Jon Lord (1941-2012): the Centerpiece of Deep Purple

Jon Lord, the innovative keyboard player for Deep Purple (and with Whitesnake, among collaborations with other musicians) passed away last month.

I'm here to focus on his work with Deep Purple.

I was fortunate enough to see Jon Lord and Deep Purple perform in 1985, which at the time featured a reunion of the Mark II lineup with Ian Gillan (vocals), Ian Paice (drums), Roger Glover (bass), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), and Lord (Hammond organ & various keys).

This lineup of the band -- its most famous incarnation presented to the world in 1970 with Deep Purple in Rock -- was making a comeback off Perfect Strangers, arguably the band's strongest post 70s studio effort.

The show I saw in Tacoma, WA for the Perfect Strangers tour was one of the loudest and rowdiest shows I've ever attended. I was 16 at the time, and the little skinny fella getting hammered into a sardine on the general admission floor space amongst a pack of older, bigger Harley Davidson-riding gangsters.

Still, the show was amazing, and Lord's keyboard solo was one of the highlights.

Lord lighting the stage on fire!

Lord "emancipated" (his own words, via Sam Dunn's series on heavy metal this last year) the Hammond organ in the world of rock, amplifying and distorting its sound so that it could play a more substantial role as a lead instrument in a rock paradigm. I've concluded that Lord's friendly (and perhaps unfriendly more often than most realize) competition with the egomaniac element of Purple, guitarist Blackmore, helped to fuel and craft the sounds he put through his keys.

Nothing like thumbing your nose at a lead guitarist who thinks he's all that!

Like Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Jon Lord was the mortar that held the bricks of Deep Purple together, although it may not be apparent to a first-time listener with certain Purple tracks; most rock enthusiasts' ears aren't tuned to hear (or expect) the keys as a centerpiece on a rock record. To truly appreciate the Purple sound, and Lord's work, you need to reframe your ears to bring in the wall of sound coming out of Lord's instrument. We'll dig through the band's catalog and highlight some Lord nuggets (more of that in a minute).

"The greatest honor one can be given is that of 'teacher.'" ~Alex Lifeson

Simply put, Lord was the centerpiece component of the Purple sound, which was (and still is) unique for its time. It's his work on the keys that made the band stand out from its heavy (and better known in most circles) counterparts at the time, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. It's widely understood and accepted that all three of these bands are godfathers of the heavy metal genre and influenced a generation of bands.

In my opinion, it was Lord's presence in Deep Purple that makes them stand out from other band's in the day, and made them more dynamic and interesting as a live act. In some instances of songs, Lord was actually heavier than Blackmore's guitar and brings about brainmelters with his sound, with "Hard Lovin' Man" arguably the standout performance of his career. In other instances, his classic training stands out through his delicate decorating of songs such as "Child in Time" and "Woman from Tokyo."

Throughout all of his work, Lord always had a foot dragging behind in the blues, and the influence of the blues on his work is part of what makes the musician's sound so unique in the world of rock.

However, for this Purple fan, I point to "Knockin' at Your Back Door" and "Perfect Strangers" as the best examples of how Lord was the heart of Deep Purple's sound, blending his work on the keys the way the brick layer fills his work in with mortar....plus the Hammond intros to these tunes are just plain cool and slick.

Some Jon Lord moments to check out from the Deep Purple catalog:

• From In Rock (1970): "Child in Time," "Living Wreck," and "Hard Lovin' Man"
• From Fireball (1971): "Fireball"
• From Machine Head (1972): "Highway Star," "Pictures of Home," "Smoke on the Water," and "Lazy"
• From Who Do We Think We Are (1973): "Woman from Tokyo"
• From Perfect Strangers (1984): "Knockin' at Your Back Door," "Perfect Strangers," "Gypsy's Kiss," and "Wasted Sunsets"

As complete works, the albums In Rock, Machine Head, and Perfect Strangers are excellent and should be in any rock enthusiast's collection. Also, Made In Japan is an excellent example of Purple's live work.

R.I.P. Jon Lord. The contributions of this talented and inventive man to the world of rock cannot be emphasized enough. His work is forever etched in stone....err, I mean In Rock, of course!

THE STAGE HECKLER: Gin Blossoms' Greatness Goes Beyond the Music

What you see here is the set list from tonight's live performance, courtesy of the Gin Blossoms. I grabbed it at the end of the gig, much to the amazement of 20 onlookers with the "I didn't know you could do that!" look on their face.

Grabbing the set list is the ultimate souvenir in many ways. It's hand-crafted by the band for just that show (printed from a computer, but you know what I mean), and typically reveals quirks or things they were considering playing that they didn't, such as the "Cajun Song" that you see on the list...and if you're lucky, and it was on the ground, you might get the guitarist's shoe print on it...or someone's spit. Or worse.

I'm always amazed how many other attendees don't think to ask, as tonight I was the only one inquiring to a roadie about it. He nodded, knelt down in front of where guitarist Jesse Valenzuela had been playing on stage right, removed the tape, and handed it over. No problem. I think that's the fourth set list I've been part of grabbing...there was Live in 1994, Matthew Sweet in 1996, Ratt a couple weeks ago, and now the Gin Blossoms.

Now let's talk about the band.

They might be touring the casino circuit these days, and they might be leaning heavily on material from their signature album, 1992's New Miserable Experience, for their live set...but this band from Tempe, Arizona -- now going on 20 years strong -- are survivors.

The sound of the Gin Blossoms is timeless in some ways, but also heavily rooted in the Tempe bar scene of the late 1980s & early 90s around the Arizona State campus. I should know, as I was attending ASU during those exact years that the Blossoms flourished from bars like Long Wong's, which has sadly since been demolished as Mill Avenue literally erased any sign of its history block after block (when Tempe whored out what remained of its soul to development interests in the late 90s -- Long Wong's...Bandersnatch...Cannery Row...the list goes on -- but that's a long story for another day). They'd also play local frat houses until they turned into a worldwide touring act. I had the pleasure of seeing them perform at several parties back in the day.

