Nils Frykdahl in red light in the background
The angel of white light is Carla Kihlstedt, violinist
The Secret Chiefs 3 took over an hour to get their instruments set up properly, as a result the show kicked off way later than intended. But that was ok, cuz for one, The Secret Chiefs 3 were very interesting. Hard to describe, since the only reference points are probably other bands few have heard of much less listened to. That said, they came across like a heavier Dirty 3 w/roots extending back to stranger, more eclectic sources. For instance, my favorite portion of their exuberant set was when they launched into this mad jam of the Halloween movie theme, it was so kickass cuz they were pushin it as hard and mean as they could, eliciting various shouts of encouragement from the crowd, and of course, devil horns from "those in the know".
Their music varied, however, from grating, grinding, ear-splitting screechy dissonance to gypsy-like passages and general rollicking mayhem. Long, drawn out instrumental jams w/distortion and such weirdness I can not describe it to you, actually. You had to have been there. You would either hate them with every fiber in your being, or you'd think they were totally cool.
Then Sleepytime finally got their set put up - and it was 12:30 in the damn morning before they finally began. Nils introduced the first coupla songs as being from their new album, due out in May. They were simply amazing. Starting out w/cautious, classical interplay between band members, which eventually morphed into some super heavy ass crypto funk sleepytime fusion, as only they know how to do.
I'm sorry for the vague descriptions, or the meaningless precision, whichever the case may be, it's just both bands feature such eclectic artistry that you will simply have to take my word for it: These are live bands you do not want to miss, unless you are way more comfortable at a piano concerto, a polite chamber orchestra, a hip hop show, a folksy gathering of acoustic guitarists, or any god damn mainstream show on the fucking planet. If that is the case, stay away, this is not for you.
If, on the other hand, you like hearing bizarre amalgamations of rude sonic dysfunction which occasionally meshes into glorious nuances of lyrical beauty, and sporadically erupts into violent ear pain sure to lacerate your brain with vivid impressions of super charged melodic assaults best left for forgotten nightmares, then you rush do not walk to your nearest Secret Chiefs 3/Sleepytime Gorilla Museum show.
I can't tell you the names of the Sleepytime songs they played, just that they hammered it balls to the wall, pedal to the metal, w/their bizarre assortment of spooky fairy tales for adults, all introduced w/the sideshow flourish of our most eminent host, Nils Frykdahl, whom I believe to secretly be the bastard offspring which resulted when Tom Waits had an affair with the Devil's wife, or he is Pan reincarnated and having the time of his life on earth running this carnival freakshow of the most intense jammadelic heavy fuckin meltdown of antique music styles coupled with some thrashy modern sensibilities, but you will NOT hear one single damned reference to your typical "metal", "alternative", "indy" or any other tired old commercial crap choking the airwaves like so much tepid sonic pollution.
Sleepytime's music sounds more as if classically trained musicians who grew up listening to King Crimson but also liked to thrash out and decided they would produce this music on bizarre instruments of their own devising, violins, cellos, bass harmonicas, viking rowboats, piano slide logs, cymbaline trees and the lord of light only knows what all else.
They played until nearly 2 in the am, but it was worth it. The small crowd up front took turns crowd surfin in the 12' x 12' area, it was kinda funny. Mad energy, good times.
