Better Late than Never!

Power Trio – Asheville review

Where do I start here! This was an absolutely wonderful show. From the trip to Asheville, the good food, friends from far away lands, and the culmination being at the Power Trio performance.

As usual I drug my friends to the show my excessive 2hrs before door opening time. This time my good friend was visiting all the way from Sao Paulo, Brasil. Talk about perfect timing on this gig happening while he is here.

The weather was gorgeous with billowing clouds, Carolina blue skies, and tiny rain showers lasting so briefly that you hardly noticed. We arrived at the Orange Peel venue about 5:15pm for a 7pm door opening. Usually there are people who arrive at least 1.5hrs early but this time no one showed for almost 1.45mins which I found quite strange.
I was hoping that the venue would not be lacking for attendees this night.

Adrian deserves a good gathering of friends to see him perform. I think that the final turn out was better than the Stella Blue gig last year though. While we were waiting in line several people started to show up just before doors. It was nice conversing with other fans that’s one of the reasons I love to go to concerts early. I often find that I am standing in lines with several whom I have met at shows past.

One of the attendants came out to check the ticket scanner and asked to scan my ticket to make sure it was functioning. All systems were a go and at that moment I decided to check on my camera being ok to bring in. I have been to many Adrian Belew shows in the past and cameras were always allowed. The manager or show manager said it was ok as long as it was not a pro lens. (mine was) I did some fast talking and got her permission to bring in the camera provided I did not use my flash. (fine by me I like natural stage lights)

Her name was Anastasia and she went by Stashia for short. She told us of her youth and traveling with the Grateful Dead and all she knew. I mentioned that my friend here is from Sao Paulo, Brasil. She told me that I would be getting a wrist band with VIP access to the front side of the barricade.

Finally we were let inside the venue and I quickly raced up to the stage to get the optimal photographic spot for the gig. Sort of in front of Eric and looking at Adrian from the right side of the stage. (less microphone blockage that way)

The warm up band was Nerd Parade out of Atlanta and they were incredible! It took me quite a while to realize that the bassist is Rich Schmidt also a member of the Adrian Belew Tribe yahoo discussion group. The drummer was great he was very cool to see playing. He seemed to love those Surf beats and the guitar had many styles. They were a great act for an opener and were most gracious to Adrian for allowing them stage space to play. I would like to see them perform sometime when they were a headliner.
Now enter….The Power Trio……seasoned by yet another year of playing on the road.
WOW what can I say here they were stellar! Eric’s drums were in perfect view of me from where I was. He was in a great spot to get a lot of good photos of him. Usually the drummer is behind his drums and is hard to get a shot. His kit was positioned side view for us on the right side.

Julie was playing her usual subtle stage presence but a monster of style and tone. Barefoot again and playing the hell outta her bass. I was able to get several decent shots of her over the course of the evening. I got to go in front of the barricade to take some shots which was extra special for me.

Adrian was in rare form as usual his playing was spot on that night! He is one of the most underrated guitar masters of this century. Such a joy to watch and so fun to hear him playing. I think he has finally found a guitar that he will use for the rest of his career as a musician. That Parker Fly Adrian Belew Model is one in a million with it’s wild interfaces build for the Line6 amps. He comments on how he never breaks strings anymore and how no matter how hard he uses the whammy bar it never goes out of tune.
After all he IS the Twang Bar King!

The Trio played several off the new album “e” and I can consciously say they played a,b,c, and e for sure and who knows but possibly they played d as well. The new cd is a 5 part song cd. a-e and e seems to be the culmination of the parts a-d. A very progressive instrumental jam it is starting out with a mellow acoustic sounding “a part 1” and building to the song e where all of the parts seem to gel together for a monstrous conclusion.

I do remember him playing The Lone Rhinoceros which he said has not been played before or in a long time anyway. I also remember Three of a Perfect Pair as well. The audience singing along at the top of our lungs. What a joy it was and such a treat for my buddy who came from Sao Paulo Brasil to visit.

After the show I was talking with Robin at the Merchandise table and Djalma came over in a frantic state saying come quickly! Stashia wants us to come backstage! How cool was that… we got to go backstage and visit with Adrian, Julie & Eric a bit before they came out front to sign things. Adrian was so gracious as always and he thanked Dj for coming from such a long way. He took time to pose for a photo of the two of them. This is something that will go down as one of the best times of Dj’s life I am sure. Not too often do you get the chance in Brasil to see people like Adrian Belew play so this was an extra special treat.

