Friday, October 30, 2015
it really was a treat to sit a few feet from jimmy chamberlain, and watch him play
i caught a jazz band in detroit last night that included jimmy chamberlain. i was expecting percy jones in the band, but he wasn't there.
my reviews tend to focus more around scenarios, and leave actual analyses to one-line statements. the band was kind of lackluster, really, but i enjoyed the show enough anyways (for other reasons) that i'm glad i went.
but, the narrative last night had mostly to do with the camera, and the truth is that i've already stated everything on camera that i would normally type in a review of this sort. rather than repeat myself, i'll post the vlog.
i doubt that this will be the new normal. in fact, i expect that i'll start writing reviews before i post vlogs to ensure that it isn't - i like writing these reviews. but, for tonight, because that's entirely where my head was, that's what i have - and i don't see the use in writing out what i have on film.
vlog:
concert footage:
this is a late review, but i'm adding it to ensure i continue with it. i have a large collection of reviews, now, and don't want to have this fall into disrepair.
i hadn't been to this venue previously, and had forgotten to write down the address; i knew it was on a sidestreet behind woodward, between the park and the fox, so i just turned left blindly - and luckily found it very quickly.
it was no more than fifteen minutes past doors; it seems as though they started immediately. this might be cultural. i mean, does the opera say "doors at 8", then wait until 9:00? or is it on at 8:00 sharp? i can't say; i've never been. i'm just so used to "doors at 8 and the opening act some time around 9" that it didn't even cross my mind that the time on the ticket may have been a start time.
so, i paid my entrance and walked up near the stage. this venue was a restaurant, and a fairly nice one, so it had servers moving food out to tables and no space at the front. there was a bar stool with a good view a little to the right of the stage.
i get a tap on my shoulder...
"what can i get you?"
"that depends. do you have cheap beer?"
"$3 pbr."
"yeah, that's good."
the first set laid down the tone, which was that we're mostly in for some jamming for the night. there were some standards, but most of what got played was based around solo parts and cycled around. the piano played a solo, then the bass played a solo, then the sax played a solo and then sometimes the drums did a solo. this basic formula was followed by almost every song that wasn't a standard.
i noticed something in the intermission. there's a guy standing right in front of me, with something in his ear. i had to say something...
"dude. is that a j in your ear?"
he laughs.
"no. it's just a cigarette with the top twisted."
"k. 'cause, i was thinking you probably forgot it there and should put it away."
he laughs again.
"hey, want to take a walk out front?"
so, the second set had a hazier, looser feel to it - this is jazz after all, and i was channeling satan after the excursion outside. jimmy seemed to relax a little in the second set, when he realized he was mostly playing for old pumpkins fans rather than stuffy bourgeois jazz people. the hooting and a hollering may have been frowned upon by the bar, but he definitely fed off of it in terms of dynamics. i explain this at the end of the vlog.
walking back to the bus stop was a little strange, as i remember this feeling of avoiding being run down. every car was in on it and needed to be avoided. a kind of game of paranoid gta, in real life.
i get on the bus, and hear it from the driver.
"you're baked."
i shrug.
no problems getting through customs. and, frankly, there shouldn't have been problems, either.
here is a full set:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2015/10/29.html
my reviews tend to focus more around scenarios, and leave actual analyses to one-line statements. the band was kind of lackluster, really, but i enjoyed the show enough anyways (for other reasons) that i'm glad i went.
but, the narrative last night had mostly to do with the camera, and the truth is that i've already stated everything on camera that i would normally type in a review of this sort. rather than repeat myself, i'll post the vlog.
i doubt that this will be the new normal. in fact, i expect that i'll start writing reviews before i post vlogs to ensure that it isn't - i like writing these reviews. but, for tonight, because that's entirely where my head was, that's what i have - and i don't see the use in writing out what i have on film.
vlog:
concert footage:
i hadn't been to this venue previously, and had forgotten to write down the address; i knew it was on a sidestreet behind woodward, between the park and the fox, so i just turned left blindly - and luckily found it very quickly.
it was no more than fifteen minutes past doors; it seems as though they started immediately. this might be cultural. i mean, does the opera say "doors at 8", then wait until 9:00? or is it on at 8:00 sharp? i can't say; i've never been. i'm just so used to "doors at 8 and the opening act some time around 9" that it didn't even cross my mind that the time on the ticket may have been a start time.
so, i paid my entrance and walked up near the stage. this venue was a restaurant, and a fairly nice one, so it had servers moving food out to tables and no space at the front. there was a bar stool with a good view a little to the right of the stage.
i get a tap on my shoulder...
"what can i get you?"
"that depends. do you have cheap beer?"
"$3 pbr."
"yeah, that's good."
the first set laid down the tone, which was that we're mostly in for some jamming for the night. there were some standards, but most of what got played was based around solo parts and cycled around. the piano played a solo, then the bass played a solo, then the sax played a solo and then sometimes the drums did a solo. this basic formula was followed by almost every song that wasn't a standard.
i noticed something in the intermission. there's a guy standing right in front of me, with something in his ear. i had to say something...
"dude. is that a j in your ear?"
he laughs.
"no. it's just a cigarette with the top twisted."
"k. 'cause, i was thinking you probably forgot it there and should put it away."
he laughs again.
"hey, want to take a walk out front?"
so, the second set had a hazier, looser feel to it - this is jazz after all, and i was channeling satan after the excursion outside. jimmy seemed to relax a little in the second set, when he realized he was mostly playing for old pumpkins fans rather than stuffy bourgeois jazz people. the hooting and a hollering may have been frowned upon by the bar, but he definitely fed off of it in terms of dynamics. i explain this at the end of the vlog.
walking back to the bus stop was a little strange, as i remember this feeling of avoiding being run down. every car was in on it and needed to be avoided. a kind of game of paranoid gta, in real life.
i get on the bus, and hear it from the driver.
"you're baked."
i shrug.
no problems getting through customs. and, frankly, there shouldn't have been problems, either.
here is a full set:
http://dghjdfsghkrdghdgja.appspot.com/categories/shows/2015/10/29.html
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