Have you ever found yourself outside on the tarmac at LaGuardia, engulfed by the roar of multiple jet engines while waiting for your bags to come off a puddle-jumper? That was approximately what it sounded like inside Roulette on Thursday night, when guitarists Thurston Moore and Bill Nace collided with alto sax player Joe McPhee to create a deafening wall of improvised sound that screeched and roared over two-plus hours. With wands, picks, violin bows, and an array of pedals, the noise they created was nearly intolerable: at times, I literally thought the room was going to explode.
Moore, of course, is well-known as the leader of Sonic Youth, but McPhee is no less of a legend: a 45-year veteran of the avant-jazz scene, he'll be honored at next week's 17th annual Vision Festival with a lifetime achievement award. And, Nace regularly plays with Moore in a duo called Northampton Woods, named after the Massachussetts town where they've both lived since the late 90's.
Even though this was billed as a one-time collaboration, McPhee's pleading, fervent sax effectively softened Moore and Nace's hard-edged experimentaion, making you hungry for more. Guess we'll see.
More pics on the photo page.