Never use a cruelty when a joke will do in its place

I got to see John Zorn's Moonchild at the Moore last night. (Thanks Lele!) I knew what I was getting into, but I think a lot of the Earshot Festival people didn't. And those were the people who made a beeline for the door after just a couple of tunes.

It was loud. Probably the loudest, sweatiest, phlegmiest, least "jazz" thing to happen at the whole festival. Bass, drums, vocals - that's it. Joey Baron was rocking an enormo drum kit, and Trevor Dunn's Ampeg fridge supplied the brown notes. Patton stuck the mic in his mouth and did his best Tasmanian Devil impression. There were moments of brutality and of beauty. There was a lot of uncomfortable laughter peppered throughout the crowd. As is the case with experimental music, not everything worked, but after awhile I found myself analyzing it less and just going along for the ride.

I'm guessing most of the crowd came to see Mike Patton. I like Mike Patton, but I was (and am) a Zorn fan first and foremost. Zorn doesn't actually play anything in Moonchild, but he did come out at the encore to direct an improv piece (a la Cobra). It was great to finally see the guy in action after missing every other performance he's done in town.