peter brotzmann at tonic 4-11

didn't know much about brotzmann other than he’s supposed to be one of the vanguard noise/out players of the sixties european generation. the context was brotzmann reeds, marino pliakas electric bass, and michael wertmueller drums. these guys make a lot of noise. Between the uberbass, fitted with a brass nut and a brass bridge to make the sound more percussive, and the double bass pedal, there was a lot of collective low end rumbling/pounding for most of the show. while brotzmann did his part- i would describe his playing as all of the harsh, reedy, guteral shouting of ayler minus the folk melodies (and like ayler, brotzmann has a rep for playing LOUD)- he was hard to distinguish above the din. Not sure if that was a conscious decision on his part, or if tonic couldn’t turn his mic up loud enough to outpower the rhythm section. probably the point that these guys get together and just turn into a machine. yes, they're german.

it sounds like I’m being critical when i’m really just trying to be descriptive. everyone in the audience thought the show was great. i give it an Awesome minus. but you have to like loud and cacophonous. they did a bunch of very on time stop start things where the sound just hit you. bass and drums blazed to the point that their appendages were a blur. these guys would slay your favorite death metal band. there was a short segment where brotzmann solo did a low, breathy modal thing on soprano that was great. russel and will told me that they saw him play with william parker and hamid drake a couple years ago where there were a lot more dynamics and brotzmann played really great, beautiful melodic passages.

on a related note, tonic is closing its doors. There was a minor crisis a couple of years ago when their septic tank broke and they suddenly had to raise a lot of cash quickly. both artists and audience came out in droves. This time, the ownership is heeding the continued escalation of rents in the les, embodied by the blue condominium building next door, and relocating. you can vote on the new location on the website.

Grade: Awesome minus.