LIVE MUSIC BLOG.com » Photos

Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl, 3/9/10: Photo & Video Round-up

whitperson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:27:41 +0000

Last night, I was able to finally check out one of Soulive’s “Bowlive” shows, as a part of the band’s 10-night residency at Brooklyn Bowl. My tickets came courtesy of the fine folks at Relix who drew my name for a free pair (thanks dudes!).

Overall, the show was loose and intimate, featuring a rotating cast of characters for a variety of interesting sit-ins and lineups. The band welcomed Charlie Hunter as their main guest to show off his skills with his signature 8-string guitar as well as a standard six-string electric. But, of course, Mr. Hunter wasn’t the only guest appearance, with Nigel Hall and Kofi Burbridge also making appearances throughout the night. The opening sets included a mellow, soul set featuring Nigel Hall on vocals and Charlie Hunter laying down the instrumentals, followed by a standard funk-laden set by Soulive. But the main feature of the night was all about honoring the Beatles and celebrating the band’s latest official release, Rubber Soulive, which is an album of all-instrumental Beatles covers.

Like the new album, the “Rubber Soulive” set featured the band’s funky re-workings of classic Beatles tunes. Highlights included an uber-funky “Come Together,” a bouncin’ “Day Tripper” featuring Charlie Hunter on six-string, some soulful takes on “In My Life” and “Something,” and a nearly unrecognizable version of “Get Back” that had the crowd dancing hard. At times, the crowd sang along with the well-known melodies, and it was clear that both the band and crowd were totally into it and having a blast. After a quick break, they returned to the stage for a one-song encore capping off a stellar show with a rockin’ version of the Abbey Road classic “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” I was able to grab most of the tune on video:

Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl, 3.9.10 – “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” [YouTube]

It was a perfect way to end a super fun show. it was so fun in fact, I might just have to return for another round of “Bowlive” later this week. Check out the full photo gallery of the night’s festivities below:

If you’re interested in a recap of the band’s first week at Brooklyn Bowl, head on over to Royal Family Records site.

Related posts:

Washed Out, Small Black, Pictureplane @ Mercury Lounge, NYC 3/7/10

whitperson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:48:33 +0000

Sunday night, I hit up the Mercury Lounge for an intimate show featuring Washed Out, Small Black, and Pictureplane opening.

Although I was definitely curious about the openers, my main reason for going was Washed Out, whose Life of Leisure EP I’ve been thoroughly enjoying ever since I checked out a few tracks on The Hype Machine this past fall and decided to make the purchase. If you’re unfamiliar with Washed Out, it’s basically one young dude (Ernest Greene) from a random town in Georgia who has caught the attention of the Hype Machine crowd with a unique blend of dreamy synth-pop that some are giving the unfortunate label “chill wave.”

Washed Out has managed to cull some of the most perfect synth tones from the 80s and update them with a more contemporary rhythmic and atmospheric framework. That’s all topped off with heavily-processed and “hazy” vocals that makes for a mesmerizing sound that’s familiar and nostalgic but totally fresh. I’d definitely recommend checking out his EP or getting a taste from the blogs or his MySpace page.

But before Washed Out came on, I also got to check out sets by Small Black and Pictureplane.

Pictureplane

Like Washed Out, Pictureplane was a one-man show, complete with a bunch of beat sequencers, samplers and effects pedals (i.e. toys). He got the party moving with an interesting mashup of house-oriented dance tracks overlaid with high-pitched, moody vocals. What the guy lacked in technical agility with his various contraptions, he definitely made up for with lots of energy and a silly, fun vibe. He could use a little work on delivery, especially in the transitions and endings (more on that later), but it was a fun way to kick off the night.

Small Black

Next up was Small Black, the only real “band” of the evening. Although much of the night’s music was characterized by synths mixed with dreary/moody vocals — and these guys played into that trend — Small Black provided much more of a rock-oriented groove that really made them stand out from the rest of the lineup. The presence of a full drum kit, bass, keys, and multiple singers made all the difference and created a key distinction from the other acts performing that night.

It took Small Black a few tunes to get things rolling, but towards the end of their set, they tore into some truly memorable melodies and tight grooves. Their standout track “Despicable Dogs” is totally hypnotic and has basically been stuck in my head since I left the venue. I’m not yet all that familiar with their other tunes, but I thoroughly enjoyed their blend of melodic, moody synth-based rock, and I definitely think that they’re set was the most cohesive of the night. I’ll be looking out for more music from these guys in the near future.

