Apr

8

MusicNOW 2008 - A Balanced Musical Diet

Posted by Administrator

April 8, 2008 |

The third annual MusicNOW festival took place last week over at Memorial Hall here in Cincinnati, and it seems to have outdone itself once again. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for each night of year 1 at the CAC, and all but one night of year 2 also at Memorial Hall.

This year I made it out to the festivities 3 of the 4 nights again, and while I walked out tired on Saturday night, I was very content with this years MusicNOW. I went to the opening night on Wednesday, which was originally supposed to be back at the CAC, but was changed late in the game due to an overwhelming amount of musicians scheduled to perform the nights closer. Bryce Dessner came into WOXY.com to chat about the festival early in the week again this year, and during the talk he let it slip that the surprise guest for the opening night would be Mr. Sufjan Stevens, last years headliner, but that he would only be sitting in on piano on the last song.

Bryce also mentioned that is there was one night not to miss, it was the opening night, Wednesday, and if I had any doubts about showing up that night, I was quickly pushed over the edge. I got to Memorial Hall and felt an immediate kinship with the building that I had fond memories of from last years event. The building is 100 years old this year, but has been maintained incredibly well. Walking into the main hall I was greeted with two beautiful art installations, done by Karl Jensen, who also did an amazing installation the first year and probably topped that with the pieces this time around. (view the installation from year one here, this years is above)

Wednesday was a sloppy mess of amazing talent, film and sound. The mixture of vintage experimental films from the New York Filmmaker’s Cooperative, which houses and maintains many old films that in our current culture rarely are put before an audience anymore, and the music of Bryce and Aaron Dessner, along with the multi-talented Padma Newsom, made for a nearly overwhelming start to the week. I commented that I felt as if all of my musical intake was comprised of sugary substances and artificial flavors and MusicNOW was a true 5 course meal of natural health foods. It just felt healthier for my musical palette. And of course, our “special guest”, Mr. Illinoisemaker himself, not only sat in on the last number, but also performed a very intimate piano piece set to a 8mm film he took of his nephew playing around on the beach…..yeah, you don’t get that kind of thing outside of his living room usually I think.

Regrettably, I had to miss out on Thursday night and legendary guitarist Bill Frisell, see a great synopsis of that evening here.

Friday night I returned for another taste and was pleasantly surprised by Dirty Projectors, who opened up the night. The Brooklyn band played a very indie rock set, complete with guitars and lead singer doing his best to banter with a fairly reserved audience. While I cannot count myself as a fan of Dirty Projectors, I can certainly appreciate thier offbeat vocal harmonies and a few freak out moments that made me smile. The Brooklyn band seemed to really be having fun, maybe more than anyone all weekend. Bang On A Can All-Stars were the headliner of the night, and came highly recommended by just about everyone. Bryce Dessner sat in on guitar with the All-Stars and melded with the already tight unit right away. The sound coming from the stage during this set was easily the most cohesive of the weekend, and it also gave me an opportunity to see another MusicNOW alum, David Cossin in action again, as he bounced from his drum kit to an array of other musical instruments on the left of the stage. (Cossin performed this amazing piece at MusicNOW 2006)

And oh yeah, did I mention that Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche wrote the final two pieces of the night and also sat in the Bang On A Can? Glenn “previewed” a new piece he had written first and followed that with a song from his most recent solo album, Mobile, “Mobile Parts 1 & 2″, which under the guidance of the All-Stars, became an even better piece than on the album, and was the highlight of the night for me.

All that was left now was Saturday night, the night that really helps pay the bills for the festival with tow primo indie rock acts set to take the stage for a sold out crowd. People had come out of the woodwork and driven from many regional cities for last years “headliner” night with Sufjan, and this year would be no different. I learned a bit from last years experience on the final night and made a point to show up early this year, in hopes to secure a good seat and finally take a few photos. I showed to this scene outside Memorial Hall at about 6:40, with the show set to go off at 8 and had to wonder, where were you guys on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday?
The Pre-Show Crowd Outside Memorial Hall On Saturday

I got to my seat and prepared for the opener for the evening, Grizzly Bear. The Brooklyn band are currently about as hot as an indie act can be, and was just announced as an opener for Radiohead for a string of dates this summer. Thier blend of Beatles like vocals along with multi layered sonic arrangements were a perfect fit for the festival and they played just about every song I hoped they would, including the amazing cover of The Crystals song, “He Hit Me.” A band I was already impressed with earned a few extra points for me during this live performance, possibly the best individual performance of the entire festival.