Seeing them live tonight conjured up many of the influences from back in the day that one might overlook, but are rather obvious if you know their music. The Stones and R.E.M. seemed to be the most obvious...the interplay between the two guitarists, Jesse Valenzuela and Scotty Johnson, echoed elements of the duo of Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Lead singer Robin Wilson seemed to have a mic & stage style in the likeness of Michael Stype. He handed his tambourine to someone in the audience to play along, and sang into someone's cell phone on a couple of occasions. It was amazing how much he sounded like Elton John when they played "Rocket Man" in the encore.

The Blossoms are one of those bands born to play live. They shine and thrive in the live setting, and very much have a live sound even in their studio recordings.

In their early days, there were years of hiccups, false starts, and the difficulty of getting known beyond the Tempe scene. Between the long frustration of trying to get on with a major record label, losing their co-founder /guitarist /main songwriter Nicky Hopkins to alcohol and eventually a suicide in 1993 (as the melancholy lyrics and feel of Experience reveals much of his illness), and after surviving a breakup in the late 90s, these guys appear to be back and stronger than ever. A new album is due out in 2010.

The most impressive thing about this band, however, is their character and heroism...which comes from an incident that occurred in 1994. Every August, when students start the fall semester at ASU, a popular activity is to raft down the Salt River. Unfortunately there can be lots of accidents on the river, and to/from the river, caused by drinking or recklessness. That fall, a female student was severely injured in a motorcycle accident enroute to the river and didn't have medical insurance...so while she lay recovering in a local hospital, the band got together to put on a benefit concert at Long Wong's bar in Tempe. The result was thousands of dollars raised through donations to help pay for the girl's medical bills...and remember, this is 1994...interesting context to current times.

If that isn't the mark of greatness, I don't know what is. The music of the Gin Blossoms is timeless and a personal sentiment, as they are part of the soundtrack to some incredible and memorable college years...but I believe it's that single act of thoughtfulness and heroism that defines them.

THE STAGE HECKLER: Falling Victim to a Ruse to See...Ratt? Yep!

I got dragged to it, I swear!

Yep, I ate my 80s hair metal on Halloween night with Ratt...at the Snoqualmie Casino up I-90. A casino for Ratt, huh? How appropriate.

I really shouldn't complain, as I did get to see them for free...as my buddy needed someone to go with and covered the $30 ticket...but here I am.

Still complaining about it.

It actually ended up being three of us, as a third fella (a former co-worker of my buddy's) suddenly showed up and drove to it in a torrential downpour...I guess he was the backup plan in case I couldn't get talked into going, but I didn't put much thought into it until the day after when I was recalling the series of events.

Ratt is one of my buddy's favorite bands...but you must know something's out of place with the appeal of your band when you have to:

1. Use trickery and deception to get your friend to go to it with you.
2. Have a backup person to fall into the ruse if your first person fails to fall for it or bails on you.
3. Pay for both friends to attend the gig you designed the ruse around.
   

Anyway.

I'm not a bubble gum rocker, but the show was pretty good...at least they seemed like they'd rehearsed a bit and they weren't out of tune. It was of course Stephen Pearcy and the original guitarist, whose name doesn't come to mind. K.K. Downing? No, that's Judas Priest...Robbie Robertson? No, that's The Band (wow, I'm really out of it)...I guess I could look it up right now, here on the computer, but I'm too lazy to right now. Pathetic, huh?

So I'm trying to think who I listen to regularly who comes the closest to this band...hmm...Kiss maybe? And I'm not a super big fan of them either. Maybe Aerosmith? Not a big fan either.

I guess I don't really listen regularly to anything remotely close to Ratt. Oh well.

I tried to keep an open mind...yet here I am, apologetically putting up a post about the damn thing, as if I've been a bad doggie who pooped in the corner of the living room, and I'm expecting to get swatted at any moment.

They played all their "classics," if you want to call 80s bubble gum rock "classic." They went through their whole Out of the Cellar album from the early 80s with hits like "Round and Round" and "Come On Feel the Noise." Kidding! That's Quiet Riot...I was just seeing if you were paying attention.

There was lots of leather there, but unfortunately no screaming girls on the shoulders of their boyfriends showing off their shaking breasts to the band...no panties thrown onstage, either. Oh well...but Pearcy did seem to be bragging about how he's had his share of women over the years, and thought that he saw some out in the audience...or some with kids, whom he also seemed to take responsibility for.

Uh, can you say ick? ...and why would you brag about that when you're a burnout 80s rocker in your 50s, is that all you have to hold onto in the way of amusement? Your slutty rocker seed being sent spawning into random countless netherregions? God, I hope not.

That was pretty much the highlight of the evening...besides the man who won the women's sexiest Halloween costume contest, and the drunk girl at the beer line who seemed to be hitting on me...uh, no thanks rocker Betty. What else was a highlight...oh, the fact that I couldn't stop recalling the first time I heard a Ratt tune on the radio in 1984, and thought for the longest time it was a Judas Priest song. Goes to show you how much I know.

Trust me...I'll be sticking mainly to what I know on this blog...but just wanted to chime in with this random complaint about 80s hair metal live in 2009. I realize I'm probably coming across as a metal uppity.

Guilty as charged.

I will bathe, swim, and be drunk in my sea of 80s metal snobbery...because usually I find this 3 minute cheesefest 80s metal singles crap to be cheaper than the stank of Hello Kitty girl's perfume you find in the young women's section of Macy's. On most days I'd rather bloodlet my ears with leaches...don't believe me? Watch me do it.

