SlipBase Review

Iron Horse Music Hall - Feb. 27, 2004

Mr. Davis Surprises The Iron Horse

by hoby

Sun Feb 29 2004 @ 2:10 PM

First things first, the setlist:

Based on my conversation with Brad afterwards, I can fill in a couple of blanks from previous versions. If a title remains unknown ('cause I forgot to ask,) lyrics from the song appear in quotes.

Set I
Snowed In *
I Know, I Know
Run River Run @
The Lucky Dragon
"Such strange company" / "It's hard to write a protest song"
Ambrosia Drunk
"Bring back everything" / "The music we played on 100 guitars" / "I sing for people in places" $
Poorboy
Mardi Gras Song
When Cloudy Hushes Moon
Holly Would>
Dying Man's Diamond
May I Stay

Encore
19th Nervous Breakdown^
Nellie Jean % >
You Don't Have to Say You're Sorry 'Til You Go

Notes
* w/ Leslie Helpert
$ w/ Leslie Helpert, Marc on glockenschpiel, Andrew on melodica
^ Rolling Stones cover
% played by very, very popular demand

My experience The place was packed. Having waited online for only 40 minutes, my friend and I were lucky to snag the corner booth by the waitress station up in the back of the balcony. It.s a testament to Sam.s abilities that the sound was only so-so up in that corner and not unlistenable. I was still able to make out what was going on and really enjoy myself despite sitting in a giant bass trap.

The crowd was really not very polite to Leslie, at least upstairs. The drinking/conversation was louder than she was. It may have been better down on the floor. I hope so. I intend to make sure I am able to really listen to her on Thursday.

I won't do my usual long-winded song-by-song, note-by note analysis; I'll give impressions from various points in the show:

Snowed In started with a nice long intro by Andrew who continues to astound with every beat he plays. It's getting to the point where words won't do justice. (I tried to explain to my friend how Andrew practically killed me with the drumming he did on Ambrosia Drunk at Revolution Hall, and simply could not. God, I wish I had a tape of that.)

Andrew and Brad did a nice Fuji-like intro for Lucky Dragon, with Brad twisting knobs on his EH like crazy. Marc ripped on this one.

Don't know the name of the next tune, but Brad played a nice slide on a Danelectro guitar that I don't recall seeing before, which he told me had been purchased at the instrument store next door to the Iron Horse a couple of years earlier (still had the price tag on it!).

Ambrosia Drunk is becoming one of my favorite songs by any artist.

The next tune was another for which I have no title, but it was one of the several points in the night where BAM'N'L created a vibe very much like early Leonard Cohen. A minimal arrangement with an eclectic grouping of instruments creates a spare, seductive backdrop for evocative poetry. Very cool. Mardi Gras tune had some of the same feeling for me.

When Cloudy Hushes Moon - According to SlipBase, it's been played 14 times since '98 and I have certainly never seen it. Wow. It was a wonderful surprise and truly beautiful. As you would expect, Marc ruled on this one.

Andrew was monstrous on a solo spin out of Holly Would.

Brad nearly caused a dulcimer to spontaneously combust on May I Stay.

The 19th Nervous Breakdown encore was a real kick in the pants for those of us old enough to remember it from the first time around. (Back when the Stones really mattered. Yes, kids, there really was such a time.) Brad told me afterwards that they had just learned it in the dressing room that night.

I will admit that my happy reaction to the first notes of Nellie Jean was a little tempered because of the crowd insistence. But the tune was as beautiful as always and Marc positively RIPPED his lines (precision and power personified) on a natural finish Jazz bass I don't think I've seen before. (Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen that black Dano either. He played great stuff on that throughout the night also.)

Towards the end of Nellie, Brad and Marc engaged in a trading of lines (calling and responding, intertwining and interpolating) that reminded me of Garcia and Lesh at their '69 Dark Star best. And from me, there is no higher compliment of group interplay than that.

This led into a very interesting jam with Andrew beating out a very martial rhythm while Brad accented with tambourine and Marc got all spooky with short feedback notes. From there we found ourselves in ring modulation-land, with Brad tweaking knobs, Andrew entering a positively DeJohnette-like fenzy, and the whole thing going very out.

As I read over what I.ve written, I notice that I've said almost nothing about Nathan. Well, I did mention that he's written what has quickly become one of my favorite songs by any artist and I've compared him to Leonard Cohen (high praise from me.) I can also state that he's an engaging stage presence with a great, varied singing voice and he was having a GREAT time on stage with BAM.

Bottom line: I spoke to Andrew and Brad afterwards, and they both felt great about this show. Well, so did I. I had a GREAT time. If you love The Slip because they continually take chances, grow, and change and are willing to let us witness the process of their art, then you should allow yourself to be surprised by Mr. Davis.