Quick observations of the night, nabbed from an imperfect memory and bolstered by zero note-taking. Damn this carpal-tunnel…

James Blackshaw sat onstage with his 12-string, looking 18, but playing like he was 38, a seasoned veteran of the solo-guitar wars. With little fanfare, he loosed gently fluctuating streams of chords, making his acoustic-guitar a spur to deep contemplation and hypnotism. Blackshaw debuted many songs off his forthcoming Young God Records album, The Glass Bead Game, and made the profane space of an American bar seem like a pastoral, sacred sanctuary.

Sir Richard Bishop also sat onstage with an acoustic guitar (six strings) and quickly proved why heads worldwide love his fleet fingerpicking and bravura dexterity. The ex-Sun City Girl played with a fire and finesse that are breathtaking, with tonal and stylistic shifts that dazzle. His brother Alan was in the house and he revealed that Richard had been on a serious Arabic music jag, which became evident last night. Richard also dropped cover of a track from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo. At one point, Blackshaw and Ben Chasny joined Bishop for an improv jam, but nothing they did topped SRB solo.

Earth, enhanced by cellist Lori Goldston, steadfastly plied their slow, melancholy country-rock dirges for blasted landscapes that have come to mark their latest phase of existence. It seemed as if every song trudged at the same leaden tempo, accompanied by heavy guitar twang with long chord hang time and glacial changes.

Earth’s set made me feel what I imagine being on smack is like (I’m never going there, so music like this will have to do). I love Earth, especially their last album, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, but the monolithic pace took a toll, and my yawns started coming fast and furious (more so than the riffs did). Plus, that damn carpal tunnel…

Photo of Sir Richard Bishop by Joseph Peter from Strangr Flickr pool.