As some friends and I had dinner we talked about how great it would be if the slip were playing at the Great American that night, a beautiful ballroom overflowing with history down near the tenderloin, only because that venue is just so cool to hang out in.
When it gets down to it though, The Independent feels like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup on a chilly day, and who can argue with that?
When The Slip took the stage to the quickly filling room, Brad seemed real confident and excited as the three of them built up the sonic floor of First Panda in Space/Soft Machine. I love the layers that these guys manipulate, and for this night anyways, I had to guess where many of the sounds were coming from being unable to see Andrews drumpad or Marc's feet.
I went into this little slip run assuming that I'd be hearing many of the same songs each night, but was (as always) surprised by The Slip's ability to surprise me. I always think that I know their songs; I've gone to so many shows, downloaded more, and listened to these guys for so long, but every time I think I know them, there's a new song, or a tease I don't recognize (Pat Benatar), or a happily-bouncing Even Rats extended ending that I just didn't see coming.
I love that they haven't lost their willingness to take risks, and their ability to stay inspired with their music. My girlfriend and I were surprised that we hadn't grown tired of Children of December or Even Rats yet, after seeing it performed so many times over the last few years, and then thought of the sheer craziness of playing it as many times as BAM has and still being able to be into it, pushing forward with it, and not simply strolling through it.
And then there's the Fuji, which really felt like a monster to me. It's clear that bam is still willing to stretch things out and make some weird noises, have things appear to fall into the ether only to re-emerge as a groove folding into the end of Fuji. Their music remains challenging, and highly rewarding for the active listener; we were excited to be traveling the next day for a quick visit with some close friends and a second night with some dudes who don't know us
We flew in real early in the morning, and got to spend the day catching up with our friends, visiting the Getty, eating some good food, and generally just enjoying the beautiful day. I grew up seeing concerts in San Diego and LA, but hadn't seen The Slip there; once inside the venue everything was positive, but Hollywood makes my brain confused, and the Knitting Factory's request for a hundred bucks to bring in a DAT machine was pretty f-ing lame.
The LA Knitting Factory and the NYC Tap Room/Main Room/Studio room Knitting digs are different in all regards except beer prices: 6 bucks a bottle of beer (yowzers!
) We got a great balcony spot on andrew's side and moved the tables out from the rail giving us plenty of space and some unbelievable sightlines. I should have brought my camera with me, but no such luck. I don't understand how drummers can train their bodies to hold a different rhythm with different parts of their bodies concurrently, but I accept that it happens. Marc on the other hand, shouldn't he be past the ability to teach himself new tricks? Being able to see his feet really shed some light on just how many sounds he adds to so many songs. I first remember seeing his foot-keyboard-synth thing back at the mercury lounge in 04 for Moderate Threat (Good call on bringing that back in rotation!), and now it's most noticeably the primary instrument at the beginning of The Original Blue Air, but he is triggering samples all the time and adding many layers to Eisenhower that I wasn't really even aware of.
And their light show man! What a trip; They're touring with these things called LED Bricks, which according to the guy who was helping out with lights (I think part of the lovely feathers crew?), are a pretty new technology. They really pack quite a punch, particularly for something that looks like a lite-brite. For real, like they've got 12 lite-brites at their feet. But they change color and instensity, and pulsate, and chase, and they really light up the stage in a cool way.
Rhythmicstorm's photo (thanks!):
I think I've let enough thoughts pour out of my ears tonight...I'd been meaning to share some thoughts, but I guess I had to wait until my head was ready to burst.
