Friday, November 7, 2008

Perkins works out with Banyan at the Mint

Stephen Perkins, likely the most joyful and incredible drummer in rock and roll world, played another great gig with his all star band "Banyan" at the Mint Wednesday, November 5th. Along with Mike Watt, whose bass lines solidly swing forth in a libidinous wave, keeping the backbone strongly layered while Perkins provides the Beat, and Willy Waldman, the jazzy trumpeter who was whooping, wailing, and jumping about in an energetic frenzy. Nels Cline, veteran guitar player, who has played with everybody from Sonic Youth to Willie Nelson to the Geraldine Fibbers and Wilco, provided a brilliant contrast of Jazzy fusiony psychadelia with his playing. There was a keyboardist whose name escapes me (if anyone knows please tell me.) Also, a wonderful female saxaphone player, whose name also escapes me!
Norton Wisdom is perhaps the only band "painter" in the world. He creates art on an easel as the band plays. The moment you start to become attached to one of his masterpieces, he brings a wet towel to it and starts another one! What a wonderful way to express art, in all of it's temporal glory. The visual art becomes one with the music, rising and dissolving, the way notes do. I want to keep watching Banyan play. It's a jam session that is so fun to watch, because you feel like you're in Perkin's living room with his buddies, as he's pounding away, with his barefoot on the kickdrum. Hopefully they'll play the Mint again soon!

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