[Jandek] seattle jandek impressions

[Matt Keeley]

I concur with pretty much all  of this.  I wrote a review on my  
journal if anyone's interested: http://revme.livejournal.com/293397.html

But yes -- that was an EXCELLENT show, and I'm also a rather newish  
fan.  Rather, last night was the final step in being a Jandek  
Appreciator to a Jandek Fan.

Although I actually _liked_ the bassist, heh!

matt
On Oct 28, 2006, at 12:23 AM, p g wrote:

> I don't make it out to shows much, but this was a must see.  On The  
> Boards here in Seattle was a great venue to see Jandek perform...a  
> performance art space rather than a club setting.  My wife and I  
> sat in the front row, in front of the Representative From Corwood  
> Industries.  He was all dressed in black, which seems to be his  
> uniform.  He is amazingly gaunt, thin.
>
> The band was guitar, bass and drums with two back up singers.  What  
> struck me the most was the interplay between the drummer and  
> Jandek.  They both had a great sense of dynamics, and really played  
> off each other.  I thought Sam Coomes' bass playing for the most  
> part was very distracting and annoying at times. He seemed to be  
> disconnected, too loud and had little dynamics or variation in his  
> playing, a lot of plodding through and over the others.  I kept  
> trying to image the music without the bass in the mix at all.  He  
> didn't strike me as much as an improviser.
>
> The back up singers were both awesome, each doing solos as well as  
> chorus stuff.  I loved how they sung in that deadpan Jandek way, as  
> well as singing off key with other.  The entire thing, the whole  
> band would be just off kilter, off key and it just sounded amazing  
> and surreal.
>
> I kept wondering about how Jandek works with musicians the day of  
> the show, like how they structure the set, work out the music etc.   
> I understand that he writes lyrics the day of the show.  One of the  
> songs referrenced Queen Anne Ave, the street the venue is located  
> near.  One of the funniest parts of the show, was Jandek basically  
> throughout the show doing a little slo-motion boogying around  
> movements, getting into playing.  He'd turn his back and kind of do  
> this slow motion walking/stepping thing.  He has a great stage  
> presence, but also blends with the musicians well.
>
> Overall, I didn't know what to expect, but it was really great, my  
> wife and I loved it.  I love seeing a show like this, in that kind  
> of quiet atmosphere.  Jandek is amazing and so completely unique.   
> I loved his guitar playing and lyrics/voice.  I currently only have  
> Chair Beside A Window and Ready For The House, but after this  
> performance, I'd like to hear some more recent recordings.
>
> P
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Yeah.