Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Hilary Hahn, Manfred Honeck, - Friday May 7, 2010

The top photo is the ubiquitous one that was plastered about town, sent in the mail to us subscribers and placed in the program. I assume it is the publicity photo of choice for this year. This had a couple of my friends ask if she was a Goth violinist (no, that would be Emilie Autumn, see earlier post). The second photo is not from this weekend but is similar to her look on stage on Friday. What I know from web interviews and chatting with her a couple of times after shows, a Goth projection on to her is rather hilarious (no pun intended). I do wonder about marketing classical music and music in general. Does a certain photo get more seats filled? I wonder who decides, Hilary, her publicist, Deutche Gramaphone, the PSO? She has been marketed well, sells relatively many records for these dismal record selling times, has won a Grammy or two, is one of the most recognizable classical musicians around (though that doesn't mean much these days). My youth was the end of that time when classical music still had some hold on popular culture and most people knew who Heifetz, Horowitz, Bernstein, Toscanini and Stokowski were.

I digress too much perhaps so let me address the concerto at hand. The show had but two pieces on the program (or so we thought). Hilary opened with the Sibelius Violin Concerto. I have spent countless hours listening to different recordings of this piece, which is rich in interpretive possibilities. While it is a conventional concerto in many ways with three movements, a long first one, slow second movement and virtuosic third movement, it has always struck me as an odd and interesting piece of music, Sibelius at his most romantic. Whoever decides on the marketing, it seems that Hilary was deciding on the interpretation here and Manfred Honeck and the PSO did their best to make it so. Hilary plays the first movement slower than any other violinist that I know. It does not actually come across as slow due to the intensity and incisiveness of the attacks from Hilary and the orchestra. The slowness gave it a more brooding quality, supported by Hilary's big sound. Played with precision and passion, brilliant runs and deep feeling. The big finish was perfectly coordinated, soloist, conductor and orchestra. Honeck had the dynamics of the orchestra such that the solo violin work was never lost (Sibelius does deserve some credit here as well). The middle movement was presented at a fairly normal tempo, in line with all violinists not named Heifetz or Kavakos. Again, brilliant passage work, clean and clear support from the orchestra brought things off well. Where Hilary played quietly, Honeck and the orchestra fully supported her. The quiet ending set up the fast and furious finale quite well. The orchestra opens and must set the pace. This was done with a lightness and bounce that is not typical of other performances. Hilary played the finale at Heifetz speed. Classical music experts know this as "very, very fast". Sibelius' writing and Hilary's playing at these speeds are "wow" inducing. Sometimes this movement can sound a bit clumsy or awkward if not done properly. Here it was lightness and power when needed, synced up with the soloist, Honeck and the orchestra were fabulous. The crowd was quite appreciative and Hilary gave us an encore that I did not know but believe to be a Bach piece. It may be off of her new Bach recording. This performance confirmed what I have thought for some time now about this seemingly mild mannered, erudite and soft spoken violinist. Hilary Hahn is an extremist. I could site numerous examples but won't here. I do not know why that does not seem readily apparent to others who write about her. Perhaps it is the mild manner and sweet even disposition, but do not be fooled. Of course, this extremism is in support of incredible music making and has my full support. I hope the PSO will bring her back soon, and while I am hoping, how about the Schoenberg Concerto that sold so well last year...please.

I actually was equally looking forward to the second piece on the program, Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. It is a favorite of mine, was performed here briliantly by a true Shostakovich expert, our former music director, Mariss Jansons, and has a great back story. Shostakovich was the hottest young composer in the USSR in the 1930's. His opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was playing to big crowds. The story is that Stalin then attended a performance and was appalled. Articles denouncing Shostakovich's music followed, decadent, formalist (never have been sure what that means when criticizing music), the articles written at Stalin's direction or maybe by the man himself. Perhaps this is the totalitarian version of Clinton's Sister Souljah moment. A scary time as less prominent artists were arrested, imprisoned, killed. Shostakovich did lower his profile and made overt amends. He put his Fourth Symphony in a drawer and started work on his Fifth. Just before the premier, a newpaper article atributed to Shostakovich called the symphony "a Soviet artist’s creative response to justified criticism". It is a big symphony, conventional in many respects, four movements, big opening movement, second movement scherzo, a long slow third movement and a big loud finale. The work was officially seen as an act of contrition and Shostakovich was off the hit list, at least for awhile. The question about this piece is raised by a friend of Shostakovich who published a memoir that claimed to be Dmitri's actual thoughts about this work and others. In it, Shostakovich calls this symphony and the last movement in particular, a parody of a celebratory symphony, forced rejoicing. Perhaps this does not matter, seventy years later though Jansons, who knew Shostakovich, was overtly in the parody camp when he performed this piece here. I am unable to not think on this when listening to this piece.

So what happened? Honeck performed the piece much as he has other big symphonies here. He stretched the dynamics of the piece about as far as it could go. There are great loud and soft passages so this provides great possibilities. His tempos were generally brisk in relation to other performances I know, and I think faster than Jansons here. The orchestra followed him every step of the way. The first movement had some nice touches, subtle pauses for emphasis, the violins presenting the main theme with great starkness and emotion. The climax, two thirds through was quite intense, setting up the quiet finish. That in turn set up the vulgar, over the top second movement, Andres Cardenes sweetly playing the solo violin parts. Shostakovich's slow movements are always my favorites and the slow, painful third movement was so here. The strings were quite expressive. Honek taking his time to allow the music to unfold. The climax again comes about 2/3 of the way through the movement, allowing the quiet ending to contrast with what comes next. The last movement opened big and loud and somewhat stately, then Honek put the pedal to the metal and sped up tremendously. i don't know if it is in the score but I don't recall other performances doing this. I loved it. Does this help place the Maestro in the parody camp? I expect that it does. I would like to know if he thinks it does. Again, Honek's use of dynamics and the orchestra's ability to bring it off added dimension to an already intense experience. In the midst of this loud finale are some beautifully quiet moments. Things did get loud again, with the brass and timpani making powerful statements and then we were done but for the clapping.

Or so we thought. While a soloist such as Hilary Hahn performs encores routinely, the orchestra does not. While returning for yet another bow, Manfred stepped up on the podium with a mischievous look, whirled around and started in on Khachaturian's Masquerade, a silly little bouncy bit of brilliance. This really was great fun, perhaps another reference to Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony masking his meanings? You can take this too far, I suppose but it is something to consider.

Another great night with Manfred and the orchestra. Next up, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, first weekend in June, be there!!!

Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic Orchestra, Cyrus Forough, Ronald Zollman - Thursday April 29, 2010

This concert is just the kind of show that I love. Two twentieth century pieces that are known but not often played (at least not here) and a gem for violin and orchestra from the late twentieth century that may never be played by the PSO. My friend, Herr Heine, asserts that an orchestra made up of talented undergrad and grad students, with lots of rehearsal time, can rival Americas better orchestras (though perhaps not our best). I will not argue the point as this show was a great example of what he was going on about.

Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem opened the program. Written for the 2600th anniversary of the Japanese empire by a 26 year old Britten, it was rejected by the Japanese government, ostensibly due to the use of Christian mass names for the three movements. They might also have rejected it on musical grounds as it is neither a celebratory piece nor a comforting requiem. Britten was a pacifist (even in WWII) and must have had strange feelings about writing a piece for the Japanese government that had invaded and ravaged much of Asia. The "Lacrymosa" movement, literally meaning weeping, opens with these loud, intense, abrupt, drum beats, indicating a searing pain rather than any sense of gentle weeping. The music is low in register, plodding in it's beat, producing a feeling of relentlessness, inevitability. The "Dies Irae" or Day of Wrath is a fast, intense Scherzo that becomes frenzied at moments. It is playful in a sense, with a darkness to it. The third and last movement, "Requiem Aeternum" or eternal rest, tries to reconcile the pain and wrath of the first two movements. It is slow and conciliatory, certainly not triumphant. The CMU Philharmonic presented this well. The trumpet player on this piece stood out in particular.

Witold Lutoslawski's Chain 2 for violin and orchestra came second in this program. This is the piece that I HAD to see and hear. While i have seen both of the other two pieces on this program and will likely have more opportunities in the future, the same cannot be said of Lutoslawski's masterpiece. That is a shame as I have enjoyed this piece since buying Anne-Sophie Mutter's first recording of it about twenty years ago. The piece is in four movements, composed using a technique where Lutoslawski links together successive bits, linking soloist to other instruments then back to the soloist. In parts of the piece, the conductor does not keep time but cues the start of a new bit, allowing the soloist and orchestra to sync up with some freedom. Perhaps this technical stuff does not matter. The music is quite engaging while not following typical violin concerto conventions. Cyrus Forough, a violin professor at CMU, was the soloist. He brought an intensity to this piece that is not present in the two recordings I know. This worked quite well here. He also brought off the unusual parts calling for unconventional bowing (harmonics?) techniques. The orchestra played with passion in dialogue with their professor. I was fully satisfied that I had heard a great performance of this piece. Now if Cyrus would just perform the Saariaho concerto here next year...well I can dream, can't I?

Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms is yet another masterpiece, finishing the program. Written for the Boston Symphony in 1930, it is a setting of three Psalms for chorus, sung in Latin, and an unusual instrumental ensemble. The strings consist only of the cellos and basses. This gives the piece a dark quality. Two pianos play a prominent role as the percussive instruments they are. There are woodwinds and brass though no clarinets. The instruments were set up symmetrically on stage. The music is nominally in three movements, one for each Psalm, but performed without break. The music throughout does not reflect a pristine unambivalent relationship to ourselves or our God. Unusual rhythms, strange harmonies, dark instrumentation for me captures the Old Testament person and God relationship, visceral, awesome, scary at times. Did this bunch of amateurs reveal this in the piece. I was satisfied that they did so. Robert Page prepared the chorus and they sang like you would expect, beautifully with texture and power and economy of movement.

