Stop Smiling!

From the river to the ocean, and back again.

Last night a crowd convened on the north side of Chicago to see Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake lead their From The River to the Ocean band in the first of two album release parties. This one took place at the Stop Smiling headquarters, a magazine operation that produces some interesting literature if you ever get a chance to check it out. There was one memorable issue that dealt with Miles Davis' boxing prowess that stands out in my memory.

I arrived a little early at 6:45 before the posted 7 PM start time to find a crowd on the sidewalk waiting to get in. Apparently the doors wouldn't open until 7 we were told, which turned into 7:30. In the mean time, the crowd on the sidewalk swelled, to the point where people passing by became curious about what was going on inside. Add to this curiosity the fact that Stop Smiling had Nas and Madlib on the cover of their most recent issue and huge poster size pictures of the covers in the storefront window of the venue, and some people stopped thinking that Nas or Madlib would be making an appearance. This led to a few interesting conversations about Fred Anderson and who the hell he was.

The space was a small room with benches along the sides and back, and an open floor. I walked to the front and sat myself down on the ground directly in front of the stage. To call it a stage is a bit of an overstatement; it was maybe 6" high, and only 3 of the 5 band members actually fit on it, with Harrison Bankhead and Jeff Parker setting up on the floor.

John Corbett introduced the band to thunderous applause and we were off, with the first number featuring Hamid Drake on his frame drum, Josh Abrams on the guimbri, Harrison Bankhead on Cello (which he played for 3 of the 4 tunes), and Jeff Parker and Fred Anderson on their usual instruments, guitar and tenor sax respectively.

The setlist was something like this: From the River to the Ocean, Planet E, Strut Time, and a final tune that sounded like an open improv to me, perhaps based on the Sakti/Shiva track that closes the album.

The band immediately established a live rapport equal to or greater than the album. Of course I love the live setting with its immediacy and physical presence, and both the opening From the River to the Ocean and Strut Time stood out as more vibrant live than they do to my ears on the album.

Fred's booming tenor was made even louder via amplification, which was particularly unnecessary in my sitting position where Fred pointed directly at me, and his speaker did the same. At one point I had to cover my ears from the sound, lending the proceedings a Last Exitesque aural assault from my seat.

The two bass attack was particularly noteworthy, when Harrison Bankhead joined Josh Abrams on upright for one tune. Some serious low end action ensued, and they took advantage of the configuration by letting the two bassists play a solo together. They each took their turn as the lead, with Harrison Bankhead doing his double bowing to create an eerie accompaniment before Josh Abrams switched from pizzicato to arco acrobatics. Josh was on fire the whole night, especially when he played bass, at one point during a solo eliciting laughs of delight from his bandmates and a "go on Josh" from Harrison Bankhead.

Fred Anderson seemed to take a lot of happiness from the proceedings, visually enjoying the playing of the band. There was an incredibly high level of playing by every individual, with Hamid Drake providing the driving force and rhythmic variety throughout.

This same band will be playing at the Velvet Lounge tonight. I have a prior commitment that will keep me away, but if it finishes early I'm hoping to catch the second set. In my personal musical orbit, this is one of the best bands and most important music being made and I hate to miss a note of it.

The stage created this juxtaposition of a Stop Smiling banner hanging over Hamid Drake, probably one of the people most likely to smile that I know. I could not follow the banner's missive either, as I laughed and enjoyed the joyous music that poured from the stage.