Medeski, Martin & Wood at the Jeff
i had never seen a concert where a band played all NEW music ONLY. until july 12 when i saw Medeski, Martin & Wood ( official / myspace / wiki ) at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke. MMW is more than just a jazz trio. and the Jefferson Center is more than just a concert venue. these two elements added up to a wonderful and memorable musical experience.
the Jefferson Center is possibly the best small concert venue in Virginia. and that's not an exaggeration!! there are many good things about the Jeff: excellent sound, comfortable seats, layout, security, organization, amazing artwork in the hallways, an accessible bar, nice atmosphere, great location (just a few blocks for me). another thing that's good about the Jeff is that i can get some very good photos. some of the better ones from this show are included in this post. you can see the rest HERE in 2003, i also saw MMW in concert at the same venue. i taped that show and one day i will post the those tracks online, stay tuned.
apparently MMW called the promoter themselves to add this show between their ALL GOOD performance with John Scofield and their next stop in Knoxville. it was a late add to their tour. maybe MMW enjoy Roanoke? i hope so. at least i hope they come back again. i know for sure that they were eating dinner at Nico's just before the show. a nice couple i sat near during the first set was at that same restaurant. and they told me that the band was still eating when they left just 15 minutes before showtime. that explains the late start. the lady also said the band was drinking wine.
i could tell how loose and relaxed the guys were when they began the set. i don't know if it was the wine or just the environment. you see, MMW are NOT your standard jazz trio. they're not even a typical organ/funk trio. they are completely unique in many ways.
for their musical journey this year, the band planned a new experimental project called The Radiolarian Series. the idea was to write music on the road and play it ALOT before recording it. then after one album is done, they move to the next. three albums will be done from the music that they have composed and fleshed out while playing shows. that means that ALL the shows that they do on the Radiolarian Tour will be completely new music for the fans. what other band has the balls to do such a thing?
with The Radiolarian Series, MMW proves that they aren't afraid to take chances in the creative process of writing new music. they started this series back in february, so i don't know what stage of music they were on when i saw the show. it might have been the second part of their radiolarian series.
from mmw.net: Radiolarians (also radiolaria) are amoeboid protozoa that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into inner and outer portions, called endoplasm and ectoplasm. These "Unicellular Planktonic Marine Organisms" grow their intricately beautiful patterned skeleton around their soft core in defiance of normal biological process, similarly to Medeski Martin and Wood's latest creative cycle. Some of the best examples of Radiolaria can be found in German Biologist Ernst Haeckel's book Art Forms From The Ocean: The Radiolarian Atlas Of 1862.
the show began with an extended warm-up of slowly building experimental trippy stuff. during the first few minutes keyboardist john medeski walked around blowing a didgeridoo-type instrument while drummer billy martin handled some shakers of various types. then chris wood came in using a a bow. the new direction of this music is less funk, more experimental. there is a certain musical flow thru the jams. there were several nice solo sections mixed in between theme changes.
the new music is less danceable. the hippie-types moving to the front were anxious to get to the dancing but the funk wasn't going to be steady. the band was clearly improvising throughout the show without much regard to audience reaction. not that there wasn't a groove. they were just in a zone. it seemed like each guy was concentrating very intimately on the music.
by working this material out thru playing shows, the band gets to take their time to find what is good about the new music and which parts should be changed or left out. they were taking their time and not rushing. kinda like how i was doing with this post.
if this band has a leader, it is John Medeski. both of the other guys seem to follow john's lead when they are improvising and looking for the right time to change from one part to another. John might be MMW's biggest experimenter. especially with sound textures. his arsenal of instruments includes an acoustic grand piano, a Hammond B-3 organ, an electric piano, a clavinet, and some synthesizers. i counted at least 5 different amplifiers in use with john's setup. there were also a few effects pedals at his feet. that's how he gets all those great sounds. one of the amps was a genuine vintage Leslie amp. that's the kind that has a spinning speaker in the bottom which gives a unique Doppler effect to the sound. john was using a Leslie when i saw MMW the last time. in fact, i think it is the only real Leslie amp time that i have ever seen at a concert.
