[Jandek] Review of SXSW 2008/my take on "Myth"

[Danen Jobe]

Just ran into this. Damn, I wish I coulda been there! From the Free Press
Houston Blog:



> The evening started out with Jandek performing at the Central Presbyterian
> Church. Now, let me just say this going into this. My appreciation of Jandek
> up until this point was almost academic. I appreciated the singularity of
> what he did as an artist and his devotion to his work and owned a couple of
> his records but never felt an emotional connection to what he did. The thin
> sounding recordings of the LPs always felt cold and distant as if you were
> peering in but never involved. This night though changed all those
> perceptions entirely. The band consisted of drums, lap steel (the always
> brilliant Susan Alcorn), violin, and cello. Inside the church, with its lush
> acoustics it sounded massive and warm like nothing I'd have expected from
> the albums I'd owned. It was very spiritual, patient, and as ethereal as a
> dream cloud. It was an inspiring and emotionally engaging highlight of SXSW
> for me. Honestly!
>
> http://www.freepresshouston.com/archive/2008/03/sxsw-2008-day-four.html
>

So...I've been meaning to put up my opinion on "Icicles" for oh, a month
now? If you need a reason to love it, listen to it backwards. I'm not
kidding. Start on the fourth song (my favorite of his in some time), then
let the third blow over you like a fever dream, then the second, and finally
the first. Actually, you can reverse the first and second if you like...no
matter. Point is, the last two songs on this disc find a renewal of that
crazy mercurial poetry/sing thing that used to be our man's calling card.
Plus, the guitar playing is right on the money, especially that coda at the
end of the CD. I find myself enchanted by this, and hoping to see an
acoustic show at some point. Sounds like Dublin gets it, but I won't be
there. But there are other shows, and I know I'll make one of them. Would
love to hear some more opinions on Austin Saturday 08. Anybody see this AND
the Ft Worth? How do the two match up? He must be happy with the band to use
it twice - doesn't happen often. Exciting stuff. And more to come!
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