-segment instrumental, like "Five B4 Funk" and "It's Up to You," among others. They didn't give it a name from the stage, but Kimock told a story before they launched into this one that has inspired me to call this new tune "Duality Symmetry Who Knows" for the time being. Get the tapes for the story.
I think I've heard all of the versions of "As We Go Along" that KVHW has played, and I thought this one was the finest. Amazing, must-hear, mellifluous improvisation. An excellent set-closer. Alan told me that they were entertaining the name of "A New Africa" for this one, so this is the name that I'll use in the future for it on jcards and so forth. The title "As We Go Along" works well given the vibe this tune puts out, but then, so does "A New Africa," and well... "As We Go Along" was never an official name for that tune. So "A New Africa" it is. I guess.
The second set opened with a thrilling version of "You're the One." Definitely one of the finest versions I've heard KVHW play of the tune. They hadn't opened a set with it since last year, and they tore it up!
"Mr. Potato Head" came next (this is the one with the "Devil's Reel" or hornpipe in it), and it was even more amazing than the magnificent Chester's version from last month. Must-hear Kimock. Some of the finest work I've ever seen or heard him perform. The entire band played monstrously in this version, as well!
The "Rainbow's Cadillac" (a Hornsby cover) and "My Favorite Things" (played in the Coltrane style) that followed -- with Kimock playing the silver and black Charvel guitar -- were also both excellent versions. "Favorite Things" in particular was really "out there," with (if memory serves) some very unusual improv from the band and leads from Kimock, and maybe a key change or two.
The "Poonk" closer was short and sweet, with a strong Vega and Hertz bass and drum show in its center. The encores were also powerfully solid versions, though the "Bad Hair" wasn't the marathon version that fans heard in Tomo last month. "Boo Boo" had an exceptionally strong ending, probably the most inspired ending that I'd ever heard performed in the song.
Thanks very much to the good people who sponsored and otherwise put on the Fort Ross Firemen's Benefit! Thanks are also due Doug and Sid Greene for helping to get KVHW on the bill and for (unofficially) promoting this excellent gig!
Set One: (1:06 or so)
Dah-Ti-Dah (brand new instrumental) (Cerletti; inlaid pearl w/red trim)
Five B4 Funk (Charvel)
It's Up to You (Charvel)
Cissy Strut (Charvel)
Duality Symmetry Who Knows (another brand new instr.)(Cerletti)
A New Africa (formerly aka "As We Go Along")(Tan & White Strat)Set Two: (45 mins or so)
You're the One (Tan & White Strat)
Mr. Potato Head (Tan & White Strat)
Rainbow's Cadillac (Charvel)
My Favorite Things (Charvel)
Poonk -> Bass and Drums -> Poonk (T&W Strat?)Encore: (20 or so)
Bad Hair (T&W Strat)
Kissin the Boo Boo (T&W Strat)
String Cheese Incident
July 4, 1999 - High Sierra Music Festival, Main Stageby Eric Burns
This set was the culmination of the 9th Annual High Sierra Music Festival and a fitting one, at that. The String Cheese Incident has almost become synonymous with High Sierra, because they got a huge boost in their west coast fan base following their Showcase Stage set and opening set in the Big Top for Leftover Salmon back in '96. They were the buzz of the festival. SCI quickly became a mainstay of both the Main Stage and the Big Top and seemed to have a knack for really letting the musical fireworks fly every time they hit High Sierra.
This set began, as a few other String Cheese sets have, with a parade (there was a Spring Equinox parade at the Fillmore in March). I'm normally all for pomp and circumstance, but while this was a dramatic parade at times, it was also a bit of an oddity: it was a N'awlins-style funeral procession. I can see this being appropriate at a Fat Tuesday parade in February, but it seemed out of place at a festival in the Sierras over the Fourth Of July. Not that I was expecting a big, patriotic hoo-hah (I certainly wasn't), but it was a bit puzzling. Our man Lester gave a very energetic reading of one of his poems over a melancholy trumpet accompaniment (was that Carlos from Karl Denson's Tiny Universe?), which led into a drum segment featuring Joules Graves and Jamie Janover on djimbe. It was at this point that SCI quietly took the stage, drummers still drumming.
This led into a short jam that dropped into a rather new SCI song, "Roll Over", sung by electro-mandolin/fiddler, Michael Kang. The song's become a fan favorite since it's February introduction, partly because it's got a catchy chorus, but moreso because it's a complicated song with a lot of changes, tough turnarounds and ever-changing dynamics and those charac- teristics are ones that SCI fans love. This was a pretty good version of it, but it was marred by mixing problems and a couple drops in the stage-right PA stack.