Every now and then, however, I'll tolerate it...and consider even slightly indulging in it for one night...but only for a good friend, and only after a few beers...BUT then don't bug me with it until the NEXT TIME it's the 80s...as in the 2080s.

But, you ask, "Won't you be dead by then?"

God I hope so...my point exactly.

THE STAGE HECKLER: Milan's Teatro La Scala was a fitting introduction to opera

2006 was a big year for travel, and part of it involved venturing across the pond to Italy.

While Milan, in northern Italy, represented the gateway in and out of the country; research and advisement revealed that it didn't provide much in the way of tourist attractions...at least not like the other places Italy is known for.

As a matter of fact, Milan was considered rather unfriendly to tourists, as experience would also reveal.

However, like everything else in life, there are exceptions to that notion. While there weren't many attractions in the nation's financial capital, there was still a beautiful Cathedral (the third largest in Europe), the Arcadia (touted as the world's first indoor mall), and a fresco many of you might have heard of called The Last Supper.

Then, last but not least, there was the La Scala opera house.

While I'd studied up on a small degree of opera, I had never witnessed one live...so why not start with one -- if not THE -- most revered opera house in the world?

Hey, why not. We're here, aren't we?

La Scala was more about the history and the facility than the opera of that evening; it was about admiring a classic locale that countless operas had been performed in for literally hundreds of years.

The performance that night had lots of variety -- although I couldn't tell you a single word that was sung, as it was all in Italian, of course. The choice that evening was Dido and Aeneas, which blended together a creative balance of singing, acting, and ballet. It had a little bit of everything, which provided a colorful smorgasbord for newbies (yes, my hand is raised).

Our tickets were at the top row, waaaaaaaaaaay in the back, and definitely NOT on the railing, as the view was a bit obstructed. This wasn't like the upper deck of Yankee Stadium, this was the view from the circling blimp above the ballpark (hey, at least we weren't in the HORRIFIC BLIMP SHADOW...uh, inside joke). Needless to say, the quality of sight lines didn't seem to be on the minds of opera house architects and designers hundreds of years ago; at least not for the pobrecitos in the upper deck.

Nevertheless, the opera was enjoyable despite the fact that the story was difficult to follow (I'm not exactly up on my Italian, let alone understanding it while sung at a high octave). The idea of the story was more or less followed through the dancing and acting, which was very interesting and a feast for the eyes.

When the final act ended and the actors/singers took their final bows, I snuck up to the balcony and got a few shots of the massive chandelier that hung down from the high ceiling (see photo above).

I'll leave you with a rather comprehesive history on La Scala, courtesy of wikipedia...come on, get cultured, peeps! You'll learn something new today...and if you're here already, do you really have anything better to do with your time?:

Teatro La Scala

The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala, as it is known), in Milan, Italy, is one of the world's most famous opera houses. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778, under the name Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala with Salieri's Europa riconosciuta. La Scala's season traditionally opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. All performances must end before midnight; long operas start earlier in the evening if need be. Ticketholders are not allowed to enter after the performance has begun.

The La Scala Museum (Museo Teatrale alla Scala), accessible from the theatre's foyer and a part of the house, contains an extraordinary collection of paintings, drafts, statues, costumes, and other documents regarding opera and La Scala's history.

La Scala also hosts the Accademia d’Arti e Mestieri dello Spettacolo (Academy for the Performing Arts). Its goal is to train a new generation of young musicians, technical staff, and dancers (at the Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala, one of the Academy's divisions).

History

A fire destroyed the previous theatre, the ancient Teatro Ducale, on 25 February 1776, after a carnival gala. A group of ninety wealthy Milanese, who owned palchi (private boxes) in the theatre, wrote to Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria asking for a new theatre and a provisional one to be used while completing the new one. The neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini produced an initial design but it was rejected by Count Firmian (the governor of the then Austrian Lombardy).

A second plan was accepted in 1776 by Empress Maria Theresa. The new theatre was built on the former location of the church of Santa Maria della Scala, from which the theatre gets its name. The church was deconsecrated and demolished, and over a period of two years the theatre was completed by Pietro Marliani, Pietro Nosetti and Antonio and Giuseppe Fe. This theatre had a total over 3,000 seats organized into 678 pit-stalls, arranged in six tiers of boxes above which is the 'loggione' or two galleries. Now the stage is one of the largest in Italy (16.15m d x 20.4m w x 26m h).

Building expenses were covered by the sale of palchi, which were lavishly decorated by their owners, impressing observers such as Stendhal. La Scala (as it soon became to be known) soon became the preeminent meeting place for noble and wealthy Milanese people. In the tradition of the times, the platea (the main floor) had no chairs and spectators watched the shows standing up. The orchestra was in full sight, as the golfo mistico (orchestra pit) had not yet been built.

Above the boxes, La Scala has always had a gallery where the less wealthy can watch the performances. It is called the loggione. The loggione is typically crowded with the most critical opera aficionados, who can be ecstatic or merciless towards singers' perceived successes or failures. La Scala's loggione is considered a baptism of fire in the opera world, and fiascos are long remembered. (One recent incident occurred in 2006 when tenor Roberto Alagna was booed off the stage during a performance of Aïda, forcing an understudy to replace him mid-scene wearing street clothes.) As with most of the theaters at that time, La Scala was also a casino, with gamblers sitting in the foyer.

La Scala was originally illuminated with eighty-four oil lamps mounted on the palcoscenico and another thousand in the rest of theater. To prevent the risks of fire, several rooms were filled with hundreds of water buckets. In time, oil lamps were replaced by gas lamps, these in turn were replaced by electric lights in 1883.

The original structure was renovated in 1907, when it was given its current layout with 2,800 seats. In 1943, during WWII, La Scala was severely damaged by bombing. It was rebuilt and reopened on 11 May 1946, with a memorable concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini, with a soprano solo by Renata Tebaldi, which created a sensation.

