Blog Archives
FAITU#51
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#51)
2018-03-23
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Medeski, Martin and Wood, Big Ears Festival, Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, March 2018
Source info:
2018-03-23.shure-mv88.141601.t-flac16 [TSP2018#1]
– ONE SET (tracks 1-4) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#51)
This gig is EXACTLY what I wanted to hear. Hot Damn.
Set opens with about 50min of trio bliss … the band explores some open space for the first 5min or so, seeming like they are on the brink of developing more of a groove but the sound resists … then Billy and John pull back and Chris emerges with this stellar acoustic bassline, the other two join in and this works into an incredible melodic improvisation – wow! This Improv moves for almost 10min before the trio breaks the sound down again into some Open Improv and minor Bass’n’Drums interplay — all pretty loose for the next few minutes … and then again, Chris gets us going on our way towards a more cohesive groove and by the time we reach 22min into this set these guys are just ROCKIN’! Then again, the mood simmers down and we’re treated to further open exploration although with a bit of a pulsing beat that Medeski tinkers over with an electric piano sound … Chris is bowing an odd little repetition … illyB is playing around with some of his toolbox toys … John closes this out with some trills then hits a heavy organ chord to begin the next Improv development with Chris jumping right on top of Medeski’s sound, but Wood has moved to the Hofner and is doing some of that awesome pick work we hear on a number of tunes, but he’s flying free here on top of the keys for a while before Medeski adds another sound to the mix — it’s 2min before illyB kicks in a beat on the kit and Chris opens up his playing to be a bit more groovy and interactive, John finds a melody (from where? Where do these sounds come from?!?), and they’ve now spontaneously created yet another incredible piece of music … and we’re only 30min into a set lasting 1hr 47min … oh these sweet sounds!
Medeski, Martin and Wood, Big Ears Festival, Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, March 2018
As the groove dissolves the band makes a more aggressive and electric exploration of Open sounds for a few minutes and just before the 36min mark of the set and this first track, illyB lands on some metallic percussive sounds that are the beginning of the next groove with Medeski whirling underneath like a wind tunnel … again, Chris emerges with yet another stellar line somewhat reminiscent of the tune Nocturne, but this is something new and different … Billy fades out as John comes in, then illyB begins a soft shuffle of sorts, searching for a rhythm, start/stop on the kit, and driving us along … then we spin into more open space which comes back to a groove c.36min via illyB on his metal toys tapping out a rhythm that Chris then joins, once again carving out the melodic structure of the improvisation, and then Medeski jumps on board this Norturne-ish sounding jam building — VERY cool shit! The pace picks up as we head towards 43min thanks to some swirls signalled by John, Billy and Chris both latch onto this energy and we’re in a bit higher gear now, still led by Wood’s incredible lead bass inventions (similar to how Chris controls the carnivalesque tune Back & Forth), but not to be outdone Medeski spins some craziness off the mellotron before the pace dramatically shifts once again c.45min, but slowing by half, with the keys and drums laying down a bed (very nice work from Billy at this point) which the bass just oozes into gradually, making itself known, but complimenting the groove perfectly. This latest groove has a couple shifts along the way, all very organic, as we ever so smoothly make our way to …
Medeski, Martin and Wood, Big Ears Festival, Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, March 2018
The entrance of Marc Ribot, guitar god extraordinaire! Ribot enters for track #2 of the recording and remains until the end of the set — so we get almost an hour of Ribot w/ MMW which is just the best. The guitar emerges through a caucophony of sound building out of that last Improv and as the track time moves towards 2min the sound settles down a bit, the trio establish a groove and Ribot begins to find his place in this spontaneous composition being developed. I think these 10min or so when the groove begins to the end of the track work into a single piece of music the quartet has created.