john's funky organ playing was one of the things that gave MMW their unique identity early in their career. but, in a sure sign that their music is changing, i don't think john touched the organ at all until about 3 songs into this show. during the first set john played mostly on the grand piano. for one song he played a little keyboard that he blew into with a mouthpiece. (whats that thingy called?) it all sounded good. i especially liked the electric piano sounds he was getting.
Billy Martin is a very original drummer who can create a rhythm by using numerous percussive elements beyond just a snare and a kick drum. this wide-open musical experiment that the band is doing allows billy to really branch out. his beats weren't always funky but definitely interesting. he banging on everything except the kitchen sink. there were so many different percussive instruments being used it was amazing. bells, blocks, little drums, big drums, but NO electronic drums. there was one set of what looked like tin metal pots. he made them sound great.
being a bass player myself, i can really appreciate the skill and raw funkiness of bassist Chris Wood. he is an amazing player. on the night before this show i watched chris via webcast at the ALL GOOD festival in west virginia. he was not just playing double bass but also singing and playing harmonica with his brother Oliver as The Wood Brothers ( official / wiki ) incidentally, they were the first band that i ever saw at bonnaroo.
in MMW, chris doesn't do any singing. but he plays the hell out of some nice basses. always keeping the music moving funkily along. during this show, chris used 3 different basses: 1 electric Fender, 1 "beatles-style" electric, and 1 acoustic standup double bass. he played thru an Ampeg amp. his performance was amazing. he even used a bow for a while. also, chris may be the skinniest bass player in the world BUT he still has a FAT sound.
during intermission i went for a walk thru the hallways 
and the bar. as i enjoyed an ice cold bud i checked out the really great artwork from local artists.
here are some of them...
after intermission i headed down front and stood right beside the stage. i have a very good video clip of the first song of the second set. but i can't include it with this post. that will be in part 2
just as the band was getting really cooking musically a real life FIRE ALARM WENT OFF. i thought it was part of the music at first. but when people started leaving it became very real. no one saw any smoke or anything, so it was a very weird and unusual thing to happen. but it was real. luckily, i was shooting video when it happened:
why did it happen? maybe it was THIS
obviously, the place cleared out quickly. and since i was down front, i had to exit to the right near the stage. i was among a large group of people standing outside the venue beside the band's tour bus.
a few minutes later the band comes outside. and on the way to the bus billy martin shakes some hands and talks with some of us. chris wood came out next and signed some autographs. here is billy...
i got autographs from Billy Martin and Chris Wood. (THAT WAS SUPER COOL!) i even chatted with billy briefly about the current music they were performing. he confirmed that everything was new. i also asked him about whether they had ever been thru a fire alarm during a concert. he said "no. i think this is the first time that's happened".
as everyone stood around waiting, no one was sure what was gonna happen next. was the concert over? nobody was in a hurry to leave. the band apparently thought they were finished because someone told me that john medeski said "can i get drunk now?"
after 15-20 minutes they said it was a false alarm and the concert could resume. so everyone started going back in and apparently the band played some more after that but unfortunately i had to leave to go to work (damnmit! overnite shift sucks!!)so i missed the end. it would've been so great if they played hendrix's "fire"
the Jeff is taper-friendly and i know someone recorded this show because i saw the guy's setup and went back to talk to him during intermission. but he was gone and his girlfriend said he was going to post the show on archive.org but i haven't found it yet. and i've been checking. maybe one day it will surface.
was released on September 30
GO GET IT!
check out the new song "Free Go Lily" from MMW's site...
check out MMW if you like jazz or if you don't. your ears will thank you........
if you haven't seen a show at the Jefferson Center, do yourself a favor and try it
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