I’m attempting to maintain a modicum of sanity amid the onslaught of unthinkable global events. Unsurprisingly, much of my treatment plan involves music therapy. I turn to instrumental skronk when visceral release is essential but the shouts of punks and the growls of metalheads are likely to miss the mark. Yikes Too has proven to be especially efficacious medication in recent days. The trio of saxophonist Tim Berne, guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi and drummer Tom Rainey rage on appropriately titled tracks like “Trauma” and “Sludge”. At 136 minutes, the live and studio recordings from 2024 act as potent dosage capable of temporarily counteracting discouraging reality.
Album Review: Horsegirl- Phonetics On and On
Succumbing to nostalgia is just as dangerous as playing Russian roulette. I’ve always known that allowing myself to wonder if things were better “back then” would automatically hasten my demise.
I was gratified, consequently, at my revulsion upon revisiting R.E.M.’s debut album for the first time in more than a decade last month. I once savored Murmur. Having fully absorbed it in the 1980s, the album annoys me in 2025.
Imagine my surprise at my instant adoration of Horsegirl’s evocation of Reagan-era indie-rock on its new album Phonetics On and On. My long-suppressed affection for slightly twee bands like Camper van Beethoven, the dBs, the Feelies, Let’s Active, the Windbreakers came rushing back to me.
Now I’ve done it. This post serves as an inadvertent invitation for death to come a-knockin’. And when he arrives, I suspect he’ll be wearing a Horsegirls t-shirt.
Concert Review: Isaiah Collier at The Old Church
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
The brevity of public performances by hardcore punk bands is essential. Twenty minutes of unremitting rage-fueled noise is about as much as passionate devotees of the form can bear.
Even as I admired the maximalist intensity of the sonic attack at Portland’s The Old Church on Wednesday, February 5, I was tempted to cry uncle. A quartet led by the Chicago jazz saxophonist Isaiah Collier rarely relented in a full bore search for ascension.
Collier, bassist Emma Dayhuff and a pianist and drummer- I didn’t catch their names- seemed as if they were in a competition to discover who could play the most notes at the loudest volume. I paid $40 to have my head torn off amid an audience of about 200.
Fury is justifiable in these times, of course, but even a rendition of John Coltrane’s ballad “Naima” became a vehicle for violent blues wailing. Collier’s punishing ninety-minute set suggests he’s as merciless as the most vicious of punks.
Album Review: Shackleton, Wacław Zimpel and Siddhartha Belmannu- In the Cell of Dreams
Feeling invincible even as I was surrounded by several men hacking constantly on a four-hour flight, I didn’t put on a mask. What an idiotic display of confidence! I woke up delirious three days after stepping off the plane. Unable to do much aside from shiver in bed, I put the new live version of In the Cell of Dreams on repeat. Shackleton’s 136-minute blend of progressive ragas, classical minimalism and left-of-center electronica corresponded with the queasy suspension of time I was experiencing. Given the pathetic shape I was in, I doubt I’ll be willing to succumb to its charms after I fully recover from the illness. For anyone willing to surrender to the dizzying mix, however, the revamped In the Cell of Dreams is a fever dream come true.
Concert Review: Cesar Rosas and the Chi-Town Playboys at the Folly Theater
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
I adored Los Lobos thirty-five years ago. Los Lobos was arguably the world’s best rock band as it toured in support of spectacular albums ranging from How Will the Wolf Survive? (1984) to Kiko (1992).
Things went south in the mid-’90s. After spending years on the same circuit as other Los Angeles bands like X and the Blasters, Los Lobos inexplicably declared allegiance with jam bands. I gave up after a couple dismal experiences attending hippie festivals at which Los Lobos did Grateful Dead-inspired versions of their repertoire.
Adding insult to injury, Los Lobos’ music wasn’t available on streaming services for several crucial years. Even though I owned all their albums on vinyl and CD, not having instant access to their music was annoying.
The obscurity caused by the boycott probably contributed to dismal advance sales for a concert by Los Lobos’ Cesar Rosas at the Folly Theater on Saturday, February 1. I bought a seat in the front row originally priced at $75 for $15. About 150 people were in the 1,050-seat hall.
Rosas was backed by six musicians billed as the Chi-Town Playboys. The first set was anchored by garage-rock staples associated with Jimmy Reed (“Baby What You Want Me to Do”), Don & Dewey (“Farmer John”) and Tito Puente/Santana (“Oye Como Va”).
Each selection included four guitar solos, two by Rosas and one apiece by two additional guitarists. Although it was performed at a very high level, the guitar-centric bar band routine doesn’t do much for me these days. With a few of my misgivings confirmed, I left at the break.
January 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency
Screenshot of the trailer of Houston Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème by There Stands the Glass.
The Top Ten Albums of January 2025
1. Bad Bunny- Debí Tirar Más Fotos
My review.
2. Ambrose Akinmusire- honey from a winter stone
Bittersweet.
3. Carl Allen- Tippin'
My review.
4. Mike- Showbiz!
Like no business I know.
5. Ebo Taylor, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad- JID022
Highlife.
6. James McVinnie- Dreamcatcher
My review.
7. François Couturier and Dominique Pifarély- Preludes & Songs
Duo français.
8. Ethel Cain- Perverts
Pop star drones.
