The Necks Leg It To Bristol And Dunfermline
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Australian improvising trio The Necks continue their latest tour this week, the larger venues indicating their growing popularity which began in clubs where they built a strong word-of-mouth following.
Last night at the Union Chapel in London the trio – Chris Abrahams on piano, Lloyd Swanton, bass, and Tony Buck, drums – have been together since the 1980s and together have created a large discography. The first set of the concert was a single piece, more than a half an hour long, grounded in the language of minimalism, drawing on the broad sweep of the innovations made by Terry Riley and Steve Reich but taking in other musics, including the spirit if not the letter of jazz and avant rock. The long, held notes – sometimes moving towards a biting point but never quite reaching a jarring distortion – had a momentum which was not created artificially, especially where dynamic control is concerned. A certain cathartic point was reached about 10 minutes from the end of the piece which was like a cleansing. Quite uncanny.
The tour continues tonight at St George’s, Bristol. Go to www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk for more and then tomorrow at Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, phone 01383 602302.
– Stephen Graham