These were thoroughly enjoyable performances. The only downer was how few people were in the audience. But we few, we lucky few were treated to a great show.

Moe Seager, Point Brugge Restaurant, Pittsburgh - Monday April 26, 2010

When I first met Moe a few years ago, I remember thinking, that is a poet. Funny given my strident anti-essentialist stance in most things. I think that means that poetry flows from him even when you're just hangin' out. Moe has been doing Jazz poetry shows in Paris for awhile and i have enjoyed some of his recordings, but this was my first chance to experience it in the flesh.

A pick-up jazz trio accompanied Moe: Hill Jordan on tenor and soprano trombones; Dave Pellow on stand up bass; Spider Rondinelli on drums. Hill and Dave did most of the soloing, with the Soprano trombone being a new instrument for me, punchy and clean. Moe performed his poems in a rhythmic sprechtstimme showing great sense of timing with these skilled musicians.



The video is fragment from a Paris performance of "Jazz Is" which Moe did perform here. Variously funny, sensual, political, spiritual - sometimes all at the same time. The loose spontaneity was great fun. Local singer/blues jazz violinist Lydia joined the guys for a few numbers, sliding right in and adding some great textures to the sound. Also joining in the free flow of music and words was Johnny Alston, former Pittsburgher now from New Mexico playing a Native American flute that had a beautiful ethereal quality. For a pick up band, they worked well together to the appreciation of the small but enraptured crowd. I felt like I was transported back in time to some kind of alternative beat universe when the beat poets and jazz musicians helped shock our country out of the horrors of the fifties.

Viva Monsieur Seager

Adrian Belew - Club Cafe, Pittsburgh - Friday April 23, 2010

This is a picture of Adrian with his custom Parker guitar. His show at the intimate Club Cafe was billed as a one man electric show "Painting with Guitar". Adrian's Elephant blog entry explains this:
http://elephant-blog.blogspot.com/2010/04/about-painting-with-guitar.html
I explain it by saying "Boys and their toys". What great toys and what great music he produces with them. He has been downsizing his setup but with new technology, he has more options with this sleek setup. This show really was like hanging with Adrian, very casual and loose. He stopped twice to take questions and chat with the standing room audience.

Adrian opens with a Bears' song "Doodle". Poppy with some fiendish guitar. With a pained look, he stated that he wished he had never written the next song, because it is so hard to play. Nailed it. "Walk Around the World" is from his album Side One. He called the next song "Variation of Wave Pressure" from an Einstein quote. At one point he looped a complicated guitar figure and sang the Subway 5 dollar footlong jingle over it, claiming they stole it from him. One long instrumental included a long "within You, Without You" section, showing off his Sitar effect setting. He shared that Jeff Beck is his favorite guitarist, which makes sense given their similar staccato, fragmentary, disjointed styles. he met Jeff Beck after a King Crimson show that Beck had attended. When they went to shake hands, Beck instead rubbed his forearm against Adrian's (wanting that skill to rub off). Adrian played about 11 songs, one just written a few days ago called "Eurrail Pass" about his travels in Europe years ago. Stories about gear, Zappa and his paintings were interesting. And the guitar playing is as good as it gets.

In updating us on his three bands, Adrian shared that the Bears will do music as he and the guys have enough music to put out an album. Given that the other Bears have real jobs, they will stay mostly a studio band. The Power Trio (go see them if you haven't, if you have, you will want to see them again) will tour Europe later this year and the states again next year. King crimson is on a break but Belew expressed confidant hope that they will play again, just waiting on Robert. Adrian and Robert have always seemed like such an odd pair to make such phenomenal music together, Adrian being so engaging with the audience while Robert minimizes his presence to just the music. Perhaps that difference helps bring them together (and the musical sensibilities).

I am looking forward to my next encounter with Adrian as he is just starting to figure out his new toys as a new and more complex palette can only be a good thing for this restless genius.

Wilco - Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland - April 11, 2010

I had given up on going to this show after having snoozed when the tickets went on sale. I then looked up some of the set lists earlier in the tour and was amazed at these crazy, long shows they were doing. So I persisted and found tickets just days before the show. And I am glad I did.

Sometimes I give a song by song account but 37 songs (not a typo) are too many to discuss. Wilco (the song) from Wilco (the album) was the opening song by Wilco (the band) after the theme music from the Price is Right accompanied the band's entrance. Yes humor does belong at this show. Great song and a prototype for the show. Catchy tunes, accessible with lots of flourishes, little and big from Nels Cline. I first saw Wilco at the 3 Rivers Arts Festival at a free show in 2003 (I have a magnificent live recording of the show made by the great local taper, Alex Heard, let me know if you would like a copy). When they returned to the 3 Rivers Arts Fest the next year, I believe it was their first show after frontman Jeff Tweedy finished rehab and the first live show with Nels. I remember thinking that Tweedy is a great guitarist in his own right and wondered why they needed this new guy. Well, it turns out that Nels is outstanding, famous in his own right among guitar afficianados and perhaps the most economical guitarist around. What I mean by that is, within the confines of these short, 3 to 7 minute songs, Nels adds little runs throughout and solos, some concise and some luxurious and magnificent like in "Impossible Germany". Cline can play clean and conventional solos as well as seriously dissonant feedback flourishes. The rest of the band are not pikers either. John Stirratt plays a solid, mostly underneath bass. Glen Kotchie plays some complicated drum parts, showing of particularly on "I am Trying to Break Your Heart" with it's loose percussive opening. Pat Sansone is the multi-instrumentalist that adds versatility to the band, including at times a Sonic Youth like guitar fuzz wall of sound. Mikail Jorgenson plays some great keyboards, stepping out front with regularity with a bluesy and rock'n'roll style (though I believe he slipped a little melotron in there as well).

They mixed up the songs well representing their entire history. They ran through 14 songs including mixing in a lot of new material with familiar songs including "Handshake Drugs", "California Stars" and "Impossible Germany" back to back to back. As song 14 was winding down in a dissonant wall of sound, the melancholy "Poor Places", the crew invaded the stage with lamps, a pared down drum kit, a simple keyboard setup and acoustic guitars. Spiders(Kidsmoke) emerged from this transformation. This and the next seven songs were performed from this front of stage setup. The audience was not necessarily in sync with the band. Jeff Tweedy stated the obvious after Spiders, that this is a quieter part of the show, adding that that means "we can hear you talking". He dedicated the next song "More Like the Moon" to people in the audience (like me) who don't have 50 bucks to throw away by not paying attention. "War on War" and "Forget the Flowers" were highlights of the intimate set. The stage was transformed back during "Passenger Side" and "Airline to Heaven", the third song with Woody Guthrie lyrics that they performed this night. Another 12 songs followed before the encores. This included the "Jesus Etc." singalong, a raucous "Heavy Metal Drummer" and the dinner coupon giveaway. There really were too many highlights to highlight all of the. Suffice it to say, they moved from pinnacle to peak. A rocking "Casino Queen" was the first encore, yes Wilco can rock pretty hard when they decide to. "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" and "I'm a Wheel" finished things off in satisfying fashion. Thirty seven songs, about three hours of music and high-jinks.

This was my fourth Wilco show, all have been excellent, this one the best yet.

Outstanding!!!

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Hough, Yan Pascal Tortelier- April 9, 2010

Two familiar composers wrote the two pieces on this program. One piece, Tchaikovsky's Second Piano Concerto, is a major piece of music written by a perennially popular composer that has NEVER been played by the PSO. Tchaikovsky's first Piano Concerto has been wildly popular since it's premier over 135 years ago. It was savagely criticized by Nikolai Rubinstein, powerful Russian pianist and conservatory director. Then he began playing it when it became extremely popular. Tchaikovsky wanted him to play the second one (capitalizing on guilt?) but he died before that happened. However, he did render some mild criticism, that it was over long and episodic. I did this long winded intro because what interests me is that the second one seems more obviously open to stinging critique while the first is so obviously enjoyable.

The kicker here is that this long neglected piece, which is a mess, a wild, unbalanced, out of control, thoroughly enjoyable mess, was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. And the audience was caught up in it enough they applauded after the first movement (shocking, I know). They gave it a huge ovation at the end of the piece. A big part of this is certainly that Stephen Hough brought it off with intensity, brilliance and flair. So why did it take 135 years to play this here. Other composers have written more than one piano concertos where one is wildly popular and still had the others played at least a bit. Ah the mysteries of show biz.

Another Russian, Sergei Prokofiev, wrote the piece on the second half of the program. Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony is one of seven and probably the best regarded. He is quoted as saying that it is "a symphony about the grandeur of the human spirit". It's hard to know what to say about something like that. The first movement opens quietly, builds, ebbs and flows and is a great example of the smooth, lyrical flowing Prokofiev. At least, for Prokofiev, the human spirit has some variety and lightness to it. Tortelier played with this variety well, building to a big climax by the end of the movement, the brass parts big, full and grand (the audience applauded again, twice in one evening, are the times changing?). The second movement, fleet, interwoven with lots of delicate touches. I love the clarinet parts as well as the prominent piano bits. This movement does remind me of the ballet composer Prokofiev without quoting himself directly. I don't know if this has been choreographed but I can picture the dancers in my head. While grandeur is not the word I would use for this movement, I am fine with the human spirit part. The long adagio third movement again places dancers in my head, now it is either Juliet or Cinderella in their thoughtful, wistful moments. The last movement starts with a quiet prelude that gives way to the opening theme which will also closes the movement. This theme is busy and propulsive. Lyricism returns in the middle of the movement though the frenetic figure is never far away. Among the many choices to make here, I was thinking about Tortelier's decision to emphasize intensity and the frenetic brilliance of the end of this movement. At one point, this repetitive figure takes over powerfully then most of the orchestra falls away until just a few instruments continue frantically. The orchestra wells up again for the big finish. It is an odd and distinctive end to the symphony. Tortelier and the orchestra brought this off with brilliance and intensity, quite impressive.

