Today is already legendary in Chicago, and it's barely afternoon. It's 45 degrees, unseasonably and suddenly warm. I had been looking forward to riding my bike comfortably around the city, but it's so friendly outside that I've been walking it from place to place.
Last night was a double feature of concerts, a rare treat. I went with Evan to the Gene Siskel Film Center to see a short program that paired local video artists with local experimental noise groups, including Interbellum and Haptic. As is the case with a lot of noise/drone shows I've seen, there were fleeting moments of hair-raising precision and intensity, interspersed with only somewhat compelling passages. I suppose this is how drone works for me- the performance is a search for the optimal moment to hit a musical peak of volume and intensity. Stripped of tools like melody and harmonic structural integrity, it's just that much more bare. I'm looking forward to the days when Evan can get his setup in order and begin performing his dense, powerful, and abrasive sound-art pieces. I'd like him to play in a rock band someday.
Later, we saw Tortoise at the Empty Bottle. Their musicianship was of course unparalleled, as was their gear. Jeff Parker appeared to be using a genuine ES-335 dot neck, a gutsy choice for onstage use. Also on display were a 50s-style P-bass that sounded great--an early-60s P-bass, slightly more clear and punchy--a 60s Jazzmaster, which contrasted brilliantly with the 335--and an original Fender Bass VI, still one of the coolest electric instruments ever made in my opinion. Monophonic synths crushed listeners with pounding melodies, polyphonic ones rounded it out. Thax was there and read "Tortoise #8" before the show. The older stuff they played seemed more inspired somehow, less precise. The players have reached such high levels of musicianship that they seem to be unable to avoid more defined structures at this point. Which suits some stuff, but not other stuff. There wasn't the same buzz around the band members that I imagined before. At one point Evan turned to me and asked if I thought the players felt weird that their scene has passed them by, with so many people having left and moved on. I guess we'll find out someday.