Medeski, Martin and Wood, Big Ears Festival, Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, March 2018
When Ned Rothenberg enters, everyone opens up to give him space without giving up their input — this gets almost tribal sounding over the Open Improv that welcomes Ned and his bass clarinet to the stage. A groove settles out of the drums-heavy opening with everyone connecting and just a real nice vibe here … 5min later the pace picks up as a new Improv develops — Chris is very much leading the affairs this evening, at least to my ears, being the strongest voice with everyone reacting mostly to his playing (most often it’s Medeski that fills this role, I think, and not that Chris doesn’t ever step up but it just seems even more so over this set). Ribot really steps up at this point too, and this “tune” builds to a wonderful crescendo — Ribot is just wailing around the 15min mark and keeps pushing and pushing over the next couple minutes! Medeski and Rothenberg are each wailing as well with Martin & Wood pushing the underlying rhythm more and more — BOOM! This explodes into more caucophony for a moment before settling into an eerie and wonderful interplay of the basses on stage: Stand-up and Clarinet. Wood and Ned sound like they’re having a lot of fun, with Chris beginning the exchange bowing his bass and Ned soloing over these sounds. Chris gradually moves into some finger plucking via some percussive beating of his wood, and Ned keeps reacting to Chris and Chris to Ned — check it out! As the two settle into a plodding interplay, illyB joins on the kit with a sparse beat, John and Marc add some chordal sounds and the creation continues to rise up in energy as we hit 22min in the track. The Improv gets more and more heavy — Billy is really beating those damn drums in this set and I dig it! He’s joining into that “bass” sound that is permeating the stage … oh yeah, this is a HEAVY THICK wall of sound from the quintet as we approach 25min — and there’s Ribot calling out above the thick bed! The build is peaking and peaking! After the sound hits the blind hill and comes down the quintet slides into yet another Nocturne-ish sounding Improv — this will take us towards the song the sound almost seems to have been moving towards all night. I love it when these Improv heavy sets seem to build into a song at the set’s end — it really ices the sound cake, if you know what I mean.
Medeski, Martin and Wood w/ Marc Ribot & Ned Rothenberg, Big Ears Festival, Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, March 2018
And so we hit the familiar opening chord of Dracula – a perfect choice. Ribot always adds a delicious flavour to this track, and Rothenberg’s bass clarinet sound fits so well with Dracula’s vibe — just listen, you’ll love it.
Hard to believe this is a festival set — usually this level of MMW-magic is saved for proper MMW gigs where they have their audience contained. I’m sure those ears in attendance at Big Ears soaked up these darkly groovy sounds with much pleasure … and now your ears can enjoy the sounds too, on this beautiful spring Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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FAITU#50
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#50)
2004-06-23
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MMW 2004-07-31 @Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Source info:
2004-06-23.nak-cm101.24783.t-flac16
– SET I (tracks 1-9) –
– SET II (tracks 10-19) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#50)
Pure 2004 groovy goodness.
In a switch-up for MMW, the first set is more song oriented (with plenty of Improv too!), while the 2nd set sees the meat of the evening’s spontaneous composing.
First set begins with some Open space exploration that leads smoothly into a wonderful Improv, everyone jiving together and taking us ever so nicely into Mami Gato, a beautiful song which was fairly new at this time having debuted in fall ’03 and would be released in fall ’04 on the forthcoming END OF THE WORLD PARTY (JUST IN CASE) album, once again the band is tight and then moves towards an emerging Bass Solo that bridges over to Rise Up, which doesn’t last too, too long, but hits with it’s wacky groove before dissolving into an Organ Solo leading into Ray Charles’ Lonely Avenue, and down that Avenue we go before suddenly the band leads into another KILLER (if too short!) Improv which takes us to Toy Dancing (’04 was a GREAT year for this tune), and then closing the set with a final Improv that just drives home how INCREDIBLY FLUID the past hour of music has been. Set break.
