Slouched over studies Monster Spectacular an electric monster truck examines guitar laid flat in his lap, Frith assembled rhythm loops from sampled fragments of tribally drummed pickups (for instance) and colored them with flutelike sustains, frenetic two-handed fretboard noodlings and string excitements including a bar slide, an inserted metal rod and a twisted tuning peg. Throughout, Frith radiated knowledge of the spatial divisions and sharp timbral contrasts that hold a listener's attention and often strung together passages of simple beauty. The duo set of Parkins and Mori, despite their longtime association, lacked chemistry. The fairy magician Parkins, who's proved a valuable teammate to innumerable rim skaters, drew eyes with spellbound head rolling and kung-fu plucks of her electronic harp. She also stirred an auditory vortex with a keyboard and the shield-size, pedestal-mounted harp, which she augmented with sound effects, a foot pedal and even a whammy bar. Touches such as knocking rocks together and rattling a resonant necklace registered as more theatrical than musical. Meanwhile, Mori, who surfaced 30 years ago with the noise group DNA, sat studiously behind her notebook computer, pecking out abstract clusters that sounded like disturbed chipmunks, primitive sci-fi soundtracks or rain on cactus. The two generated much restless motion but little cohesion. When all three combined, they went at it full bore, but pulled together only when guru Frith orchestrated a nodding rhythm with a single-note mantra. Improv is always a coin flip; this time it landed on its edge. .
Four guitars lined up across the stage might initially seem to be two or three too many for some listeners monster truck spectacular . But not if those musicians are the members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. In its nearly three decades together (with a single change in personnel), the group has set an enviable standard for the range of repertoire, the craftsmanship of the playing and the entertainment potential of a four-acoustic-guitar ensemble. Friday night's program at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre was no exception monster trucks . Although principally billed as a support event for the quartet's new Telarc recording, "LAGQ: Brazil," it offered an enticing menu of selections from other sources as well. Each of the pieces in the opening half displayed a different facet of the LAGQ's admirable versatility: a lyrical rendering of the Overture to Rossini's "The Barber of Seville"; a marvelously imagined take on Bach's "Brandenburg" Concerto No olympique stadium . 6, bursting with concisely placed contrapuntal lines; and a passionately expressive overview of selections from the De Falla ballet "El Amor Brujo. "Brazil finally took center stage in the program's second half montreals olympic stadium . And it was here that the LAGQ's versatility began to shine. Although the four guitarists -- John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant and new guy Matthew Greif -- are classically trained, their omnivorous musical interests have brought them to a global repertoire of genres and styles.
And, like Yo-Yo Ma, they have explored these genres with extraordinary authenticity. Baden Powell's "Samba Novo" was a virtuosic tour de force, all four guitarists skimming across the rhythms with the ease of Sasha Cohen at her best. Other highlights included a shadowy reconstruction of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "O Morro Não Tem Vez" and, with the assistance of woodwind player Katisse Buckingham and percussionist Kevin Ricard, a characteristically wild-eyed work -- "De Sábado Pra Dominguinhos" -- from the eccentric Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal. That such a colorful group of compositions could be played by a guitar quartet was a marvel monster trucks spectacular . That it was done with such style, élan and musicality was simply another example of the LAGQ at its best. monster motorsports Monster Spectacular - outlawmonstertrucks . Signs posted all around the Long Beach Arena strictly forbade mosh pits monster show . But freedom of expression rarely falters in the wake of a mere placard, especially when a band like Rise Against is in the house monster rally . The Chicago-based quartet, which gained renown after two solid albums on Geffen Records and a main-stage spot on last year's Warped Tour, appeared at the cavernous venue Saturday in what singer Tim McIlrath described onstage as "a momentous occasion for punk rock Monster Spectacular - chrisarel . " Indeed, the band's set, played for the largest audience it has ever faced and one of the biggest to attend a punk show this year, created a cathartic mood that had fans breaking rules to fulfill ritual. Rise Against followed a small horde of punk bands, including Santa Barbara's Lagwagon and Simi Valley veterans Strung Out, whose sets drew maybe half of the 10,000 or so fans away from the concessions.
But when McIlrath stepped to the microphone and his mates began the precise, assaultive music that renders his sandpapered tenor even more ferocious, the mood intensified. As the band propelled itself through leftist inspirational songs such as "Chamber the Cartridge" and "Give It All," circles of mostly male fans formed everywhere around the arena's concrete floor, jostling one another and smiling, creating centrifugal currents . Yellow-shirted security guards stood nearby, ruffled, but no one could permanently stop the mosh. American punk, now as old as the Christian megachurch movement, offers its adherents a mix of community, tradition and self-determination -- not unlike what those nondenominational clearing houses provide monster jam . Monster Spectacular tickets McIlrath made a great preacher, his arms held aloft as he howled about defeating oppression, his between-song patter as animated as his singing. "We would like to send this next song out to those of us who know what passion means," he announced before the revolution-minded "Give It All. " Every aside had that tone of anointment, while his singing ran from an empathetic murmur to an all-out howl. For all his charisma, McIlrath would be nothing without his band, particularly drummer Brandon Barnes, who walloped whenever necessary but showed more dexterity during the band's frequent time shifts and occasional forays into heavy-metal jamming monster tickets . Rise Against had no trouble delivering the traditional punk "1-2-3-4!" but also indulged in a few ballads and several songs that moved frenetically between such hard-core assaults and something gentler Monster Spectacular . The night's most startling moment came when the band brought out a cellist, a violist and a violinist -- all women -- for a couple of ballads . (Rise Against has played with strings before, including on its latest album, "The Sufferer & the Witness. ") McIltrath's mournful tone on "Swing Life Away" was almost like that of a country singer, but soon enough, the band jumped back into high-energy mode.
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