Let me tell you a quick story…
Back in the ’90s, I went to see Morphine play a show at Tremont Music Hall. I had been a fan of the band for some time and was pumped about seeing them play in my hometown. I’d never heard of the opening act that they were touring with, a band from Denver, Colo. — Sixteen Horsepower.
This opening act put on a show that I will never forget. The show was unforgettable — not only because they were talented musicians and performers but because it was one of those shows that you go to and leave a different person. I mean, I couldn’t exactly figure out what I was listening to and the group played with a terrifying kind of intensity that kept me riveted to the floor.
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We’d probably classify them as “alt-country” now but that doesn’t capture their sound or their live show. Their lead singer, David Eugene Edwards, sang gospel inspired lyrics but, not uplifting positive “God is great” or “Jesus saves” lyrics.
He sang rather disturbing lyrics about fighting with his sinful tendencies and the rhythmic intensity of the music that pushed the lyrics along made it feel like I was in a country tent-revival that had gone horribly wrong. It was as if the preacher had gone mad and was trying to get the congregation to feel the intense emotions that he was feeling and to share in his struggles.
Now, I’m not trying to convert you to Sixteen Horsepower’s music or anything. That experience got me thinking about those moments when music — and art in general — pushes us beyond our normal boundaries and forces us to see things differently. That experience is weird, disconcerting, and fascinating all at the same time.
It’s like when Miles Davis writes in his autobiography about seeing Charlie Parker play for the first time. He says that it was “terrible.” Not “terrible” as in “bad”, but “terrible” as in “TERRIFYING”. Parker was so good and the energy of the band was so powerful and all Davis could do was stand there in awe as his little musical world came crashing down around him.
So, hopefully you’ve had this kind of experience and if you’d like, take a second or two to share it here. Now, we’ve all been to great shows but I’m looking for the kind of experience in which there’s an element of awe and terror … a musical experience that changes you as a person and makes you think differently about music (or, hell, life) differently from then on…
This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 5, 2010.
The first time I saw Jeff Sipe play with Jimmy Herring/Project Z… back in 2000 I believe.. at Stella Blue (asheville) when it was still cool there.
He was pretty much goin all out, and it blew my f’in mind. I had never seen one person fill in the space so artistically (or with so much density). It reshaped my concept of the drumset (and the potential for the drumset to be more of a dynamic, melodic tool).
I really hit the books after that.. I was studying percussion performance in college with Byron Hedgepeth at the time (who, by the way, reshaped my concept of the drumset radically over 4 or 5 years.. Byron is a guru, too).
At that point, I wanted to learn it all.. every different school of thought from soft jazz to tech. death metal to neo classical marimba.., special technique, speed, dynamic level, everything. Thanks for inspiring me, Jeff!
(I’ve yet to take a lesson with Jeff, but I’m sure it’s worth $50/hr. or whatever he charges these days). Ps.. I am a musical “spy.” haha.. I have been collecting information and assimilating as much as I can from various musical cultures in an attempt to bring something unique back to my main love – metal… but back to Jeff – that show at Stella Blue gave me a nice swift kick in the pants to study harder/practice 6-8 hours a day, etc.. back in college.
One of my greatest “whoah” moments happened when I caught wind of this progressive rock band called “The Mars Volta” about 5 years ago. I went to the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, and for any of you who haven’t witnessed a show there (and I do stress witness instead of watch), it is an almost perfect venue…The band that lay before me came on to a fury of rhodes piano played by a man who looked liked like Stevie Wonder’s little brother, complete with the dark shades and all. When the rest of the band joined on stage my brain was set afire by some of the most intense but emotional guitar playing and vocals I’ve witnessed, and I’ve seen hundreds of shows. I was taken back by the amount of sonic space covered. The tears were barely kept at bay for two and a half hours as my musical boundaries were pushed to their upper limits that evening.
Another whoah show was “mofro” about 6 years ago….whoah…
These and and a few others opened up many musical doors in my mind for me…
Thanks for helping us pull up these great memories!!
Dustin and Gabe,
that’s it exactly!!!!! 🙂
Keep em’ coming!!!
I swear the blogger and I are long lost brothers. I, too, saw this same show at a different venue and it caught me off-guard. I came to see Morphine, but these guys stole the show.
Recently, however, I came across a band called “The Hypsys”. My band was playing this show in the ATL with an unknown band from Tuscaloosa. Their accents were thick and I thought they were going to hook up some straight-up blues/rock. However, The Hyspys were jazz/funk/rock with rhythms and chord changes that made my head spin.
