In Pine Effect

Here's a review from OHM Vol 2, Issue 2. I wrote an epic 3 reviews for that issue, so I've started with the worst one. Just so you have something to look forward to, like. I seem to recall that there was a another sentence at the end of the review, another "What we learned" type sententious sign off, that got missed from the printed edition somehow. Buggered if I remember what it was.

Rod Y Gab are huge now, but when I saw them I was one of about 20 people actually listening, the rest of the crowd were just yapping away; these same idiots are probably shelling out £25 for a chance to actually watch them now. People are stupid.

COURTNEY PINE/ RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, The Zodiac, 4/2/04

Rodrigo Y Gabriela came from Mexico, armed with two Spanish guitars. It's clearly pretty hard to amplify two acoustic guitars in The Zodiac, so their set was accompanied by chattering, belching and mobile phone bleeps. Those of us who actually wanted to hear the music ended up at the front, straining froward to hear everything...I seemed to be the only one scribbling things on a bit of paper though...

Anyway, the effort was repaid by the duo, who spent thirty minutes spinning intricate webs of what I'll arbitrarily call avant-flamenco. They played with great subtlety of touch, but were not always polite nor delicate: indeed, the music seemed to be an intriguing mixture of Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rodriguez! Occasionally the writing felt rather episodic, as if we were watching two talented musicians doing exercises. Still, even then the emphasis was firmly on the "talented", and their Bream-meets-Satriani stylings were beguiling.

We're lucky enough to have some very able guitarists in this town, from Sedwards to Ulph to Ilett Jr., but it's refreshing to see acoustic playing of such wit and elegance. What we learned: 1) It's worth concentrating for music of this calibre. 2) "Smoke On The Water", "Take Five" and "Seven Nation Army" have more in common than we thought...

The band Courtney Pine led onstage was a much rootsier proposition than on his last few visits to Oxford; no sequencers, no DJ, no guest vocalists, just an old-fashioned backline. They weren't the most exciting rhythm section ever, but they earned their keep, especially the bassist. The drums were sadly marred by a terrible boxy sound, as if he were playing from a crate in Gene Krupa's basement.

Cameron Pierre's guitar spotlights were elegant, but wandered just the wrong side of the elevator door. Best supporting actor gong surely goes to Dennis Rollins on the trombone, boasting a lovely rubbery sound, tinged in equal parts by classic reggae and old-style music hall. Honestly. But what did Courtney sound like? Well, despite early solos feeling somewhat tacked together, he soon hit his stride, and whenever he picked up that keening soprano sax, he always seemd to play twice as well.

I always said that a jazz band should be a single many-limbed gestalt entity, and whilst this may say more about an interest in SF than jazz, Pine's combo weren't quite gelling. Until about two thirds of the way in, that is: their reverb heavy take on "Redemption Song" was too sugary for my taste, but somehow its quiet intensity brought the band to a higher level. I think they realised it too, as immediately Pine burst with a renewed energy, stalking the stage, blowing some volatile and intelligent lines around an increasingly funky backline. The gig had been fine up till then, but suddenly it was joyous.