Tim Dahl/Mick Barr/Kevin Shea

These three guys did a set last night at Zebulon in Williamsburg. I saw the only other time they played together about a year ago at a Brooklyn apartment/performance space, and it was again the same kind of maximalist improvised intensity. Tim plays bass in Child Abuse and the Hub, Kevin Shea in a variety of groups like People and Talibam (Tim is playing with them currently, too), and Mick Barr does all sorts of weird avant-metal stuff with groups and sometimes with just a drum machine. These guys have a somewhat similar approach towards music and run in the same circles in NY and just got up on stage and totally improvised, sounded like Cecil Taylor meets Slayer. Mick Barr plays a Gibson SG and no effects and still manages to sound more interesting than guitarists with elaborate set-ups; he is easily one of the fastest, most agile guitarists I've ever seen, but is more than just a shredder, he has a unique sound and knows when to play just a counter-point to what the other musicians are doing. Tim is a monster and as always, fun to watch, and he rooted the whole thing down between super-fast bass runs, tying up with Mick on some of his stuff, and then creating these huge sonic drones. Pretty entertaining watching Kevin Shea, as usual, amazing drummer, and towards the end of the set, which only lasted around 15 minutes (but that was enough) and was only one, uh, "song", someone hurled toilet paper towards Kevin. He wound up draping it around himself and the drums and it was a pretty wild sight. I brought a few friends there and most had their minds blown and thought it was cool, but one friend said "I totally lost respect for your taste in music tonight". It was that kind of show.