Billy Nershi (acoustic guitar), the main (but not only) songwriter in SCI, then introduced a brand new bluegrass instrumental called "Indian Creek." This also featured some excellent dynamics, con- sidering the usually strict confines inherent in bluegrass song structure. A recent Keith Moseley (electric bass) addition to the SCI repetoire is called "Joyous Sound". It's almost acid-jazzy, with sung/spoken words over the slinky arrangement. This was my first version of this (it had been introduced two weeks earlier in Telluride) and it impressed me. Next up was "Rhythm of the Road", one of Nershi's older SCI songs, but it's still a goodie and this version did not disappoint: the double-time ending jam was en fuego.
At this point, Paul McCandless, founding member of the fusion band Oregon, as well as an original Flecktone, was introduced and a fine version of Joe Henderson's "Blue Bossa", a bossa nova instru- mental introduced to the band's repetoire by keyboardist Kyle Hol- lingsworth, ensued. McCandless' legendary talent and familiarity with SCI's material makes him a logical and much-hoped-for guest and he did not disappoint. He stayed onstage for the next tune, "Little Hands", a Nershi original about hiking through territory in New Mexico where the Anasazi Indians lived 8 centuries ago. It's one of Nershi's best songs, in my opinion, both lyrically and musically and normally features some terrific jamming. That was certainly the case here, as McCandless' pennywhistle solo in between verses was right on the money. The multi-textured jam after the last verse was incredible, featuring Kang on mando, then Nershi on acoustic and then Kang on electro-fiddle and this led to a furious, frenzied crescendo. From a quiet interlude came "Shine", a Kang sung (and penned) tune and the version that closed the Main Stage set was a scorcher. Many were surprised that this song ended the set, but because of very tight time restrictions placed on High Sierra management by the local authorities, music on the Main Stage must be over by 10:30pm, without fail.
Happily, that didn't stop SCI from bringing a bunch of friends back onstage for a great encore. Mike Marshall (acoustic mandolin) and Darol Anger (fiddle), of the Anger/Marshall Band, McCandless, Janover and Dr. Didg were the guests. The Land's End that ensued was relatively short (just over 10 minutes), but it was gorgeous. All those talents onstage, catching eyes and smiles as they jammed on this lovely tune written by Tim O'Brien. This song long ago became an SCI standard (they've been doing it since at least 1995 and probably earlier) and it's always a treat to hear. This one was a version I'll never forget, with Marshall, Kang and Anger all jamming on the main theme, before dropping into it's normal triplet segment, on top of which each took another short solo. Kang wove a beautiful segue back into the main theme and it was over... at 10:30 on the nose.
To me, because I was fully aware of the time limits, the set was very satisfying, but to others may have seemed a bit short, especially after SCI's marathon, three-hours-without-a-break set from the Big Top the night before. I was happy, tired as hell, and about to step on the bus up to Leftover Salmon at the Big Top. But that's another story... and it was a hell of a show.
I love Festival season =^)
Setlist: Parade# Drums->Jam->Roll Over, Indian Creek^, Joyous Sound, Rhythm of the Road, MLT&, Little Hands&->jam->Shine
Encore: Land's End*
#- Parade was more of a New Orleans style 'funeral procession' and featured a poem by Chris 'Lester' Babbitt.
^- New bluegrass instrumental by Bill Nershi.
&-W/ Paul McCandless on soprano sax and pennywhistle.
*-W/ Mike Marshall on mandolin, Darol Anger on fiddle, and Paul McCandless on soprano sax and pennywhistle and Jamie Janover on percussion.
Are You In? Tales From The Oregon Country Fair
July 10, 1999For every occasion, whether it be a high school dance, a rock concert, a gala political fundraiser, or a regular old house party, there is typically an "In" crowd and an "Out" crowd. The Oregon Country Fair is no exception. In fact, "Fair" may be the most exclusive party there is. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of this legendary bacchanalia of decadence. These days, unfortunately, to truly enjoy "Fair" to its full potential, you really need to be "In". This past Saturday, my third year of spending a day at the fair, I was the last person "Out".
After waking to the smiling face of a dove, I headed to Freddy's to pick up my ticket, packed my bag, and hit the road for Eugene. I was hoping to hook up with tae-kwon-do master Phlimsy Motorhome, the lovely Serafina, and Cosmic Freeway in order to ride in to Veneta on the Freeway tour bus. They were all still at the Another Other Midnight Show party when I arrived in Eugene, however, so instead I hitched a ride with a pair of Highlanders. For those who don't know, Another Other Midnight Show is a reference to an exclusive occurance at the fair. You see, there is a midnight show after the fair closes for the people who work it; the sets that occur during the daytime fair for the paying customers are really just a soundcheck. Typically the bands that are playing the fair jam together, and it all gets pretty crazy from what I hear.
