Show #159: The Blind Boys of Alabama in Madison

When The Blind Boys of Alabama got their start in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind, the 78RPM record was all the rage. Despite only one original member remaining on a full-time basis, the group continues nearly 70 years later with fresh blood. Earlier this year they released Down in New Orleans which fused the group's traditional gospel with the jazz & blues of the titular city.


(Photo from CBS.)

I wrote a bit about The Blind Boys previously when I posted another show so I won't go into their history here. This time around I'm podcasting one of their performances from 2003 from here in Madison. The group's first Madison stop in 2003 was on 17 January and I was in the front row for that one. They returned on 11 November again at the Oscar Meyer Theatre with The Royal Travelers, a gospel group from Rockford, Illinois, opening. This time they were supporting their new album, Go Tell It on the Mountain. In 2003 George Scott was still alive and Clarence Fountain's health allowed him to tour more frequently than he does today. I wasn't able to attend this show but, if it was anything like their January performance, it was fantastic. Even my lilywhite ass couldn't sit still. Unfortunately their current tour itinerary doesn't include a stop in Wisconsin. However, you can catch them in suburban Chicago next month.

Today's show is a great audience recording so enjoy. If you can sit still during "Look Where He Brought Me", you're a better man than I.

Setlist:

(Ain't Gonna) Study War No More
Go Tell It On The Mountain
Nobody's Fault But Mine
I Shall Not Walk Alone
Lord Remember Me
Amazing Grace
Look Where He Brought Me From
Soldier (In the Army Of the Lord)
Looking Back

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The Blind Boys of Alabama

This is a clip from 2001 and was recorded for UK television. The Blind Boys do "Run On For a Long Time".

PROG @ High Noon Saloon 28-04-08

The latest chapter in the saga of my girlfriend's crush on local muso Gordon Ranney unfolded last night at the High Noon Saloon. As bassist for Madison's progressive rock cover band, PROG, Ranney no doubt attracts many women into his clutches, which is standard operating procedure for guys who rock out in 9/8 and perform unaccompanied bass solos. He follows in the footsteps of Henry Cow's John Greaves who took the band's RIO communal ethos to new heights with Slapp Happy's Dagmar Krause and her numerous friends before playing the octave doctor to the women of Gong – Mireille Bauer and Miquette Giraudy. Genesis bassist Mike Rutherford was legendary for having written "Follow You Follow Me" to attract more women to the band's shows and thusly into his backstage boudoir while Roger Waters' notorious demo for "The Great Gig in the Sky" was recorded in Pompeii with some local representatives of the fairer sex where the age of consent is quite a bit younger than it is here in the States. Knowing full well the reputation of prog bassists, I was more than a bit frightened when The Dulcinea said of Ranney's playing, "His fingers are so nimble!"

Still, she was right. Ranney proved his mettle last night, as did the rest of the boys. Keyboardist Michael BB was sporting some newly-grown locks to complement his robe while flautist & singer Scott Eagle was virtually bald and had grown a goatee. I didn't recognize him at first. To accompany the new looks, the band pulled out some new numbers during their three-set engagement which went deep into the night.

The first of the newbies was Rush's "Xanadu". This came as no surprise to us hardened prog veterans as drummer Steve Phipps had been triggering samples of tubular bell, wind chimes, and temple blocks during the soundcheck. Joe Allard strapped on a double-neck Gibson(?) just as Alex Lifeson did and deftly alternated between the 12 strings above and the 6 below while Ranney's adroitness was on full display and prompted The D's nimble comment. Props also to Mr. Phipps for his fine vocals here and his convincing Canadian accent.

It occurred to me during this song that the band were following the grand prog tradition of having almost too many instruments onstage. Eagle was trapped in his corner of the stage behind a lap steel and a glockenspiel (or was that a xylophone?) while MBB was similarly ensconced in a cocoon of keyboards. There were more guitars than ever and Phipps had his usual Sonor kit. However, he was forced to trigger many sounds for "Xanadu" and I feel that he ought to have the full complement of percussion in order to more accurately recreate the "Xanadu" experience. In order to do so he'll need: orchestra bells, wind chimes, triangle, bell tree, vibra-slap, tubular bells, and temple blocks. (I don't know what a vibra-slap is, but he needs it.) To this end, I will be starting a fund raising effort to get the necessary monies to purchase a full Peart-like arsenal of percussion for Mr. Phipps. I am thinking of selling off-brand thin mint cookies. Stay tuned. (After this will be another effort to acquire a genuine Mellotron for MBB.)



