paul flaherty/sam gas can/white limo: mystery triangle

New music from Paul Flaherty, with Sam Gas Can and White Limo. Pressing of 500 copies, cover art by Joshua Burkett. Like all of the greatest live "festival" records -- Woodstock II (Cotillion '71), Mar y Sol (Atco '72) & 1968 Memphis Country Blues Festival (Blue Horizon '69) -- Mystery Triangle is an especially exceptional souvenir for those people who were there when it happened. But unlike dud compilations, Mystery Triangle provides a truly fine sonic gush for even those of us who were too confused (or scared) to "make" the actual "scene." In November 2011, a goddamn magnificent display of talent went down at Joshua Burkett's Mystery Train store in Amherst, MA. And thankfully, Edward "Ted" Lee, the whirling dervish of Feeding Tube, was there to capture the sounds on tape. First up is Paul Flaherty -- the godfather of all that is good and weird in New England. Paul has been woefully under-documented in solo performance. His maniacal sax work is well represented in duo and group settings, but he has always been a bit shy about pure solo work-outs, and he shouldn't be. The beauty of his turn here is stunning. Relying less on the freak-gush that marks his ensemble work, Flaherty creates a pure, blazing line of melodic invention that is a testament to both the power of his lungs and the creativity of his process. Stoned and flowing, his side rips gently into the air with a series of compositional statements that are gorgeous, fully-imagined and a testament to the brilliance of no-net-improvising. Without other players gumming up his works, Paul moves through moods and thoughts with ferocious surety, creating one of the finest recordings in his catalog. Truly a wowser of a set. Sam Gas Can sometimes relies on conceptual theories for his sets, but here is an engine of pure glossalic genius. Working in the tradition of the great sound-poets, Sam offers a bravura performance that stretches itself deep into the Schwitters zone, conjuring up subconscious connections to memories locked far beneath our surfaces. As the great Dredd Foole noted after the set, "No one uses their voice any more." An amazing thing. Finally, White Limo (Chris Cooper, Jess Goddard and Joshua Vrysen), hit the road with a set of cracked electronics halfway between serious aleatory ensembles like Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza and proletarian ass-crack noisers such as Id M Theft Able. Although they don't seem to play often, this trio (with deep roots throughout of the odd-noise underground) has cracked the code that has daunted many other combos with similar intent, making sounds that manage to be both deeply resonant and weirdly engaging. Totally boss. This is a fully satisfying festival record. Every performer, every note feels essential. One of the best. No shit. Includes mp3 download.