Big Ears Festival 2017 - "On the Ground" Reviews

[JKL2000]

Probably longest distance is 2 miles, range of major theaters, small theaters, clubs, churches, warehouses, etc, lot of standing this year.

Wow, so I guess CTTE makes a little more sense now. You must really have to plan that out. When does the music start each day?

[Steve F.]

Probably longest distance is 2 miles.

with overlapping shows? ugh.

lot of standing this year.

double ugh.

sorry to hear this.

[battema]

Heh...well, I checked and it is just under a mile to walk from the Bijou theater to the Mill & Mine...but, it is pretty hilly. My calves are definitely getting a workout...

And yeah...the venues have shifted toward SRO. As much as I love the music, next year I will probably need to bring one of those seat thingies that folks use on bleachers.

[Steve F.]

Tell the mayor, "Captain Beefheart would not have put up with this!".

[battema]

I'm pretty sure the mayor is thinking "hot damn, more bodies to fill spaces, more bodies to support our locals businesses and hotels!"

I'm a pretty hardcore enthusiast for Big Ears but Ian is right...there's been a shift toward the venues with larger open SRO spaces (there are small areas for VIP ticketholders with limited seating). I think it is partly in response to last year, where especially the Bijou theater hit capacity many times and people couldn't get in to see the bands at all.

And, it IS a lot of walking. It isn't as notable when you are sitting during sets but by last night, walking back the almost mile from Mill & Mine to the Hilton, my legs were quite toast. They rent bikes but with all the hills that isn't much of an improvement. IMHO they should consider running one of their trolleys up/down the main drag all weekend for the fest, and anyone with a festival pass can ride. Given how enthusiastic the city is about supporting the fest, that might not be TOO crazy an ask.

That said...I'm still having the time o' my life and weary legs or not, I am super excited for the next couple of days

[walt]

Last year the longest walk i had was going to the Knoxville Church to see Nief-Norf do Morton Feldman.That was a gizinta walk.Good thing i had the Big Ears app and my iPhone GPS.

But, of course, i'm old.

[Steve F.]

Walking wise, it sounds like FIMAV (Victo fest) in the old days (haven't been in 20 years - dunno if it's better or worse) but a lot worse.

Victoriaville, iirc, was pretty flat. And there were no standing venues.

I like a nice walk; I walk to my office every day and back, but multiple shows on the same night in multiple venues and mostly standing and drinking don't mix well, imo.

I'm still jealous, though; thanks for the reports.

[battema]

All right, so some day 2 scorecard action:

Maya Beiser did a solo set of cello/voice with kind of a drone atmosphere. Excellent morning music, and a great way to kick off the day.

Up next was Matmos with ACME (American Contemporary Music Ensemble), doing an interpretation of 1979's "Perfect Lives (Private Parts)" by Robert Ashley in the gorgeous Tennessee Theater. This was a mixed bag for me; I know/like Matmos but this was a bit odd. The laptops were mostly there to provide samples of tablas and the ACME mostly provided light drones (which could've also worked simply as samples, so they seemed mostly there just for show). It wasn't awful by any stretch but I wasn't connecting with the performance terribly well and drifted off at least once.

Up next was Frederic Rzewski doing "The People United Will Never Be Defeated." This was kind of a very cool setting, as they placed the piano in the center of the Mill & Mine and encouraged everyone to just come up and sit right around him as he played. Super intimate and very neat. The music itself is very challenging 20th century piano music and while I loved it overall, obviously some sections connected with me better than others. Rzewski is a remarkable player for his age, and it was a thrill to watch him performing up close. The hardwood on the floor started to wear on my poor posterior though!

We then took a pause to grab some excellent food (AT A LOCATION THAT SHALL REMAIN UNDISCLOSED), and then headed to a new venue, a Methodist church a bit further down the road to see Arve Henricksen & Ståle Storløkken of Supersilent do a set. I was very excited for this set, and they did not disappoint. Storløkken (who is the single biggest reason I am an expert with my phone's copy/paste functions) came out first and started improvising on the church organ, and then Henricksen joined from the rear of the church, walking up the aisle as he played. The entire set was thus just organ, trumpet and some vocalization from Henricksen...and it was all simply magical. Absolute goosebumps.