After the first set break, the band returned with a new song – Jethro Tull's "Minstrel in the Gallery". This song put Allard front and center as he diligently recreated Martin Barre's riffing and nimble (ahem) fretwork. Eagle took the vocals here and added flute as well. Despite his more than admirable performance, I felt that a codpiece on the parts they never mention would have gone well with his new facial hair. Ranney opted out of the Hammond-Hammond zebra motif but wailed on his Rick with his pick. Phipps did Barriemore Barlow proud despite being restricted as he was with but a single bass drum. And MBB followed John Evans' path by staying in the background and adding color while the guitar and flute battled it out. It was a spirited performance and I was very pleased to hear some post-1972 Tull.



The final new song of the evening followed and it was a doozie – the Genesis epic "Supper's Ready". It was the band's first foray into side-long prog madness and they came prepared with bass pedals, 12-string guitars, and stools to recreate the Genesis experience of the early to mid-1970s. MBB noted that the song should have a lengthy spoken preface but we were spared any attempt to tell the story of Old Henry seeking union with the worms. This was probably for the best as such tales are best left these days to short French-speaking men from Quebec. However, I do have faith that the guys can weave a tale of, say, Ole and Lena on the farm getting down to their Norwegian brand of Jerusalem boogie.

Considering that this was the initial performance, it was quite good. Unfortunately it was marred by some technical snafus with the front-of-house sound. "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" suffered with the keys and lead guitar being barely audible for most of the piece, although the latter's volume got turned up towards 11 about halfway through the arpeggio-laden solo. "Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)" suffered the same keyboard issues. While subsequent performance will no doubt make things tighter, I thought they pulled off the 9/8 bit very well. And when you can get a woman to shake her booty to "Willow Farm", you must be doing something right.



The third and final set featured such favorites as "Siberian Khatru" and "Red Barchetta". Afterwards The D and I chatted with the band. My attempt at convincing them to do A Passion Play in its entirety failed as Scott Eagle had had a very nasty incident involving a sopranino saxophone as a child. However, I was able to inveigle them into performing some of the more straightforward tunes by the prog notables they cover. While we progheads love complicated music, we also need to simply our lives at times. We need to be able to sit back and enjoy a 4/4 time signature and songs with but two Korg Wavestation patches. And so you can look forward to an "Invisible Touch-Owner of a Lonely Heart-Under Wraps-Working Man" medley.

Show #158: Masters of Reality

I've been wanting to post a show by Masters of Reality for some time but haven't found any recordings of sufficient quality until recently. Everything was a poor audience recording but now I've gotten a hold of a decent one as well as an FM broadcast. Better late than never, I suppose.

I more or less discovered MoR by accident. It was 1988 or '89 and I was a high schooler perusing the shelves at my local record store when I spied their debut eponymous album.



Being a fan of Black Sabbath I figured that that was where MoR got their name and figured I'd give them a try. Besides, the album cover was really cool. When I finally listened to it, the influence of the Sabs was minor in comparison to that of Led Zeppelin and Cream. It was hard rock with a blues influence, but it wasn't very pronounced. There were no Muddy Waters covers; just good rock. The guitar riffs were muscular & catchy and the drumming kept things moving straight ahead with nary a hint of John Bonham nor Ginger Baker to be had. Drummer Vinnie Ludovico was more reminiscent of Charlie Watts. Googe held down the bottom end on bass, Tim Harrington played lead guitar, and Chris Goss added his guitar and voice. Goss and Harrington co-wrote the songs. Goss' voice was really the oddest thing here. There was no screaming nor moaning. His tenor was smooth and seemed to float above the churning music as it churned along.

MoR disappeared for a while but returned in 1992 while I was in college with Sunrise on the Sufferbus. Only Goss and Googe remained from the first album. However, no one less than Ginger Baker was behind the drums. The Masters were Goss' baby now as he had the bulk of the songwriting credits. Sunrise also showed something new musically. There were guitar riffs aplenty but they were a little more bluesy, less insistent. And Baker added a bit of swing to their sound while. In addition to the hard rock, Goss contributed some softer, more melodic tunes such as "Jody Sings" and "Rolling Green" which were more akin to The Beatles than Cream.

Baker would part ways with the band and be replaced by Victor Indrizzo. The band recorded their third album, The Ballad of Jody Frosty, in 1994 only to have their record company reject it. While a bit more than half the album would find its way onto subsequent albums, Goss put the band on hold for a few years. A new MoR album didn't see the light of day until 1999. In the meantime Goss started producing the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss.


(Photo found here.)

This week's show is from 4 December 2001 by which time the band was essentially Goss with a revolving door of co-conspirators. This is a good-sounding recording of the band's performance at the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland. Be warned: there is clipping to be had, unfortunately. Not sure who bumped the levels up so high.

