Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: 109/110 - 2011

109
2011/10/07, Turner Hall, Milwaukee, WI
J Smoov
Planetary motion
Trojan curfew

I don't know why I only kept these three songs from the date in Milwaukee, again the next night. It's an audience recording, but the sound has a nice presence, it's easy on the ears. Going by the performance of these songs, the Jicks had a good night. Oh well, probably got lost in the abundance of recordings of this particular tour.

We've heard an embryonic 'J Smoov' at Disjecta in august, but here's the earliest Jicks performance I've heard. At Disjecta it was unfinished – mumbled lyrics, rambling structure. A month and a half later this is an authorative, near definitive version. It doesn't yet have quite that relaxed, soulful feel (no horns, of course) but it's a questing, dreamy, stream-of-consciousness ballad of considerable intimacy. Hearing it side by side with 'Trojan curfew' enforces the similarities in these songs.

'Planetary motion' rocks in its compact live form as always. It's becoming quite clear already that Stephen is going for a varied sound on the next album, accentuating the differences between the songs through the arrangements, rather than tying them into a central mood.

It's been a very long time since we last encountered 'Trojan curfew'. Stephen thanks the audience member who requested it, 'cause we never play it'. It doesn't show – the band knows all the twists and turns, Stephen sings it with a lot of feeling. It floats in the ether more than it used to. Everything is implied and luminous, rather than explicitly stated.

There are some message board regulars at this show, right? They keep calling for 'Pick up the spare' – and then to one another 'Shhh, we don't want him to know it was us.' Always cracks me up to hear it picked up by the microphone. There should be more guerilla actions like this at Jicks gigs.

110
2011/10/08, Pantages
No one is (as I are be)

At Pantages, they're joined by a lap steel player for 'No one is (as I are be)'. I don't know who it is, but he sure looks like he just stepped out of the '60s US band Kaleidoscope (in a good way – I love that band). Stephen's on good behaviour for their guest and everyone nails the song. They don't take it anywhere out of its usual orbit, they just nail it. Listen to the delicate balance between Stephen's guitar and the lap steel notes, mirroring each other.

Nice moment.