AFTER DARK

Aimee Mann between songs last night - 'acoustic means there are some awkward silences'.
Acoustic also means no drums. Which is pretty ironic considering everything onstage is plugged in, and drums wouldn't be, were they present.
Anyhow, Aimee a little disappointing. Sombre and samey. Somehow not as good as on her recordings. Don't you just hate it when that happens.


Later in the cramped and good-vibe Zinc Bar. Roy Hargrove jog-skips onto the 'stage' from the back room to sit-in. The air rush behind him a smoke-tinged reminder of times long past in this city. His soloing joyful and effortless. The perfect mix of accessible and accomplished.

There are two heavily over-used words in this language, and I will over-use them some more to describe Clark Gayton's reggae/ska bass euphonium playing, which was 'totally awesome'. (His website's frontpage is pretty cute too.) The band 'Explorations in Dub'. Think Jazz Jamaica. As powerful but with a mere five players. Tight, trippy and sexy.
I used to think of this bar as quite smart but last night it was a dive-bar in the very best sense. Thanks for the tip, my new mate D.