I never thought that I would’ve never ever seen the day where we lived in a world where Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon were no longer together. As a result, we have “Demolished Thoughts” as a tame reminder. Moore was in the area for a couple of small club shows and C=T contributor was able to catch the Sonic Youth co-conspirator in one of the smallest venues in town. BTW, if you missed it, check out Thurston’s new jam-rock side project, Chelsea Light Moving.
“Long time Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore at Larimer Lounge? Could that be right? For the uninitiated, Larimer Lounge is a very small venue. Bar + stage area + back patio – that’s it. Moore’s Denver stop at Larimer and not instead at a larger Colfax venue made this night something special. This level of intimacy with a living legend, who for better or for worse defines the fitful starts of peculiar music in small dingy venues like Larimer is a remarkable thing that cannot be overstated.
Thurston Moore’s stage presence is full of disaffected swagger, particularly of the old Lower East Side, punk kids with a chip on their shoulder variety. No matter what Moore’s age (54) he flavors every gesture; the flicks of his face-covering hair, the androgyny of flirty hip shakes all with punchy, deliberate effortlessness. If timeless doesn’t describe how a guy approaching social security eligibility pulls this off than what does? He’s like the hipster Mick Jagger. American punk’s elder statesman, overstuffed with snotty sarcasm like the best dished teenage spitfire.
Moore’s singing never gets too animated, helping convey the typically malcontented perspective with elegance. Noise experimenting, jamming by any other name, was prevalent between songs and as in-the-moment exploratory jump offs. Larimer’s tight quarters experienced several interesting moments of meandering interplay between Moore and his bandmates.
Exploring the in-between, the space between notes became a subplot to this show. Heavy rhythmic guitars paint broadly, but still leave open spaces for interesting things to happen. Like making notable the absence of sound where explicitly played notes are missing. Sounds obvious, no? With a framework of exceptional restraint in improvisational segments, the order was to stay simple, yet dynamic enough to keep interest of the larger conversation going. When perfected (the sound, not the broader conversation) the sound inspires like a bubbling primordial stew, bursting with new direction potential and life.
Notes: The guy who I will affectionately call the “guitar restringing heckler” made me laugh pretty hard. Go on you man! At one point Thurston couldn’t keep his papers on the lectern and came up with some total bullshit story on why the song had to get restarted. Pulled it off so well that I almost believed him”
Word and photos by Sebastian Hernandez.
Thurston Moore-Benediction [mp3]
Chelsea Light Moving- Burroughs [mp3]
