a free form jazz odyssey in front of a festival crowd

OK, here we go. Its that time again. Top live shows of the year. Actually, I’ve never done this before, so this will be the first one. They’re not really in order, each was special in its own right, and I dont remember the exact dates, but you can be sure, they were the best ever. I see a lot of music, a lot of which is mediocre and gets forgotten quickly. When something stays with me, I love it and exploit it for all it’s worth. Here are 5:

TV ON THE RADIO- Brooklyn Masonic Temple

OK, first off. Who the fuck are TV on The Radio and where the fuck did they come from? Ok, this is not so much a mystery. But I overlooked this band, never paying attention or listening to them as the buzz was coming up. Countless local shows were missed, probably in great tiny venues, one time we even left a free prospect park show they were playing early because of rain. Anyway, my mind was blown. I went in not knowing a single song, and left needing to hear more. That to me is the true test that a band is fantastic. Also, points to the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Great sound, great room to see a show in.

So this might sound mildly racist, but i mean it in the best way possible, white people could never make music as cool and groove oriented as TVOTR (they have one white dude in the band though). The grooves are just so natural and effortless. There may be some badass white musicians, but they usually just dont have the groove. Example? Listen to Dave Weckl, a flawless studio drummer, then listen to Dennis Chambers, another flawless studio drummer….but Chambers just has a little extra groove. Anyhoo, TV was fucking infectious. With a full horn section, extra percussion, extra singers, it was beautiful start to finish. I only wish I knew more songs at the time.

BRIAN BLADE FELLOWSHIP- The Village Vanguard

The Vanguard is probably the last classic jazz venue that still remains true to its original form. Look at pictures from shows there in the 50’s, its the same. I saw Roy Haynes there one night, he said “Same shitty curtains in this place for 50 years” But I would not have it any other way. Brian Blade is a drummer’s drummer. He plays with everyone. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, every respected jazz musician alive today. He packed the tiny stage with his large band, a sold out full house, and he just blew every person in there away. His hi hat just sounded so damn funky! it was ridiculous. This could have been any night in the 50’s or 60’s as far as jazz goes, the music was just so pure, and Blade was unstoppable behind the kit. There were several moments where everyone in the crowd was awkwardly rubbernecking the awkward angles of the vanguard to get a glimpse at Blade’s acrobatics, he was on fire. As a drummer, it made you feel instantly inferior. He plays like Elvin, and everyone there knew it.

THAO NGUYEN- Brooklyn Masonic Temple

The Temple makes another appearance! Well, its really just Thao. Any venue would have been great to see her in. Again, a slightly unexpected performance. I had heard her album, but did not know what would come of it, its pretty heavily produced. She walked out with an acoustic guitar, bass player, and drummer….thats it. Well….it could have been a disaster. But no! She tore it up. There was a supremely thunderous underlying rhythm to the whole set. Her bass player had a great melodic sense, and her singing was a little strained, but it didnt need to be perfect. Overall, you had to think of these as different songs than the album. And in that sense, they stood strong on their own. I saw her a few more times this year, but the first one, so far has still been the best.

DAVID BYRNE-Music Box Theater

This may be the #1 show of the year, decade, and all time. This man is an unparalleled force in music and art, nothing can touch him. His voice has not aged a single day, and his stage presence is fierce. He’s simply a genius. His band included 3 backup singers, 3 backup dancers, percussion, drums, bass, keys, no sound left untouched. Any person out there wishing to call themselves a “performer” Should be required to see Bryne first. He raises the bar to a standard far beyond what I could imagine. He has you smiling instantly, he’s like a friend to everyone in the room. He played several new tunes from his recent Eno collaboration, but the Talking Heads songs owned the night. His version of Crosseyed and Painless may have been one of the live perfomance highlights of my life, it had a room full of 40+ baby boomers, hipsters, slacker stoner dudes, and peolpe who were just there because they got comped by the hotel out of their seats tearing it up. He may not be a citizen and therefore cannot vote, but he has my full support.

ELVIS COSTELLO & SMOKEY ROBINSON- Apollo Theater

This one was truly special. A taping for Elvis’ TV show, featuring Smokey. This was my first time in the Apollo, and it could not have been for a better event. Smokey told stories from the Motown days kickin it at the apollo, with Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the whole crew. Elvis did Smokey songs, they played together, told stories, asked questions, just beautiful. Also, since it was for TV, the lighting and set design were fantastic, it looked and sounded wonderful. Also, the Apollo is a lot smaller than it looks on TV.

ANYHOO, thats most of it. I left out most shows which were previously reviewed on this here blog- Wilco, Smokey Hormel, Paul Simon, Hubert Sumlin, and there were countless others, as there are sure to be more.