several minutes of abstract percussion, organ and double bass. then a blast of absorbing rhythms and the warm, encompassing force of medeski on the organ. with a mix of improvised jazz and clear moments from the album, the crowd was ecstatic with the exhausting performance.

the show (june 22, 2003) started strangely. someone put a garden gnome on stage, which also happened at the john zorn show we saw last year featuring medeski on the organ. i don't know the history of medeski well enough - perhaps this is some common thing with him. anyway, some drunk went to the front and started rocking the gnome like a baby. someone in the crowd yells "show us your gnome!" at which point the whole crowd kind of leaned to the side lest the drunk decided to toss his gnome.

the entertainment continued as one of the elderly matrons of 'the centre' wagged her finger at him and let him stay. then there were the stoners in front of us, munching on brownies and trying to scam seats at the front. not a chance. they wound up heading up to their balcony seats after being booted several times from some choice front-row seats in front of us.

it was metalwood that opened the show. i've never heard their stuff, though they apparently win all kinds of junos and whatnot. they are ok. the frontman on sax really needs to learn some performance skills. when he wasn't playing he set down his horn and waddled around the stage like a drunk stuffed animal. and when he wasn't being visually irritating, he was hovering over the keyboardist with a bored look on his face. medeski, martin & wood, on the other hand, had complete stage presence. they knew how to stand back while the other soloed. although metalwood has been together for something like nine years, i just don't see it. as a good opening act should, they made mmw look brilliant (not that they needed it).

'the centre' has incredible acoustics, and is one of the new venues for the vancouver international jazz festival. it takes the place of the vogue which had many issues (poor sound, too hot, annoying noise from the nightclub next door...). while mmw's recent album uninvisible has the production quality of something recorded in a cardboard box, their live show had a full sound without the muffled effect.

this concert had heaps of people dancing in the aisles. what i like about them so much is their versatility and intelligence. they understand what audiences want, yet aren't afraid to put some challenging moments out there to twist people's minds. this combo is what makes them so appealing. mainstream accessibility with avant garde toe dipping. makes the audience feel smart, but gives them moments they can grasp onto if they aren't really into improvised jazz.

medeski is one of those brilliant players who you should go see at any given chance, for any ticket price. martin and wood are also substantial musicians on their own, as well. they have the subtle communications that border on psychic, and the audience reaps the reward of this finely crafted relationship.

after the standing ovation they did a one song encore: their interpretation of hendrix's 'crosstown traffic'. simply mindblowing.