Last year, the Vermont 4-piece, PHISH triumphantly returned to the stage with a full tour, culminating in a 3-day extravaganza over Halloween weekend, entitled FESTIVAL 8.  The event was held at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Ca, where the band played 8 total sets; including one acoustic set and one which featured them covering the Rolling Stones masterpiece Exile on Main St in its entirety, with the assistance of the remarkable Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.  It was an impressive weekend overall, but one thing that really stood out was a lighted sculpture that took flight and boggled the minds of many of us that were in attendance.  Being the inquisitive and science/astronomy/technology obsessed little gent that he is, our writer ONSEN took it upon himself to track down the creators of the structure and compile the intriguing and fascinating piece that we have presented below for you. Since it was originally written, the 3-dimensional FESTIVAL 8 film was released in theaters, offering many of you who weren’t in attendance at the actual festival to have the opportunity to get a glimpse of the crazy lighted device in action.  For whatever the reason (timing, sloth, misguidance, etc) this article never made it onto the site until now.  Tomorrow night, PHISH will be unveiling and performing another cover of another artists’ legendary work, in their typical Halloween tradition.  This time their performance will be held at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in NJ.  For everyone that’s there, we say, “have a great time, set something on fire for us, and don’t steal anybody else’s shit“.  Posting this article the day before Halloween may mean that we have waited and pushed this topic out right at the very last possible moments of relevance, but I hope that you will feel about it as I do.  This is an interesting piece, presented in a concise, informative, and entertaining fashion by a friend of ours who put in a lot of extra work to bring some fascinating information to light, and it still reads as such.  To you, I say thanks for reading it.  To ONSEN, I say, thanks for writing it.  And to everyone… sorry it took so long.

-DEAD C

{simply click on them to enlarge any of the images below & view at full size}

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My sea-urchin costume now litters the earth in a fragmented ring between Seattle and Los Angeles. I’ve long forgotten the anticipation of which musical costume Phish would don for their Halloween show, for all intents and purposes, I’ve moved on from Festival 8.  Yet, laying in bed, quietly picking my nose, I began to wonder, drift, speculate, my thoughts turning to that large floating blob in the sky at the festival, that balloon blimp that could color change like the chromatophores of a courting Caribbean cuttlefish, I whispered to myself, “WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT THAT UP? ”

After patiently awaiting email responses from the creators overseas, I give to you the definitive answer to your mental pondering.  Perhaps on Friday or Sunday night, a higher version of yourself may have also looked to the skies and askied yourself, “????!!!“.   Well my friends, the answer you sought is finally here:

“Borealis”, the name given to the psychedelic jellybean, was created by Hector Serrano studio, in collaboration with Javier Esteban.  Serrano wrote to me from London, explaining that Goldenvoice, the organizers of both Coachella Music Festival and Festival 8, had contacted him to create an art installation for Coachella 2009.  Serrano and his team design tons of amazing stuff, as evidenced through browsing their hyper-creative website.  Hector had originally proposed Borealis for Coachella, but, due to a variety of  issues at the time, he wasn’t able to make it a reality.  However, when Phish decided on the warm, dry, relatively stable climate of Indio Polo Field, where Coachella is also held, Goldenvoice and Serrano decided to try again.

Serrano explains:

“The concept came from the interest of creating an installation that made the concert a more engaging experience, something that celebrates music in a unique way.  As we had to build it in London and then fly it to California, we thought inflatables were a good starting point and balloons are perfect diffusers of light. We knew the object was going to be seen from every point of view so it made sense to do it in 3 dimensions. The organic shape was the perfect way to visualize the music as it offers us infinite patters, some how it was a colorful cloud dancing with the music, so we named it Borealis.  After creating a CGI movie of the project, we started work and development and 3 months later we installed it in California.“

To me, it felt like a friendly whale was swimming over the crowd, an alien acoustic ear translating the music into color, the collective conscious of the fans, the future of band/audience interaction, or simply…  just a blimp on acid.  For those not present at Festival 8, the included photographs and following video (inexplicably set to Radiohead) may have to suffice:

Click here to view the embedded video.

At its best, Borealis seemed to react to every note sliding off of Trey‘s guitar.  At its worst, it still showcased its remarkable versatility in-between songs, as if its operator had no regard for the set list.  I tracked down Christopher Rowell, of Architen Lighting, also based in London.  He was the man who operated the Borealis on Friday night and I wanted to get his perspective.  As Christopher explained, “its all about fore-play and not shooting all your guns at the beginning.  I love the reaction of the light change and the crowd.“  Rowell had written an app. the night before the festival and, believe it or not, he controlled the Borealis with a simple Iphone.  For Halloween, Borealis had the night off and on Sunday it was controlled with a much more complicated system involving 3 DMX Universes and Pharos controls.  Because of the illuminated beast’s nomadic nature, the light board needed to remain mobile.  On Sunday, Borealis was capable of 24 different sequences sent from a “button box“.  Microphones were tested to allow for automated response, but Rowell said the effect looks tacky and cheap.  Still, I believe it is this technology that could usher in a new era of concert lighting.

The basic composition of the piece’s framework consisted of a jumbo structural balloon that was filled with helium and then surrounded by 500 36” air filled balloons.  The whole inner structure was covered with FLEX-4 LED Mesh, designed by Architen Lighting.  This innovative mesh allows for both electronics and structure to be accomplished with just one wire.  The LEDs broadcasted light 110 degrees to illuminate the whole balloon.  Borealis was tethered to a dolly that had a 1.5 kW generator and controls.  4 additional staff members walked with the inflatable creation to monitor it and prevent any wooks from going “danny deck chair“.

Check out this wonderful video by Hector Serrano, which demonstrates the creation process:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Festival 8 was the first to use Borealis, but I expect to see it down the road; hopefully with a designated control board and synapse-fast response.

In an odd twist to the story, there was another undulating balloon sculpture present in Indio. Known as the “Burble“, it was especially noticeable on Sunday night, stage left.  Burble, reminiscent of an unfurling hand, was built by Haque Design, surprisingly, ALSO based in the UK.  “Excuse me sir, Ill have my fish and chips dipped in balloon toys“.  Burble has taken many forms and shown up all over the world.  In contrast to Borealis, the Burble felt more diffused, reef-like, and was controlled using infrared.  Scope out Haque‘s website to see computer models and an archive of Burble‘s near celebrity appearances.  We were lucky to have a Burble at Fest 8, even though Borealis was what truly stole the show.  Haque and crew also designed an amazing piece called Primal Source, set-up in Santa Monica in 2008, which looks aurora-esque and should be at the next Phish festival.

To float, inspire, and celebrate. Cheers to Phish, Goldenvoice, Serrano and Haque‘s crews for reaching to new heights in technology and, most importantly, fun.

BONUS:

(“SCIENCE CORNER” w/Onsen)

Now to examine the name, “Borealis” and its connotations in the larger world.   Borealis is Greek for the “North wind” and the phenomenon of the Northern or Southern lights has been the catalyst for many a young astronomer and myth-weaver.  Undulating ribbons of shimmer, it’s as if the earth sometimes goes out to a sweaty disco for the night, cracking glow sticks on its head like a freaker by the speaker.  The Aurora is actually the result of solar storms bombarding earth and influencing the earth’s magnetic fields.  The ancient Chinese knew it and even Midwestern farmers notice it: the Sun is on an 11-year solar cycle, observed using sunspots or outrageously expensive solar observatory satellites.  Most often seen climaxing around the equinoxes of the 11th year (Solar Maximum), the sun begins to shed energy, huge CMEs or “coronal mass ejections” radiate out into Earth, geomagnetic storms that expand the auroral ova.  It is as if the sun is a rambunctious adolescent every 11 years or perhaps a plasma-Buddha, rhythmically broadcasting Dharma mega.  This energy, composed of particles stripped of electrons, bombards earth, interacting with stuff in our atmosphere (oxygen generally produces long-lasting red or green, helium often shows light green).

For More information, we encourage you to check out this terrific podcast on Aurora from UniverseToday.com

PODCAST LINK

The next Solar Maximum is in the year 2012, so it is reasonable to expect above-average aurora to be noticeable around the equinoxes of that year.  Astronomers forecast this aurora could extend well into the corn-belt and will be highly visible.

The sun burns in ways we cannot simply comprehend and for whatever reason from August 28th to September 2nd 1859, the sun was REALLY ripping.  Often referred to as the “Carrington Event” there was so much energy that telephone companies could turn off their batteries and let the solar energy oscillate the magnetic field of the lines, running the network off of the sun.  While novel, this is unusual and it is possible that another above-average geomagnetic storm could take place in 2012, with the high-powered telecommunications grid stretching across the planet, transforming into the sun’s play toy.  It is realistic to think blackouts and overwhelmed transformers could result.  If they are savvy and adventurous enough, perhaps the designers of Borealis could also harness this solar radiation and run Borealis off nothing more than the energy of our star, staying true to its name.

Earlier this month I began hearing the name “Garage A Trois” thrown around again, which is a band that I wasn’t sure was even still in existence.  The original lineup was comprised of Charlie Hunter (8-string guitar), Skerik (Sax), and Stanton Moore (drums) and was spawned from the recording sessions for Stanton‘s first solo effort, All Kooked Out (1998).  During the sessions, Skerik and Hunter, who were featured on the release, ended up laying down enough extra material with Moore to release a completely separate EP as a trio.  The material, mostly improvised freak-out jazz, was recorded live without overdubs and eventually became the album Mysteryfunk.  In April of ‘98, the trio performed as “Moore and More” for the All Kooked Out record release party in New Orleans, but the group didn’t enter my radar until another New Orleans performance 2 years later.  That show featured GAT being slightly overshadowed as the opening act for the debut performance by another “super group”, Oysterhead (Trey Anastasio/Les Claypool/Stuart Copeland).

