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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2010 > November > 09 > Entry
Review: Bill Frisell at One World Theater
Bill Frisell plays guitar like a professor giving a lecture. Backed on Sunday by Eyvind Kang on viola and Rudy Royston on drum kit, Frisell dispersed little truths with each sentence, showcasing a staggering range of knowledge from the stage of One World Theater.
A few sparse, scattered notes fell around the audience at first, echoing in reverb from Kang’s viola, as if the group was gingerly feeling its way into a cold pool. Things quickly heated up with a ten minute jam that cycled through samples of near-every musical touchstone Frisell cares about: southern rock, bluegrass, blues, hip-hop, reggae, Americana, and a paint-peeling rock solo drenching in distortion.
By the time the trio dissolved back into abstraction, we’d heard a survey of what makes Frisell so vital.
This iteration of Frisell’s band, the Beautiful Dreamers, was a small package of compact oddities. Royston’s drums were tight and sharp, but quickly brought raucous hard rock pounding, as required. Even more entertaining were the little adventures of Kang’s viola.
Using octave pedals to compensate for a lack of bass, Kang and Frisell shared a psychic instinct to play tight, creeping themes in unison. Kang also favored small glissandos that brought a vaguely Asian theme, bouncing them off pretty solos.
Kang’s position as de facto bassist worked better than might be expected, with his instinct for intriguing little background beats and drone. But his two-fingered plucking, a cross between a fast bass line and a trill, inspired awe.
Then there’s the masterful right hand of Frisell. His clean guitar sound may be his calling card — with discordant harmonies that have won over his cult of fans — but what you see live is the delicate finger-picking and strumming that happens simultaneously, a thumb to play the bass line or melody and a ring finger to play harmony.
What really strikes you is how effortless it all seems. But, come to think about it, Frisell (and his band) are at ease with something incredibly hard: never-ending experiments in treating Americana with both reverence and a sense of humor.
You needn’t recognize the bars of the Doors’ “Light my Fire,” to enjoy the band’s deconstruction of its chords and melodies, but it’s fun to catch it.
The sheer breadth of his musical ideas is what stays with you. From favorites like the quiet, funky “Winslow Homer,” to his hummable take on “Goin’ out of my Head,” the professor still has much to investigate, and much to teach.
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