The Slip's management invited me to enjoy their industry showcase at Mercury Lounge tonight, and I readily agreed: I live a stone's throw from the lovely Lounge; I had seen The Slip a few times in their previous stylistic incarnation; and the only thing I enjoy more than live music is live music that is free.
The first time I saw The Slip was during my college days in Boston and, if memory serves, they opened for jazz-turned-jam guitarist Jon Scofield during his tour with acid-jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood as backing band. If that wasn't the bill, it should have been; therein lay The Slip's former sound. I was told that the extended guitar solos and instrumental breaks of yesteryear were gone, replaced by a leaner, indie rock sensibility. I'm not entirely sure that's the case.
There's no denying the trio's musicianship, and I was excited to see how those indulgent jam chops informed their "new" sound. Go to their myspace page and take a listen to "Even Rats," a song that was featured in a PlayStation2 game (and thus served to bring the band a large new audience). If you like what you hear, you may enjoy the rest of what the group plans on bringing with its new album, which is recorded and awaiting a label for distribution (hence the showcase). I say may because The Slip is still a jam band at heart, albeit a restrained one with more of a vocal melody oriented, pop sensibility than they formerly possessed. That said, much of their material still features extended instrumental sections (though definitely low on the solo ratio), a bit of a funk-hippie groove and the unmistakable jazz-jam fusion flavor of the fretless bass.
Their performance was strong, and I'll take a good listen to their new album, whenever it's released. Good luck to the guys in getting that in our hands sometime soon.
Central Village was there too but seems to have preferred the next act, Foreign Islands.
If your interest is piqued, take the jump for more pics and complete tour dates.
Mar 1 Castaway's Ithaca, NY *
Mar 2 Main Hall Montreal, Canada *
Mar 3 Higher Ground Burlington, VT *
Mar 4 Red Square Albany, NY *
Mar 5 Mezzanote Syracuse, NY *
Mar 6 The Icon Buffalo, NY *
Mar 7 Mr. Small's Theatre Pittsburgh, PA *
Mar 8 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH *
Mar 9 Little Brothers Columbus, OH *
Mar 10 Martyr's Chicago, IL *
Mar 11 Mojo's Columbia, MO *
Mar 15 Emo's Annex (SXSW) Austin, TX (IODA Party) (2:00 PM Start)
Mar 16 Friends (SXSW) Austin, TX
Mar 22 TBA Colorado Tour
Mar 23 TBA Colorado Tour
Mar 24 Sheridan Opera House Telluride, CO+
Mar 25 TBA Colorado Tour
Mar 28 Fatso's Lawrence, KS
Mar 29 Cicero's St. Louis, MO
Mar 30 Iowa City Yacht Club Iowa City, IA
Mar 31 Club 770 (Univ. of Wisc.) Madison, WI
* with Apollo Sunshine and Sam Champion
+ with ENON
nice pics, VI!
Posted by: freshbread | February 17, 2006 at 11:11 AM
cheers ryan
Posted by: vi | February 17, 2006 at 12:22 PM
Cool. Sounds like it went over well. I heard there were some interested parties there...
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