We also got to give Julie some jewelry that Dj brought from Brasil. There were a few bracelets and necklaces made from seeds by South American Indigenous people. She was most gracious about this and shared with her mother at a later time. In the excitement of it all I forgot to get my photo taken with Adrian so during the signing I asked him for the preverbal photo op. He said that it is not too often that the photographer gets to have HIS photo taken. What a great guy he is as he always takes time to make each fan feel like they were appreciated individually.
This was truly the best Adrian Belew show I have seen to date as they keep improving with age like a fine wine. If you have not yet had the opportunity to go see them play live please treat yourself to this experience. You deserve it!
Here are some photos I took at the show.

Peace,

Mike

"e" is to the Power Trio what Fahrvergnugen is to Volkswagen

"driving pleasure"

Adrian single handedly introduces us to “e” with “a” which is a rather captivating coming attraction, that not only inspires us to listen through to the end, but captures our desire to do so, by the tail.

This is the first studio album that Adrian uses his band mates Julie Slick on bass and Eric Slick on drums. As we get our first glimpse of this trio together in the second track it harkens back to sounds reminiscent of Neurotica. Not enough to be pastiche but just enough to gather King Crimson fans together for a thorough listening of Adrian’s favorite new project.

A personal favorite of mine is the way that Eric makes use of the most simple drum kit yet together with Julie on bass they drive this trio like the force of a thousand elephants storming across the African plain. There is something animalistic about this group they seem to capture my attention at every twist and turn of this journey called “e”.

This studio recording of Adrian’s really captures the spirit of the live shows. The way Eric rattles around on the edges of his kit and Julie fills out the bottom end of this with her fierce definitive style of bass. It really gives one a sense of just how cosmically talented the other two thirds of this trio are.

Eric often enters into the layers of Adrian’s guitar with a bombastic drum riff and out of the blue Julie soars onto the scene from the bottom end of the spectrum. The true talent of this lineup of The Adrian Belew Power trio is heard for the first time in a studio recording and what a recording it is.

Sometimes the music has a very cerebral quality and cannot be properly put into words. It is for those moments that I will leave it up to your brains to decipher. At times the entire band is going completely off the wall with its organic fractalizations and just when your mind feels it cannot escape the madness, Adrian goes off into some very beautiful Soundscapes. This completes the equation which puts your weary mind at ease.

There are moments in this journey that have a very chime like quality and touch just a bit on the 80’s King Crimson. He also seems to pull out some of his old tricks here with sounds that remind me of the songs of whales in the deep blue sea. Only this time I think they are being analyzed by some alien beings from outer space. Check it out…..

In interviews I have heard Adrian talking about this being an entire cohesive piece arranged around “e”. I love these rather up and down scale like themes it has a sense of adventure about it and piques my curiosity as to what will come next! Meanwhile Julie and Eric are creating the glue that keeps this entire piece welded firmly together. This is probably why for me; this is the most interesting of Adrian’s project oriented albums. He obviously let them work out their own parts and share the limelight with him and boy do they ever!

Adrian’s playing has always been monumental in my book but he has finally found the other two pieces of the puzzle. With Adrian as a base and Julie and Eric as the other two sides of the triangle Adrian has found a Synergy in this band, which means that the sum of the whole is greater than its individual parts.

I love the way he uses the scales to build up a theme and then all of a sudden all chaos breaks loose with the rest of the band. There are so many intricate themes going on here and Julie is really playing some amazing things on this release. The trios’ interconnectivity is stellar; the changes in this are beyond amazing! Eric is crackling around like fireworks on the fourth of July on the rims of his drums. Adrian is pulling out all the stops with his solos in latter parts of this album. This album is definitely about the journey and the destination is “e” and boy oh boy what a destination “e” is.

This final track “e” is the culmination of everything on this album coming together to create the final composition. The percussion is crisp and the bass is ferocious! There is a power that only this Trio could show you. If you have not gotten this album yet please do you will thank me!

You can get your copy over at Adrian's website and even get it signed by the trio!
www.adrianbelew.net

Peace,


Mike

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO - Does it again!

This is a Rare CD….NOT to be missed!

I am listening to the 13min long version of Beat Box Guitar right now and the sonic attack of the trio surpasses all other past live recordings. When I first saw this I was a bit skeptical because I have heard so many versions of live recordings over the past few years. Often times with this same or similar song lineup. But there is something about this night that set the world on fire!

I cannot believe this song Eric is blasting away on his kit and Julie is bubbling up like a Mt Vesuvius about to erupt! From here they blast into A Little Madness and let me tell you. You will understand the name of this song after hearing the first 15 seconds of it. This is pretty ferocious guitar, bass & drums. We are not talking a lot of fancy ass drums that take up the entire stage here. We are talking just the most basic kit. Yet it sounds like the wildest drums you have ever heard. And Julie and Eric are still talking between themselves. They have a musical brother and sister bond, its some sort of language they use when playing. Like the kind of cerebral language only twins can speak and these two are not twins.