After a short break and a quick sound check, Washed Out started into his set, playing to a thoroughly enthusiastic crowd that clearly was familiar with his material. Now, one of the things I wondered about Washed Out was whether or not he could truly translate the perfection of his studio tracks to the live stage. On the one hand, I really admire a guy who rolls completely solo with just a mic and his contraptions. But, given how much I love his EP, I just felt like the sound didn’t work all that well in the live setting. The vocals were a little too distorted and, dare I say, “washed out” to really catch your ear. More importantly, I’d say the set suffered a similar lack of cohesion and flow like the opener Pictureplane, especially in the song transitions and endings. They were a bit abrupt and unnatural as compared to the gradual studio fades that characterize the tracks on his EP. Now it’s important to note that this guy has barely played more than a few live shows since breaking out last year, so I’m sure his live set will continue to improve. Besides, the crowd basically seemed to eat up every single track he played, so perhaps I’m being too critical.

I think what struck me was really the distinction between watching a full band locking into a groove versus watching one guy singing while tapping some buttons and twisting a few knobs. Without a few instruments or even all that much movement, the one-man band approach sort of felt flat to me. And, as if to emphasize this perception even further, about halfway through his set, Washed Out was joined by the guys from Small Black for a full-band take on some of his signature tunes. The change provided a vibe and energy that that instantly kicked things up a notch and finished out the show with a bang.

Washed Out – Get Up (3.7.10) [YouTube]

Unfortunately, this show was a pain in the ass to shoot because of the lighting. But unlike a bunch of other douchebag photogs who were flashing away throughout the entire show, I wasn’t willing go against the standard common courtesy of not using a flash for shooting concerts. Despite the lighting challenges, I think I still nabbed a few decent a shots; my full photo set is available on Flickr.

One a brief side note, I mentioned Small Black’s signature tune “Despicable Dogs” above. As it turns out, Washed Out recently did a remix of that tune, and it has subsequently been playing in my head non-stop since I discovered it. Naturally, you can check it out on the Hype Machine, but beware of its infectiousness.

Related posts:

Brothers Past @ Brooklyn Bowl, 2/25/10: Setlist, Photos, Video

whitperson — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:07:29 +0000

Brothers Past stopped through Brooklyn Bowl last night in near-blizzard conditions for a solid show featuring some of their newer material and a lot of dancey electronic improv. I actually got a chance to chat with guitarist Tom Hamilton and bassist Clay Parnell before the show, so I’ll have more on that in a few days. For now, here’s a quick wrap-up of the show with setlist, photos and a video clip of their newer tune “Who’s Gonna Love me Now.”

Setlist:
Brothers Past
Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY
Feb 25, 2010
(Jounce opened the show)

Set I:
State Police >
Charity Starts at Home
Who’s Gonna Love Me Now
Heroes >
The Mirror >
Celebrity

Set II:
Bitches & Candy
Year of the Horse >
Getaway Somehow >
Year of the Horse
Simple Gift of Man

Photos:

Full Flickr Photo Set

Video:

Brothers Past – 2.25.10 – “Who’s Gonna Love Me Now” (clip) [YouTube]

Related posts:

Trey Anastasio Band at Jefferson Theatre 2/8/10: Video, Photos, Setlist and Download

whitperson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:05:53 +0000

photo by Baskin'

Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB kicked off their Winter tour last night in Charlottesville at the recently-renovated Jefferson Theatre. Our buddy Brent grabbed some solid photos, CitrusCarpetMan posted a decent video of the debut of “Liquid Time,” and the boys over at Hidden Track and the Butter Room had us covered on setlist updates. Sounds and looks like a great time.

Video:

Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB | Liquid Time * | 2.8.10 | Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, VA [YouTube]

Photos:

photo by Baskin'

Setlist:
Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB
February 8, 2010
Jefferson Theatre
Charlottesville, VA

Set One: Shine, Cayman Review, Tuesday, Liquid Time*, Drifting, Let Me Lie, All That Almost Was*, Alaska, Mozambique, A Case of Ice and Snow, Last Tube

Set Two: Curlew’s Call, Sand, Valentine, Goodbye Head, Mr. Completely, Windora Bug, Night Speaks to a Woman, Push On Til The Day

Encore: Small Axe, Birdwatcher*, Show Of Life*,
Encore2: At The Gazebo, First Tube

* – First Time Played

Downloads:
You can download the audience copy of the show here (thanks to YEMblog for the link).

