Confessions of an Undisguised Drama Queen

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Redman in the house

My footsteps are lighter and my mood is positively more upbeat.

Music does wonders. So does good company and ahem, some retail therapy.

Last night, Von and I went to listen to Joshua Redman at the Esplanade, together with Grace and Christian.

Here's my account of the evening's performance:

**Note: Please read the following at your own discretion. The contents are based solely on my personal opinion - no person should accuse me of slander, disparagement or any sort of misdeed. Please also exonerate my inadequate use of musical terminology, which I can only blame myself for not reading up more about the technicality of the subject - see I'm already apologetic, so no need to judge me here.

The Joshua Redman Elastic Band (or how he named the trio; sounds really impressionable ya? If I were to play in any group someday, we could call it J's Rubber Band or something. People surely remember the name) played a repertoire of what I'd consider avant-garde jazz.

A mixture of the classic jazz movements, world music (there was this part when some traditional Japanese music played in the background), and a whole load of sound effects that ranged from the swell: it made it seem like Redman was playing many saxophones simultaneously, to the 'huh?' effects with the 'tiu tiu tiu' sounds that reminded me vividly of Ross' composition of 'intergalactic sounds' on his keyboard (Friends fans will know what I'm talking about here).

Redman is really quite an amazing saxophonist. The consistency, the rich sounds and the solid control of the instrument. Very impressive. I was in awe when he did a slide up some really high notes; it sounded like his sound was going sharp initially, but the pitch just kept changing up the scale, and I realised he was actually doing it delibrately.

However, the guitarist paled in comparison to Redman's commanding stage presence. For one, he wasn't a pretty sight to look at. He had the 70's greasy, slicked back hair with two 'feelers' poking into his eyes. And when he played, he shaked his head non-stop as if he were high on ecstacy and kept giving a constipated look. Yikes.

His solos were less than inspiring - his undistinguished playing was made even more obvious when the saxophone and guitar had a 'conversation'; it almost seemed like Redman and his sax had to coax music out of the greasy-haired guy's guitar.

Given less credit than he deserved, I feel, is probably the drummer. I thought he played really well, given the abrupt changes in beats in the compositions. He set the pace and coordinated the different rhythms in the pieces, allowing the entry of the other instruments at the precise timings.

Anyhow, the 100 min or so passed by really quickly (there was no intermission) and at the end of the concert, it felt like I had walked into a museum of abstract art, saw some nice work but didn't quite understand them.

Then after the concert, Grace and I headed back to hall, but not before hitting some shops before they closed. I went on a partially sponsored shopping trip to Giordano with vouchers from my mum. It's the occasional treat I get. Unlike most other mums and daughters, my mum never takes me shopping, other than the fortnightly visit to the supermarket for groceries, that is. The only shopping incentives I ever get are gift vouchers and the extremely rare shopping with her credit card (happened only once and I seriously doubt it happening again).

Got a pair of capris from Giordano then headed to U.r.s. to get a pair of pretty shoes that I've been thinking about all weekend since I saw it.

Know what would make me feel even better, if I can finally get some sleep.

[Time of Confession] 1:40 PM
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