[Jandek] a whirlpool in boston

[Shervin Fatehi]

Hiya,

Just got back from the show.

Unfortunately, I got up at quarter to 5 this morning and had trouble
staying awake during the middle portion of the show. My face is red as I
say this, principally because I got a terrible sunburn earlier in the day.
Heh.

Anyway, coma problems aside, I loved this show. It definitely compares
favorably to the strongest prior recording I heard, i.e., Glasgow Monday.
I wouldn't have been able to predict this based on the opening, however --
although Jorrit Dijkstra and Greg Kelley seemed to hit a good groove (both
with each other and the Corwood rep) early on, it seemed like Eli Keszler
was playing under some entirely different influence. His playing, although
beautiful and precise, just seemed too "up," especially insofar as the rep
and the brass men were sticking to simpler rhythms and drones. Eventually,
though, he managed to find an approach where he provided counterpoint and,
at the very  end, was definitely on the same page as everybody else --
they got wilder.

The rep sounded better singing than I can recall in a while. His pipes are
somethin' strong, in any case. I didn't try to keep track of lyrics, but
there were frequent references to being caught in a whirlpool. There was
also some use of third person, which seemed weird to me for some reason.

If nothing else, I'll treasure the nascent feeling of dread that the rep
aroused as he shambled into the auditorium -- he was moving deceptively
quickly with respect to how fast his limbs appeared to be, and -- if it
weren't for some of the chubbier, younger pictures -- I'd swear that he
has Marfan syndrome.

Anyway, those are my disjointed thoughts...

Sherv