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FAITU#59
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#59)
2022-09-17
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MMW @2022-09-17 Brooklyn Comes Alive
Source info:
2022-09-17.akg393.143438.flac16 [TSP2022#1]
– ONE SET (tracks 1-13) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#59)
Ahh … fresh/new MMW! Welcome to the sounds!
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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FAITU#58
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#58)
2010-11-19
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John Medeski 2010-11-18 @The Westcott Theatre, Syracuse, NY
Source info:
2010-11-19.akg460ck1.110849.t-flac16
– ONE SET (tracks 1-16) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#58)
“Sportin’ the new MMW logo hat, John Medeski!”
This is a great 2hr set that captures MMW nicely from this point in late 2010 at a super fun and intimate venue in the groovy city of Portland in the state of Maine, next to my province … I hit the band’s first performance at this place the previous year and was sorely disappointed to miss this 2010 gig, but thankfully the sounds were wonderfully captured — THANKS, Todd!
Chris Wood 2010-11-18 @The Westcott Theatre, Syracuse, NY
We get a slow building Intro to start things off that allows Baby Goats to bubble into our ears — love this groove! AKA “New ’07”, because MMW introduced the tune in the spring of 2007, the song actually seems to originate from some side-project gigs John played in the summer of 2006 under the moniker Medeski & The Itch (Eric Krasno & Adam Deitch!), so check those gigs out if you can find ’em … the tune is also found on the 2008 released Will Bernard album, Blue Plate Special, that Medeski played on (it actually opens the album, and a cover of Gonzo is also found on there). MMW played around with Baby Goats in both electric and acoustic settings, with the tune focusing on its groove or expanding out more, depending on their inclination on a given night.
The Radiolarians 2 tune, Dollar Pants, is up next which has always sounded odd to me — in a good way! The melody from John coupled with the accompanying rhythm from Martin & Wood just sounds like it almost doesn’t work for me, but yet it does … I wanna bop my head, but it’s an odd bop … just a wacky groove to this one that always sounds sharp against the songs surrounding it … this boils down to Medeski on piano which leads into the piano intro for Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down, an old spiritual/traditional tune you can find covered by Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, and many others. For MMW, SYKMCD begins with John exploring the fringes of the melody before he starts up the saloon-sounding romp with Billy and Chris jumping in, illyB keeping the shuffle simple with some cymbal accents, and Wood driving the whole sound with that SLIDE BASS! DAMN! (They played this tune the year before in Portland as well, and I was standing dead centre in front of Chris while he wailed that slide bass part — MAN!)
Martin 2010-02-24 @Crystal Bay Club Crown Room, Crystal Bay, NV
For many/most 2008 performance SYKMCD (from Radiolarians 3) was followed by the MMW original, Satan Pt.II (aka “Satan’s Little Helper”), which was a real nice dark groove released as a bonus track in the Radiolarians boxed set; here we have the song followed by a wonderful groove, not so dark, and it ain’t the MMW Satanic original. Nonetheless, this Improv is hot and tightly constructed.
Next up is Chantes Des Femmes, another R3 tune, the song that most often preceded and led into SYKMCD over 2008-09, but is now following Satan … this is a beautiful groove with John making that piano sing for the women … this version is nicely stretched through a patient execution …
Bass Solo time, lots of terrible chatter in the room at this point — LISTEN UP, FOLKS! Wood is playing his SOUL up there! Why do these talkers come … it just always seemed like a lot of money to come and talk … LISTEN! But I digress … it’s a pretty melodic solo from Chris, working sweetly into the tune it was working towards, Padrecito (Radiolarians 2 creation). I’ve no idea if this is related, but “Padrecito” is Spanish for “old man”, and this tune does have a slightly older-jazz feel to it, standard piano trio-like-feel, albeit tinged with MMW’s approach and creativity. This version is tightly compact — some versions expanded a fair bit more, but this performance is perfect for the room … gotta get back to some funky vibes for this restless crowd!
MMW 2010-02-21 @The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
And the crowd howls as John moves over to that murky keyboard and brings in the clavinet, and we are grooving BIG TIME! A good tune to get folks pumping, this heavy groove found on The Dropper album always sounds good to my ears. And this begins a high energy run of tunes with Big Time’s wacky ending slamming into the Night Marchers’ AWESOME bass and groove and the band tears up this classic Shack-man track, followed by another Radiolarians 3 song, Wonton, which is a super nice mood enhancer …
The following 25min are arguably the highlight of the show. Billy invites Mike Rivard on stage — if you don’t know Rivard, get with it! HA! He is the leader and heart of the band Club d’Elf, and if you haven’t heard them, well, I dunno, you just better check them out RIGHT NOW, or after you listen to this gig. TONS of d’Elf on the Live Music Archive
Mike Rivard (Club d’Elf)
The first tune Rivard adds his sintir sounds to is Zeed al Maal, a Club d’Elf song, and this quartet just rips this tune up in such a good way! Rivard and Wood’s interplay is marvelous, Billy holds the groove down throughout, and John goes WILD on some various keys … mixing it up with the melodica and the organ, so good! This tune is incredible and I wish the trio would have kept it in rotation … or that Rivard would come sit in more often!
