Doom & Gloom Dispatch #38: Brilliant Miniatures
Nick Millevoi, Neil Young, Duke Ellington, Sinead O'Connor, Sonic Youth
Nick Millevoi - Digital Reaction
One thing’s for sure about Nick Millevoi — you never know quite what you’re going to get from the Philadelphia-based guitarist. The beat-centric Digital Reaction is no exception. Here, Nick hurls himself headlong into the world of vintage drum machines, creating something that wouldn’t sound out of place on a 1980s Bill Laswell-produced joint or a left-field release on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. With a group of ace collaborators including bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma (Ornette’s Prime Time band), drummer Jason Nazary and rapper / children’s book author Lushlife, the album’s 10 songs are thrilling, adventurous and — more often than not — a whole lot of fun. Oh, and of course, there’s a lot of radical guitar work from Millevoi that lands in that very sweet spot between Quine and Sharrock.
Neil Young & The Stray Gators - Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, January 29, 1973
Hey, I’m on another podcast, talking about — who else!? — Neil Young. The guys from Treble’s Rock Docs asked me to join them for a discussion of Harvest Time, Bernard Shakey’s latest opus, which takes viewers on a very intimate journey through the past to witness the making of (most of) Harvest. I think it’s a great doc, maybe one of Neil’s most thoroughly enjoyable films, really putting you right there in the barn with the Stray Gators. It’s a good talk, go listen! (Should I be hosting my own Neil Young podcast? Hmmm!)
And hey, let’s listen to some more of the Stray Gators! This Norfolk tape is one of the best audience recordings from the Time Fades Away tour — and I think one of the first boots from this era that I ever got my hands on. I remember being fairly blown away by the electrified arrangement of “New Mama,” having only heard the hushed Tonight’s the Night version previously. Just another thing that sent me spiraling into my ongoing Neil obsession.
Did I mention that I saw the man himself a few weeks back? I’m sure I did. Look for my review of a 2023 Young comeback show in LA in the upcoming issue of Uncut. Short version: it was amazing.
Duke Ellington - Chateau De Goutelas, Goutelas-en-Forez, France, February 25, 1966
While the world burns — literally, figuratively, spiritually — let’s chill out for a little bit with Duke Ellington on a chilly February night way back in 1966. It was an occasion the maestro remembered fondly.
“There are 50 children with torches on either side of the road leading up to the chateau,” Ellington wrote in Music Is My Mistress. “The wind is so gusty that some burn their hands, but they say it does not matter, and the torches stay alight until we reach the portal of the majestic building … the left wing has been entirely reconstructed, and it is ready for me to inaugurate this very night. In the salle de musique is the most beautiful piano I have ever seen or heard, a nine-foot Steinway concert grand which has been specially brought there for my performance. Despite the severe cold, the doors remain open throughout, and the people, crowded inside, remain silent and attentive.”
A wise move from the audience! They’re treated to a remarkable solo Ducal medley, kind of like a 12-minute wordless autobiography in song, each note played with vivacity and love, Ellington humming along happily to these brilliant miniatures. Even in the dead of winter, Duke was guaranteed to make you jump for joy.
Huge sadness to find out that Sinead O'Connor passed away this week — a truly one-of-a-kind artist. I still remember as a kid seeing her on the Grammys in the late 1980s and just being blown away (and a little bit confused) by her pure, focused intensity amidst the chintz and cheese of an awards show on broadcast TV.
In the outpouring of grief for Sinead, people have been saying that we failed her, we didn’t deserve her, etc. Fair enough, but I imagine that O'Connor would roll her eyes a bit — if her weird, sometimes chaotic career proved anything it’s that she was no one’s victim. But you gotta acknowledge that sexism / conservatism / idiocy was a big and unfortunate part of her story. In some other epoch/universe, she would’ve been revered as an oracle or prophet. Instead, she gave us the truth and we gave her hell.
Case in point! Her infamous appearance at 1992’s “Bobfest” during which Sinead was booed off the stage before she could perform “I Believe In You.” Bizarre and embarrassing.