Medeski & Wood 2004-05-28 @Harmony Park Music Garden, Geneva, MN
2nd set finds the weirdly sinister feel of Seven Deadlies opening and getting the set going with intense energy — an energy that remains — and in the tune’s final moments we get a slight reference to Thelonious Monk’s fun quirky tune Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues Are, a nice nod to a piano player I think had a tremendous influence on John’s playing. When in doubt, listen to more Monk! The Deadlies doesn’t end but rather moves into the first of several distinct Improv sections, some really inventive spontaneous composing happening here showcasing various moods/rhythms/melodies until we once again land in a Bass Solo which leads to something seemingly familiar, but not quite, and so I’ve labelled it EOTWP Improv since the improvisation is built around the song End Of The World Party but isn’t quite the song proper, but that bumps right along into Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho, followed by a HOT Drum Solo from illyB, and a slamming Blue Pepper — gets a little wacky near the end — to close the night. Common for this time, the band Encores with a Bass Solo > Queen Bee, and I love that tune’s slinky groove and the way Chris’ solos lead into it … VERY soothing …
MMW @The Mangy Moose, Teton Village, WY
2004-02-17
There are a few sound discrepancies, as the taper notes in the textfile, but nothing that should deter listening to this stunning example of MMW’s ’04 sound — this is one of many shows that offer similar adventure with altogether different grooves. I think hitting “play” on the start of the first set would be a VERY satisfying way to spend your Friday Afternoon In The Universe … maybe the 2nd set can occupy your evening …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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FAITU#49
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#49)
1993-09-18
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Medeski & Martin @Lucille’s, Knoxville, TN
1993-09-12
Source info:
1993-09-18.dsbd.1.t-flac16 [TSP1993#2]
– ONE SET (tracks 1-8) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#49)
Was anybody at this gig? We have notes indicating this *may* have been an opening set for Col. Bruce & The Aquarium Rescue Unit, but not sure — it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s where this gig’s energy came from! (And there is a small announcement blurb at the very end of the Moti Mo track where the guy (sound like Al Schnier from moe., but that can’t be right) begins announcing the next act, but it cuts before you hear the band name! HA!) It’s honestly been a while since I listened to this show, not wanting to spoil the early gig listens with too many listens, but I’m listening right now and the band is HOT and on FIRE. The set *may* also be incomplete, but there’s 80min+ music here, so that seems pretty accurate if they were the opener for Col Bruce + ARU.
Recording begins on pretty much the first chaotic note of It’s A Jungle In Here, from the album by the same name — which is a slightly more edgy sounding and raw version of the tune that eventually becomes Sequel on the album FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE. The trio bite right into this early MMW-groove and we can hear why we were all captured by these guys early on — a feel that matures with age, but for me contains no less intensity — and IAJIH is just raw energy getting this set rolling on a high note.
MMW c.1993
Beeah is up next, sliding smoothly right out of the final notes of IAJIH. Again, Beeah benefits from the band’s young hunger in this performance and they just attack the groove, making perhaps for a more intense-than-usual mid-section of Beeah where things really heat-up. The outro section of the tune has some beautiful early work from Wood on his stand-up bass, until we hit that pulsing section that wraps-up the tune tightly.
Mr. John Coltrane’s vibe enters the set next in the form of Syeeda’s Song Flute, also knodding to the band’s early name “Coltrane’s Wig” — a name John recently mentioned that Col. Bruce was rather fond of. Syeeda’s has a slightly slower tempo than the tune takes on in later years, but Chris’ bass has a PHAT sound giving some real ummph to the tune.
MMW @Lucille’s, Knoxville, TN 1993-09-12
The aftermath of Syeeda’s yields Worms! One of the more wacky melodies in the band’s arsenal, Worms is always welcome for its crazy vibe — I’ve only ever caught it once, but it was WILD! These early gigs see numerous performances, since the band’s repertoire was only so big, but they are most certainly already playing the game of “how can we make this version differ?”, and we love that attitude! Worms doesn’t quite finish properly, but rather bursts into an Open Outro exploring the space in the room, until the familiar Chubb Sub groove begins and take us swirling into a dance party. At this point, Chubb Sub hasn’t quite found its niche as a closing or encore tune, so we find it more mid-set at times making for some cool vibes and energy.
Next John steps to the mic (he used to do that) and introduces the impending Monk/Marley medley they’re about to bust out. So first we get Chris showing us his early chops on the stand-up as the Bass Solo plods along until he hits that wonderful line and Bemsha Swing is, well, in full swing! Love these early versions of the medley too, with that young energy and the keys’ sounds at this time … cool shit …
Listen Here is up next, a tune by Eddie Harris — you might know another tune he’s known for, Freedom Jazz Dance, made famous by Miles Davis; also played by Jerry Garcia’s Legion of Mary group, for those of the Dead persuasion. MMW’s take on Listen Here adds bit more pep to the tune compared to the original by Harris — along with a sinister Beeah tease c.6:43-7:03 — but it’s such a fun melody and boppin’ tune! Shame MMW never really played it much … I think this is the only known performance … fits perfectly with the MMW sound though. And gonna have to check out some more Eddie Harris! For now, you can Listen Here for his version:
Closing the show, as it often does when it makes an appearance, King Sunny Ade’s Moti Mo takes the crowd out, once again with John acting as the reluctant announcer … I’ve never had the pleasure of catching this tune live, which is pretty rare at this point, but in the early-mid ’90s it was frequently played (cool version with horns, led by Steven Bernstein, on the album IT’S A JUNGLE IN HERE). It’s always patient, it’s always beautiful, and it’s always a welcome vibe: MOTI MO! Here’s some interesting tidbits about King Sunny Ade’s versions, which are more appropriately titled Mo Ti Mo:
“1983
Originally recorded in 1974 in Ade’s first self released record, the song is a plea to his fans, “My people gather round me, this journey I am on, is it carrying me forward or backward?”
