Dans Dans / Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog

DANS DANS

Dans Dans is quite famous for its live performances. This is something they proved repeatedly the last time around, with many rave reviews as a result (read them all on bestov.be, under the heading Dans Dans). They performed once before in the Handelsbeurs in a double bill with The Bad Plus and as part of the GLIMPS Festival. The room was packed twice; and the show ran like clockwork twice.

The double bill with Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dogs did not happen by chance either. Marc Ribot contributed to the first album of Dans Dans bassist Fred ‘Lyenn’ Jacques, and the other Ceramic Dogs (Shahzad Imaily and Ches Smith) already performed with Lyenn on multiple occasions. The musicians who will walk on the stage this evening have therefore known each other for a while. And what’s more: there is a lot of mutual respect.

Both trios have similar abilities (guitar, bass, drums) and draw from the same influences. Both also fit within rock as well as jazz music. But the resulting performance is more varied than the similarities suggest. In any case, they exude charisma, which makes this double bill both cohesive and surprisingly varied.

“In Dans Dans, Marc Ribot, Brian Eno and even Ennio Morricone are never far away, and their music has a distinct cinematic character. The simple but effective visuals, showing the silhouettes of the band, played a part in that, too.” (Full Dutch review on focus.knack.be)

MARC RIBOT'S CERAMIC DOG

Guitarist Marc Ribot is known for his collaboration with Tom Waits from Rain Dogs onwards, his intense performances as part of Evan Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, or as Elvis Costello’s astounding sidekick. But mostly as the spearhead of John Zorn’s bands and projects. And we haven’t even mentioned his phenomenal solo works, or his own bands: Rootless Cosmopolitans and his trio with Henry Grimes and Chad Taylor.

His most recent band is Ceramic Dog, which seems to draw from Ribot’s entire career. Their first album, Party Intellectuals, was an instant hit and received the most outlandish superlatives. Your Turn, their latest effort, is no exception. The repertoire includes bloodcurdling songs like Bread and Roses and Masters of the Internet. Jazz classics like Take Five are rendered almost unrecognizable in an ingenious way, while the band goes full-on oriental blues in Mr. Pants Goes to Hollywood. It’s the kind of rock album that radiates energy and individuality, leaving nobody untouched. Live, this band – featuring Shahzad Ismaily on bass and Ches Smith on drums – deals one critical blow after the other to your heart, stomach and legs. Or as Ribot himself puts it: “Ceramic Dogs just wanna have fun”.