We then did the LONG walk back to the Mill & Mine to see Johann Johannsson's Drone Mass performed (ensemble, choir and electronic drone courtesy of the composer/performer himself). I love and know much of Johannsson's work but this is an unrecorded piece to my knowledge (premiered in 2015) so it was brand new. And, it was excellent. I managed to avoid screaming "BLADE RUNNER 2049!!" out loud, but was certainly tempted

Another break to chillax, and then...well, things got a little strange for me. I ended up seeing three acts in rapid succession over the course of an hour: Colleen (solo female looping/ambient/folk), Wilco (alt country gods), and the Carla Bley Trio (jazz). All three were very different but weren't quite winning me over, so I jumped from venue to venue before settling in for Bley. She is a legend and it felt like a good set to take in; on the whole I don't love jazz deeply but I did enjoy her set with some really lovely bits and her trio (Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard) were never less than exceptional with their performance. And hey...next time I am randomly asked if I've ever seen Wilco, the answer will be yes. So, there's that.

Last up was Tortoise. I am a fan but somehow have gotten this far without ever actually seeing them. And damn, they did not disappoint. Wonderfully high energy, rhythmically sophisticated post rock performed by a (remarkably rotating) set of characters who bounced between instruments just about every song. My own personal gas tank hit empty before they were done (they didn't start until around 12:10 AM this morning) but I thoroughly loved them.

So...a different sort of day than Friday (which was a bit more high energy, whereas yesterday had more emphasis on chamber music), but still a great day. And still two days to go!

[NogbadTheBad]

I walked 16 miles yesterday, so yeah, knees.

[NogbadTheBad]

Last 3 bands of the night, stayed for 5 songs of Wilco, alt-country, not really my thing, headed over to Carla Bley trio, I was looking forward to Andy Sheppard on sax, good trad jazz, enjoyed it a lot, then off to Tortoise at midnight, very good set of groovy post rock focused on electronica.

[NogbadTheBad]

Day 3, bit of a mixed bag, first up Meredith Monk, vocal artist with very little backing, no words just wails clicks and pops, gave up after 4 songs. Sir Richard Bishop, pleasant solo electric guitar, stayed for a couple of tracks and went for a beer. Hans Joachim Roedelius, ambient electronica and piano in the Cathedral, beautiful stuff transcendental. Musica Elettronica Viva, piano and keyboard musique concrete, lots of samples, improve, back and forth, we were all sitting on the floor soaking it up, wonderful stuff. Dinner at an un-named venue. Horse Lords, minimalist post rock, layer upon layer, crushingly heavy and loud, grooved and grooved, loved it. The Magnetic Fields, huge stage set up in the Tennessee Theater for Americana song cycle, did nothing for me, left after 2 songs. Gavin Byars Ensemble, listened to 8 sonnets with string quartet and 2 vocalists, beautiful stuff. Henry Grimes, free jazz only stayed for 1 track.

[battema]

I need to try and sleep, but just wanted to say this: Supersilent absolutely crushed it. One of the most powerful performances I've seen in a long time. Still buzzing from the sheer visceral energy of it all.

So awesome. Now we sleep. Toodles for now!

[TCC]

Thank you all for your reports!.
Really appreciate it, keep it coming!!.

-- Rest, have a good nap and eat-drink & rest again ;-) --

[battema]

All righty! Sleep is overrated...so, Day 3:

Started with Sir Richard Bishop (from Sun City Girls) at St. Johns. I have an album of world-type music from him but this was more straightforward guitar. I enjoyed it well enough but would be lying if I said it bowled me over.

Up next was Hans-Joachim Roedelius, same venue. I actually ran into him beforehand; as a general rule I don't like to go all "fanboy" on musicians but he was right there and I figured it was something I'd regret if I didn't at least say something. So, I told him thanks for all the music and how much I was looking forward to his performance. He was exceptionally gracious, and even gladly agreed to a quick photo with me. It wasn't over the top or anything, but it was a really nice moment.

As for his performance, it was beautiful. His set moved between the sort of soft/spacial electronics of C/Qluster as well as several piano pieces. It was very powerful and emotional, both for the audience as well as Roedelius himself. Hard to really express in a review, but it was a very special thing and I still actually get a little misty eyed when I reflect on it. Very, very glad to have been there to share that moment with him, and with the rest of the audience.

Jumped around a bit from here: went by The Standard to check out Six Organs of Admittance and enjoyed it but, like Bishop it wasn't really engaging me. No worries, a quick walk around the corner and I caught the latter half of the set with Musica Elettonica Viva. I have their last album and never warmed to it so I wasn't planning to make their set a priority...so I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it was really, really excellent. As with Rzewski the day prior, the band was in the middle of the venue with the crowd gathered all around them. Very cool experimental/electronic/musique concrete stuff. I'm going to have to go home and give their last album another listen now

A bit of a pause to grab some dinner at [REDACTED] before checking out Horse Lords. This was one of the "high energy" points in the weekend, as the band absolutely came on with all cylinders firing, and the very packed venue was feeding all that energy back to them. Others could describe them probably better/more accurately than me...for me they were to rock/punk what Zs was for jazz during their set a few years ago. Intense, driving rhythm with amazing precision and energy. Loved it, and hope to catch them again sometime soon in the DC area.