La Scala hosted the prima (first production) of many famous operas, and had a special relationship with Giuseppe Verdi. For several years, however, Verdi did not allow his work to be played here, as some of his music had been modified (he said "corrupted") by the orchestra. This dispute originated in a disagreement over the production of his Giovanna d'Arco in 1845; however the composer later conducted his Requiem there on 25 May 1874, and in 1886 announced that La Scala would host the premiere of his opera Otello.^[1] The premiere of his last opera, Falstaff was also given in the theatre.

In 1982, the Filarmonica della Scala was established, drawing its members from the larger pool of musicians that comprise the Orchestra della Scala.

Major rennovation 2002-2004

Following the traditional 7 December 2001 season opening performances of Otello, which ran through December, the theatre was closed for renovation^[2] and, from 19 January 2002 to November 2004, the opera company was transferred to the new Teatro degli Arcimboldi, built in the Pirelli-Bicocca industrial area 4.5 miles from the city centre.

The renovation by the renowned architect Mario Botta proved controversial, as preservationists feared that historic details would be lost; however, the opera company was said to be impressed with improvements to the structure and the sound quality, which was enhanced when the heavy red carpets in the hall were removed. The stage was entirely re-constructed, and an enlarged backstage will allow more sets to be stored, permitting more productions, and the seats now include monitors for the electronic libretto system, allowing audiences to follow opera libretti in English and Italian in addition to the original language.

Conducted by Riccardo Muti, the opera house re-opened on 7 December 2004 with a production of Salieri's Europa riconosciuta, the opera which was performed at La Scala's inauguration in 1778. ^[3]. Tickets for the re-opening fetched up to €2,000. The renovations cost a reported €61 million, and left a budget shortfall that the opera house did not overcome until 2006.^[4]

Fledgling band LIVE revealed in a 1994 road trip

Live has been one of the more interesting bands to come along in the last 20 or so years.

They're out of Pennsylvania and carved a hard-driving prog-alternative sound all their own out of the late 80s; when big hair metal reigned, bands with jangly guitars like R.E.M. were leading the way in the alternative college radio movement, and a grunge scene was taking shape in Seattle.

Somehow, Live evolved very much immune to all those other trends at the time...or so their sound seems to indicate.

I'd like to say that I was in on it early on, through the success and glory of the Throwing Copper era in 1994-95. For you stat nuts out there, Throwing Copper is the only album in Billboard history to go Number 1 after being on the charts for 52 weeks.

For you calculus crunchers out there, 52 weeks = 1 year. Woooow man, trippy stuff!

In 1994, a few months after my graduation from ASU, I was still living in Tempe and gearing up for graduate school in the fall. That summer, to break away from the Arizona heat, a friend and I hit the road for California to visit a mutual buddy for a weekend of music.

The focus of our visit centered around catching the band Yes live, at the Greek Theater located in the hills north of L.A. They were touring off the Talk album, which if I recall correctly was their last project involving Trevor Rabin.

Part of the weekend also involved going to the campus of UCLA to see a newer band called "Live" at a free gig. I had never heard of them before, but our friend we were visiting said that he'd heard good things.

The show took place in the middle of a courtyard to what I recall as a space in front of a student union building...pretty much smack dab in the middle of campus, in a rather random spot. Photos of the event do exist, and are currently packed away in a box...when they reveal themselves again, I'll be sure to share.

At that time, Throwing Copper had been out for several months and was slowly starting to receive radio airplay, but hadn't taken off yet...so the band was culling their set list from that album and their first project, 1991's Mental Jewelry.

There was an opening band, whose name I'm trying to recall...("Dig" perhaps?) I'll follow up on that. Whoever they were, they didn't make much of an impact and never took off.

Live, however, had an unmistakable energy...they seemed to have a combination of electric jamming musicianship and heady, passionate lyrics...maybe like a hard alternative cross between Rush and U2.

Extensive online research for the set list on that day is still in the works. Interestingly enough, I have a vague memory of one of my friends grabbing the written set list that was onstage that day.

As another year progressed, the band would continue to grow into a massive phenomenon. By 1995 they were the "cool thing" and all over the radio. I would see them a second time; this time around it would be with 20,000 others at the Desert Sky Pavilion in Phoenix. By this time the band was clearly at it's popular height.

However...that day, back in Santa Monica, I discovered a favorite newer band born out of the 1990s -- in their fledgling days.

THE STAGE HECKLER: Cecil Taylor = Freeform Genius

When I glanced at the calendar to see who was passing through town for the Earshot Jazz Festival some time back, the one performer that caught my eye as a must-see was the legendary free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor.

Last week presented a rare opportunity to see him perform as a solo pianist at Seattle's Town Hall, and perform the free jazz magic ball of yarn he's spun throughout a career spanning over 50 years...that's right, 50.

I arrived about a half hour prior to show time, and caught myself a second row seat at stage right, so I'd be able to see what he was doing with his hands. Not long after 8PM, the director of the Earshot Jazz Festival gave his introduction.

To thunderous applause, a shorter man then shuffled onto the stage with a folder of papers, sporting a black button down dress shirt, blue pajama pants, and rainbow colored foot stockings. He gave a short nod of acknowledgment to the audience as he shuffled through some paperwork, standing over the side of the Steinway grand piano onstage.

He then proceeded to read...and my brain cells started to fry like sausage on a griddle.

Cecil Taylor started shouting what sounded like various numbers, and at first came across as someone with Teret's. He then morphed into a diatribe for about ten minutes about mathematical definitions, Western metaphysics, and other theories that were barely understandable through his machine gun rate of speech...somewhere in there he also spoke of the definition of velocity. This went on for about 10 minutes.