The original chorus in 1974 was Mio Mo meaning, “I don’t know.” When the song was re-released for Island Records on the cusp of international success, the chorus was changed to Mo Ti Mo which means, “Now I know.”
… and you can check out that 1983 version right here:
The mic moves to Billy at the end of the show as he thanks the crowd, etc … There’s some weird stuff right at the end of the last track, where we hear that announcer I mentioned earlier welcoming the following mystery act (Col & ARU?), but it cuts and that’s that …
Most of us into MMW love these early years … and this show is a perfect example as to why, so tune in or download and enjoy an old school Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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FAITU#43
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#43)
1998-11-19
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Medeski @North Sea Jazz Festival, Paulus Hall, Congresce, The Hague, Netherlands 1998-07-11
Source info:
1998-11-19.unknown.26805.t-flac16
– ONE SET (tracks 1-13) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#43)
One of my favourite ways to hear an MMW gig open is with the Chanting of the Thundercloud Bros., the blessing. This opening track finds the trio bubbling up underneath the chant after a few minutes, exploring an extended intro of sorts to Church Logic — this is one my favourite COMBUSTICATION tracks, and it’s real nice live. The bassline is infectious, and when the Thunderclouds leave the stage and that bass and drums kick it, it’s perfect. The end of this creeps into Start/Stop, yet another tune enjoying a lengthy opening (and that’s fine by me). S/S is AWESOME any time, and the “Stop” sections go out there nicely, having breathed more and more room into those moments over the past year or so, making the “Start” sections, oh, so much sweeter when they hit …
Wood @North Sea Jazz Festival, Paulus Hall, Congresce, The Hague, Netherlands 1998-07-11
Again, no stopping and the band moves smoothly into Tubby, which brightens the vibe a bit with the opening tunes leaning a little more to the darker side of the scale. A short Drums’n’Bass breakdown in the middle, Billy moves to his tambourine for a bit — damn he can play that thing! Tune wraps up with John and Logic jumping back in and into Sugar Craft, featuring DJ Logic a fair bit — they like to let him groove out on this number, leading the charge at times.
Next up is a beautiful take on Latin Shuffle, including the usual mid-tune Drum Solo, and moving into a Bass Solo out of the song’s ending … the band has loved this tune, seemingly, since its debut in spring ’97, and by this point in ’98 they can really dig deep on this one.
illyB @North Sea Jazz Festival, Paulus Hall, Congresce, The Hague, Netherlands 1998-07-11
Billy takes a moment to welcome out THE FUNKY DRUMMER, Clyde Stubblefield! Clyde filled in for illyB earlier in the fall of ’98 on the Scofield A GO GO tour that also featured Medeski & Wood — Billy’s wife had just had a baby, so he couldn’t do the tour. Anyhoo, Clyde comes out to sit at the kit, Billy moves to some percussion (cowbell, talking drum), and the Stubblefield beat kicks in on what I’ve called a Toy Dancing Improv. Toy Dancing was new in ’98, and some renditions move closer to the song as we know it while a couple performances, like this one, kind of bend the Toy around a bit so the Dancing feels a little different. Nice breakdown c.5min with illyB & Clyde, then John, Chris, and Logic jump back in on the tune’s head and it fires to its finish — GROOVY SHIT, FOLKS! Billy celebrates Clyde one more time, and then the legend leaves the stage …
JLIPI is up next calming the vibe in the room a bit with its slinky bassline, but this will erupt soon enough in the mid-section of the tune when Chris lays it all out in his solo — GEESH! Also some stellar piano work from John here …
Hey-Hee-Hi-Ho gets the blood pumping again — Billy is so tight on this tune! And Logic again has room to maneuver, with he and illyB having some mid-track fun.