Prokofiev did write seven symphonies which makes him a serious 20th century symphonist. I especially like 1 and 5 through 7. However, I think of Prokofiev at his best in his ballet music and his concertos. I have long thought that he had not ever figured out symphonies despite his persistence. However, in discussing this with Herr Heine after the show, his take was that this was about Prokofiev's ambivalence about the form rather than a lack of skill. I like that.

Relache - Saturday April 3, 2010 - Andy Warhol Museum

Relache is a new music classical chamber group out of Philadelphia. Though they have been around awhile, this was my first encounter with them. Their press states that they have been around for 25 years and that they have had a variety of members and configurations. At this show, however, they were an 8 piece ensemble and a rather unusual one at that. The string players, viola and double bass, generally lose out to the violin and cello for choice parts, not here with nary a violin or cello in sight. Add four woodwinds (flute/piccolo; oboe/english horn; clarinet/sax and bassoon), keyboards and drums/percussion and you have Relache. All of the pieces performed were written for Relache and for this unusual configuration.

Eric Moe wrote Eight Point Turn, a twelve minute piece that seemed part jazz (drummer sitting behind a drum kit as rock/jazz drummers do) part neo-classical (I was reminded of Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale). A rather insistent, propulsive rhythm moved the piece along, accessible immediately to my ears, light but quite enjoyable.

David Mahler, a Pittsburgher like Eric Moe, wrote Scenes of Sacred Peace and Pleasure, which draws on David's love of early American folk songs and spirituals. I know of this because Julia has been singing three-part acapella arrangements of folk and early American songs with david and his wife Julie for the past couple of years. This piece uses 14 folk songs in a variety of forms and conflagrations. While I did not recognize the names of the songs listed in the program, the tunes were all familiar. Though it started playing things straight, Mahler then mish mashed the melodies together in Ivesian fashion, with things happening on top of each other then moving back toward simplicity at the end. I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially the reminiscence of Ives (or even another favorite of mine, Schnittke, though without the anxiety).

Kyle Gann's Venusfinished the first half of the program. This is part of Gann's own Planets suite ala Holst (see my last post). In the notes, he contrasts his Planets of "Free Will" astrology with Holst's traditional view. I probably need to hear this again (or the whole piece) to get his point. This piece was again accessible, had some interesting rhythms, was rather light and static overall.

Paul Lansky's Comix Tripsopened the second half with light hearted whimsical music based upon comics Peanuts, Captain Marvel, Alfred E. Newman and Little Orphan Annie. I enjoyed this piece as well though I was listening for more contrast among the four parts as the four choices seem to have been chosen in part due to being quite different comic strips.

Guy Klucevsek is new to me. Three selections from a larger piece called Wings/Prayerclosed out the show. Tangocide came first. This has a caberet, klezmer sound, witty, light and fun with great clarinet bits. Still Life with Canon has a very different mood, slow and somber with prominent oboe and bassoon parts, nicely interwoven. Dance bounces along nicely, similar in mood to the first piece, finishing with a flourish.

Five pieces, all with this odd instrumentation, enjoyable, easy on the ears (who said new classical music had to be alienating). Relache were impressive in their delivery. Again I am thinking about the similarities and differences with popular music. The audience conventions are so very different. I wish the two could get the best of each other. I almost always wish audiences at popular music shows would actually be quiet and pay attention to the musicians. On the other hand, Classical audiences could relax a bit though I do like the rapt attention.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - Saturday March 20, 2010 -

I have been thinking about transgression since seeing Trey Anastasio's induction speech of Genesis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week. He gave some great examples of the wonderful transgressions that Genesis committed over the years (a hit single "Turn It On Again" written in 13/4 time for example). Berlioz was also a great transgressor. He was self taught. That must be why he really doesn't sound like anyone else except himself. He wrote strange large scale pieces that did not fit conventional categories. Even his most famous piece, the Symphonie Fantastique is not a conventional symphony with it's programatic story of unrequited love, drug overdoses and a witches' sabbath. The piece played at this concert is Harold in Italy. A typically atypical Berlioz piece. Commissioned to write a Viola Concerto by Paganini, Berlioz writes this not-a-concerto, sort-of-symphony with solo viola parts that clearly would not satisfy the notoriously show boating Paganini.

What makes this a great rather than just a good story is that after Paganini refused to play the piece because it was not virtuoso enough, he heard it performed. He then sent Berlioz 20,000 francs because he was so impressed. And now, 176 years after it was written, this strange piece is still being played in Pittsburgh, PA. Randolph Kelly, the long-time Pittsburgh Symphony principal violist, played the solo part. A solo piece that does not call for virtuosity presents it's own issues for a soloist. Kelly stayed within the piece quite well with excellent accompaniment from Yan-Pascal Tortelier and the orchestra. The delicate harp part in the first movement was quite beautiful and the big climaxes quite satisfying. The two inner movements, smaller in scale, set up the finale. I particularly enjoyed the third movement's bouncy folk tunes and great English horn part. The finale was properly dramatic (is properly really the right word there?) and a bit out of control, as Berlioz should be.

The second piece of this two piece program was Gustav Holst's The Planets. Here I have to admit that I had let myself get a skewed idea about Holst. Too many sci-fi movies and I started thinking about Holst in terms of the many film composers that stole from him, sometimes so directly that it realy is just a quote. The Planets is no longer under copyright law. I did find myself noting during the performance places where I have heard Holst ripped off. I have to credit my friend Marcus for getting me to this show, based on his unreserved love of Holst's piece.

Somehow I had gotten it in my head that Holst had written this much later than he had. This seems to fit into my denigrating of the piece. Realizing this was written from 1914-1916 puts it in a different perspective. English classical music was just emerging from obscurity with Elgar and Vaughn Williams leading the way. Those two used much more conventional and familiar forms, symphonies, concertos etc... In this way, Holst seems much like Berlioz in the choices of the forms used in his composing.

But how was the performance? Quite brilliant. Mars, the bringer of war was intense and built to an overwhelming climax. But Holst's Planets are more than just loud climaxes, as Bill Cabalero showed with his beautiful and restrained horn solos to start the Venus section. Yan-Pascal's conducting and the orchestra's playing highlighted the great variety in the seven movements (Holst left out the Earth and now that Pluto isn't a planet anymore, he's no longer behind the times). Individual members of the PSO stood out throughout the piece. Andres Cardenes was beautiful in the solo violin parts. I did find myself flashing in my brain to movie and TV (mostly sc-fi) composers that have borrowed or outright stole from Gustav.

Other highlights included the entire brass section in Jupiter, loud, clear and brilliant. The old age portrayed in Saturn was not scary but gentle and rather comforting (perhaps wishful thinking back in 1916, though perhaps the war made old age particularly alluring). The harps and wordless chorus in Neptune the mystic were ethereal and appropriately mystical.

Another great show for the PSO. Renewing my acquaintance with this piece that I had ignored for so long was quite a treat.

Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk - Tuesday March 2, 2010 - Heinz Hall - Pittsburgh, PA

I do not remember the last time I saw a violin recital in Pittsburgh. So it was quite a treat to see a great violinist right here in my hometown. Joshua Bell IS a great one and his partner for the evening seems worth getting to know as well. The vicissitudes of classical music collecting is such that a serious collector will get a recording of their favorite pieces, then another of the same piece for comparison as it is all about interpretation. Eventually you have multiple recordings of your favorites and it is hard for new artists to get your attention. Do I really want Josh Bell's Mendelssohn concerto when I have Heifetz, Menuhin, Perlman, Milstein, Ricci, Mutter and Hahn doing it? This is a long winded way of saying that a young violinist has to do something to get my attention in order to buy their recordings. You can do it with interesting couplings or new and unusual repertoire, but a new recording of the Mendelssohn and Bruch concertos is probably not ending up on my shelf. So I know Josh Bell through his recordings of Corigliano, Nicolas Maw, Walton and Barber. However, he has made his name in the standard repertoire and recordings of little tasty bits of violin music that go down easy or work well as background music.

I don't say these things as a put down, but to put his career choices in some context, particularly in reference to this recital. Here was a recital that says, we are doing some serious music tonight, four substantial pieces with a brief, light encore. I am curious about their decision to do this and quite happy that they did.

The time span of these pieces is about two hundred years. The oldest piece, Bach's 4th violin and keyboard sonata. I have to admit here that this is the only piece on the program I don't know (or own own a recording). The Bach violin and keyboard pieces just are not held in the same high regard as his solo violin sonatas and partitas. After hearing this piece, I can't say I am in any hurry to get into them. Perhaps it was the performance (and I did feel they were out of sync at times) or perhaps it is a rather slight piece of music but it (performance, piece or both) did not grab me. Grieg's Third violin Sonata did grab me. Grieg is known now for really just two things, his Peer Gynt music and his piano concerto. This piece is a late piece, substantial (over 20 minutes) and quite dramatic. Bell and Denk seemed to underline the drama in a major way. I felt at times that it might be too dramatic but that may be my familiarity with a less dramatic interpretation. I especially liked the first movements building to climaxes (which happens through the movement).

