I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: November 6, 2023] Tortoise 

Back in the 1990s I really liked Tortoise.  I was especially fond of Millions Now Living Wil Never Die.  But as they released more instrumentals, (all of the songs are instrumentals–more or less), they veered more into a jazz and lite-jazz field.  I didn’t mind it all that much at the time but I definitely listened to them a lot less.

I didn’t even realize they were still an ongoing concern (their last album came out in 2016).  When this show was announced I was intrigued.  I knew my friend Lar had experiences with them (good and bad), but his description of both shows was enough to make me think I should check this show out.

It turns out they haven’t been to Philly since 2016, so this seemed like a reasonable enough reason to check them out.  I mean, even if the songs were jazzy, the musicianship would be excellent.

I was pretty excited to get their early enough to be on the railing.  So I could see everything perfectly.  Well, except that there were two drum kits right in front of the stage.  Which was awesome, but did tend to block my view of the vibes.

Yes, vibes. There were actually two sets of vibes on stage.  One must have been electronic (I was right in front of it and couldn’t see what it was), while the other was across the stage.

So there were five performers on stage.  Jeff Parker played lead guitar.  He switched to bass once or twice and played vibes a little.  Doug McCombs (who I saw play with Meg Baird a while back) mostly played bass, but also played guitar on a few songs.  And on one he played the electronic vibe table a little.

These two guy were virtually standing still compared to everyone else.

As the show started, Dan Bitney sat at a drum kit and John McEntire sat at the other.  They faced each other and it was incredible watching two drummer play next to each other like this.  Obviously, two drummers playing the same song should keep the same beat.  But it’s really cool to see it because all drummer play a little differently.  It was great when they played the same thing, but even cool when they were playing different parts.

As soon as that song ended, McEntire got up and walked to the back, Bitney took his spot at he drumset and John Herndon sat in the far drum seat.

And so it went, musical chairs.

Sometimes one drummer, for one song no drummers.

Many of the songs were pretty, although some had some really sharp sounds–mostly from the guitar but also from Bitney on the keyboards.  The keys, at the back of the drum sets, seemed to be playing new sounds and warping sounds as the others played them.

They played six songs from 1998’s TNT, probably the last Tortoise album I gave a lot of time to, although I must say that I didn’t recognize anything.  A few songs sounded familiar, like “Along the Banks of the River,” although several of the songs sounded vaguely Western (movie soundtracky).

Things got jazzy but there was no saxophone (which is good); Mostly I really enjoyed seeing the drummers right up front like that.

Everybody seemed to be having a good time on stage.  Even McCombs who is pretty unmoving on stage made a couple of jokes.

And the sound was incredible.

I’m not sure I’d need to see them again, but I’m really glad I went to this show.

And Markitaneight filmed t he entire set

1. Gigantes ∇
2. Monica §
3. In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Women and Men ♠
4. Prepare Your Coffin ∇
5. Dot/Eyes ⊗
6. I Set My Face to the Hillside ♠
7. Gesceap ©
8. Along the Banks of Rivers ‰
9. Eros §
10. Ten-Day Interval ♠
11. Swung From the Gutters ♠
12. The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls ♠
13. Crest ⊗
    encore
14. Tin Cans & Twine ¥
15. Seneca §

© The Catastrophist (2016)
∇ Beacons of Ancestorship (2009)
⊗ It’s All Around You (2004)
§ Standards (2001)
♠ TNT (1998)
‰ Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996)
¥ Tortoise (1994)