Moon Hooch: Live At The Cathedral Church Of St. John The Divine

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

James Muschler (d, perc)
Wenzl McGowen (ts, bs, contrabass cl, syn)
Mike Wilbur (ts, syn, v)

Label:

Hornblow

September/2017

RecordDate:

23 October 2015

Some ideas are obvious for a reason. Moon Hooch struggled over three studio LPs and an EP to put over the raw reality of their explosive live shows. Now this triple-disc set's DVD (with music repeated on two CDs) lets you see what the fuss is about. A trio who made their name busking on the New York subway here fill the world's largest Anglican cathedral, the laser lightshow and dry ice demonstrating how the context for jazz-based music has grown. The young women lining the front to admire Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGowen's sax solos symbolise the change in the weather. Squint, and this could be an LCD Soundsystem gig. The high energy virtuosity with which they simulate a rave's excitement can be observed in drummer James Muschler, swiftly stripped topless for more than four-to-the-floor thunder. The Value of Food programme this gig was part of matches a green political philosophy made explicit in a Wilbur rap (“Don't trust/Industry ruined us”). The subtle, spiritual emotions Moon Hooch sometimes attempt also become plain. When they quieten down for an avowedly meditative improv, or the questioning interiority at the start of ‘St. Louis’, or burrow into the brooding ‘Rough Sex’, they're more than a party band.

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