Author: Paul

We went to “The Human Touch” opening on the later side in order to still be downtown when Nod took the stage at Abilene around midnight. The Memorial Art Gallery’s new show features part of the collection of RCB Wealth Management, whatever that is. Their website says “The Human Touch reflects the rich diversity of our clients, employees and the people who make up our everyday lives.” And that it does, but the effort to be diverse became the show rather than the selection of art. I only went to their website after seeing the show so now I’m wondering. Did the diversity effort look so obvious on the wall because all other shows are so insular? I don’t know. I only hoped to see some good art and I did see some.

Robert Longo, Chuck Close, Elizabeth Peyton, Nan Goldin, Kehinde Wiley, Carrie Mae Weems, John Baldesari were all represented but I was more intrigued by Willie Birch’s black and white acrylic and charcoal on paper drawing of two women, Till Freiwald’s large watercolor on paper studies of a live model for even larger (8 feet tall watercolors) and Luis Gispert’s giant, Spanish tinged, animated photo, “Living Room” from his Urban Myths series.

Nod was fantastic, more energetic than ever in their twenty-fifth year. They are the perfect trio. Each part is internal to their sound. Joe’s guitar playing is unique as hell, one of a kind. And although you can hardly ever hear what he is singing you can always hear the sweetness the melody he adds to his angular guitar playing. Tim Poland is a really melodic bass player and he propels the band with his lines while keeping the train on he tracks. Brian is rock solid on drums, never ruffled by Joe’s adventurous turns, he can fill up a song with fills without getting in the way. Nod’s sound gets under you skin and goes to your whole body. If no one breaks the ice you are left dancing in your head.

Took a tour of the earth this afternoon, up through the arboretum and fruticetum in the park where everything is popping, and I came back with this picture. We plan to celebrate Earth Day later on at the Little Theatre Café. Pete LaBonne will be joining Margaret Explosion on the grand piano. If you’re not familiar with Pete’s work there is no better place to start than Chris Schepp’s review of Pete’s 20 cd compilation, “Gigunda.”

The Bop Shop used to host a musty old record show twice a year in the Village Gate atrium. The clientele got older and older and consequently dwindled as record sales plummeted. The Chesterfield Kings drummer, the first and best one, was always there. He passed away years ago and the Bop Shop was unveiling his collection yesterday on Record Store Day. We never made it over there. Those record fairs were fun for a while but they were pretty depressing on a nice day. Everything is different now. I have never seen more people at Record Archive. They even stationed Frank DeBlase at the door for some added muscle.

We didn’t get going until after noon so I missed the Captain Beefheart vinyl, “Rough, Raw & Amazing,” the House of Guitars was allowed. And I never saw the Bernard Herrmann, “Psycho” 7-inch. I found the Beefheart package at Archive but hesitated when I read the Joh Peel’s liner notes… “Although it takes intense listening in the early part of of the show owing to the recording quality …” It sounds like the microphone was in someone’s pocket while he was standing outside De Montfort Hall in Leicester while the Magic Band played inside. Songs are mislabeled. Beefheart’s pictured on the cover paying sax and plays it on four cuts yet he is only credited with sax and vocals but I’m still happy with my purchase.

I saw Beefheart on four different tours, in Cincinnati (with the Hampton Grease Band and the Screamin’ Gypsy Bandits) on the Trout Mask tour, Columbus, Ohio on the ‘Decals” tour, the Dome Area here in Rochester when he did that bone-headed project with Zappa and then at the Red Creek in 1977. I brought my little mono cassette recorder to Red Creek and placed it on the table in front of Brad Fox (listen for him). My recording (below) is infinitely better than the 180 gram yellow vinyl, gatefold, double lp. As they say. “For diehard fans only.”

One hundred and fifty years ago a train carrying Lincoln’s body stopped in Rochester on its way to his final resting place in Illinois. Thousands of mourners gathered at the train station to pay their respects. In our age of Clinton and Bush dynasties and ObamaHate the very idea of the presidency has changed. I’m thinking about a train rolling into town with Claire Underwood’s body on it.

The husband and wife team responsible for the House of Cards soundtrack met at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and they are back in town for a free concert of film music on Sunday night at Kodak Hall. They promise a half hour suite of House of Cards themes. He also scored Ed Harris’s dramatic creation/painting scenes in the “Pollock” movie. Jeff Beal’s brilliant theme, used behind the open credits, just sweeps you away with its dramatic subwoofer percussion and dark foreboding melody.