The Power of Live Music - The Bad Plus

Tonight I went to the Bowery Ballroom in NYC to see the group The Bad Plus. I had heard of these guys before and even listened to a few of their tracks, but didn't know a lot about them. I was invited to go to the show as part of my friend's birthday celebration. I can't say I was excited to see the show (or pay for it), but I wanted to be social and I wanted to see this group of friends who I hadn't seen in 1 year (some much longer than that). And so I attended.

This was my first time to the bowery ballroom, and upon first entering I was struck by the cool lounge feel of the basement entrance. I sat with my friends enjoying a few of NY's classic overpriced drinks, before moving upstairs to the main room. We caught the end of the opening act (the name of which I can't remember). The room holds about 700-800 people my friend told me. It was a nice size, with good sound and never felt overly crowded.

When The Bad Plus came out, I was immediately struck by their age! This is only to say that I had a preconceived notion that they were in their early 30's, when in reality they are in their mid-40's. They went to their instruments: grand piano, upright bass, and drum set. They started and it rocked.

The show went on for a handful of songs as just the trio. Ordinarily the show would have continued and ended that way too, but their newest album (and now the tour to support the album) also includes a female singer. I had heard rumors of this, hearing that they do a Nirvana cover. And so a few songs in, the new fourth member of The Bad Plus Came out, and early on, they played some Nirvana.

Nirvana was cool. Not mind blowing, but did have some cool rhythmic changes from the original that really stretched time. As the show went on, they played songs by other artists including Heart, The Bee Gees, Yes, Pink Floyd and Neil Young. It's hard to go into detail because i was so wrapped up in the show, but I will suffice to say that many of their versions were better than the originals. All of the songs breathed with life, starting at one level and gradually increasing in intensity until you could barely take it, and then releasing it pressure to start the next verse. I was quite moved especially by the performance of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" as part of their encore. At one point, this usually instrumental trio, became an a cappella choir. They sang a few lines with total silence in the room before the drummer brought the instrumental accompaniment roaring back in. Very special moment.

All said, this was a moving experience, a learning experience, and an overall fun time. I truly did not expect to like it so much based on the recordings of The Bad Plus that I've heard before. But tonight I was reminded of the power of live music. Watching three men and a woman onstage bringing music to life. Listening to their chemistry and watching their visual cues. You were aware of the communication on so many levels, and that is what live music is about. Seeing the smiles on their faces (or in the case of the pianist, the unimpressed bored glare on his face) connects the listeners to the artists. We are all fans of music coming together to share an experience.

Maybe I'm getting overly deep, but truly, in an age of ipods, mp3's and low-fidelity digital music played on computer speakers and ear buds, it was refreshing to hear crystal clear piano, rich full bass, and thick resonating drums, and all being played in front of my eyes by sweating, breathing performers. This was the only way music was experienced until 50-100 years ago, but now it's becoming less and less a part of our lives.

I'll have more to say on that later. For now, here's a video I found on youtube of The Bad Plus playing Comfortably Numb from earlier in this tour. Goodnight.