I highly recommend them.
I can relate. It was late 88′ in New Orleans. My friend worked at an independent “record” store. told me about this band coming in town on Monday night at Tipitina’s. He said I would like them because he thought they were a cross between Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division, but heavier. Being my 2 favorite bands, I had to see this show. So I bring a date to this show w/ me not knowing who or what it was we were about to see. It cost $5, a deal for sure. The opening band, Shot Down In Equador, Jr, was being pelted w/ bottles and various trash from the crowd. I had not seen this kind of crowd reaction before. They wanted them OFF!!! So,the lights drop, this skinner, smack-rocker comes out on stage w/ a velvet sombrero, Ronald McDonald stripped tights, and look like Linda Blair w/ dreds. A repetitive droning bass line setting the mood, and then like a bomb went off, BOOM! The song hits full gear and the crowd goes into full riot mode!! My “date” is scared shittless, she wants to leave. I’m completely engaged, I’m not going anywhere!!! One by one, the songs were coming, NOTHING like I had ever seen or heard. The band was relentless. They own the crowd like no other I had seen. I have literally seen a thousand shows in the past 27 years, that was the most life changing for me and how I was to begin my musical journey. That band was JANE’S ADDICTION.
pushing boundaries and expanding the universe is what all great art is about–and what all true artists strive for….indeed, when i saw my first Matisse cut-out twenty feet tall at the Tate in London, something inside me burst….i guess i knew then that i would never be that caliber artist, and yet i wasn’t discouraged…i actually felt inspired to work harder at my painting with the hope that i could push beyond my limitations and achieve newness for me. hearing music that surprises, shocks, and even confuses me does just what you’re talking about here: it’s the NEW ENERGY you absorb and carry away with you that changes something in your soul–expands who you are and encourages you to seek out the experimental in order to grow….so many bands, singers, songwriters have opened up new worlds for me….in Billie Holiday’s mournful, lost music ….i feel something new every time i replay one of those old records …Elliott Smith still moves me into the beyond with every word and note…Eyes of the Elders shocks my senses into frenzy! and, of course, ACTUAL PROOF has changed for me the very definition of jazz/fusion forever….who knew? wouldn’t our parents all be pleased that all the money they thought we were wasting on shows was actually so wisely spent on growing our souls.
Word up!!!!
MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I drove from Springfield, Missouri to Lawrence, Kansas with a good friend to see Michael Brecker. I had heard some of his studio stuff and was duly impressed. That was as much preparation for the live onslaught I was a witness to as seeing a radar screen prepares you for being outside in the middle of a catagory 5 hurricane. It was devastating. My entire definition of what a person could do with a musical instrument was shredded in seconds. At one point he was playing a melody, a counter-melody, a bass part, and an improvised solo at the same time on basically a monophonic instrument. It was like he was reading a score vertically. That show almost made me quit playing music. It was the first time I realized exactly how powerful this stuff I was playing with actually was.
I guess I will tell my age a bit as I relate this story, but I have been around a while so I can speak on this from experience…My moment was way back in 1969 when I went to see Jimi Hendrix play in Raleigh…Now to gain a better perspective of what I went through that evening, you must understand that no one, absolutely no one played guitar the way Jimi played it…To say I was mesmerized, stimulated and amazed would be a total understatement…The sounds and the fury with which he played left me drained at the end of the evening…I can still see him kneeling on the stage, guitar flailing around and the sound screaming in my ears…To this day, Jimi is still my most favorite artist…A life altering moment imprinted in my mind…
“May the good lord shine his light on you, make every song you sing, your favorite tune.”
Great musical moments come in the most surprising places sometimes. I think the best part is when the band takes the energy ball and sends it out into the crowd. The crowd grabs this imaginary yet palpable thing passes it around then sends it back at the band. The intensity of the moment is so strong that you can see the band respond physically to it. Right now as I relive the feeling I have goosebumps all over my body. This is the reason live music pulls at me, the energy exchange is almost a group consciousness at times.
I will never forget the first time I ever saw Sam Bush. It was at Ziggy’s in Winston Salem. Some friends of mine ho got me into Larry Keel and the bluegrass scene insisted that I ride up and check it out. I was sick. All I could do really was sit on a handrail, watch and listen as Sam ran through his catalog. Sam started with simple bluegrass progressed into newgrass, reggae and finally full-blown rock and roll. I looked don and my feet were moving my whole body was moving. My sickness that had kept me sitting down was gone, healed by the power of music. When Sam kicked down Old Joe Clark a traditional banjo piece then twisted it into an amazing piece of rock and roll music I was jumping, twisting and turning with the whole crowd. Sam Bush, his band, the music and the crowd had healed my cold. I had an epiphany right then and there that music is much more powerful than people realize. When everything else seems to divide us it brings us together. When people or circumstances or even ourselves try to bring us down, music lifts us up.