“Half the audience were cheering, half were booing, which is a strange sound,” she recalled many years later. “I’m highly affected by sound, and it was making me want to vomit. So, when Kris [Kristofferson] helped me offstage, I was trying to suppress the urge to vomit over him… a bit of a headfuck. And I still remember dear old Booker T – who’s now a great friend – on the piano, getting ready to play the Dylan song. But my version involved whispering it, and the noise was too loud. So I just shouted the lyrics to Bob Marley’s ‘War’ instead. Willie Nelson was waiting backstage. He’s a very funny character, who’d previously trained me how to transport weed across county lines! He’d also asked me to record a version of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Don’t Give Up’ the next day. So when Kris led me offstage, Willie came up and whispered: ‘You’re still coming in the studio tomorrow, right?’ Ha ha! And we went off and had a spliff.”
For an idea of how things could’ve been, take a listen to the remarkable afternoon rehearsal performance, wherein Sinead finds a holiness in the song that even Bob never matched. The rapture of faith, the glory of love. I believe in you.
Don’t let me change my heart
Keep me set apart
From all the plans they do pursue
And I, I don’t mind the pain
Don’t mind the driving rain
I know I will sustain
’Cause I believe in you
Photo: Anton Corbijn
Sonic Youth - Little John's Farm, Reading, England, August 23, 1991
1991! Punk, it broke! Here, we’ve got Sonic Youth near the top of the bill at the Reading Festival ... a lineup that earned a lifetime’s worth of bragging rights for attendees — mainly because they would’ve caught Nirvana right on the precipice, the bleeding edge! In just a few months, Cobain and co. would be well on their way to becoming the world's biggest band. Surprise!
And certainly, their afternoon set at Reading is very exciting. Bear witness to: a field full of headbangers hearing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time; Tony the Interpretive Dancer getting down like a clown; the Vaselines’ Eugene Kelly popping up for a “Molly’s Lips” duet; Kurt hurling himself into the drum kit like a madman, only to emerge seconds later waving to the crowd with a big goofy grin. Really, Nirvana just seem like an incredibly fun band here. The, er, doom and gloom was somewhere in the future, unknown and nameless.
Whatever, nevermind! We’re not here to talk about Nirvana. We’re here to talk about Sonic Youth, who had already had an eventful year. For one thing, they'd run the gauntlet across the States with Neil Young & Crazy Horse on the eardrum-shattering Weld tour. On those dates, they might not have been quite arena-ready. But at Little John’s Farm, they sound perfectly at home in a larger setting, blasting off and digging in, offering up a rollicking and righteous set for our listening enjoyment (you can watch it, too).
The Goo stuff is kinetically charged and razor-sharp — I especially like the driving force of “Tunic,” with the controls set for the heart of the abyss. “Eric’s Trip” is a total rager, Ranaldo hanging on for dear life as Shelley goes nuts. We even get a few Dirty previews before everything wraps up with the feedback orgy of “Expressway To Yr Skull” (or “Expressway To Yr Hole” as Thurston introduces it). This is a band operating at a very high level! The #SonicSummer rolls on!
Dudes, I can't find a tape of Iggy’s evening-closing show ... but you can listen to Dino Jr from earlier in the day. That’s pretty good, right?
From the Doom & Gloom Archives
One of the Best Things to emerge in the last couple of weeks is this epic interview with Jim O’Rourke via the Toneglow newsletter. Buying weed for John Fahey! Hanging out with Derek Bailey! O’Rourke’s deep adolescent love of prog! It’s a blast, tons of incredible tales and insight. While you read, listen to this live tape of O’Rourke in Japan the early 00s. First, we get a lovely ambient piece, then several pretty straightforward tunes with Jim in acoustic singer-songwriter mode … and then, his infamous half-hour rendition of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” You gotta hear it to believe it. Maybe we’ll all find out what it means to be living.
Currently Reading: An Army of Phantoms by J. Hoberman
my goodness, i hadn't heard that 'fast car' before. remarkable.