I’ve been wanting to see the Bad Plus for a while, however the dates just haven’t lined up. I finally got the opportunity last week. There’s a new venue in town, Missy Lane’s Assembly Room, that has been hosting some nice talent. I’m not a huge fan of the room, but sometimes you have to take what you can get. Bad Plus was doing two shows that evening and I opted for the early one—a rare event for me. However, being the early show, it was a much lighter crowd so we were able to sit in the second row and really take it all in. A nice change compared to the last time I was there.

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Holy whammy bar Batman!  This was a nice trip down memory lane…these guys bring me back a ways.  And I’m talking a LONG way back.  Decades, to the time when I first started playing guitar. Like most I’m sure, I got into the usual classic rock suspects—Hendrix, Page, Santana, etc.–jamming for hours to Led Zeppelin records and trying to cop Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” ad nauseum. Perhaps different from the 60’s & 70’s, speed metal was starting to make an appearance in the early 80’s, which brought a total different flavor to my cassette jams. Metallica, Testament and Anthrax certainly come to mind. However, all that changed for the better when I first heard Joe Satriani and Steve Vai—especially Vai.  These two guitarists really widened my horizons for the better.  Of course, they are much older now—as am I—but they can still shred it up!  And shred they did…

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While I continually try to see each and every one of my favorite players over the years, it just happens that some fall through the cracks. It’s inevitable. This was the case with Christian McBride. One of my favorite upright players (and bassists in general) had always managed to escape my attention when he came to town. In my defense, I only have so much time to go out to see live shows; however, Mr. McBride was definitely on my musician “bucket list” so I had to make an effort sooner or later. I’m now happy to report that his box has been checked!

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It’s been bitter cold here lately. Suffice to say, going out late to a show takes a little extra effort. However, as a musician, I feel obligated to go see good live music–always. It’s even better when you get to hang with a few musician buddies, because let’s be honest–your girlfriend doesn’t care about odd time signatures, syncopated rhythms and cool glitch fills. Glad to hear from a newer acquaintance (and terrific vibe player in his own right) about this particular show, otherwise I would have missed it. Called up another musician friend (fantastic drummer) and we were off to see Nate Smith!

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This was a fun show. I’ve always had a special fondness for shows in and around the Halloween time frame–there just seems to be something in the air that gives off an extra fun vibe. The Lincoln Theater certainly provided. I hadn’t seen Lettuce in quite some time, so when a drummer friend mentioned the show to me, I was in like Flynn. Even though the show was on a Sunday night, it was packed and Lettuce sounded great. Full funk flavor and tight rhythms. What more could you ask for?

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I’ve been thinking about writing about this for quite a few months now. The problem has been that, post Covid I wanted to concentrate on music instead of politics as this is a music website. However, as noted then (and now) there are times when the politics of the issue tend to supersede the importance of music for brief periods and these times demand our full attention–not only as musicians but as conscious, moral and ethical earth dwellers. What’s happening in Oh Canada! is a proxy for what is attempting to manifest across the entire world. It’s a trial balloon for an Orwellian future, if it can even be that optimistic. I bring attention to it, not to make fun of Canada in particular but rather to use our leaf brothers and sisters as an example of how good countries can go bad and how little time it takes.

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This was an interesting show and quite a bit of fun. I happened to stumble across a live music listing with Eddie Palmieri a few weeks ago. Since Gran Combo backed out of their date last year, I’ve felt robbed of being able to hear some decent salsa music. When I saw that Eddie was performing, needless to say I jumped at the chance to see the show. Eddie is a legend and was sure to bring the fire needed to quell my salsa craving. I also noticed that Sheila E. was on the playbill, so I was curious how that was going to play out. Let’s just say much better than expected and I ended up getting two quality shows for the price of one!

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