Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Cankarjev dom / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: April 7, 2008
Attendance: 80
Ticket price: €12.00
Lineup:
Fred Frith – guitar, bass, vocals
Zeena Parkins – electric harp, accordion, keyboards, vocals
Carla Kihlstedt – violin, vocals
Matthias Bossi – drums, vocals
Within the span of two weeks, we had two shows lined up featuring two former members of the British band Henry Cow, who pretty much single-handedly kicked off the Rock in Opposition movement. First up, guitarist Fred Frith showed up in Slovenia with Cosa Brava, and on April 19th, Gorizia (Italy) gets Chris Cutler with Brainville 3, where he’s joined by Daevid Allen (formerly of Gong) and Hugh Hopper (Soft Machine). Two real treats, in other words.
And who did Frith bring along this time? He was once again joined by his darling Carla Kihlstedt, who has become a regular fixture in Frith’s projects. This outstanding violinist and singer’s main band is Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, a metal in opposition outfit from San Francisco whose experimental style has won over a huge number of music enthusiasts. The other Sleepytime Gorilla Museum member in Cosa Brava is drummer Matthias Bossi. The foursome is rounded out by Zeena Parkins, who has also played with Bjork, among others.
The show started off promisingly, but maybe a little atypically for Fred Frith. Where’s all the goofing around that was all over the Henry Cow albums? Mr. Frith had evidently gotten serious and started making different music. Pretty soon it turned out that wasn’t the case. Humor did show up in the music later on after all (especially when Kihlstedt and Frith were moaning and groaning into the mic), but it wasn’t as in-your-face as with Henry Cow. Cosa Brava’s music feels far more polished and refined than Henry Cow’s, which left plenty of room for clowning around and improvisation. You can hardly detect those elements here anymore. Cosa Brava play very focused music with a clearly defined common thread. The weaving of melodies and structures is obviously the work of top-notch composers who know exactly what they’re doing. But don’t get me wrong. This isn’t just technically polished composition, the music also carries a huge emotional charge.
The style they play is pretty hard to pin down. You can feel so many influences that I couldn’t even list them all. This is the true spirit of progressive music, the one that many newer so-called “prog” acts have obviously forgotten. There’s plenty of avant-garde, of course, but also a lot of jazz, rock, folk,… Some songs were incredibly complex, while others were pleasant folk “ditties”. They knew how to strike the right mix of simple and difficult music.
No single member really stood out. It was a magnificent group performance by four musicians who clearly respect each other a lot. Besides his famous avant-garde guitar, Frith also showed off his skills on bass, which he played without any trouble. The lovely Carla Kihlstedt became a renowned violinist at a young age and just keeps getting better. Since I saw her with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum she’s improved even more, especially in the vocals, which seem even more confident than before. On keyboards, Zeena Parkins had a prominent role, and a couple of times she also picked up the accordion. She coaxed some downright gorgeous sounds out of the keys, which sounded very natural and authentic, and from time to time she lent her vocal cords too. Behind the drums sat another Sleepytime Gorilla Museum member, who is just as exceptional a musician. His drumming wasn’t as raw as in his main band, but with a calm jazzy style he showed he can play any genre. Several times we also got to see his unusual percussion instruments, which he builds himself. Why buy expensive vibraphones when you can coax similarly good sounds out of stuff that usually ends up in the trash? I was blown away by his unusual inventions, which sound just as good as more established classical instruments. Bossi even sang one song, proving he’s a versatile talent.
The members all clearly get along well. The connection between them seems genuine and they’re tight to an enviable degree. They all read sheet music, which also makes it easier to avoid various unpleasant slipups. There wasn’t much interaction with the audience, but what there was, was witty and likable. Frith and Carla Kihlstedt mostly took the lead there. Fred Frith even played Robert Fripp for a bit, sending away a photographer who kept shooting right in front of the stage. The move didn’t leave any deeper emotional scars on the guitarist, though, as the band just kept playing as confidently as before.
After a festival in Portugal where nothing but incredible bands played, it was entirely possible that Cosa Brava might disappoint me. If they hadn’t been up to that level. But they were more than that. Everything I love is in their music – exceptional depth, melodicity, developed structures, technical perfection, humor, darkness. And all these elements somehow come together into a whole that takes the listener on a journey, which this time, sadly, was maybe too short. The set lasted just over an hour (with a long break in the middle). But no worries, short and sweet beats long and long-winded.
Cankarjev dom puts on great concerts quite often, but they’ve obviously taken offense at something on our end, because lately they only give us half accreditations, while I’m sure the big media outlets get their tickets for free. So some random uncle who has no intention of ever reporting on the show can get in for nothing. He just knows somebody in the right places. And those of us journalists who actually put in the effort get shoved to the back burner. Not exactly nice, but even this snobbery didn’t leave a bitter aftertaste at the show.
text and photos: Rok Podgrajšek
Setlist
1. Snake Eating Its Tail
2. Round Dance
3. Out on The Town with Rusty
4. Pour Albert
5. Road Movie
6. I Don’t Believe You
7. CB 21
8. Einstein
9. A Song About Love
10. The New World
11. Falling up
12. Tom Paine
Photo Gallery