Related posts:

Media Dump: White Denim @ The Indy, SF 1/20/10

Justin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:18:08 +0000

Last Wednesday, one of the best jambands you’ve never heard of rolled through San Francisco and played a raging, non-stop set to a half-empty room of people left with their jaws dropped and nothing more. That band was White Denim, and they just finished up a large tour in support of their release of Fits late last year. Me and my crew were there and I just found a few videos from the show, so it’s time I round it up a bit. All photos by Dan Leech.

White Denim @ The Independent, San Francisco [YouTube]

Fun fact: I requested the song “I Can Tell” after they took their first break in the set, and the lead singer fully acknowledged the request by saying “soon…” And by our calculations, the band had played at least 5 songs and jammed for 25 minutes straight before anyone in the band took a sip of their beer. Then the trio took a break, then launched into another 30 minute segment of perfectly segued thrash blues like they had never stopped.

Second fun fact: the band did not play from a setlist on the floor, but rather just a series of tunes and beats-per-minute that just seemed to flow each song into the next song like the band had it completely rehearsed. It was incredible.

This band remains a sonic inspiration for me and my half-assed music-making abilities these days, and their live shows are something to be absolutely cherished. I hope they keep touring as hard as they have been the past few years, because the energy this band puts out can seriously put you on your ass. For realz.

Related posts:

Gov’t Mule Island Exodus – Day 4

Ross McKillop — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:03:36 +0000

I should be able to ramble on for a while this time, I have 2 hours to kill before my shuttle to the airport. And since I’m dressed in “back to bad weather” attire, I’m not going to the beach. Update: and of course I ran into folks and didn’t actually finish this post until I arrived home.

So yesterday was the final day of the 1st Annual (confirmed, it will happen again next year) Gov’t Mule Island Exodus. And it ended in fine style.

Lets start at the beginning of the day. The usual – enough coffee to drown in, head to the beach. Stake out my spot in front of the stage (yeah, I’m one of them) and hit the (non-alcoholic) frozen umbrella drinks to keep hydrated. Lots of water too. I finally had some time to read one of my books as there weren’t any events I was interested in until 4PM.

At 4, “Farmer Says” turned into “Road Stories with Farmer”, which was really a Q&A. He apologized profusely for some ‘issues’ the day before (you’ll read about the phrase “It’s all normal, now”) soon. Then launched into some very entertaining stories about a show w/ Phil Lesh, his time w/ Johnny Cash, a few of the bands that Mule has toured with, and how he got into being a guitar tech. He was quite animated and appeared to be having a good time.

Then the weather threatened to rain again. It briefly came down in dribs and drabs, but quickly stopped. Potential disaster averted.

Around 7:30PM Grace Potter and the Nocturnals hit the stage. They did a few new tunes, a few old, and a couple covers. It seemed to me to be a slightly shorter set, but that may have just been time flying by when you’re having fun.

The Mule crew quickly went into action and set the stage up. Tonight there was an outdoor dinner w/ tables right on the beach, so the walk to eat was even shorter than normal.

9:00PM’ish, and Mule hit the stage. The setlist is below, but I’ll comment on a few of (my personal) highlights. Monday Morning Meltdown was better than usual, and it’s usually pretty damn good. Beat It was over-the-top fun, with Jorgens son on stage dancing throughout (see picture below). Shattered was every single bit as much fun as it was on Halloween. Drums w/ DJ Logic was neat, but he was a bit hard to hear. I suppose they’re not entirely used to hooking up turntables. Somebody to Love with Grace was hands down as much fun as it was w/ Dana Fuchs on New Years Eve. And the closing Southern Man was better than the last time I’d seen it with Grace and Scott sitting in. On the whole, this was my favorite Mule show of the trip.

Set 1:
Hammer and Nails
Time to Confess
Painted Silver Light
Wandering Child
Monday Morning Meltdown
Forevermore
Rocking Horse
Beat It (instrumental, and yes, the Michael Jackson song, w/ Ron and Sean Carlsson – Sean danced on stage throughout the song. Sean being Jorgens 7? 8? year old son)
Reggae Soulshine (w/ Ron)
Devil Likes It Slow (w/ Ron)

Set 2:
Shattered (Matt vocals, Jorgen drums, Danny bass – no banana)
New World Blues
Effigy > Folsom Prison Blues > Effigy
Slackjaw Jezebel
Drums >
Drums (w/ DJ Logic spinning)
Play With Fire (w/ Ron and DJ Logic)
No Need To Suffer
Money (w/ Ron)

Encore 1:
Many Rivers To Cross (w/ Ron and Grace)
Somebody To Love (w/ Grace)

Encore 2:
Southern Man (w/ Grace and Scott)

Related posts:

Gov’t Mule Island Exodus – Day 3

Ross McKillop — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:44:19 +0000

It’s early (for me). Therefor my constantly repeated disclaimer of “this is going to have spelling and grammatical errors, and may be tough to follow at times” is totally in effect.

