The Comet is Coming @ Union Stage [DC] - 10/20/2022
The Comet is Coming in DC (Photo ©2022 Mauricio Castro)
Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, keyboardist Danalogue, and drummer Betamax have once again taken us all on a wild ride with Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam, the follow-up to 2019’s well-received Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery. The trio’s staying power comes in their ability to turn traditional jazz concepts on their head, maintaining the genre’s sense of playfulness and discovery while augmenting it with powerful drums and synthesizers to create an electro-punk tour de force. Their Union Stage show featured new cuts like “CODE” and “TECHNICOLOR” and fan favorites like “Summon the Fire” and “Blood of the Past” while Hutchings and company profusely sweated through every song, never letting fans rest all the way through the last song of the night. It’s a visceral experience, getting to see these three extremely talented musicians create a futuristic musical vision that is rooted in the likes of the intense, avant-garde Pharoah Sanders Quartet, but for a new generation of music aficionados. The Comet is Coming, and we should all get on board.
Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam is out now through Impulse! Records.
Opening for The Comet is Coming was Salami Rose Joe Louis, the musical project of Lindsay Olsen. She performed dreamy solo renditions of songs from her discography using a cavalcade of synthesizers, loop pedals, and even a harmonica. Her latest album Chapters of Zdenka was released in 2020 through Brainfeeder, the record label started by Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi.
