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Travelled down to NYC to see someone else play (for a change). King Crimson were wrapping up a mini-tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band. We (Stone Document plus auxiliary) went to Friday (Aug 15) night’s show at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. The area around Broadway has to be one of my least favourite places given my intense and seething hatred for Musical Theatre (what’s the emoticon for a sneer?) but the Nokia is a pretty nice venue in spite of it’s locale.

Got there in plenty of time, got in line to be searched (for elicit recording gear presumably), got in (Soundscaping was already audible from the theater) , grabbed a Tanq & Tonic and headed for the merch table. Always good to do your shopping early (before liquid refreshments influence your spending restraint). Snagged a couple shirts and headed for my seat. Relatively far-ish from the stage tho’ the Nokia isn’t that big to begin with. Saw a handful of NY-area Crafties floating around including Tony Geballe (composer/guitarist extraordinaire and producer of a couple tracks on the Stone Document CD) and Tom Redmond (the driving force behind the Hellboys – more on them later).

The show was:

– brilliant
– happy
– occasionally sloppy
– the very welcome return of Tony Levin
– poorly mixed (from my vantage point)
– stolen by Gavin Harrison (new drummer and percussive foil for Pat Mastelotto)
– great mix of post ’80 Crimson (with Red and Larks 2 thrown in)

When the new band lineup was announced the 2 things I was most excited about were the return of Tony Levin and the addition of Gavin Harrison. Tony spent the bulk of the evening playing Stick (I’ve since restarted my Stick practice regimen – I’ve been schooled). The material he didn’t originally play on was the most enjoyable (making parts played by Trey Gunn and John Wetton his own). My only complaint was the bass sound on Sleepless. The Funk Fingers were all thwack and no boom.

There were times where the drumming duo of Pat and Gavin sounded like one guy with 4 arms and 5 legs. Remarkable!
Adrian was… Adrian (what can be said?). The perfect frontman for this band. Robert appeared to be enjoying himself and his playing showed it, too. I know I sound like a vapid fanboy but I can’t find words to describe what he can do with a guitar. Maybe I need Adrian’s thesaurus. Ya just gotta listen.

The audience was enthusiastic although there were a couple of guys near me kvetching about not being able to see Robert for the stack of racks and equipment he had downstage between him and the audience. “After all dese years and he’s hidin’ behind dose things!” I think it was more a comfortable (ergonomic) set up for him and less a Roger Waters-style Wall between performer and audience. If that’s what necessary for him to be able to get onstage then that’s what it takes. I was lucky enough to be seated where I could see him pretty well. Kind of a shame I couldn’t hear him some of the time. My comment after the show was “I liked the band best when Robert was in it.”

Stone Document returned to Amazing Grapes with a slightly revised approach. After listening to Anamnesis I realized what was missing from our live sound – the synths. The album is drenched in atmospheric synth pads. So it was time to revise the rack (as I seem to do before every show). I went back to the Roland GI10 midi interface (with the treble end of the Stick plugged into the mic input) driving a Kutzweil piano module (that I actually use for string patches). I also put my Oberheim Matrix-1000 into the bass signal chain and controlled it using my little M-Audio Oxygen 8 keyboard. This was a beginning…

After the show Mike said, “That’s the rig! You aren’t allowed to play without it, ever.” I guess the Oberheim was a good choice.

The other thing we tried was running the band direct into my Zoom multitrack and then using the monitor section to feed the p.a. (really just a powered speaker sitting between Mike and Doc). This seemed like an easy way to get a multitrack recoding of the gig and with the exception of a little harddrive noise it was. Highlights of the three sets will be mixed down, trimmed and compiled for possible future release. The other advantage of this set up was having all of the band’s sound coming from a singular central location allowed all of us to focus on the sound of the band as a whole and I think we played more cohesively than ever before.

We also made a conscious decision to take our time and let things build. This also payed off. After our first set one of our audience asked us what the name of the last piece we played was. We explained it was all improvised and wasn’t a formal composition. This seemed to surprise the audient. This is always a good thing.

