my goodness, look at this clip of jandek dancing and laughing onstage the other night
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Long-awaited official release of this mind-blowing Jandek concert, easily the most powerful and emotionally high-wire live show I have ever experienced in the flesh. This was the second of two concerts that Jandek presented as part of Instal 2005 in Glasgow, the first being a trio guitar/bass/drums performance. This set was divided into two thematically linked movements, here dubbed "The Grassy Knoll" and "Tribal Ether". The first is a heart-rending duo performance featuring Sterling on vocals and harmonica and Loren Mazzacane Connors on electric guitar. It starts off with a weird spoken word section that conflates the environs of the Kennedy assassination with a dystopian sci-fi scenario and a statement of intellectual and moral individuality. Then it makes a sudden, gut-wrenching turn where Sterling breaks into song, with the most forlorn vocal melody you could possibly imagine, and moves into a section that seems to be based around the heart-attack and hospitalisation of a parent or family member. The unaccompanied vocal sections are almost unbearably poignant and the combination of Connors' spectral blues and Sterling's Dylan-esque harp ups the emotional ante to the kinda level that almost makes it hard to listen to. It's not something you are gonna be able to just stick on in the background; there's a weight to this recording that means you really have to be ready for it. I was reduced to tears when I saw this live. The second section comes off like a defiant/hysterical coda to the first, featuring Sterling on drums (!), Alan Licht on electric guitar and Heather Leigh Murray (Scorces et al) on pedal steel guitar (not lap steel!) and vocals: Licht plays rhythm, Murray plays lead, just in case you can't figure it out for yourself or you think that only guys can rip like that. Sterling's drums put the tribal in the title while Licht and Murray collide with each other in an overdriven No Wave style that is pure thunder and lightning. It's one of the wildest performances on any Jandek recording. I'm so tired at this point of reading about Jandek's art in terms of dysfunction - hearing how these two pieces work together is testament to his deliberate vision, his talents as a performer and his incredible artistry. You won't hear a more profoundly affecting record this year - or any. Jandek is one of the greatest artists of the modern era and I would rate this record as one of his greatest achievements, up there alongside all-time Top 10 albums like Fushitsusha's Double Live, Albert Ayler's 66 recordings, Dylan's Blood On The Tracks/John Wesley Harding/Basement Tapes, Skip Spence's Oar, 13th Floor Elevators Easter Everywhere, Fraction's Moonblood, Dead C Trapdoor Fucking Exit, Richard Youngs' Summer Wanderer... you name it. It's that good. So, if you buy one record this year... Highest possible recommendation.
i think for the first one in glasgow (i was at it )
how did he go about promoting/getting the word out for the first show? website? newspaper? some kind of mailing list?
just curious...
That's it man. People were wondering who this Jandek impersonating imposter was, and all along it was him.
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