I cannot say enough about the quality of this release. I bought the version off Amazon because I want the mp3 files, I prefer the lossless files found in Flac but these will do in a pinch. However, I must add that this sounds like a physical disc here on my headphones. The band is in full tilt mode at the 4min mark of this song and building up towards a sonic explosion ending. This music is NOT for the faint of heart but if you LOVE good music then you will not be let down by this recording. Like I said, having heard numerous live bootlegs and all of Adrian’s recordings but I have never heard anything quite like this before.

Drive starts out with the engine of a car starting and driving off...and then Belew comes in making his signature whale sounds and layering his notes over each other. I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform this three times now live. I love the textural qualities of Adrian's playing the way he builds sound on sound live. It is not a lot of gadgetry or trickery it's layering and layering in a live setting. It starts to envelope your brain and before you know it you are in a rocket ship headed for the cosmos.

The music breaks at the 3min mark and feeds into a special tribute and if you don’t know the song I am talking about I won’t spoil it for you George…what a beautiful segue. As gently as it feeds into this song it gears itself back into the main drive. It’s like rolling through the countryside with the top down on a warm spring day. I have heard this song before but yet once again Adrian is otherworldly tonight. He is playing on and on with this and it has just really developed nicely from the first days of hearing it. And all of a sudden he breaks into a very Frippian attack.

Neurotica is a total assault on the senses. I have loved this song for many years since I first heard it on the album Beat. The lyrics have always floored me so make sure to Google the lyrics for this song. The music is like a swirling palette of aural colors mixed together and at times splattered with the intensity of a Pollack on the lyrical canvas of life. Julie and Eric’s playing here is very supportive of Adrian and adds a lot to the mix. This song was played originally by more musicians and as a trio they have really broke it down and fit it into the trio format. Yet it is not lacking in any way musically. It is as full as if the double trio were playing this.

Of Bow and Drum starts out with Adrian shredding along in his signature Twang Bar King way. The song explodes and then fades back into the chorus. The drum parts are filled nicely by Sir Slick whom I have dubbed “The Percussive One” and the bass is performed so effortlessly by the Barefooted Priestess of Cool & Her Collective Consciousness. As usual Adrian is releasing the signature sonic guitar but as stated before there’s intensity and a maturity going on with The Trio that I have not heard before. They are becoming a Unit......hmmmm. Go figure….maturing like a fine wine!

Frame By Frame ahhhhh another of my favorite King Crimson classics. This song feels so natural you almost forget it is Adrian Belew Power Trio playing and not King Crimson. Although I might add that Robert in the mix would be quite cool too! Maybe a guest spot at the Orange Peel in Asheville on August 23^rd might be in order. Robert?

And then here is a song that is so special to me. First lyrically I love this song and second it is special for me because this was the first King Crimson tour I ever saw. The Trio does an amazing job on this. You guessed it…..Three of a Perfect Pair!

Keeping it new and fresh, yet holding to the original in a way that compliments. Adrian's lyrics have always been so inspiring to me they are like poems rather than the usual top 40 inspired lyrics that are as far away from actual poetry as you can get.

Well anyway I will leave the last song up to your own interpretation. I really hate these blow by blow reviews but for some reason tonight felt that I must digress and do just that. But I must add that originally Bruford was amazing on these Crimson songs! However.....if you listen to Eric playing this you will not be missing a thing in fact Bill is probably impressed with this boys playing style. He does often remind me of Bruford or Bozzio if I had to toss in a comparison.

Oh and let me say this in closing! YOUNG LIONS RULES on this recording! Check it out buy it today you will not be sorry! I am completely and utterly speechless now! The ending of Thela Hun Ginjeet is killer!

Thanks again to the Trio and Julie for using her many talents and getting this recording online and on Amazon!.

(click on the word Amazon to download this wonderful new disc by Adrian Belew Power Trio)

Peace,

Mike

Power Trio "e" Coming to a town near you!

I am so excited about the recent news that "e" is out soon!

Adrian Belew Power Trio is:
Adrian Belew - Guitar
Julie Slick - Bass
Eric Slick - Drums

Adrian Belew has a new album that is due out soon! The is the first album with Julie & Eric assisting in the development of the final product! AND.........they are coming to Asheville August 24th at the Orange Peel. YAY!!!!!!!! That is one day after my good friend arrives from Sao Paulo, Brasil and two days after my Birthday. This is a great present for both of us actually! Bands like King Crimson, Adrian Belew, The Bears and such just don't make the trek too often to Brasil.