Since their inception, the group has gone through a few changes and, with the eclectic and always collaborative band members, it’s often been difficult to even discern what constitutes the use of one band moniker from another.  In 2007, Charlie Hunter decided that, with his family responsibilities and touring, he was spreading himself too thin and could only focus on his main project, The Charlie Hunter Trio.  He took his 8-string guitar with him and, after trying out various temporary members, the remaining members unanimously decided on Marco Benevento‘s organ and electronic sounds to fill the huge  gap that had been left.  The last, and first, time that I saw GAT was in 2003, during their tour to promote their sophomore release, Emphasizer.  By that point they had added Mike Dillon on vibraphone/percussion, already making the “TROIS” element in their title obsolete.  They were a tight unit with matching jumpsuits and video effects.  That same year, I was introduced to the Benevento/Russo Duo through a performance at Seattle‘s Bumbershoot festival, in which they brought Skerik out to perform with them.  About 7 years prior, I caught Skerik performing with his outfit Critters Buggin on that exact same stage.  In 2008, Mike Dillon also became an official member of the Critters Buggin crew.  In addition to these acts, Skerik and Dillon perform together as part of Les Claypool‘s Flying Frog Brigade and Fancy Band projects, as well as in The Dead Kenny Gs, who’s logo was created by Claypool.  The DG’s, whom Benevento has joined on stage, is a trio made up of Dillon, Skerik, and a rotating third member.  For a while, the spot was filled by Brian Haas of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, but is currently being manned by Brad Houser from Critters Buggin.  This essentially makes the group a “Critters Buggin Trio“, a name under which they have also performed.  The Marco Benevento Trio, in fact, was made up of former-Jacob Fred member Reed Mathis and Critter’s Buggin drummer, Matt Chamberlain.  Confused yet?  You should be…. and I’ve given you the super stripped down version, without even mentioning Crack Sabbath, The Taint Septet, Coxygen, Tuatara, Go Go Jungle, Robert Walters, or any of the other endless twisted associations between the individual musicians.  I’m just going to assume that, if Stanton Moore is involved, then it’s “technically” a Garage A Trois event.  That and the fact that GAT has just released Power patriot, a new album of material, which they recently showcased during a handful of promotional dates.

Garage A Trois

12.8.09

Tractor Tavern

Seattle

Interestingly enough, the closest thing to a Garage A Trois performance that I’ve seen in recent years involved both Hunter and Benevento, when they performed with Skerik and Bobby Previte as part of The Coalition of the Willing.  Just like that 2006 show, their recent performance on December 8th, also took place at Tractor Tavern in Seattle.  In the past, the group has performed with Benevento as “Garage A Benevento” but, now that he’s an official member, the level of his contributions are undeniable.  Not only did Marco provide heavily to the writing and editing process of Power Patriot, but it was also released by the organist’s very own Royal Potato Family label.  This Seattle show kicked off the first promotional tour date for the album and, since Charlie Hunter was playing an early show at Jazz Alley, there was a lot of buzz in the air about the possibility of him showing up to sit in with his former group.

I arrived at the Tractor early and got in line.  It was cold as fuck but, at that point, the turnout was still minimal and I made it inside soon enough.  I bumped into a friend of friends that I’ve half-met endless times over the last decade.  He introduced me to a guy named Eyton, whom I’ve also already met but who  never remembers it.  Eyton is a taper and I found myself up front and next to him and his DAT setup as the show began.  Stanton Moore checked the sound by cracking out a beat that I recognized from his solo album, Flyin’ The Koop.  Marco took his position on the left behind a variety of keys and effects.  Mike Dillon, on the opposite site of the stage, was equipped with his vibraphone, timbales and a set of tablas at his feet.  Skerik edged his way through the front of the crowd in a black, zip-up Dead Kenny Gs sweatshirt, took center stage, and strapped on his saxophone.  When he took off his hoodie, he was wearing an Easy Street Records T-Shirt.  Dillon was sporting one too; they had played a free show at the West Seattle store location earlier in the day.  Graphic designer and Little Big Band guitarist, Maurice Caldwell Jr. stood stage-side in support of his friends from Critters Buggin.  I turned around to notice that there was little room behind me and that the venue had been packed.  The show was sold out.

The music started out with Mike Dillon and a melody from his vibraphone, while Skerik got the crowd amped up by welcoming everyone to their CD release party.  “…and we mean “party”!  ‘cuz we love to make records and we love to release!  We love the tension and release!“  After a few more measures of strictly vibes, Benevento and Moore dropped in with the low end of the rhythm section.  Shortly after Skerik entered, stretching out his brass and buoying it atop the rest of the thick groove.  The track was “Electric Doorbell Machine“, the one and only song from the new album which contains multiple writing credits (Dillon, Benevento, Skerik), and it was an immediate display of how well the current formation of GAT is able to mesh.  For everyone that claims that the loss of Charlie Hunter‘s 8-string undoubtedly leaves gaping and irreplaceable holes in the quartet’s sound,  I disagree.  I think it’s important to remember that Benevento gained his first real notoriety as part of a DUO, that filled out a crazy amount of sound between only himself and Joe Russo on drums.  Hunter‘s great, but a better replacement couldn’t have been found. During “Electric Doorbell Machine“, Marco laid down a solid bass line on the keys that mirrored the higher notes from Dillon across the stage.  Skerik swooped in and out of the track like a woodwind falcon and Stanton Moore‘s beats incorporated elaborate fills that, remarkably, never over powered the sound.  The early, scattered energy of the crowd had all been redirected in a unified streams towards the stage and the members of the audience pumped and churned along like pistons, or the cogs and sprockets in the workings of one giant machine.  The show had started off with a brisk jog and showed no signs of ever slowing down.

The next song began as a dual drum jam between Stanton Moore and Mike Dillon on his timbales.  Benevento slowly eased in with some low notes until the song transitioned into the upbeat “The Real Morning Party” from his solo album Invisible Baby.  After the track Skerik screamed out “Teleprompter setlist, redneck style!” and Mike Dillon responded by holding up a piece of paper with the set-list scrawled on it for him to see.  Then, in a Walter Cronkite voice, Dillon added, “Yes the brown paper bag redneck teleprompter set-list in effect ladies and gentlemen“.  After some more banter, Skerik instructed everyone to “stretch it out!” and the group performed arm stretches by pulling their wrists over their heads.  A driving psychedelic rhythm kicked in and they were off again, playing another new track, the spy-jazzy “Rescue Spreaders” (Benevento).

The show was officially going full force.  They followed with the Dillon composed, “Dugout” which allowed the percussionist to showcase his prowess on the vibes and even offered Benevento ample room to throw down some ridiculous keyboard work.  The next song, “Dory’s Day Out“, was also a Dillon composition from the new album, but it took the show into lighter, more ethereal directions.  Benevento layered his circuit bent toy sounds over the twinkling vibes and then slowly dropped in a deep bass groove.  The song was a dreamy sparkling odyssey that wouldn’t seem out of place in the repertoire of French duo, AIR.  Mike Dillon pulled out even more intricate vibe-work and Marco shot electronic sounds everywhere, but “Dory’s Day Out” finds it’s foundation resting on perfectly timed subtleties.  I’ve seen Skerik command entire shows by himself, but the saxophonist knows just when to add his touch to a song and when to back off.  This was apparent, not only during this song, but throughout the entire show.

They finished off the set with a 20-plus minute rendition of the Skerik-written, freak jazz title-track from Power Patriot, a song that  runs a mere 3:22 on the actual album.  They stretched the fuck out of the song, allowing each member to have an opportunity to highlight their abilities through individual solos. Stanton floated around his kit like a humming bird and Skerik screeched out filtered noise, via his mouth through his saxophone mic.  Charlie Hunter had wandered in by then and, along with the props called out to him during the jam, Dillon spit a mediocre free-style rap about smoking weed with Marco and Skerik even represented Stanton Moore‘s hometown by yelling out the New Orleans chant of “Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?“.  They took a break to catch their breaths and sell/sign cds at the edge of the stage.

I went to the bathroom, grabbed 2 beers and squeezed back into my little spot by the stage before the second set began.  The quartet eased the the second half in with the slow build up and wispy sax work of “Computer Crimes“.  Next was the aggressive rhythm of Marco‘s “Fragile“, featuring an unleashing of Skerik‘s various squawks and squeals and Dillon‘s vicious vibe attacks.  “Fragile” is like the soundtrack to an alleyway chase sequence in a Daniel Craig, Bond film.  Both of these second set lead off tracks are fine examples of  the spy-jazz elements that are definitely woven into GAT‘s new album.  “Fat Redneck Gangster“, which they dove into immediately after wards, worked as even further evidence.  At some point I spilled my second beer all over the floor, near where I was standing.  A girl that was standing next to us joked by pointing out that I was “that guy“.  I hate “that guy“, partially because, just like myself, “that guy” never even gives a fuck.