The second half opened with the Schumann first Violin Sonata. I haven;t listened to Schumann much lately and this reminded me that I do like his music. Despite Schumann's tragic mental health problems, his music has a pleasantness, lightness to it. Even this piece, which is a relatively late one has the Schumann lightness that I find so appealing. I enjoyed the interpretation, even more than the Grieg. This duo had an interesting stage presence. Bell, seemingly oblivious to all else (though I assume his ears were paying attention), stretching his body at times, his left foot flat but right one only touching the floor with his toe, as if reaching out for something. Denk was extremely vigilant and attentive, head cocked to watch Bell and stay in his groove with him.

Schumann's piece was written in 1851 and the Grieg in 1886. Despite the thirty five years difference, they definitely inhabit the same sound world, romantic, tonal, dissonances all resolved. Maurice Ravel's Violin and Piano Sonata was written in the 1920's. Forty years after Grieg, Ravel's piece, right from the outset, reveals itself as from a different sound world. In form, it shares the conventional three movement structure with the Schumann and Grieg. One difference that comes to mind for me is that the Ravel is not so clearly on it's way somewhere. It does not seem quite so linear. While not all Ravel is this way, the Violin Sonata has a somewhat disturbing quality that I love in my favorite Ravel music (Bolero and La Valse come to mind, though with less subtlety). The opening movement's moments of simple beauty punctuated with little dissonances and perturbations. The flow and interplay between Bell and Denk was well done. The middle "Blues" movement had some nice swing to it. Again, the lightness mixed with little disturbances captured well by this duo. The last movement is one of those in which the violin gets moving and doesn't really slow down. In fact it is marked "Perpetuum Mobile: Allegro". The piano provides support but this is really the violin's show. Bell played this with seemingly no difficulties and a good bit of flair.

The encore was a slight but enjoyable Kreisler piece after the style of Dvorak. I assume it is one of the many pieces that Kreisler wrote but programed as if it had been written by Dvorak or whomever. I always chuckle that he apparently got away with this for quite a while.

i was not sure about this concert being held in Heinz Hall. It is a big place for a violin to project within. However, Joshua Bell's sound projected quite well to where I was sitting (front of the Family Circle upstairs). He has a big sound that is a must for this to work in Heinz Hall. The crowd was enthusiastic though I would estimate that the hall was only half full. I hope that was enough to have more of these kinds of shows. I don't know how the economics of this works.

In summary, great show by great musicians. A treat for me who loves violin music. The program was well chosen (minus the Bach). If I can indulge myself in one complaint, the program biographies bothered me. I realize that Josh Bell is the headliner and most people, even me who tries to keep up with classical music, don't know Jeremy Denk. However, do you really need to gush about the "breadth and daring choices of repertoire", then list standard repertoire, movie soundtracks, and crossover bits. Anne-Sophie Mutter, Jennifer Koh, Leila Josefowicz and Gidon Kremer are daring, Bell is not. He IS great at what he does. The list of things Jeremy Denk has done reveals that HE is the daring one, with lots of modern pieces in his repertoire. I will be on the look out for some of his recordings.

Eric Clapton, with Roger daltrey - Thursday February 25, 2010 - mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa

Eric Clapton has been around a long time now. I first saw him in the mid seventies, about 35 years ago. Since that time, he got himself clean and sober (since 1987) and has gotten quite comfortable in his own skin. Memory is a funny thing so I won't pretend to be able to describe in detail the Clapton shows I saw at that time. I do remember two shows with George Terry as the other guitarist and one with Albert Lee. My clearest recollections are of a show in Huntington, West Virginia where myself and some intrepid travelers from Ohio University got pretty close on the floor at this general admission concert.

I bring these old memories to the fore because the shows in which I have seen Clapton this decade, 2004 in Columbus and 2008 at the Blossom Music Center have impressed me greatly, probably even more than the shows in the 70's. Both shows this decade had Doyle Bramhall on second guitar with him. I also had the luck to catch a random Clapton appearance in Columbus when he stepped out for three songs with his old friend Jimmy Vaughn in 2006.

So this show was unique for me in that it was the first time I have seen Clapton without another guitarist to partner with. This is the first tour since 1997 that Clapton has toured without a second (or third) guitarist with him. Clapton has remained stubborn in preparing and touring a set show each tour with little or no variation in the set list. Even the Rolling Stones have allowed themselves some flexibility on their last two tours, but not Eric. I do wonder how it might change what he is up to if he would allow himself some spontaneity. So this year, Clapton may play 50 shows but only 25 different songs. Contrast this with an extreme example, Phish in 2009 played a bit over 50 shows and over 200 different songs.

"Goin' Down Slow" opened the show, an old blues song written in 1941 by Jimmy Oden. While he might be going down slow, but it is actually an up tempo blues song. I liked this for an opener, Clapton doing a tasteful but not extravagant guitar solo. "Key to the Highway" come next. Two old blues songs to start the show, I'm O.K. with that. "Key to the Highway" is associated with Charles Segar and Big Bill Broonzy and first turned up on recordings in the early 40's. Clapton first did it on his only Derek and the Domino's studio album which features he and Duane Allman trading some blistering licks. Here it is relatively short with Eric opening it up just a bit more than the first song. Another Derek song, "Tell the Truth", written by Bobby Whitlock and Clapton came next. I should say, this and Key are old favorites of mine and always a treat to hear. Eric brings a bit more intensity here and, I should have mentioned earlier, is in good voice. One of the big differences with Clapton in his later years is that he has gained confidence and style in his singing such that he really can reach back on the blues numbers and bring something from deep within. This song builds again in intensity, bringing a bit more than the last. More blues follows with "Old Love", a song Clapton wrote with Robert Cray and Eric Patrick. Here, in the forth song Clapton delivers a blistering solo, a slow build, beautifully constructed, climaxing with some quick and smooth licks. Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" had an interesting little intro that I had not heard Clapton use before. Clapton's version of this song has not changed much over the years and is always enjoyable to hear. Again, this builds to a great climax and ends the first part of Clapton's show.

The now expected sit down part of the show. Clapton has been doing this now for a number of years. Chairs and acoustic guitars are brought out on stage. Clapton's acoustic playing is quite beautiful, the tone full and rich. Another 1940's blues number, "Driftin' Blues" credited to Charles Brown, Johnny Moore and Eddie Williams came next. This is another long time favorite of Clapton's and a wonderful example of slow acoustic blues. "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", more old blues, this time from the 1920's written by Jimmy Cox. Another slow number, this time with the band joining in. More beautiful acoustic blues. "Running on Faith" is kind of a pop blues number, sung in heart felt fashion by Clapton.

The electric guitar returns, chair put away for another day, but this last part of the show starts with the popiest song of the evening, "I've Got a Rock and Roll Heart". I don't know if it was written for Clapton, but he had a hit single with it in the 80's. He and George Harrison wrote "Badge" together for Cream in the 60's. Eric has probably played this at every show since that time. The lyrics are rather opaque ah, but that bridge guitar riff is classic. It turns out that the name of the song came from a misreading of George's poor handwriting, Badge for Bridge. What is cool about that is that the bridge IS what is most striking about the song. Clapton later added the "Where is my badge" lyric and has done it that way for many years. The lyrical guitar part did not disappoint. "Little Queen of Spades" is another old blues number, this one written by the great Robert Johnson. For me this was the highlight of the show. Walt Richmond and Chris Stainton on piano and organ (not sure which was which) both played extended solos, showing off their talents with Eric climaxing the song with his most extended soloing of the night. Again, while Clapton is not an innovative guitarist, his lyricism, phrasing, musicality and alility to build a solo to a brilliant climax were on full display in this song. "Before You Accuse Me" is an uptempo blues song from the fifties written by Bo Diddley. This is one I didn't know and thoroughly enjoyed, more hot guitar licks. Clapton must love "Wonderful Tonight" though I never have. It is quite popular though and a crowd pleaser. Here it also serves as a respite between moments of intensity. I must say, the guitar solo was heartfelt and well done. The set closes with a rousing version of J.J. Cale's "Cocaine", long associated with Clapton. He gets to show off some rock and roll power chords and whips the crowd into a frenzy. The single song encore was another Robert Johnson song, long associated with Clapton since his Cream days, "Crossroads". This is not the blistering fast version immortalized on Cream's Wheels of Fire album. This version was more mid tempo but giving Eric ample opportunity to get in some last blues licks.

I was surprised that this was only a 90 minute show as I was expecting a full two hours. The fifteen songs were well done and the show had a good flow, alternating between moments of intensity and reflection. I must say that I do like Eric better with another guitarist. This may not be so much that Clapton plays better with another guitarist pushing him a bit but that he has always picked great guitarists to play with him. He also has always been ok with other guitarists fully showing what they have got. My only real complaint then is that I wanted more. I did like the heavy leaning on the blues, ten of the fifteen songs. Eric does seem happy to please himself with his sets these days, that is probably a good thing.

