SlipLive

I feel like I got Borat-ed by The Slip. They went on and on in our interview about how much they don't want to be plopped in with the rest of the jam band scene -- how, sure, they used to do experimental jazz "back in the old days" but that now their music is much more structured and melody-dependent. A listen through their new CD, Eisenhower, and you (almost) believe they could be a next-generation indie band.

But last night... well... they sure sounded like a jam band to me. I was expecting to hear tight, structured renditions of songs from the new album. Instead, The Slip launched their set with four acoustic numbers, none of which I recognized, then went right into an electric set that featured lots of wild, experimental sound collages, jazzy interludes and an extra helping of long-form solos -- i.e., jams. When they finally got around to playing their pop opus "Children of December" the song was so all-over-the-place that it was tough to recognize.

There's no denying that these guys are first-class musicians. It was some of the best instrumentation I've heard in a long, long time -- throaty, precise drums, intricate guitar and spider-hand bass. But the basic underlying structure seemed designed only to allow for the musicians to pull away from standard songcraft (especially on the rock songs). So while, yes, they played well, their songs were hidden somewhere in a cloud of noodling.

The only time they came close to sounding like an indie band was on "Airplane/Primitive," but even that was marred by a number of improvisational gymnastics that would have been more at home at a groove festival. Missing were some of the more gorgeous ballads from the new album, including "If One of Us Should Fall." Why skip it? The only thing I can think of was that frontman Brad Barr was uncertain about his vocals, though he clearly had the chops last night on the acoustic numbers (including a new song that reminded me of classic '70s folk rock tune). Or maybe they were catering to the tiny crowd of 40. Just to add fuel to the jam-band fire, they encored with two instrumentals -- one featuring drummer Marc Friedman playing a home-made PVC-pipe percussion device that made hollowed notes when pounded with flip-flops Blue Man Group-style. Bonnaroo here they come.

Tim,

Thanks for your review. Much to the chagrin of music critics, especially the ones that don't do their homework (and I commend you, Tim, for doing so by at least taking "Eisenhower" for a spin before interviewing them), this is a band that simply cannot be pigeonholed into a single genre-defining word. The breadth of Slip music is too storied and fluid to allow for that.

Yes, hearing the words "jam-band" and "Slip" in the same sentence is becoming tiring. As are music critics who come away from a Slip show insisting that they absolutely MUST be the pilot of the sonic journey that they were just invited on.

The Slip have never written setlists. They may decide to choose what to play next for any number of reasons: an image in the mind's eye; a response to a shouted request from the crowd; a looped chord or phrase in the space occupied between "songs"; maybe even that Brad simply decides he's feeling confident about holding on to his Stratocaster for one more song. Their actions have always been fueled by an intense desire and ability to respond to evanescence through collective introspection.

It has very little to do with vocal uncertainty.

I've watched this band compose their own evolution in this way for the last five and a half years. In that time I've been moved and often healed by their sound as they proudly wore their hearts on their sleeves perched atop outdoor festival stages playing to northern California neo-hippie folk, in front of happily drunk fratboys and party girls at university dining halls, among seated patrons with silent and intent eyes and ears at upscale jazz clubs in Santa Cruz and Oakland, for dedicated fans and friends amidst the smoke of bars in Chicago and Iowa City, and now for curious indie-rockers in my own hometown. At the close of every set, I've watched them stand and lock eyes with individuals in their audience for a few moments, in praise of their attentiveness, respect, and enthusiasm. Every time. The humility and grace of the three men that comprise The Slip is something rarely seen in rock and roll.

I'm sorry the show didn't meet your expectations, Tim. Here's hoping that The Slip decide to include Omaha in their future travels. Perhaps you ought to try coming into another Slip show with an open-mind free of genre-begging impulse and simply experience their story that night as it unfolds. You just might discover some color and spirit inside that "cloud of noodling".

P.S. I'm not sure how you came up with this, but the song "Even Rats" was not played last night.

hoby wrote:Oh, what a setlist.

Before You Was Born, I Hate Love, Old George, and Happy Snails!

Too bad about the lack of recording.

h