For the next song, Charlie Hunter was brought on stage.  He didn’t have his 8-string with him; instead, he joined Marco over at the set up of his organ and various keys.  They stood side by side and Hunter cranked out the bassline “The Dwarf” off of the Garage A Trois created “soundtrack” to what was, supposedly, an unreleased French film called, Outre Mer.  Charlie‘s presence not only added a second wind to the show, but also freed up Benevento to kick into some crazy all-out solo’s over the track.  As Hunter left the stage to applause, Skerik‘s rants and comic relief were at a high for the night.  “Oh is it too late Ballard, do we have to stop?!“  “I’ve gotta be at microsoft…“  “Oh, but there’s a sale at REI.  I gotta be there when they open… I’ve have to buy more things with the color teal!“  While Skerik spewed out light-hearted jabs at his home town, Stanton and Dillon had entered into another dual drum routine.  This time it turned into what appeared to be a version of “Interpretive Ape Dance” from the Emphasizer record.  During this segment, Dillon was able to utilize multiple percussion instruments, including a cuica.  The next song started with Skerik screaming “Takin’ it Sacramento!” and Dillon following up with “Takin’ it Sacramento, motherfucker!“  They yelled, chanted, even rapped over a few select portions of the song, which was actually just a jazzed out cover of “Twin Killers” by the band Deerhoof.  When it was over Skerik apologized by saying, “Sorry for talking on your song Deerhoof.  I’ll shut up next time“.  I didn’t recognize what the next song was but, halfway through it, it morphed into a great rendition of “Summertime Rolls” by Jane’s Addiction.  By the looks of the rest of the crowd, I don’t think many people caught it.  They finished off the show by bringing Hunter back on stage with Maurice Caldwell Jr. and playing  a chaotic version of “Scratchitti” (Benevento/Russo Duo).  Charlie jumped on the timbales, Caldwell sang random shit like, “Must be santa!” into the mic, and Dillon ripped his shirt off.  The song shot all over the place, accelerated, and ended in a crash of jazz punk noise.  The musicians left the stage and wandered around the audience and the crowd eventually dissipated into a few mere stragglers before I headed home.

A group like Garage A Trois will, undoubtedly, draw two types of comparisons; one to it’s former lineup and another to the individual projects of it’s members.  As far as the replacement of Charlie Hunter is concerned, I like the new direction that the group has taken.  Benevento does add more of an aggressive rock dynamic and other changes, but they are ones that work and they work well.  Of the previous GAT releases, Outre Mer is perhaps the most focused and cohesive by the jazz quartet and, although Hunter‘s touch on the 2005 record is undeniable, he has been quoted as saying the following about the album’s “concept” in an interview, “It’s all Skerik. Basically, Stanton and Mike and Skerik and I got together and Stanton and I worked out a lot of grooves in the studio“.  He also stated, “I was just down in New Orleans for the week that we recorded it. I wish I could tell you something; I do so much stuff that I’m totally ignorant as to what the thing is even about!“  With his various responsibilities limiting his time and ability to contribute sufficiently, Hunter graciously bowed out in benefit of the quartet.  Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings about his replacement, Benevento has more than taken up the slack of his predecessor.  After the show, I spoke very briefly with organist.  Since my interview with the him 2 years ago, Marco has released 2 solo albums and a DVD, started his own label, had a second child, and, not unlike his band mates, has toured continuously, as part of one project or another.  I asked him where and how he found time to squeeze working with Garage A Trois into his already packed schedule and he looked back at me clueless, as if my question didn’t make any sense.

However the members of GAT were able to find time to work together, the quality of the project doesn’t give any indication that it was rushed or “squeezed in”.  Garage A Trois manages to avoid having a fragmented sound that is often present in the material from other “super groups” like Oysterhead.  Without the liner notes, It would be difficult to determine who composed each of the individual tracks, because of the incredible cohesion within them.  The voices of each member meld together, without trampling over and muffling each other.  GAT has become more than a side project; it has become a legitimate force in it’s own right.  It is an assemblage that I hope the members are able to revisit often and, when they do, I encourage everyone to catch them live.  Quite fortunately, Power Patriot is also more than just a typical release.  While most jazz and/or jamband releases often can’t compare to the groups dynamic in a live setting, this release captures Garage A Trois‘ wild improvisational spirit, as well as the subtleties and intricacies of the member’s abilities through its production.

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE SHOW

To Download a FLAC copy of EYTON’s Live Recording of the show CLICK HERE
(use review for more accurate set list)

To stream/download this & other recordings from EYTON’s archive.org page link HERE

Much like The Pixies, DEVO has set out on a limited city tour, scheduled to coincide with a deluxe album re-release.  The Ultra DEVO-LUX Ltd. Edition packaging will feature their debut album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo, and the commercially successful Freedom of Choice.  The double re-issue will also contain unreleased material, 2 DVDs, a poster, and a yellow 7 inch vinyl.  The tour itself  involves a 2 night stop in each of 6 different major cities.  The first of the nights features the group performing Are We Not Men? in its entirety, while the second night involves them giving the same treatment to Freedom of Choice.  I knew that DEVO was scheduled to perform a pair of dates in Seattle, but I had also accepted that I was probably not going to be able to see either of them.  I tried to jump on it and request passes the day that the press release was sent out, but it was a difficult ticket to get and the comp. tickets were all accounted for by radio stations.  As someone who used to listen to Are We Not Men? religiously, I was disappointed.  When the day of the show approached and I hadn’t heard any good news, I all but put the concerts out of my mind entirely.  The first night came and went but, on the second/Freedom of Choice night, I received a last minute email informing me that I could be approved for a photo pass.  The problem was that there were no more reviewer passes left.  I’ve had issues trying to enter the venue without a ticket in the past, but I was assured that shouldn’t be an issue.  This also meant that, if I wanted to stay in the venue after the 3-song limit outlined in the photo-policy, I was going to have to do so on the sly.

DEVO

November, 9 2009

The Moore Theater

Seattle, Wa

After going to the wrong venue, I stumbled up to the box office and received what was easily the slickest photo-pass that I have ever seen.  It was in the shape of  one of DEVO‘s patented “energy dome” hats.  I’ve noticed that it’s easier to control a conversation if I speak first and speaking quickly, so I flashed my pass at the doorman like Axel Foley and said, “I was told that this would be enough” as I stepped through the door.  For a split secon, he looked around aimlessly, then nodded in agreement and said, “Okay.”  Once inside, I finally met our connection to the venue, which has been helping us gain access to endless shows and has been providing ticket giveaways for all of you Chachis over the last year.  He told me that there would be some open seats on the floor and that I could probably just slide back into one of them, inconspicuously, after I was done shooting.

Reggie Watts was opening but, after running from the last venue, I needed a drink and spent his set in the bar downstairs.  I was sitting at an empty table, so a couple asked to share it with me.  The female of the two was sipping an $11 specialty drink called the “Whip It“, which she disappointingly realized wasn’t much different than a Cape Cod.  Before heading back up-stairs, I discovered that that the man was in a local band called Super Geek League.  More than just a band name, it was also foreshadowing for the crowd at the DEVO show that night.

The more bands that I see, the more aware that I become of the distinct differences between the respective crowds that are drawn to them.  This time I felt as if I had crashed a D&D tournament.  While I was getting my camera ready, I tried to make small talk with a man who was sitting in the front row with his lady.  “Were you at last night’s show too?“, I asked.  He responded with, “Yes.  A lot of people were.“  I then asked him if DEVO did anything special for the Q: & A: album’s set and he responded by telling me that, “They played the album all of the way through.“  I knew that much, already.  “I mean, was the performance itself tailored in anyway to the album or was there anything different that related to it specifically?“  He opened up slightly more, but his answers were still very distant.  It was as if I, with camera, was there to observe and document them as “fanatics” and not for the show itself.  Ironically, it was that suspicious discomfort that, actually, made me realize that the crowd was just as vital in the documentation of the concert itself.  There was a general, conflicting mix of awkwardness, confidence, self doubt, elitism, excitement, and apathy in the air.   Fans funneled into seats in the plastic “energy domes” that they freshly purchased from the merch table.  They held unopened vinyl records and were pulling on crisp T-Shirts.  I wasn’t sure if the message was that I was too “cool” to be there or that I wasn’t “cool” enough.  Part of me wanted to go up to someone holding a sealed Are We Not Men? album and let them know that I have the original release on marble vinyl or, perhaps, just point out the irony of mass consumerism at a show for one of the most anti-capitolism/conformist bands of all time.  “Relax self, you’re bigger than that and at least, you’ve seen a live woman naked before.  Besides, what if you become addicted to patronization and are in desperate need of some IT help someday?“.  Fuck it!  Maybe the issue was just that it was Freedom of Choice (1980) night and “Through Being Cool” wasn’t released until the following year [New Traditionalists (1981)].

The equipment (drums, synths, etc) were set up and the back of the stage was equipped with large, boxy, speaker-shaped lighting rigs.  The drums were positioned to the left and everything was arranged very symmetrically.  A projector screen had been pulled down in the center and the show began by having the video for “Girl You Want” played on it.  This was followed, in order, by the videos for “Whip  It” and “Freedom of Choice“.  I was just hoping that these videos didn’t qualify as part of of my 3-song photo limit.  The screen lifted and a skinny “spud boy” came out wearing nothing, but his rubber mask and tighty whities.  He held a card, reading “Track 1” over his head, like a ring girl, and the band took the stage to an uproar of applause.  Staying true to the Freedom of Choice era, they were sporting matching short-sleeve, beige jumpsuits and their trademark energy domes on top of their heads.  The jumpsuits had a vertical stripe up the right side of the chest and another one that simulated a belt around the waist.  Both of them appeared to be constructed from red packing tape and the ensembles stayed true to the ones from 30 yrs ago.  They were slightly different than the originals but, unless you’re a complete fucking nerd, you wouldn’t have noticed it.  {Fun Fact:  I noticed}.