Setlist:

Deep In The Hole
Third Man On The Moon
Doraldina's Prohpecies
Also Ran Song
Rabbit One
Time To Fly - Blue Garden
VHV
Why The Fly
John Brown

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Masters of Reality

Here's "Blue Garden" from a couple years earlier in 1999.

You Can't Make This Up

This is the Finnish band The Leningrad Cowboys doing a cover of "Sweet Home Alabama" with The Red Army Choir. Classic.

Show #157 - Sly and the Family Stone

The Woodstock Festival is perhaps best remembered for stinky hippies, The Who's performance of Tommy (with Pete Townshend kicking Abbie Hoffman off stage), and Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner". But amidst all this was Hendrix performing some new songs which showed a change in direction towards funk and a set by Sly and the Family Stone who helped redefine that genre. Rock, soul, funk - they did it all.


(Photo from Britannica.)

As far as a bio goes, I don't know squat about the band so I'm going to quote liberally from the Allmusic Guide:

Sly & the Family Stone harnessed all of the disparate musical and social trends of the late '60s, creating a wild, brilliant fusion of soul, rock, R&B, psychedelia, and funk that broke boundaries down without a second thought. Led by Sly Stone, the Family Stone was comprised of men and women, and blacks and whites, making the band the first fully integrated group in rock's history. That integration shone through the music, as well as the group's message. Before Stone, very few soul and R&B groups delved into political and social commentary; after him, it became a tradition in soul, funk, and hip-hop. And, along with James Brown, Stone brought hard funk into the mainstream. The Family Stone's arrangements were ingenious, filled with unexpected group vocals, syncopated rhythms, punchy horns, and pop melodies. Their music was joyous, but as the '60s ended, so did the good times. Stone became disillusioned with the ideals he had been preaching in his music, becoming addicted to a variety of drugs in the process.


(Photo from Wikipedia.)

His music gradually grew slower and darker, culminating in 1971's There's a Riot Going On, which set the pace for '70s funk with its elastic bass, slurred vocals, and militant Black Power stance. Stone was able to turn out one more modern funk classic, 1973's Fresh, before slowly succumbing to his addictions, which gradually sapped him of his once prodigious talents. Nevertheless, his music continued to provide the basic template for urban soul, funk, and even hip-hop well into the '90s.

There ya go.

As for this week's podcast, it was recorded on 10 September 1970 at Piknik Kasteel Groeneveld Baarn, Amsterdam, Holland. It is a copy of a the performance broadcast on the radio the following year.

Setlist:

Thank You
M'Lady
Sing a Simple Song
Stand!
Dance To The Music
I Want to Take You Higher

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Sly and the Family Stone

This is the band doing "Thank You" in 1970.

WI Film Fest - Nerdcore for Life

A few years ago I stumbled upon MC Hawking and the song "Fuck the Creationists". Over a phat beat, an electronic voice like that used by Stephen Hawking was promoting science and dissing creationists. Little did I know that what I thought of as a fun gag would actually turn out to be part of a larger movement called nerdcore. As defined by Wikipedia, nerdcore is:

a subgenre of hip hop music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds, though it can appeal to others as well.

This means that the lyrics are about Star Wars, video games, computer programming, et al.

Walking into the Bartell Theatre on Saturday night, I was completely unsurprised to see Madison's most famous nerdcore practitioner, the Great Luke Ski, in attendance for a late showing of Nerdcore for Life at the Wisconsin Film Festival.

It began with a montage of comments about the genre and nerds in general. Nerds are "oppressed and downtrodden", we are told by one person, while nerdcore is not a parody, according to another. We are then introduced to a plethora of musicians including YTCracker , MCPlus+, and Monzy, the latter two having a rivalry. The movie then jumps to give a little history.

The genre coalesced around a website called Rhyme Torrents which was created by Hi-C. Hi-C is portrayed as a polarizing figure. On one hand, his contributions helped get the genre exposure while on the other he pushed a lot of really bad music. RT was picked up on Boing Boing and Slashdot. Until this time, nerdcore was essentially the product of people in their homes in front of their computers. This changed in 2004 when a showcase for the music was offered at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle where many nerdcore rappers made their live debut.

One of the weaknesses of the movie was how it jumped around disrupting the narrative flow and we have a good example at this point. Just as we see nerdcore gaining more exposure, the movie then addresses the question of the genre's origin in the form of MC Frontalot. After this diversion, it's back to nerdcore's ascension with a write-up in Wired magazine and eventually Newsweek. I found it ironic that a genre which is so closely associated with the Internet seemed to seek legitimacy via the print media.

