The Butter Room

@williamtylermusic released one of the best records of 2016 in Modern Country. Period, full stop. This is a definitive statement in the eternally subjective area of “good music” and “best records” and I know this because every single friend/acquaintance/e-pal/enemy/etc who has heard it agrees. From pals in the noisetrenches to those who prefer more grounded/easier-to-digest sounds (not that there’s anything wrong with that), I’ve yet to encounter anyone who didn’t love this record.  There had only been a handful of full-band WT shows prior to this year, all of which had been in Nashville (I think?) with Nashvillian players (one of which can be streamed here and pulls heavily from his most-excellent 2014 EP Lost Colony on @mergerecords). Assuming it might be a while before I saw a full-band set, you could say I was pretty damn enthused to discover that the brief 2nd leg of the ‘Modern Country’ tour would begin in Chicago at one of my favorite rooms. Fresh off of a run opening for Wilco as a trio, Tyler debuted his expanded 5piece group to a packed/silent audience who hung on every note, twist and turn.  The set is ‘Modern Country’, almost in order, plus album outtake “Area Code 601.” This shit cooks and I can’t wait to hear (and hopefully see) this lineup with a few more shows under its belt.  William Tyler 9.14.2016 Constellation Chicago, IL 1. Highway Anxiety 2. I’m Gonna Live Forever (If It Kills Me) 3. Kingdom of Jones 4. Albion Moonlight 5. Sunken Garden 6. banter 7. Gone Clear 8. The Great Unwind 9. banter 10. Area Code 601 William Tyler - guitars Thomas Wincek - keyboards Joe Westerlund - drums/percussion Darin Gray - bass Chris Boerner - guitars download

2016 has been big year for @thechrisforsyth & his Solar Motel Band, destroying live in support of his most fully-realized full-band record to date, The Rarity of Experience. Chris and guitarist/co-conspirator, Nick Millevoi (who just released his own monster of a record, Desertion) have never been more locked, allowing the jams to fully take flight in a way I hadn’t seen from the SMB before…pretty damn mid-70s mid-Playin in the Band, if you ask me.  Simply, this shit rips. Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band 6.3.2016 @ Beat Kitchen Chicago, IL 1. The First 10 Minutes of Cocksucker Blues 2. High Castle Rock 3. The Ballad of Freer Hollow 4. Boston St. Lullaby Chris Forsyth - guitar Nick Millevoi - guitar Matt Stein - bass Ryan Jewell - drums download

In honor of the great Marshall Allen’s 92nd arrival anniversary, I bring you his entirely improvised set with Hieroglyphic Being from @bigearsfestival back in March. Some sections of this work better than others, but the whole hour is an interesting listen. Getting to chat with him after the set was a pretty amazing experience as well. Hieroglyphic Being & Marshall Allen 4.1.2016 @ Mill and Mine Knoxville, TN download

The mighty Tortoise returned from hiatus back in January with a new album (’The Catastrophist’, out now on @thrilljockey) and a record-releasing doubleheader at Thalia Hall.   Considering the band essentially has to reverse engineer their own shit once they finish a record, it’s been really entertaining to watch the new tunes evolve over the past few months…and they’ve come quite a long way. I was happy to see how things had already progressed when I caught the band in Indianapolis back in March, and the two months on the road since have only continued to tighten screws. Where things in January occasionally felt rigid (or dare I say…even sterile) at points, they now both have room to breathe and are much more focused. The whole show was great, but Crest and Gutters were particularly on-point. Really looking forward to checking back in at Pritzker Pavilion in another couple of months.  Tortoise 5.10.2016 @metrochicago Chicago, IL Gigantes The Catastrophist Shake Hands With Danger Prepare Your Coffin Monica In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Women and Men Yonder Blue (with Georgia Hubely vocal samples) Hot Coffee Dot/Eyes Gesceap Eros Crest E: Rock On (with Todd Rittmann on vocals) Swung From the Gutters download

