The Duo, Knitting Factory
April 20th, 2007
The main space of the Knitting Factory was filled with chairs last night for a rare acoustic performance by Sir Joe Russo and that rascal Marco Benevento. (The show was supposed to be at Tonic, but Tonic is no more.) What does “acoustic” mean for the drums-and-organ Duo? No loops and laptops for Russo, an upright piano, a toy piano, and a xylophone for Benevento, and for us in the audience, relaxed banter, semi-classical improvisations, jazzy interludes, and their trademark energetic crescendos stripped to their bare bones. Somehow there was still room for “Play Pause Stop” and a George Harrison rarity. I only had tickets for the early show, and it left me hungry for more–but it’s the Green Apple Music Festival this weekend, and there’s lots more music to come.
Two videos of the full-on electric Duo:
The Duo @ Bowery Ballroom
October 28th, 2006
Photo by bouche
Hadn’t seen the Benevento Russo Duo since the GRAB run with Gordo & Trey this summer, and it was good to see just the two of them again, locked in, grinning, and wicked noisy. They filmed the show for a potential DVD release, but the crowd seemed a tad too laid back, they kept the set short and Joe looked exhausted by the end. Some great way-out improv though, and a killer “Becky” that went surprising places, including a section that sounded like Danny Elfman was sitting in, which led into a heavy jungle techno groove.
For your listening pleasure, a Becky>Mephisto from a year ago. Takes about two minutes to really kick in.
[audio:http://jurgenfauth.com/audio/Becky-Mephisto.mp3]
[tags]music, audio, shows, nyc, the duo, marco benevento, joe russo, organ, drums, wicked, becky[/tags]
