Medeski Martin and Wood – Underground Bee

My recap of Solid Sound 2013, continued from blog posts 1, 2 and 3…

The Solid Sound festival also featured rousing soul music by the Relatives; rootsy jamming by White Denim; harmonic pop by Lucius (who were most impressive when they guested with Wilco); Miracle Legion founder Mark Mulcahy doing solo music, with J. Mascis playing guitar in the back part of the stage; a nice set of solo singer-songwriter music by Sean Rowe; and singer-songwriter Sam Amidon playing quiet songs in the vein of Nick Drake as well as more traditional Appalachian folk, with Beth Orton (his wife) joining in for one song. Marc Ribot and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo played a terrific set of their “Border Music,” and Brazil’s Os Mutantes playing songs from its new album Foot Metal Jack (which I’m not so keen on) but also some of its classic psychedelic tunes. And as mentioned in Part 2, the fest closed with a strong set by Medeski Martin & Wood, supplemented by various guests.

J. Mascis plays guitar during Mark Mulchay's set — J. Mascis plays guitar during Mark Mulchay’s set

Watching all of the music, I missed most of the comedy cabaret hosted by Hodgman, though the portion I caught — featuring Hodgman and Jen Kirkman — was hilarious and eccentric.

In between the concerts, I stopped into MASS MoCA’s galleries and saw a few of the most striking and memorable artworks I’ve experienced in a while. The Chinese artist Xu Bing’s Phoenix, a pair of hundred-foot-long mythical birds constructed out of debris, is hanging from the ceiling in a room the size of an airport hangar. (And Xu Bing’s remarkable super-wide-screen animated film The Character of Characters was screening in another room.) Another gallery displayed a thousand or so miniature paintings that Tom Phillips created on the pages of an obscure Victorian-era novel, W.H. Mallock’s A Human Document. I could have spent many more hours examining these fascinating pictures. And then there was an entire building devoted to the paintings of minimalist Sol LeWitt. Now, I must confess here that I am unenthusiastic and generally bored by most minimalist art. When I see a big canvas covered in one color of paint, my typical response is, “Big deal.” So I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of seeing all those LeWitt paintings. But there was something damn impressive about seeing all of them assembled in the three floors of this building. Taken as a whole, they became more like a weird piece of architecture.

Xu Bing's Phoenix at MASS MoCA — Xu Bing’s Phoenix at MASS MoCA

MASS MoCA's exhibit of art by Jason Middlebrook — MASS MoCA’s exhibit of art by Jason Middlebrook

A detail from inside artist Mark Dion's installation "The Octagon Room" at MASS MoCA — A detail from inside artist Mark Dion’s installation “The Octagon Room” at MASS MoCA

Tom Phillips' "A Humument," on display at MASS MoCA — Tom Phillips’ “A Humument,” on display at MASS MoCA

All in all, Solid Sound lived up to its name. It’s an inspiring model for how to run an arts festival — although it’ll be hard to emulate elsewhere, because how many other places are there like MASS MoCA?

Artist Mark Remec's piece "Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear (Circle Totem)" in the foreground, with the main Solid Sound stage in the background, following the end of the festival of Sunday evening — Artist Mark Remec’s piece “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear (Circle Totem)” in the foreground, with the main Solid Sound stage in the background, following the end of the festival of Sunday evening

Artist Marko Remec's installation "Can't Hear You (Fat Totem)" — acrylic dome safety mirrors strung up on an old water tank — on the Solid Sound festival grounds at MASS MoCA — Artist Marko Remec’s installation “Can’t Hear You (Fat Totem)” — acrylic dome safety mirrors strung up on an old water tank — on the Solid Sound festival grounds at MASS MoCA

Read more about Solid Sound and see more photos in Parts 1, 2 and 3

Read more about Solid Sound and see more photos in Parts 1, 3 and 4

Given the fact that Solid Sound was a festival organized by Wilco, it’s not surprising that it also featured side projects by the band’s various members on Sunday (June 23). The most impressive of these may have been Wilco member Nels Cline’s eloquent, virtuosic guitar duets with Julian Lage. Cline later showed up as one of the guests during the festival-closing set on Sunday night by the jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood, and he ended up playing for about half of their set, bending and twisting the notes on his guitar in a frenetic style reminiscent of John McLaughlin’s legendary work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. (Tweedy, Hidalgo and Ribot also sat in on that set at various points.)

Nels Cline and Billy Martin during the set by Medeski Martin & Wood

Mikael Jorgensen — the keyboardist and electronics whiz who generally sits at the back of the stage during Wilco shows, making himself the least showy member of the band — had a couple of chances at Solid Sound to show off what he does. On Saturday, he generated live electronic analog synth music in a dark museum room, accompanied by longtime Wilco techs Nathaniel Murphy, Travis Thatcher and Josh Goldsmith. I dipped into the performance for a short sample, and it felt like I’d stepped out of the summer festival and into a … well, not a rave, exactly, since no one was dancing. A laboratory?

Mikael Jorgensen in the "Oscillator Fumes" room — Mikael Jorgensen in the “Oscillator Fumes” room

And then, the following afternoon, Jorgensen took his pulsing electronic music out into the broad daylight, playing a set with Greg O’Keeffe and Oliver Chapoy. I’m not sure if Wilco’s more traditional-music-loving fans knew what to make of it, but the droning noise settled over the museum courtyard like an invasion of cicadas — but with a danceable rhythm.

Mikael Jorgensen, Greg O'Keeffe and Oliver Chapoy — Mikael Jorgensen, Greg O’Keeffe and Oliver Chapoy

Another member of Wilco with avant-garde tendencies outside of the band, drummer Glenn Kotche, played as part of the duo On Fillmore, which also includes bassist Darin Gray. But it wasn’t a straightforward concert of their music. Rather, they provided accompaniment for an entertaining live version of the public radio show “Radio Lab,” which featured Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich reading from scripts and playing short clips from interviews as Kotche and Gray made sounds to evoke the story of the dinosaurs’ extinction.

The crowd gathered in a MASS MoCA courtyard for a live performance of "Radio Lab" — The crowd gathered in a MASS MoCA courtyard for a live performance of “Radio Lab”

Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich of "Radio Lab," with Darin Gray of On Fillmore — Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich of “Radio Lab,” with Darin Gray of On Fillmore

Darin Gray makes dinosaur noises with On Fillmore

The key mammal that survived the meteor explosion that killed off the dinosaurs — the shrewdinger — appears during "Radio Lab," with Jad Abumrad, right. — The key mammal that survived the meteor explosion that killed off the dinosaurs — the shrewdinger — appears during “Radio Lab,” with Jad Abumrad, right.

While some members of Wilco contribute elements of jazz, electronic and avant-garde music to the mix, John Stirratt and Pat Sansone bring a power pop, classic rock and soft rock sensibility, and that was on full display when they performed as the Autumn Defense. After playing pretty pop songs from their own albums, they closed with a perfect cover of Bob Welch’s 1977 radio hit “Sentimental Lady.”

Pat Sansone plays with the Autumn Defense

John Stirratt plays with the Autumn Defense

Meanwhile, the Blisters — a band featuring Jeff Tweedy’s son, Spencer, on drums — also played at Solid Sound. The youngsters got plenty of adults dancing as they rocked out near the end of their noontime Sunday set.

Read more about Solid Sound and see more photos in Parts 1, 3 and 4

Tag: Medeski Martin and Wood

Solid Sound, Part 4

Solid Sound, Part 2