Union Square Live presents John R. Burr, Larry Kassin & Michael Manring
2014-06-04
Union Square Park
333 Post St, San Francisco, CA
12:30 PM, Wednesday, June 4, 2014

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[12:32 PM Introduction & announcements from Marcello]

1. [12:33 PM] Mistral (Kassin)
2. [12:39 PM] Equilibre (Manring)
3. [12:45 PM] Ultra-Body Over the Mountain (Kassin)
4. [12:51 PM] Travels With Dad (Kassin)
5. [1:02 PM] Smart Alec (Kassin)
6. [1:12 PM] the Bells of Vanvey (Kassin)
7. [1:18 PM] En Chinga (Manring)
8. [1:24 PM] Dead Turkey (Kassin)
   [show ends 1:30 PM after thanks and comments from Larry & Marcello]

• John R. Burr: piano;
• Larry Kassin: flutes (several sizes);
• Michael Manring: bass.

Arrive about ten past noon after catching BART in Rockridge with nearly optimal timing. It's a bit nicer here that Google weather and the murky view looking across the bay led me to expect. Sunny! Not particularly warm, but nice enough to seek a spot in the shade next to the soundboard. Hopefully the crew of old ladies in front of me will listen carefully to the music instead of chit-chatting as they are now. The stage setup is pretty minimal: a Yamaha baby grand piano at Stage Right, a mic and monitor for Larry to stand in front of in the center, and Manring sitting on a backless chair at Stage Left, flanked by two bass monitors. As I write, the trio appear to be shooting the breeze, perhaps discussing where to redeem their drink tickets or today's election results. I'm a leetle too far away to make things out.

The set begins, and I'm immediately reminded of the annoyances of this arrangement: chattering kids and tourists traversing the open space in front of the stage. Intermittent chit-chat from the audience surrounding me (and the dudes at the soundboard, trying to diagnose and repair the imperfections they hear … along with an occasional “jeez” or “holy shit” as Manring finishes ripping another incredible bass run. Now and then the bells, beeps and crashes of construction also – from the subway perhaps? – make themselves heard as inharmonious accents to the performance. Could be worse, I suppose, and probably the best I can expect for a free gig, right?

Three or four tunes in and I'm starting to get a handle on the group sound – entirely too mellow for my current mood – and about what I was expecting from a piano-flute-bass lineup. The piano sound seems awkwardly presented – EQ'd to really shelve off the bass? Slightly less grand than my view of the image suggests it should sound. The sound guys had a little trouble with feedback on Kassin's mic at first – and it too seemed initially timbrally tilted towards the treble range, but at this point the tone is improved – far more natural, except for the occasional breathy 'plosive distortion. Manring, of course, is a monster. I find his contributions to be uniformly delightful, and fun to what too, as he glides effortlessly between strumming, stroking, picking, thumbing and whacking his four-string electric bass guitar. Because the stage is slightly elevated, I can't quite make out what sort of pedal rig he has, but it's apparent from the dancing feet that he's using a bit of electronics to modulate things as well. My only complaint here is that his hands are somewhat obscured by the stand of music. No doubt there's better viewing off to the side, but that would mean poorer listening, right? The concert-goer's eternal dilemma! What am I here for?

That question is addressed one way or another as I next get up and walk around a bit in order to shoot some pictures. Nothing too crazy today – the better to keep an occasional eye on my unattended tablet sitting on my chair! Hopefully I got a few worth sharing … hard to tell in the bright sunlight whether the final results will be acceptable.

A couple times later and the show is over, more or less exactly at 1:30 – almost like they planned it that way, you think? I take a minute to pack myself up, then stop of at the merch table to buy a pair of CD s from Larry's son, Alex, who encourages me to come to Saturday's gig in Marin. “Gonna be good,” he offers, and with Oon on the bill, I think he's right, but my schedule is already packed pretty tight, so I tell him that it's unlikely this time.

Walking back to BART, I stop into a dime shop to pick up a fresh set of sunglasses, tempted inside by the $10 price and the plethora of styles on display. Hopefully the antiscratch coating they advertise is real…scratches are my bugbear when it comes to sunglasses.

Back to the previous event ☸ Back to the 2014 yearbox ☸ Back to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!