The individual members of DEVO took the helm at their appropriate stations and immediately broke into “Girl U Want“.  Mark Mothersbaugh stepped towards the front of the stage, pumping his microphone into the air, while synchronized flashes of color and light mesmerized the crowd.  Looking at my notebook now, I see that I have scrawled down the words “Industrial Nerds and Magic“.  There’s an instantaneous excitement that can overtake someone the moment that a show finally begins, but it doesn’t always last.  I had just watched the complete “Girl U Want” video in it’s entirety and, by hearing it again so quickly, the hype could barely be sustained through to the end of the track.  As expected, they followed it up with “It’s Not Right” and the set continued in chronological album order until the end.  The next song on Freedom of Choice is “Whip It“, so that was next.  Obviously, this is their most famous track and, unfortunately, the only one that the majority of people even know by the group.  Interestingly enough, when the video for “Whip It” was released, it was hailed by some as being “sexist” and stirred up more controversy than any of their previous work.  Now it’s a favorite of soccer moms and corporate baseball enthusiast.  It is also the only DEVO song listed in most karaoke song books.

If these guys were one-hit wonders, without a solid catalog, they would be playing shitty Casinos, instead of selling out The Moore Theatre on back to back nights.  Being a fan of said catalog, their one “popular” song can feel played out and the fact that I just watched the official video for it, not 20 minutes prior, didn’t help alleviate that feeling.  The lights flashed red, like a swarm of ambulances, and Mothersbaugh waved his hands, snapping his wrists as if he were cracking a whip.  In the middle of the song, he frisbeed a couple of energy domes out to the audience.  Other than that, the performance wasn’t too exciting and it really felt as if they were simply going through the motions.

The man in his drawls returned holding the track 4 and 5 signs in his hands.  This was supposed to be my cue to quit shooting and, keeping in mind that I didn’t have a ticket, I backed up towards an empty seat.  Then, realizing that I’m an asshole, I fired off a couple of extra shots anyway.  Holding 3 fingers in my face, an irritated security guard manifested in seconds, like some form of ninja apparition.  “Oh, first 3?“, I pretended to clarify and then sat down.  At least I was still inside and they had just kicked into the opening synth riff from “Snowball“.  Things were getting interesting and beginning to pick back up again.  Josh Freese has been drumming for DEVO since their reformation in 1996, and he has some solid chops on the electro break-beats.  During the intro, the other 4 members hopped on one foot , alternated feet, and clapped their hands overhead to the snare hits; all in sync with each other.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For “Ton O’ Luv“, Jerry Casale took center stage at the mic and his brother, Bob (aka: “Bob 2″) took over his spot at the keys behind him.  For the title track, Jerry took his bass to the mic, Bob2 strapped on his guitar, and Mark sang up front,  only returning to his rack to play the signature “Freedom of Choice” keyboard jam.  They would make minor changes like this throughout the rest of the show; switching instruments, sharing vocals, etc.  However, beyond these planned out rotations and the few synchronized steps from earlier, there wasn’t much orchestration to the set at all.  They didn’t fuck anything up, but there was little to no banter and they offered up a fairly basic rendition of the album straight through.  The set, just like the record, ended on the song “Planet Earth“.

ENCORE

Once they left the stage, the lights went down and a projection of stars shot across the back of the stage.  An audio track came through the monitors, which urged the audience to think about the “incomprehensible” size of the universe and how our galaxy alone is like a “speck of sand“.  The voice then humbly recognized the tiny insignificance of DEVO in the grand scheme of this massive world and welcomed them back to the stage.  The light came back on and the encore began with the single “Be Stiff“.  Jerry Casale marched and sang, while Bob “Bob 1” Mothersbaugh showcased his guitar skills.  After the synth-pop heavy album, it was really refreshing to hear them pull an early song from their repertoire that was more on the straight punk side.  This also marked some of the first real interaction with the crowd, as Jerry advised us to, “Always live you’re on TV.  Stiff and rigid, like an apple tree.“  Mark Mothersbaugh had slipped off back-stage and I could see that he was changing into his alter-ego, Booji Boy.  His bandmates began playing the song “Beautiful World” [New Traditionalists], with Casale still on vocals.  About a minute into the song, Mothersbaugh re-entered in his alternate getup.  The frontman was dressed in his updated Booji Boy attire, which consisted of a baseball cap, with a rhinestone skull on the front, and a chorus member-style gown, with “Booji Boy” sewn across the back.  He waved to the audience, sang in his standard high-pitch voice, and even threw down a keyboard solo.  The keyboard jam morphed into a tease of “Satisfaction“, before turning into a slow groove/breakdown to allow “Booji Boy” to say a few words to the audience.  “You know?  It seems like such a long time ago, when we did these songs.“  he began.  “But I remember it just like yesterday, when DEVO first went to Hollywood, ‘cuz we didn’t know anyone and Booji Boy was scared“  He continued by telling a story about walking down Hollywood and Vine, having Michael Jackson pick him up in a limo, and going to Neverland Ranch.  He said that he was “the nicest” man and expressed his sadness about the loss.  He then told the crowd that he was sure that, if MJ could crawl out of the grave “just like inThriller” and walk up to Seattle to get on stage with them, that he would say, “It’s a Beautiful World!“  The song returned full-force and finished off strong.

Click here to view the embedded video.

At the end, Booji Boy lifted up his gown to expose a hidden fannypack.  With one hand, he reached inside and pulled out multi-colored rubber balls, which he threw and bounced out to the audience.  It was a little unsettling to see middle-aged men climbing over seats to grab super balls with happy faces on them.  One guy, in particular, was making excuses under his breath, while he jumped in front of women and grabbed at the feet of other patrons to grab those gumball souvenirs.  I caught one and handed it to a girl and her boyfriend who had just been swarmed by that fool.  As I left the venue, grown adults were still shamefully crawling around on the ground to get as many of the balls as they could.

Some shows take me longer to write about and that’s often because some of them take me a while to process and figure out how I truly feel about them.  It may be my Jewish heritage in effect again but, although I did enjoy the free show, I still left disappointed.  That isn’t to say that the show wasn’t any good, because I’m aware that this disappointment is very subjective and relates to the specific preferences that I have as an individual.  Then again, since I’m the one reviewing the concert, my preferences are the only ones that really matter.

I made no effort to see DEVO perform at Lollapalooza in 1996, because I foolishly assumed that they would be following it up with a full-on tour.  It then took me another 10 years before I was finally able to see my first show and, after seeing them again, I began to wonder if that played a role in why I felt that 2006 show was so much better than this one.  In certain ways, I believe that it may have.  The last time that I saw them, I was sitting up in the balcony of the Paramount Theater.  Though my front row access provided me with “better” seats this time, after watching videos from this recent performance, I realized that being so close may not have offered me as wide or complete of a view, regarding the stage presentation, light-sequencing, etc.  Then there’s that pure excitement of seeing them for the first time that I lacked this time.  However, by that same token, that excitement was probably being added to the experience of many of those who you may find raving about this same concert.

In some ways, my experience was doomed to be less than mind-blowing from the beginning because, although I love DEVO, Freedom of Choice is, by no means, my favorite of their records.  Perhaps this growing tendency for bands to perform a a “classic” release from start to finish is the fault of ATP and their festivals.  It’s a good concept for an annual festival but, I have mixed feelings about these type of shows, because I’m not sure what considerations determine an artist’s “seminal” work.  Freedom of Choice marked a huge transition for the band into a more synth-pop sound than ever before.  The “de-emphasis” on guitars was further reflected in guitarist, Bob Mothersbaugh‘s name increasingly evaporating from the song writing credits.  The song “That’s Pep” even sounds a lot like Steely Dan at points.  “Whip It” helped propel the band, as well as this album, to the forefront of popular culture, but that doesn’t mean that performing the complete album live will provide a well-rounded show.  Only 2 of the 12 songs on Freedom of Choice even extend beyond 3 minutes.  This results in a minuscule overall running time and, subsequently, a concert that ended far too early.  I am much more partial to the complexities and rawness of their previous 2 releases, than the more polished sound that they began to deliver in 1980.  Noticeably absent are the epic, hybrid double-tracks like “Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy” [Are We Not Men?] and “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA” [Duty Now For the Future], which are two of my favorites from the group.  The tracklist  for Are We Not Men? is so amazing that the set would have felt like hit after hit.  Unfortunately, this feeling was missing from the Freedom of Choice show that I saw.

I enjoyed the opportunity to experience the concert, but I am still jealous of those who were in attendance the previous night.  At first, I felt that I was having issues with objectivity, because of my love for the Are We Not Men? album but, by viewing footage from the previous night, I’ve realized that my less than enthusiastic opinions stem from something a bit more valid.  DEVO‘s visual elements have gone through many transitions and incarnations over the years.  That’s why it’s unfortunate that, when most people hear the name DEVO, their references are limited to the video with the “flower pots“.  I felt that this Freedom of Choice performance successfully delivered that pre-packaged concept to those that desired it, but that it left the rest of us unfulfilled.  From what I’ve seen of the first night, the performers seemed a little less enthusiastic to be performing it, themselves.  Based on photos and video, night one had more of a focus on props, costume changes, and interplay with the audience.  They wore their patented, yellow radiation suits, which were ripped off of them in sections to reveal their Rollerball-esque, black T-Shirts, shorts, and knee pads look.  This is the showmanship that i remember and miss from the 2006 performance.  In addition to this, they brought out pom-poms and both of the Mothersbaugh brothers even entered the audience, at one point.  They had additional lighting rigs, incorporated more of their disjointed dance movements, and even encored with “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA“.  The show that I saw was for the masses, while the night before was for the slightly deeper fans.  It’s similar to how Meat Puppets treated their fans to Meat Puppets II last year.  If they had done Too High Too Die instead, it would have been the equivalent to DEVO‘s playing of Freedom of Choice.  Then there are still those of us who would rather see Meat Puppets perform Up on the Sun and witness DEVO tear through their severely overlooked and under-appreciated masterpiece, Duty Now For the Future.  Obviously, with such difficulty in obtaining a pass to either show, I didn’t exactly have the “freedom to choose” which one I saw.  Still, it can be difficult to gain enthusiasm for a show when it appears like the performers may be losing theirs.

