Good noise and bad noise
Went to see Four Tet and Steve Reid on Wednesday evening at the Scala. I thought I had seen some bad music before, but the support bands were absolutely atrocious. Probably the worst rubbish I have ever seen. Well, almost. First there was The Thing, which consisted of a jazz drummer, a double bass player and a man with a huge saxaphone who just kept on screeching and roaring. Free jazz I thought I could appreciate - I love a bit o’ John Coltrane or Ornette Coleman, but this was giving me the fear.
Then came Six Organs of Admittance and frankly I could have done with a few fewer organs of admittance - preferably none. They were two drummers and a guitarist and it was gratuitious noise and banging as far I as could make out.
Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet makes some pretty challenging music and occasionally some pretty music too, but whatever he does is just that bit better than the bands with names like The Thing. Steve Reid is a drummer who has played with James Brown, Miles Davis and Fela Kuti but seems to specialise in a fairly free style of drumming. His drum kit faced Mr Hebdens gadget covered table. The funny thing is - Four Tet also made a terrific racket and specialized in a sort of white noise, grrr, bang bang bang, but it sounded good. What fine line is it that separates pleasant avant-noise from execrable free-jazz? I cannot imagine.