Rivard remains on stage and the quartet launch into the Unvisible fun of Pappy Check — WOO! This tune always gets me moving and shaking, and Rivard fits in perfectly here as the jam unfolds over the tune and he finds his pockets of sound … damn, that sintir sound is so great with the trio …
Undone closes the show, yet another Radiolarians 3 tune. I find this song incredibly cathartic — it just builds and explodes in such fantastic release. The feel of the song almost reminds me of some 70s or 80s rock anthem or something, but WAY cooler with the sounds the trio emits — it crashes to explosion!
Some intros from illyB (see my opening comment above), and then we get a treat with the Mago tune, Mojet — from the duo album Medeski & Martin released in 2007 shortly after Chris started hanging with his biological brother a lot more … they may have given this treat as a bit of a warm up for the next night’s performance of the song with horns in Boston, but regardless the reason, it’s a great tune for the trio! But check out that Mago album too if you haven’t … wow.
MMW 2010-11-14 @Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY
Portland, ME is where I first caught MMW live, so it has a soft spot in my ears, but honestly, the band always tears it up when they hit that town … good Maine vibes you can enjoy on this beautiful spring Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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FAITU#57
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#57)
2001-05-05
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MMW poster 2001-05-05
Source info:
2001-05-05.fob.neumann-ak40.4544.t-flac16
– ONE SET (tracks 1-15) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#51)
This gig is a MUST HAVE for anyone dipping into MMW or hardcore fans alike. It has a wild section from the trio to start the set, with (another) guest spot by their bus driver Dom wailing on trumpet for Felic, but then it’s Michael Ray, Mark McGrain, Roger Lewis & Clarence Johnson III that send things out there … when Michael Ray’s involved in the horn section, there always seems to be extra fun … and the jam that comes out of 3rd Stone just sounded like they’re riffing off the I Wanna Be Like You groove without actually playing the song, really … anyway, GREAT GROOVES in here for a spring Friday Afternoon In The Universe!
enjoy the grooves,
dug
THE SHACK STREAM
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD ANOTHER SHOW!
FAITU#52+#53+#54+#55+#56
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#52 & #53 & #54 & #55 & #56)
2001-04-20
2002-04-20
2004-04-20
2005-04-20
2013-04-20
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2001-04-20
MMW c.2001
Source info:
2001-04-20.neumann-u89.117619.t-flac16
– ONE SET (tracks 1-23) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
Another opening slot with The Dropper, but this time the band basically jumps right into the tune and WE ARE ROLLING! Cool little Shack out of there and we move into *yet another* kick ass single spring set show! Super fun Acoustic Intro > Chubb Sub too …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
2002-04-20
MMW c.2002
Source info:
2002-04-20.schoeps641.9521.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-7) –
– SET II (tracks 8-15) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
Speak of the devil! Take Me Nowhere pops up here … Lifeblood, again cool with an extended outro of sorts … Creole > Felic might be the highlight of the show for me … well, the Moti Mo to close is in competition but not quite … Nocturnal Transmission is a wicked tune! And the move into Where’s Sly? is wacked! HA!
Can’t speak to Dan the Automator additions to the show too much … I’m just not a DJ guy … I simply can’t recall one way or the other at the moment …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
2004-04-20
Wood & Martin 2004-05-28 @Harmony Park Music Garden, Geneva, MN
Source info:
2004-04-20.fob.dpa4023.23966.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-11) –
– SET II (tracks 12-27) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
Standing out as one of the most incredible run of shows MMW has ever played, these April 2004 gigs of 100% improvisation exhibit the band at the height of their SHACK skills, pulling endless melodies and grooves out of thin air, along with the usual visits to more out-there/open space.
Each night encores with a tune intended for release on End Of the World Party (Just In Case) later in 2004 — Whiney Bitches never made it to the US release, but I think was on the Japanese release, and was later found on the Note Bleu-Best of the Blue Note Years 1998-2005 compilation disc.
All that to say: Dig into these gigs of pure musical exploration … you won’t be disappointed.
enjoy the grooves,
dug
2005-04-20
MMW @The Staircase, Scranton, PA 2005-05-13
Source info:
2005-04-20.akg463.29083.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-5) –
– SET II (tracks 6-13) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
The show opens in fine form with lots of exploration solidifying in a tweaked-out groove — Medeski’s keys are wild! We move through 2 incredible improvisations in the first 30min — you have to listen to these guys constructing these pieces on the fly, it’s unreal, boiling down to Chris letting loose on a Bass Solo before illyB joins back in and the two groove out and play around for a few minutes before landing into Hegaz — this is an incredible tune the guys played throughout April ’05 thanks to Brahim Fribgane bringing over this Club D’Elf tune during his sit-in @Tonic in NYC the previous March. Thought it might be the Zorn tune Ziphim for a while, but it’s a D’Elf tune, I believe written by Brahim. John sticks on piano throughout for this one which is real nice — each version of this tune is worth checking out for what the band does over the course of its brief inclusion in the live repertoire. Curtis is a hard groove resolving to the soothing wackiness of ITAHTLMJ to close the set, a tune benefiting nicely from Medeski’s ’05 key sounds.