But anyway back to the daytime fair. Traffic was much lighter than the last two years. Security at the gate was pretty much nonexistent if you weren't carrying a back pack. Nuggets and doses were available in abundance in the lot, and I easily met all the friends I intended to meet at the hat stand. The scene had all the earmarks for a good time. If you were on the right side of the broom that is.
Fair is really the grandaddy of all the rennaissance fairs that happen every summer all across the nation. A shady wooded grove in which a winding path of merchants, falafel stands, and various and sundry performers has been constructed, it is unlike all the other Ren' Fairs I have been to. The Oregon Country Fair is much more primal, much more naked, and gets much better bands. It is a Dionysian celebration of summer lust rather than a bawdy haven of acceptance for those freaks from the Society For Creative Anachronism. On any given day at the fair you are guaranteed to see more topless women than Hugh Hefner does in a week. Some breasts are painted, others are smeared with mud, most are hidden by a carefully worn scarf or long flowing locks of flower braided hair. At one point, I actually wished I knew how to swing dance during the Chazz Cats set on the main stage, but I digress.
The big name jamband on the mainstage for Saturday was String Cheese Incident. Unlike their performance at the fair two years ago (my first time hearing SCI), and more recently at the Wild Duck in Eugene, I was left with no real desire to see them ever again. This further complicates my plans for New Years Eve, since seeing SCI at the Portland Convention Center is no longer a consideration. Can't Phish announce the location of their show already? Despite a guest appearance by Keller Williams, the incidentless performance was lackluster. The Cheese broke no new ground with their improvisation. Michael Kang seemed like he wished he was playing a real guitar. Keith Moseley dropped no bombs from the Modulus. I was hoping for more Wild Duck space disco from Kyle Hollingsworth on the keyboards, but it just didn't happen. The high point of the show was the percussion jam at the end, a whole band drum jam wherein Mike Travis showed that he would be king of the drum circle once the fair closed its doors to the little people that night. No doubt its good to be the king.
Much better performances were to be found on the smaller stages tucked into nooks and crannies around the fair grounds. Among the side stage performances, the acoustic trance guitar of Scott Huckabay on the Horse Chorale stage was without question the coolest thing I heard at the Fair. He captured the raw primal energy of the universe and let it flow from his guitar as he stomped around the stage. Check him out if you have the chance. Other notables included Sweet Juice, The Blue Rags, a random hippie playing the Rush song "Tom Sawyer" on a fine glass pipe, and the ever present drum circle at the tower. There is also plenty of non-musical entertainment in the form of a fire starter (who really could have used a Zippo this year) stilt-walkers, a dragon parade featuring screaming naked banshees and banhees, and last but certainly not least the guy in the day-glo thong. I was dissapointed this year: not only did I not see the guy in the day-glo thong, I heard that the thong was a tasteful royal blue without a hint of phosphorescence.
While wandering the Fair I ran into John (hoping you feel) Becher, super-kind drummer of Ashbury Park. It was John who posed the most important question of the day to me as he raised a wrist band covered arm. "Are you in?" Answering with a half-hearted show of my own bare wrists and a shake of the head, I admitted that indeed I was not. "Not yet, right?" John said with an encouraging tone. Not yet indeed. Later, however, I would come as close to being "in" that an out person could be.
As the Fair wore on the staff blue shirts began to multiply. Passes and wrist bands were becoming more abundant. The raver kids were stumbling out of their hiding places. The "in" crowd was arriving. The customers were moving to where they belonged: outside the stockade fence, back out into the cold cruel world, banished from the garden of Eden. Searching in vain for anyone I knew who might be willing to give me a ride back to Eugene, I found myself at the end of the fairgrounds. For those of you who have seen the film The Thirteenth Floor , I found the edge of the Oregon Country Fair version 99.0 program, a simple dirt road north of the Yes I Canopy, guarded by a crudely lettered barricade and an ominous sentinel wearing a respirator and terminator shades. Unprepared to know the truth of this reality, I retreated to the energy park. Somehow I found myself behind the thin blue line, the Sweep had missed me. I thought I was in. Falling for my own delusion, I left my safe haven only to be swept out by a second wave of blue shirts. Crestfallen, I headed out to the parking lot toward row 23, still hoping to find my ride. Alas, it had departed.
Retracing my steps back toward the Fair, hoping to catch the last shuttle back to Autzen stadium, I realized I was passing security checkpoints. Checkpoints where wristbands were being shown, passes were being checked. Yet nobody was impeding my progress. I was lost in the steady tide of "in" folks. Closer and closer to the main gate the crowd moved. Within a few meters from the gate a commotion began. "No pass, no pass, catch him, catch him!" A lone (or so most people thought) outsider bolted across the grassy field. A posse of blue shirts and passbearers gave chase. The two remaining sentinels at heaven's gate looked at me in dismay. Why wasn't I trying to catch the party crasher, why did I not pursue the interloper? Stunned, they looked down at my naked wrists. An evil grin came across their shared face.
