Well hi there,
The list has been so quiet lately that I thought maybe my internet
connection had gone south yet again. So here's a little something for your
reading enjoyment:
Revolution Hall, Troy, NY - 10/23/03
Intro jam* >
Babushka
Something Learned
Ambrosia Drunk #
Wolof # >
Nellie Jean # >
meltdown >
Children of December >
slow coda >
Happy Snails >
Sometimes True to Nothing
Encore:
Poor Boy %
Rhythm-a-ning
* Brad plays music box through his guitar pickup
# Brad on sitar
% Brad on acoustic, Marc on Gibson SG bass
So, this past Thursday I got to see BAM for the first time in more than a
year. (Ouch.) Needless to say, I was pretty psyched, both to see my favorite
band and to pick up the 2 new discs (that's a topic for another email.)
Revolution Hall is a pretty new venue here in Troy, and while there are
still some kinks to work out, it has the potential to be a good space. I was
in the back of the room for the opening act and the sound was decent enough.
I imagine it was better with Sam at the helm but I couldn't tell you for
sure because when BAM came on I was in my usual spot at the center of the
stage lip where I could immerse myself in the band's interaction without the
distraction of anyone between me and the music. Granted, this shortchanges
the vocals, which depend on the PA, but the tradeoff is worth it to me.
Brad commented before the show of feeling a little run-down, but from where
I was standing, he shook that off when he hit the stage. If I was limited to
three words for my review, they would have to be "creative," "adventurous,"
and "masterful." This is a group of musicians at the top of their game, in
complete control of their tools (physical and musical) and totally open to
the inspiration of the moment.
But I I'm not limited to three words in my review, so I'll continue to
prattle on.
The introductory jam (the consecration of the space, as it were) started
with Brad playing a crank-driven music box toy through the neck pickup of
his Strat and snagging a loop of that in the Boomerang as a launching pad. A
quiet, contemplative, cloud of drones and long tones from the strings mixed
with Andrew's searching through various sounds on his kit grew into
Babushka, a nice surprise played slow and stately.
Next came a new tune, "Something Learned" with Brad on vocals. Version wise,
I have nothing to compare it to, but it was quite enjoyable in and of
itself.
This was followed by what I think was the highlight of the evening for me:
"Ambrosia Drunk," a Nathan Moore tune with Brad on vocals. This was the
first time I'd heard this and was completely blown away by its beauty. In
lesser hands, its chord progression could turn into a typical anthemic rock
ballad, but BAM played it with such restraint and implied passion that it
was chilling. Andrew literally stunned me on this tune. His playing was so
tight, precise, and spare, yet was informed with so much underlying passion,
that it was hard to tear my attention away to hear the rest of the band.
Wolof was next, with a Jew's Harp intro from Brad, who played the tune on
the sitar (always a treat.) Wolof was its usual huge, ferocious self.
Wishful thinking on my part lead to the belief that Brad was leading us into
Cumulus, but instead we were graced with "Nellie Jean." Lovely, lyrical, and
nicely jammed, as usual.
I labeled the jam out of Nellie Jean as "meltdown," 'cause that's pretty
much what happened. Nellie was deconstructed into a maelstrom of sound
during which it was evident to me that Andrew rules the world. At least,
that's what I wrote in my notes at that moment. But that could have been the
BAM rush talkin'.
Once things had been melted down to a primordial ooze, Brad strummed us up
into a rockin "Children of December:" After establishing the tune on the
sitar, he let Marc and Andrew carry it while he switched to the Gibson. I
really like this song. I find myself singing it all the time. This version,
my first seen live, did not disappoint. This tune ended with a nice slow
coda that slowly morphed into...
"Happy Snails." Oh, what fun! Who would've thought PVC piping could be so
damn happy? It seemed to me that the three of them really had fun
interacting on this one.
Finally, another in a long line of epic show-closing "Sometimes True to
Nothing"s. From the first delicate notes that get looped, to the poetic and
haunting lyrics, to the "blow-your-hair-back-off-your-head" power chords
that finish things off, this is a great showcase of the many sides of BAM.
This one didn't disappoint.
And neither did the encore. Brad sat down with his acoustic, Marc picked up
the SG bass, and we all happily bopped along to Poor Boy. Of the recently
introduced songs, this is the one that has burrowed its way into my brain
and won't leave. I keep singing it over and over. ("AND NOT VERY WELL" his
family chimes in.) This song has always reminded me of Led Zeppelin. Between
Brad's off-kilter riff and Andrew's Bonzo-style poundage, it takes me back
to my high school days listening to Zeppelin on vinyl. (Keep the old man
jokes to yerself, ya young whippersnappers!) I asked Brad afterwards if he
had been listening to Zep lately. He admitted to a Zep binge in the not too
distant past, but I don't know if the timing was such that that listening
would have influenced Poor Boy.
No one was ready to quit at that point and although I felt a "Mohel" in my
bones, what we got instead was an unexpected and most welcome
"Rhythm-a-ning." Found out afterwards that "Mohel" was on the paper-plate
setlist as a possibility, but didn't make it into the set. "Rhythm-a-ning"
always amazes with it's tightly winding lines, breakneck pace, and the way
BAM *play* with the tune. Chops doesn't begin to describe what these guys
got. A great moment for me in this one was at the top when Brad snagged a
single note in his DOD delay pedal and created a melodic line on the pedal
by playing the "delay time" knob. I came home after the show, pulled my old
DOD delay off the shelf, and started to experiment. "Something Learned"
indeed!
BAM's set not having started until 11:10 pm, we were now looking at almost 1
am, and BAM had to be in Montreal for a gig the next night, so it was time
to say goodnight.
I'll close with some general observations:
If you're familiar with the Grateful Dead, you probably know of their 1972
tour of Europe. Years later bassist Phil Lesh said of that tour that drummer
Bill Kreutzman played like a "young god." Those words came to mind as I
watched Andrew at this gig. If I say anything else, I'll start gushing like
some sort of fool, so I'll stop there.
Brad's guitar rig has certainly grown since I first saw BAM at Berkfest '99.
The Boomerang looper, delay line, tone shapers, etc. give him an enormous
palette with which to paint. As an incurable gear geek, I love to see him
work the rig to create these textures.
Not much I can say about Marc that you don't already know if you're on this
list. His playing was the first thing that really caught me when I
discovered this band, and he still amazes me every time I see them. Yeah,
I'm the guy in front exclaiming "holy sh*t," "oh my god, " and
"unbelievable" during his solos. I will mention this: Seems to me that Harry
Shearer stole Marc's look for "A Mighty Wind." Rent the flick and you'll see
what I mean.
Finally, never underestimate the power of what you listen to before a Slip
show. I had 9/8/01 (the Irving Plaza show where they opened for Scofield) in
the CD player on the way to this show. Brad blew out his Polytone amp on the
Wolof opener at that one. After the show, Brad was lamenting that he had
blown out his Polytone and commented that that hadn't happened since the
Irving Plaza show where they opened for Scofield. Well, I immediately
apologized for creating the jinx but the damage had been done. So be careful
what you choose for that pre-show warm-up. There's no telling what powers
you might be unleashing.
peace,
hoby
**********
Some days...it all adds up
And what you've got is enough
Some days are better than others
- Bono
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