2nd set gets going with a solid (as always) EOTWP (love that bowed bass!), with a HUGE Reflector close on its heels containing a Drum Solo which is fairly common for the tune but not a given, so I like to note it, and this jams into the nice combo of New Planet > The Lover, leading to a Bass Improv Outro that takes us to the slink of Sasa. The quietness of Everyday People follows (ya know, I honestly hardly recognize this cover!), and Queen Bee (a common closer) rocks us out to end with the cries of Whiney Bitches — what a pairing to wrap-up the set! Every version of Whiney Bitches is worth hearing as well …
Who The Fuck? is a short but VERY sweet encore — FRICKIN’ LOVE THIS PJ Harvey tune! Never listened to the original because I’m afraid how much it might ruin my love for MMW’s version … it rocks SO HARD!
enjoy the grooves,
dug
2013-04-20
Wood @Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall, Davis, CA 2013-04-20
Source info:
2013-04-20.neumann-km140.124444.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-6) –
– SET II (tracks 7-12) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
An electric gig drops on 4/20 in the midst of an acoustic run …
– SET I –
Some mildly piercing tweaks of feedback-like noise begin our journey through this 4/20 excursion, I believe the sounds are coming from Chris bowing below his bridge on the stand-up — it makes that kinda uncomfortable sounds. John is filling in some atmospheric sounds while Billy tinkers with some percussive injections. This open space is sifted and mined for groove until just after 5min or so the band allows the groove to emerge — Chris has already been building up the bassline, but @5:20 of track #2 John hits a mild riff and things evolve smoothly from there … this feels nice and welcoming even with its haunted edge. The last couple of minutes of the track sees the band developing what sounds like the beginning of an entirely new piece but it only lasts a couple of minutes … could really just be the outro from the previous improvisation, but I’ve noted it separately and it actually chills down to a very brief skittering from illyB on the kit before we reach silence.
Martin @Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall, Davis, CA 2013-04-20
The next track picks up the energy a bit with an illyBeat kicking hard before John chimes in with a nice and funky Clav riff followed by some nasty slide work from Chris on his electric — and we’re suddenly in a much funkier territory that’s almost feels scary to follow but also so nice. The organ comes in with a complimentary/contrasting riff to the Clavinet and this is a FUNKY TUNE, folks! Too bad we’ll never hear it again … THANK YOU TAPERS!!!
Track #4 I’ve dubbed “Mondavi Piano” — it’s incredible. It’s comprised of a few sections that sound to me like they all work together as a composition — spontaneous? I dunno … but listen and you’ll love it. The intro section moves smoothly into the main piano groove of the song c.3:40 — beautiful work from John here, complimented so perfectly by Chris and Billy. Wicked good. This builds to some chaos, out of which John continues a piano riff as the track rolls over and Billy joins in on percussion …
Medeski @Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall, Davis, CA 2013-04-20
Medeski drops out and illyB keeps playing his mettalic percussives for a spell, and then John slowly joins in with a murky little riff on (what I think is) the Wurlitzer — oh yeah, and Chris starts to compliment John as Billy switches to the kit and things start movin’ and groovin’. This is great and leads us to a Drum Solo closing the set — I recall an old interview where Billy noted the first time they ever did that, close a set with a Drum Solo, and how different it felt and how cool it was … not sure, think around ’03 … anyway, set break!
– SET II –
The 2nd set gets back to tunes, with a great selection, cool to hear, especially since in 2013 we weren’t hearing much else from the band other than the surrounding acoustic gigs that were the thrust of this spring ’13 tour. I think you had to hit some European festivals to catch MMW electric that year — HA! — so, lucky for our friends across the Atlantic. Anyway, great selection of tunes that are all at the top of their game, with a nice loose yet in control and confident feel.
Wood & Martin @Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall, Davis, CA 2013-04-20
Shacklyn Knights is a good slinky way to begin the set, followed by a Bass Solo, while LCTDT(P) is a particular highlight — stellar piano from John. JLIPI takes me back to my first live experience with MMW in ’98, and I’m a sucker for always hearing No Ke Ano Ahiahi for similar reasons — it’s a tune my wife and I both love as well. Heaven on Earth is a tune we could hear more from the band … if/when they play again more …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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MMW @Roseland Theater, Portland, OR 2013-04-18
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