Untitled

more reviews! YEAH!!!!!!!!
The Blue Humans - Live: N.Y. 1980 (Audible Hiss 003)
Arthur Doyle - Plays And Sings From The Songbook, Volume One (Audible Hiss 004)

This live set from Rudolph 's semi-legendary band of freedom fighters was released 15 years after the fact on the discouragingly named Audible Hiss label. While later lineups included notable NYC improvisers like Alan Licht, Jim Sauter, and Tom Surgal, the formation on this album is probably the most significant, because of the presence of two of free jazz's older guard, Arthur Doyle and Beaver Harris. Doyle is the famous tenor sax wildman who allegedly played on Noah Howard's rare-ass Black Ark album, which no one has ever heard, while Beaver Harris, who died in '91, was a lot more prolific, beating the skins on lots of �Impulse! Sessions by Marion Brown, Roswell Rudd, and others, as well as in Albert Ayler's great Greenwich Village concerts. That these two free music veterans were able and willing to get together and make noise with a relative upstart like RG is a testament both to the exploratory nature of the NYC scene around this time, precursor to today's diffusions between rock and improv types, and to the lack of ego and willingness to experiment on the parts of the older gentlemen. The music itself is as fearsome a blast as anyone could hope for, quickly going from retardo-punk stomp to a veritable blizzard of skronk on side A, while on side B the storm lets up long enough for Doyle to switch to flute and add some swirling accompaniment to a ridiculously simple 1-2 beat from Beaver, before another descent into the maelstrom. All this and it's on supersnazzy blue vinyl too.
Besides having been a major player in the US and French free jazz scenes of the 60s and 70s, Arthur Doyle is also a complete weirdo who has made a number of albums comprised of cassette recordings that sound like they were made on a boombox. These are apparently selections from a gigantic "songbook" he has written. Here he comes off as sort of an old free jazz Daniel Johnston. This may sound kind of cool, but listening to Arthur sing about "ox lady, dox ladyo y gaghh aridio pah pah lebl lebl" for 8 minutes gets old pretty fast, and as for the solo sax, Anthony Braxton can rest assured that he still holds the crown even though he hasn't picked up an actual instrument in like ten years. "Flue Song' is okay though, because it has lyrics about "the spirits are calling, coming to take you". And that's something certainly worth singing about in my book, as well as AD's. -DD

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: 007:Agent Under Fire
The first round I couldn't figure out how to shoot. I did though, thoroughly enjoy the vibrating of the controller, which increased in direct proportion to my damage level, and concluded in a delightful shiver when I died. Second time around I discovered that you shot with the button on the front side of the controller. Since it isn't in plain sight I didn't see it at first, but found it easily accessible with my pointer finger. So I had selected a weapon (the gun) and used it to shoot a person in the video game. He died, it was kind of unpleasant, but I kept going and ended up in a little tunnel (reminding me of the entranceway to the parking lot on some street in Princeton). In here was a broken down car. I shot at it several times, then at the wall several times. I remember then turning off the "X-Box" console and leaving the Sam Goody where I had been playing. Playing this game was embarrassing, even though not many people were in the store.-DD

REVIEW OF OF THE 2002 MICRO IMPROV FEST AT THE ARTS COUNCIL OF PRINCETON.

LEAVES OF THREE
The only thing I knew about Leaves of Three prior to the show was that they were on the bill with Big Whiskey. Consequently, I expected them maybe to be a power-house free-jazz trio reminiscent of THE TOTAL FORCE BAND. Needless to say, I was very excited. As they set up their instruments, I realized that that the bass and drum components of the band were not prepared to create extreme volumes. I looked towards the big guitar amplifier. It was large enough to produce some decent crunk but judging from the guitar player's haircut, it seemed as if would not be doing so that night. However, I kept an open mind and still expected a decent show.
The first five minutes proved to be interesting. It was at this time when I attempted to take in the band's general sound, but percussionist Toshi Makihara kept my eyes and ears turn toward the drums. Watching him play was like watching liquid imagination running through a pair of small hands. Unlike other Asian improv drummer/percussionists that have played at The Arts Council and that I have seen perform with Derek Bailey, he did not seem as if his sole purpose was to have fun with little shells and to bang on drums. He was definitely a true artist.
As the minutes passed, I became increasingly aware of the other two musicians. I repeated the process of focusing on one musician and subsequently was placed into a mild awe by both Wilbo Wright and Vito Ricci. Wilbo's bass playing was technically outstanding but at the same time unique and appealing to the eye and, more importantly, to the ear. Mr. Ricci's grace and attentiveness added the final spice to the brew.
After observing all three musicians, I was finally able to listen to Leaves of Three. They were intense yet still artfull as hell. It was the best free jazz/improv show I have seen outside of New York City. In fact, I plan to purchase one of Leaves' recordings, when they become available.-john eastridge

BIG WHISKEY
Big Whiskey were up next. They are the more well known of the two groups, and have 3 CD-Rs out, the latest on the Gold Teeth label. As soon as they took the stage it was obvious that they were there to represent the ugly side of the Micro-Improv coin. Don Rettman sat to stage left with his little synth, greatly enloudened by being plugged into an amp, his rather shoddy dress sense sharply contrasting with Wilbo's impeccable style and Mr. Ricci's cowboy boots. Dave Bryson and Fritz Normandy, on the large drums and stuff respectively, were surrounded by amps and equipment, Mr. Normandy with his back to the audience, even. Anyway, they were able to project an OK bout of noisy electronic stuff and a heavy beat, but nothing that really matched the 'commercially' available Whiskey recordings. The real meat of the performance though, were Rettmann's gyrations as he hammered away at his keyboard. Let me tell you, he was hopping up and down like a large balding rabbit. Good stuff.
So what happened next was people started to leave, including Mr. Makihara, evidently disappointing Don, who started looking a little bit sullen. The defining moment of the show, for me at least, was when Rettman, after finishing a commendable synth freakout and seemingly expecting some sort of instrumental response from his bandmates, looked up to see Fritz draining the contents of a bottle instead of playing his instrument. So about 20 minutes into the show, Rettman knocks over his equipment in frustration. Not sure exactly what he was frustrated about, but all in all the evening was well worth the suggested donation that I didn't pay (no exact change). - daniel dimaggio