November 4, 2009

One Fast Move Or I’m Gone is a wonderful collection of songs from Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard and Son Volt/Uncle Tupelo’s Jay Farrar. The material, crafted together using words from Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur novel, invokes the same optimism, longing, and playfully deep introspection that has made millions of readers identify with Kerouac’s work.

Last monday, Gibard and Farrar brought these songs to life with a rocking three-piece rhythm section at the brand new Lincoln Hall in Chicago. First, let me quickly say congrats to the fine folks at Schubas for bringing a such a top-notch 500-person room into the mix here. Great sight lines, great sound, friendly staff and an impressive beer selection will definitely bring me back for more shows.

Gibbard and Farrar’s hour-plus set pulled mostly from the record and also included an inspired cover of Dylan’s Absolutely Sweet Marie. The songs had a warmth and subtlety that perfectly brought Kerouac’s words to life. If you’re a fan of Jack Kerouac, Ben Gibbard, Jay Farrar or any combination of the three, you will find something that grabs you in this material.

READ ON for more of Joel’s Farrar/Gibbard photos…

While I couldn’t make it out to Indio this past weekend for Phish’s Festival 8, a friend brought me copies of the festival’s official newspaper – Festival 8 Express. So

That it’s been a heady year for John Kadlecik is a safe bet: it’s not often that your main band consistently knocks it out of the park, you get a chance to play in a brand new ensemble with the heroes that inspired that main band, and well, you court a little controversy along the way.

[All photos by Adam Kaufman]

Earlier this year, Kadlecik was invited to take part in a new Phil Lesh/Bob Weir project called Furthur, that combined Kadlecik — long having “played Jerry” in the ever-resilient Dark Star Orchestra — with Lesh, Weir, Ratdog’s Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti, and the Joe half of the Benevento/Russo Duo. By all accounts — listen to the boots — Furthur’s inaugural run at the Fox Theater in Oakland in September was a barn burner, and the band has more shows coming up, including five northeast dates in early December and a pair of New Year’s soirees back out West.

And that’s a little bit of where the controversy starts — and where we freely admit we’re a little guilty of stoking it. With Kadlecik giving more of his time to Furthur, Dark Star has had to move forward, and has recruited Zen Tricksters stalwart Jeff Mattson to spell Kadlecik for many of DSO’s remaining 2009 dates. There’s nothing to suggest the members of DSO don’t support Kadlecik’s decisions — they held back on announcing Mattson while Furthur finalized its end of year plans, for example — but it’s clear Kadlecik and the band face a number of tough decisions ahead. Decisions that may have been made already, that is, even if no one’s talking about them.

READ ON for our chat with John Kadlecik of the Dark Star Orchestra…