This footage, from the same year that Freedom of Choice was released, is a prime example of what I wish I could have seen that night.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In 1981, DEVO was interviewed on the Australian television show, Countdown.  During that interview, Gerald “Jerry” Casale was asked if he had any fears about DEVO gaining popular appeal among the masses.  He responded to this by saying, “It deserves to become commercial, it deserves to become huge.  It deserves to become the next thing, because we represent the way that a lot of kids feel” and  “It’s our duty to be as big as we can be and still be viable.  It’s the challenge.  Y’know,  how soon will you become ridiculous?  How soon will you become the people that you hated.“  For whatever it’s worth or whatever it means, I feel that the experiment was “successful”.  This band doesn’t belong in the group with ‘80s one-hit wonders or humor rock.  Regardless of if they ever get the recognition for it that they deserve or not, DEVO is a brilliant social commentary being delivered by misunderstood innovators that were ahead of their time..  They are more than a band, they are an institution and a greater concept.  Although later releases may be found less appealing, DEVO never once let go of their central ideas about “De-Evolution” and their attacks on materialism and the destruction actually being created through creature comforts, quests for fame, and inventions known as “technological advancements”.  This is  further evidenced by post-DEVO work, such as Gerald Casale‘s Jerry Jihad and The Evildoers project.  Even when taking on large corporations as clients, Mark Mothersbaugh has managed to do such things as slip subliminal messages like “obey” and “submit” into a Coke-A-Cola commercial.  Gerald is a successful videographer and Bob 1 works at his brother’s musical production company, Mutato Muzika, where Mark has created the scores for Wes Anderson films (Rushmore, Life Aquatic, etc), TV shows (Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Rugrats), and video games (Crash Bandicoot, The Sims 2, etc).  Recently, Mothersbaugh scored the film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and, with his consistent art gallery shows, I think that the members may be spreading themselves thin.  I’ve watched video clips from other shows on this tour and it’s pretty clear that I caught them on an off night.  Fortunately, an “off night” for DEVO still means a pretty solid performance, even if their domes aren’t pulling in much energy.

The real test of viability will be the release of DEVO’s first full album of material in 20 years.  The release date of the tentatively titled, “FRESH” is slated SPRING 2010.  Below is the video for the album’s first single, “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)”, for anyone who has yet to see it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Everyone has been waiting around to find out what was up with the Fall tour dates which, at this point, have really become much more like Winter Tour dates.  This morning, in typical Phish 3.0 fashion, the dates were introduced via a video on their website.  Most of you will be happy to know that the rumored dates that have been floating around for so many months have officially been confirmed as legit.  The real surprises are the two additional dates added to that list; one in Syracuse and another in Portland, Maine.  The Portland show is scheduled to take place at the Cumberland County Civic Center and will easily be one of the hardest tickets of the year to get your hands on.  The “C4“, as I have just decided to start referring to it as, is listed with a capacity of only 9,000.  What’s more is that the Syracuse show will be held at War Memorial at Oncenter (capacity 8,000).   ZOIKS!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m sure that there are going to be plenty of “I told you so you stupid mother fuckers” being delivered, today.  Someone’s probably even going to end up getting punched in the skull somewhere.  The speculation and debate around the band’s every upcoming move has been at an all-time high and can cause a great deal of animosity between their arguing fans.  This isn’t necessarily anything new but, if one band has really harnessed the power of the internet, it’s PHISH.  Plus, we still feel forced to write something and feed into this shit too because , with our recent post about the speculated dates, it seemed irresponsible not to do a follow up.

Here are the tour dates with the dates that they go on sale listed beside them:

Fall Tour 2009

• 11/18/09 – Cobo Arena – Detroit, Michigan (on sale 10/24)

  11/20/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio (on sale 10/23)

  11/21/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio  (on sale 10/23)

  11/22/09 – War Memorial at Oncenter – Syracuse, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/24/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA (on sale 10/24)

  11/25/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA (on sale 10/24)

  11/27/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/28/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/29/09– Cumberland Cty Civic Cntr – Portland, ME (on sale 10/24)

  12/2/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/3/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/4/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/5/09  – John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA
  (on sale 10/23)

A limited number of tickets are available NOW directly through Phish Tickets’ online ticketing system at http://phish.portals.musictoday.com. The ticket request period is currently underway and will end Friday, October 16th at 5:00pm EST.

Tickets go on sale to the public beginning Friday, October 23rd, with additional dates going on sale Saturday, October 24th. For full show and ticketing information, please visit the tourdates page at Phish.com.

Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Sufjan Stevens earned his most notable success through 2005‘s Illinois album.  The 22-song ode to the Prairie State launched both Stevens and his “50 States Project” into the public eye.  In 2006, he followed it up with The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album and a 5-disc box set of Christmas music but, since then, the releases have pretty much ceased.  There’s a strange conflict created in the logic of many of Sufjan‘s fans because, although they want to hear a “new” project from him, they are also focused around what the next installment of the last (50 States) project is gonna be.  People would often prefer to buy the same album over and over again than risk having an artist grow in a direction that is uncomfortable for them to deal with.  For anyone with logic and reasoning skills, it’s clear that Stevens will never write an album for each of the 50 states, unless technology and/or his work ethic changes drastically.  I don’t think that the artist’s intentions or claims are dishonest but, even by churning out an album every year, it would still take him until the age of 82 to finish the project.  Music aside, I am acquiring a growing respect for Sufjan‘s approach to the creative process, which involves healthy doses of patience, a virtue that I have trouble possessing.  His focus seems to be more about the process than the result and, whether or not you enjoy those results, his dedication and sincerity is undeniably commendable.  He seems to be content with investing as much time to create, or even re-structure, a project until it’s just the way he had envisioned.  In fact, October 6th marks the release of Run Rabbit Run, a reworking of his 2001 Chinese Zodiac-themed, electronic album Enjoy Your Rabbit; this time, with all string instruments.

Recently, I had the opportunity to view one of Steven‘s most ambitious projects yet.  In usual Sufjan fashion, The BQE is based around a very specific theme; The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.  Like the 50 states Project, it’s geography based, and the music is completely instrumental, like that of Enjoy Your Rabbit.  There is one aspect that puts The BQE in stark contrast from any of his previous work, however, and that’s the fact that it’s also a film.

The BQE project was originally commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and presented in October of 2007, as part of the Next Wave Festival‘s 25th anniversary celebration.  Described as “a cinematic suite inspired by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Hula-Hoop“, the presentation involved a 35-piece band and orchestra, three simultaneous film projections, and live hula hoop crew, during its 3-night run at the Howard Gilman Opera House.  A week after the shows, Stevens entered a studio with the orchestra and recorded the soundtrack but, for one reason or another, the project was shelved.  After two years, Sufjan finally took on the daunting task of pulling all of the elements together into one somewhat concise form.  On October 2oth, The BQE will be released in a deluxe “home version”, which includes the soundtrack as well as a DVD.

I found a showing of the film in Seattle, thanks to The NW Film Forum holding a limited engagement.  The screening room had maximum occupancy of only 49.  There would have just been barely enough room to contain the full cast of performers from the original BAM shows, before risking a violation.  Before I attended the showing, I knew very little about the history of the project, but I had already heard parts of the soundtrack.  From what I gathered, I assumed that it would involve some instrumental music stacked over a lot of imagery involving asphalt and vehicles.  Strictly based on those limited assumptions, I really wasn’t that far off.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The movie began pretty much like the trailer above, with a shot of the expressway in the distance and the hula hooping trio, only slightly more drawn out.  The simultaneous 3 frame structure continues through out the entirety of the the film, as does the format of utilizing a strictly musical audio track to narrate it.  Technically, The BQE is little more than 40 minutes of expressway footage coupled with dramatic orchestrations, but it’s not as monotonous as it sounds.  It’s the various ways that the imagery and sound are constantly re-presented , which can be credited with giving the film it’s depth and keeping the viewers engaged.

After the introduction sequence and it’s corresponding music (“Prelude on the Esplanade”/”Introductory Fanfare for the Hooper Heroes”), the film transitions into images of old NY architecture, which can be viewed from the expressway itself, and then to the traffic that moves through it.  Twinkling piano ripples enter in, as this portion marks the first of 7 movements in the production.  Each segment is consciously arranged this way, with an accompanying musical piece.  It’s all very symphonic and the unfolding of the musical elements play similar to that of a ballet.  Without the footage, this movement (“In the Countenance of Kings”) alone could lend itself to imagery of Snow White or Little Red Riding Hood, gently entering a forest clearing as little woodland creatures slowly expose themselves.  The notes dance around, almost romantically, and then plunge into dark dramatic moments of deep passion, before floating back out like a hummingbird.  Meanwhile, the, otherwise mundane, imagery flashes across the screen in triplets and is given new life through its altered contexts.

Storage facilities, graffitied-out building walls, and auto auctions with an American flag/giant inflatable gorilla advertisement graced the screen.  Once the expectations  of what deserves attention and focus have died, some really fascinating concepts begin to pop out organically.  The subject of the film is a strip of road that is widely regarded as a congested eyesore and which, for all intents and purposes, was constructed over 25 years in a struggle for functionality.  There are many problems that could be focused on with the expressway, including much of the view that it provides, but there is also a lot of craftsmanship involved that is often overlooked.  After viewing the various plays on imagery, my thoughts shifted from urban blight to the actual effort and beauty behind the scenery.  At one point, a McDonalds restaurant even comes across as majestic, instead of as a corporate threat to American consumers.

