Ottmar Liebert in NY, Part I: Tour 2005

Maybe it is because my life is so much busier now than it was then, but there seemed to be less anticipation for the arrival of Ottmar's annual New York shows this year than last. I just didn't have time to spend all day for the past few weeks thinking about how excited I was to see him perform again because I had (and have) so much on my plate. Which I suspect is why I am currently buried under the avalanche I was hit with last night and especially tonight--I was pretty much completely unprepared for the sheer depth of performance I have been fortunate enough to experience.

By the way, notice how this post is a Part I of a series, as with my posts on religion. This post will focus primarily on the strictly musical aspects of the three shows that I saw tonight and last night. Details of my day yesterday in the city before and after the show with Boris and his father, meeting Ottmar last night and tonight, and pictures will come later.

Read no further, by the way, if you have tickets to a future show on this tour and wish to know nothing about the setlists, the song arrangements, etc. For a "spoiler-free" review, see Heather's blog, or one of a few posts of Boris's blog (A, B). So this is a very interesting tour. For background, I've now seen him in the fall of 2003 once at B.B. King in the city, and then twice at the same venue just under a year later, and then twice last night at B.B. King and once tonight at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. The addition of a string quartet in place of one of the percussionists, as can be expected, completely transformed the entire feel of the show. I am currently debating what route to take with this review, whether I should explain factually or simply gush about the feelings with which I am overflowing, and have decided I will simply do both. For starters, exact setlists are at the end of the post. And yes, I know what I am talking about, these are exact, I was pushy and ended up getting the string quartet's setlist last night and Ottmar's tonight. hehe.

So as I was thinking they might, the guys started with Silence. It was very little surprise when he strummed that first chord and although yes, Boris and I may have been the only ones in the venue who from that first note recognized the song (and at least I was probably the only one who expressed barely-restrained unadulterated glee immediately thereafter), and were certainly among only a few who had even heard it, it made the song no less amazing. Someone who had heard nothing of Ottmar in the past would have easily been blown away. This song, it has been and continues to be truly fascinating and an absolute treat to watch its evolution so closely as Ottmar has allowed us to. Remember when he first posted the earliest version of the song, right after his trip to the Zen center when the song was still a swirling mix of ideas coming together on one solo guitar? That version of the song grew on me during my trip to Israel, but it was not until the Listening Lounge opened up and a live rendition of the song, with which Ottmar seemed (and still seems) to enjoy opening shows, came on. The end, when he tremulos with Jon's bass playing over and then starts to rasgueado through to the end of the song is absolutely stunning. Mind-blowing. So throw a string quartet with Jon Gagan arrangements into the mix and what do you get? A budding Ottmar Liebert classic, I think. The quartet does not hold back at all during this first song in showing off their stuff. Some soft playing to tease you as Ottmar gently tremulos, and then those percussive sounds that we have grown to love to build the suspense right as he launches into the energetic strumming to finish off the song, and the string quartet dives right in. Boris said it sounded Irish and I certainly now see it as having sounded quite Celtic. A simply dazzling performance that elevates that song to yet-greater heights, an expression of absolute joy in its purest musical form. I really hope after the tour Ottmar will put a recording of this song in the Listening Lounge because it is something you simply cannot miss. I took a couple of videos tonight with my camera during that song and they are, quality aside, gorgeous, so I will e-mail Ottmar and see if he minds if I make them available either publicly or by request. In any other show this first song would even be the set's climax. Absolutely...impossible to describe, really, just amazing. This song is making its way into history. I am so excited to hear it on the album and I fervently hope that Ottmar decides to keep all these added pieces--the string quartet's arrangement--when he does begin to record up close.

The string quartet added so much. How a song like Duende del Amor, as if it were not already astounding live, can be lifted up with those strings is just beautiful. During the chorus, Ottmar played the rhythm guitar and the strings fiercely played the melody. It was how the song was meant to be, I think. It is probably fairly safe to say that Duende at Westhampton was the highlight of all three performances.

