Meanwhile, back in the here and now, Kishi Bashi performed last night at Atlanta's Terminal West. Added bonus points for the dream-team match-up of Atlanta's own Takenobu opening up for him.
Takenobu can be described as the Andrew Bird of the cello (or the Kishi Bashi of the cello, for that matter) for the way he used a loop repeater to build up layers to play over until he sounds almost like a one-man orchestra. We've seen Takenobu before, but never on a stage this big or in front of an audience as large as last night's sold-out Terminal West. Despite some technical problems with a fuzzed-out cable, he performed a great set and hopefully took at least a small step forward in getting the recognition he deserves.
Next up were Kishi Bashi's tour mates Buried Beds. The band includes members Eliza Jones of Strand of Oaks and Dave Hartley of The War On Drugs, some of my favorite bands, and I've long maintained that bassist Dave Hartley is the best in the business at what he does.
Their songs are inspired by folklore, fairy tales, local Philadelphia legends, science theories, and family stories, and contain underground giants, children of the sea, and the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Somehow, it didn't all come together for me. They're all skilled musicians and didn't play a single false note all night, but I didn't warm to the fairy tales and poppish nature of the project. However, given their pedigree and musicianship, I think this could be a great band if they ever get serious and decide to start rocking.
Last night was the end of the Buried Beds/Kishi Bashi tour, 33 gigs in not too many more days. We last saw K. Ishibashi in Athens back before the tour began, and if I could get my way, I'd try to see him at least every 90 days or so. He didn't play or do anything new compared to the Athens gig, but that's not to say anything sounded old or stale either - both nights, he served up his own unique, complex brand of pop rock exactly the way we fans want it.
He opened the set with Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!, covered Bright Whites somewhere toward the middle of the set, and held It All Began With a Burst back for the encore.
Amidst all the pop and hit songs, he even found space for a few improvisations, a little bit of experimentalism, and a few spaced-out passages.
As always, props to his sideman, Mike Savino (Tall Tall Trees) on "space banjo."
The set ended with three solo songs by Bashi, including a lovely version of I Am the Antichrist.
The encore included (but was not limited to) a tour finale group shot featuring the band, the entourage, openers Buried Beds, and the audience, followed by It All Began With A Burst, followed by a crowd surf, followed by a cover of Whole Lotta Love.
Good times.
The confetti was magical.
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