For reasons I don't understand, this simple ballad played by two funny-looking old people brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. The title supposedly came from a time that pianist Larry Willis was at Bley's home and his mother called asking in her thick Southern accent for "Lawrence" (his birth name), and Carla mistook her request for "Lawns," and with her characteristic quirky humor, she used that as the title of this composition.
Carla Bley passed at the age of 87 on October 17, 2023, the same year I saw her and Steve Swallow at Big Ears. RIP, Carla, you are missed and we aren't likely to ever see the likes of you again.
It's certainly been a while since I've done one of these show-review posts. Last night, I went to The Earl in East Atlanta Village for the first time in six years. The last time I was there was February 22, 2020, just mere days before the covids shut everything down, so see the singer Mattiel.
I've been to live shows since then, of course, although mainly just the annual Big Ears festivals. Music's changed and I've changed, but last night I was delighted to see that The Earl hasn't changed. Not one little bit. Okay, I did notice a new light above the stage, but that's more of a I've-just-bought-a-new-lamp kind of change than a honey-I-redecorated-the-whole-house kind of change. Everything else, the corner bar, the merch table in the other corner, the low-rise stage, the gritty but accommodating atmosphere, is exactly the same as it was in the twenty-teens, and I couldn't be happier about that. Don't ever change, Earl, you're perfect the way you are.
Last night's show was the brilliant pairing of Nashville's Rich Ruth with the jam-band supergroup Tapers Choice. Rich Ruth opened.
I've seen Rich Ruth before at Big Ears 2023 so I knew what to expect. Not that tagging is important and we don't need to put a label on everything, but their music is hard to classify. It's certainly not jazz, even though a saxophone is prominent in their sound. It's not prog or post-rock, either, although it's all instrumental with no vocals. Psychedelic rock? Stoner ambient? Experimental? Frankly, I don't know and I don't care. Judge (or don't) for yourself:
Last night's set consisted of almost all new material is anticipation of an album they'll be recording soon in Athens, Georgia. They did, however, close their set with Older, But Not Less Confused from 2022's I Survived, It's Over.
The headliners were L.A.'s Taper's Choice, a supergroup of sorts consisting of Dave Harrington (Darkside), Alex Bleeker (Real Estate), Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend), and Zach Tenorio-Miller (Arc Iris). They are unapologetically a jam band, specializing in long improvisations and often face-melting grooves. They're a little too attached for my liking to Grateful-Dead style vocals, but the songs are usually just launching pads of bookends for their long, exploratory instrumentals, which is the part I like. Not sure they really need the singing, though - it's not their strong suit and some of their best material is vocal free, like Doner Wrap, below.
As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, they bought saxophonist Sam Que from Rich Ruth on stage for one jam, a clearly improvisational number with some great call-and-response interplay between Sam and keyboardist Zach Tenorio-Miller.
Minds were blown and faces were melted, people danced, and a good time was had by all. Bonus points: even though Taper's Choice played for 1¾ hours, I was back home just a few minutes after 11:00 pm, despite some overnight, construction-related traffic in downtown Atlanta.
Double bonus points: Now that I've seen Tapers Choice, my Big Ears 2026 dilemma between them and Medeski, Martin, Metzger & Cline is now resolved.
Is January 30 (Structures of Earth, 30th Day of Childwinter) too early to proclaim an AOTY? Follow-up question: is the the greatest hurdy-gurdy album ever?
Dilemma: Taper's Choice or Medeski, Martin, Metzger & Cline on the inaugural Thursday night of Big Ears 2026? Or try to squeeze in both by leaving one early and arriving at the other late? To make it even more complicated, there's also a Marc Ribot/Mary Halvorsen set on the same night.
What does it sound like when a classically trained bass clarinetist and a new classical ensemble collaborate to interpret the music of Robert Fripp? Here's Evan Ziporyn and ContaQt with the answer.
