Best known for his work with quasi-legendary genre destroyers Mr. Bungle, Trey Spruance brought his Indian/surf/spaghetti Western creation Secret Chiefs 3 through Chicago last weekend alongside showy progsters Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.
Spruance began the evening with a crushing opener of electric setar, distorted bass, and drums that fit every rhythmic change while alternating snare and bass hits in quirky counts. The masterful composer/guitarist and his assembled group of mind-blowing musical talent – including a pair of members from Estradasphere, who have released three full-length albums on Spruance’s label (Web of Mimicry) – continued to please the crowd with a heavy, double-bass-laden rendition of the theme to Halloween.
Older material was sprinkled about the set, often sped up or slowed down, and pared down a bit from the mini-orchestral levels of the Secret Chiefs 3 recordings.
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, whose new album, In Glorious Times, is due roughly six months earlier than the new Chiefs disc, almost exclusively played new tunes. The songs were as theatrical and avant garde as ever, but seemed to continue a move toward material that is more incorporative of vocals.
To that degree, guitarist/singer Nils Frykdahl and violinist/singer Carla Kihlstedt carried the performance more than the band’s intricate rhythms. The Oakland natives closed the set with fan favorite “Sleep is Wrong” from 2001’s Grand Opening and Closing.
– Scott Morrow