This Is Book's Music

Medeski, Martin & Wood
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon
February 26, 2010
This was a concert I could not pass up. I hadn’t been to a concert in so long, let’s just say it has been years. A number of reasons can lead to a number of excuses which leads to funds and blah blah, unimportant in the grand scheme. I looked to see if one of my favorite bands, Medeski, Martin & Wood, were going on tour any time. I discovered they would be going through the Pacific Northwest, including a stop in Portland, Oregon. I had the opportunity to go, and with a free schedule, I purchased (yes, I bought it) a ticket and I was on my way.

Before I review the show, a quick story. I’ve seen MMW three times before, all in Seattle: two shows at the Moore Theater, once at the Paramount. At the Moore show on April 1, 1999, they played “No Ke Ano Ahiahi”, and if you hunt down a live recording of the show, you’ll hear a guy yelling out “HANA HOU!” at the end. That would be me. This was also the same time that DJ Logic was sitting in with the group, and would play an opening set. The second show teamed them up with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. The third time I saw them was when Skerik would organize local musicians to play within his horn section. Each show was great, and one of the best moments was on The Dropper tour, when Medeski jumped onto his organ and rode it during “We Are Rolling”.

This show would be the first time I’ve seen MMW in Portland, and the first Portland concert I’ve been to in years (Frankie Goes To Hollywood & Belouis Some on June 22, 1985.) I was staying at a hotel within walking distance of the Roseland Theater, so when I headed out there by walking, I had taken the wrong street and got lost. I ended up walking in a complete circle in downtown Portland, before I recognized a gas station I had passed hours before. I saw the blinking lights of the Roseland marquee, and I was only two blocks away. I reached my destination, sweaty and exhausted, but in time. I was ready. I’ve passed the Roseland many times when I’ve traveled to Portland, but I’ve bought more records and CD’s than anything. After this show, I find myself wanting to explore all of Portland’s concert venues. But anyway, the review.

I’ve kept up with all of MMW’s output up until the recent Radiolarians albums, and I knew they would be doing a lot of material from those three releases. The thing with MMW is, even if you’re not familiar with their songs, if you love their chemistry and the vibe they feed off to crowds (which at times can be a reaction to what audiences give to them), you’ll love it anyway. The band are all about improvisation, so they may play one song, feel the need to take things to another place, and then come back. At their core is jazz, so they take the freedom of jazz and bring it into their own circle. When Chris Wood plays, whether it’s a Hofner or Fender electric or his stand-up bass, you know he’s going to do some serious damage, and he did throughout the show. Billy Martin always brings his arsenal of drums and percussion, sharing the sounds and spirits of other cultures from Brazil to Africa, then playing his drums in the traditions of Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, and Idris Muhammad. When he wants to add little textures within a complex time signature, everyone in the band knows it and keeps things open. Then of course there’s John Medeski, who will bounce back and forth from a grand piano to a Mellotron to a Hammond B-3, and to his side a Leslie speaker spinning and waiting. He’ll either be a traditionalist and take it to the days of Dixieland, or he’ll get a calling from the almighty Sun Ra and play offnotes, but in the Ra philosophy book there are no wrong notes. Then Medeski will drift into space and take fans on a psychedelic trip to the unknown, as he bends, pounds, and maintains all of this with incredible perception of his surroundings. Sometimes, all of these songs happen in one section of a song.

These are the things MMW did on this night in Portland, beginning with a first set that was pretty much non-stop for an hour. After an intermission, they came back for a second set and I was catching some familiar songs from The Dropper and Uninvisible. After an hour, they said goodnight but the crowd wasn’t having it. Their encore was a song that had been a staple of their live set for years in the mid to late 90′s, and almost became an inside joke for the band as documented on the many live recordings circulating. But as soon as Medeski played the opening notes to “Bubblehouse”, the crowd knew what they would be in store. At the point of the song where they build up and are on a much faster tempo than at the song’s point of entry, Medeski started bringing the wind in, or at least the sound of a heavy “WHOOOOOOOSHHH” and Martin kept himself locked in a groove as Wood was just jiving to the funk and keeping everything locked. When it came time to slow down and bring the song home with that grungy feel, they did it flawlessly before tinkering with how to end the song, and then… it was over. Incredible show, incredible band.

A few more things to add. I witnessed the first half of the show at the top level where the bar was. It was a standing room only show, which sucked. Had I known ahead of time, I would’ve bought myself some Chair Pants. However, I got locked into the jazzy funk and danced nonetheless. The only shitty part was that I had to deal with countless people talking. I’m sorry, but when I go to a show, I want to lock myself into the music and nothing more, I zone out. I walked down to the floor on the second half and made myself kick back in the back. I was in a good position to see ladies dance in their carefree ways, and I was loving that. But you also had a bunch of guys doing the same, but hey, everyone was dancing and having a good time. Plus: no one talking on either side of me, I got to concentrate on the music. Plus, I got a much better view of MMW than I did on the upper level. There was also a 2 or 3-year old girl at the show with her mom, and she was dancing too. I’m sure she had earplugs, but what a thing to experience as a little kid.

If there’s one group I would travel around like a Deadhead to see show after show after show, it would definitely be Medeski, Martin & Wood. But maybe that’s too much of a good thing, maybe it’s best to enjoy a show as much as possible and as you’re going through withdrawals, anticipate the next time they come around. If you can afford to though, by all means, hop on the MMW caravan.