I soon figured out that he was framing the tone for the show, especially for those who weren't familiar with his work...he was explaining to the audience that his theory on the piano involved partly that of mathematics; a concept first brought out by jazz pianist Thelonius Monk in the 1940s, and furthered by Taylor and some of his peers in the avant garde free jazz movement of the 1960s.

One might say he brought all that magic out of the top hat last night.

For more than an hour and a half, Taylor led the audience through the most dynamic and dramatic free form piano improvisation that anyone could ever serve witness to.

It's hard to describe the piano work of this man...but the one concept that keeps coming back to me is this: unadultered freedom.

He did not speak to the audience, nor announce the titles to any of the songs; perhaps because they had no real titles. His work on the keys is all about improvisation; it spanned from blinding fast movements across the piano keyboard to light delicate textures emphasizing the space between notes...then back to dramatic pounding.

Taylor's style features an ebb and flow quality...he binds mayhem together with tonal passages and patterns. One can pick up on the different movements tying it all together...

...but it requires your undivided attention.

In all, Taylor put together a 40 minute passage, flanked with two passages of about 15 minutes apiece. He then came out for two encores spanning about 10 minutes apiece. At the end of the regular set and both encores, he bowed to the audience as they showed him the great appreciation this legend deserved.

Needless to say, my brain felt like mush by the end of all of this. It was -- hands down -- the most exhausting musical exercise on my senses that I've ever experienced.

Neil Young clip from Everett show

Here's a quick clip of Neil's Everett show from last night...should give you a good idea. If you can make out a guy 4 rows back center stage in a black skully, that's me.

THE STAGE HECKLER: Neil Young inspires the Everett faithful

Neil Young is a GOD. It's that simple.

I don't think I've ever seen a performer more passionate about his music than Neil Young...and from all accounts, he bestows to his fans the same guts as a man approaching his mid-60s that he did 40 years ago.

This was my second Neil Young concert. I was four rows back from the stage last night at Comcast Arena in Everett, Washington....about 20 miles north of Seattle, the newer venue serves as a nice alternative for acts that come through town. I'd say it's a much better option than Key Arena in Seattle, which is traffic nightmare central.

Opening the night was a band called Everest, which I wasn't familiar with, and Death Cab for Cutie, an interesting alternative band from Seattle with a mosaic that echoes bands like U2 and The Stone Roses...however the singer has a unique style that I'm still getting used to...I'm not saying I don't like him, I'm just getting used to him.

Since my favorite band has a falsetto singer with a high-pitched shrill, I figure I'm the last one on the planet to be intolerant of other singers I might need to adapt to.

So back to Neil.

Unlike last year, when he split the show between acoustic and electric sets (see post on that show here), all songs were part of one set. Electric Neil sandwiched Acoustic Neil in the middle portion of the set.

I love how this guy mixes things up.

There was an indication that electric Neil was going to open up the show when his guitar tech Larry Cragg brought Old Black onstage...that's his prized guitar that he's used since the 1960s.

When the show began, he launched into "Love and Only Love," one of the classics from Ragged Glory, his grungy 1990 project and perhaps the best project to date with Crazy Horse.

He soon brought up one of my personal favorites, "Powderfinger," which originally appeared on 1979's Rust Never Sleeps. He was emotionally involves with his music as he sweat and sneered through many of the vocal passages.

One of the amazing qualities of a live Neil Young performance is how he seamlessly transitions from the beautiful electric sludge of tunes like "Hey Hey, My My," where his extended solos careen through the auditorium with sounds like a dinosaur moaning in pain from a leg amputation...to the acoustic grace and sentiments of a song like "Old Man."

He seemed to have a bit more energy onstage tonight than a year ago at WAMU Theater in Seattle...where at times he even seemed a bit disoriented onstage.

Not tonight.

The only ones who were disoriented were the audience, left fending for their lives as they took blows to the head from the dungeon of Neil's grungy extended jams.

How can I explain it...Neil Young's sludgy electric brand of rock & roll is the equivalent of a musical axe being swung at your head...and, elated, you can't wait for that blade to chop into your skull...only the blade hasn't been sharpened in awhile, and it has pits and gouges in it...so it just manages to knock off a chunk of your skull...get it? Sure you do.

Okay, we're getting carried away here...what did he play last night?

The set list:

1. Love and Only Love
2. Hey Hey, My My
3. Everybody Knows this is Nowhere
   
4. Powderfinger
   
5. Spirit Road
   
6. Cinnamon Girl (they goofed the opening and started it over...too funny.)
7. Oh, Lonesome Me
8. Mother Earth
9. The Needle and the Damage Done
10. Unknown Legend
11. Heart of Gold
12. Old Man
    
13. Get Back to the Country
14. Just Singing a Song
    
15. Sea Change (or is it "See" change?)
    
16. When Worlds Collide
    
17. Cowgirl in the Sand
18. Rockin' in the Free World
19. [encore 1] A Day in the Life (In his effort to make as much racket as possible at the end, he ends up ripping off the guitar strings from Old Black)
    
20. [encore 2] The Sultan (instrumental with a big gong being hit by a guy dressed in swami gear...very odd)

You can follow all the set lists from Neil Young's tour at SugarMountain.org.

So that's it...I'm hoping that Neil's next project involves Crazy Horse again...now THAT'S the show I'm waiting to see!

The guts and magic of Andrew Hill

Every October in Seattle, the Earshot Jazz Festival rears its head. It's the largest festival of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

I usually catch two or three acts every year, depending on who's coming through. There have been some magical moments (in the case of acts like Jason Moran, Matthew Shipp and Bobby Hutcherson), and one questionable one too (if you look through posts from last fall, you can read about the John Zorn fiasco).

The most memorable event came during the 2006 festival, when pianist Andrew Hill came through town. The album covers shown throughout this post are his most recommended works.

