John Zorn's Simulacrum 11/14/15 Firehouse 12

The listing for Zorn at the Firehouse made me circle the date at the beginning of the season. Knowing that music is usually on Friday nights, I circled the wrong date, which made me show up on Friday for what was actually a Saturday show. I have followed Zorn's career from way back. The Albert Collins spoken word piece on Spillane, the obsession with Morricone and soundtracks, the bowing at the altar of Ornette on Spy vs. Spy, the many downtown incestual incarnations of Masada, the far reaching tentacles of his Tzadik label, but it was the metal-punk-jazz of the Naked City release that came to mind on this evening. Zorn has taken the composer or puppeteer stance for these happenings, giving up his Albert Ayler free jazz sax blowouts for behind the scenes architect of sound. The group was a trio: Matt Hollenberg on electric guitar, Kenny Grohowski on drums, and the venerable John Medeski on organ. Hollenberg careened through metal riffs that had one audience member assuming the headbang throb that rarely appears at the Firehouse. Grohowski, who I saw at the kit a few weeks back, appeared different. The drummer looked like Charles Manson, and played with frenetic abandon that drove the start/stop nature of this music. The back was off Medeski's organ laying bare a tangle of wires and amps that looked like an un-defusable car bomb. The music was jagged and assaulting. Some uninitiated squirmed and snuck out, I don't blame them, Zorn's output is so varied that it can take many forms. From the punk growl of  Faith No More's Mike Patton to the breezy cello of Erik Friedlander John Zorn is truly a jazz renaissance man. The prolific output makes it impossible to follow him completely, but his footprint is all over the Jazz world. An enjoyable set and the ability to shake the hand and thank one of my heroes......wow.

Mates of State w/ Alex Bleeker and the Freaks 11/11/15 Bar

Opening act Alex Bleeker and the Freaks had a serious case of the west coast 70s vibe. Two guitars, bass, drums and organ put out a full sound. Sounding a bit like Blitzen Trapper crossed with America,   AB and the F had some chops even stretching out a long blues tune. Good harmony vocals could have pulled off a cover of Horse With No Name.
Local duo Mates of State was sharpening their songs for a date later this month at Cafe 9. Pure pop and solid guy girl harmony vocals are their weapon of choice. Guy on drums and girl on keys with some help from Pencilgrass trumpet player made for an enjoyable set. Bar was packed with this popular local band's followers.

Refuse The Hour 11/7/15 William Kentridge Yale Drama School

Billed as an "experimental opera" by South African multimedia artist Kentridge, this was truly a sight to behold. Refuse The Hour was truly multimedia experience. Instead of trying to explain the opera, it might work better to list my observations.
1) A drum set suspended upside down from the ceiling, plays a computer controlled percussion sequence.
2) Narrator Kentridge tells the story of his father telling the story of Perseus inadvertently killing his grandfather.
3) African dancers with megaphones perform in front of super sized metronomes.
4) "Band" consisting of trumpet, trombone, tuba, and violin (which was made from a bicycle seat hooked to a mini-megaphone) accompanies the opera.
5) Opera singer in the balcony sings aria while singer on stage copies by singing same sequence backward.
6) Kentridge speaks on images traveling at the speed of light and that visions of his youth may just be passing Saturn by now.
I' m sure that I am missing or misconstruing some or all of the events in Refuse the Hour, but this Kentridge production was thoroughly enjoyable. With equal parts Laurie Anderson, Rube Goldberg, Alvin Ailey, Samuel Beckett,Audra Macdonald, and Carl Sagan....Refuse the Hour was all that.

David Wax Museum w/ Arc Iris 10/27/15 Cafe 9

Entered in time to view the last couple songs from opener AI.  I say view because this band was a sight to behold. Spandex, glam, girl singer with wings, this band seemed like a cross of the Planet Gong with Joanna Newsom. Arc Iris song structure was more performance art.
  DWM has been reviewed in this blog before. With a couple of releases since last viewing, DWM is always enjoyable. Confident guy/ girl vocals accompanied by lead guitar, bass, and drums. Singers are of Mexican descent which allow them to transition from English to Spanish sometimes within songs. Last time at c9 the female singer was "ill ", when I was chatting with the male singer post-show said she had morning sickness. I told him that he did well under those circumstances. DWM said they were off to Cincy then Cleveland to storm the Midwest. Unable to do their trademark hop off stage and gather the crowd around for the closer, DWM always puts on an enjoyable performance.

Andy Milne and Dapp Theory 11/6/15 Firehouse 12

Pianist and bandleader Milne came from Greg Osby's jazz and hip hop smash from the late 90s. The quintet had drums, bass (electric and standup), reeds (soprano sax, regular and bass clarinet, and some primitive wooden item that looked like a back scratcher fixed to a kazoo), and someone on "vocal poetics". The music was compelling with tight compositions, many with spoken word poetics that were often used as percussive add-ons. Milne told a funny story about being approached by the State Department to act as "cultural ambassadors ". The group spun an Azerbijan folk tune with their trademark jazziness as a tryout for the ambassador role. Needless to say, the State Department passed on their take on cultural ambassadoring. The song was good and made me think that the founding fathers had it right when they spoke of the separation between art and state.

The Dirty Nil w/ Meatwave 10/21/15 Bar

Opener Meatwave was the reason to come out for this free show. The Chicago-based punk trio was all snarl and energy. Standard setup of guitar,bass, and drums reminded me of Husker Du. As with most punk offerings, it was difficult to make out the lyrics. Chatted with drummer Ryan after the set. He said that they had some east coast dates before playing at a Bjork-curated festival in Iceland then off to storm Europe. Meatwave had a good sound and attitude, they will do well.
The Dirty Nil was from Ontario. The band configuration was the same as Meatwave, but the guitar player had a glammy element to him, maybe it was the ill-fitting polyester. The DN bass player displayed the vein-popping bark of metal/punk that is hard to listen to. Earplugs were essential at this show.

Tony Malaby's Tubacello Quartet 10/17/15 Firehouse 12

Sax player Malaby grew up in Tuscon and now resides in Jersey City ( home to WFMU, the best free form radio on the planet. Joined by Bob Stewart on tuba, Christopher Hoffman on cello, and John Hollenbeck drums and percussion. Malaby played tenor, alto, and soprano with the latter moving to pharaoh-sandersesque heights. Stewart's huge hands made the tuba look like a toy, the full brass sound can't help but evoke images of cartoon turtles loping. Hoffman plucked, and bowed the cello when in unison with the tuba fleshed out the low end. Hollenbeck got a wide array of sounds from the kit and various shakers, even doing a sequence with some Tibetan cloud bowls. Hollenbeck's uber-hipster appearance made me want to call him "the syncopated beat-nik ". Malaby's compositions waffled from compact song structures to wide open improv blowouts with Malaby sounding like a goose going through a woodchipper. All players were intensely focused on their instrument, Malaby found time to remove, shave, and shape a reed, Hoffman rosined the bow like an all-star, Stewart drained spit from many intestine-like turns of the tuba, and Hollenbeck kept his many contraptions in neat order like a librarian. As with many shows at the Firehouse, this was a collection of pros showcasing their chops before a European tour.