The Hideout served as the scene for yet another release show. Such a warm room, that. We love playing there. Thanks to The Hideout and all who attended the official unveiling of No Ifs, Ands or Dogs.
5 thoughts on “Thanks, Hideout”
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Here is a brief journal entry about the release show:
The release show at The Hideout was the best performance I’ve seen by this version of C-A. They sounded more like a band than ever before, and not just a core group with auxiliary members.
The show is more consistent when Thymme stays behind the drums. His drumming is an important part of what defines the band, and gives a continuity to the range of musical styles.
I have always liked the way the band changed configurations during a performance, and never achieved a stable whole.
I don’t know if I prefer one approach to organization over the other, but with a single configuration it gives a focus to the performance.
Thymme came out from the behind the drums once, to play Failure. This little break worked well, whereas before there would have been many numerous breaks, repeatedly disrupting the flow of the show.
I personally like the disruptions, and the fact that C-A is not a single configuration, but this version of the band was able to keep the audience’s attention. Even during the quieter parts of the show people were listening, and I think this is because there was a continuity to the performance.
This European jaunt was the first tour which they had done together, and it obviously did them some good. This is most true of D whose playing has found a place in the band’s sound. His playing falls somewhere between Thymme’s drumming and Jeff’s guitar playing. His sense of humor is also coming through (i.e. the dueling Tippets section with Thymme during Failure).
The question of “when is it the show” and “when it is not the show” has always been part the C-A performance. Again, I like these breaks, for they bring up questions, but the audience is not there to riddle over questions, they want to be entertained.
I have always thought of C-A performances more as events than shows. This lack of a central focus is not just an aesthetic, but an organizational principle, which relates to the music as a whole. But what I noticed during this show is that the continuity of the performance brought out the differences within the music itself. This focus allowed me to experience the range more fully.
Europe surely did them some good…(:-) I saw three of their shows in France and each time was different, yet very interesting. A very cohesive and powerful configuration of the band in my opinion! I have à video of Salad days during the “birthday-mountain-whatever show..” In this extract, you can feel something very intense in the air….
…almost as if there was something solid forming in the air….:)
That’s right Peter!
Was the wall of death then lowered in Times Square? (By the way, has anyone been uncareful where they’ve trodden and found a little somethin’ extra on the Sounds Of The Week page?)