The Necks have a way of making any concert sound sacred. The crowd--about half capacity for the Bijou, or just a little less--for Saturday night's concert were as quiet as if they were in church, and the trio's hypnotic improv seemed, as it neared a climax, transcendent. It's profound music.
It's impossible to keep up with everything that's going on when they play. The set-up is simple--piano, bass, and drums--and they start off with an almost elemental straightforwardness, each player contributing a short, repetitive pattern that weaves in and out of the others as it builds in pace and intensity. When they really hit a groove, I sometimes heard sounds I couldn't place; as soon as I figured out where it was coming from, the whole thing changed.
Much of the crowd seemed to be from out of town, which isn't a surprise considering that the Australian band is only playing five dates in the U.S. on this tour--two nights in New York and two nights in Chicago in addition to Knoxville. It was the group's second appearance here after last year's Big Ears.
It's impossible to keep up with everything that's going on when they play. The set-up is simple--piano, bass, and drums--and they start off with an almost elemental straightforwardness, each player contributing a short, repetitive pattern that weaves in and out of the others as it builds in pace and intensity. When they really hit a groove, I sometimes heard sounds I couldn't place; as soon as I figured out where it was coming from, the whole thing changed.
Much of the crowd seemed to be from out of town, which isn't a surprise considering that the Australian band is only playing five dates in the U.S. on this tour--two nights in New York and two nights in Chicago in addition to Knoxville. It was the group's second appearance here after last year's Big Ears.
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