The Quick Take on Mike Dillon
The one constant in the percussionist and vibes player's sensibility is his sense of musical freedom.
The one constant in the percussionist and vibes player's sensibility is his sense of musical freedom.
[From new contributor Michelle Beaulieu]
Who: The Mike Dillon Band
What: Punk, Ska, Funk, Hardcore, Jazz
When: Tuesday, May 2
Where: Siberia
Why: Do you remember your high school percussion ensemble struggling through “Bohemian Rhapsody” or the “Star Wars Theme Song”? If so, it may have soured you glockenspiels, marimbas, and vibraphones, but what do you do when you see a tattooed man in all black sit down at a set of vibes with four mallets splayed out as if he was about to rip a Dave Grohl drum solo? Previous expectations shatter.
“Pull Your Head Out” is the first song on Mike Dillon’s new album, Life is Not a Football, and it resembles a jungle crawl with eerie synths and distorted vocals. You wonder, “Pull your head out of what?” Probably the notion that you have any idea what musical concoction is about to ensue. Some of Dillon’s songs have ambient passages with church bells while others feature grungy guitar riffs with metal drum solos. From “Crab Rangoon”, a punk anthem with a hint of rockabilly, to “DVS”, a jazzy James Bond-esque spectacle, Dillon plays with predictability as if it were an insect in his web of jazz mastery and punk attitude. Resembling Frank Zappa in his flare for idiosyncrasy and nonconformity, Dillon embraces punk’s calling card, albeit one it only occasionally lived up to: musical freedom.
