Caribbean artists turn up the heat on a chilly second day
By Wayne Bledsoe, Jennifer Duncan-Rankin, John Flannagan, Rusty Odom and Matt Rankin
Angélica Negrón
One of the best aspects of Big Ears is the festival’s ability to surprise. Anyone walking into Angélica Negrón’s show early on Saturday at the Old City Performing Arts Center certainly got that. Negrón, who has composed works for Kronos Quartet, Sō Percussion and other artists, and who also is a member of Balún (also performing at the festival), appeared on stage with tables of cut flowers and odd objects.
These were all, as it turned out, her musical instruments. Each flower – and in the case of the one non-cut live flower, the individual leaves – was connected to wires, and Negrón’s touch keyed electronic loops and tones through a computer. She also used the subtle sound of wadded up plastic bags and little tabletop percussion instruments, also keyed to other objects. Sometimes she dropped little balls onto a plate or a little hand drum. There were clicks, pops, drones and diaphanous melodies. Along with all of this, Negrón sang in a sweet, airy voice. It was lovely, peaceful and playful – a perfect way to start the day and ease into Big Ears. – Wayne Bledsoe
Dos Santos
Man, oh man, this set at Jackson Terminal checked a bunch of boxes! The Chicago-based, Latin-infused quintet really brought out the funky, cool, spicy rock ‘n’ roll Friday afternoon, which was the absolute perfect way for me to begin day two of the festival. The only complaint is that this was one of the few shows that could have done with fewer chairs, as the performance was one that was meant to get the crowd moving. The group layered guitars in the most intriguing of ways, and with the rhythm section, listening to these songs was like taking a shower in sound. This band is technically superior, sexy (to hear AND to watch) and just an all-around blast. They even threw in an Outkast medley near the end of their set. I definitely want to see these guys again soon. – Jennifer Duncan-Rankin
Arooj Aftab
At every Big Ears Festival, there is a moment where you are struck by something that you’ve never heard before that is simply flat-out beautiful. From the first few seconds of Arooj Aftab’s show at the Tennessee Theatre, it was obvious that this was going to be that moment. Aftab is one of the many artists who was slated to perform at the 2020 festival, which was a last-minute pandemic casualty. After the festival’s two-year hiatus, Aftab took the stage with the artists – harpist Maeve Gilchrist, violinist Darian Donovan Thomas and keyboardist Shahzad Ismaily – who performed on last year’s acclaimed album “Vulture Prince.” Guitarist Gyan Riley, who was scheduled to perform both with Aftab’s band, as well as leading his own ensembles, had to cancel at the last minute. And Greg Fox handled percussion.
A native of Pakistan but now based in Brooklyn, Aftab sang songs in her native language, along with another one that was an English translation of a piece of a Rumi poem, that were simply gorgeous. Gilchrist and Thomas (who sometimes played with unusual electronic effects) were particularly in tune with the singer. There certainly was a melancholic tone to many of the songs, which Aftab addressed at least once between numbers, and it didn’t take knowing the actual words to have them touch your heart.
Aftab is an expressive singer who communicates in a way that transcends language barriers. And, in the case of the English number, the repeated line “Last night my beloved was like the moon” delivered passion and emotion to which anyone who has ever been deeply in love could relate. Like many performances at Big Ears, the in-person experience was better and more moving than the recorded version.
When it was over, it was hard to believe an hour had passed. – WB
Harriet Tubman
New York’s three-piece, genre-bending outfit Harriet Tubman played an exceptional set of prog-jazz fusion at the Mill & Mine on Friday afternoon. The trio featured King Crimson-like elements at times, as evidenced by guitarist/vocalist Brandon Ross’ stick guitar (made famous by Tony Levin) and bassist Melvin Gibbs’ runs of funktastic grooves. J.T. Lewis rounded out the trio behind the kit, crossing over between jazz and pop with Bill Bruford-esque timing and ferocity.