The BQE is shot with both Super 8 and 16mm film.  Super 8 provides the bleak, washed-out tones and nostalgic imagery, prominent in so many grainy family home videos, not to mention The Wonder Years intro.  I’ve always felt that the film produces a somewhat, frantic feeling, as if the images were trying to catch up with real time, so it works incredibly well with scenes involving automobiles and gridlock.  The 16mm footage was shot with an old school 1960‘s Bolex camera, utilizing it’s in-camera editing capabilities.  Since the scenery of the film is limited to 12.7 miles of concrete  and mortar, the transitions are often very subtle, but that actually helps ad to their effectiveness.  During, what I later discovered to be, the second movement (“Sleeping Invader”), notes began to mirror the sounds of bells and the happy toot of car horns.  The tri-panel display shifted from showing primarily related images to more thought provoking and contrasting subjects.  A panel featuring a shot of a land fill would share the screen with scenes of the open water or rows of graveyard headstones would be replaced with rows of empty cars in a parking lot.  These are the aspects which save the film from slipping away from the viewer and help manage to keep it interesting, because the viewer is allowed to draw their own conclusions about the what these  moments may symbolize.

After all of the elements began to gel, the first interlude (“Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation”) presented itself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Weather or not “Subi” was an auto leasing reference to “Special Unit of Beneficial Interest“, I don’t know but, by this point, I had already began to view expressway as a living entity and each of the individual vehicles on it as working togehter for a common goal.  After the chaos of the swirling hoops and tires of the interlude, the film spill out into the sound of playful stacatto plucks and little zippy cars.  This third movement (“Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise”) truly embodies it’s title, as little groupings of steel boxes slide across the expressway like products on a factory conveyor belt.  Images of apartment windows formed questions for me about where the people were actually traveling to.  It seems as though everyone is so urgent to transport themselves from one compartment to another and maintain a separation from each other.  The odd thing about this suggestion is that there is the duality that also implies the exact opposite.  Generally, when viewing something such as traffic, I notice the separation between objects and not their unity.  The same is true with a marathon or in NASCAR, because there is a inherent conditioning to edge someone out and grasp for dominance in those situations.  This time, however, I saw the cars more as ants working in unison.  Although these are two very contradictory concepts, they work off of each other and suggest more of a multi-angled view and fresh perspective than they present any conflict.

As the vehicles shoot across, up, under, and around the concrete assembly lines, the intensity continues to build and take flight with trumpeting horns and flurries of strings.  The action rises until the bottom eventually drops out and transitions into a glitched-out IDM and Drill n Bass sequence of time-lapse video and blurred imagery.  This movement (“Traffic Shock”) was my favorite, both visually and soundtrack-wise.  This segment was like a shot of adrenaline or a key bump on Space Mountain, with neon streams/blurs of time-lapse traffic and head lights pumping through concrete arteries.  Camera angles shifted around with various night shots and the glowing beams of smeared automobiles gave off a heavy Tron-like, futuristic vibe and whipped around the little tracks like Mario Cart.  The BQE was really beginning to solidify itself as more of a visual artwork than any sort of story or message based film.

["Movement IV—Traffic Shock"]

Up until that point, the pacing and usage of the triple-pane method seemed much slower and less overt.  At times, each panel would present a different image while, at other times, each one would be a slightly different angle and/or lapse in time of the same shot.  The images often seemed as if they’d flow into one another, as if a car was driving through one frame to the next.  Sometimes the same image being run at different intervals would create this effect.  For example: all 3 panels would show the same shot of the Statue of Liberty with a boat passing in front of it but, by running each one at slightly different times of eachother, the boat would exit the left side of the right frame as the middle frame showed it entering and caused it to look as if it was driving through.  It was like the video equivalent of a musical round.  The spontaneity and movement of the flipping panels often even felt like a game of 3-Card Monte.  These aesthetic approaches didn’t entirely halt after the fourth movement, though.  Instead, they were simply mixed in with new ones, while the usage, experimentation, and aggressiveness of effects were being upped, all around.  The aftermath of the electronic chaos brought the royalty and fanfare of trumpets, along with symmetrical landscapes and  the mirroring of images.  By grouping footage next to inverted versions of itself, fascinating compositions were formed that were larger and more powerful than the original frames would have been alone.  Frames were aligned in ways that blended them together and formed zig-zagged kaleidoscopic mandalas like casino carpeting.  Cars would dance and crisscross through each frame like blood cells in an ant farm.  At one point, the images even momentarily took on the shape of an abstract robotic entity for me; an Optimus Prime of  medians and overpasses.

As the film continues to wind down, new and old subjects continue to be mixed into the batter.  The Hula hoopers return and carnival scenes of Coney Island are introduced, as well as tranquil moments of panoramic skylines.

The most obvious comparison being drawn to The BQE is with Godfrey Reggio‘s groundbreaking 1982 classic, Koyaanisqatsi.  In fact, I find it hard to believe that anyone who’s seen both films wouldn’t make note of the similarities instantly.  Each of them involve symphonic orchestrations and suburban landscape shots, but  Koyaanisqatsi [along with sequels Powaqqatsi (1988) and Naqoyqatsi (2002)] marked a cinematic breakthrough.  The BQE, which borrows from the Quatsi format heavily, is hardly as innovative, but I’m not sure that it’s necessarily supposed to be.  Reggio‘s film covers a lot more territory with its footage and subject matter.  It uses sweeping crane shots to pan down over both rural and urban landscapes, while The BQE relies primarily on more static shots.  The cinematography in Reggio‘s classic also incorporates multiple drawn-out, zoom and slow-motion portraiture shots, bringing attention to the people existing in and interacting with the environments being spotlighted.  It also features a Phillip Glass soundtrack with memorably haunting chants woven throughout.  Besides the “Hooper Heroes”, Sufjan‘s project is much less overt, as far as addressing any direct human involvement.  In fact, The BQE is much less overt in most aspects.  In reference to his triumph, Reggio has been quoted as saying that, “it is up [to] the viewer to take for himself/herself what it is that [the film] means” and I feel that is where the power of each of these films lie.  However, by using imagery as potent as explosions and hospital rooms and by editing drastic cuts from circuit boards to near identical overhead layouts of city-scapes, some connections feel more insinuated in Koyaanisqatsi.  Steven‘s main interest with the 1982 film seems to be strictly with zeroing in it’s minimal freeway scenes and expanding upon them.

The  BQE is not a re-invention of the wheel, by any stretch.  Some of Sufjan‘s shots are almost identical to those of it’s predecessor but, by maintaining his focus on one solid piece of subject matter, it allows for the fledgling filmmaker to explore it with a multitude of different approaches, angles, and avenues (pun intended).  Even as someone who loves Koyaanisqatsi, I was still able to really enjoy The BQE and gain something new from it.  Sufjan Stevens has admitted to having an “obsession” with the American landscape and has said that his 50 states Project relates to his fascination with “understanding the american identity“.  I think that I enjoyed The BQE, which easily could have come across as contrived, because I could sense an honest intention in the film.

I think that it’s a mistake to approach this film with any expectations.  If you go in with the hopes of seeing a historical documentation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a standard Sufjan Stevens piece, or even a new Quatsi installment, you’re risking disappointment.  I also believe tha, if there’s any message at all to the film, it also stems from that concept of avoiding expectation.  As the film settles in, and the viewer is forced to accept and embrace where the expressway will or will not take them, it becomes clear that the expressway is as much of a destination as it is a structure of transport.  Honestly, the most impressive thing about the film is the way that it’s all painstakingly edited together in a magnificent and elaborate cohesion.  Like any good piece of art, The BQE should be viewed more emotionally than intellectually.  If you’re able to go in with an your eyes, ears, and mind “open” and appreciate it for it’s sensory contributions, I think that you may find it to be a solid offering.  If you want to see Sufjan in a romantic comedy, because you think he’s dreamy, or if hate art films, this probably isn’t going to work out for you.

The Official Release / Live Performance

For the official release of The BQE, Sufjan Stevens and Asthmatic kitty have thrown together a couple of unorthodox packaging options.  Along with the film and soundtrack, Stevens has also teamed up with, friend and illustrator, Stephen Halker to create a 40-page comic book (pictured) and a View-Master reel.  Each of the 7 images on the reel is meant to represent one of the 7 movements from the film/soundtrack.  The comic heroicizes the Hooper Heroes and further explains the symbolism through the following storyline:

“three extra-terrestrial superhero sisters (Botanica, Quantus, and Electress) use hula-hoops to combat the “the Messiah of Civic Projects,” Captain Moses, and his totalitarian social architecture.”

Here are the full details of the packaging options, as well as information regarding an upcoming live performance :

The double-disc album will include the original film on DVD, the original soundtrack on CD, a 40-page booklet (with photos and liner notes), and a stereoscopic image reel (aka View-Master®), created by illustrator Stephen Halker.

The limited edition vinyl is available as a double gatefold and includes the soundtrack on 180-gram vinyl, a large-scale 32-page booklet with liner notes and photographs, and a 40-page Hooper Heroes comic book.

And on October 24, 92YTribeca will host a release party for The BQE. This will include a showing of the film as well as a performance from string quartet Osso (playing selections from Run Rabbit Run), the recently-announced re-imagining of Sufjan’s Enjoy Your Rabbit. Roberto C. Lange (aka Helado Negro) will DJ.

{Tickets are only $12.  CLICK HERE to check for availability.}

DATES CONFIRMED!