Andrew Bird was the weekend headliner, and hit the stage after Grizzly Bear. Bird had come directly from Nashville after two weeks of recording new material. I did not know what we would get from him as a result and it was certainly a mixed bag. Bird previewed at least 4 new songs, most of which spanned at least 7 minutes each. He had to start and stop several of these to get them right, making it feel as if maybe they were still a work in progress. And I cannot blame him for playing lots of new stuff, it was what was “in his head” after all and I fell like we were treated to get to hear the material. He played a few older favorites as well, and took a few audience suggestions also, most of which had him fumbling for lyrics though. The new material was indeed taking over his mindset, and the older stuff therefore seemed to drag a bit.

So Andrew Bird’s set was a bit of a mix for me. I am quite sure all the super fans of his work where very pleased to hear so much new material but I am also sure that those fans of his that had yet to see him live may have been a little disappointed with the result. However, I personally felt like his set, while a bit all over the map, was a perfect fit for the festival. MusicNOW tends to allow artists to focus on either thier more obscure pieces, or just to stretch their legs and have fun, and that is what it seemed like Bird was doing.

Final thoughts

My final thoughts are that this was another brilliant year for MusicNOW and for the city of Cincinnati. This is the type of thing Cincy needs so badly and so it is only natural that those of us that love music and care about this city should embrace everything about it. From the big names like Andrew Bird and Grizzly Bear down to Memorial Hall itself, and the much talked about ode to “Manliness” that is etched above its stage. I called MusicNOW a place where indie rockers could go “undercover” in year one, and I stated last year that the secret was out. This year MusicNOW has become an established tradition, something I expect to attend for the next decade or for as long as Bryce and his crew want to put it on. My thanks and congratulations go out to Bryce Dessner and the wonderful crew and musicians that made MusicNOW what it was again this year, can’t wait till 09!

Related Posts:
MusicNOW 2008 Continues Tonight, Don’t Miss OutMusicNOW In The NewsMusicNOW! 2008 LeaksMusicNOW 2008 Kicks Off Tonight!Andrew Bird Live @ MusicNOW 2008

Comments

4 Comments so far

  1. Pages tagged "the wonder stuff" on April 8, 2008 12:31 pm

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  2. dave on April 8, 2008 3:19 pm

    Amazing review Joe. As long as I’m in Cinci, I’ll be going to thsi festival. Agreed that this is much needed in Cincinnati, and I’ll echo the words of Andrew Bird in thanking Bryce for his civic-minded nature. Thanks for a great review and I’m already looking forward to 09.

  3. Joe on April 9, 2008 1:39 pm

    Thanks Dave, I had a great time again this year, such a great thing for our city….

  4. J-Love on April 9, 2008 9:13 pm

    Boy, not much to add - great job summing it up. All in all, a great eclectic mix for the entire four days. What I really like is that in talking to people there for the whole thing, different people had different highlights.

    While it would be unfair to compare years, one thing that I felt like I missed a little bit was what seemed to be a higher level of collaboration last year, particularly with more “featured” acts (Sooj, MBD). The string quartet kind of became a house band and lent a really nice string through the whole experience. That said, I defy most musicians to just “sit in” with most of those acts, who all generally work off very tight and atypical compositions. (I’ll pass on attempting to jam with The Dirty Projectors or Grizzly Bear anytime soon). So, more an observation than critique.

    Again this year, I felt a little depressed when Sunday rolled around because I knew I wouldn’t get to go listen to awesome music that night. Thanks to everyone involved in the festival. Can’t wait for 09. I’m already making my predictions/wish list for a lineup…. but I trust Bryce to come up with a better group than I ever could.

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