Big Ears Festival 2022

[markwoll]

https://bigearsfestival.org/festival-schedule/

If I go to the schedule page (Chrome desktop), it doesn't show all the venues/columns (some are hidden off to the right). And there is no left/right scroll bar! I can left-click drag to highlight off to the right and scroll to the other venues that way, but it's a terrible workaround.

Does this happen for anyone else?

https://imgur.com/a/D5EpepP

I thought there was something wrong with the schedule because so many venues were missing.
There were no scroll bars. This was in Firefox, but I tried in Edge too.
Then I went full screen, and there they all were. That's on a 4k desktop monitor.
I guess that their web designers think we all have big monitors that we use with full screen browser sessions.
Seems like ageism.

[NogbadTheBad]

I wrote to their help desk and they sent me this links as a workaround doc

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1136618739

[mike_hunt]

I'm thinking something like:

Thursday
75 Dollar Bill
Dan Weiss Starebaby
Sparks
Low

Friday
75 Dollar Bill
Arooj Aftab
Jeff Parker & The New Breed
Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble
Sons Of Kemet
Animal Collective
Kim Gordon
Mdou Moctar

Saturday
Mary Lattimore & William Tyler
Ches Smith's We All Break
Angel Bat Dawid & Sistazz of the Nitty Gritty
Nubya Garcia
John Zorn: Simulacrum
Lonnie Holley
Circuit Des Yeux
John Zorn: The Hermetic Organ
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society

Sunday
Sarah Davachi
Marc Ribot
Mary Lattimore
John Zorn: Heaven & Earth Magick
Marisa Anderson & William Tyler
Yves Tumor

Way over ambitious and will play it by mood as always.

Really excited to get back to Knoxville next week for another Big Ears. I can't believe it's been 3 years.

[mike_hunt]

The Ellen Reid Soundwalk looks interesting: https://www.ellenreidsoundwalk.com/

[markwoll]

Last minute info.
https://bigearsfestival.org/reminder...-need-to-know/
Bring a mask. Be prepared to wear it to enter a venue.
Bring your vaccine card or negative test result.

[progholio]

Whatever you do make sure you see Sparks Thursday night (and Mdou Moctar too).

I just saw their show in Chicago and it may have been the best concert i have ever seen.

[NogbadTheBad]

20220323_162851.jpg

So it begins.

[chalkpie]

Have a blast guys

[battema]

Yep...I hope it is a wonderful weekend

[NogbadTheBad]

Day 1 review
Leisurely start to the day given the first show is 4pm, light taco lunch with 'the boys'. First show was Kronos Quartet, placed was packed as the only gig on, played in an open air amphitheater (had a passing train accompaniment at one stage). Short set, only 30 minutes, very nice string quartet with the last track spoilt a bit by midi/backing tape too dominant. Second up Tomeka Reid and Nicky Finney, female black poet telling stories of her life accompanied by solo cello. Really very good. 75 Dollar Bill were excellent psyche, droney, Krautrock style groove really very good, sight line issues with such a big band at the Standard and the VIP seating area. Starebaby were must see for me, managed to sit on the box with great sight lines. Dan Weiss, Ben Monder, Craig Taborn, Matt Mitchell & Trevor Dunn is an all star line up and they tore it up with heavy avant jazz metal. Loved every minute. Half the audience left halfway through to go to Sparks. Got into Sparks 30 minutes into their set, stayed for 30 minutes, 80s synth pop trying to be quirky, was annoyed that the bulk of the band were hidden by smoke and backlighting, looked like just the brothers up front. Not for me. Grabbed a couple of tracks of mssv, fusion trio with heavy rhythm section and stunt guitarist. Sounded fun but needed to move on to Low, heavy, distorted, sludgey slowcore, band very much in the Dark with very bright video behind them. Very atmospheric and loud, very enjoyable. Left an hour in exhausted. 7 bands and 8 miles walked, tired and sore but man I'm glad to be back, wonderful.

[Steve F.]

thank you for the reportage!

I saw Clare Rousay last night. She was very good, but there isn't much to 'see' in a performance, as it's all laptop. STILL, if you are free when she's playing, she's well worth hearing / seeing.

[moecurlythanu]

thank you for the reportage!

I saw Clare Rousay last night. She was very good, but there isn't much to 'see' in a performance, as it's all laptop. STILL, if you are free when she's playing, she's well worth hearing / seeing.

Did she play her #1 hit, "Ode To Skullhead"?

[neuroticdog]

Here are some short takes from me:

Thursday
Kronos Quartet-decent but I have to agree with Ian about the taped ending to the Clint Mansell piece from The Fountain. It was very jarring and ruined the flow a little for me. Still...a decent performance and the first five minute piece could have come straight from the Univers Zero songbook. Cool rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" too.

So Percussion-Usually only 4 percussionists but this was a massively expanded unit with close to 20 people on stage including Kronos. They performed one very long piece that morphed and shifted between many styles. Electronics, strings, female singers, laptops, a human beatbox and...percussion...lots and lots of percussion. Pretty intense and very enjoyable, and LOUD!

Maeve Gilchrist-celtic harpist and singer with some light touch electronics and tapes. Absolutely gorgeous set and I probably could have listened to her for hours. Lovely voice, great (and very heart wrenching emotional) storytelling, incredibly talented and virtuoso harpist. If you ever get the chance...................

James McVinnie and Tristan Perich-James is a classically trained organist and for this set, he was using a pipe organ at one of Knoxville's churches beefed up with two large speaker arrays, not to mention the many many pipes from the organ spread out in the front of the church. Tristan is an electro acoustic sound diffuser that I know way too little about. I thought he was tweaking McVinnies playing in real time but then I was told that it was just the software algos built into the piece as he was playing it. Whatever, who cares...this fucking thing was INTENSE!!! A 60 minute journey of heavier than shit organ music that totally conjured the vast, snowy landscapes spun up by Sibelius. Liturgical, Sacred and MAJESTIC as hell is how I would describe it and I need to buy their music post fucking haste!!! Of the two days, this was my favorite performance so far. (If Rick Wakeman saw this performance he would have retired long ago...sorry proglodytes)

Sparks-What can I say. I wouldn't call myself even a casual fan but I always dug and respected what they do. I put them in the same bucket as Queen and 10cc in terms of creative and innovative production qualities. I was super impressed that they pulled their sound off live and they did a fine job of recreating the "big production" feel. However...2 hours of their schtick started to wear on me. Enjoyable show but it was very much the Brothers Mael baby and the actual "Sparks" band were in the background and, frankly...hardly noticeable. BTW, Russell still has a great voice and a great falsetto, he still has it!

More to come

best
Michael

[NogbadTheBad]

Day 2 Friday

Craig Taborn Trio with Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith, piano & keyboards, cello, drums, percussion and effects. Instrumental experimental avant jazz, very enjoyable
Harriet Tubman, NY based fusion trio, playing pretty slow atmospheric fusion, drummer rock solid, guitarist, interesting aural landscapes, bassist was in love with volume and distortion, enjoyed the show once I realized that was the sound he was going for.
Jeff Parker and the New Breed, got enticed to this one with post rock and Tortoise references, it was pretty much straight contemporary jazz very nicely played and enjoyable but nothing to get the juices flowing.
Sons of Kemet, Shabaka Hutchins, saxophone, Theon Cross, Tuba and 2 drummers, afrobeat jazz with masses of energy, place was bouncing, tore it up for over an hour. Best show of the festival so far.
Marc Ribot Ceramic Dog, experimental guitar 'rock' when they rocked were great, I'm less a fan of the bleeps and squawks. Let after 40 minutes to catch the next show
Animal Collective, electronic pop, apparently cutting edge back in the day, quite mainstream to my ears, not for me.
Mind Maintenance, Joshua Abrams on 3 stringed African bass lute and Chad Taylor on a thumb piano, beautiful minimalist patterns perfect for that time of night, great stuff.
7 miles and 7 bands

[TCC]

Thanks for the reports Friends ... enjoy and take care!

[neuroticdog]

Friday
75 Dollar Bill-wow man...incredible! Think early Third Ear Band taking up a residency in the Appalachian hinterlands and then having a come to jesus moment with the Buddha who was fond of channeling the more spiritual side of the AACM. That's 75 Dollar Bill, right there! Fucking amazing!

Harriet Tubman-Haven't heard them till the trip down here and then found out that Brandon Ross is the guitarist! Brandon floored me on those Laswell produced Threadgill albums so this stoked me up, big time. And as if I needed more...Melvin Gibbs (who I know from back in the day with Power Tools) is the bassist. So, I was pretty excited but...ultimately let down, but only a little. A lot of it had to do with the dog shit venue, the Mill and Mine where they pack you in like sardines on the main floor which of course is standing room and the balcony has somewhat obstructed vision. Also, the sound wasn't all that great with Gibbs being mixed way to hot. Still a great show but would have muchly preferred to see them in a "theater" setting. BTW, they are "spiritual fusion" and Brandon absolutely DID NOT disappoint. The sound was exactly what I loved about those Threadgill records. (75 Dollar Bill was also at Mill and Mine and again, would have much preferred to see them in theater setting but oh well.)

So Percussion with Caroline Shaw-one of the best sets I've seen so far. So Percussion was down to their regular 4 piece but still had a forest of percussive implements on stage. Caroline has a fucking voice to die for!!! Beautiful, uplifting music that reached the joyous level of the best of Magma (while sounding nothing like them of course). At times she live processed her own voice which filled the Tennessee theater with waves of sound...totally immersive. Unbelievably great show!

Julian Lage trio-Wow Wow, another great set. Lage, while not playing anything particularly "out" is just so technically perfect and plays with massive amounts of emotion. This is a guy who has surgically honed his art to perfection. On drums was Kenny Wollesen who is playing in the many Zorn sets and acoustic bassist Jorge Roeder...basically a rhythm section to die for. Excellent way to end the evening.

stay tuned for more...

best
Michael

[NogbadTheBad]

Saturday Day 3
First 2 up Mary Lattimore and William Tyler play soundscape guitar, harp and Electronica over a Tennessee documentary. Very restful left early to get to Zorn
Zorns Meditations on the Tarot, downtown (?) Jazz featuring Brian Marsella, Trevor Dunn and Kenny Wollesen. Manic piano with tight drums and bass. Very good.
Ches Smith We All Break, Haitian world music with lots of drums and creole vocals, not for me
Zorn Songs for Petra, song based jazz with all star band including Julian Lage, guitar, Petra Haden, vocals and Jorge Roeder, bass. Outstanding set.
Nubya Garcia, English/Caribbean jazz saxophonist with keys, double bass and drums. Pretty straight forward jazz but I like all her stuff and was a must see for me.
First big miss of the weekend was not seeing Zorn Simulacrum that clashed with Garcia
Jason Moran, solo piano, very nice stuff left early to get to next show
Jamie Branch Fly or Die, angry punk jazz with trumpet lead, had as much rap/rant style vocals as trumpet, outstanding.
Annette Peacock solo piano voice and Electronica, not very good to my ears,, beat a retreat to another show.
Last band of the night, Efterklang, art pop with some proggy touches with a vocalist who's a Chris Martin fan, seeing the post rock references got me there but theyve dropped that entirely. Don't really need a singer sitting on the front of the stage singing directly at you. Left after 4 songs.
9 bands 5 miles.

[TCC]

Saturday Day 3
Jamie Branch Fly or Die, angry punk jazz with trumpet lead, had as much rap/rant style vocals as trumpet, outstanding.

Nice!
A favorite here in Casa Casanova !!

[walt]

My feets still hurt.

[markwoll]

What a freaking treat. Still collecting thoughts, and trying to remember if I was really "there" or not. It was on my schedule......
Let me just say Electric Masada killed. ahhhWoooo! That was So amazing, what a way to end the weekend.
Great to see everyone and share the weekend.
Now the 7.5 hour drive home. No rain or snow, so I've got that going for me.

[battema]

Glad it was a great time for everyone, hope to be there next year

Just got the refund from my VIP pass so that's certainly happy news of a different sort.

[Steve F.]

My feets still hurt.

made me

[ergalthema]

Looks like I'll have to split this into two posts. Not sure where all the asterisks are coming from (I pasted plain text), but I'm not going to take the time to remove them.

This was probably my favorite Big Ears so far. 2014 will always be special because it was my first Big Ears, some of my favorite artists were there, and I realized how amazing it is to stumble on incredible music outside the circles/cultures/genres/communities I typically follow.*]

I've been a fan of Zorn since the late 90s (Torture Garden changed my life as a teen), but only ever saw him perform once previously. (FWIW, I have been to The Stone to hear SC3 play Book of Angels material.) So, he was by far the main draw for me this year. I got even more excited to see that he was doing everything at the Bijou (my favorite venue in Knoxville [however, Pilot Light usually has my favorite bands]). I didn't attend much on Thursday or Friday because my goal was to absorb as much Zorn as possible.*

-----------------------------
THURSDAY:
Attacca Quartet - Nice variety. Started with an additional performer*playing electro-tribal drums. Then just string quartet (except Squarepusher with backing track that was a bit too quiet). I really enjoyed their Philip Glass suite They were close-miked and compressed fairly loud - could hear every microscopic detail of the bows on the strings. Unusual for a string quartet, but it worked.

They didn't clear TN theatre before Sparks, so I stayed - but most shows I saw after that did clear venue between sets.*

Sparks - They're kind of legends, so I wanted to see them once in my life. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into and wasn't disappointed.* A*few meh songs, but mostly fun, funny, and well done.

-----------------------------
FRIDAY:

When I arrived, the line for*Arooj Aftab was longer than I wanted*to be in, so I went to the Pilot Light.

In Place - just caught the end - sounded like excellent 'out' jazz.

Okapi - Neat duo with a cellist and a double bassist who sings. Hard to describe - kind of like art rock on bowed basses (with great technique) - very poetic lyrics. Hope to see them again.

Zorn interview - I got a notification that it was bumped up an hour, so I went on over to the museum about an hour early. I could hear a 'secret show' he was performing in another area echoing through the building - solo sax squawking - some of the*Heaven & Earth Magick with vibraphone, etc.*Actually very glad I went to the interview (even though it will be broadcasted publicly someday). I was in the front row, quite close to him. He discussed some things I haven't heard in other interviews. And he elaborated on the philosophy and framework behind all the different projects - how the music is approached - it's for the musicians (to surprise, challenge, and bring them joy/catharsis) without regard for the audience. He was professional and pleasant the whole time.

Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons Trio - caught the end of the first set - decided to stick around for the 2nd. Mark Ribot was a guest for the first few tunes - I hadn't planned to hear Ribot at all, so I'm glad I caught that.*

I never saw Sonic Youth, so I wanted to hear Kim Gordon. I caught the 2nd half of Patti Smith (excellent) and then got in line for Kim. There was a 20 minute or so delay letting people in. The first song was pretty cool, but they were soon having technical difficulties - obviously from a laptop near the drummer. They killed some time with guitar noise, tried to start a song, but then had to stop again. That's when I left. Apparently, they eventually played a decent show with a 30-minute encore or something.*

Brian Blade, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran & Thomas Morgan tribute to Ron Miles - Very glad I left the Kim Gordon show to see this. Seemed like the melodies were broken into pointillism and constantly passed around the instruments - like they were all one instrument.* The double bass was very clicky and distracted me a few times, but otherwise, it was totally beautiful. Moran explained that Miles'*family had given them his last (unplayed) composition sheet music to perform titled "March" (presumably a working title they*decided to keep). Emotional end for the players as they all hugged each other. Blade led a crowd chant of "Ron Miles" as he left the stage.*

[ergalthema]

-----------------------------
SATURDAY:

John Zorn: Meditations on the Tarot (Brian Marsella, Kenny Wollesen, Trevor Dunn) - This was originally going to be Nove Cantici Per Francesco D’Assisi, but got canceled because Gyan Riley couldn't make it. Fortunately, this set was amazing. Hardcore real deal NYC jazz - played masterfully with an adventurous spirit. Dunn was so locked into the zone.*Started getting my Naked City fix.*Tried to save my seat with a* jacket*when they cleared the venue, but it had been taken to lost-and-found when I came back for the next set. Figured it was worth a try. Ultimately, I ended up sitting in my favorite spot every Zorn show.

John Zorn: Songs for Petra Haden (Jesse Harris, Petra Haden, Julian Lage, Jorge Roeder, Kenny Wollesen) - A huge contrast from all the other Zorn stuff. Petra had great energy and a pleasing voice. In the pocket.*

John Zorn: Simulacrum (Kenny Grohowski, Matt Holllenberg, John Medeski) - Literally Beavis and Butt-Head in front of me in line - giggling a lot. One audibly farted and was amused by it. Anyway - incredible set - crushing angular geometric zorn metal. like a mechanical octopus. feels good to my brain. The only show I wore earplugs. At this point, I was very happy with the spectrum of Zorn material I'd encountered. Could have left satisfied.*

Lonnie Holley - I've seen him before. Was neat to hang out and relax as they soundchecked - they pleasantly droned mellowness and improvised casually. Very spiritual situation. There were at least 7 musicians on stage by the time they started their first official song.*

Nathalie Joachim & Spektral Quartet - This was going on before the next Zorn show. I caught a couple of their beautiful string quartet + vocal pieces.*

Before the*Zorn set, I realized the number of people marked as "going" on the Big Ears app was larger than the venue's 500 capacity. I also realized that the VIP/Premiere lines could be very long. The GA line doesn't move until those passholders go first. So, I left (between pieces, as always!) to go outside and stand in the GA line.

John Zorn: The Hermetic Organ - I was first in the GA line (about 2 hours before show start). Zorn passed by and I said I was looking forward to it. He politely said thanks and kept walking. Gradually, other people got in line. After the pews were full, Zorn popped out from behind the organ, surprising people. He recited this to the audience before sitting down:*

All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
- T. E. Lawrence**

Half the time he was fiddling*with the organ like a child, half the time he was creating weird effects (especially from bass register), and the third half of the time was like he was actively composing on the spot. I'm not sure exactly what kind of performance it was, but I'm glad I was there. I'm curious how it compares to his other organ performances. Ended at exactly 11:00.

I hung around for a bit after the show. Staff moved the*organ from the front of the pulpit area - the*wheels squeaked and reverberated. I joked that it was my favorite Big Ears performance.
-----------------------------
SUNDAY:

John Zorn: 18 Studies from the Later Sketchbook of J.M.W. Turner (Stephen Gosling) - Solo instruments usually lose my interest quickly, but not this. Many different concepts and approaches in this music. And some impressive feats of playing. An excellent start to the day.

John Zorn: Chaos Magick (Kenny Grohowski, Matt Hollenberg, John Medeski, Brian Marsella) - High energy - variety of styles. fun and challenging. Zorn popped out and conducted a section - very exciting.

John Zorn: Heaven & Earth Magick (Stephen Gosling, Sae Hashimoto, Jorge Roeder, Ches Smith) - Zorn explained that the vibraphone and piano were through-composed and the drums and bass play more of an improvised part under it. Phenomenal playing all around. This was the most mind-blowing performance for me in a long time - unable to fathom how they were accomplishing what they were doing. Reminds me of other "impossible music" like Nancarrow, Zappa, Partch, etc. - but its own*unique language.*

John Zorn: New Masada Quartet (Julian Lage, Jorge Roeder, Kenny Wollesen, John Zorn) - Obviously a core and important project. A blast. One of the few times he paused to talk casually to the audience - paraphrased: "They wanted this in the (much larger) Tennessee Theatre, but I said no way - I want to play in the haunted theater! There was a long line and people couldn't get in, but f**** those people, right? This last tune will also be played during the next set."

