Acid Mothers Temple is Japanese guitarist Kawabata Makoto and whoever he decides comprises his ensemble. The band’s members have come and gone, with Kawabata being the focal point for the better part of the last fifteen years. During that time, the guitarist has explored and expanded upon music ranging from Pink Floyd’s odder moments to Bay Area minimalism and psych-improvisations unhindered by melody and structure. All of that could reduce Acid Mothers to a simple, hippie free-for-all. Somehow, Kawabata’s been able to steer clear of the granola set over the course of his ensemble’s unrelenting release schedule, and turned in a body of work unmatched by his contemporaries. “Anthem of the Space,” one of the group’s 2005 albums, seems to take its name from the Grateful Dead’s second studio album–“Anthem of the Sun”–but adds in a dingy dose of Hawkwind. The entire thing sounds like Acid Mothers took the instrumental portion of “New Potato Caboose,” sped it up a bit and stripped the original of its jazzier inclinations. Included as the second track of the album, “Poppy Rock” exerts the troupe’s appreciation for downers, but also ties Acid Mothers into minimal music’s history with a guitar figure mimicking a Terry Riley (who wrote a composition called “Poppy Nogood”) keyboard extravaganza. But describing what the band’s done in the past doesn’t necessarily ensure what Acid Mothers is bound to be up to when it hits the stage. There’ll probably be ambient moments, indulgent solos and fleet tempos turning into some of the most pastoral electric music dispensed from the East or West. Phantom Family Halo open with its proggier take on psychedelia—just think if Robert Wyatt hadn’t been restrained by all those other fellows in Soft Machine and had composed around his vocals more. (Dave Cantor)
April 23 at Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773) 276-3600, 9:30pm. $13.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
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