Ann and I went to see Christian McBride tonight at the Regattabar. I heard an interview with him today on WERS - it's always nice to have a solution to the eternal question - "what the hell are we doing tonight?" I just picked up The Philadelphia Experiment (on which McBride plays with the drummer from The Roots and some white guy on keys) last weekend, so I was happy to see that he was in town. We hit Charlie's Kitchen for some double cheeseburgers, onion rings and some Corsendonk (Ann got a Bass).

Christian McBride is a damn good bass player - we had a great view of his hands and I always find it amazing to watch someone so good at his instrument. During the radio interview, he promised that his sax player would use some electronic effects, and he didn't disappoint. To paraphrase Otto from the Hullabalooza episode: "hey, his sax was talking!" (BTW, I find it very lame that they cut that scene out of the syndicated Simpsons). If only I had some pedals and an amp in high school! Ann and I were very impressed with the show. Medeski Martin and Wood still reigns supreme as far as jazz acts go, but I think it's harder for a band to stay within the confines of what the general public considers to be jazz and yet still innovate. MMW just decided they weren't going to play that game - but McBride's group was very entertaining and managed to cover new ground in that sometimes restrictive space.