Breakdown | Michael Brook

House of Blues / Knitting Factory
Boston / New York City
8-9 August 1999
by Hoby

Part Six of Six

Hey Now,

We have arrived at the final chapter of my tale. I will attempt to describe my experience of the concert at the Knitting Factory in NYC.

[Please be warned. This is a telling of my opinions and perceptions. I do not claim that mine is an objective view. This will not be the cool, clear, detached review one might read in a newspaper or magazine. This will be the recounting of the experience of someone who has waited since 1985 for this event.]

Setlist
To The River
Fallen Star
Take my Heart
Deleeyama - trad. (sp?)
Together Forever
Ultramarine
Freedom
Mama
Forbidden Love
Slow Town
Immigrant's Song
Breakdown
Dark Soul (w/ Rahat Fateh Ali Kahn - vox)
"Jam" (w/ Rahat Fateh Ali Kahn - vox, and Dildar Hussain - tabla)
Encore
Take my Heart

Since, with two notable exceptions, the setlist is the same as the previous night's, what I'll do here is concentrate on differences I noticed, (or perhaps, more accurately, things I failed to notice the previous night). Of course, this means you'll need to have read Part the Fourth to get the whole picture.

"To The River" was just as wonderful as in Boston. The tune immediately sets the mood and draws us into the feeling that will pervade the evening: Old World soul meets New World techno-organic groove.

This time around I registered the fact that MB starts "Fallen Star" by gently *rubbing* a metal slide on his strings as he frets them, creating a swirling kind of buzzing underneath Djivan's lines. Did he do this the previous night? I can't honestly recall. Also, I took notice of Richard's flute playing tonight. He was doubling some of Djivan's lines. Very nice.

"Take My Heart" got folks good and revved up. Even more fun than the previous night.

"Deleeyama (sp?) was once again pure magic. I listened this time with my eyes closed and it was otherworldly. When the applause finally died down afterwards, MB stepped up to the mic and said "That was pretty amazing". And it was.

"Together Forever" - It seemed that Djivan was a little more, I don't know, maybe relaxed on this night. He seemed to be stretching his lines a bit, starting them earlier, taking them out a little longer. They seemed even more fluid than the previous night, maybe even jazz-like in phrasing in some places. Even more soulful and beautiful than before, if such a thing is possible.

"Ultramarine" was as much of a mind-blower as before. Djivan was very pleased with the result, giving MB a big thank you and a thumbs up. As a matter of fact, he was doing that all night. Anyway, after they thanked each other for "Ultramarine" MB said "It's a regular love-fest up here."

In introducing "Freedom", MB explained how it's also called "Mush Mush" from the lyrics and #7 from it's setlist position. He talked about how and why all the songs have multiple titles (working titles, album titles, terms of endearment). As was the case everytime I saw them perform it, the entry to the second vocal section caused some difficulties.This time around, Djivan came in even earlier than usual on the second vocal go-around. It was very clear that a train-wreck was imminent unless somebody did something. MB, Jason, and Richard exchanged smiles and Richard and Jason then slid the rhythm so artfully and seamlessly that everyone synced up perfectly by the end of the verse. Nothing fell apart and Djivan was able to sing the verse all the way through without altering his delivery in any way. Masterful work from the back line!!

"Mama" was next and again tragedy was narrowly averted. A short ways into the tune, the sampler providing the backing drone to Djivan's singing dropped out of the mix. Richard did a quick check of the box and looked up to the soundboard. There was no help coming from there, so he picked up his bass and provided the drone manually, all within a 5 second span at most. Then the sampler came back up briefly and cut out again. I could make out Richard's silent "What the f*uck" as he continued to play the bass drone while simultaneously trying to deal with the sampler. My impression was that the problem was up at the board, but I'm guessing people who hadn't seen the song performed previously wouldn't have realized anything was amiss given Richard's cover with the bass. Anyway, as the piece progressed, Jason once again provided lovely malleted cymbal washes and then played a great figure on his mounted tomtom using one mallet and his open hand. Great stuff!

MB introduced "Forbidden Love" as "Forgiven Love" but he quickly corrected himself as that great electro-organic percussion sample kicked in. They ended this with absolutely beautiful interplay between MB's infinite guitar and Richard's sample. They slowly faded out together to a perfectly synchronized ending, giving each other big smiles and earning an appreciative response from the crowd.

At this point I was struck by the following (take it FWIW): Richard Evans is the Yo Yo Ma of multi-instrumentalists; a genuinely nice, unassuming guy who happens to play the hell out of his instruments. He is always listening to and reacting intelligently to his fellow players. Why haven't I heard more from him? Is anybody able to point me to more of his work?

"Slow Town" from Albino Alligator was next and gave me another chance to appreciate Richard's bass playing. As an aspiring bass player myself ("actually, I don't play bass, I play at bass"), I had a great time watching him. I got a real world lesson about how fewer notes, intelligently and masterfully played, can convey much more than cramming lots of showy stuff into the same space. (Truth be told, what I wrote in my notes was "Richard's bass playing kills me".)

Next up was "Immigrant's Song" which MB introduced as "Immigrant". The first part's build up was just as beautiful and unhurried as the previous night's, with the tension slowly building to the "explosion". During the buildup, the sampler was emitting these distorted sonar-like pings. Then the dam broke and the sampler filled the room with the electro-ambient-dub backing track. There followed a nice timeless section featuring Djivan, MB on infinite guitar and that dub track. Then the whole band slid into a *very* deep groove, with Richard on bass and Jason's drums taking us all even further into the land of serious dub ambience. MB finished things off with a tremendous exploration of subtle infinte guitar/whammy bar work. This was definitely my favorite tune of the night up to this point.