John Zorn: New Electric Masada (Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, John Medeski, Brian Marsella, Trevor Dunn, Kenny Wollesen, Ches Smith, Kenny Grohowski, John Zorn) - whew - the Big band! It was intense. Seemed like just three long pieces. Lots of conducting. First piece toward the end he had everyone playing bursts of white noise basically, then ended on a big one. It was devilishly thrilling beyond punk, rock, or metal - hard to describe. I didn't really recognize that there was something repeated from the previous set (as Zorn had said). Was a perfect end for me.

A group of us were talking after the show and eventually made our way down the sidewalk. Suddenly, Zorn, Lage, and another person walked right past us on the way to their hotel.

I arrived at the Zorn shows at least an hour before each one - often in line with other like-minded fans. I would leave a show and immediately get in line for the next one. Sometimes, the line would already be wrapping around the building. I didn't really mind waiting in line between sets. It gave me a chance to process the music a bit and let my ears rest. (Of course, the comfort of a VIP/Premiere pass would be nice to know I would definitely get in - but again, I always got a seat where I wanted.) I met a lot of excellent people in line - similarly passionate about music, obviously. I usually do a lot of speed runs during Big Ears - constantly bouncing from one show to another. But this year was different since I was only really concerned about the Zorn material. I'm sure I would have enjoyed any of the shows - but I'm definitely glad I chose to go all-in on the Zorn events.

Zorn runs a well-oiled professional ship. Everything started and ended on time. He would briefly introduce before and after each show consistently - basically the exact same way each time. He might be the only performer who didn't have official festival cameras around. I didn't notice any and I also haven't seen any Zorn images posted by Big Ears among their many photos. I've always had the impression that cameras were kind of his pet peeve. My opinion is that it's a losing battle - not sure it's worth fighting. I do think many people miss the complete experience when they are fiddling with their camera - but I don't mind too much anymore - especially if they are quiet and not holding their phone up in the air. On the other hand, I enjoy taking a quick picture at amazing times in my life - including at concerts. I might have even snapped one during a Zorn set...

Having been a fan of Zorn for so long and only seeing him once about 20 years ago, it was a bit surreal to suddenly be sharing space with him so much over the weekend. Multiple times I was in disbelief that it was really happening. I bought a lot of his music around 1997-2002, but I couldn't easily keep track of all the newer releases. So, I gradually purchased less of his music because I didn't know how to prioritize what to buy. I guess whatever Zorn is doing works for him, but I probably would buy more of his music if there was some way to preview it first. After these shows, I've bought five CDs and plan to get more soon.

Hope all the other attendees enjoyed their Big Ears experience this year! (How could they not?)

[NogbadTheBad]

Sunday day 4
Sarah Davachi, very very slow ambient electronics, lasted 30 minutes
Alabaster DePlume London based street poet sax player, the huge plus was he was backed by Jamie Branchs Fly Or Die, pretty good
Zorns Chaos Magick, brutal heavy metal jazz with Kenny Grohowski, Matt Hollenberg, John Medeski, Brian Marsella, mind blowingly crushingly superb
Bill Frissell Trio, electric guitar led experimental jazz, excellent
Zorn Heaven & Earth Magic, fully composed piano and vibes, fully improvised bass and drums. Really rather good.
Zorns New Masada with John Zorn saxophone, Julian Lage guitar, Jorge Roeder bass, Kenny Wollesen drums. Outstanding.
Last band of the festival, Electric Masada, John Zorn, Julian Lage, Bill Frissell, Trevor Dunn, Ches Smith, Kenny Wollesen, Kenny Grohowski, John Medeski, Brian Marsella. Absolutely crushing it with brutal jazz metal. Fantastic.

Really great weekend, wonderful to be at concerts and chat music with friends. All the Zorn stuff was good to mindblowingly stupendous. Plenty of other highlights, Starebaby, Sons Of Kemet and Fly or Die spring to mind.