Yet the crowd only really erupted, as can be expected, during the next (and last) song. Ottmar played two notes and he had to stop, smile, and start over because the audience was so loud. He played those two notes again as a tease and then finally started playing the rest of the song. I don't think any of the readers of this blog need me to say that this song was Barcelona Nights (Boris: Barcelona Afternoons?). To be honest, this is the one song (except maybe Sao Paulo) that he plays as a staple at all of his shows that I just couldn't really get as much into. Maybe I am just so used to it that it doesn't seem as special, or maybe his material since is just so much better (although if that's the case, I don't think most of the people at the shows this weekend would have agreed!). I have to say, though, even though I was probably in pre-school the last time they were together, seeing Ottmar, Jon, and Davo play that song together again (the string quartet did not come back out for the encore) was really something special. It seemed like it was just like old times for the three of them. Such chemistry together, such emotion.

I couldn't get enough of Davo this weekend, and I talked to him a couple of times to tell him that. While I'll be the first to admit that I would have loved to see some more Robby and His Magic Kora, as Ottmar said in his blog, they couldn't have found anyone better to fill the position than Davo. More of a rock drummer than a new age drummer (to compare, say, Davo and Ron, both of whom are fantastic). He put so much flare and energy into the performance, and yet just like Ottmar and Jon, he made it seem so easy, so effortless.

All in all, the three shows were just astounding, and especially at Westhampton. Ottmar had some choice words to say about the B.B. King venue, and after seeing him play in the theater, I could understand why. The sound was just so much better, the acoustics were incomparable. Every note the strings played was so crystal-clear, such a beautiful sound. Even the tone of the electric guitar (especially the tone of the electric guitar) was amplified ten times by that venue, it was the most amazing thing. And I think it made the band perform better, too, because not just the tone of the music but the music itself felt so much better. I have seen Ottmar perform now six times during three tours and I think this tour (and tonight's show at Westhampton) could take the cake. It wasn't the pure holiday show (Winter Rose/Opium CD2/Leaning into the Night/etc.) that we might have expected but with the string quartet it was Ottmar Liebert as he has never performed before and may never perform again. It's an experience that must be treasured for a long time to come.

So I think...have I talked enough? More is to come :)

11.25.05 - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York City, NY, Show 1

01. Silence: No More Longing (For Genpo Roshi and the Kanzeon Sangha)
02. La Luna (Lunatic Love Letter)
03. Heart Still/Beating
04. Carrousel
05. Bells/Coda: Christmas Eve at Friar Fripp's
06. Snakecharmer
07. Pavane
(Talk + Intro Band)
08. Duende del Amor
--------------------------------------------------------- (Encore)
09. Barcelona Nights

11.25.05 - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York City, NY, Show 2

01. Silence: No More Longing (For Genpo Roshi and the Kanzeon Sangha)
02. La Luna (Lunatic Love Letter)
03. Heart Still/Beating
04. Carrousel
05. UnderWorld/Le Café
06. Snakecharmer
07. Pavane
(Talk + Intro Band)
08. Duende del Amor
--------------------------------------------------------- (Encore)
09. Barcelona Nights

11.26.05 - Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, Westhampton, NY

01. Silence: No More Longing (For Genpo Roshi and the Kanzeon Sangha)
02. La Luna (Lunatic Love Letter)
03. Heart Still/Beating
04. Carrousel
05. Bells/Coda: Christmas Eve at Friar Fripp's
06. Snakecharmer
(Talk)
07. Brazilian Tango ("Por una Cabeza" by Carlos Gardel)
--------------------------------------------------------- (Intermission)
08. Pavane
09. UnderWorld/Le Café
10. Morning Arrival in Goa
11. Santa Fe
12. Sao Paulo
(Intro Band)
13. Duende del Amor
--------------------------------------------------------- (Encore)
14. Barcelona Nights