I'll be honest: between "Immigrant's Song" before it and what came after it, I don't really have any distinct memory (nor did I take notes) of "Breakdown". I think it's safe to say it was great and that we all enjoyed it immensely.

At this point MB says something to the effect of "we're going to bring up a couple of guests" and introduces Rahat Fateh Ali Kahn. Someone identified him as a nephew of Nusrat. I don't know. But as I watched him take the stage in his beautiful white traditional (I assume) garb, I figured we were in for a real treat.

At that point, confusion reigned. As they worked on getting Rahat a microphone and a chair (I finally gave him mine - chair, that is), people were attempting to move around and rearrange themselves on an already crowded stage. Things were being knocked off MB's music stand, people narrowly avoided putting other people's eyes out, someone almost broke their neck, and I swear someone made a funny face and it froze like that. Mom was right!

Anyway, after this brief homage to the stateroom scene from the Marx Brothers' "Night at the Opera", MB introduced "an improvisational piece that Djivan and I have been doing for awhile." This turned out to be "Dark Souls" in much the same arrangement as the previous night with Djivan starting on the vocals, followed by Rahat raising the roof by a couple of inches on his turn, and Djivan then answering by bringing it on home. The contrast between Djivan's long, languid lines and Rahat's continually tightening spirals of temporal subdivision was, for lack of any better adjectives, totally cool. Although it appeared that Rahat and Djivan were meeting for the first time (musically at least - and I could be totally wrong about that), they obviously appreciated each other's artistry. And MB looked like he was in heaven watching the two of them.

After recovering from the onslaught of our cheering and applause, MB announced "We will now be joined by Dildar on tabla". (Dildar Hussein appears on both Mustt Mustt and Night Song.)

What followed was simply stunning. I'm not sure if they were improvising on a tune with which I wasn't familiar or just jamming into uncharted territory, but I still get short of breath just thinking about it. While Jason and Richard laid down the massive groove foundation, Rahat, Dildar, and Djivan spiraled above, beneath, and around one another, each musician drawing tighter and faster circles around what was being simlutaneuosly created by the others. Meanwhile, MB's infinite guitar floated above, slid below, intermingled with and encircled the helix-like dance of the other three soloists. This was truly a transcedent moment. When they finished (all too quickly, I might add - although Lord only knows how long they could have kept that up) the room exploded, MB said goodnight, and they all left the stage.

It only took several moments of our demented screaming and clapping to bring MB, Djivan, Jason, and Richard back to the stage. As on the previous night, MB explained that they didn't know anything else and asked what we'd like them to repeat. Without hesitation, a woman from the back of the floor called out something to the effect of "do the third number again" and MB looked that up on the list on his music stand. He agreed with that choice and called for "#3", which we all know by now is "Take My Heart".

But there's a glitch. Richard normally takes a guitar solo in the tune's slow opening intro. For some reason, he couldn't use his Tele . (I thought I heard someone say the DI was not available.) "No problem" says Richard, "I'll play it on the bass". And he proceeds to do just that. Still jazzed by the closing number with the guests, Jason really wailed during the drum break this time around, garnering smiles and raised eyebrows from the others.

And then, way before I was ready, the show and my tour were over. MB gave us a sincere thanks and the band exited, stepping across the tightly cluttered stage in much the same fashion as I pick my way through my 8 year old's room. That is to say, trying desperately not to step on anything and sometimes nearly falling over from the effort.

Unwilling to have it end, I hung around and spoke briefly to Jason, RIchard, Rahat, Dickran, and MB. They all seemed as energized as we were. But at the same time, they seemed to be feeling a bit caught between the desire to relax and speak to folks and the need to break down (no pun intended) the stage. (Did I mention that they took care of their own gear each night?) I resisted the urge to ask if I could help, figuring that my behavior of the last two days already bordered on "Play Misty For Me" territory.

Overcome by curiousity, I asked an older gentleman who was obviously there to see Djivan what he thought of the concert. His response was "I wouldn't come if I wasn't going to love it." While he knew nothing of MB's music, he quite enjoyed it and said something like "I imagine he (MB) is quite famous and popular in this country." I responded that I figured that Djivan's fame was more widespread than MB's but explained that MB was gaining more recognition due to his soundtrack and production work.

Finally, the time came to leave the Knitting Factory and I spent a very pleasant and all too short time talking with Intrepid Philly Travelers Bill and Mike and Master Breakdowner Chad. It quickly became obvious that I could hang and talk with these guys all night. But there was a commuter train waiting to head north to my brother's house with a seat for me on it and so I was forced to admit that I had reached the end of this amazing experience. Of my "escape from New York" I will say only this: Ever play "Need For Speed"? My taxi ride was just like that, only more lifelike.

As you may have gathered by now, these two concerts were a peak experience in my 41 years of listening to, making, and loving music of all kinds. The only other events that rank with these concerts were my first Peter Gabriel shows (the Us tour), the first tour by Mickey Hart's Planet Drum (with Zakir Hussain, Airto, Flora Purim, Babatunde Olatunji, and Giovanni Hidalgo), and shows by Kodo.

In each case, the musicians' artistry and command of their instruments allowed them to tap into that deeper source that transports musician and listener alike beyond the confines of the time and space in which the performance is taking place. If the energy created by such events could somehow be captured and harnessed by some type of containment device, what would we see floating within that vessel? All that is best about the music-making animals known as human? I don't know. There could be magic there.

Or I could just be getting carried away. It's been known to happen.

Thanks for reading. Your comments are welcome.

peace,
hoby