Last night AV and I went to a local jazz club to see the phenomenal Cuong Vu Trio (Cuong Vu, Trumpet; Stomu Takeishi, Bass; Ted Poor, Drums). What a set--interesting, hard-driving, inspired jazz. We'd heard one track on KUVO's Jazz Odyssey Wednesday night and decided to hit the club to see them. AV said that they reminded him of InterRacial, a band we saw in August at the Stone that was totally amazing. My tendency was to watch Ted Poor all night--whatever residual drumming instincts I have were electrified last night watching him.
The music was totally amazing, but the environment was really frustrating. People were talking throughout the performance, waitresses continued to pass in front of the stage during the music to wait on the people in the front row. Waitresses kept asking us if we needed anything as the music was going on...yikes! Also, it was very scene-y. Very different than at the Stone, where you sit down, shut up, and stay shut up except to shout between tunes. Being on the Lower East Side does something to the scene factor, too, in most cases.
Here I'll freely admit my own snobbery about the club, but fortunately the music trumped it all.
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I think in general, when people go to a club to hear live music, it's more about the scene and the alcohol than actually paying attention to the musicicans. Frustrating, particularly if you're a musician!
Charles Mingus would admonish talkers from the stage. It reminds me a little bit of those pre-film commercials (which I hate) with the director Sydney Pollack interrupting someone's cell phone call, saying," Is my directing disrupting your breakup?" Ha.
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