Roger Daltrey was the opening act. He has been excoriated in the press and on blogs regarding the Super Bowl performance. There is no defending it except to say that the whole idea of trotting out a musical act for a twelve minute show is dumb anyway. The only one I remember ever really liking was the Prince show, whenever that was. I did not have high expectations for Daltrey, as much as i love his Who work. I was surprised at how much I liked his brief 45 minute ten song set. It was a treat to hear "I Can See For Miles" as the Who has largely neglected this over the years. I had never seen it in the 5 Who shows I have seen. "The Real Me" is another Who favorite of mine and it came across surprisingly well, with the famous bass runs nicely in place. Daltrey stretched a bit with three non-Who songs, "Days of Light", "freedom Ride" (that he mentioned in connection with the great Taj Mahal), and "give Me a Stone". I liked these a lot, especially "Freedon Ride". "Real Good Looking Boy" is a somewhat obscure recent Who song, Pete Townshend's old guy homage to a young Elvis Presley. "I'm a Man" is a Bo Diddley song the Who covered on their first album, way back in 1965 (Muddy Waters also did a version of this). A brief truncated "My Generation blues" flowed into Mose Allison's "young Man Blues" made famous by the Who's Live at Leeds version. It was the same intense arrangement. This was the only place where I felt they lost their way a bit but the two guitarists got it together with some power chords and wild riffs. Pete Townshend's famous and these days ubiquitous "Baba O'Riley" finished the show, pleasing this crowd of mostly long ago teenagers singing about teenage wasteland.

Daltrey has never been a guy with much range and he has made up for this with power. He may not have the power he had in the seventies but I thought he acquited himself well in this set.

I would like to dedicate this post to Jim Miller, who died of a sudden heart attack while at this show. He loved live music and saw/heard lots of great things in his too short 54 years.

St. Vincent - Sunday February 21, 2010 - Diesel Nite Club, Pittsburgh, PA

It is hard these days to do new things in the world of popular music (popular used in a very broad sense). St. Vincent seems to have achieved this, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. While I will mention some reference points, I do want to underline how unique and refreshing was this show.

I went to this show relatively cold and I will assume you don't know this music either. Let me first describe: Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent)- Tall, thin, pale, striking dark curly hair, somewhat ethereal voice though with confidence and power; Evan Smith - sax, flute and clarinet variously ethereal and punchy on sax; Daniel Hart - mostly violin and some guitar, some backing vocals - no real virtuoso soloing, moody, floating above; Bill Flynn - lively, punchy but underneath; Anthony Lamarca - drums, solid and quick to shift gears, time signatures. The band, I assume through lots of recent touring, is tight, turns on a dime, delivers a wide range of sounds, moods through their unusual instrumentation.

St. Vincent is a study in contrast and contradictions, done with great engagement and creativity. Ethereal flute and violin figures interrupted by brittle, distorted electric guitar; strong and waif-like; singing "help me" or "save me from what I want", without conveying any sense that she needs help or saving. Songs start with delicacy and rise to big, loud, distorted crescendos.

I do want to mention what a fan I am of expertly distorted electric guitars. I have heard and seen many of the great ones, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Larry Coryell, Tom Verlaine, Trey Anastasio, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Jeff Tweedy and Nils Cline. St. Vincent I gladly add to this venerable list. Her sound experiments are an integral part of her music, at times pounding her fist on the body of her guitar to get the desired effect/sound. While moments of this show recalled some of the punchy, wind, percussed sound of some Zappa or that obscure Fripp band, the League of Gentlemen, none of it sounded derivative, but rather fresh and new. With all of the music I see, new can be quite fun (Andrew bird is the other discovery from last year that goes in that category, thanks to Julia).

Highlights tonight were the beautiful, delicate, solo St. Vincent cover of Jackson Browne's These Days. Save Me From What I Want and Marrow, I find particularly alluring. Though I must say that I was engaged by the entire show and plan to explore St. Vincent's music with great interest and will not miss her when in town or close by.

Diesel is turning out to be a venue I like a lot. I saw a great Belew Power Trio show there last year. At this show, the sound was good, clean and capturing the sometimes delicate textures while also delivering power when needed. St. Vincent's light show added nicely to the performance.

Laura Motchalov, Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Loh - Saturday February 20, 2010

I recently met Laura Motchalov through a mutual friend. When she told me she was performing the Shostakovich First Violin Concerto with the Youth Symphony, I had to attend. I love Shostakovich and I love violin concertos, how could I resist. Seriously, this concerto is the most recent concerto that can be called standard repertoire (though you could argue for Bernstein's Seranade, I don't think it is quite there yet). Most solo violinists now record the Shostakovich First and the major orchestras are not too afraid to program it. Even our beloved, conservative PSO is doing it next year with Leila Josefowicz.

The PYSO is made up primarily of High School musicians with a few college underclasspersons mixed in. Lawrence Loh is in charge of the orchstra and also Resident Conductor for the PSO. Laura is in the Second Violin section of the PSO and also plays with the local new music group, IonSound. Mr. Loh, talking before the performance, stated that he gave Ms. Motchalov carte blanche to choose a piece, and I and quite happy she choose this one.

The PYSO opened with Shostakovich's Festive Overture. I believe this was the kind of music that the Soviets wanted Dmitri to write. It is short, a little bombastic, and actually Festive. The PYSO played it with gusto. I was having a little thought experiment about what if Copland and Shostakovich had been switched at birth. Copland, under less overt pressure, created music that really celebrated America. Shostakovich, under great pressure to celebrate, often seemed to be mourning his country.

That brings us to the First Violin Concerto. The story about the concerto is quite revealing about the concerto. Shostakovich kept the piece unplayed for many years until Stalin died and he felt it was safe to have it played in public. It is exactly the kind of piece that they did NOT want Dmitri writing. Two long slow movements, each followed by fast, biting, over the top wild music. In the opening movement, the sounds were muted, which emphasized the symphonic element of the movement. This isn't exactly an orchestra piece with violin obbligatto as the violin p[art is too important and prominent. Still there really are no virtuoso elements to it. Slowly the solo violin weaves it's way in and around the orchestra, playing with rather than in opposition. This must present challenges in sustaining a somber mood through about 12 minutes of music. Laura, Mr. Loh and the orchestra did this well. Nothing hurried about it but with good concentration.

The Second, scherzo movement, changes mood immediately with these rhythmic bursts from the solo violin. This builds in speed and intensity until it becomes wild, playful, sarcastic. I expect that Stalin particularly would have hated the juxtaposition of the somber with sarcastic. Laura's violin work was nicely playful in this movement, fleet and lively.

For me, it is the Third movement that is the crux of the piece. Here the somberness of the first movement becomes out and out mournful. Even with the distractions which come with this type of concert, such as the little guy across the aisle banging on his armrest with his Spiderman action figure (at least it was in time with the music), this performance was quite moving. I felt overwhelmed by it for a few moments. A great live performance can do that in a way that even a great recording can't really capture.

The violin cadenza that bridges the Third and Fourth Movements is the longest cadenza that I know. It also really does advance the musical argument of the piece. It finishes the Third movement and slowly works it's way toward the last movement, called Burlesque by Shostakovich. The soloist does get to show off a bit in the cadenza and Laura showed off quite well.

Going from mournful to Burlesque is quite a trick, Shostakovich takes a full four and a half minutes for the Cadenza to accomplish this. Then we are off to the races, the violin needing to be fleet, bouncy and powerful often all at the same time. Laura brought this off, often with a good bit of flair. Again, the juxtaposition of the third and Fourth movements is powerful. This Burlesque, while certainly fun, is over the top in its frivolousness, just what the Soviets didn't order. Thoroughly enjoyable. The PYSO supported Laura and followed Maestro Loh well.

I do enjoy seeing a student orchestra when they play as well as this group does. The differences between them and a top orchestra are vast. This helps remind me what an accomplishment it is to do what great orchestras do. The PYSO did present the music such that I could enjoy it. That is quite a accomplishment and some of these musicians will surely go on to musical careers.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin - Friday February 19, 2010

I was surprised when I sat down with my program that the Mason Bates piece Liquid Interface was the major work, in terms of length, on this program. After the literal half measure taken earlier this year in programing Danielpour's Zorastrian Riddles, they program two new works in their entirety as the centerpiece between two crowd pleasers.

Leonard Slatkin noted that the theme of this show could be four generations of American composers. Bernstein, the second generation represented here, came first on the program with Three Danse Episodes fromOn The Town. This is Bernstein at his most jazzy and accessible. This was originally music for Broadway after all. I made a flip remark to Markus before the show that his is not Bernstein at his best. I like Bernstein's more serious music, the Chichester Psalms, the Serenade, the symphonies. But Bernstein was good a writing music that straddled different worlds, so I should cut him some slack for these pieces. My worry, or frequent complaint, with this kind of music is about the orchestra being able to produce what I think the composer was going for, In this case, Swing is the key. I really should not have worried about the PSO and Slatkin. Perhaps as this music gets older in relation to the orchestra, that just isn't an issue. Could just be a good collaboration. The music was light, flexible, and fun as it should be for these pieces.

Mason Bates came next with his thirty minute Liquid Interface. This was my first encounter with Bates live (discounting DJ Masonic on Wednesday), and while I listened to some short classical pieces on the internet, almost my first encounter at all. This is programmatic music, ala Debussy and Srauss. The piece, though referencing liquid, is actually about water in all of it's forms. Water is the only substance on Earth that naturally exists in solid, liquid and gaseous forms. The piece starts with glaciers cracking (with sounds sampled from Daniel Grossman's recordings of actual glaciers). This is all accessible music, reminiscent at times of John Adams second generation minimalist music. The second part, sort of a scherzo, moved faster and included more of Mason's live electronica contributions, very non-orchestra kind of sounds, clicks, pops representing water droplets. The third movement is called Crescent City, a New Orleans nickname that was new to me. This connects up with the power of water in the form of a hurricane. It connects with the city through New Orleans Jazz sounds, moving in and around the rest of the music. I could not tell how much of he jazz, if any was sampled and how much played live. This was definitely my favorite part of the piece as I liked the mix of different elements. This build to a climax that became the sounds of the hurricane delivered electronically. The last movement is sort of a coda as the climax is definitely past. This is supposed to represent water evaporating, becoming gas, lighter than air. This makes sense musically and artistically and even emotionally as you may not want to leave us destroyed by a hurricane. It does remind me of the pitfalls of ending a symphonic piece quietly. Just as Brahms Third symphony probably gets less of a ovation than it deserves, audiences do react to where they are when a piece ends. I myself want to hear more from Mr. Bates. He kept my attention and the 30 minutes did not seem like 30 minutes to me.

