Jandek Gets Funky (Videos)

Finally, the Jandek Jam Band has arrived, April 5th in his hometown of Houston, TX. Read all about it (and see lots of photos) at Breakfast On Tour and the Houston Press Rocks Off Blog. Here are two videos of this remarkable show.

YouTube links: One | Two

Comments

[Jim]

I saw Jandek in Denver recently, and the set was unlike any of his performances I've heard. Admittedly, I haven't heard every show, but I do have all of the released live recordings. Basically, it sounded like an early Sonic Youth concert, only louder. Very aggressive with lots of distorted guitar and amazing drumming courtesy of Nightshark's Andrew Lindstrom. This looks to have been a great set, as well. Hopefully he'll put it out in better quality soon.

[Sam Phelps]

I really like Jandek's studio records and I think some of the live recordings have been incredible, but wow! that funk video is terrible (particularly part 2)
Are people being blinded by the MOR 'groove' because Jandek is involved?
The bassist was not paying attention to anything other than his own ego and tedious, familiar riff. Improvisation is supposed to be a two-way thing.

[DJ ManRich]

I agree with Sam, but to a lesser extent. It seems to me that it was a weird match. The bass player and drummer seem like they couldn't be from a more different school of music than that which we usually associate Jandek's music. But he played gamely along, even if there wasn't much improvisational interplay between he and them. I was amazed at Jandek's wall of noise guitar outbursts and how well they fit in.
Had he been in his full-on improvisational mode (and his unique tunings, etc) I doubt these relatively traditional-sounding musicians would have been able to keep up with him.
Amazing nonetheless!

[jeff]

slap bass. nuff said.

do.not.want.

[Jim]

Wow. Must be a lot of Haterade vendors in the Peanut Gallery today. Personally, I found these clips to be such a radical departure from everything else Jandek has done, I think I'll reserve judgment until I hear a better quality recording of the entire set. From where I sit, it's simultaneously funny and annoying, so in that way at least it's similar to everything he does. Kind of like what Dub Narcotic might sound like to somebody on mescaline.

Sure, the bass is hammy. So what. Is that who people were paying $50 to see? He needs to follow this up with a samba record with an unexpected Italo disco breakdown.

[illlich]

Horrible. Bassist and drummer are in their own world and dont care what anybody else is doing, Jandek and the other guy might as well sit in a chair and make balloon animals or do magic tricks.

If I went to a Jandek show and that crap broke out I'd ask for my money back.

Though ultimately I don't care, I mean. . . it's JANDEK, you couldn't give those records away back in the 1980's. I know: he sent me a whole box of one of his LPs, and I tried sneaking them into friends record collections, only to witness them get hurled out the window when they were discovered. So I guess, in a way, Jandek hasn't changed much.

[Neal Burgess]

Hold on, you mean if he played his out of tune (I don't care what he says, it's out of tune) acoustic guitar and wailed a death tone for two hours, you would have enjoyed the show, but since he brought a tight ass funk unit to the party, you thought it stank.

What kind of a world do we live in?

[j]

show was only 4 bucks, so thats probably why people didn't really care that it was just some generic funk music.

jandek for 4 bucks is a win, no matter what it sounds like

[Goyim in the AM]

To know what this would have sounded like if the bass player and drummer had not sucked, pick up a DNA or early Golden Palominos record.

[NowPleaseReadThis]

I don't know who Jandek is, nor can I imagine the wonderful things he may play when in freeflight, but I do think the drummer had a good sense of tempo and did drum tight and snappy with the groove he had on. He makes me want to sit down in front of my $50 buck kids drum set and have at it.
The bassist needs a lot more practice so he can groove better with the drummer.
I guess Jandek isn't very tuneful, or maybe he decided he sucks at that so he does this - a kind of random selection of notes put out where one would expect the guitarist to play. Experimental guitarist I guess. That's good! somebodys gotta do it.

[Rachael]

Is there any longer any mystery associated with Jandek? In my opinion, he sold his soul for pennies when he decided to spontaneously grow an ego and perform live; I guess that's what wealth management associates do when they retire--buy ride-on lawn mowers or sprout public personas. I always respected him for his former underground recording ethic; he undermined the necessity of the live performance, denied it. Consequently, every album inspired a certain amount of wonder and curiosity and that has been squashed, completely. Perhaps it was all a joke in the first place. If so, we are all, as listeners, the punchline.