Medeski @North Sea Jazz Festival, Paulus Hall, Congresce, The Hague, Netherlands 1998-07-11
And then our MMW-related guitar hero of old (and forever!), Mr. Marc Ribot is invited out. Things start slow and meanderingly through some Open space before settling into the first known performance of music related to the tune Seven Deadlies, using its bassline while the rest of the guys on stage improvise around that. Later in Nov ’98 the band will use the bassline played during that Improv as a more firm beginning to, yet still incomplete, portion of the song we eventually come to know as Seven Deadlies, but during the late ’98-early ’99 period the performances are labelled as Seven Deadlies (Bridge) since it’s just that section of the tune they play during that time, before the more full version comes out in spring ’99 … mind you, the “structure” of the song is always shifting a bit, but by spring ’99 we’ve settled into more of what we know as Seven Deadlies.
C-Jam Blues sneaks out the end of the Seven Deadlies (Bridge) Improv, and we get to hear some sweet wacky blues playing from Ribot — sounds nice!
Wood + Martin @North Sea Jazz Festival, Paulus Hall, Congresce, The Hague, Netherlands
1998-07-11
Spy Kiss busts out the end of that C-Jam Blues, building tension more and more, grooving hard, before exploding into the insanity of the “song”, Combustication! What a finish to the show! Everyone is just giving all they’ve got to this WALL OF SOUND and it’s, well, INSANE!
The No Ke Ano Ahiahi encore is perfect … Ribot’s guitar is always soooooo sweet during this tune, a perfect contrast to the HIGH ENERGY that closed the set, and should nicely take you into this Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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FAITU#42
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE
(FAITU#42)
1995-05-05
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Wood + Martin @Liberty Lunch, Austin, TX 1996-04-13
Source info:
1995-05-05.dsbd.126805.t-flac16 [TSP1995#11]
– SET I (tracks 1-7) –
– SET II (tracks 8-17) –
– SHACK THOUGHTS –
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN THE UNIVERSE (FAITU#42)
“Don’t fuck with John Medeski.”
– Billy Martin
— this comment from illyB near the end of the first set is a good summation of the gig, but let’s extend it to the trio as a whole. Not gonna blab on about this gig in detail. This is *classic* ’95, but turned up to eleven — this could arguably be the hottest show we have of ’95, and that’s saying A LOT! My Shack buddy, Mike (aka shackaholic) had this to say upon originally seeding this show:
If you were to have just one MMW recording from 1995, this would be a great candidate. The first set is average to slightly above average (the Pakalolo is excellent however).
The second set is a highlight set, IMO. The Think, We’re So Happy and Chubb Sub are all amazing versions. The rest of the second set is great too and features a Worms with a funky beginning. It’s as if they were going to do a Bemsha Swing/Lively Up Yourself but instead about 40 seconds in or so, it morphs into Worms.
Great great show that I highly recommend downloading.
Mike (aka shackaholic)
I’m gonna counter Mike’s assessment of Set 1 with this: He was blinded by the FIRE that is Set 2! HA! But, IMHO, the 1st set of this gig is MORE than average. Again, everything about this show is indeed classic ’95, but with a twist, a heightened energy — an extra sweet Pakalolo; the “usual” killer Drum Solo inside LCTDT(P); an early Sequel, born from It’s A Jungle In Here’s demise; that Bemsha fake-out to start Worms?; the run of tunes following Worms. All of this is standard for 1995, sorta, but this gig just lifts it all that much more from the first moment … at least to my ears. Yeah, even the first set is tops! The move out of the end of ripping The Lover > Pakalolo is, well, check it out …
Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t note how intense and tight Beeah is in this gig — it’s a favourite of mine, and it was interesting to hear Chris say at a recent interview down in NOLA that this tune was written from a need: they had a first “official” gig and needed tunes! Glad they did! Beeah is sublime … and perfect for this Friday Afternoon In The Universe …
enjoy the grooves,
dug
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The Shack Project 