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UNDER RADAR: A VERY SUBJECTIVE TOP 10 OF 2000
By Bob Pomeroy
Here is the last edition of Under Radar for the year Y2K. I hope you’re not injured by the flying superlatives in this missive. This is my highly personal, completely subjective, feel absolutely free to disagree, top ten list. This is where I take a quick look back at some of the things that made me particularly happy during the year 2000. No attempt has been made at journalistic objectivity. I freely admit to fawning. The one thing this does have in common with regular editions of Under Radar is that I’m all over the map (musically and geographically). Have a good read and I’ll see you by that big black monolith over in 2001.
THE LIST
1. Border Crossing Festival, Amsterdam NL
I didn't plan my trip to Holland with Border Crossing Festival in mind, but I should have. Border Crossing is a three-day event that pulls together music, literature, film and spoken word performers. The Festival purposely blurs the distinctions between the arts, and emphasizes the commonalties. The Posies literally shared the stage with Dutch author Said El Haji. I couldn't understand a word of what he said, but the way he was reading was hilarious. The author of The Consolation of Philosophy was the opening act for the Magnetic Fields. For me, the high points of the festival were discovering Bellatrix and De Kift. I was looking for someone else when I wandered into the room where Bellatrix were playing. I was smitten instantly. Bellatrix are a young, mostly female rock band from Iceland. They have an extremely cute lead singer who also plays violin. To grossly oversimplify, they sound like a very, very happy Siouxsie and the Banshees. De Kift put on a total entertainment experience. They acted out a story where the narration shifted from the band playing onstage to a film being projected on two screens behind them. Actually, the story was moving forward on several fronts simultaneously. The band cleanly shifted genres, roles and characters throughout their set. It was a surreal experience. I really wish I knew Dutch so that I could have understood more of the story.
Even without understanding the dialogue, it was a great show.
2. Fred Van Hove and Johannes Bauer at the Palladium, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Fred Van Hove and Johannes Bauer are two old hands on the European free-improvisation scene.
The Palladium Theater in downtown St. Petersburg was an ideal setting for these two. Van Hove's piano ranged from delicate phrasing to thunderous pounding to messing with the insides of the piano. Bauer did as much playing with his trombone as he did conventional playing. He did a lot with breath sounds and vocalizations through his horn. He also played with the acoustics of the room, bouncing sounds off the back wall and then playing to the echoes. The duo concert was more than some people could take. For the rest of us, it was marvelous.
3. The Magnetic Fields at Tipitina's in New Orleans
I’ve seen the Magnetic Fields before, but the way they totally captivated their audience at Tipitina's was nothing short of mesmerizing. The Magnetic Fields were playing selections from the 69 Love Songs book. Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson are evolving into the Will and Grace of alternative rock. Their repartee was at it's best on ‘Oh Yeah’, where Claudia sings with increasing desperation lines like “should I nullify my life?” while Stephin deadpans, “Yeah, Oh Yeah”. Other highlights included ‘the Night You Can't Remember’ and ‘Papa Was a Rodeo’.
4 The Unheard Music reissues series
Chicago-baser writer, educator and musician John Corbett oversees Atavistic Records’ ambitious Unheard Music series. Unheard Music is dedicated to reissuing rare avant garde recordings on CD. So far, the label has put out discs by Joe McPhee, Peter Brotezmann, Steam, Han Bennink, Mount Everest Trio and other deserving but obscure artists. Because of Unheard Music, some of my favorite
2000 releases are actually decades-old recordings.
5. The Waco Brothers invade Tampa
After years of lobbying WMNF to bring the Waco Brothers to town, the station gave us a double dose of alcohol-fueled mayhem. The Waco Brothers are John Langford and Steve Goulding of the Mekons, with other moonlighting rockers. The Waco Brothers give country music a punk-rock enema and make a fine mess along the way. If you missed the spectacle in May, WMNF is bringing the boys back in January, along with Sally Timms.
6. Cecil Taylor at Rollins College
Cecil Taylor is a living legend. He's been playing free jazz since the mid-50's without compromise. It was a thrill just to see him play.
7. Belle & Sebastian
Y2K was a good year for Belle & Sebastian fans in the USA. Their new disc, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant was finally released, and Matador reissued their post-Tigermilk EP's as the Lazy Line Painter Jane box set. (OK, they could have been issued as a single CD at a lower cost). No one (with the possible exception of Magnetic Fields) have done the brooding orchestral pop thing this well since Nick Drake. The good news for 2001 is that the band actually plans to tour. Will they make it to Florida? I wouldn't hold my breath.
8. DKV Trio in Florida
Hamid Drake, Kent Kessler and Ken Vandermark comprise one of the most versatile and dangerous improvising groups on the road today. In February, they played two incendiary and very different shows in Central Florida. I was lucky enough to see both the Budious Maximus show in St.Petersburg and the Rollins College gig. Both shows consisted of two 60-minute sets. The Budious set was heavier, as the trio fought to be heard through the din of the bar's ambient noise. The Rollins College set was more varied, with a superbly subtle bass solo from Kessler. Anyone who claims creative free jazz is dead has never seen this band! Ken Vandermark leads or plays in more bands than most people can even name. I strongly suggest you check him out if you ever get the chance.
9. Badi Assad at Club More
The Festa Brazil concert might have made this list on it's own merit. Rita Ribeiro and Chico Cesar played nice sets of hip-shaking Brazilian music. It was fun, but sometimes you see something so unexpected that it just shines in your memory. Badi Asada's impromptu duet with Chico Cesar was one of those rare perfect moments. Assad is best known as a guitarist, but she has a sexy, seductive voice that melted an already overheated audience. Asada's playful, sensual interplay with Cesar was stunning. Curiously, I’ve had little trouble finding Badi Asada's discs in area stores but I haven't been able to find anything by the Festa Brazil headliners. So it goes.
10. Eleventh Dream Day - The Stalled Parade
Eleventh Dream Day were once a contender in the post-punk fame and fortune derby. For ten years, roughly the mid-80's to the mid 90's, the band put out records that got critical raves but were lost in the shuffle at Atlantic Records. In the 90's EDD continued to play the occasional gig and record for indie labels. Bassist Doug McCombs is better known these days for his work with Tortoise. Drummer and vocalist Janet Beveridge Bean plays with neo-hillbilly band Freakwater. Guitarist and vocalist Rick Rizzo has done a reverse Robert Pollard; he's gone from indie rock star to school teacher The Stalled Parade is Eleventh Dream Day's first new disc in too many years. Considering the part-time nature of the band, it's really amazing how good this disc sounds. The tracks crackle with energy, the songwriting is top-notch, and the vocal tension between Rick and Janet has never been better. Part of what I really love about EDD is that by conventional standards, they should have packed it in years ago. Somehow I find it very life-affirming to hear these folk playing as well as they ever have simply because they want to. EDD know that they aren't headed to rock stardom and they don't care. There is still music to be made.
So thats it for now. E-mail me at bobpomeroy@ij.net with your own top ten list.
THE END
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