2006 Favorite Live Performances
It took nearly six months for the quality live performances to begin happening for me in 2006, but when I looked back recently at the highlights I realized I still managed to see/hear a number of memorable musicians in person. I compiled this list nearly one month ago for the Ecstatic Peace! 2006 Live Performance Poll, where it appears in a slightly altered state limited to mere text. I will attempt to insert photos and links to it here in order to make it more webtastic.
2006 Favorite Live Performances
1) Coley Family Circus (a.k.a. 2006 Pataphysical Academy Exam & Graduation) @ P.A.C.E., Easthampton, MA, 5.20.06
I drove up Rt. 10 not knowing what to expect, and left with the title Doctor of Agoraphilia (and a diploma as evidence). The flyer I grabbed promises Carly Ptak, Dollhouse, F**king Destroy, & Dapper. Many assorted people performed--the entire Coley clan was in on the action, Carly Ptak ran the show (and the raffles), Gown, some sort of Byron Coley/Thurston Moore/Dredd Foole Super Session happened, and Lightbulb reminded everyone there Girls Invented Punk Rock Not England—the slogan ironed on Coco Hayley Gordon Moore’s t-shirt for her band’s debut performance.
2) Hair Police, Graveyards, Mirror/Dash, Heathen Shame @ The Elevens, Northampton, MA, 5.29.06
Northampton seemed dead on Memorial Day. Noise and intimacy were served in a reggae sports bar. There was no “heather shame” in the Heathen game. Kim Gordon began the M/D set behind a drum kit. John Olson combed his hair onstage, but Graveyards were unable to will the Pistons to victory with their improv/noise/jazz. Olson joined Hair Police and for a few moments they had a DJ light show—Thurston commandeered the club’s control panel and flipped a switch—but the sound guy decided to shut it off as soon as he noticed.
3) Be Your Own Pet, Whirlwind Heat, Thurston Moore & Bark Haze @ P.A.C.E., Easthampton, MA, 6.9.06
Saw this on a church sign on my way to Easthampton: Resist the Devil…Submit to his Enemy. TM put three Rather Ripped songs (Do You Believe in Rapture?, Incinerate, Pink Steam) through his Peavey Bandit 65 for the packed house, then announced “We’re gonna do a little Bark Haze.” Andrew joined him for a literal throwdown—of guitars, amps, chairs, anything onstage. Whirlwind Heat was drums, bass, air guitar, jumps, and trash bag helmets. BYOP was brief, fierce, and smile-inducing. I believe in rapture.
4) Mission of Burma @ MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA, 7.1.06
A phenomenal two-set show outdoors on a gorgeous summer night at a fantastic venue.
5) Konono No. 1 @ Pearl Street Ballroom, Northampton, MA, 7.20.06
A hot night of trance dancing—my clothes were still wet after the one-hour drive home. These Congolese musicians understand what Mark E. Smith defines as the three R’s: repetition, repetition, repetition.
6) Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Awesome Color @ McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY, 8.12.06
Thousands of people in the pool swimming through the heat of Awesome Color’s rock were then cooled by the costumes of YYYs. SY owned the night, the sky, and the city. I hope Dan Graham was there to hear Kim dedicate the “Shaking Hell” encore to him.
7) Deerhoof @ McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY, 8.13.06
Free Pool Party Sunday afternoon amazement in power trio formation—they came onstage dancing to the beats ?uestlove was rocking during his DJ set, and proceeded to segue into an improvised jam that let him fade out and slip away.
8) Cecil Taylor with Henry Grimes and Pheeroan akLaff @ The Artists Collective, Hartford, CT, 10.21.06
Dollie McLean introduces Cecil, who walks onstage wearing a black doo rag, dark glasses, what appears to be three pairs of white tube socks, no shoes, black workout pants with elastic leg openings cinched roughly at mid-shin, black tank top, white karate belt, and a pair of mustard yellow pants draped over his shoulders. He says a poem and heads for the piano. Henry and Pheeroan are in suits. Ten minutes into the first set, Cecil throws the pants off his shoulders and keeps on improvising for another thirty minutes without pause. Awesome.
9) Tony Conrad @ sonic.focus, Providence, RI, 11.4.06
There were other performers this night, in this black box theater in an English department building at Brown, but they were forgotten once Mr. Conrad set up his lamp in the corner and cast his shadow on the enormous sheet he had draped diagonally across the room. He bowed his violin cyclically through the overtone series along with pre-recorded cello and bass tracks, and many of us succumbed to the hypnosis of his unbroken amplified arco adventure. What made this performance memorable, though, was the shocking stoppage after half an hour or so—the otherworldly cave vibe was destroyed as TC slipped back into his nutty professor bit and blurted out a nervous explanation like “I must have stepped on a cord or something.” There was faint laughter from the crowd, but then he started his accompaniment again and went right back to playing as if this was the sort of thing you could just jump right back into. The phrase “dronus interruptus” kept repeating in my head as I pondered the hilarity of minimalism.
