Yesterday was a very long day, starting at 10am and ending just before midnight. It was bookended by two high points.
Eno Movie
Started the day with this documentary about the life and music of Brian Eno. The gimmick is that each showing is different, adding or removing various sections. Most of it centers on Eno’s words either from old videos or a recent interview. Very worthwhile even if you are not into Eno, as his rough “philosophy” and mixing of the highbrow and lowbrow is compelling.
Phillip Glass Ensemble – Music in Twelve Parts
Stuck around for 40 minutes of this two hour performance. If you know Glass, then you have a very good idea of what this six-piece sounded like – interlocking motifs and patterns that change at a glacial pace.
Brandon Seabrook
I really like Seabrook’s playing. Here, as a solo “extreme guitarist” he combined speed picking, repeating motifs and occasional loud distortion.
Kelly Moran
Just caught the last 15 minutes of her performance of solo piano, which I believe was of a Sakamoto piece. Very nice.
Tyshawn Sorey – Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)
This was an odd show as there were about 20 people on the stage but the music was very sparse, mainly violin, piano, percussion, and low chants.
Wadada Leo Smith and RedKoral Quartet
Really nice interlude with Wadada on trumpet with a string quartet. Quite a somber mood but one of the higher points of the day.
Sun Ra Arkestra and Yo La Tengo
This is such an odd mix of the Arkestra and a pop band. It works, mostly. I only caught the last 30 minutes or so and the Arkestra ended with great a great rendition of Nuclear War and a snippet of Space is the Place.
David Grubbs, Kramer, and Wendy Eisenberg
No pic here because the sight lines at the Regas Square venue are horrible. The performance started off well enough but got a bit staid. Even Eisenberg’s pushing of the envelope did not help as much as I expected.
Ahmed
Ahmed was my number one reason for coming to Big Ears this time. The UK quartet’s signature brand of hyper-intense, staccato free jazz was on display in a relentless 45-minute set that hit full speed right away and never let up. The highlight of the day by far and one of the best Big Ears performances I’ve even seen. Bravo, gents.
