Venue: Menza pri koritu / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 22.09.2008
Attendance: 40
Ticket price: 5 €
Gutbucket are an American quartet (hailing from Brooklyn, New York) of jazz musicians who work other elements into their songs too, including punk, hard rock and Eastern motifs. Not long ago the guys switched labels, landing at that haven for all quality experimental acts, Cuneiform Records. Label boss Steven Feigenbaum has obviously hit the bullseye again, because Gutbucket are a real reinforcement and a breath of fresh air on a jazz scene that can often be almost too rigid.
Judging by the song titles alone, you’d think the guys really do plug punk elements into the music, but in the end it turns out the punk is mostly in the titles themselves, because otherwise the music is far too non-rhythmic to be labeled punk. Maybe the biggest punk element is Ty Citerman’s guitar, which is often pretty riff-oriented, but just as often it’s jazzy too. So I couldn’t really claim this is a true combo of jazz and punk; it’s more a kind of rebellious jazz, which shows not only in the lyrics but also in a very aggressive way of playing (that goes for the guitarist and especially for saxophonist Ken Thompson.
Gutbucket are outstanding individual players, but unlike so many other jazz and rock lineups, they don’t need to show off with overly long solo spots on drums, bass, sax or guitar. They put all their skill into the compositions and that’s how they show what they’re worth, and they’re definitely worth seeing. Not for a moment did the show let up in intensity, there was always something that grabbed you. Overall, their playing is very dynamic and fast, but they also knew how to slow the pace down and build that properly dramatic tension that matters so much in good music. They also jumped around the rhythm like crazy and switched time signatures in a flash, yet it all felt very fluid and effortless. Only the best pull that off.
Like I said, Gutbucket weave a few punk elements into their style of jazz, though I’d say there’s almost more hard rock in there (almost in the style of John McLaughlin early on in Mahavishnu Orchestra), then there are the more Eastern elements (maybe those are motifs from Jewish music, since the guys do come from Brooklyn, after all), which add even more variety. On top of that there are quite a few elements from avant-garde music too, which show up mostly in some “weird” sequences of notes or chords.
What else is there to say about Gutbucket? They showed up, played a stellar set and proved themselves a great hope for the future of good experimental music and jazz in general. Menza once again put on yet another excellent concert. Sure, these aren’t exactly big names (though Bratko Bibič, who played a while back, would already fit that category), but quality is quality, regardless of the name, and Gutbucket had it in abundance.
Lineup:
Ty Citerman – guitar
Adam D Gold – drums
Eric Rockwin – bass
Ken Thomson – saxophone
Text and photos: Rok Podgrajšek
Setlist
1. Thud
2. Punkass Rumbledink
3. Dollar
4. Tofu Don’t Bleed
5. Money Management for a Better Life
6. The Plague of the Legions
7. Bork, Bork, Bork
8. Lucy
9. Carnivore
10. Doppelgänger’s Requiem
11. Side FX
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