At the Showbox in Seattle, we arrived early and grabbed a seat at the front of the stage...I wasn't going to sit in the back to watch my favorite jazz artist. On stage right (performer's perspective) sat a large Steinway piano, and a drumset adorned the middle of the stage.

A face soon peaked out from the behind the stage left curtain. Andrew Hill emerged, walking very, very slowly. It was obvious that something was off, but it was hard to place what was happening with him.

The drummer and bass player came out after Hill found his seat at the piano. For nearly 45 minutes, the band went through a set of new and old material, the latest of which came from an album released earlier that same year, Time Lines. Between every song, he would announce the titles, although he was very difficult to hear since he was speaking in a low whisper. The thanked the audience for being there.

Hill was in top form throughout the set...the ethereal sounds emerging from his fingers emitted a sort of magic...sounds audible on his records, which I'd collected over the last few years to my CD collection, but not quite the same as in the flesh.

While the set seemed a bit short, it was definitely not short on quality. One of the things I love about Hill's music is the way he can fly into a protracted off-the-wall jam session, but then bring things down into a light groove that bounces across the stage like a feather. His style is full of complexity and mystery.

After Andrew Hill left the stage and the performance ended, little did I know that at approximately 70 years young he was dying of lung cancer and playing through shortness of breath and unimaginable suffering.

He died in 2007, less than six months after the performance I attended. Once again, I had been blessed with the opportunity to see a legend live right before their passing. I'd had the same opportunity in 1994 when I saw the Grateful Dead right before Jerry Garcia passed away the following year...except Garcia wasn't suffering from a terminal illness.

What Hill pulled off was nothing short of miraculous. That guy had indescribable determination, along with tons and tons of guts...forget that the performance was as close to perfection as one could have it...anyone listening that night who didn't know about Hill's cancer or couldn't see how he was struggling to get across the stage would have thought that he was perfectly fine. What a stud.

That's the stuff of legend...and that's exactly what Andrew Hill is.

Here's a biographical overview from Amazon.com:

Andrew Hill was a great and even groundbreaking composer and pianist, yet the relatively circumscribed scale of his innovations might have originally caused him to get lost in the shuffle of the '60s free jazz revolution.

While many of his contemporaries were totally jettisoning the rhythmic and harmonic techniques of bop and hard bop, Hill worked to extend their possibilities; his was a revolution from within. Much of the most compelling '60s jazz was nearly aleatoric; Hill, on the other hand, exhibited a determined command of his materials, however abstract they might sometimes be.

His composed melodies were labyrinthine, and rhythmically and harmonically complex tunes like "New Monastery" from his Point of Departure album exhibit a sophistication born of mastery, not chance or contingency. As a pianist, Hill had a flowing melodicism and an elastic sense of time. Like his composing, Hill's playing had an ever-present air of spontaneity and was almost completely devoid of cliché.

He began playing the piano at about the age of 13. As a youngster in Chicago, Hill was encouraged by pianist Earl Hines. Jazz composer Bill Russo also took an interest, and introduced Hill to the renowned classical composer Paul Hindemith, with whom Hill studied from 1950-1952.

While in his teens, he gigged with prominent jazz musicians passing through the Midwest, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker among them. In 1955, he recorded So in Love with the Sound of Andrew Hill for the Warwick label. He moved to New York in 1961 to work with singer Dinah Washington. After a brief foray to Los Angeles with Rahsaan Roland Kirk's band in 1962, Hill moved back to New York, where he began his recording career in earnest.

He made several records for Blue Note from 1963-1969, both as leader and sideman. Hill's Blue Note work featured some of the best and brightest post-bop musicians of the day, including Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Tony Williams, and Freddie Hubbard.

Like many jazz musicians, Hill eventually turned to academia to make a living. He received his doctorate from Colgate University and served as the school's composer in residence from 1970-1972. Hill relocated to the West Coast, teaching in public schools and prisons in California. He eventually landed a teaching position at Portland State University, where he established the school's Summer Jazz Intensive.

In addition to his teaching, Hill continued to perform and record in the '70s and '80s, making records for the Arista-Freedom and Black Saint/Soul Note labels. In 1989 and 1990, Hill recorded twice more for Blue Note, Eternal Spirit and But Not Farewell.

Hill moved back to the New York area in the '90s; a series of performances and new recordings helped place him back in the jazz spotlight. Hill formed a new Point of Departure Sextet for the Knitting Factory's 1998 Texaco Jazz Festival. The band included saxophonists Marty Ehrlich and Greg Tardy, trumpeter Ron Horton, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Billy Drummond. The band went on to play New York club engagements to much acclaim.

In 2000, Palmetto Records released Dusk, which was named the best album of 2001 by Down Beat and Jazz Times magazines. It was followed by A Beautiful Day in 2002, Passing Ships in 2003, and Black Fire in 2004, as well as a solid series of Blue Note reissues of his '60s work that included bonus tracks and new liner notes. His 2006 album, Time Lines, reunited him with both trumpeter Charles Tolliver and the Blue Note label. Hill also participated in a 17-piece big band, and a January 2002 engagement at New York's Birdland was filmed and recorded by Palmetto for future broadcast.

After battling lung cancer for many years, Hill succumbed to the disease on April 20, 2007, leaving behind a stunning legacy of work.

~ Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide

Link to Phish Tucson concert from 1999

Gordon flashin' (and fishin') his stuff on the bass

There seems to be lots of stuff stirring in the land of Phish...

The sites been a-jumpin' like Phish outta water (ahem, bad joke, I know) since I posted earlier this week on the Tucson show I experienced nine years ago, oblivious to knowing anything about the band (see story here).

That said, someone named Joe was thoughtful enough to leave a comment with a link for the Tucson concert: Phish at Pima County Fairgrounds, Tucson. I'm not sure about the sound quality, as I haven't heard it yet...I was going to try to download it this weekend.

