22 February 2010

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2/20:

Leave iTi and head with Paal Nilssen-Love to Vienna and the BlueTomato (sold out!) to start the Fire Room tour (w/Lasse Marhaug). Ourfirst concert since the Wels Unlimited Festival in autumn of 2008(hoping to release that material on lp later this year). The densityof volume/frequency/activity escalated during the… 2nd set,to the point where the fact that I was playing acoustically made myplaying invisible. Discussions to extend soundcheck to deal with theidea of balance… With less activity in Krakow possible, it seemsthat the Blue Tomato may become the main venue of expression for mein Europe.

Brilliant hat trick: Ansel Adams, Robert Altman, Mike Leigh all born on this day.

2/21:

Thesecond Fire Room concert takes place in Weikersheim, Germany. The last time I played there was also with Paal, when Lean Left missedour train stop in Wurzberg and traveled all the way to Munich andback, after having left Norway at 3am the same day! We work to get asolid balance in soundcheck, both Paal and I …were in the PA, whichhelped. Despite these changes, I felt completely lost in the 1st set, couldn’t find a good ground to work, struggling to find space. Between sets the trio talked and I realized that I would need to playin parallel and not focus on the same kinds of interaction I usually look for in an improvising unit. This strategy worked well, and themusic as a whole seemed much more cohesive to me. A beautiful night overall, with a splendid chance to catch up with Norbert and Elsbeth, 2 amazing people who have run Wist 71 for more than 35 years.

Sam Peckinpah‘s birthday, if anybody moves…

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