He did get the chance to see Robert Fripp open for the G3 tour in Sao Paulo but that is the closest Dj has ever come to seeing King Crimson or Adrian Belew live. The last time I saw them was a couple years ago now in Asheville at Stella Blue a small club in comparison to the Orange Peel. At the time I made this poster for the show (on my own not a commissioned poster) and took a few copies to the gig to have them signed. Eric, Julie and Adrian all signed the 3 copies I had printed and I was going to send one of them to the Slicks mother Robin as a gift. I left it with Julie and something happened on the way to the forum it got lost in the shuffle of gig traveling.
But hey it's the thought that counts anyway and no harm no fowl.

"Typographical poster is at the top of this post"

I may have to come up with something for this gig too! Anyway .....I am excited by the news that they are coming to my state this time around. If the Adrian Belew Power Trio is playing anywhere near your town make sure go RUN to see them do not miss it!

Peace,

Michael

The Great Debate

What is art? Is Photography art? Is Graphic Design an art form? If the artists hand never touches the piece is it still considered that artist’s creation? If they conceptualized it, visualized it, conveyed it to a group of facilitators or apprentices who in turn labored over the physical piece, then wasn’t that still art created by the artist?

It seems this debate has been going on for eons. Back in the caveman dwelling days I am sure there were those who did not agree with the cave paintings. Saying things like they were childlike in quality, the wrong blood was used to draw that buffalo, you needed to use buffalo blood but instead you used antelope. Well maybe there was a reason for that, like antelope blood had a better lasting quality on the rocks than did Buffalo, or maybe the viscosity was easier to paint with? Then there is the debate, of which tools were used to etch into the rocks, or the etchings were too animalistic leaning toward the hunter side and not enough was done to document the gatherers. Can you see where I am going here?

I however hearken back to my early college days when one of my professors posed this question and expressed their opinion on what made something art for them. They said, if you like it, if it evokes and emotion which is satisfying to you as an individual even though you may not understand it, even if it evokes an emotion that is unsettling to you it is still a work of art, even if the artist never touched the piece themselves. Many printmakers create works that they have the pressmen produce. There are many artists from long ago whose signatures appear on a now famous panting, but may have had apprentices put brush strokes on the canvas. Is it still a painting by that artist?

I think that good art should evoke some sort of response from us. If it is visually appealing or if it causes you to discuss this with another individual or group then it may have served the purpose that the maker was trying to convey. One of the professors in the University I attended used to look at each drawing his students would bring in and no matter how good or bad the quality was, he would first find the good in it. Even if this was obviously a rushed or unfinished piece, he would comment on their use of negative space, the quality of their mark making, comparisons to other artists who often had unfinished work. He would always say something positive and then give criticism.

His mindset seemed to be one of encouragement, building of their individual character, and finally teaching them to look at other artists who did similar work to encourage further exploration. I don’t think he had a single demoralizing bone in his body. In his more advanced courses he was a tough critic but that is justified at that stage of artistic training.

In my not so humble opinion, what is art and what is not art is very difficult to define. I think that if it is art to you then it works, if not then so be it. There was a time in my figure drawing course where we had discussion over one individuals drawing of a female form. This woman was crouched down and in almost a fetal position. The drawing was beautiful in my eyes, the lighting, technical quality, his use of various mark making, yet to others it struck a nerve that caused anger, feelings of abuse, demoralization of the female species. It was the lighting, the colors were muted and dark a little bit eerie. It was not his intention to upset anyone, it was a drawing of his girlfriend and both of them loved it. What happened here is it stirred up emotions of each person who viewed it, based on their own life experiences, the time and place it was viewed, and the moment in history where it was seen. All those things had to do with how it was perceived.

As you can see this discussion could go on and on and it should! I love hearing people’s take on things, the good, the bad and the ugly!

Hope you find yourself in a pleasant state of mind today!

Peace,

Michael

Theory of Light Construction

"Butterflys of Egypt"

The world around us is made up of light visualized through our optic nerve sent spiraling to our brains. My love of music, art and photography were the things that I wanted to display in this blog. Over the coming weeks I will enhance its visual qualities, exhibit artwork inspired by my favorite music and spill thoughts from deep within my brain onto these pages.

Welcome to my world......it goes as far as the mind can imagine. Over time I will take you on a trip from the depths of your minds eye soaring across the universe to unknown galaxies. I hope you will grab hold of my extended virtual hand and follow me on this magical journey.

Peace,

Michael