The first set I had the chance to record at @bigearsfestival was a glorious one-off pairing of Zeena Parkins (Bjork, Zorn, O’Rourke, etc) and Tony Buck from The Necks. Parkins coaxes unearthly sounds out of her custom-made harpthing while Buck directs the overall flow of the piece beautifully. I unfortunately missed the first few minutes, but what you have here is 40+ of deeplistening improv from two undisputed masters. Zeena Parkins & Tony Buck 4.1.2016 @ Mill & Mine Knoxville, TN Download

I must admit, I hadn’t heard much Anthony Braxton and didn’t know much about him or his methods (something which will definitely change now), so I didn’t quite know what to expect going into this set. I recognized a few names in the band but for the most part went in cold…and left pretty floored. From what I could tell, there were twentysomething composed sections/segments/etc that each member had copies of. From there, it seemed everyone had the freedom to call sections and changes out as they saw fit - but with everyone following the ultimate lead of Mr. Braxton. This often came in the form of one person getting the attention of one-to-a-few others, calling out a number and cueing when to begin. A pretty fascinating approach to spontaneous composition to watch untold in front of your eyes/ears. Anthony Braxton 10+1tet 4.1.2016 Bijou Theatre Knoxville, TN Anthony Braxton: alto, soprano, sopranino saxophones, composer Taylor Ho Bynum: cornet, flugelhorn, trumpbone Nate Wooley: trumpet Vincent Chancey: French horn James Fei: alto, sopranino saxophones, clarinet Ingrid Laubrock: tenor, soprano saxophones Mary Halvorson: guitar Brandon Seabrook: guitar Tomeka Reid: cello Carl Testa: bass Tim Feeney: percussion Download

I finally bought a portable recorder and was able to capture what I saw on the 2nd and 3rd days of this year’s incredible Big Ears Festival, which I’ll be sharing in the coming days/weeks. I wanted to begin though with a band I’m currently obsessed with - The Necks. A pal once described them as “like watching waves come into the beach, so elemental” and I’ve yet to come up with anything better. This set was one ~hour-long, flowing piece and is a great listen whether you’re new to the band or have been a fan for years.  The Necks 4.2.2016 Bijou Theatre Knoxville, TN download

Old buds/collaborators Yo La Tengo and Lambchop teamed up to pull from both catalogs as an octet, somehow for the first time ever. This was one of the sets I was most looking forward to, and “it did not disappoint” is a gross understatement. This set is both as swoony and fierce as you want it to be, and frankly they need to do this again.  Click here to hear (gorgeously autotune’d) Kurt Wagner from Lambchop singing the shit out of everyone’s favorite song, “Autumn Sweater” Yo La Tengo & Lambchop 4.1.2016 Bijou Theatre Knoxville, TN 1. Wizard’s Sleeve (YLT) 2. The Sea Horse (YLT) 3. Autumn Sweater (YLT) 4. Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House (YLT) 5. Black Flowers (YLT) 6. Bugs (Lambchop) 7. [banter] 8. Automatic Doom (YLT) 9. [tony crow/band intros] 10. Today is the Day (YLT) 11. Nowhere Near (YLT) 12. [banter] 13. Or Thousands of Prizes (Lambchop) 14. Stockholm Syndrome (YLT) 15. [banter] 16. Gone Tomorrow (Lambchop) 17. Ohm (YLT) 18. Moby Octopad (YLT) 19. Night Falls on Hoboken (YLT) 20. [banter] download full show

In honor of Tortoise’s long-awaited The Catastrophist coming out tomorrow, let’s take a look back at the piece commissioned by the City of Chicago in 2010 which began the ~5 year process of making the record. The lineup for this special event celebrating the band’s 20th anniversary was the classic Tortoise quintet (Dan Bitney, Doug McCombs, John McEntire, John Herndon, Jeff Parker) augmented by stalwarts of the Chicago improv/freejazz/etc scene: Ed Wilkerson (reeds), Greg Ward (sax), Nicole Mitchell (flute/piccolo), Jim Baker (piano/ARP 2600) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello/electronics). Click here for more info from a NewCity preview of the event. The recording was made using iphone’s voice memos so it’s nothing fancy, but quite listenable.  Click here to download an mp3 of the show.

Jim O’Rourke - 8.4.2015 @ NHK Fureai Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Seth & Larry (at Murphy’s Irish Pub)

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