this story really starts about 24 hours prior
so a bit of background leading us to tonight's entertainment
i had the pleasure of spending last night with a very good friend
helping him celebrate his annual birthday with his best friends
a good night was held by all and the 4 of us left standing
had a yearning for some live music and rumour had it
there was a reggae band on at a certain bar in broadway
so at midnight the 4 of us are sharing a cab to said venue
but alas no reggae music anywhere in sight but all is not lost
there's a dj and rapper supposedly spinning some wicked music on an upper level
now i'm all for this as i actually have more than a passing interest
in electronic music and the equivalent of it's live scene
so in we go and settle into the here and now of it all
it is loud, repetitive, incoherent, trance-inducing, sense-numbing
from my vantage point i can quite easily watch over the mixing dude
who is obviously in control of proceedings with his apple mac
man he was busy, but i couldn't figure out why he was doing some much
with very little change to the amplified noises and laser light show
but then i figured he was actually doing that as well as everything else
email stuff, checking websites, image enhancing, composing, freaking around
i'm feeling like ok all very clever and impressive but there ain't no soul
so all day was spent in quiet anticipation of tonight's performance
this group are playing the third night of a mini-tour through nsw
there's at least 2 drawcards with the 2 mikes in the group
mike majkowski on double bass
mike bukovsky on trumpet
marc hannaford on piano takes the role of leader and composer
alex masso steps up to assume duties on drums
the first set was the core trio
doing a mixture of improvised and composed music
it took me a while to settle into it and get the sound
and a tune or 2 before they seemed to be totally comfortable
marc introduced his tunes as cubist the 7th, a beaver in the hallway
and various other obscure titles for deliciously obscure music
he provided the colour to the music without flash
alex drummer is a top end noise man
making all sorts of sounds and rhythms over the cymbals and snare drum
for me mike double bass is the star once again punishing his instrument
making it produce sounds that just should not come out of a double bass
at one point i closed my eyes and had no trouble envisioning
there was another musician on stage with some kind of sampling machine
a bit like the previous night but this time with soul to spare
the second set sees the irrepressible mike bukovsky on stage
in the second time in as many weeks he had driven from canberra for the show
i learnt in a chat with him between sets that he does not stay over
impressively drives back in the middle of the night post gig
hence his comment about knowing the place well
when marc introduces one of the tunes as pheasants nest
so i want to give mike trumpet my full attention and appreciation
his presence adds a whole new dimension and mood to the evening
marc has composed some very serious and challenging pieces of music
this was intense stuff and not some improvised jam session
you could see the 4 of them constantly referring to their sheets
but they delivered it well and to great appreciation
from the small but devoted audience
another satisfying's nights music
back in my comfort zone
at the sound lounge
