Friday, February 26, 2010

Burning Bright

The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger

If By Yes

Consortium Musicum


SF Noise Pop Festival

The Independent

San Francisco, CA

February 24, 2010



Sean Lennon is full of surprises, & this is a very good thing. I’m quite sure Sean can have a huge, commercial career in the music industry if he ever decides to want that. On the available evidence though, he’s much more interested & engaged in just playing with his friends in fluid, interchangeable band lineups. He played with each of the three nominal bands onstage at the Independent on Wednesday night. I couldn’t discern if any of them are actual, ongoing projects, or if this was a Just For Now kind of thing.



It didn’t really matter. Because, somewhat surprisingly, Sean Lennon actually fucking rocks. Best part of the night from my perspective at the edge of stage-left was the 20-minute Noise Improv Jam between Sean on (mostly) guitar & Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier on drums. Which just killed me.


After that was If By Yes, fronted by vocalist Petra Haden. Later still, Sean fronted the Ghost of the Saber Toothed Tiger. Both bands included all 3 members of Cornelius, & also Yuka Honda (all of whom had backed Yoko Ono the previous night).


Between songs, Sean is fey & deadpan & devastating with his foppish hair & his admiral overcoat. He’s Oscar Wilde w/electric guitar. He is hilarious & charming.

Sean’s playing is all butch, however. Make no mistake about that. He is confident, he’s aggressive. He plays raunchy, even when the song is sweet. Somehow he seems to make those disparate components fit into a single puzzle. I wasn’t the only one getting a thrill out of that.




18 comments:

  1. I fucking love Sean Lennon

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  2. you're great! excellent! you must come to Monterrey Mexico!!

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  4. He was soooo good!!

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  6. Sean Lennon impresses me whenever I see him. He seemingly effortlessly overcame the obstacles of 2nd hand fame to emerge as his own unique person and unique talent. That's a bigger deal than we know, I think.

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  8. Sean's music takes me to the places I want to be. Please come to Argentina, we love you here.

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  9. Sean - so good to hear you're rockin' out! Please come to Wichita, Kansas!!!

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  10. Excellent musician and quite a talent...in fact, his band members and guests are all great! I went to two gigs this past year and enjoyed them both immensly!

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  12. Love him too! He's not only a a brilliant muso but a fab guy, funny as hell, charming and so fricking nice! We love you Sean! <3

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  13. You're right, Sean does rock!!!
    I feel really sorry for him and Yoko having to go through all the unnecessary hatred lately. And it must be hard to be in his shoes and always compared to his famous father. Sean is a talent in his own right. But don't worry Sean, there are still some fans of yours like me who will always love and support you no matter what! :)

    Amy

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  15. His music makes me glad. Love him as well!

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  16. Thanks for the excellent review. I'd have loved to have seen THIS show. I saw him play in Northampton, MA and he was fabulous!!

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