I did actually duck out of Horse Lords before the end, to hoof it up to St. Johns again. Watched to catch the Gavin Bryars Ensemble performing various works. Although this year's festival never really designated an "artist in residence" as in past years, there are three different performances by his ensemble this weekend: this one, a performance of "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" and tonight's staging of "The Sinking of the Titanic." I can't make the Jesus performance but wanted to catch the rest. And, it was worth it. His ensemble in various configurations (including Bryars himself) ran through a variety of works that were wonderful. I came away quite happy, and excited for the Titanic tonight.

Hiked back down to the other end (wheeze) to catch Jessica Moss, a violinist who has worked with Silver Mt. Zion, among others. Her set was very intimate, starting with a drone build and leading into some excellent looped violin/vocal work with a mildly "socially conscious" theme. Very excellent, and apparently her debut album is due later this year. Will definitely be giving that a listen.

On the way back to the hotel for a quick breather, I stopped into the Tennessee Theater to see a bit of Magnetic Fields. They had an AMAZING stage setup...if Yes ever did a concept album based around Willy Wonka or Alice in Wonderland it might look like this. Unfortunately the music was not really my thing, so I gave it a two-song shot and then went on my way.

Sadly, I missed the next couple of acts that I wanted to see for various reasons. Let's move on, shall we? Mmmkay...

That brings us to the end of the night, and: Supersilent. As my mini-rave above may have suggested, they did not suck. No, not at all. This was for me the perfect balance of the right venue (the Bijou, a small theater with decent seating), a great sound system, and a band that could take those elements and really run with it. This was powerful, dark, visceral music performed by three men who are firing on all cylinders. The most aggressive sections shook you from the inside, and the quiet moments interspersed throughout created small islands to gather senses before the next onslaught. One of the least expected elements was Henricksen's singing, which almost reminded me of Demis Rossous and his guest spot on the Blade Runner soundtrack. Much like Ben Frost's "after midnight" set a couple of years ago (also at the Bijou), it was a thunderous end to a great day and will likely remain one of the finest live performances I've seen.

So yeah...three days in and lots of great memories already. Today is Deathprod solo as well as Gavin Bryars' "Sinking of the Titanic" so hopefully more great stuff is yet to come. They've already announced Big Ears 2018 as well, so that is great news.

Anyway, for now...peace oot!

[JKL2000]

>> A bit of a pause to grab some dinner at [REDACTED]

Ah, Hooters...

Sounds like fun -- didn't know about Demis Roussos being on Bladerunner. Cool.

I like the Roedelius meeting. I'll bet he can tell some stories. The time he and Eno drank SO MUCH tea!

[NogbadTheBad]

Supersilent were excellent, dark stage shrouded in dry ice, crushingly heavy, layer upon layer of keyboards effects and trumpet. One of the highlights so far, stunning.

[battema]

Just ran into, and took a pic with, Helge Sten aka Deathprod. In Knoxville, TN, on a Sunday morning.

This weekend is as surreal as it is wonderful

[markwoll]

So John covered the high points of Supersilent. Let me just add that as I sat with my eyes closed I entered a meditative state.
Quite surprised, considering the volume and randomness of the sonic assault.

cup, Nels Cline and Yuka C. Honda was really nice. Cline held and manipulated a guitar, but it was hard to say where the sound came from.
Honda added sound treatments, keyboard, and sequences.
Dreamy with lots of jagged edges.

White Magic, Mira Billotte, psych folk stuff. Caught a couple of tunes. Even though she had a piano and keys, she chose to sing to piano backing track. Exit Mark.

Meredith Monk vocal ensemble...living legend status, check. Wordless vocals and animal noises, check. WTF, check. Exit Mark.

Roedelius at St James electronics and solo piano. Transfixed for an hour. Powerful stuff.

Horse Lords crushing grooves, a wall of sound. Liked it much.
The anti Roedelius. I can't believe that they were on the same bill in Baltimore ( didn't see it, can't figure it out )

Laetitia Sadier, solo electric guitar. Nice, but stayed for only a couple of songs to get to Wilco.
Judging from conversations I had with folks who saw the whole performance maybe I should have stayed.