I am only mildly interested in Richard Danielpour's music as what I had heard prior to this show was well constructed, enjoyable but I did not really engage with it. The third piece on the program and the third generation represented at this show was Danielpour's Pastime. This was his homage to three Negro League Baseball players, Josh Gibson, Jackie Robinson and Henry Aaron. The lyrics were adapted from poems by Michael Harper. Danielpour spoke before the piece was performed and spoke of his own love of baseball, his stint as a batboy for the Atlanta Braves and feeling mentored by Henry Aaron during that time. Perhaps all of those things made this a more engaging piece for me. Perhaps my own love of baseball as a kids and my strong memory of seeing Henry Aaron hit a homerun against my team the Cinncinati Reds at Crosly Field in the late sixties. Baritone Gregg Baker, a mountainous African American singer, delivered the words beautifully. He was a striking figure, towering over Leonard Slatkin even with Mr. Slatkin on the raised podium. I am also not always engaged by vocal classical music but on this occasion, I found the performance quite moving, the most emotionally satisfying part of the evening.

Gershwin was the first generation represented and the last one on this program. His An American in Paris was certainly the best known piece on the program. This was nicely done, fun and enjoyable. For me though, I liked all of the other pieces better. I wonder what the rest of the audience thought about this. Markus did have the same experience of this that I had.

DJ Masonic with Jeff Grubbs; Kerem Gokem; DJ aFugate - Wednesday February 17, 2010 - WYEP

It may not be obvious but this post connects to the next one I will write as DJ Masonic is the DJ moniker of Mason Bates, the composer of the major work on the Pittsburgh Symphony's weekend program. I was not planning on attending any of these shows but got roped in by Markus and my own ears after streaming some of Mason Bates' classical compositions.

My friend and honorary cousin, aFugate was the opening dubster. The music he creates (?), channels (?), mixes (?) with mesmerizing visuals is quite intense, fairly in your face (definitely in your eyes). At one loll between numbers, he bemusedly looked out at the audience, asked if we were doing OK and noted that "this isn't really sit down music". Yes, we in the audience were sitting on our asses, drinking our complimentary beer or wine and munching down pizza and pierogies. This confirms again how important context is in the producing and experiencing music. In a club or hall with young people who have come to move, you would have had a throng of bodies synced up with the music and visuals. Anthony does play some live percussion with his music and actually is responding to it himself in his movements. His music is quite visceral and does call that forth.

Kerem Gokem was a different kind of DJ. His music was generally quite chilled out and as he changed things with his computer and mix board, he looked like a technician rather than a musician. Perhaps he was responding to the context and decided not to get in our faces and let us be comfy on our bums.

DJ Masonic was somewhat like Kerem in the way he presented to the audience. One twist was the he had Jeff Grubbs, bassist from the Pittsburgh Symphony, playing live with him. Mason noted that they had just met an hour before this show so there wasn't time to actually rehearse. While it took them a few minutes to get into a groove together, once locked in it was something to see and hear. The DJ Masonic mix was at times overtly jazz, with sax solos, etc... Jeff mostly played pizzicato with some bowing mixed in. I don't think of PSO musicians as able to improve but Jeff was impressive in his lively and inventive bass lines. DJ Masonic clearly was playing off and with Jeff though again looked like a technician. He could have been updating his facebook page and we would not have known it in the audience.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - Friday February 5, 2010 - Manfred Honeck, Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin

While what will undoubtedly be known as the Great Blizzard of 2010 relentlessly fell upon the city, all was not serene within Heinz Hall. Well, there were some serene moments but those provided brief moments of respite amidst the rest. It was a simple program featuring just two pieces, both warhorses in these parts and probably elsewhere. The Brahms Violin Concerto is perennially (and this has been true for over fifty years) the most performed violin concerto in major American concert halls. The Mahler First Symphony has a great deal of competition but must rank fairly high on the list of most performed symphonies in the last thirty years at least. It definitely is the most performed piece by the pairing of Manfred Honeck and the PSO. He choose it for his first official concert here as music director in September 2008. I was there at that show and was interested to hear it again. I don't remember having had a chance to hear the same piece twice by the same conductor and orchestra over just a 17 month period. In the meantime, the orchestra played in on tour just last September.

Anne-Sophie Mutter is certainly one of the great ones of her generation. The only other violinist in their forties of comparable stature (she is 46) is Joshua Bell. While he IS a great violinist, my money is on Anne-Sophie. Her advocacy for contemporary composers is quite amazing. Lutoslawski, Rihm, Moret, Penderecki, Previn, Gubaidulina and Duteleux have all written pieces for her. However, on this occasion, she is advocating for Brahms. She played it with great flair. For example, she waited until the last possible moment to bring her violin under her chin for the entrance. That seemed to be a way of conveying a certain attitude. Her attacks had a lot of bite and I believe that works well in this piece. She worked well with the orchestra in this most symphonic of concertos. The long first movement came together and stayed together beautifully. The second movement had the sweetness needed to give respite between the intensity for the outer movements. The Oboe solo by Cynthia DeAlmeida was extraordinary. I am told she did it without a pause for a breath. While that is impressive, it only matters if the end result is as beautiful as it was on Friday. The finale was energetic, joyful, exiting. I do love Brahms music and generally feel that you can hear how carefully crafted it is. I believe that means he leaves out joyful exuberance in his music. I do hear it a few places: the end of the first symphony; the last movement of the First Piano Quartet; and of course in the finale to the Violin Concerto. That came through quite well in this performance.

Anne-Sophie did treat us to an encore as well and of course, it was Bach again. Not that I am complaining. She did NOT do the preludio from the Third Partita. She choose to follow exuberance with the quiet reserved Sarabande from the First Partita.

I have heard the Mahler First Symphony here in Pittsburgh many times over the last 29 years. I still have a special place in my heart for Zdenek Macal's version sometime in the early to mid Eighties. As I nted above, the PSO have already done it many times with Manfred Honeck. It is interesting that he wanted to work on it a bit more before taking it to New York. Going by my memory of the performance in September 2008 (which I loved, by the way), I felt like he was letting the orchestra loose a bit more (and maybe himself too). Like the last three weeks, he and the orchestra seem to be working well together. I was thinking about how clear his beat is and how enjoyable it is to watch his left hand as it is quite expressive. All of the wonderful oddness of the piece came through - the klezmer clarinet bit, the children's tune Frere Jacques (or Are You Sleeping, Brother John in this country) as a funeral dirge, the finale that seems endless until the horns stand for their final blow. This all seemed just a bit more unhinged, in a good way. Honeck's big signal for the last chord showed his exuberance. It also showed they were ready for the Big Apple.

The crowd was surprisingly large given the aforementioned blizzard. And the crowd went wild for both pieces, though bigger for the Mahler even than the Brahms.

moe. - January 31, 2010 - Carnegie Library of Homestead

I have had an weird experience regarding this show. Mr. Zed and I went to this Sunday night show which was packed with moe.-rons at this little concert hall at the old Homestead Library. I have seen 3 shows there previously but never from the balcony. In fact, the shows I have seen there were all impressive, Patti Smith touring her covers album was typical of Patti meaning unique, transcendent, memorable; Nickel Creek played there in their "Farewell (for now) Tour including hilarious jammed out versions of Brittany and Michael Jackson songs; Gov't Mule played a fine show on my last visit.

I have seen moe. on four previous occasions so while I am not an aficionado of moe. I do have an idea about what to expect. And the results were actually quite impressive. A five piece band that have toured so long and hard with each other that they synced up with each other and their light guy that it is a wonder to see and hear. All of the musicians are impressive, though tonight I was most impressed by their bass player, Rob Derhak. Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier are locked in, trading licks in a fast and furious manner, particularly how they shoot out short phrases that the other takes up literally without missing a beat. While the drummer, Vinnie Amico, is high energy and plays some complex rhythms, it is their percussionist, Jim Loughlin, who creates what I consider a truly unique and distinctive sound for them. He plays a lot of congas that add complexity but it is his vibe, xylophone work that is quite different than other bands.

We were in the balcony for this show, center, third row. The sound, while presenting all of the instruments distinctly, was overwhelming in this small and compact hall. The vocals were lost such that neither of us could make out the lyrics. The sounds was so dense that I the show took on a relentless feel to it.

I know there is nothing particularly weird about all of this. So Monday I sit down to start writing this review and find an audience recording already up at the live music archive. You can get it or stream it here:
It is a Front of Board tape by Lenny Stubbe. It has a good bit of space in it, clean and the vocals are clear. You can take in much of the subtlety of the guitar work for example. It seems to have captured a different show than the one I just experienced. In fact, I want to go to THAT show. This illustrates my view that each experience of a show (and each recording) of a show can be seen as just one interpretation. I am now wondering if I could have experienced at least some version of THAT show if I had wandered downstairs and stood by the soundboard.