One highlight of the set occurred when Ross took time to thank the crowd and speak of how they really had been enjoying Knoxville. He also explained about the “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” which was a manual of sorts for Black musicians touring during the Jim Crow era that said which areas to avoid. Ross went on to explain that generations before him never would’ve been afforded the opportunities to play and travel throughout the South without knowing where to go and where to avoid. The crowd was receptive to his words and knowledge, and it was awesome to witness the mutual respect between an artist, an audience, a place and its inhabitants. – John Flannagan
Okapi
The app issues of Thursday resulted in plenty of us having to rebuild the weekend’s personalized itinerary. But what was an inconvenience for some was an opportunity for others. This Asheville duo, which incidentally almost didn’t make it to Knoxville, wasn’t an original destination on my schedule, but I’m thrilled to have made the detour. Cellist Lindsey Miller was a perfect partner to Scott Gorski’s upright bass. With strings and a voice that is somewhat Brian Molko-esque, the pair engaged in a performance that really showed off both their musical and storytelling talents. Every now and then, failing technology makes for some happy accidents. – JDR
Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion
Another act originally slated to appear at the 2020 festival, Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion performed their collaborative album “Let the Soil Play its Simple Part” in its entirety Saturday night at the Tennessee Theatre. It was surprising and sweet. Sō Percussion have all manner of instruments that can be struck, or sometimes stroked – from a grand marimba to steel drums to clay pots to a standard drum kit. The group’s range of expression on these instruments is almost mind-boggling. Shaw is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, singer and violinist who has collaborated with greats of modern classical music, as well as Kanye West. Combining Sō Percussion’s instrumental skills with Shaw’s pure note/non-vibrato vocals is something truly unexpected and special. A little keyboard and vocal loop work added a little seasoning to the mix.
Perhaps the most surprising song in the set was a stripped-down version of ABBA’s “Lay All Your Love on Me.” With a marimba accompaniment replacing ABBA’s original disco backing, Shaw sang each succinct syllable of the chorus, dispensing with the verses, turning it into something new and more powerful than the original.
After it was over, I walked out knowing I was going to be buying the album just to get a hint of that feeling from the show. – WB
Jeff Parker & The New Breed
There was an undeniable chill and grayness in Knoxville on Friday, but the performances warmed up the body and soul like a hot bowl of chili on a crisp fall day. One such performance was Jeff Parker & The New Breed’s blistering, jaw-dropping set of experimental jazz. Parker, who spent many years with Tortoise, has mastered both jazz and rock stylings; coupled with Josh Johnson on saxophone and keys, he continuously whipped the capacity crowd at The Standard into a frenzy.
The peak highlight in a set containing many of them was their rendition of Joe Henderson’s 1977 classic “Black Narcissus,” which saw drummer Makaya McCraven freak out behind the kit several times in a manner reminiscent of Frank Zappa. Such moments left the crowd shaking their heads in disbelief, which would become another recurring theme on day two. – JF
Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble
Another theme of day two of Big Ears was the sheer number of African American artists gracing the stages. Whether it be jazz fusion such as Jeff Parker, the prog-rock stylings of Harriet Tubman or the cool soul of L’Rain, Black artists were at the forefront of the sound Big Ears was offering on Friday. Another such group was Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble, which exuded coolness with flair and grace. Damon Locks himself was the poet, composer, cheerleader and producer for his nine-piece ensemble, which could be described best as “thought and soul” music.
His four-piece choir has the voices of angels, and the band’s energy was reciprocated with the crowd back and forth throughout the set. Locks told the crowd how he spent the past week in Knoxville with some members of his ensemble, which inspired him to write an opening piece about the city. He described his experience in town as insightful, heartbreaking (not sure what he meant by that, though) and invigorating. One of the show’s closing numbers included a line that since has stuck with me; it read, “How can we rebuild a nation that’s out of touch.” This was the most sense-stimulating set of the weekend for me thus far. – JF
Patti Smith and Her Band
Patti Smith is a rock legend. Like Bob Dylan, one of her heroes, Smith was influenced by great poets, and her lyrics reflect that poetry. With guitarist and music historian Lenny Kaye as her musical collaborator, she both paid homage to the best of classic rock ‘n’ roll and helped transform it. Her music was raw and emotional, but it was delivered with skill and style.
It was a delight to see that none of that was missing for her Big Ears performance Friday evening. Smith and her band delivered choice songs from across Smith’s long career, with a timeout to include a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for her road manager sung by the audience.
Smith’s voice hasn’t a lost a bit of its power or tone. That’s pretty amazing considering that her first album, “Horses,” came out in 1975. The only thing that’s changed is that, while Smith once was an almost frightening figure due to her energy and determination to shake up the system, she now feels like a benevolent old master who simply hasn’t lost her touch. Close your eyes when she cranked out favorites “Because the Night” and “Dancing Barefoot,” you’d never be able to tell she’d aged a bit. Maybe her fabled adaption of Them’s “Gloria” with her own “In Excelsis Deo” is no longer shocking, but hearing her sing the line “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine” seems almost more dangerous now than it did when it came out.