CLICK TO LINK

Collectively, PHISH fans can be some of the most paranoid, presumptuous, and speculating mother fuckers around, but it’s not necessarily their fault.  The band has been feeding into their own mythology from the very first moment that there was ever a sign that they may able to get away with it.  Over their five year hiatus, the big question was about when and if they’d return.  The assumptions and apparent “evidence” throughout that time were like that of the self-proclaimed “experts” on the apocalypse.  “The Mayan Calendar is proof!“  “Just read the bible!” “Take a look at the fucking ice caps!“  “Nostradamus foresaw this!” ….and such similar bullshit.  The obsession actually seemed to grow when they weren’t even performing as a unit anymore.  People were so focused that, when they suddenly announced their reformation quietly on their website, people were actually alert enough to notice it.  I want to reiterate that point because I think that it’s important: They had broken up for 5 YEARS, and people were still viewing their website every day!  After the reunion dates were set, the questions were, “When’s the tour?” and then “When’s the Westcoast tour!“  After that it was, “Where’s the 3-day festival gonna be?” and now it’s currently, “What album are they gonna cover on Halloween?“  They always have something up their sleeve for the future to keep people guessing continually.  Forums run rampant with this speculation to the point where there’s often a huge split between the cynical and overly certain and/or hopeful.  Everyone thinks that they have the scoop and it’s hard to know what information or sources are credible.  Sometimes, however, something pops up that’s so suspicious that it’s hard to doubt it.

For most of today PHISH.com has been un-viewable and, when it has been, no new changes are displayed to the potential list of Halloween cover albums.  The Festival 8 hard tickets are arriving to people and they display a clear image on them of what appears to be a Joshua Tree.  Does that mean anything?  Probably not.  A case could be made for almost anything but, in the middle of all of the guesses and clues being thrown around, it’s easy to forget about the next question that had been on the table, “What’s up with the fall tour?“  Thanks to the official site being down and preventing any new info about Halloween, at least one person was able to shake themselves out of their focused trance and has, perhaps, found some clues that could help answer that question.

A full list of supposed Fall dates have been circulating around for a while and, although nothing has been officially confirmed with any of them, at least 2 of the dates seem legit.  The screenshot above was taken from the Jillians of Albany website and was discovered by, Phantasytour.com forum member, xPHISHx and pointed out by them in a thread on the site.  As you can see, Jillian‘s calendar of events clearly advertises back to back after parties for PHISH shows being held in the Albany area on November 27 and 28, the days following Thanksgiving.  What’s more is that these two dates correspond directly with the rumored tour dates and if legit, this may lend some credence to the schedule as a whole.

Here are the remaining dates which have been floating around.  Feel free to derive your own conclusions from them.

11/18/09 – Cobo Arena – Detroit, Michigan
11/20/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio
11/21/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio
11/24/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA
11/25/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA
11/27/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
11/28/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
12/2/09 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
12/3/09 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
12/4/09 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
12/5/09 – John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA

New Years Run 2009

12/28/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
12/29/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
12/30/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
12/31/09 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL

We’ve put up two recent Flaming Lips-related articles lately, but I just came across something that I felt was interesting enough to post and extend this accidental theme a little while longer.  If you are a fan of The Lips, you probably know all about the giant space bubble that Wayne Coyne uses to roll across the top of the audience, like a hamster ball.  For those of you who always wondered about what the front-man is actually experiencing from within his protective layer, there’s now a video that can help to provide you with that perspective.

The video below is titled “Wayne Cam – Space Bubble, Philadelphia 29 Aug 2009” and is via the Vimeo account of Lips drummer Kliph Scurlock.  Under the video, it simply states the following, “This is what the whole space bubble experience looks like from Wayne’s perspective.“  When Kliph posted the video link on The Flaming Lips‘ official Facebook page today, however, he was quite a bit more detailed about the story behind the video.

“We taped a camera to Wayne’s chest in Philadelphia to record what he sees and hears inside the space bubble. Wayne thought it should be edited in order to capture only the “highlights”, but I like the entire sequence, including the moments where nothing much is going on. I chose to keep it unedited so you could get a feel for the whole experience. I hope you enjoy it.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out more of Kliph‘s first hand perspective videos on his VIMEO account HERE

Read our review of the 2 new Flaming Lips EPs w/updates about the Embryonic HERE
Read our review of the Flaming Lips @ Marymoor Park w/photoset HERE

So now that all of the ridiculous map bullshit is over and people can finally sleep without wondering if they have to cancel their plans or if they should have never canceled them in the first place, PHISH and their fans, who got sucked into the brilliantly deployed marketing scheme, are finally able to get down to business.   The band has created a website for their latest festival and have broken down the details that so many have been anxiously awaiting.  The boys have also released new information regarding an alternate release date and track list for for their upcoming album ” JOY“, as well as the cover art.  I’m tired of writing about this shit, so I’m gonna just let the press release do all of the talking for me.

ANNOUNCING PHISH: FESTIVAL 8

We’re thrilled to announce Festival 8, a three-day Phish festival which will take place on October 30th, 31st and November 1st at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. With lush green fields and palm trees, and surrounded by vistas of California’s majestic Santa Rosa mountains, the festival site is simply breathtaking. And for the first time ever, Phish will combine two of its most cherished traditions – a multi-day camping festival and performing on Halloween – in a glorious three-day celebration.

Keeping the tradition of past Halloween shows, Phish will don a musical costume on Halloween night and cover another band’s album. The tradition began on Halloween 1994 with Phish covering The Beatles’ The White Album. In subsequent years, they covered The Who’s Quadrophenia, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light and the Velvet Underground’s Loaded.

The band will play eight sets over the course of three days, and as with all past Phish festivals, fans will enjoy on-site camping, numerous attractions and art installations throughout the weekend.

Tickets for Festival 8 will go on sale Monday, July 27th at 10AM Pacific Time for $199 + $1 WaterWheel Donation (plus applicable service fees) via http://places.musictoday.com/festival8/. This includes entry for all 3 days into the event area. All vehicles entering the Car Camping area must also purchase a $15 Vehicle Pass. Limited Car Camping is available. Gates will open for the event at NOON on Thursday, October 29th. Capacity is limited, so advance ticket purchase and carpooling is strongly encouraged.

We’ve created an official Festival 8 website at phish.com/festival8, where you can find exhaustingly detailed information about the event. We’ve posted the first wave of information about the festival and plan to update it regularly as more details are confirmed. Complete information, including a listing of different travel packages, is available at now at http://www.phish.com/festival8

JOY: THE ALBUM COVER

Joy, Phish’s first studio album in five years, will now be released on September 8th instead of the previously announced date. The album was recorded in New York City this spring with producer Steve Lillywhite.

Pre-order details for Joy will be announced next week, so stay tuned to Phish.com.

Here’s the tracklist:

Melchiondo is well known for his side-work with the group Moistboyz and, bassist, Dave Dreiwitz is involved with multiple other projects.  Freeman, on the other hand, has often seemed less eager to venture out beyond his work with the band.  Toward the end of last year, however, Gener began to do just that, by playing various shows with his recently formed Gene Ween Band {You may have read the review by our writer A.Misalatti, who we sent to cover the new 4-piece‘s performance in Brooklyn back in February}.  Since the group didn’t come out West for any of the dates, and since I haven’t been to a WEEN show since their last Seattle show in 2007, I was pretty psyched when the West Coast dates were announced.

After I had already set up the passes, I went to the official Gene Ween Band site and noticed that The Crocodile Cafe show was one of the few that had the word “SOLO” posted next to it.  I sent an email out to WEEN‘s management to verify that it wasn’t a band performance and received the following message, “Yes, this is a Gene Ween solo show, just Gene Ween. He will play about 2 hours of Ween songs.“  I had been interested to hear Freeman play the new tracks that he has working on with GWB but, in all honesty, I was really excited to find out that I was going to be present for something completely different.  In many ways, by Gene performing all by himself, it is is much more of a venture beyond his comfort zone than even presenting all new material.  Over the years, WEEN shows have gained notoriety as smoke-filled, sonically intense spectacles, and Deaner‘s guitar work has always played a vital and irreplaceable role in them.  Although Melchiondo and Freeman both write, sing, and play guitar, Dean is known as the primary guitarist, while Gene Ween is generally regarded as the main vocalist.  Even on last years At the Cat’s Cradle CD/DVD release, featuring early footage of the duo performing to sparse crowds and accompanied only by a DAT machine, Freeman never played guitar throughout an entire show.  This would definitely be an exciting and rare opportunity to watch and see if Gener could prove that he was able to hold his own all by himself.

Gene Ween (solo)

June 19, 2009

The Crocodile Cafe

Seattle

By the night of the show, it had already been sold out for quite a while.  Onsen didn’t have a ticket, but I tried to talk him into heading down there with me and my girlfriend anyway.  We met up at the Upper Playground a few hours before the show started.  There was a really cool exhibit by artist Stacey Rozich and it gave us an opportunity to get our free gallery drink on before heading downtown.  On the way to the bus, I got a phone call from my friend, and fellow WEEN enthusiaist, KB Smooth.  He happened to be in town and asked me what I was up to.  I let him know about the show and he said that he would meet us down there.  Now we had a crew.

We walked up to the venue at the same time as KB and ran into him immediately.  Within about 30 seconds of us standing out front, a man interrupted our conversation to ask us if we were going to the show.  He then handed us two free tickets and left saying, “Just buy me a beer inside.”  As far I know, we never saw him again and nobody bought him a beer.  Now that everyone was set for as admission, we headed the few blocks to KB‘s ride so that we could drop off some shit and get our fade rolling before the show.  On the way there, we saw Gene talking on his cell in an alley and, after we made it to the car, some nosy wingnut was poking his head in to find out what we were up to.  There was a very high probability that he had been puffing the hubba rock and, pointing to a restaurant a few buildings down, he “warned” us that, “Some cops are in there eating spaghetti!“  He then rambled on with some overly-complicated story that was solely constructed as a segue into, “I’m not gonna lie.  I’m just tryin’ ta git me some chicken and beer.”  We gave him a portion of the little change that we had, just so that he would beat it, and he went off to harass a young, white, and frightened upper middle-class couple.  I heard him yelling, “It’s because I’m black!” at them, right before we headed back to the show.