Another criticism I have is that the movie perhaps had too much talking heads and too little music. Extended sequences of live performances would have been nice instead of the 10 second clips we got.

I think the intent behind Nerdcore for Life was essentially about fun and light-heartedness. However, I couldn't help but think that a black hip-hop artist might be motivated to make a riposte just as Living Colour did with "Elvis Is Dead". In attendance was the director Dan Lamoureux as well as producers and editors and during the Q&A which followed the screening someone asked if nerdcore principles could end up in a sub-genre of country, for instance. The answer, given with a laugh from the Lamoureux (I believe), was no, he couldn't imagine that working. Apparently the idea of a white guy finishing his PhD in mathematics appropriating black urban culture is somehow a more natural fit. One of the other filmmakers said that much of current hip-hop music is fake while nerdcore is more real. But seeing one rapper proffering his "Another Bitch You Didn't Get to Fuck" action figures, the rivalries & diss songs, and the criticism given to rappers who announce intentions to make a "serious" album belie claims of genuineness and that nerdcore is not parody. Nerdcore is at its best when it is about catchy beats and fun lyrics drawn from the geeky side of the pop culture spectrum. But it stumbles and becomes a parody of a parody when it appropriates the formalities of mainstream hip-hop which were largely created for white middle-class suburban kids.

Having said all this, Nerdcore for Life was a fun watch which was able to capture a nascent musical genre. Plus we were lucky to have not only several of the movie's creators on hand, but also a few of the rappers as well. For my part, I was thrilled to see the interviews with the man behind MC Hawking who related the story of how Stephen Hawking's assistant had contacted him with praise from the man himself. And now my girlfriend has fallen for Beefy.

Here's the trailer:

Show #156: A Tribe Called Quest

I apologize for being so tardy in posting this show. Life has gotten very busy and I'm doing the Wisconsin Film Festival this weekend and so don't have much time for a post of any substance.


(Photo from Rolling Stone.)

While I am not a big hip hop fan, I do love me some Tribe Called Quest. I first got into them back in college via my friend Pete. The group's first couple albums, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory, were an indespensible part of my college years soundtrack. And while I hate to cut this short, I must get ready to head downtown for a day of film goodness.

The show this week was one from their 1998 tour, after which the group disbanded. It was recorded on 20 November in Chicago at the House of Blues. It's a good soundboard.

Setlist:

Intro
Common Ground
Buggin' Out>Oh My God
Da Booty
Make Money>Everything is Fair
Bonita Applebum>Start It Up
Sucka Nigga
Jazz (We've Got It)>Stir It Up (Steve Biko)
10. Hot Sex on a Platter>What?>Lyrics to Go
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo>Electric Relaxation>Can I Kick It?
Scenario>Check the Rhime
Award Tour
Find a Way

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A Tribe Called Quest

Here's The Tribe doing "Bonita Applebaum" at Club Revolution. Not sure of the date.

Show #155: Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

We here in Madison are at the tail end of a record breaking winter with 92 inches (233.7 cm) of snow this season and we are all looking forward to the warmer weather. In three days those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will be treated to the vernal equinox and so I hope to usher in the warmer temperatures with this week's show. As the birds & bees are doin' it and things take a turn towards the verdant, crank up Le Sacre de Printemps (The Rite of Spring).



The genesis of The Rite of Spring lay in a vision that Igor Stravinsky had in 1910 of a young pagan girl in a dancing up such a frenzy that she dies. Two years later he began work on the ballet with the aid of folklorist Nikolai Roerich. Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed the work. The piece premiered at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on 29 May 1913 and was infamously accompanied by a riot. Apparently the Paris elite just couldn't handle the emphasis on rhythm as dancers dressed like Russian pagans went about their coronation of spring on the stage with young girls dancing and making mystic circles. Watching The Rite of Spring being performed, even I, a ballet know-nothing, can tell that it's not your traditional bit of dancing. When I think of ballet, I think of grace and of impossibly thin women stretching their limbs out into positions that I could never hope to achieve. Here, there's stomping and jagged pelvic movement to accompany the harsher rhythms of the music.


(Photo found here.)

The Rite of Spring has two parts: Adoration of the Earth and The Sacrifice with a total running time of about 30 minutes. The recording here is of the 1947 revision by Stravinsky and was performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Valerij Gergiev conducting. The concert took place on 5 February 2005 at Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden and was broadcast on Swedish radio so this is a very nice sounding show.

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Stravisnky & The Rite of Spring

YouTube has The Rite of Spring in its entirety as performed by the Joffrey Ballet.