Zeena Parkins (electric harp) Devin Hoff (bass) Michael TA Thompson (drums) August 4

at the Stone, as mindstopping and earnumbing as one would expect with these 3 talents. Thompson is one of my favorite drummers around NYC, but usually I see him with what I would call without irony free jazz ensembles. Devon Hoff I know from his earlier bass work with Nels Cline and that group of LA musicians. Parkins I've seen a bunch of times since the 80's and she just shreds on the electric harp using it make some serious sonic fuckery. I wish I had a good recording of this, about 10 mins into it Hoff created a huge and devastating bassline on his standup that Zeena's harp slipped into and around creating a novel sound that that really excited my ears in a way I haven't experienced in a while - Michael TA smoothly moving the set along with his exquisite percussion, just about as perfect as avant garde could get.

I saw Parkins in 1989. Hated it enough to never investigate again. I'm still convinced that was the right decision. There were certain things I saw at that time that I definitely wasn't ready for, Peter brotzmann among them, but I think I was plenty ready for her. And it wasn't good.

Perhaps I was unfair, because I thought her stage presence was pretty irritating and could have actually Eclipsed whatever she was doing on the harp but I'm comfortable enough not listening to that music anymore. Even if I'm missing out on something good occasionally, there's plenty of other good stuff in the world. And she obviously has an audience.

Tricot in Cardiff on Tuesday.

First band I've seen three times - same venue, same time last year, plus at Arctangent festival a couple of weeks ago and then again this week. Did not disappoint. Loads of energy, so nice to hear some math-tinged guitar music that isn't made by identikit white boys being twee in 7/4. Lead guitarist is outrageously good, possibly the best clean player I've ever seen, worth the price of entry alone, but whole band are tight as fuck. Probably my favourite band at the moment. Vocalist has a Beatles Revolver guitar strap, which shows how they think they sound - proper, classic songwriting, just with modern gear and technique, same craft but without the retro-fetishisation. New album is great too. Check em out.

is this them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6rxGmvQPLU
You didn't mention that they were A: Japanese and B: mostly female :)
Not really my type of music but I'll keep an eye if they play anywhere near me

It is indeed them, and yes they are Japanese and female and all rather lovely :) I don't normally go for that sort of math rock-y, intricate sort of music either (more of an early Stooges man normally) but I've kind of fallen in love with them, the songs are just too good. Gig was £8, so should be pretty affordable if they do show up nearby!

rafael toral was AMAZING. he played as a duo with drum guru ryan jewell. ryan used to live in town. he uses all kinds of stuff to compliment his drumming like a violin bow and toys. toral is a nice guy. i only had $5 bux on me and he let me buy a cd with my promise to paypal the rest.

there was a duo from florida called 'time'. the more stuff they set up the more baffled i become as to what it would sound like. this weird reflective dome thing, fog machine, laser light show, then they put on big prism helmets. it ended up being electronic dance music. they did these choreographed dance moves for a few minutes, then took the helmets off and did two part harmony. they had this epic song that had a conch shell section.

my friend had the first performance of his new band. it's all improvised. he plays guitar with lots of effects. another dude had a harp into a multi fx box and a synthesizer. and a third dude played with just a tom and cymbal that made a surprising variety of sounds.

great show.

Went to see Nick Cave at the MEN arena. I'd be cautious about how good it could be in a place that big, but honestly, it's one of the best gigs ever. And only the second gig I've ever cried at. Incredible experience

Was it a particular song that elicited tears? Or something else?

It was Jubilee Street. He had gone from From Her To Eternity, to Tupelo, then Jubilee Street and it got a tad overwhelming:D

The build up for Jubilee Street is incredible anyway. Then when it kicked in Nick kept repeating the line "I'm transforming, I'm vibrating, I'm glowing" and it just got to me. He actually took himself off stage for a coupla minutes after it so I wouldn't be surprised if he was the same.

If anyone is curious, the other gig was Bruce #dadrockla'

Saw !!! (chk chk chk) in Houston Saturday. fucking awesome. fucking AWESOME. I ahd been waiting for 17 years for !!! to play anywhere near HOuston. This was their first time. small crowd, but FUCK if the band did not bring it like it was armageddon.\

What was the other one?

he said Bruce, the Boss

Fair play.

Jeez, SL!

I met Zeena Parkins a few years ago, talked to her for about 15 minutes about various bands she'd played in. Real nice person, and also really attractive. She was with Fred Frith and Icky Mori, they're also really nice. I interrupted their lunch and they were nothing but gracious and cool folks.

Rob, is the White Oak Music Hall Lawn a place worth seeing a show?

Went to the Mercury Lounge last night and saw PG Six and Dead Horses.

PG Six, formerly of the legendary Tower Recordings, is playing solo now and he had his huge wooden harp and played about 2/3 of the set on harp and 1/3 on electric guitar, lots of PG Six favorites including Old Man of the Mountain. I first saw Pat play solo in 2000 at Tonic and the growth and confidence of his playing is apparent.
Dead Horses, from Wisconsin, surprised me, they come out of a kind of country and bluegrass influence but aren't genre-bound. The singer has a kind of country twang, but they use a stand up acoustic bass which sounded great, and the guitarist switched from mandolin through guitar was a very strong player, solid drumming carried the songs forward without being overwhelming. Very strong and fully realized songwriting... I picked up a single on the way out...

I think it is. I have NOT seen a show outdoors in the large stage venue. I have seen Dinosaur JR and !!! and several other bands in the "downstairs" area, which is real nice, the sound system is fucking awesome the batrhrooms clean AF and the bartenders were excellent. They even comped me sodas and juice because they are not idiots like the fucks at House of Blues who charge $3.75 for 6 oz of coke in a tiny glass, fuckers.

Boris with Sumac & Endon openers. Boris had their moments, but overall, not as concise as the openers. Sumac had some great moments, Endon had the most magic of the night, iMo.

Yeah, I have seen pics of the interior as well, and that does look like a really cool place to see a show. I was considering coming down next weekend to visit family, and Primus is playing while I would be there. I certainly prefer seeing them indoors as opposed to outdoors though, and was questioning that location. Seeing you mention the sound system specifically does make me a bit more optimistic, considering I would imagine systems of the two stages would be comparable. And if Dinosaur's bass-heavy, loud live assault sounded good with it, I would think Primus's will as well. Appreciated.

I finally got to see Sun Kil Moon live and really liked it.
It was yesterday, in Paris. Mark Kozelek didn't feel too well for the first songs (that's about 45 minutes) and complained about the way the bass was mixed. When it got solved out, he kinda apologized, saying he was 50 and fearing a heart attack with the stage vibrating with the bass, also saying touring meant one-night stays at hotels they had never heard of and in which noone could sleep well...
When his mood improved it felt really good til the end of the show (about 2 hours 30 minutes).
Guitar, bass, piano, drums, and him occasionnally on guitar.
Stuff out of his latest album with Ben Boye (on piano yesterday) and Jim White, and brand new stuff written after a show earlier this month in Warsaw.
This being said, I don't know their output too well (2 albums and that's it).
Many people left during the show, which was strange and super, as I don't like crowds.