So yesterday was the Warren Haynes solo show (early) followed by a later full Grace Potter and the Nocturnals show. There were some other events that didn’t happen – the “it’s Jamaica” philosophy applies. Such is life (here).

Here goes. Sometime in the afternoon it started to rain. Then, it started to pour. And it didn’t stop for quite a while. There were two questions constantly being asked. 1) Is the show going to happen? and 2) Is the show going to be moved inside? No one really had the answer, it was very much a “lets play it by ear” decision. Well, the rain eased up quite a bit (and stopped at times), and Warren decided that it was outside. He took the stage and said that the soundcheck was going to lead directly into the show, due to the possibility of further rain. So it did.

It was a two set show, because rain dictated that Warren leave the stage (you know.. water and electricity..). You have to credit the man – he could EASILY have just called it a day and not come back out. But no no – once the rain eased up, he was right back out there. The faithful just got wet while waiting and hoping, and lots of folks came running back once they heard him start up again.

Chris and Danny (crew) showed absolute professionalism and a dedication to their art. Putting tarps on the equipment when it started to rain, removing tarps when it stopped, putting them back on again.. over, and over, and over again. It’s my opinion that it happened outside in large part due to their diligence.

Set 1
Patchwork Quilt
The Real Thing
Listen To The Lions
No Celebration
Back Where I Started
Stranded In Self Pity with Ron Hollaway
Change Is Gonna Come with Ron Hollaway
Goin’ Down Slow
Old Friends
Wild Horses with Grace Potter

Set 2
Hallelujah Boulevard
Panonica’s Dream
It Hurts Me Too
Poor Boy Blues
In My Life with Matt Abts
End Of The Line

Encore 1
Hallelujah with Danny Louis

Encore 2
That’s Why I’m Here >
Stella Blue

The Grace Potter show. Sadly, I can’t comment much on this one as I only watched a couple of songs. As much as I wanted to tough it out, fatigue hit hard. I did listen to some of it from my patio, and it sounded great. I’ll certainly be front and center for their opening set tonight.

Related posts:

Gov’t Mule Island Exodus – Day 2

Ross McKillop — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:10:46 +0000

I’ll try to blather on a bit longer than I did yesterday. Please excuse any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and/or general incoherence. Lack of sleep combined with… Jamaica.. has me a bit dazed.

Lets see if I can do the second day in a vaguely accurate chronological order.

Wake up, eat. Lay on beach. Swim.

The merch table. Fortunately I happened to walk by as it had just opened, and a new friend (you make lots here) was more than happy to take my $ and buy a poster and shirt for me, as he was at the front of the line. So with that over and out of the way with, more beach time was in order.

The first big “event” of the day was the Matt Abts drum clinic. It had changed location and time, but no one was quite sure where the new location was, or at what time. That seems to be a running theme here. And it’s no reflection on the event itself, it’s just that “Jamaica time” differs from North American time. You just adapt – and it’s not hard. Well, except that it took the good folks here at Breezes 24 hours to “find” a roll-away bed for our room. But that’s another story…

So back to Matt’s drum clinic. I actually didn’t really stay too long, or pay very close attention. But there was a nice turnout, and he was answering questions from the crowd, demonstrating techniques and seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself.

Next up was the poster signing. Talk about a huge line. It was relatively efficient, but with the sheer volume of people getting stuff signed, it took a good two hours for everyone to make it through the line. We were told by staff that the band would only be signing “posters, shirts and CDs” – but like the gentlemen they are, they’d sign anything you put in front of them. I had individual prints of each band member that I had purchased from Allison and Dino, so each of them signed their own print. Grace Potter, Matt (drummer for GPN), Ron Holloway and DJ Logic were also at the poster signing, so I had them sign my poster. All the musicians were super-friendly and had a nice word for everyone that got something signed.

