Fists With Your Toes: You'll Get By With So Much Less Than Anyone

Joe Lally played the Knitting Factory last night in advance of his first solo album, "From There to Here". I was familiar with many of the songs from his intimate set with Craig Wedren at Union Docs in March.

He was joined by Justin Moyer (Antelope, Supersystem, Edie Sedgwick) on percussion and Massimo Pupillo on bass. Massimo layered heavily distorted ambient "quiet noise" in the background; Moyer's percussion was equally subdued.

Joe's new songs are fairly tender and delicate; in March Union Docs was packed and rapt. Last night was a bit different. Three blathering tools elbowed into me before the set and gushed breathlessly about their upcoming bachelor party in Montreal: There would be twenty-year old French girls, pork sandwiches, Himalayan mounts of cocaine. Dude, they were going to get so fucking wasted and if that geek Skip wasn't going to get fucked up they were going waterboard Jager down his throat! And so it was punched it.

I don't know why the lizards were drawn to Joe, but somebody kept giving booze to the goddamn things. Would they continue chortling throughout the set? Of course they would. I edged closer to the little twelve inch stage, but throughout the set they and others in the back yucked it up like proctologists at a colon convention.

Listen, if this had been a normal noisy rock show I would not be going off like some sound nazi. But Joe's new stuff is very quiet and soulful. Everybody in the vicinity of the stage was, you know, listening. But to the Tucker Maxolytes in the back: Did you know that the Knitting Factory has another bar upstairs where no musicans are performing? It's an ideal place to debate where to find the best lapdances in Montreal.

At one point between songs, Joe asked if there were any questions from the people in the back who were talking. (He didn't seem pissed but maybe a little world-weary.) Of course they didn't hear him, but a kid up front asked what he's been listening to and he described some Brazilian musician who passed away at the age of twenty and whose name I can't recall.

It was the "Tap Bar" and I guess this kind of jackassery comes with the territory. Thankfully it didn't stop Joe's peculiar little songs from engaging me and everyone who didn't come to just stand in the back and jabber.

Joe has got to be one of the most organic, 'in the moment' performers around. You get the palpable sense that he's choosing what to say on stage right there as the words are coming out of his mouth - and not a second sooner. This takes balls and resulted in some amusing gems last night, though I'm not sure they work so well out of the context of the show. (I can't remember them verbatim at the moment, either.)

Example: "Who am I? Who are you? What are we doing here? All these questions and more will be answered tonight." It has more to do with his seemingly gentle yet whip-smart persona and absurd delivery than the actual words. (I could see him being the one taking the most piss on tour with Fugazi.)

The penultimate song was "The Word is Not the Thing", a song he sang a cappella to start the Union Docs show.

"The word is not the thing; when we say war we mean rape and murder.
The word is not the thing, when we say freedom we mean our way of thinking."

This was followed with a set-closing cover, which he suggested could be our new national anthem. Joe set down his instrument and Massimo rolled out a rug of distorted bass for a haunting, Andy Kaufmenesque rendition of "If I Only Had a Brain."

Joe's got a warm, smooth voice and sounded great last night. (The sound was so good you could - no joke - hear nose hair rustling when he inhaled. Maybe too good? Or Joe needs a trim?)

The opening band, Antelope, is a trio I know squat about. The Dischord site says they've been around since 2001. I'm guessing everybody in the group has other projects in addition to Justin Moyer. Any leads?

I liked them enough to come back for more. It sounded endearingly spastic with a touch of the chanting lyricism that Supersystem revels in. I'm reluctant to say more until I know more, but they were interesting if a bit sloppy for their second night on tour.