From what I can tell, there are no other known recordings out there of this show...and judging from what I've seen on several of their other live recordings, it looks like an unusual set list.

Does anyone out there have any photos from this show?

THE STAGE HECKLER: Phish 2009 tour plans conjure up a brainmelter

The majesty, mastery, magic, and confusion of a Phish concert

For those of you who haven't heard, Phish are planning some shows in 2009...YES!!! This is BIG BIG NEWS, since they've been disbanded for most of this decade.

I only see plans for 3 shows in Hampton, Virginia during March so far...hopefully more will pop up!

This news, of course, reminds me of the last and only time I saw this band...about 10 years ago, when I lived in Tucson, I found myself at a Phish concert on the Pima County Fairgrounds.

It might be helpful to understand where I was coming from going into that show.

For those of you who are familiar with Phish and their shtick, you might be very amused by this: before that day in 1999, I had never heard a Phish song before in my entire life...NOT KIDDING.

It's the only concert experience I can think of where I went into the show knowing NOTHING about what the band sounded like.

However here's what I DID know:

1. They were from Vermont.
2. They were a jam band that echoed elements of the Grateful Dead.
3. They had a loyal fan following, which comprised a subculture similar to that of Deadheads.
4. More Deadheads drifted into the Phish camp since Jerry Garcia's passing in 1995.
   
5. They built that following on live performance and toured ceaselessly.
   
6. Some (if not all) of their song titles were bizarre and made absolutely no sense (to me)...so that didn't help to give the slightest clue on what to expect...other than something "outside the box," let's say.
7. They had 4 members and I heard they had traded instruments once onstage.
   

So that was it...needless to say, the experience made my head spin...right off. Literally. Their musicianship, coupled with their silliness, both mystified and left me utterly confused.

It also made me a fan for life.

Since then I've been looking for a live recording of that show, which I've yet to find...here's the set list from that night:

Tuesday, September 21, 1999
Pima County Fairgrounds, Tucson, AZ

• Set I:

• Poor Heart
• Sample in a Jar
• Split Open and Melt
• Drowned
• I Didn't Know
• Back on the Train
• Birds of a Feather
• Theme From the Bottom
• Golgi Apparatus

• Set II:

• Carini
• Bug
• Strange Design
• Vultures
• Limb by Limb
• Will It Go Round In Circles
• Dirt
• Run Like an Antelope

Encore:

• Reba
• Bold as Love

The set list information is courtesy of the Mockingbird Foundation.

So tickets are on sale right now through the Phish website. Hopefully they'll do a west coast swing next year...stay tuned for more information as it comes out. I'll try to stay on top of this one.

THE STAGE HECKLER: Radiohead live = WOW!!!

I'm still trying to absorb what I saw five nights ago, when I took it upon myself to check out this arty, cutting edge rock band at the White River Amphitheater near Seattle (actually on a rez near the suburb of Auburn).

In uncharacteristic August fashion, the day presented a slew of torrential downpours, making the adventure to get there a little precarious...so, taking advantage of my local knowledge, I avoided the mess by taking a series of backroads to get to the show.

Then the rain stopped just before I arrived...Radiohead's magic had come to town. Birds started to chirp...cat's meowed...uh, yeah.

For starters, the band is pushing new frontiers as an eco-friendly touring act, tabulating their carbon footprint and utilizing new lighting techniques onstage. Instead of presenting what we know as a typical onstage light show, the band is hauling a series of "draped lights" that hang down from the rafters and illuminate the stage through what I guess was some sort of static electricity that probably didn't require much in the way of power...I counted six rows of about a dozen hanging lights.

Working together the lights illuminated the stage and synchronized patterns in a variety of colors...the stage would be washed in pinks, reds, blues and greens. It was artistically impressive and unlike anything anyone in the audience had ever seen before, I would guess.

Oh yeah, of course there was music too...let me start with the set list for the night...apparently they culled this differently night to night from a rehearsed number of 50 songs. Many selections were from their latest release, In Rainbows, which came out at first last December (online, through a unique pay-what-you-want offer, which cut out the record company middleman) and in January in stores on the standard compact disc:

• 15 Step
• Reckoner
• Optimistic
• There There
• All I Need
  
• Pyramid Song
• Talk Show Host (holy crap!! 90s era b-side…)
• The National Anthem
• The Gloaming
• Videotape
• Lucky
  
• Faust Arp [Thom messes up lyrics several times, starts singing Neil Young's "Tell Me Why"; Jonny tries to follow along but can't quite get the chords. Phil comes out and drops an American dollar bill out in front of Thom and Jonny and runs away laughing. Thom and Jonny crack up completely to loud cheers. Thom tries again, says "Fuck it!", but then continues and finishes the song.]
• Jigsaw Falling Into Place
• Climbing Up The Walls
  
• Dollars and Cents
• Nude
• Bodysnatchers
• Encore 1: How to Disappear Completely
• Arpeggi/Weird Fishes
• Idioteque
• In Limbo [Tambourine accompaniment by Nigel Godrich. Thom, 'This is Nigel', Ed, 'He makes our records.']
• Street Spirit
  
• Encore 2: You And Whose Army? [Thom dedicates to the people who demonstrated against the WTO in Seattle in 1999]
• No Surprises
  
• Everything In Its Right Place

You might notice by looking at the set list that missing in action was quite a bit of material from their two most popular albums of the 1990s, The Bends (1995) and OK Computer (1997). I don't think we had anything from the former, although three offbeat tracks were offered from the latter. That being said, fans of old Radiohead might have felt a bit disappointed.

They can't satisfy everyone, unfortunately...especially if they're fond of presenting their new material. All things considered, with the exception of those two albums the song list was interesting and balanced...and they were at liberty to dive deeper into other material.