I *think* Grace and Matt had to cut their autograph session short to make it over to sound check. During their soundcheck they went through a bunch of the Top Gun tunes that they played at their New Years Eve “Top Gun themed” show.

Fast forward a couple of hours and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals took the stage for their opening set. They played a few new tunes, a few old, and my personal favorite “If I Was From Paris”. The audience was very into it, though some folks opted to skip it so they would watch one of the NFL playoff games. To each his or her own.

Once GPN had finished, the Mule-crew kicked it into overdrive and setup the stage faster than I’ve ever seen them do it before. Even in Jamaica, these guys are professional.

Mule came out sometime after 10:00PM, and kicked it off with an extended “I’m A Ram” jam, as Jorgens bass (or his speakers) weren’t working… Once that was fixed, the jam turned into a full on version of I’m A Ram > 54/46 > Ram.

Setlist:

Set 1
Extended Jam >
54/46 >
I’m A Ram
Gameface
Child Of The Earth
Frozen Fear
Beautifully Broken
Mule > with Ron Holloway
I’ve Been Workin’ > with Ron Holloway
Mule with Ron Holloway

Set 2
Bad Little Doggie
Streamline Woman
Brighter Days >
Like Flies >
Drums >
Drums & Bass
Railroad Boy >
Fallen Down >
The Other One Jam with Gimme Shelter Tease & Ron Holloway
Blind Man In The Dark with Get Up, Stand Up & Sleepwalk Teases, Ron Holloway & Danny Louis on drums

Encore
32/20 Blues with Willie Green & Ron Holloway
Stop That Train with Willie Green, Ron Holloway, Grace Potter & Scott Tournet

I have both the printed setlists for both sets, and they are so drastically different from what was actually played (and in which order) that they can’t really help me piece together the night.

Same deal as yesterday, uploading pictures is a nightmare. Of all the wonderful things this resort has, actual high-speed Internet is not one. With that said, I think I’m the only one dumb enough to have brought a laptop anyway. So here are a couple pics – many, many more once I return home.

Related posts:

Gov’t Mule Island Exodus – Day 1

Ross McKillop — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:34:57 +0000

I’m sorry I’m going to have to keep this brief. I’ll try to do a longer “Day 2″ post, but there’s a beach 100″ from me and it has my name on it. With that said, I’ve posted some pictures and the setlist. Keep reading for more…

Gov’t Mule’s 1st Annual (well, hopefully it will be annual) Island Exodus in Negril, Jamaica kicked off to a fantastic start. Everyone was relaxed, thrilled with the gorgeous weather, beautiful beaches and warm ocean water.

The sound-check was great fun. They went through a couple of tunes around 7pm (I think.. time doesn’t matter so much here) making sure everything sounded well. It did. The stage itself is literally ON the beach, 30″ from the ocean. The “rail” was a series of branches lined up in the sand. Very much the opposite of the usual steel barricades.

Fast forward to 10PM. The band took the stage to an audience of.. 350-400 people (the guestimate consensus). It was a loud, joyful, smoke-filled (it’s Jamaica…) atmosphere. Grace Potter and Ron Holloway were great guests, and were having every bit as much fun as the rest of us. Standing barefoot on the sand watching and listening to your favorite band cannot be beat. More tomorrow…

Setlist (update: now complete thanks to mule.net)

Set 1
Jam-Aica >
The Joker
Thorazine Shuffle
Banks Of The Deep End
Larger Than Life
Have Mercy On The Criminal
Lay Your Burden Down
Steppin’ Lightly >
Any Open Window
Dirty Work with Ron Holloway
Sco-Mule with Ron Holloway

Set 2
Find The Cost Of Freedom > with Grace Potter
Ohio with Grace Potter
Take Me To The River with Grace Potter
Brand New Angel
Broke Down On The Brazos
The Shape I’m In >
Afro-Blue with Ron Holloway
Lively Up Yourself

Encore
Raven Black Night
Gold Dust Woman with Grace Potter

Please note: The Internet connection here is deathly slow. It took 63 minute to upload just these photos. I’ll upload a whole bunch more overnight, and update this post or include a link to them in my “Day 2″ article tomorrow.

