Black Flag-The Rock, Tucson AZ 3/28/23

 

One morning last week Disaster Amnesiac woke up and thought "I wonder if Black Flag is out touring near me". It was really cool to find out that upon checking their page that they'd in fact be stopping in Tucson a week later! I kid you not, it went down like that. Needless to say, I made my way over to The Rock, found good parking close to the venue and freaked out to the current lineup of Black Flag! 

Greg Ginn and Mike Vallely have yet another rhythm section, this one a bit older than the guys who took up bass and drums positions last time I saw them play. It's a bit more down-tempo Rock in orientation, especially the drummer. You won't hear me complain about that, though. The group's first set, in which they played My War in its entirety, benefited from the drummer's looseness, especially during Swinging Man: that song's rhythmic sophistication has held up exceedingly well over the years, and Black Flag seemed to use that as a springboard to really get down and play during its duration in the set.  The sound of a live band cleaving its path. Good to great versions of all of the songs from My War were presented as well, with Mike going off in his intense, serious manner and Greg exploring interesting breaks and gaps in some of his solos (along with his trademark noisy blasts, of course!) Additionally, Black Flag's sound presentation was clean, direct and efficiently simple.

Black Flag's second set at The Rock featured many of their ever-popular tunes, mostly from the late 1970's/early 1980's era. Just like the last time that I saw them, they took an opportunity to stretch out with drum and bass solos during Slip It In, and both dudes took full advantage of those spaces. I found it quite interesting to note that the pacing for many of the Hardcore Black Flag era songs were performed at tempos reminiscent more of Power Pop than speed Punk. This was fine, as, at this point, I'll take Suburban Lawns over Bad Religion any time. The group melded rhythmic heaviness with a buoyancy that moved the songs in really assured and confident ways, at least for this listener. A fascinating development within their approach, to be sure.

Damn, it was fun to shout along and freak out to Black Flag for the first time since 2019. My dreams of hearing newly written Black Flag tunes are most likely not to be realized, but that's OK. At this point, it's just great to be able to get out and hear them kick out their older stuff in their slightly reworked editions. Hopefully they'll be back in Tucson soon. Listen to your intuitions, people, and listen to Black Flag!

Below: Black Flag's current line up rocking

Above: blurry Greg Ginn as he takes a solo; people seem to hate blurry photos, but I love them

Live shot #80!

 

Ratchet Dolls, Edge Bar Tucson 3/18/23. A great live band that have clearly honed their ability to present, pace, and sound out a Rock 'n Roll show. They're touring the country now at the club level, see 'em before they take the step up to larger, less accessible stage views. Rockin'!

Live shot(s) #79!

 

Non Grata, Psychedelic Heavy Rock from Tucson guys.  The Edge Bar, 3/18/23.

 Very good live band. Drummer, please use a different snare drum next time though, that Ludwig marching snare got lost in the mix.

Live shot #78!

 

Musician with many stringed instruments doing a piece that involved tuning them one by one as the mics gave feedback and the sound engineer made verbal interjections.  Hotel Congress, Tucson 3/18/23

Live shot #77!

 

Andrew Joron digging in on his theremin sounds, 50 Mason Social Club San Francisco, 2012.

Live Shot #76!

 

Alphastare, Berkeley Arts Festival Building, Berkeley CA ca. 2016

Evan Lipson-Echo Chamber; Public Eyesore Records #152, 2023

 

My oh my, such darkened beauty here from Evan Lipson. On Echo Chamber, the well traveled bass player has presented a threnody for victims of the 20th Century Military Industrial Complex, one that was recorded inside a facility that said complex used to build explosives which killed untold millions. Those countless deaths can and should loom large as one listens, at the very least in terms of supplying the dark side of the very moving experience one could have when hearing this CD. They are not pleasant to ponder, nor should they be. That said, it's imperative that taxpaying Americans start to reckon with them; it's the only sure way to healing the physical and psychic wounds that still permeate so many areas. OK, that's the dark side of Echo Chamber. 

On the beauty side, the attentive listener will find themselves immersed within a fascinating display of extended techniques for the upright bass, all utilized in eminently musical ways, ways that lead the ears from zone to zone of fascinating passages. Pizzicato, arco, con legno, spiccato...these and so many more methods for coaxing new sounds from a well investigated instrument show up on Echo Chamber. Lipson presents three quarters of an hour of focused, present solo playing on Echo Chamber, forty five-ish minutes of deeply engaging investigations, made even more compelling by his astute spacial awareness with an echo chamber. The ways that his tones bounce around the big concrete space of a bunker are damn great. 

For American society to be taken seriously again, it must remove the yoke of Military Industrial Complex. It must also consider cultural moves such as those made on Echo Chamber. It's Disaster Amnesiac's wish that in, say, one hundred years, musicians such as Evan Lipson and their contributions to a truly creative culture are discussed and valued. 

God Bless America.

Live shot #75!

 

Chayse Beckham, Tucson, 3/4/2023. Contemporary Country with a tight band and lyrics gritty enough to stick.

RIP Spot

 

A couple hours ago, a friend of Disaster Amnesiac's texted over a screen shot from Facebook, the shot from a memorial thread for Spot. There are going to be people with much better writing skills and much deeper insight into Spot's life who will be doing obituaries for him. This is as it should be. I just want to say that Spot's engineering was 100% real, 100% true, and 100% 'bitchen. May his spirit enjoy its next trip into somethingness or nothingness.

Live shot #74!

 

Visual artist, dancer, musician, activist Decoy Gallerina. Rehearsal space, Richmond CA ca. 2018.