The highlights for me tonight musically were a long complicated and fairly psychedelic "32 Things" in the first set. The finish of the second set was pretty spectacular. The last hour of the three hour show was "Meat(25:20)> The Pit (13:47)> Brent Black (21:34)". The encore was the most mellow part of the evening "Funky Reuben" and "Gone". I should also finish by saying that the light show was simple and impressive because it was clear that the light person was closely following all the improvised nooks and crannies of the musicians, synced up in a way that can only come from knowing the band thoroughly.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - friday January 29, 2009 - Gil Shaham and Manfred Honeck

This show was two Fridays in a row with the PSO and next Friday will make three. I am enjoying seeing so much right together. Getting a good dose of Manfred has been great and the soloists are top notch.

This weeks top notch guy,Gil Shaham, has been doing some interesting shows this year. He has been doing two concertos per show. All of these combinations have been interesting in different ways: Mozart and Stravinsky in St. Louis in March (different eras), Prokofiev 2 and Barber last week in Kansas City (same decade, the golden age for violin concertos, the 1930's) and here Haydn 2 and Mozart 2. While dating pieces from those days can be vague, these were likely written only ten years apart, Haydn in the 1760's and Mozart in 1775. The Haydn was written first and played first at this show. While Haydn is played regularly, this concerto is not. I don't have a copy of it in my rather large collection of Violin Concertos and Arkiv Music doesn't have one available. Gil Shaham played this piece with great restraint and beauty. I am not sure if restraint is the right word, as it is trying to define the performance negatively. Shaham was elegant and paced himself well. This was especially true of the middle slow movement, reminding me that Haydn was a great writer of slow music.

The Mozart Second Violin concerto is certainly more known than Haydn's but less played and recorded than his third or fifth concertos. The contrast with these pieces was striking just in watching the orchestra change personnel for the Mozart, lose the harpsichord continuo, add some brass and winds. Again, a beautiful performance that was elegant and paced just right for me.

I wonder if the first movement of the Bach Third Partita is just what violinists do after playing Mozart. Gil Shaham's encore was the same as the one Stephan Jackiw played here in the fall after Mozart's Fifth Concerto. Gil was perhaps even more brilliant in showing off to the audience. Bravo. He certainly must be considered one of the great violinists in a time of many great ones.

The Mahler Fourth Symphony was billed as his "chamber" symphony. It is his most petite symphony, though still 50 minutes and requiring massive forces. There are many opportunities to show off individual members of the orchestra, with many solo moments for the concertmaster, and exposed parts for the horn and oboe just to name a couple. And of course, it is a Mahler piece so you get his characteristic mixing of the sublime with the ridiculous. Honeck's interpretation was not eccentric in any way. So how does a non-eccentric performance stand out amidst a crowd of conductors and orchestras performing Mahler. Well, I suppose that is about precision, nuance and brilliant playing. Bill Caballero was strong and spot on as usual, jarring at times (by design of course). Andres Cardenes reappeared after a number of guest concertmasters have sat in his chair this year. I expect that he could not resist the chance to play this piece which even required an extra violin (alternate tuning, I assume).

The soprano soloist seemed underpowered and i am not sure what else to say. Mark thought it may be related to the fact that they were recording this concert for commercial release. I had forgotten how silly the words seem in translation about frolicking in heaven and having asparagus to eat. Actually, good asparagus IS heavenly, but still. According to the liner notes, Mahler wanted this sung without irony. Gustav was a strange man, but that is probably why he wrote such strange and beautiful music.

I am looking forward to more Mahler next week and especially the Mahler Third Symphony in June. Honeck and the PSO are a great combination for this music.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - friday January 22, 2009 - Emanuel Ax and Manfred Honeck

I was curious about this concert, not having heard Manfred Honeck perform
Bruckner prior to this show. I have been impressed with his work with the PSO up to this point. I really haven't heard him veer off the beaten track yet but his Beethoven, Dvorak, Mahler and Mozart have been quite good. Perhaps because I haven't seen as many good Bruckner performances, I believe that Bruckner is more of a challenge. Maybe I have just had bad Bruckner luck.

I am getting ahead of myself as the show opened with Emanuel Ax playing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor". I don't remember the date of the first time I saw Mr. Ax but I know it was in the early '80's with Andre Previn conducting I think the Brahms First Piano Concerto. He was impressive then and just as impressive now. It's funny that I thought of him then as an old guy but I realize now he is not much older than I am. Could it be some prejudice I have about his physiognomy? That stout body and curly, somewhat unruly hair. He played like a young man, full of fluid, authoritative playing. His way with Beethoven seems a good fit with Honeck, brisk and muscular, nothing eccentric but full of nuanced touches. Emanuel treated us with an encore that I did not recognize but thoroughly enjoyed.

The Bruckner Seventh Symphony was a revelation for me. I did not know that the first movement climax could be so exciting. Big, grand and powerful yes but exciting too was quite a treat. I may end up saying this often about Honeck and the PSO but it is amazing to see a hundred or so people respond to a conductors every gesture. Honeck seemed to give Bruckner the room needed to be shown to be a great symphony. I know that the second movement is supposed to be funeral music for Wagner, but it has never seemed all that funereal to me. Or it is just that so much of Bruckner's music seems that way. It did not seem funereal here but it was in a way celebratory. The brass and especially the horns were exemplary.

I am intending to see all of Honeck's performances this year. Each one reinforces my view that he is the right man for this job. I am looking forward to hearing him step out from the repertoire he has done thus far. I am particularly interested in his Shostakovich Fifth Symphony in May as the was one of Mariss Jansons great performances here.

International Contemporary Ensemble - Saturday, January 9, 2010 - Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA

The ICE is apparently an amalgamation of musicians (30) who come together in various configurations (chips), in this case four of them, an ICE Cube perhaps? In particular a flute (Claire Chase), a guitar (Daniel Lippel), a clarinet (Joshua Rubin), and percussion (David Schotzko) were the ICE on this occasion.

Edgar Guzman's Coincidences? was first. It included all four plus "tape". I suspect in this digital age, no tape was actually harmed in this performance, just digital bits. Whatever it came from, the recorded part was alienating, electric like a radio playing just static but with an edge. The players played around and through this, though two of them took time out to read the local alternative weekly, the City Paper. And I do mean read to themselves and looking a bit bored, then reading, I assume, random bits into the mikes. I wonder how this was written in the score. It was amusing and sometimes laugh out loud funny. It did remind me of confusion techniques that hypnotherapists use sometimes to put people in a trance.

Pilippe Manoury's Last used just the bass clarinet and marimba. This was arguably the most accessible piece on the program. My daughter, Julia, might even acknowledge that it is music. A good marimba player is always fun just due to the visuals of seeing all those mallets in too few hands seemingly hitting what they want to hit. David Schlotzko's dexterity, precision and musicality were quite amazing to see and hear. An enjoyable piece.

Elliott Carter is the composer on this program with whom I am most familiar. His Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux is for flute and clarinet. It did not connect for me with other Carter I know but perhaps I do not have an ear for him yet. The two instruments seemed to be playing free variations around each other but without discernible connection. It stayed fairly light and showed off the players well. This is probably as playful as old Elliott gets.

Mario Davidowsky's Synchronisms no. 10 was for solo guitar and tape. This was an interesting piece in the way the taped sounds only gradually intruded and became part of the piece, almost like a person playing guitar noticing the sounds around him and then playing with the sounds.

Amy Williams' Cineshape I was for flute and percussion and inspired by a Korean film, "Chunhyang". I don't have any reference points to make sense of the piece in terms of this reference. This was more of a piece for flute with accents and support from the percussion playing on the bass drum. It did build in intensity to a satisfying conclusion.

Magnus Lindberg's Linea d'ombra was for all four players. It is an early work, written upon graduation from the Sibelius Academy. The only recent work that I know of Lindberg is his not quite conventional but quite good and accessible Violin Concerto recorded by Lisa Batiashvili. This was quite different from that such that I wondered briefly if I had misremembered who wrote the Violin Concerto. I came home and tracked down some early Lindberg. Ah yes, I thought, that's the Lindberg I just heard. By that I mean, pushing limits, youthful exuberance, instruments played in unusual ways (is overblowing the term when the flute is not played as intended) and the rather jarring vocalizations (cries of joy as only a Fin lander can do?).

Overall an interesting show, music performed with authority and exuberance. I am interested in exploring Lindberg's music some more. I like music that pushed the boundaries. It places other music, such as other modern favorites of mine like Schnittke, Dutiluex, Boulez and Messiaen in a different light.

Lotus with Tigersapien and aFugate.

My friend Markus remembers Lotus from when they were a Grateful Dead/Jam Band cover band from Goshen College in Indiana. At some point, they shifted into what they are now which straddles some different genres. Improv (Jam Band) music, jazz, dance/trance, rock - you could say that Phish, Umphree's Magee, the Disco Biscuits all do variations on this too. At some point, Lotus decided to drop vocals from what they do, which does seem more like a jazz ensemble than rock (of course, Jeff Beck dropped vocals years ago, even when covering songs that had vocals).

The experience of Lotus does not generate the intensity of the bands named above but they are more than a trance band. Certainly there are peaks and valleys, climaxes, nothing abrupt though - no great swings, wide arcs of music filling the air. Temperamentally, I am much like these guys, steady, don't panic. Perhaps that is why these other bands have greater appeal. That said, this was an enjoyable show, particularly the guitar work and the drumming.

There were two other artists on the bill: aFugate, a loop electronica multimedia solo act and Tigersapien, a four piece dance electronica outfit. I can't say that Tigersapien made much of an impression. They were perhaps more of a straight dance-trance outfit, though the crowd did not seem to be much engaged. aFugate, a one man multimedia extravaganza, did get a good response from the crowd. Of course, he is engaging and works at that. The visuals add to this as well - you can get lost in them.

