The Entroporium

Let’s start with what we mean by “Live.” I propose the following definition, as useful for a classical pianist as a drum circle as a guy with a laptop: A live musical performance is one in which the musician is 1) Performing music from a score or via improvisation; 2) Making conscious decisions about how the music is played as it is performed, and; 3) Injecting meaning through his/her actions, words demeanor and stagecraft.

With Kraftwerk, I don’t think anybody has any doubts about 1) or 3). It’s 2) that you might have a problem with.

Daryl and Tom got me to go to see Hot Tuna Friday night. (I’m embarrassed just TYPING that band name. Ranks among the dumbest all time.) You know…I figured Jorma and Jack … two legends ……….. whatever. The first set was acoustic. I did all I could to remain upright holding out hope the second half would justify my attendance. It didn’t.

OK, but let’s get down to the nitty gritty here. This is a four-year old band. They were fun. The hit songs rule. But for all the time this band has been together, it was barely able to present an hour of its own material, filling out the show with three lengthy covers. Incredibly cool covers, yes; the redoubtable Mr. Murphy can be counted on for that; and for the record they were “Slowdive” by Siouxsie, “Jump Into The Fire” by Harry Nilsson and some Carl Craig song (does it matter which?) that didn’t work all that well.

I’m pleased to report that Gang Of Four was worth the 25-year wait. The band sounded and looked fantastic, playing most of the first two classic albums in a set lasting about 90 minutes. Jon King’s voice has only gotten stronger with age and Andy Gill’s furious guitar playing is still completely dead-on.

Susie and I went downtown last night to check out NIN’s warm-up gig at the relatively small Warfield before Trent and his not-so-merry band of Jack White lookalikes (or Interpol-ians gone wrong?) go marching through the festival circuit for the rest of the summer. This was one that I went along with just a bit grudgingly, but Susie wanted and what the heck, if I’m ever going to see them, this was the right venue. I’ve always enjoyed NIN’s semi-electronica bent, though I can’t help but be taken aback by the content sometimes, or relentless lack of it.

I suppose I should follow up on last week’s Tuxedomoon post as well. I did attend the show last Saturday and unfortunately I found it a pretty wearying affair. There were some highlights to be sure — I especially enjoyed “Desire” — but at the end it basically reminded me that this band was a [...]

A few entries are needed just to catch up on events of the last week. Stupid NCAA Tournament! I’m doing miserably in my own pool. Oh, the ignominy! First and best, I went to see The Decemberists at Bimbo’s on Wednesday night. I’m only recently on The Decemberists’ bandwagon and I’ve very impressed by what [...]

OK, I know I’m supposed to be going on about what it was like to be around punkers and record stores as a 13-year old in 1980, but something really unexpected happened last night. I went with a group of folks to see Bob Dylan at the Paramount in Oakland. I wasn’t so into Bob. [...]

Last night I participated in Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night,” an ambient caroling piece. About 500 folks — about a quarter of which with boomboxes — walked through the Mission “caroling.” Everybody with a boombox is given a tape. Some of the tapes match, some don’t, but there are dramatic changes that happen in near unison. [...]