Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog pulled into Portland Tuesday night with one of the best sets I have seen in awhile. Ribot, along with Ches Smith (drums/electronics), and Shahzad Ismaily (bass/percussion/moog), displayed an amalgamation of genre bending sounds. The trio's songbook flowed seamlessly from free improv, to punk, to math rock, to free-jazz(ish) in front of a packed house at the renowned Mississippi Studios.
Even in unfamiliar territory, familiarity was found within a punk-fusion variation of Paul Desmond's Take 5; offering glossy licks and cool jazz scales over a turbulent free-punk mash. Ribot switched gears by singing on a handful of numbers. His singer-songwriter persona brought a certain cynicism into the equation which was evident in songs like "Masters of the Internet." Ceramic Dog's performance kept the crowd looking around the corner to see what was coming. Altogether a bitches brew containing Smith's melodic, mathy drumming, Ismaily's noisy, improvised base lines, and at the helm Ribot's thrashy, amplified guitar chops. ______ You can check out Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog's latest studio album, Your Turn, at Northern Spy a Records.
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog , a noise/avant-garde/free-punk outfit, will be playing at Mississippi Studios Tuesday night , 5/27/14. Portland's ethereal vibe/drums duo, 1939 Ensemble, will be kicking things off at 8pm. GIG INFO: Ceramic Dog 05/27/14 Doors: 7pm, Show: 8pm Mississippi Studios 3939 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227
Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra's arrival on the planet Terra... Tomorrow Tabor Space is the place... From the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble: The PJCE celebrates Sun Ra with new pieces by George Colligan, Ken Ollis and Galen Clark. 6:30 — Meet the Composers, Appetizers and Silent Auction
7:30 — Concert
Tabor Space, 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215
Couple of show announcements ...
Wednesday, 4/16, at Mississippi Studios you can catch the Chris Speed Trio, featuring Dave King of The Bad Plus and Chris Tordini, with the Blue Cranes also on the bill for the night. Northern Spy recording duo, Jooklo Duo, will be hitting three locations throughout Oregon. Thursday, 4/17, at Interzone in Corvallis, OR as part of their The Red Room: Improvised Music Series, along with two dates in Portland: Friday, 4/18 at Valentines, and Easter Sunday, 4/20, at Reed College.
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... Speaking of Northern Spy artists, I've been really into Locus by the Chicago Underground Duo. This amalgamation of genres feels like a love child between The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Aphex Twin, and Thurston Moore. We hear processed sounds that are pulled from analog and digital sources, and derive anywhere between a synthesizer and a Game Boy. Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor take us on an adventurous sound experiment across the realms of music. Heavily rhythmic within its melodies, Locus creates a sense of eagerness from one cut to another. Each track is like a layer revealing a next step onward into uncharted territory. Through every listen I find myself wanting to re-cue this record once the last note hits.
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April 19 is Record Store Day. Northern Spy has an exciting lineup of RSD only releases. So check in with your local haunt for some shiny new wax from J. Spaceman & Kid Millions, or a Deerhoof + Marc Ribot / Ceramic Dog split 7".
This show is one for the books and a must see for any experimental music fan. Peter Brötzmann and Paal Nilssen-Love Duo will be performing tonight at the Secret Society thanks to Portland's Creative Music Guild. There's isn't anything I can say about Brötzmann that hasn't already be said. So this post is strictly to promote the event. See you tonight.
Last night the Creative Music Guild hosted their twice-monthly Outset Series at Revival Drum Shop. Before the show it was announced that German, free-improv iconPeter Brötzmann will be playing Portland on November, 17. Playing as a duo Joe Cunningham and Reed Wallsmith (of Blue Cranes, and Battle Hymns & Gardens) performed a set that contained an ocarina, utilized plastic wrappers as percussion pieces, and the bells of their saxophones placed together during their fiery conclusion (pictured above). Following Cunningham and Wallsmith was the project Ifsh by Ryan Steuwe of Eat. Offering a droned-out, spontaneously combustible set of sounds and samples; his work felt as much analog as it did electronic.
Couple of recent vinyl purchases from Burton Greene and Gato Barbieri. Both ESP-Disk' titles. Each of them fierce in their own way. Greene offering a physical enduring adventuring while Barbieri drives your spiritual sensations. I have had digital versions of both albums for years, but I love the opportunity to rediscover records on vinyl. It's all about the surface noise. Burton Greene visited Portland back in April for two live performances. I caught one of them at the Camellia Lounge in NW Portland. Greene is a legiy improver and seeing him at work was electrifying and immersive. It's refreshing to see players like Burton Greene continue to push musical boundaries in person.
Writings about different albums primarily from the 1960s of the avant-garde. However, I may touch on titles pertaining to bop, hard-bop, soul jazz and post bop, as well as contemporary avant-garde releases.