Is Smith still a musical provocateur? Maybe, but her vibe now mostly exudes warmth, and there was no shortage of it between Smith and her audience. – WB
Pedrito Martinez Group
The temperature was turned up yet again when Cuban outfit Pedrito Martinez Group hit The Standard stage at 8:30 Friday night. The set included endless smiles from Martinez and his band, as well as from the audience, which also was frantically shaking its collective moneymakers trying to keep up with the salsa rhythms. Martinez and company played hand drums/congas and cymbals, concluding with a drum-off, which caused the crowd to erupt.
This group included a Panamanian, the second to perform on the day, on horns. (The other was with Dos Santos; I mention the connection because my wife is Panamanian, and when I told her about these artists, she replied, “We’re everywhere.”) There’s no denying the Latin flavor of the festival this year, and it was all over Knoxville on Friday. – JF
Animal Collective
A month or so ago, and a few days after it was announced that festival had sold out, a former co-worker in her early 20s contacted me, frantically seeking tickets for Friday – solely so that she and her boyfriend could attend this show at the Mill & Mine. I provided her with information about Lyte, the fan-to-fan exchange site, but unfortunately was able to offer nothing more than a proverbial shrug of the shoulders and good luck wishes. Then, after running into the couple at a Pilot Light show a couple of weeks back and noticing that the desperation had intensified, a thought occurred to me: When exactly did Animal Collective get to the point of eliciting such adoration from younger generations of music fans?
It simply hadn’t occurred to me that this onetime niche band of weirdos of which I’ve been an acolyte since, well, around when I was the same age as that young professional and her fella, had cemented itself in those intervening years as a mature, groundbreaking, festival-headlining group of true artists. AC now can be considered a legendary act, the kind that instills fervor in people of all demographics and compels them to purchase full festival passes in order to see them perform. I overheard multiple people over the first half of the weekend declare that, although they were excited about the programming at large, AC was their must-see show and their reason for attending.
I had spent the days, hours and minutes leading up this performance cautioning folks to not expect to hear paint-by-numbers renderings of songs that sound like the album cuts because the band prefers to treat the stage like a laboratory in which it can experiment with its sound. But while they deviated slightly from the recorded versions and improvised often as they are wont to do, I certainly was wrong in my estimation.
Far from inscrutable, the set, culled mainly from this year’s excellent “Time Skiffs,” was instantly recognizable and embraced by the crowd, one of the biggest I’ve seen in the warehouse space. And while that simplicity came as a shock, it allowed me to reappraise the group’s work and gain a greater appreciation for just how well it is crafted. Dreamy and hypnotic yet always comprising musical intent, the rhythms washed over the throng, layers upon layers of electronics gently ebbing and flowing, propelled by the steady percussion of Panda Bear and infused with energy and emotion by the members’ trademark harmonies.
Although each selection was lovingly executed and the new material sounded superb, the high point of the performance came during “In the Flowers,” the opening track from 2009’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion.” After gradually building momentum, Avey Tare raised his arm in the air just before delivering the line, “If I could just leave my body for a night.” The resulting release was celebrated with thunderous drumbeats punctuated by stabbing synth arpeggios. The noise was gloriously unhinged but not cacophonous; its architects were in complete charge of the proceedings, controlling each note and frequency with composure and an ease borne of a few decades’ worth of experience.
Despite the litany of concurrent listening options, any thought of leaving early to go see something else evaporated pretty early on in this one. AC were simply too good on this evening to really entertain the idea. It’s a credit to the tremendous job festival organizers did in curating such a strong lineup that people had to choose between this show, Kim Gordon and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. It was wonderful to have had to face such an awful dilemma. – Matt Rankin
Mdou Moctar
Closing out the second day’s programming at the Mill & Mine was West African desert rocker Mdou Moctar, one of the most anticipated acts on the Big Ears lineup. Moctar began the set with two instrumental jams which set the tone for the show. In fact, there wasn’t much singing at all during this performance; rather, the band let their instruments do the talking for them.
The four-piece was on fire throughout, playing winding jams, some of them clocking in at over 10 minutes in length. Souleyman Ibrahim’s drumming was absolutely insane, but no more so than during the nearly 20-minute-long show closer, which had audience members shaking their heads in collective disbelief as the song kept going, speeding up and unleashing a fury of sound that quite possibly the venue never has seen previously. Moctar set the crowd ablaze and proved why he’s one of the premier guitar virtuosos going today. – JF
