Confessions of a live show whore

I finished up a blistering run of live shows last week, so a recap is in order. First up was Chris Whitley at Martyr's, playing solo acoustic and recording for a live album. This was the second time I saw Whitley sans band, and I have to say, he does a good job of mixing things up with his battery of acoustics, dobros, and banjos. I thought the set started to drag a bit after the first forty-five minutes, but then realized that, in fact, it was I who was dragging. Friday shows can do that.

Next up was the hands-down favorite of the bunch, Me'Shell NdegeOcello, also at Martyr's. Most of the stories about her new album bring up how it's something of a departure from her earlier, funkier works, but in a live setting, everything is seamlessly tied together by her sheer intensity and clarity of purpose. She played more bass this time around than the last time I saw her, and what amazed me more than anything was how much nuance there is in her playing. How she plays a note on her bass is equally important, if not more so, than what note she's playing, and that kind of attention to detail gives much more depth to the music.

The most disappointing of this stretch, by a long shot, was Tower of Power. Part of this was the venue. There's no denying that fact that I despise the House of Blues, and the room, as well as the tourist and corporate crowd it attracts, just casts a pall over the musical proceedings, which also seemed to smack of nostalgia a bit too much for my tastes. Especially as compared to NdegeOcello earlier in the week, there just was no sense of urgency here.

Local act Bomb Pop was next at the Double Door. I like these guys a lot, but I had the feeling that they were a little off this time. The tunes, which generally strike me as a mix of Radiohead and the Beatles, just didn't have the same life I've heard from them in the past.

Wrapping up this stretch were Los Borrachos, who were a little rusty, as they had Gerald from Bomb Pop filling in on drums with half an hour's rehearsal, but they were still as irascible and irresistably fun as always. This was the first time I heard them tackle Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," and I think that made my night.