I didn't go into this concert with the optimal mindset. I didn't sleep well the night before and I had knocked out a hard ten mile run in the morning, so I was dragging all day and was afraid I'd have difficulty focusing. I needn't have worried. This was one of the most enthralling concert experiences I've ever had. The band came on stage at 8:05 and without saying a word proceeded to play for an hour straight, pause thirty seconds for applause, knock out another 45 minutes, and then follow up with a ten minute encore (all without saying one word). The energy level throughout was electric, and more importantly a sense of joy emanated from the players and you got the impression that they enjoyed playing with eachother as much as the audience enjoyed hearing them. Really the concert felt like watching an intimate session or rehearsal rather than a full on concert. I don't mean that it wasn't tight, but rather the interplay felt relaxed and intimate rather than the formality you might expect in a concert hall. This is an obvious tribute to the talents of the individual band members (Wayne Shorter, John Patattucci, Danilo Perez, and Brian Blade) and, speaking as a thoroughly mediocre jazz drummer, I only wish I could exhibit the same sense of feel and energy.
What was even more impressive was that the playing was virtuostic, and not at all straight ahead, they kept it accessible enough that even someone not well versed in jazz couldn't help be swept up in the overall vibe. Really the biggest compliment I can give the group is that its the kind of group I would love to play in. Mot necessarily because of the level of musicianship (though that is awesome), but because it would just be fun.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Only By the Night - Kings of leon
So here's a what I'm listening to entry, deal with it, its my blog.
Rarely in today's media environment do I find something that catches me completely by surprise. There are just to many reviews and news articles floating around that its almost impossible to run into something that you haven't heard somebody's opinion about. This is particularly true of new music for me, since there is so much of it out there I generally have to use a review or somebody's recommendation as a filter before listening to an album, and in that case my listening is already colored. This King's of Leon disk was a pleasant exception. A friend of mine gave it to me and said they really enjoyed it, but since this friend's musical taste usually runs a little poppier (and eighties) than mine, I really didn't have any kind of expectations. However after I threw the disk on the way home I was pleasantly surprised. Overall this was a very solid disk that I thoroughly enjoyed. Most importantly the album passed three of my most important tests when deciding whether or not something is worth listening to:
1) The road test: Basically this one tests whether or not I would want to throw on the disc while driving. This isn't as insignificant as you would think. Given the nature of how I live, the car (or ipod, or some other travel device) tends to be how I end up listening to music at least 90% of the time so something's travel listenability is key. This isn't a deal breaker with an alblum since much of the world music and jazz that I listen to doesn't translate well to the car (Mingus I'm looking at you), but when it comes to rock or pop it's a necessity. Since I pounded throught the entire alblum in one drive home from Monteray I would say that that it definitely met this criteria.
2) Completeness Test: Too often I end up only likeing one or two songs from a disc and the rest of it is never listed to again (Dresden Dolls I'm looking at you). Even alblums I really love often have tracks that I find disposable (as much as I hate to say it Radiohead's Kid A, an alblum I completely love, falls under this category) so if I can get through the entire tracklist without thinking about hitting skip its an accomplishment. Again this alblum passes the test completely. I'm sure there will be certain tracks that I end up listening to more than others (cold desert and Closer being the early favorites), but (other than the stupid dance remix track stuck on the end of the 'deluxe' alblum I was given) the entire thing seems equally strong to me and at no time did I feel the urge to jump a track.
3) Relistenability Test - Self explanatory, but considering I pounded through the whole thing twice on the aforementioned drive home so far so good.
Look I'm not going to make any grand claims about how this is the greatest alblum of the year because I don't know. I also think a lot of my reaction had to with the enjoyment of being taken completely by surprise for once. But I will say I think this is a solid disc and its worth checking out.
Rarely in today's media environment do I find something that catches me completely by surprise. There are just to many reviews and news articles floating around that its almost impossible to run into something that you haven't heard somebody's opinion about. This is particularly true of new music for me, since there is so much of it out there I generally have to use a review or somebody's recommendation as a filter before listening to an album, and in that case my listening is already colored. This King's of Leon disk was a pleasant exception. A friend of mine gave it to me and said they really enjoyed it, but since this friend's musical taste usually runs a little poppier (and eighties) than mine, I really didn't have any kind of expectations. However after I threw the disk on the way home I was pleasantly surprised. Overall this was a very solid disk that I thoroughly enjoyed. Most importantly the album passed three of my most important tests when deciding whether or not something is worth listening to:
1) The road test: Basically this one tests whether or not I would want to throw on the disc while driving. This isn't as insignificant as you would think. Given the nature of how I live, the car (or ipod, or some other travel device) tends to be how I end up listening to music at least 90% of the time so something's travel listenability is key. This isn't a deal breaker with an alblum since much of the world music and jazz that I listen to doesn't translate well to the car (Mingus I'm looking at you), but when it comes to rock or pop it's a necessity. Since I pounded throught the entire alblum in one drive home from Monteray I would say that that it definitely met this criteria.
2) Completeness Test: Too often I end up only likeing one or two songs from a disc and the rest of it is never listed to again (Dresden Dolls I'm looking at you). Even alblums I really love often have tracks that I find disposable (as much as I hate to say it Radiohead's Kid A, an alblum I completely love, falls under this category) so if I can get through the entire tracklist without thinking about hitting skip its an accomplishment. Again this alblum passes the test completely. I'm sure there will be certain tracks that I end up listening to more than others (cold desert and Closer being the early favorites), but (other than the stupid dance remix track stuck on the end of the 'deluxe' alblum I was given) the entire thing seems equally strong to me and at no time did I feel the urge to jump a track.
3) Relistenability Test - Self explanatory, but considering I pounded through the whole thing twice on the aforementioned drive home so far so good.
Look I'm not going to make any grand claims about how this is the greatest alblum of the year because I don't know. I also think a lot of my reaction had to with the enjoyment of being taken completely by surprise for once. But I will say I think this is a solid disc and its worth checking out.
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