God i love Google. I personally have been watching too much television 😛 i bought Satalite Direct TV from http://tele.wokf.org which allows you to watch all your TV programs on your PC (Legally ofcourse)
I’ve had many out of body experiences at live shows. I live for these moments with music. It’s why I’ve spent so long and so much money supporting live music!
Gokh Bi System gave me that feeling at Floydfest a couple years ago.
The Blue Rags did it for me twice. One was their last appearance at Jack Straws before it closed. One was on the third floor of a bar/pool hall in Statesville where there was so much dancing, if you stood still, the floor would bounce you off the ground.
Jimmy Page with the Black Crowes in Raleigh during a torrential downpour. The wall of water at the edge of the shelter enhanced the sound of what was already mind blowing.
Stevie Nicks at Center City Fest in the late nineties.
Widespread Panic at Center City Fest when they played 4+ hours straight.
The first time, and many times after, I saw Les Moore, Charles Hairston, and The Monday Night All Stars. They became a weekly spiritual experience for me.
The first time I saw Blues Traveler. They were playing during H.O.R.D.E. Fest.
2nd row, center for the Eagles “Hell Freezes Over Tour.” “Tequila Sunrise” with Frey’s silhouette in front of a projected 3 story raging sun.
you’re gonna laugh, but, Styx. Yes, Styx did it. Wow.
Abe Reid and The Spikedrivers. I saw them a hundred times and each show was awesome but there were a couple of times when I had never felt whatever it was I felt. They could work magic!
Any time you can see Mamadou Diabate, do it. Get as close as you can to watch him work the balafon. Unbelievable!
Kevn Kinney! Sometimes solo, sometimes with Drivin N’ Cryin. His thoughtful lyrics for the working man, the Native American, relationships, and the less fortunate. He can take your breath away, make your heart skip a beat and make it pound out of your chest in the same song. I’ve met him three times and I’ve met many people I put on a pedestal, but that guy makes me starstruck! Sweaty palms, can’t make a coherent sentence… all that.
Joe Walsh, when he was touring with Glenn Frey and played at Carowinds. Glenn was sick and Joe carried the show. He played every instrument on stage at some point. Pretty sure it was a 12 piece band.
Soul Asylum. They shocked me.
U2, the Zoo TV tour. They’re probably the biggest reason I film live music today.
Don Henley when he was touring solo before the Eagles got back together. “Sunset Grill” comes to mind and a Jim Hensen/Kermit the Frog cover “It’s Not Easy Being Green.”
Grace Potter and The Nocturnals last year at Floydfest! You have got to check her out. She’ll absorb you.
The last one I can think of right now is Robert Bradley! Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise played World Mardi Gras in Charlotte in the late 90’s and I’ve truly never been the same after that!
The Mantras on a small stage at Floydfest last year!
Ghostland Observatory at Langerado several years ago.
Steve Earle at Philadelphia Folk Fest 2 summers ago.
The Blue Dogs at the old Amos’s.
Acoustic Syndicate before anyone knew who they were. They played the Double Door in 95 or 96 in front of about 5 people.
Big Something did it to me just a month ago. Those boys knocked it out of the park. Google ’em.
I know it’s a lot of “life changing” experiences I’m claiming, but really. They all did it. They all made me who I am today and why I care so damn much about music. After what seems like 1,000’s of live shows (couldn’t be, but seems like it) I’d say I’ve listed the most important ones. The ones that stopped me, made me one with every note, took my spirit through valleys and above the sky. I can never thank these artists for those experiences enough. All I can do is keep going to more live shows. Keep expecting the unexpected!
i went to see MM&W at the neighborhood months ago and, as usual dreaded the opener. they were a band called the “as is ensemble”
and they stole the show as far as i was concerned. they had a very high energy that just made me want to move.and, a few months ago, i went to the neighborhood to see a band called the mantras and ended up seeing something called “actual proof”. same thing happened, they stole the show and i’m still a fan. for myself, i’ll never be finished looking for ways to improve my sound or ways to better express that thing that i’m trying to get across to the crowd.
Many thanks everyone. So glad that you shared your moment. Here’s hoping that 2010 will bring more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1