The album is now out. If you can’t make it to a show you can grab it online at:

http://www.twistedapplerecords.com/sdshop.html

To hear samples visit http://www.stonedocumentmusic.com and http://www.myspace.com/stonedocumenttrio

Disclosure – I am only on one track as this was recorded when SD was still a duo. It marks the beginning of SD as a trio. And it’s a really good listen – especially with headphones.

So the trio of LaVigne, Colbourn and Christensen participated in a fundraiser for s Stowe local (and close friend if Mike’s) who has been in treatment for cancer and is in need of help paying for it. Firstly, let me say it’s nice to actually be able to help someone by playing a gig. Usually it’s just an exercise in self-indulgence.

The gig was at the Matterhorn in Stowe, a place we used to play back in the day (when we had a drummer) and so it feels like being home. That is if your home is filled with a few hundred people. We played fairly early in the festivities and because it was an all ages event and because my family was conveniently on vacation about 20 minutes away my kids got to see the show. They are all huge fans of the band and were very excited. I was happy to have a road crew.

The setlist was pretty similar to the Higher Ground show with a couple covers thrown in. The venue was hot (all that humanity and humidity) and I sweated off a couple pounds by the end.

So I schlepped down to Troy, NY to Revolution Hall to see Adrian Belew and his power trio Sunday night. Ade is a huge musical influence – his amazing sonic mayhem has graced albums by everyone from Zappa and Bowie to Nine Inch Nails. He’s also a bandmate of that other guy who’s had such an impact on my playing (Dear Old Uncle Bobby).

What made this gig particularly special is the fact that my friend Andre (whom you already know from previous pages on this blog) is working as his guitar tech/tour manager. This meant not only did I get to see an amazing gig (more on that in a minute) but also some hang time with Andre.

So I’m standing there before the show and Andre walks up and says, “I’ve got something for you. Here’s proof of just how well-connected I am.” Then he hands me a CD. Something familliar about this artwork. I look at it and it takes my brain a full 10 seconds to grasp what I’m looking at. It’s the brand new Stone Document CD! Slowly I am realizing he has a copy of my band’s new CD even before I have it! This of course make me ask the obvious: “Wha-, er, um… how? How? WTF? HOW?!”

It seems the previous night Adrian and company played in New Jersey and Doc was in attendance. He saw Andre and remembered being introduced to him by me at the David Torn CD release party in NYC last year. A conversation ensues, Doc gives him a couple of CDs (that had just arrived from the replication plant), and then a mere 24 hours later my mind is being blown. “Did you get one for you?” I asked. “Yes.” I handed the disc back to him. “Good. Please make sure Adrian gets this one.” The self-promotion muscle, while a bit stiff, still has reflexes.

So the band plays. Wow! I’ve seen Adrian many times over the years but this trio is a step above every other band he’s had. The drummer is a kid named Eric Slick and he’s monsterously good. I was already familliar with his playing because he also plays with the bands Project/Object and Delicious (both of which also feature Andre on guitar). The revelation about this band was on the other side of the stage. Eric’s sister Julie on Bass. This was the first time I’d had a chance to hear her. Awe-inspiring. And of course the musical connection between her and her brother was both audible and visible. For a full review look here: http://timesunion.com/ASPStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=694620
or better yet head over to Adrian’s site (see my links) and pick up their new disc “Side Four (Live)”.

Afterwords I got a guided tour of Adrian’s rig (it’s nice to know the guy in charge of setting it all up!) and at the very end of the night a few words with the man himself. A couple of years ago I bought a guitar from Adrian (a Fernandes Les Paul with all the bells and whistles). He mentioned Fripp wants to buy the other one he has. When will he stop trying to emulate me?! 8^{/}

Well…

The Stone Document discs will be arriving soon so the promotional machinery is getting cranked up.

What remains of the John Tower Group reunited Friday night at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT to play a set opening for The Johnny Devil Band.

Friday, May 30th, 2008

Higher Ground Showcase Lounge

Mike Colbourn, Arty LaVigne and Mark Christensen (all fromerly of the John Tower Group) will be opening for the Johnny Devil Band at Higher Ground in South Burlington, VT.

$8 advance | $10 day of show doors 7:30 show 8:00 ALL AGES