It seems that Radiohead is also shooting for some kind of a world record for number of instruments used during a live performance. These guys just seem to get off on noodling around with everything they can get their hands on.

Despite what could be interpreted as a display of showmanship as multi-instrumentalists, as the night went on it became obvious that this band is not concerned with showing off talents of musical prowess, but collectively wants to serve their music by using all the electronic goodies available to them in their effort to bring their visions to life.

Needless to say, it was fun to watch them recreate their studio wizardry onstage in the live setting.

Opening the set with "15 Step," from In Rainbows, halfway through the tune guitarist Ed O'Brien could be seen walking around onstage with what I can only describe as a transistor radio, but it was probably a gadget along the lines of an analog synthesizer...as he triggered these spacey sound effects, his electric guitar dangling around his neck unused for the moment.

Then more drums appeared onstage during "There There" (from 2003's Hail to the Thief) as the two guitarists became a second and third drummer to enhance the effect of the beat...lead singer Thom Yorke then kept the song moving with guitar...but no, wait! Partway through the song I literally saw Jonny Greenwood, the other guitarist, play guitar and drums simultaneously...not kidding.

These instrumental theatrics were typical throughout the night. Even the bass player, the other Greenwood brother, took up synthesizers at one point.

Many of you might know Radiohead through their lead singer, Thom Yorke. As impressive as he is in his abilities, which range from his beautiful voice to his wonderful guitar work and piano playing, it's the shy lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood who stole the show.

Greenwood must have performed off at least 10 different instruments throughout the night...let's count them.

1. guitar
2. drums
3. keyboard instrument #1 (will find out more about his equipment)
   
4. keyboard instrument #2
5. keyboard instrument #3
   
6. transistor radio (obviously modified to bring radio sounds into the performance)
   
7. some sort of analog synthesizer
   
8. violin bow (for the guitar)
9. glockenspeil
   
10. Kaos Pad (makes those trippy effects, samples and loops during "Everything in its Right Place"... no, that's not Yorke tripping on acid and making funny effects with his voice)
    
11. Something resembling a lemon (which I guess makes a percussive sound when it's shaken?)
    
12. a wrench (for repairs to a car engine, live onstage...just kidding, but I wouldn't have been shocked)
    

Maybe I missed something...but that's most of it.

Greenwood gives off a presence that's nothing short of the mad scientist noodling around with gadgets, strings, sticks and knobs all over the room...a multi-tasker who's simply not satisfied with the fact that he's on Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists of all time list.

He and Radiohead perform what they want in their own way...and they don't care how they look doing it. Rest assured, it was all good.

For any fan of live shows out there, this band is an ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT to your live stock. Whatever you do, don't miss them...they aren't on tour that often to begin with. S

THE STAGE HECKLER: R.E.M. & Friends at the 2008 Sasquatch Festival

I didn't get to bed after the show until 3AM, but I didn't care...the experience was well worth it.

When we arrived in the afternoon at the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Columbia Gorge in the middle of Washington state, a band called The New Pornographers were onstage (despite the imagery of the name, no such activities were taking place). They were followed by M.I.A., and Mighty Mouse... sorry, I think I meant to say Modest Mouse...whose singer sounded like a shouting middle-schooler having a temper tantrum. Yikes!

Let's just say that R.E.M.'s attendance at this musical event was a good thing and upped the notch in quality a bit, to put it politely...but of course not until the weather decided that it wanted to monsoon on everyone and challenge the band for the night.

...but these guys are veterans and have played through it all! What's a little rain?

Scheduled for 10PM, at one point it was questionable on whether or not R.E.M. could even go onstage, as the lights were swaying in the wind and all the equipment was getting completely soaked. There's very little in the way of protection from the elements onstage at the Gorge Amphitheatre. Staff were out there until showtime wiping off the performer's areas.

The band came onstage at about 10:05 --- not very late when you consider what the elements were doing.

It was obvious that safety was on the minds of the performers. On several occasions lead singer Michael Stipe checked in with his bandmates, and mused with the audience about the possibility of slipping and falling onstage --- he directed the audience to heckle him if he slipped.

"If I slip and fall," said Stipe, "You have to yell to me 'I told you so!'" were his instructions. As the night went on he took off his shoes and sang onstage in his socks.

"If I go barefoot, does that make me a hippie?" asked Stipe later on in the set. In which I responded with a yell from the uphill peanut gallery: "But you're already a hippie!"

To my surprise and satisfaction, the choice of tunes was about 75% different from the set list the night before in Vancouver. Very nice.

Here's the R.E.M. set list for May 24 performance at the Sasquatch Festival

1. Living Well is the Best Revenge
2. What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
   
3. These Days
4. Drive
5. Accelerate
6. Auctioneer (Another Engine)
7. Man-sized Wreath
   
8. Ignoreland
9. Hollow Man
10. Life and How to Live It
11. Houston
12. Losing My Religion
13. Harborcoat
14. The One I Love
15. The Final Straw
16. Let Me In
17. Horse to Water
18. Bad Day
19. Walk Unafraid
    
20. I'm Gonna DJ
21. Supernatural Superserious
22. Orange Crush
23. Man on the Moon

When compared to the set list from the night before in Vancouver, BC, it's clear that the band is going for a little variety on the tour.

http://remhq.com/blog_detail.php?id=47

So this was the third R.E.M. concert for myself. I caught them at the ASU Activity Center in Tempe, Arizona touring off the Green album in 1989, then again 10 years later off the Up tour at Bumpershoot in Seattle.

They're now touring off the newly released Accelerate, which has an edgier sound and an attitude akin to punk, like much of their material from the 1980s.

As a live act R.E.M. is a well-oiled machine, seasoned and polished. Unlike many bands out there who deteriorate with age and find themselves turning into novelty acts, this band ages like a fine wine.

For those of you who made it and braved the rain and wind, kudos to ya! S