Skerik and the Beta Popes Create Satan's Soundtrack

Knitting Factory -- Seattle-native Skerik, enfant terrible of the saxophone world, invaded New York with his noise-rock trio, the Beta Popes, featuring New York's downtown jazz-scene legend Bobby Previte on drums and a hirsute (or in his case, hair-suited) Jimmy Saft on guitar. A sparse crowd was on hand to drown in a tsunami of sound during their hour-long set, during which they played two long sonic collages of death metal. Skerik spent much of the time adding to the clamor with his unique style of synthesized vocals. It was not for the faint of heart, maybe not for anyone with a heart. Satan would have been dancing for joy amid the sturm and drang, and perhaps he was in this subterranean venue. But it was good to see Skerik and his mates frolic with total freedom and see how far and deep they could go in pushing the boundaries of noise art, though according to the Beta Popes myspace page, they urge all to "say no to art." More photos of the carnage here.

Chris Thile and Michael Daves Rock the Rockwood, Again

Chris Thile and Michael Daves tore it up at the Rockwood once again. This time, the presence of a professional video camera and Phish bassist Mike Gordon (his gray-haired mop in the foreground) standing amongst the over-capacity crowd at this cozy club in Manhattan's Lower East Side seems to have spurred the duo to new heights. Or perhaps it was the result of continued collaboration and a growing symbiosis between the two shred-meisters, carrying on the tradition of the close-harmony brother acts of yore, as they honor and redefine classic bluegrass, honky tonk, and fiddle tunes such as: "Blue Night," "Rabbit in a Log," "The First One to Love You, "Loneliness and Desperation," "Little Girl in Tennessee," "Darlin' Corey," "Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes," "Cold Rain and Snow," "Molly and Tenbrooks," and fiddle tunes like "Fisher's Hornpipe," "June Apple," "Arkansas Traveler," Uvpick's Waltz, Billy in the Lowground, and Back Up and Push. For more photos check em here. Chris and Michael's unannounced gigs around Manhattan may take a break while Chris goes on tour with his new bluegrass supergroup, The Punch Brothers, but you can always catch Michael every Tuesday night at the Rockwood. I've seen him play numerous times now, in addition to taking lessons from him every other week, and his music never gets old, even though it's plumbed from the depths of a country music landscape long gone.