Wilco at the Tennessee Theater. A shot of conventional, or so I thought. I have Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and they played most of that album.
They really tear it up live. Nels Cline ripped out some solos that were Awesome and way off the wall. The other members did their part to keep it weird too.
then hoofed it to see
Tortoise very percussive pieces. Unlike Horse Lords or Ahleuchatistas ( also extremely percussive ) the pieces did not resolve, they started and ended.
It was late and bedtime beckoned.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - synths and light show with lots of vocoder, as a 'preshow' for Supersilent it was ok. not bowled over, more of a DJ set I suppose.

Six Organs of Admittance - yeah, no. The initial solo guitar was not bad. Quavery hipster vocal , no.

Lots of dipping into performances, just a couple 'all the way through'.
Killer music weekend. More to come.

[SteveSly]

I have enjoyed reading your reviews here and on Facebook, although I am not familiar with many of the artists.

[battema]

Thanks Steve

It is nice to know folks are reading this stuff. Not everything here is going to be everyone's cuppa and that's cool.

Otherwise, I guess we can all surrender and join the heated debate about which zombie version of Yes sucks the least, or if Talk or Union is worse

[battema]

Good news, Yes/ARW Fans! Tonight is the end of the Big Ears 2017 Festival, which means this will be the last of the updates from me!

Technically there is still one act to go, but I'll be packing up afterwards so...off we go!

First up was Quindar, which is a Wilco side project. Despite being a bit underwhelmed with Wilco's set the other night, this one had me intrigued with a description of experimental electronica with video. What I got was very different from Wilco, for certain. Actually, the electronica was a bit conventional, reminding me somewhat of mid-period Orb or even Six Degrees material from Banco de Gaia. That isn't to say it was bad, in fact I kind of enjoyed it (and the videos, mostly lifted from old NASA films, were very cool and definitely added to the show). I will likely search out their debut when it arrives later this year.

After this, we caught Oliver Coates, a cellist with ties to Radiohead. He played extremely well and covered mostly the compositions of others. In truth, it didn't really connect with me, and dinner was beckoning. The *** at *** tasted especially delicious, particularly when served alongside ***.

So from here...we get to my personal "most anticipated" of the weekend: Helge Sten, a.k.a. Deathprod. He was performing at the Tennessee Theater, by far the largest venue for Big Ears, and I was curious to see what he'd do.

When the curtain came up, rather than a large/elaborate setup, there was a single desk with his equipment under a sole spotlight. With the house lights fully out, that spotlight became the only brightness. And for the next hour, Sten transformed the theater into an endless void. Crushing drones and textures rang out and echoed almost endlessly. It's hard to describe exactly, but it all felt absolutely MASSIVE. It was frankly better than I could have hoped for, and I feel so stupidly lucky to have been there to share in the experience.

Right now we're all back at the hotel, kind of recovering to be honest In another hour or so, we'll be back at the Tennessee to see the final act of the weekend, the Gavin Bryars Ensemble performing "The Sinking of the Titanic." I'm excited for this as well, as this is my favorite GB piece and it will be very cool to see it done live.

This was my 4th Big Ears and all in all, it has been another really wonderful weekend of really diverse music. Some killer sets from familiar favorites, and some excellent new discoveries. I can't believe that this actually exists, in 2017 in Knoxville freaking Tennessee. But I'm really, really grateful that it does.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my little hyperbolic gushes. For the record: I prefer Relayer.

[JKL2000]

It's just like Mad Libs!!

"The ASSHAT at CHICK FILET tasted especially delicious, particularly when served alongside BILLY SHERWOOD'S NUTSACK."

Sounds tasty!

[NogbadTheBad]

Day four got off to a slow start with the first act for me at 2.30 with Theo Blackmann and Ben Monder, treated vocals with jazz guitar with lots of effects, very good set. Next was Oliver Coates solo cello , I liked it, not enough looping or effects for my personal tastes but well done. I'll refrain from describing Deathprod as John describes it perfectly, superb set, dark, heavy massive, loud. Last up will be Gavin Byars, long weekend but very good and entertaining. Thanks to John and Mark for the excellent company.

[Miciah]

Roedelius - I am soooooo envious. I was just listening to both Harmonia albums today. I would have definitely gone fanboy on him...a legendary musical personality. I would have particularly liked to have heard the piano pieces.

[battema]

Roedelius - I am soooooo envious. I was just listening to both Harmonia albums today. I would have definitely gone fanboy on him...a legendary musical personality. I would have particularly liked to have heard the piano pieces.

He was easily one of my highlights for the weekend. A wonderful, understated performance from a master.