"Going to Eugene?" the bus driver asked.
Sky Cries Mary and More
July 10, 1999 - Liquid - Olympia, WashingtonFor the first time in quite a while I got to see my beloved _Sky Cries Mary_ (SCM) live Saturday night. It was a long, incestuous night of music involving a number of bands that shared members and rewarded those that hung around until the end. The show was held at a relative new space in Olympia called _Liquid_. I don't know its capacity, but it couldn't be more than 500, and it was only about half full for the show. I am not sure why, I saw plenty of posters around town, and those who there seemed pretty excited about seeing the band. But be that as it may, it was nice to see the band in a small, uncrowded space again.
Unfortunately, I arrived shortly after the first bands_Sunshine Cake_ (made up of Roderick, Ben of SCM, Krist Novoselic (of _Sweet 75_), and Jeff Greinke (a local Seattle well-known avant garde musician) (at least as far as I could tell in the dark)) came on. The place was completely dark, the band was playing in the dark on stage and a movie was playing above them. The music was pretty energetic as I walked in and Ben was banging away on his drums like a madman. It soon became clear that the music was the soundtrack for the film, as opposed to the movie being an effect for the music.
Shortly, the music calmed down and Roderick used some sort of large metal tubing to make some cool sounds by either blowing through it or using feedback from the microphone during one of the quieter periods. As for the music as a sound track, it worked fine. The problem was that, as far as I could tell, the movie was just a series of surrealistic images of Roderick. No story or plot as far as I could tell. Maybe it would have helped if I had been there from the beginning. But, as it was, it wasn't that different, as an event, than seeing _Hovercraft_. But as I said, the music was pretty cool.
Next up was _Hana_ (another SCM offshoot, made up of Anisa, (from SCM) and the aforementioned Ben and Jeff). I have the CD and the music was a lot like the CD. Anisa's ethereal and beautiful voice, with drums and keyboards/midi-type stuff. But it really doesn't go anywhere for me. I think it works better on CD than live because of the introverted and introspective nature of the music means you can easily be distracted in a live setting.
Next up was _Sweet 75_. This is a band I have wanted to see ever since they formed, but something always came up and I would miss their shows here in Olympia. So I was somewhat excited to see them. I have their CD and am happy to say it sounds nothing like _Nirvana_. Which is great! I love _Nirvana_ as much as the next guy, but time to move on dude, you know what I mean?
Anyway, while I couldn't tell you the name of a single song, I enjoyed their set immensely. The new drummer is way cool and so are the new songs. However, I have to say, that I enjoyed the songs where Krist played bass the best. Frankly, he has a round, slinky sound that really gets you moving. The crowd seems to enjoy them as well. Lots of banter with the band and dancing in the audience.
Finally it was time to cheer the headliners. As usual, Ben, Bill, Juano, and TR came on and began the evening's show with an instrumental introduction prior to Anisa and Roderick joining them on stage and this introduction was rockin'! As the music resolved itself into the opening number, it didn't take me long to pick out the opening notes of _Moving Like Water_, my favorite song! A very good omen. From there it was a great selection of several of my favorite SCM songs and a whole bunch of, well, not new, but shall we say unrecorded tunes. Everything was greeted with cheers from the crowd and I noticed several other people singing along with me and the band, when they could. And everyone was dancing. It must be nice to be up there on stage, look out and see the audience moving to the music you are making.
The sound of the band has definitely matured in the seven and a half months since I saw them last. Bill, the relatively new guitarist has definitely been integrated into the band. He seems much more confident in his playing and SCM's sound has changed as a result. He is no longer hesitant to make a musical statement. And that, is a good thing. Bill's whole approach to playing is different from SCM's previous guitarist. If I had to make a distinction, I would say that Bill's approach is less psychedelicized and more straight ahead rock and roll. Even when using, what appeared to be an E-Bow, the sounds he got out of it were, somehow, less esoteric and more, shall we say, grounded, than one would expect. And this fact has definitely affected the overall sound and tone of the band. It is a little grittier and less (dare I say it) beautiful. More down to earth, a little more human. Is it better? I don't know, but it certainly isn't worse, just different.
It was a really good show and one I wish I had gotten my act together enough to tape (but such is life). In fact, if I hadn't been so tired from a long day of running errands, it might have been one of the top two or three shows I have seen. I can't wait for the new album.
Setlist:
Moving Like Water
Shipwrecked
Candlelight
Ant
Horses/Montage/ChickaBoom Cocktail
Cornerman
CloudSplitter
Sonho
Back to the Sea
Ocean
Encore:
Remember Me The Wind
Elephant Song
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