Cheer Accident

[Phlakaton]

Was just about to say - hey its Joe P! Nice.

[Sputnik]

PE guys attending Cheer-Accident, Sputnik, Mrs Sputnik, Rick L. Not a member here but Joe Paradiso is a regular at prog events, RIO and the like.

Nice picture. LOL @ "Mrs. Sputnik"!

It was nice seeing/meeting everyone. I liked that venue a lot, even though they didn't have it set up particularly well for a show like this (didn't really need a dance floor, LOL!). I also liked Rabbit Rabbit Radio, though I think they could benefit from some additional instrumentation (oddly, there was not a bass player on stage last night between the three bands). Carla's talent definitely shines as a focal point, but a little more musical interplay I think would help, and that's hard with just the two melodic voices (guitar and violin).

In all honesty, I was a little underwhelmed with Cheer-Accident. Great players all, especially the trombone player, who I really enjoyed listening to. But they only played like an hour, and I felt the show lacked direction and didn't have a particularly good "arc." I think they lost a lot of people doing a bit too much noodly improv stuff in the middle of the show. You expect a certain amount of this at a C-A show, but I think the balance was off a bit this particular night, especially for such a short stage time. The band never got really cranking like they did when I saw them in Dorchester years ago. So for me, not terrible and I still had a good time overall, but not really a knockout performance in my book.

Bill

[NogbadTheBad]

I've seen Rabbit Rabbit three times now and that's the first time it's been more than Carla and Matthias. The guitar was a great add, I was surprised to find out that it was Jeremy Flowers who released a superb solo album with an all star avant guest list a couple of years ago.

Cheer-Accident were very different. I agree with Bill's assessment, I've seen them twice before at RIO and both those performances were more cohesive. I quickly decided to put myself in the mindset of just absorbing it as performance art & that helped me really enjoy it. Bizarrely the best bit was probably the walk around horns bit with the unexpected addition of Carla's kids screaming as they were made to leave the venue, their howls seemed to fit the music beautifully.

Mission Creep were also fun with wonky jazz, again no bass, always good to see a drummer in a Magma shirt.

A very good night and great to see guys at the gig, high five from Carla probably made my night. Rabbit Rabbit were my favorite performance.

[Sputnik]

I've seen Rabbit Rabbit three times now and that's the first time it's been more than Carla and Matthias. The guitar was a great add, I was surprised to find out that it was Jeremy Flowers who released a superb solo album with an all star avant guest list a couple of years ago.

Wow! OK, then, I'm glad I caught this gig as I'd have felt even more this way without the guitar and likely would have enjoyed it way less. And yes, Jeremy was fantastic! I figured he was a fixture in the band, I can't imagine the music without him. I'll check out his solo album!

Cheer-Accident were very different. I agree with Bill's assessment, I've seen them twice before at RIO and both those performances were more cohesive. I quickly decided to put myself in the mindset of just absorbing it as performance art & that helped me really enjoy it. Bizarrely the best bit was probably the walk around horns bit with the unexpected addition of Carla's kids screaming as they were made to leave the venue, their howls seemed to fit the music beautifully.

That was cool! They needed to get back into something with more energy to follow that, though. You could just feel the energy in the room dissipating and people losing focus. I don't think they ever really got us back after that.

Mission Creep were also fun with wonky jazz, again no bass, always good to see a drummer in a Magma shirt.

Mission Creep did a couple of cool things. "Lucky Dog," when they finally played it, was good, as was a more high-energy piece with a sort of funky (pre-recorded) bass part that they played later. But a lot of their stuff got really samey to my ears, I think they need a bit more variety, both within the songs and between the songs.

Bill

[NogbadTheBad]

Agree on Mission Creep but as an opening act in a small 3 band show they were a pleasant surprise.

[Baribrotzer]

(oddly, there was not a bass player on stage last night between the three bands).

What happened to Dante Kester? He's been with C-A for years, and moved to Chicago to play with them.

[NogbadTheBad]

What happened to Dante Kester? He's been with C-A for years, and moved to Chicago to play with them.

I was wondering the same thing, I assume life got in the way of this tour.

[NogbadTheBad]

Wow! OK, then, I'm glad I caught this gig as I'd have felt even more this way without the guitar and likely would have enjoyed it way less. And yes, Jeremy was fantastic! I figured he was a fixture in the band, I can't imagine the music without him. I'll check out his solo album!