Related posts:

NYC Jazz Fest: Marco Benevento Trio, Bitches Brew Revisited, Dr. Lonnie Smith

whitperson — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:27:57 +0000

On a cold Saturday night in NYC, I caught some amazing jazz music in the Village as a part of the NYC Winter Jazz Festival. The “festival” was basically just a series of shows at five different Village venues — Le Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall, the Bitter End, Kenny’s Castaways, and Zinc Bar — as opposed to the original Knitting Factory, where the festival used to take place. Overall, the music and musicians were stellar, but what really struck me about the festival was the sheer variety of sounds that now live under the general jazz umbrella. We saw everything from West African guitar music to classical jazz to several varieties of rock/funk jazz fusion.

Along with the overall mix of sounds also came a very mixed crowd. When my buddy and I stepped into Le Poisson Rouge for the Occidental Brothers — doing their fine take on West African guitar music — we suddenly felt very young. And unfortunately for the Occidental Brothers, a good half of the crowd sat through their energetic and dance-oriented set. I was amazed that people could sit through a set with such great energy, but each to his own.

It was clear that the “early” crowd was waiting for what were considered the headliners — the more traditional/studied jazz artists on the lineup. Jenny Sheinman & Jason Moran did a classical-oriented set as a violin and piano duo. Later on, the Vijay Iyer Trio also brought a traditional jazz approach with a piano, bass, drums combo that had the crowd mesmerized. I thoroughly enjoyed both sets; the musicianship and attention to detail was outstanding. That said, the place was packed to the gills, and overall the atmosphere was a bit too stuffy for me. Amazingly enough, Vijay Iyer made a comment that it was one of the best jazz crowds he’d ever played to in NYC. I guess I’m just more accustomed to the party atmosphere of your standard rock club.

As such, it’s not surprising that my favorite sets of the evening tended much more towards the groove and funk-based fusion. Although I knew I’d definitely get a taste of that style later on the evening, I was pleasantly surprised to catch a super funky set by the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio, who tore up Sullivan Hall with their organ-based jazz-funk.

By their look/style, you couldn’t have picked a more random trio (a nicely dressed white boy on guitar, a young drummer that looked like a hipster Spike Lee, and then Dr. Lonnie Smith, whose signature turban and long white beard give him a bit of a genie/wizard look). But man, could they drop the funk!

Later on, we also caught a kind of local super-group of New York musicians do a tribute of Miles Davis’s original Bitches Brew combo from ‘69-70, called “Bitches Brew Revisited.” Although they updated the sound with a few new trumpet effects and an occasional hip-hop beat from DJ logic, they generally stuck close to that kind of free-jazz and rock fusion that Miles conjured for the original album back in late 1969.

While the throwback to Bitches Brew was fun, I felt it dragged on a bit long, which is basically my same take on the Bitches Brew album. Although the idea and instrumentation was revolutionary, the actual execution wasn’t all that amazing.

By this point, the late-night crowd had completely morphed into a younger, more jam-type scene, with heads apparently coming out of the woodwork in anticipation for the Marco Benevento Trio to rock the party. Before beginning his set, Marco did his best Keith Jarret impression and told us all he better not see one camera during the set. His reference was a bit over the heads of most in attendance, but it was a facetious take on Keith Jarrett’s now infamous 2007 rant at the “Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy”. It was an interesting statement to make within the context of the overall vibe at the jazz festival, which was a much more quiet and proper affair during the earlier sets. Given Marco’s ability to bring his jazz-influenced music to a younger, more rock-oriented club audience, he seemed put himself squarely onto the rock’n'roll side of the fence….and perhaps it was his way of saying that the kids are alright, even with all their cameras, texting and social networking status updates.

The trio proceeded to play a rockin’ set of originals and covers from Benevento’s solo albums Me Not Me and Invisible Baby. It was pushing past the 1:30-2am range at this point, so the crowd had thinned out and we scored a killer spot in front of the stage. Although I still hate my camera for still photos, it’s not bad for video, and I was able to grab a few decent clips from Marco’s set:

Marco Benevento Trio – 1.9.10 – Atari [YouTube]

Marco Benevento Trio – 1.9.10 – “The Real Morning Party [YouTube]

As if to further emphasize his earlier point about the jazz crowd, Marco invited everyone onto the stage to join the band for their high-energy’ cover of the Knife’s “Heartbeats.” The up-close-and-personal spot allowed for some great video:

Marco Benevento Trio – 1.9.10 – “Heartbeats” [YouTube]

Although the set was very similar to the show I caught last Fall, it was a refreshingly energetic end to a long night of great jazz music and only further solidified my thoughts on Marco’s current creative energies.

For more, check out the my full photo set or the rest of the videos.

Related posts: