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Thread: Big Ears 2019

  1. #251
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    Interesting updates about the festival, NogbadTheBad. I was thinking yesterday about who I've want to go see in a live setting, and was coming up a bit short, except King Crimson, and then thought of this festival.

  2. #252
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    so, the biggest highlights for me were Ralph Towner and This Is Not This Heat.
    Also seen and enjoyed very very much:
    Code Girl (only heard / not seen due to venue), Carla Bley trio, Matt Wilson's Honey & Salt, Oren Ambarchi - did I forgot anyone?

    Yes - Richard Thompson with a 19 piece string section and conductor! About the horrors of World War I. It was very good and very morbid and bleak. I'm really glad I saw it as it was hugely different from anything else he's done and I like him muchly but I would not want to experience it again personally.

    Tried hard not to over-eat at the all-you-can-eat music buffet and also to see full sets as much as possible.
    Last edited by Steve F.; 03-25-2019 at 11:00 AM.
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    “Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin

    Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]

    "Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"

    please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.

  3. #253
    My only official day was Saturday.

    KARA-LIS COVERDALE pipe organ - Was neat to hear the pipe organ in a beautiful church played in a non-church way, but it didn't hold my interest.
    KTL - Pretty cool drone set.
    AMIRTHA KIDAMBI’S ELDER ONES - Good, unique jazz. First song was "Eat the Rich", which I thought was a little ironic at this kind of festival. She had impressive vocal range, and I like the harmonium and synth. The instruments and arrangements blended very naturally and organically.
    KAYHAN KALHOR - I really like traditional styles from around the world, so I was probably looking forward to this the most. It was very good. However, I shouldn't have sat so close. The PA speaker was a bit too loud. I was planning to leave at the first break, thinking there might be a 20-minute or so piece that would end... but it never ended - they just transitioned seamlessly. And, I was in the middle of a row and didn't want to be distruptive in the middle of the music. It was very beautiful and meditative - almost no one left during the set. It was supposed to end at 7pm, but around 7:05 the drummer started again which meant they were going to play at least 10 more minutes. That's when I said fuck it and left anyway. But I wanted to leave earlier to see THE MESSTHETICS and THIS IS NOT THIS HEAT, which were the opposite, farthest points from this venue. Bummed I missed those, but that's the risk I took. I walked by St. John's about 15 minutes into Bela Fleck's set, and they were at capacity with a long line.
    I also walked by Tennessee Theater before the DEJOHNETTE COLTRANE GARRISON set. Couldn't believe the line for that.
    CARLA KIHLSTEDT + ICE - I really enjoyed this. It seemed so multidimensional compared to everything else I had seen. Was refreshing to hear completely composed ensemble music. It was very creative with many different timbres and styles. Far exceeded my expectations. Brilliant.
    MOSAIC INTERACTIVE - I only caught some of the "3rd act" - enough to make me wish I had made an effort to see more. It wasn't really on my radar, just decided to stop in. It was amazing. There was an asian opera singer, a percussionist, an overalls-wearing banjo player singing murder ballad, a guembri player singing African, a violin, a french horn, and a post-rock guitar all kind of happening at the same time and it worked very well. There were multiple transparent screens with projections, and someone changing incense every song. Very beautiful celebration of humanity/music. Mosaic is a very appropriate title.

    In the past, I really maximized my Big Ears experience. It usually felt effortless to bounce between venues and catching almost everything I wanted to see. But this year felt more difficult to navigate. Also, my time was limited to only part of the day Saturday, so that didn't help. I went to the Pilot Light Friday for the "secret show". It was Ned Rothenberg and the place was packed (as it was all weekend, I'd assume), but at least I got in to hear a little. I went to a brewery after that and next thing I knew he was sitting beside me at the bar. I went back to the Pilot Light for Sima Cunnningham who was excellent. Here's a little article about the Pilot Light experience.

  4. #254
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Day 4 have to admit to exhaustion starting to set in due to pure quantity
    Richard Thompson with string ensemble - bleak songs about WW1, moving and dark but glad I saw it
    Nik Bartsch Ronin - minimalist modern jazz that grooves and grooves, utterly fantastic as usual, loads of stunned faces on way out, best of the day
    Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider - iranian music played with string quartet, suffered from being straight after Ronin, sure it was excellent
    Wadada Leo Smith - trumpet stars jazz trio, did stay too long as needed a break, seemed good
    Art Ensemble Of Chicago - big band playing composed vocal jazz and cacophonous improv, not normally my thing but pretty enjoyable, huge crowd.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  5. #255
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Fantastic weekend of good company, good music and general good times. Had a blast.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  6. #256
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NogbadTheBad View Post
    Richard Thompson with string ensemble - bleak songs about WW1, moving and dark but glad I saw it
    It wasn't the most cheerful show of the event, that's for certain!
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    “Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin

    Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]

    "Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"

    please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.

  7. #257
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Highlights for me

    This Is Not This Heat
    Nik Bartsch Ronin
    The Comet Is Coming
    Matthias Eick Quintet
    The Messthetics
    Code Girl
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  8. #258
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    A Very Good Year at Big Ears.
    My schedule was modified on the fly more than a few times.
    I sat through more full performances than I expected.
    Had to duck out on a couple, just sort of 'tagged ' them.
    I didn't notice line issues, but perhaps it was the shows I chose.

    My favs, in no particular order. But the first are the ones that stuck in my head better:
    Nik Bartsch Ronin
    The Comet Is Coming
    Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider
    Bill Frisell and the Mesmerists featuring Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen and the films of Bill Morrison ( this is classic Frisell trio stuff that I just love )
    The Messthetics, they kicked ass, hard. They are on tour, SEE THEM
    Matt Wilson's Honey & Salt ( Thank You Steve F. for talking this up )
    The Punch Brothers ( the fest closer for me, Ahhh! )
    Mathias Eick Quintet ( sadly the recording is not as funky as the live performance )
    Any of Mary Halvorson's gigs ( Thumbscrew, Code Girl, Columbia Icefield )
    Last edited by markwoll; 03-26-2019 at 09:39 AM.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
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    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  9. #259
    Casanova TCC's Avatar
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    Friends!:

    Thanks for the reports and for sharing your experiences: with some groups / soloists I'm familiar but with others not at all and as I read your comments, I´m sure that they will also be "up my alley".


    Regards!.
    Pura Vida!.

    There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind. ∞
    Duke Ellington.

  10. #260

  11. #261
    Back home, mostly back to normal (whatever that is ).

    Overall, this was a good Big Ears for me, not quite one of the great ones. I think the disappointment with Harold Budd and some of the crowd issues took away from my overall assessment of the year.

    That said, I saw some really amazing shows: The Comet Is Coming, This Is Not This Heat, KTL, Coupler, RONIN, Clarice Jensen, Oren Ambarchi, and Kara-Lis Coverdale all spring to mind. Spiritualized was really good, but a bit more downtempo than was hoped for (to be fair, it was in keeping with the tone of the last few albums so I really should NOT have been disappointed).

    Peter Gregson, Harold Budd (or the lack thereof), and Mercury Rev were all a bit of a letdown for different reasons.

    The social aspect was at a bit of a high point though, which was great. Aside from catching up with Ian, Mark, Larry, Steve + Steve, and bumping into John/Echoes (sorry to catch you off guard like that, John!), the benefit of the longer lines meant time spent meeting new folks with similar interests. I had some genuinely wonderful conversations both outside and in the venues. One of the nicest compliments came from a gentleman who came up to me after a particularly-extended chat in a long line and said that he used to work in record stores for decades and that our conversation was the closest he's felt to that old "community" feeling since those days.

    So, while it wasn't my all-time favorite Big Ears, there's roughly zero chance I *won't* be back again next year. It's still one of the highlights of the year and I'm already excited to see what next year will bring
    If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
    https://battema.bandcamp.com/

    Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com

  12. #262
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    Nothing serves as a greater reminder that you spent the last few days in an entitled elitist playground than pulling off I81 and seeing a vinyl sign tied between two light posts advertising the upcoming traveling MMA cage match.
    I lead a charmed life.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  13. #263

  14. #264
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ergalthema View Post
    Just noticed these This Is Not This Heat videos posted:
    https://youtu.be/AdOMzOSHoIo
    https://youtu.be/Be4bD2uUS5c
    https://youtu.be/xpmFZQ59zZo
    Will watch tonight, thanks!
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  15. #265
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    Here's my review of Big Ears. Unusual for me, I tried to keep it on the positive side, which of course, was not difficult given the musicians at the festival.
    Review of Big Ears Festival 2019. Read about John Diliberto's romp through this 4-Day Festival, a musical mecca of mind-expanding music. https://wp.me/p4ZE0X-fDr

  16. #266
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    But if I was to talk about the negative, I would say the Richard Thompson orchestral piece was tediously awful, although the orchestra itself, playing and arrangements, were really beautiful. But Richard doing art songs ala a classical singer does not work. I don't know why he couldn't take that subject matter and make them Richard Thompson songs.
    I love David Torn, but I think he's pushed the mutilated guitar aesthetic as far as you can. His group Sun of Goldfinger, emptied the Standard with about 12 people remaining at the end.
    I love Harold Budd, but I think it was false advertising to list him at the event since in three concerts, Budd himself probably didn't even play 30 minutes combined. We heard Budd's compositions, played by others, which was good, but not, I suspect, what most people were expecting. No one expected Arvo Part to show up. They should have done the same with Harold.
    And finally, how much drone does anybody need.

  17. #267
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    The negative for me was the 'rock' venues being used for jazz, improvisational and 'quiet music' concerts and the inability to sit down at them. I can deal with standing at a rock show - even if I don't particularly like it - but I sure as fuck don't want to and am unwilling to stand during a solo Wadada Leo Smith concert, etc etc etc.

    And the large crowds forming outside some shows and the inability to get into some shows unless you lined up 45 minutes early.

    I think Big Ears has outgrown the infrastructure of Knoxville. YMMV.
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    “Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin

    Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]

    "Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"

    please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.

  18. #268
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    No problem. I enjoyed the conversation.

  19. #269
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Both your criticisms are fair though I 'enjoyed' Richard Thompson and some of the harder edge noisy jazz worked ok in the Standard and Mill & Mine. The festival has certainly got a bit too big for the venues except the Tennessee.

    I'm quite happy I skipped all the Budd performances. The Torn and Frissel stuff didn't do much for me, I prefer that kind of stuff when there is more of a regular rhythm section playing with them, not more noodly screamers.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  20. #270
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echoes View Post
    Here's my review of Big Ears. Unusual for me, I tried to keep it on the positive side, which of course, was not difficult given the musicians at the festival.
    Review of Big Ears Festival 2019. Read about John Diliberto's romp through this 4-Day Festival, a musical mecca of mind-expanding music. https://wp.me/p4ZE0X-fDr
    Nice review, agree with a lot of that.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  21. #271
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve F. View Post
    The negative for me was the 'rock' venues being used for jazz, improvisational and 'quiet music' concerts and the inability to sit down at them. I can deal with standing at a rock show - even if I don't particularly like it - but I sure as fuck don't want to and am unwilling to stand during a solo Wadada Leo Smith concert, etc etc etc.

    And the large crowds forming outside some shows and the inability to get into some shows unless you lined up 45 minutes early.

    I think Big Ears has outgrown the infrastructure of Knoxville. YMMV.
    Would you go again?

  22. #272
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chalkpie View Post
    Would you go again?
    Remember I am lucky enough to live in a place where 75% of the things that play Big Ears will come and play at, either on their own or on their way to or fromBig Ears.

    And I had a really good time, my criticisms aside, and saw some great stuff and hung with great people.

    And never say never. Y’know?

    But unless it was something spectacular that was life changing, I can safely say that I lean strongly towards that I would not go again.
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    “Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin

    Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]

    "Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"

    please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.

  23. #273
    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    P.S.
    I saw Fire! last night in DC; they were fabulous. Closer to Hawkwind or Pharoah Overlord than the free jazz I was expecting!!!
    Steve F.

    www.waysidemusic.com
    www.cuneiformrecords.com

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    “Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin

    Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]

    "Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"

    please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.

  24. #274
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    I thought they were great at Big Ears.
    Ian

    Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
    https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/

    Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
    I blame Wynton, what was the question?
    There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.

  25. #275
    Member proggy_jazzer's Avatar
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    Thanks to everyone for posting your thoughts! This thread has prompted me to check out some music of which I might otherwise have been unaware.
    David
    Happy with what I have to be happy with.

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