Bill

https://jeremyflower.bandcamp.com/album/the-real-me

Band
Carla Kihlstedt – Vocals, Violin
Jeremy Flower – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Jon Evans – Bass
Matthias Bossi – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Abby Swidler – Viola
Emily Hope Price, Elizabeth Schultze – Cello
Jeremy Udden – Saxophones
Alex Sopp – Flute, Piccolo
Sam Sadigursky – Clarinets
Louis Schwadron – French Horn
Ryan Keberle, Brian Drye – Trombone

[ergalthema]

I saw the first three shows this tour. They all had long periods of improvisation that definitely tested the audience's patience. But isn't that just the kind of thing they would do? I mean, I expect that one day they could decide to do something absurd like stand on stage and not play any music at all, etc. In Columbia, Thymme spent about 5 minutes talking through Chicago's discography.

The improv all three nights was very different. I appreciate them taking that kind of risk. Each night had something very interesting come out of the improv, but yes there were moments that seemed a little noodly. I think it's necessary for them to open a decent chunk of time for improv to allow interesting things to happen. I just love that it's hard to predict what a C-A show will be. I had grown accustomed to the lineup the last few years, so I couldn't help but miss it a little. I love improvisation with friends at home, but I'm not really into live improv. So, I also would have preferred less at these shows. But there is a lot to like about this tour, and I kinda wish I would have planned to attend more shows (especially knowing that they are playing other songs I didn't get to hear).

The three shows had significantly different setlists. In Louisville, someone requested Blue Cheadle, so they played a few seconds of it with Jeff intentionally in the wrong guitar tuning. They did a hilarious cover of Under Paris Skies in Knoxville, and a beautiful arrangement of Carla Bley's Utviklingssang in Columbia.

Edit: Oh, and an improv in Knoxville had the audience singing along, and in Columbia Mike conducted a primal, tribal call-and-response with the crowd which was intense and awesome.

[Steve F.]

Thymme posted that this tour was going to be extremely improvisationally based, "something we've not done before", so I was prepared for it.

Total group, non-jazz improvisation is nearly always a hit and miss (simultaneously as it goes along) type venture for me. YMMV.

I enjoyed their show last week. I hope that they don't do this all the time and I expect that they won't.

[NogbadTheBad]

Wow! OK, then, I'm glad I caught this gig as I'd have felt even more this way without the guitar and likely would have enjoyed it way less. And yes, Jeremy was fantastic! I figured he was a fixture in the band, I can't imagine the music without him. I'll check out his solo album!


Bill

If you want to checkout guitar based Rabbit Rabbit Radio you should check out their third album where they got rhythm tracks from guest guitarists and build tracks from there. Guest list:-

Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre), Nels Cline (Wilco), Mark Orton (Tin Hat, the Nebraska soundtrack), Shahzad Ismaily (Mark Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Secret Chiefs 3), Michael Mellender (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), Ava Mendoza (Unnatural Ways), Joel Hamilton (The Book of Knots, Sasha Dobson), their long-time collaborator Jon Evans (Linda Perry, Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan) and more.


https://rabbitrabbitradio.bandcamp.c...e-wooden-horse

[Steve F.]

Nice picture. LOL @ "Mrs. Sputnik"!

made me as well.

[Steve F.]

... a beautiful arrangement of Carla Bley's Utviklingssang in Columbia.

They played the Carla piece in DC. It was really great.

[Sputnik]

https://jeremyflower.bandcamp.com/album/the-real-me

Band
Carla Kihlstedt – Vocals, Violin
Jeremy Flower – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Jon Evans – Bass
Matthias Bossi – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Abby Swidler – Viola
Emily Hope Price, Elizabeth Schultze – Cello
Jeremy Udden – Saxophones
Alex Sopp – Flute, Piccolo
Sam Sadigursky – Clarinets
Louis Schwadron – French Horn
Ryan Keberle, Brian Drye – Trombone

Cool, checking this out, thanks!