The Crocodile Cafe is a local staple that just reopened after the previous management let it go under.  I haven’t been there since I saw Doug Martsch on his solo tour, but I could still remember that the venue looked strikingly different.  The main floor was now much larger and the entrance was even located on a different side of the building.  I heard that the “new” door was found when they were renovating, but I’ve also heard that that is a common excuse used to avoid dealing with building permits.  I ran into my friend Amanda, who I first heard WEEN with when I was in high school, and then made my way up to the balcony over looking the stage.  The balcony is fairly small, but there was a little bar up there and we got some drinks.  I was already pretty fucked up when I got there, but I had a few beers and we stayed up there for the majority of the opening set.  The opener was WEEN drummer, Claude Coleman Jr., and he was working an solo-acoustic/singer-songwriter angle of his own.  I knew Claude had a band, but I’ve never heard them and, in my opinion, I don’t think that his material went over that great.  The songs that I heard were tinged with WEEN songs like “Freedom of ’76” and had elements of Elvis Costello swirled in.  There was a crowd of hungry WEEN fans listening to tracks that they’ve never heard before and that I’m not so sure were created to be played in that format.  The songs sounded like they were missing something to fill the sound and the set felt a little like someone was playing their acoustic guitar on a couch in an apartment during a small gathering.  It was one situation where the lack of familiarity really seemed to play a role in the effectiveness of a concert, especially when you have a crowd full of fiending drunks.

We were on the main floor when Gener came out wearing a pink button-up dress shirt and holding his acoustic guitar.  The show all ready felt incredibly surreal and I hadn’t been that close to the stage since I saw WEEN for the first time.  The venue was very intimate and people were resting their water bottles and jackets on the stage, which had absolutely no sort of fencing or security in front of it.  Freeman has gained some weight over the last couple of years and his hair is graying, but he still has that same baby face and enthusiastic energy in his eyes.  He looked genuinely happy to be there and, from the moment he struck the first chord, the entire environment changed.

The set started out with “What Deaner Was Talkin’ About” and it sounded amazing.  His voice was really on point and it was easy to feel the unanimous mixture of enthusiasm and fascination emanating from everyone in the crowd.  Plus, I’ve had that song randomly popping in my head for the last two weeks, so I felt like I was already getting exactly what I wanted.  It was a good choice for an opener and it is a song that transfers smoothly into the one-man format.  The next song, “Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)”, was a slightly more unorthodox move, but it was one that I’m glad he made.  It was one of the first WEEN songs that I ever really fell in love with and, by working it into his repertoire, it showed that Gene had no intention of sticking strictly to the expected ballads.  He employed his effect pedals heavily and I was surprised that, with the lack of the bass-line and drums, it still sounded complete.  As for the single vocals during the chant-like chorus, it wasn’t an issue.  The audience was more than happy to fill in as backup singers.

I worked my way a little closer and recognized the tattoos on the woman standing dead center at the front of the stage.  It was artist, Thea Wolfe, who created The WEEN Coloring Book and who I first met when I did an interview with her for the site.  She was swaying around and looked so happy that I wouldn’t have been surprised to find out that there was free morphine up front.  Her husband Lars Peterson, was right next her with his camera.  I had my Nikon and, since Thea isn’t very tall, I still had a great view standing right behind her.  The club wasn’t well lit and Onsen, who was standing by the light board, later told me that the girl running it would only twist one knob back and forth occasionally.  It was dark as fuck and I was trying to make at least one photo work with my sketchy lens that’s terrible in those conditions.  While I was focusing on my camera and listening to the show, a couple of girls, with more energy than I had, started talking to me.  They asked questions about me taking photos and asked me if I was “gonna dance“.  I was super faded and, when I get fucked up, I don’t get very hyper; I slow down.  “Great!  I’m in another conversation where enthusiastic strangers are trying analyze my body language and teach me to loosen up and how I should be enjoying myself.“  This is always the point where I think about how I know that I’m way crazier than the people approaching me and my mind starts devising crazy solutions as to how I could sedate the situation like a monkey tranq.  “Maybe if I set this cat next to me on fire or shit on the floor, I could make my point and go back to what I was doing.”  I wished that my lady would have decided to move closer to the stage, because girlfriends are like guard dogs.  I was also hoping that she wasn’t watching the conversation and misinterpreting my brief and distant engagements as me trying to lay my mack down.

The third song that Gener busted out was the sultry “Your Party“, about a high-class social gathering.  Next on the set list was “Stay Forever” and “She’s Your Baby“, both from the White Pepper album.  Everything sounded tranquil and whimsical like magical unicorns and methadone.  Then came another unexpected twist when the singer performed “Friends“.  There are all ready two recorded versions of this gay discotheque-style dance number, and this third, stripped-down version was equally solid.  Gene Ween stalled on the lyrics mid-way through and the crowd helped sing along and move the track forward.  The assistance and enthusiasm was appreciated.  He was smiling throughout the entire set and constantly thanked everyone for coming out.  The crowd continued to sing along when he maintained the White Pepper theme by playing “The Grobe” next.  The regular version is really grimy and heavy, but everything he played continued to work.  I think it was around this part of the show that I truly realized that any slight questioning that I may have had, before hand, was completely unnecessary.  He could have taken on just about any song from the WEEN catalog, by himself, and still make it gleam like shinola.  What wasn’t entirely working for me was the vocal arrangements of the audience.  Everyone was trashed and a lot of fools were stumbling over and spilling their beers on to everyone else.  In a way, the audience participation really helped make the show but, by the same note, I don’t need to listen to a bunch of assholes next to my ear who want to scream louder than the actually performer.  At one point, Thea‘s friend was ready to punch one wasted goon that kept plowing into her, so I agreed to operate as a human barricade between them.  The pros and cons balanced each other out and it was hard not to enjoy myself.  The show was amazing and, for the most part, it was a positive aggression being displayed by the majority.

We had all assumed that we would hear “Baby Bitch” and we were right.  It was thrown into the mix next, before going into “Chocolate Town“.  After that, one of the stumbling drunks next to me screamed out the song title, “Freedom of ’76“.  This is a track that Gener tends to only contribute vocals for live, but he obliged the fan by performing it A capella without hesitation.  Next was “Object“, complete with guitar solo, and then the swampy aquatic space track, “Mutilated Lips“, which always makes me feel like I’m in the middle of a Nyquil high.  The Roland keyboard, which was off to the side, finally got some use for the next 3 songs, “Even if You Don’t“, “Lullaby“, and “Happy Colored Marbles“.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As he casually transitioned back and strapped on his guitar, there was a huge uproar of screams and people chanting, “Gener!“.  He played the song “Laura” and this acoustic version easily calmed down the crowd again.  His ability to reign in the cattle was impressive.  Gener played the role of a puppeteer/clown, using audio balloon animals to focus the attention of a kids party riled up on too much pinata sugar.  With the command that he was able to wield over the mob, I have the feeling that he could have easily incited a riot or witch burning if he chose to.   The set continued to get mixed  up with a nice variety of songs like “Right to the Ways and the Rules of the World“, “I’ll Miss You“, and “The Mollusk“.  He left the stage with an enthusiastic smile and with his thin dress shirt completely drenched with sweat.

Encore

When Freeman came back, he still had a massive grin pulled across his mug.  I could feel that he was appreciative and authentically moved by the amount of love he was receiving.  The encore started with “The Argus” and I was really happy to hear hear him do it.  He brought out Claude Coleman Jr. on a second guitar to help out the with the final 3 songs of the show.  The two of them performed “Flutes of the Chi” and then “Polka Dot Tail“.  For the closer, “Big Jilm“,  they used a drum machine to knock out the beat.  It was a perfect way to close the night.  There was more crowd vocal accompaniment, but there was a strangely cohesive harmony and everybody seemed to know their parts, instead of just drunkenly mumbling over each other.  The show was over and the lights were kicked back on, but nobody wanted to leave.  It was more quiet than it had been all night.  People stared at the the stage and/or each other with blank looks of awe freezing their expressions.

A friend of mine once opened up for Claude Coleman‘s band.  He told me that Coleman mentioned to him that it was necessary to play outside shows to supplement his income, due to WEEN‘s random and infrequent touring schedules.  As of now, WEEN have a little more than a dozen tour dates coming up, including 2 festival stops.  Freeman has expressed his intention to record a Gene Ween Band album, at which point they will probably come up with a more creative name.  Otherwise, these side projects tend to be used to fill in time between the major WEEN projects and tours.  I love WEEN and wish that they had a stop closer to Seattle on this tour, but I can’t help but welcome these side projects as well.  Another friend was telling me about how he saw WEEN play at The Crocodile back in 1994.  These days, the demand is too high and they could never pull such a small show off, unless it was a “secret” or unnanounced performance.  In the liner notes for the At The Cat’s Cradle release, Dean goes into extensive detail about his feelings regarding the growth of the band, audience, and venue sizes.  The added members provided more flexibility to their shows but, over time, much of the intimacy was lost as the band evolved.  Seeing Gene alone was amazing and I hope that he finds time to do another tour like this again.  It was a great opportunity to witness that intimacy that has been lost.  I think that Gener felt that way too, and I can only hope that it was enough to encourage him to come back and do it again.