I was thinking about the different kinds of music I listen to, patronize, etc... There is more overlap that might be obvious at first glance. aFugate was non-melodic, all samples, rhythms, noise, at times quite intense and visceral. Contemporary classical music is often like that as well - though generally not so loud. The context and presentation is so different.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - Friday December 4, 2009

This Pittsburgh Symphony Concert indicated to me that the PSO management is clearly allowing Manfred Honeck to do what he wants to do. Perhaps this is the way with all great orchestras and their music directors. This has been decidedly a mixed bag here. I'm thinking of Previn's British and American music festivals as positives in this history while Maazel being commissioned to compose music for the Orchestra's 100th Anniversary decidedly negative. This particular show was a positive for me and I hope this bodes well for the future.

Beethoven's Coriolan Overture started things off in dramatic fashion. Right away I could see and hear how synced up were Honeck and the PSO. There were nice subtle touches that did underline that this is literally a dramatic piece, based on a literary work.

Walter Braunfels is a compser to me even though he has been decomposing now for 55 years. I do like being exposed to new things but this is the second time this year that the orchestra has done a piece of a piece. In this case, they performed a fifteen minute excerpt from Braunfels Te Deum. I don't know how long the entire piece is but if we are going to do it, let's do the whole thing. My reaction to this excerpt was that it was clearly not a forward looking piece. Romantic, not even late romantic. It was certainly well put together and a pleasant experience. I can't say that I am hoping for more of him. Reading about him does make me curious about his Berlioz Variations. One last complaint: the program booklet characterizes Honeck and other's attempts to revive interest in Braunfels music as "heroic". That kind of characterization of heroism is ridiculous and cheapens the term.

The second half of the show was a creative riff on Mozart's Requiem,his death, his views on death, the Holocaust, and Catholicism. I suppose that is my way of saying that it was rather all over the place - though in an interesting way. Gregorian Chants, dramatic readings by john Lithgow of bits from a letter from Mozart to his father, poetry dealing with the Holocaust from a Nobel Prize winning poet (Nelly Sachs) and a local boy (Matt May), the Book of Revelation, various Mozart pieces including much of the Requiem. Does it still sound like it is all over the place - of course. The important question is whether it worked. I have to say that it did, certainly much better than you might think given the disparate materials. Lithgow's readings were quite dramatic, particularly the one from Revelation that led into the Offertorium part of the Requiem. The Mendelssohn Choir seems to be maintaining high standards in the post-Page era. Honeck was in full command and appeared to get exactly what he wanted from everyone.

It was interesting to juxtapose Mozart, the Holocaust, Christianity/Catholicism. Mozart certainly represents a high point of German culture and the Holocaust the low. Christianity participated in both of these points. Mozart's expression of his faith through his Sacred music is extraordinarily beautiful and can be uplifting. Christians treatment of the Jews and other Others has often been horrific. How do we get more uplift and stop the horror?

Emilie Autumn - Mr. Smalls Funhouse - December 3, 2009

Emilie Autumn calls her fans Plague Rats. I apparently am now one of them as I have told many people about this show - it was fun to experience and fun to talk about. I went to this relatively cold - intrigued by the photo and blurb on the Smalls Web page, I listened to some music on the web and was sold by the story of Emilie being a former student of the Indiana University Music Department, trained on violin there before no longer being there - why is not clear from the bio - scandalous clothing? bad vibrato? the possibilities are endless. The song Thank God I'm Pretty grabbed me as well. The picture above is from the show at the Funhouse and, I think, needed to give some feel for this performance. Emilie is back by her cohorts, the Bloody Crumpets - Veronica, the Blessed Contessa, Captain Maggot, Apprella.

A small crowd of loyal and with it fans - in proper(?) plague rat costumes knew what was happening and were ready to participate. What words describe these happenings? - part musical performance (only live music were the vocals, some electric violin and more electric harpsichord), part burlesque, part vaudeville, with highly anticipated set pieces such as the Rat Game with Veronica, a Sponge bob Square Pants sing-a-long led by Captain Maggot, an ongoing Mad Tea Party complete with "tea" somtimes sprayed into the audience and biscuits thrown into the audience, the petite Captain Maggot dancing on stilts making her about 9 feet tall and much more...

The somewhat controlled mayhem was quite entertaining in it's own sake. What put this at another level for me was the complicated layers of meanings at play. Early on was a performance of I Want My Innocence Backby these vamping lingerie clad women. Unique to this show was the fun they had with perpetrating all of this in an old church. While I got the impression from the crowd that much was anticipated, there was an amateurish quality to the proceedings as well. I don't mean this as a negative. I'm trying to capture the non-slickness of this, the Anti-Brittney show. This deconstruction of Victorian Phallocentric morality with Lesbocentric play seemed to be quite empowering to the audience members, many of whom dressed for the show.

Other specific highlights for me were: hearing Thank God I'm Pretty live, in a decommissioned church no less, the I'm Blessed line had great irony there; the always fun Bohemian Rhapsody; Emilie playing an extended violin solo despite some equipment problems she was having. I loved the solo, on electric violin, which started with some Bach quotes though distorted with electronic effects and finished with some nice improvisation. Finally, a sing-a-long of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life finished the show on a great note.

I would like to see them again. I wished my Emily had been there with me as she would have liked all the layers and the pro-woman empowerment. I haven't even tried to explore the indictment of the Mental Health systems that were also present to me. One last thing is that unlike any other musical performance I have seen, Emilie encourages video and youtube placing of videos - check them out, there are lots.

Phish - November 21, 2009

I have been neglecting this blog and will be catching up with some relatively old shows now. It is not that I haven't been thinking about this show a good bit. I have also listened to it often since the show, courtesy of my friend Mike and the live phish soundboard downloads. That does bring up interesting questions regarding live music these days. Back in the old days, a concert happened and afterword you might discuss it with your friends but listening to it later was not an option. For many of the artists I follow, I am able to obtain a live document of the show.

This particular show was quite different from the one the day before. This was evident well before the show began. Outside the venue, there was none of the surreal drug mart street scene. I assume the police from the night before had decided they had been a bit too permissive. This actually seemed like a relatively normal concert. The band got down to business with three songs I consider to be standard Phish crowdpleasers. Wilson with it's always fun shout out; NICU and Wolfman's Brother - all well played and something of a piece. This contrasted well with the previous night with it's constant mood shifts. This show seems to have been about finding a groove and sitting with it awhile.

Ocelot came next with it's shuffling beat and relatively straight forward, long, gradually building guitar work - a generally mellow song. Next came the first breakout of a song off of the Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (their Halloween costume). I had been hoping for a song from Exile, in particular Shine a Light. That was not to be tonight but the song the did pick, Torn and Frayed, has long been a favorite of mine. Trey did a wonderful job of playing the Pedal Steel guitar part on his electric. Another mellow and thoroughly enjoyable performance. More mellowness followed with arguably their most mellow song, Strange Design, short, sweet and quite beautiful. Also short, sweet and mellow though with a quick tempo came a cover of Norman Blake's Ginseng Sullivan, a song I had been hoping for all year. Another mellow cover song followed that I must admit had me stumped. The guy sitting next to me filled me in that it was Neil Young's Albuquerque. The tempo on this song is so slow that it almost falls apart (but not quite).

Things did shift gears from the mellow-fest into an intense Split Open and Melt. This song may always be intense, with it's insistent rhythms and fracture time signature but this one was particularly abstract, synced beautifully with the light show. The contrast with the before and after this song accented it's strange beauty. Mellowness returned briefly with a nice Dirt.

The set closed with intense crowd pleasers, well played though not taken to any great heights - Limb by Limb and Run Like an Antelope.

The Velvet Underground's Rock & Roll opened the second set - a long jam followed the "song" part of the song - well played, building in intensity slowly over the 12 minutes of the jam section. One of the best jams I saw this year from the Vermont boys. This wound down and segued nicely into a fairly intense Story of the Ghost. This was only about a ten minute Ghost but it felt of a piece with the previous song.

A relatively rare If I Could followed - nicely done with a good long well constructed guitar solo. Backwards Down the Number Line is a fun song, well placed here - not stretched out but clicking on all cylinders. Prince Caspian just seemed to have a bit more intensity than usual. Suzy Greenberg illustrates again what can happen at a Phish concert. Not my favorite song but the crowd and band were in such synergy that I became totally wrapped up in the moment. There was now no pretense at clearing the aisles - it was an 18,000 person dance rave at this point. Page McConnell took over the song with a nice concise synth solo, followed later by an unusually long and intense piano solo that Trey joined at the climax. Another segue straight into Also Sprach Zarathustra kept up the intensity - Mike's bass leading the way now. Some young teens working for the venue, making their way along the walkway were so happy (probably had no idea who Phish were before this weekend) getting high fives from Phish fans as they bopped along. I believe to acknowledge what a great show Page had had, Squirming Coil finished the set. Beautifully played, the solo piano finish with other band members leaving the stage was drawn out and a particularly emotional moment.

Perhaps the emotional finish called for a silly encore. Sleeping Monkey was the call and it did seem quite silly - Fishman's falsetto was perfect. Between songs, Trey stated how much they liked being here and that they wished they could stay all week. A long deafening roar came up from the crowd. The last encore was to fulfill the request of a dedicated sign holder up front, a loud, rocking Axilla.

This show seemed to be about finding a groove and letting it play out for awhile. The five of us that saw both shows had an easy consensus that this one was the better show. I particularly liked getting some unusual songs like Torn and Frayed, Albuquerque, If I Could - and the Bipolar mellow/intense thing they had going at this show.