10) The Evens @ Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT, 12.10.06
Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina jam econo and make the political personal. They are good musicians, and good humans.
2006 Favorite Live Performances
1) Coley Family Circus (a.k.a. 2006 Pataphysical Academy Exam & Graduation) @ P.A.C.E., Easthampton, MA, 5.20.06
I drove up Rt. 10 not knowing what to expect, and left with the title Doctor of Agoraphilia (and a diploma as evidence). The flyer I grabbed promises Carly Ptak, Dollhouse, F**king Destroy, & Dapper. Many assorted people performed--the entire Coley clan was in on the action, Carly Ptak ran the show (and the raffles), Gown, some sort of Byron Coley/Thurston Moore/Dredd Foole Super Session happened, and Lightbulb reminded everyone there Girls Invented Punk Rock Not England—the slogan ironed on Coco Hayley Gordon Moore’s t-shirt for her band’s debut performance.
2) Hair Police, Graveyards, Mirror/Dash, Heathen Shame @ The Elevens, Northampton, MA, 5.29.06
Northampton seemed dead on Memorial Day. Noise and intimacy were served in a reggae sports bar. There was no “heather shame” in the Heathen game. Kim Gordon began the M/D set behind a drum kit. John Olson combed his hair onstage, but Graveyards were unable to will the Pistons to victory with their improv/noise/jazz. Olson joined Hair Police and for a few moments they had a DJ light show—Thurston commandeered the club’s control panel and flipped a switch—but the sound guy decided to shut it off as soon as he noticed.
3) Be Your Own Pet, Whirlwind Heat, Thurston Moore & Bark Haze @ P.A.C.E., Easthampton, MA, 6.9.06
Saw this on a church sign on my way to Easthampton: Resist the Devil…Submit to his Enemy. TM put three Rather Ripped songs (Do You Believe in Rapture?, Incinerate, Pink Steam) through his Peavey Bandit 65 for the packed house, then announced “We’re gonna do a little Bark Haze.” Andrew joined him for a literal throwdown—of guitars, amps, chairs, anything onstage. Whirlwind Heat was drums, bass, air guitar, jumps, and trash bag helmets. BYOP was brief, fierce, and smile-inducing. I believe in rapture.
4) Mission of Burma @ MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA, 7.1.06
A phenomenal two-set show outdoors on a gorgeous summer night at a fantastic venue.
5) Konono No. 1 @ Pearl Street Ballroom, Northampton, MA, 7.20.06
A hot night of trance dancing—my clothes were still wet after the one-hour drive home. These Congolese musicians understand what Mark E. Smith defines as the three R’s: repetition, repetition, repetition.
6) Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Awesome Color @ McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY, 8.12.06
Thousands of people in the pool swimming through the heat of Awesome Color’s rock were then cooled by the costumes of YYYs. SY owned the night, the sky, and the city. I hope Dan Graham was there to hear Kim dedicate the “Shaking Hell” encore to him.
7) Deerhoof @ McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY, 8.13.06
Free Pool Party Sunday afternoon amazement in power trio formation—they came onstage dancing to the beats ?uestlove was rocking during his DJ set, and proceeded to segue into an improvised jam that let him fade out and slip away.
8) Cecil Taylor with Henry Grimes and Pheeroan akLaff @ The Artists Collective, Hartford, CT, 10.21.06
Dollie McLean introduces Cecil, who walks onstage wearing a black doo rag, dark glasses, what appears to be three pairs of white tube socks, no shoes, black workout pants with elastic leg openings cinched roughly at mid-shin, black tank top, white karate belt, and a pair of mustard yellow pants draped over his shoulders. He says a poem and heads for the piano. Henry and Pheeroan are in suits. Ten minutes into the first set, Cecil throws the pants off his shoulders and keeps on improvising for another thirty minutes without pause. Awesome.
9) Tony Conrad @ sonic.focus, Providence, RI, 11.4.06
There were other performers this night, in this black box theater in an English department building at Brown, but they were forgotten once Mr. Conrad set up his lamp in the corner and cast his shadow on the enormous sheet he had draped diagonally across the room. He bowed his violin cyclically through the overtone series along with pre-recorded cello and bass tracks, and many of us succumbed to the hypnosis of his unbroken amplified arco adventure. What made this performance memorable, though, was the shocking stoppage after half an hour or so—the otherworldly cave vibe was destroyed as TC slipped back into his nutty professor bit and blurted out a nervous explanation like “I must have stepped on a cord or something.” There was faint laughter from the crowd, but then he started his accompaniment again and went right back to playing as if this was the sort of thing you could just jump right back into. The phrase “dronus interruptus” kept repeating in my head as I pondered the hilarity of minimalism.10) The Evens @ Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT, 12.10.06
Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina jam econo and make the political personal. They are good musicians, and good humans.
Labels: agoraphilia, pataphysical, rapture, repetition
posted by tom caw at 1/20/2007 10:22:00 PM
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