So Jandek showed up last night for the kick-off concert of Adventures in Modern Music, a five-day festival put on in Chicago by The Wire and local hip venue The Empty Bottle. (He was supposed to show up at last year's festival, but hurricane-related emergencies forced him to cancel.) Some appropriately blurry pictures are up on Flickr, but no video footage has shown up on YouTube yet. Fortunately for you, there's already some Jandek performance footage to check out: "Real Wild", from his 2004 performance in Glasgow.
The festival continues through Sunday, and is closed out by another one-word-named performer familiar to WFMU listeners: Steinski, who is also up on YouTube: a short live performance clip; and a video for "We'll Be Right Back."
(Jandek photo by russell bassman)
Did you catch the Roky Erickson doc the night before? It's quite a stunner.
Posted by: BrianTurner | September 21, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Yes, we saw it when it played over the weekend. It's quite good, but really depressing how screwed up the entire Erickson family is.
Posted by: jima | September 21, 2006 at 12:17 PM
Anybody know who was playing with Jandek?
It was an impressively mysterious performance. Two hours straight of live Jandek is definitely a damaging experience.
Posted by: tim | September 21, 2006 at 04:34 PM
Forgot to mention: Jandek was flipping through what looked like a bound collection of lyrics or music before every song. Could there really be a Jandek songbook?! It seems too beautiful to be true.
Posted by: tim | September 21, 2006 at 04:40 PM
Am I the only one left who remembers that, when Ol' Pal Irwin first introduced this guy, it was supposed to be a joke?
Posted by: Parq | September 21, 2006 at 08:58 PM
Let me amend that. I mean no dis to folks who dig him. I suspect it may be true that, for those of us who laughed in, what was it, 1987, '88, the joke is now on us.
Posted by: Parq | September 21, 2006 at 09:03 PM
Parq, don't worry, some of us old fogies who used Jandek records as desk blotters still have the last laugh.
Posted by: Krys O. | September 22, 2006 at 08:56 AM
Playing with Jandek, according to the guys standing next to me, were John McIntire on drums and Josh Abrams on bass.
Posted by: n | September 22, 2006 at 10:29 AM
does anyone actually like jandek's music?
Posted by: Merle | September 22, 2006 at 11:13 AM
Jandek would be funnier if it didn't seem like the guy is so intensely devoted to his vision. While his music is in no ways conventionally likeable, neither is Merzbow; but that doesn't stop people from buying his noise records. Due in great part to his ridiculously impenetrable music, his album artwork, and his reclusive myth, listening to Jandek is kind of like being stuck in the amazingly bleak, dark landscape of someone else's mind.
Also: there's no mistaking a Jandek song. For better or for worse, how many artists are able to make themselves recognizable at the first stroke of their guitar, or their first vocal?
Posted by: tim | September 22, 2006 at 12:23 PM
Actually, it looks like someone just put up a few too-dark clips from the Chicago show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDIYEUwcPm0
Good sound quality at least, if that's important.
Posted by: mason | September 25, 2006 at 03:56 PM