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MTH-V: LeRoi Moore Highlights

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As mentioned in my previous post, this last week marked the fifth anniversary of LeRoi Moore’s death. To mark both this and the return of the video series after the summer hiatus, it’s only fitting that I highlight a few choice moments here. Believe me, it’s difficult to select only a handful out of the many favorites.

“Sugar Will” is one of the handful of then new songs debuted on the 2004 summer tour. Only one of which, “Hello Again,” was ultimately given a studio release. However, “Sugar Will” and “Crazy Easy” were my favorites of that group (which also includes “Joy Ride,” featured here). Here’s Roi getting down on “Sugar Will” at The Gorge on 09.03.04, one I regularly return to:

“Stand Up” isn’t a song that gets a lot of love. This particular solo isn’t anything profound but it always gets me moving without fail. The video is taken from the bonus DVD in the Weekend on the Rocks box set (from the 2005 run at Red Rocks Ampitheater, with this song coming from 09.11.05). And Roi’s lick at 3:41 is a treat:

Here’s a charming cover of the country ballad “Long Black Veil” by Dave Matthews and LeRoi. For this video, someone synced their home footage with the audio from the official Gorge box set release. (Good move.)

DMB tearing up “Rapunzel” live at Germany’s Rockpalast 1998:

And a nice little Roi montage/tribute by YouTube user BWDinc:

MTH-V: DMB Rarities Return in 2013

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Breaking the streak of Wagner posts (here, here, here, and here; more here) is a little DMB. There’s some symbolism here as well, considering that DMB is what snapped me out of my Wagner haze that settled in around the time of the composer’s birthday. If anything will distract me, it’s a run of three great Dave Matthews Band concerts.

I attended two cold but amazing shows at Saratoga, NY’s SPAC, followed by a great performance the following weekend in Cuyahoga Falls, OH outside of Cleveland. (For the former, DMB’s the only reason I’ll camp in 30-something degree weather…) This summer’s tour has been rife with jaw-dropping surprises. While the band is known for varied, relatively unpredictable setlists, this summer’s tour has taken things to another level. Many shelved oldies have been dusted off, and some forgotten tunes (notably “Captain” – largely neglected after 2002…and they’re playing it right now in Mansfield, MA as I type this!) are now in regular rotation. Below are some select rarities I saw over the course of those three shows.

“Joy Ride” — One of five songs debuted on the 2004 tour, it all but went away after 2006 (save for one 2011 performance).

“The Idea Of You” — Not as forgotten, as it’s gotten some live release love. One of the 2006 song debuts, it’s been been played few times since 2010. (But it used to be played quite a bit, giving it less mythic status than its sibling “Shotgun.”) Still a pleasant surprise.

“Oh” — A DMB debut. It’s a Dave Matthews original, but this was the first time it’d been played at a full-band show. It’s usually only played by Dave Matthews solo, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, or Dave Matthews & Friends. A nice little song off of Some Devil, Dave’s 2003 solo album.

“Captain” — This was my first “Captain” in over a decade, with the last being in December 2002.

And even though it’s a rare song, this particularly “Halloween” from SPAC night 2 is especially noteworthy as it was a double encore, which almost never happens (my first and only in 61 shows)…

Past DMB-centric MTH-V posts here, here, here (SPAC 2012 goodies), here (from 1992 — watch this if you haven’t), and here.

MTH-V: Wagner Rarities

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It’s still #WagnerWeek (an actual trend on Twitter, believe it or not). The actual anniversary this past Wednesday was nice; it was great to see the various cyber-celebrations and listen to the broadcasts. It was as if the global community was celebrating together, even if I only saw students and my wife that day. You can read my birthday post here, as well as watch last week’s videos here.

Below are a trio of videos featuring Wagner’s orchestral side. Furthermore, they’re not from the Bayreuth canon. Those ten operas are largely what Wagner is remembered for. However, composed three earlier operas that were later disavowed and have therefore never been performed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. Although, this summer, each of the operas will be performed in the city of Bayreuth but not at the Festspielhaus. (Consider it classical music’s Separate but Equal clause.) He also wrote a smattering of non-operatic works including a symphony and a half, select vocal works, and various orchestral compositions. Except for Siegfried Idyll and Wesendonck Lieder, however, these other pieces largely gather dust.

I attempted to get my own trend going on Twitter. Alas, the cheese tweeted alone:

 

Because I prefer to post actual performances instead of videos of pictures, finding usable clips for this collection was rather irritating. I wanted to include a performance of his Großer Festmarsch, written on commission to commemorate America’s bicentennial, but I couldn’t find video of a strong performance readily available. Given the limitations, though, some gems are below.

Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love) is Wagner’s second opera. And, considering Wagner met his first wife around this time, the title is a bit humorous. Anyway, it’s such a rarity that a 2008 staging in Cooperstown, NY claimed to be the American “fully-staged premiere.” Here is a spirited performance in Munich by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding:

Rienzi, Wagner’s third opera, is perhaps the most well-known of the orphans. The overture isn’t easily confused with any material from Tristan or Meistersinger, but the style has matured beyond its predecessor. (I always enjoy those nagging violins.) Here is a 1988 performance by the London Philharmonic under Klaus Tennstedt:

Kaisermarsch is a standalone orchestral work written in 1871 to celebrate the outcome of the Franco-Prussian war. (I’m surprised there’s not a cameo for Hans Sachs.) Written decades after the above overtures, this is more representative of his mature sound. (And yes, Ein feste Burg is quoted…German through and through…) There is an optional choral ending that is not included here. Enjoy this 1996 performance by Venice’s Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice under Ricardo Muti (now a Chicago treasure!):

MTH-V: Rhinemaidens

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“How brightly you once shone, glorious star of the depths!” -Richard Wagner, Götterdämmerung

2013 may be Richard Wagner‘s bicentennial year, but this coming Wednesday 05.22 is his 200th birthday. Therefore I can’t help but post just a taste of his genius for this week’s video. (Finally back after last week’s absence as the semester wrapped up.)

More elaborate thoughts on Wagner are to come, but for now I’d like to share one of my favorite of his musical sections. Of course, with Wagner, one has a difficult time isolating segments. His concept of “endless melody” makes it difficult to find start- and endpoints in his operas beyond whole acts. Like many, arguably my favorite part of Der Ring des Nibelungen is in Götterdämmerung‘s Act III. However, unlike most, it’s the first scene. Most go to the Siegfried’s “Trauermarsch” or Brünnhilde’s “Immolation Scene,” both of which are sublime, but the Rhinemaidens’ trio which opens the act (after the prelude) is heaven. (Believe me, I have a hard time placing the trio above the “Trauermarsch,” but right now I’m going by which track has the bigger play count in my iTunes library.)

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(Photo: Arthur Rackham‘s The Rhinemaidens lament the loss of the Rhinegold.)

Oddly, this lyrical, light, and melodic passage by the three Rhinemaidens – Woglinde, Wellgunde, Flosshilde – doesn’t quite jive with the stereotypical Wagner sound, especially that associated with the Ring. If looking for aggressive Wagnerisms, see the aforementioned “Trauermarsch” and “Immolation Scene.” This scene occurs almost 17 hours into the Ring, offering a final respite before (SPOILER ALERT) Siegfried’s murder (after which is the “Trauermarsch”) and Brünnhilde’s destructive suicide (“Immolation Scene”).

There are subtitles in this clip if you’re interested, but I otherwise won’t get into the plot’s labyrinthine intricacies. (Though if you’d like to engage on that, I’m more than happy to. 🙂 ) I’m posting this for the music. Also, I generally strive to avoid posting commercial material in the MTH-V posts due to copyright concerns, but am afraid that I’m going to here. This footage is of Bayreuth’s landmark centenary Ring cycle by conductor Pierre Boulez and director Patrice Chéreau. This production was particularly scandalous at the time with its 19th-century industrialist setting. As you’ll see, the Rhinemaidens are presented as hydroelectric dam workers instead of water nymphs.

NOTE: I don’t own the copyright to this production.

Boulez/Chéreau production:

FOR FUN: The three Rhinemaidens, with piano reduction, from Cosima Wagner‘s 1904 production!

 

MTH-V: Joe Lovano/Steve Kuhn Quartet

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One of my desert island discs is 2009’s Mostly Coltrane by the Steve Kuhn trio with Joe Lovano. I got it at the end of 2010 and was instantly swept away. (Another ECM gem. I better start watching myself, or this will become an exclusively ECM-centric blog…not that there’s anything wrong with that…)

The album/band provides an compelling mix of in and out Trane-inspired material: “I Want to Talk About You,” “Crescent,” “Central Park West,” “Living Space,” and more. Pianist Steve Kuhn, who briefly performed with Coltrane in 1960, and bassist David Finck ground the ensemble in more accessible territory, while saxophonist Joe Lovano and drummer Joey Baron, whose playing I’ve since become quite taken with, aim for more exploratory realms. The album features beautiful balladry, aggressive late-Trane attitude, and everything in between – all wrapped up in ECM’s superb production quality.

The below clips come from the group’s performance at JazzBaltica 2008. Included are three tunes that, in my opinion, best represent the ensemble. Everyone gets some solo space, and the musicians cover a lot of musical and emotional ground. The first clip features the meditative “Jimmy’s Mode” and “Spiritual,” the latter of which is one of my favorite two tunes on the album. The second video is of a burning “Impressions.” (How could it not be played? Jazz festival + Coltrane tribute + saxophonist = “Impressions”) The rest of the concert is also available on YouTube if you’re so inclined.

“Jimmy’s Mode” -> “Spiritual”

“Impressions”