9. William Basinsky and Richard Charter- Aurora Terminalis
Drone star drones.
10. The Weeknd- Hurry Up Tomorrow
Thriller.
The Top Three Reissues, Repackagings and Reimaginings of January 2025
1. Mary Halvorson Quartet- The Bagatelles, Vol. 1
Zorn-y.
2. Mac Miller- Balloonerism
Wavy highs and lows.
3. Iggy Pop- Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2023
Still your dog.
The Top Ten Songs of January 2025
1. Marshall Allen featuring Neneh Cherry- “New Dawn”
Sunshine.
2. Damon Locks- "Holding the Dawn in Place (Beyond pt. 2)"
Ra.
3. Khadija Al Hanafi- "Let It Bump"
Right here.
4. Larry June featuring 2 Chainz and the Alchemist- “Bad Choices”
Decisions, decisions.
5. Celeste- "Everyday"
All day.
6. Ledisi- "Love You Too"
Always.
7. Skiifall featuring Jorja Smith- "Her World"
Gregory Isaacs lives.
8. TheBabeGabe and the Human- "PSA"
My review.
9. Zach Bryan- “Blue Jean Baby”
Out in the street.
10. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- “Turned to Dust (Rolling On)”
This too shall pass.
The Top Ten Performances of January2025
1. Traxman and Dewey at miniBar
My review.
2. Garibaldi Quartet at the 1900 Building
My review.
3. Carl Phillips at Arrupe Hall
My Instagram snapshot.
4. Kristina Reiko Cooper with the Kinnor Philharmonic at White Theatre
My review.
5. Emmanuel Pahud’s masterclass at Helzberg Hall
My review.
6. Made in France at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.
7. Matt Hopper and Gerald Spaits at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.
8. Rich Wheeler, Jackie Myers and Sebastian Arias at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.
9. Marvin Gruenbaum Quartet at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.
10. Cynthia van Roden at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram snapshot.
The previous monthly recap is here.
Concert Review: Garibaldi Trio at the 1900 Building
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Dmitri Atapine encouraged an audience of 200 to renounce the term “new music” during his introduction of Garibaldi Trio’s recital at the 1900 Building on Thursday, January 30. The co-Artistic Director of The Friends of Chamber Music noted that all music was once new. Besides, he said, what’s new today inevitably grows old.
Musical semantics don’t interest me as much as experiencing fresh sounds. The evening reminded me that institutional suppression of progressive music is just as pervasive in the classical realm as it is in jazz.
I was both ashamed and angry as I experienced works by Stephen Chatman, Lowell Liebermann and Dobrinka Tabakove for the first time. Thanks to my fixation with ECM Records, I’d previously encountered Jörg Widmann’s outlandish Fünf Bruchstücke for clarinet and piano.
Rendered by the charismatic trio of clarinetist José Franch-Ballester, pianist David Fung and violist Marina Thibeault, all four pieces resounded like indispensable components of the classical repertoire. The discounted ticket I purchased on a whim for $10 two months ago revealed previously concealed universes.
Concert Review: Traxman at miniBar
Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Many of my friends and associates in Kansas City are suffused with joy by an annual tribute to David Bowie. Their exaltation gladdens me. I sensed the communal ecstasy while taking in a couple minutes of a livestream of a sold out show at recordBar on Saturday, January 25.
After hitting a jazz gig, I paid $25 to enter recordBar’s small sister venue miniBar that night to catch Chicago footwork pioneer Traxman’s final North American show prior to his European tour.
About three dozen people danced to the innovator’s electronic beats. Mesmerized, I doubled my daily step count without realizing I’d been moving. I knew Bowie- an artist famously loath to repeat himself- was with me in spirit.
Album Review: James McVinnie- Dreamcatcher
I occasionally use archival Sviatoslav Richter recordings as references to evaluate the interpretations of the classical pianists of today. In addition to admiring Richter’s no-nonsense approach, I’m morbidly intrigued by the ill-timed coughing and squeaking of chairs of sickly and uncomfortable Russians through the muffled audio of the Soviet-era documents. Dreamcatcher, the new solo album by keyboardist James McVinnie, comes from a universe Richter almost certainly couldn’t have imagined. In addition to the transgressive piano and organ works of living composers including Meredith Monk and Nico Muhly, Dreamcatcher is notable for excruciatingly intense sound fields that are damaging to both my playback mechanisms and my mind. When I wrote about my recent fixation on the sounds of organs last month, I had no idea I’d soon find it necessary to wrap my head around landscapes like this. It’s entirely possible I’ll come to reject these inside-the-instrument recordings, but until then, I can’t stop listening.
Flute Faction
Original image of Emmanual Pahud, Ellen Sommer and Grace Farney by There Stands the Glass.
I learn more at musicians’ master classes than I do from conventional performances of classical music. Emmanuel Pahud’s tutoring at Helzberg Hall on Saturday, January 18, was no exception. The preeminent classical flutist’s commentary about sheet music discrepancies, composers’ intentions and musical interactions provided new insights. The Swiss star’s critiques of four locally based flutists sounded surprisingly undiplomatic to members of the audience of several hundred who hadn’t taken in his clinics online. Acknowledging that his words were occasionally “harsh,” Pahud respected the intrepid flutists by treating them as peers. Unsurprisingly, occasional demonstrations of Pahud’s golden flute were breathtaking.