Difficult Music Hour continues, only this time with an in-person, live performance. No, the video above isn't it, but this morning (okay, actually 12:00 noon but after being out until 2:00 a.m. at Godspeed last night, noon felt like the morning), we actually saw Roscoe Mitchell perform live and in person. It was our first time seeing him since an Art Ensemble of Chicago show in Harvard Square back in 1978.
Who else did we see today at Knoxville's adventurous Big Ears Festival? After Roscoe's set, we stopped at the lovely, Fox-like Tennessee Theater and saw large ensemble Neif-Nort playing a live soundtrack to a documentary film.
We're going to need some time to unpack this whole festival, not to mention this one day, but we also saw the bizarre Norwegian musician Jenny Hval, who consistently surprised us from one moment to the next - there literally was no telling what she was going to do next or even what precisely she was doing any given moment.
So that was cool, and then next we had native Atlanta firebrands Algiers who completely filled the venue (The Standard again). They had to turn people away, but we got there early enough to be near the front of the stage.
Who else? Oh yes, a stellar ambient electronic set by Jessica Moss (Silver Mt. Zion).
Somewhere in there, we managed to squeeze in a set by groove-meisters Medeski Martin & Wood.
Not surprisingly, Roscoe blew the roof off of The Standard (the venue he was playing in), and included some circular breathing in his set (we didn't know he did that). He didn't perform Odwalla, but we did hear him running through the melody while we were waiting outside during the soundcheck.
Who else did we see today at Knoxville's adventurous Big Ears Festival? After Roscoe's set, we stopped at the lovely, Fox-like Tennessee Theater and saw large ensemble Neif-Nort playing a live soundtrack to a documentary film.
We're going to need some time to unpack this whole festival, not to mention this one day, but we also saw the bizarre Norwegian musician Jenny Hval, who consistently surprised us from one moment to the next - there literally was no telling what she was going to do next or even what precisely she was doing any given moment.
So that was cool, and then next we had native Atlanta firebrands Algiers who completely filled the venue (The Standard again). They had to turn people away, but we got there early enough to be near the front of the stage.
And then Arto Lindsey, former New York No-Wave legend and now Rio native playing happy tropical-sounding songs with lots of dissonant guitar parts.
Who else? Oh yes, a stellar ambient electronic set by Jessica Moss (Silver Mt. Zion).
Somewhere in there, we managed to squeeze in a set by groove-meisters Medeski Martin & Wood.
We ended the day with another Norwegian, this time the singer Susanna, collaborating this evening with folk icon Bonnie Prince Billy.
So all that was exhausting. We managed to log some 4.6 miles marching up and down Knoxville's So Gay Street from venue to venue. Okay, it's actually "South Gay Street," abbreviated on all the street signs as "So. Gay Street," but if you drop the period you get "So Gay Street" which makes us smile, until we consider what the same process does to North Gay Street.
Some shows are still going on and there's a Laurel Halo d.j. set that's running until 2:00 a.m.) but I'm an old man and am calling it a night now, but it was worth it if for no other reason than to see Roscoe Mitchell again after a 40-year hiatus.
The Big Ears festival goes on for two more days, but with 100% chance of rain forecast for tomorrow just to make it more interesting.
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