01/27 @ 8:30pm - Necks (Jan 27)

The Necks (established 1987) are one of the great cult bands of Australia and the world. With next to no publicity, their fourteen albums have sold in their thousands.  Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Buck (drums), and Lloyd Swanton (bass) conjure a chemistry together that defies description in orthodox terms. These three musicians are among the most respected and in-demand in Australia, working in every field from pop to avant-garde. Over 200 albums feature their presence individually or together, but the music of The Necks stands apart from everything else they have done. Featuring lengthy pieces which slowly unravel in the most intoxicating fashion, frequently underpinned by an insistent deep groove, the thirteen albums by The Necks stand up to re-listening time and time again.  The deceptive simplicity of their music throws forth new charms on each hearing. Not entirely avant-garde, nor minimalist, nor ambient, nor jazz, the music of The Necks is possibly unique in the world today.

February 3rd through 21st, 2009 The Necks toured the US for the first time starting in Chicago, traveling as far south as Tennessee, into the North East onto the west coast with great success. Their performances were held in many different styles of high profile performance halls such as Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, Princeton University, Detroit Museum of Contemporary Art, and California Institute of the Arts, along with the internationally recognized and respected The Big Ears Festival. Prior to this February 2009 US tour, The Necks had only performed in the US once before, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2001.

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Unclassifiable, the Necks stand aside any other musical act Australia has gave birth to. Neither jazz nor rock, this deceptive piano trio has kept a single line of conduct throughout its career. They usually start playing a very basic melodic and rhythmic figure, and then keep going at it for an hour, gradually introducing microscopic changes and variations. Some critics have compared them to Krautrock groups like Can and Faust. Others find similarities in the works of minimalist composers like LaMonte Young, Tony Conrad, even Philip Glass. The Necks were formed in Sydney, Australia, back in 1987. The original lineup of pianist Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Tony Buck remained stable, even though they all lead busy and highly different careers. Abrahams is an acclaimed session keyboardist who has released a couple of solo piano albums, has written music for film and television, and toured the world in 1993 with the rock group Midnight Oil. Swanton is a much in-demand session jazz bassist and a regular of the jazz festival circuit. He has played in the Benders and the Catholics, and accompanied Stephen Cummings and Sting. Buck spends most of his time in avant-garde circles, with multiple collaborations and projects. His best known engagements have include the trio PERIL and the klezmer-punk group Kletka Red. The Necks‘ first album came out in 1989 on their own label, Fish of Milk.
– François Couture, All Music Guide

The Necks website: http://www.thenecks.com/
The Necks on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0uCGDCNKno

Chris Abrahams: http://www.thenecks.com/pages/bios.html#chris
Tony Buck: http://www.thenecks.com/pages/bios.html#tony
Lloyd Swanton: http://www.thenecks.com/pages/bios.html#lloyd