Nels Cline @ Black Cat

[choo-choo-charlie]

Looks + sounds like it was a good time. I should've gone. Anyone in the DMV area go?

 

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/07/09/photos-the-nels-cline-singers-black-cat/

[jff]

Jazz ruins everything.

[Albert Tatlock]

Beware the spirit of jazz ... He wants your soul ...

 

 

Vince: Howard Moon: Jazz Maverick, Novelist, Cyclist, Genre-Spanner, Rider of the Penny Farthing, Stamp Collector...

Howard: [introducing Vince] Vince Noir; Electro... Poof!

Vince: No-one listens to jazz. Science teachers and the mentally ill, that's all jazz is for.

 

Vince: All he needs now is a tall northern jazzy freak with a moustache and no dress sense.

Howard: Is this how you win people over?

Vince: Ah, look, I can't express myself like you! He's tryin' to drive a wedge between us, Howard! We've got history! We're like ying and yang!

Howard: Yeah, well, I'm not gonna take him up on his offer, you know. I don't need him. I've already got a shallow mate who dresses like a... futuristic prostitute.

Vince: [smiles] Thanks, Howard.

 

Spirit of Jazz: All you have to do is sign these papers, baby.

Howard: In Blood?

Spirit of Jazz: Biro's fine.

[dustbowler]

I went last night. It was in the Backstage at the Black Cat. It was crowded and hot in there. No one was more than 25 or so feet from the stage. I went with my 15 year old son (the bass player in my avatar). He said when he closed his eyes the music made him hallucinate.

It was great to see Nels and his band touring on this coast. I liked the Singers much better than the solo show Nels (also w/ Glenn Kotche)did a few years ago at the Black Cat.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Really good show. The room was packed. I was right against the stage, in front of Nels. But I think even the back wall was the equivalent of 4th/5th row seats. Intimate show.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

I really liked that new song they played, Aminette. It was the only time they played it all week, but aside from that, the set list was very similar to what they played for both sets Tuesday and on Wednesday. I was really surprised that they didn't play Floored (they didn't in Philadelphia, either). Thurston County and Something About David H. were standouts for me. A lot of people in the crowd were really receptive, which I was glad to see, but quite a few people left early, too. Some of them looked completely confused and freaked out as they were leaving, which was hilarious. What were they expecting, Wilco songs? I came in later than I meant to and started out in the back by the door, but by the end I managed to work my way all the way down to the second row, behind the speakers on Nels' side.

 

The one thing that stood out to me at the all of the shows this week was how full they all were. I've never seen the Singers play to such big crowds. It was bittersweet--I'm thrilled to see them doing so well, but I also know they probably won't be playing tiny venues again next time they tour.

[bböp]

I really liked that new song they played, Aminette. It was the only time they played it all week, but aside from that, the set list was very similar to what they played for both sets Tuesday and on Wednesday. I was really surprised that they didn't play Floored (they didn't in Philadelphia, either).

 

Was curious so I asked Nels a bit about "Amenette" and he said that it was basically a "fake Ornette line" that also had a part that reminded him of a Scott Amendola composition called "Streetbeat." The title made a lot more sense when that was revealed!

 

Personally, I loved hearing "The Angel of Angels" with Nels on 12-string. Really gorgeous. And of the Initiate tunes, "King Queen" is a standout and having Yuka Honda there to add the keyboard parts and contribute some percussion was awesome! I was also a little surprised they didn't do "Floored" in either Philly or DC because that might be the most accessible Singers song to date. Certainly one of the grooviest. If they do it at Mass MOCA, I think they'll gain even more new fans.

 

Anyway, I guess I should have done this sooner, but here was the setlist for the Black Cat Backstage show in case anybody was/is interested:

 

Forge>

A Mug Like Mine

The Angel of Angels

Amenette [new song]

Thurston County

You Noticed (w/Yuka Honda on keyboard)

Thoughts on Kitano [new song] (w/YH)

Divining (w/YH)

King Queen (w/YH)

-----------------

Something About David H. (w/YH)

[jff]

Here's a nice review of the Singers show at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia courtesy of All About Jazz:

 

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37033

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Brooklyn Vegan has a pretty good review of Tuesday's sets at Le Poisson Rouge, along with some fantastic pictures here. Despite the typo in the last line, they didn't play in a grove

 

The upbeat new songs really come alive in performance.I haven't been listening to much jazz for the last few months, so I haven't spent as much time with the new album as I probably should have before going to hear songs from it for three nights, but the shows made me really want to revisit it. King Queen, Floored, and Divining are stellar live. I was surprised that the set lists were so similar every night. That's not something I expected from them. That said, no song was the same every night. Though A Mug Like Mine isn't a song I'm crazy about, they played radically different versions each of the four times they performed it, including a killer 20+ minute version in Philadelphia that had Nels doing everything from unleashing sonic chaos to dipping into what sounded like snatches of his ballad Lullaby for Ian (off of his solo album The Inkling). Honestly, I was expecting some different songs, though. Two of the three nights were in rock clubs, so I figured they'd break out He Still Carries A Torch For Her, Confection, Cause For Concern, or some of their other really rocking songs. I love the Singers most when they're making all kinds of noise, so of course I was disappointed that they didn't play the noisiest song off the new album, Red Line to Greenland.

 

Seeing them for the first time in two years felt like resuming a conversation with an old friend. From where I ended up in the crowd each night, I ended up watching Devin and Scott more than I did Nels. It was especially cool to see Devin transition so seamlessly from the upright bass to the electric bass and back. Scott puts so much into every performance that it's hard not to pick up on that from the crowd. I can't wait to see the reception they'll get at Solid Sound!

 

And Amenette = Amendola + Ornette. Good detective work