ferment/foment @ The Stone 8/5/08

This was pretty good. I knew to get there early. There were lots of Europeans, so no one was lining up at first. Then the Stone guy came out and told people to line up. There were 2 people who didn't, but I think it was the custom of their country. Went we went in, they took the last 2 spaces in my row right before i got there and I said "Oh come on, I was here first" and they said OK and moved right away. Wow, that probably wouldn't have happened with New Yorkers.

I should have surveyed the setup a little more before plopping down, however. That night, they were facing the smaller group of seats on the other side. My spot was still good, I could see enough, I was right by Gerald Cleaver, right behind the sax, and I could see the other 2 somewhat.

After making a big deal about how the heat isn't that bad, I found I had trouble with it that night. It was pretty crowded, and they did leave the AC on. It didn't reach over to the first few rows on my side, though. When it was time to go, I noticed there was a spot where it changed and you could actually feel coolness toward the back.

I think the music was the same music I saw at The Rubin Museum last June. It just included a bass and drums this time. It was fun watching Cleaver doing interesting things with the drums. I liked it when he put the tambourine on the cymbal. I like sitting that close when they are doing different things with drums. I have a cd called Just Drums 2, which I love. Until I started going to The Stone, I had no idea how they were making those sounds. Now I have a good idea for many of them, but it's funner for me to see it rather than listen to it with no visuals.

I thought Craig Taborn stood out above and beyond everyone else. I was biased, since I just saw something similar, but he had me the most impressed.

I didn't leave as happy as I am about the show now. I appreciated it more after I saw the opener at Roulette last night. I'll write about that in the next post, but it put things in perspective, not that it was bad, it just made me see how good this The Stone show was. It wasn't just Taborn, it was the whole thing. I just didn't realize it at the time because I was complaining about the heat and the fact that it was the same music.

ferment/foment
Michael Formanek (bass) Tim Berne (sax) Craig Taborn (piano) Gerald Cleaver (drums)