If you want to checkout guitar based Rabbit Rabbit Radio you should check out their third album where they got rhythm tracks from guest guitarists and build tracks from there. Guest list:-

Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre), Nels Cline (Wilco), Mark Orton (Tin Hat, the Nebraska soundtrack), Shahzad Ismaily (Mark Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Secret Chiefs 3), Michael Mellender (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), Ava Mendoza (Unnatural Ways), Joel Hamilton (The Book of Knots, Sasha Dobson), their long-time collaborator Jon Evans (Linda Perry, Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan) and more.


https://rabbitrabbitradio.bandcamp.c...e-wooden-horse

Yeah, they played the Michael Mellender song last night. I thought it was one of the best pieces they played, though I couldn't quite tell if the segued into another song or if the piece took a very distinct turn at one point. Either way, I liked that part a lot.

Bill

[oilersfan]

https://jeremyflower.bandcamp.com/album/the-real-me

Band
Carla Kihlstedt – Vocals, Violin
Jeremy Flower – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Jon Evans – Bass
Matthias Bossi – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Abby Swidler – Viola
Emily Hope Price, Elizabeth Schultze – Cello
Jeremy Udden – Saxophones
Alex Sopp – Flute, Piccolo
Sam Sadigursky – Clarinets
Louis Schwadron – French Horn
Ryan Keberle, Brian Drye – Trombone

Yeah, one of my favorites from the past few years, regularly in rotation.

[Rick L.]

I had a nice chat with Jeff after the show. We reminisced about playing together on their last tour. We talked a out how Carla's son yelling, "Give me a dollar bill!" during Cheer-Accident's improv was eerily similar to somebody yelling, "Fuck Pittsburgh!" during my band's improv.* Jeff said the Fuck Pittsburgh incident was one of his favorite memories from that tour, which made me smile.

*We named our improv Fuck Pittsburgh, by the way.

[Sputnik]

I had a nice chat with Jeff after the show. We reminisced about playing together on their last tour. We talked a out how Carla's son yelling, "Give me a dollar bill!" during Cheer-Accident's improv was eerily similar to somebody yelling, "Fuck Pittsburgh!" during my band's improv.* Jeff said the Fuck Pittsburgh incident was one of his favorite memories from that tour, which made me smile.

*We named our improv Fuck Pittsburgh, by the way.

That was not me who yelled "fuck Pittsburgh" (I think it was the bar manager, who basically didn't shut up all night). But I did yell "Skeleton Boat!" and you played it! I think that may have been my favorite Tamandua gig.

Bill

[Steve F.]

Great review from their homies.

[Steve F.]

I had never heard of this or this story:

"Cheer-Accident were also responsible for one of the most surreal commercials to ever air during a White Sox game—a spot intended to promote their 1997 album Enduring the American Dream. A starkly underlit Libersher, filmed in tight close-up with a black-and-white Pixelvision camera, pleads with his alleged off-camera grandma to help him, using a sloppily slurred put-on voice that makes him sound as disturbing as he looks. “Help me,” he says, over and over. “I’m turning into a parrot.” Fade to black, display band name and album title . . . and then back to the baseball."

Couldn't find the advert online. If anyone has a link, please post!

[ergalthema]

I've seen the commercial, but I can't remember where - might have been in the band's subscription "Past Lives" section.

[Steve F.]

I've seen the commercial, but I can't remember where - might have been in the band's subscription "Past Lives" section.

I don't want to lift stuff from their subscription but if you've seen it - is it really as .... perplexing as the article makes it sound?

[ergalthema]

I don't want to lift stuff from their subscription but if you've seen it - is it really as .... perplexing as the article makes it sound?

Yeah, it's hard to believe it played on TV! I just went and found it - October 2013 in the subscription. Very dark (lighting-wise) and gritty. Black & white. I didn't know it was Jeff before reading yesterday's article. Basically all you see is his face with like goggles on. He's acting very creepy - like he's doing something weird out of frame... while mumbling "help... help grandma...". It's just the one shot.

[Steve F.]

Yeah, it's hard to believe it played on TV! I just went and found it - October 2013 in the subscription. Very dark (lighting-wise) and gritty. Black & white. I didn't know it was Jeff before reading yesterday's article. Basically all you see is his face with like goggles on. He's acting very creepy - like he's doing something weird out of frame... while mumbling "help... help grandma...". It's just the one shot.

Thanks for this!! Yowie.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Yowie.

Another great band right there!

[NogbadTheBad]

Hell yeah.