We Went There: Eli Winter Trio + Luke Schneider at the Cedar
Saturday night at the Cedar was an evening of instrumental guitar music, with three artists exploring different avenues of an ill-defined genre. The night was billed as an evening with Luke Schneider, a pedal steel virtuoso who has become one of my favorite ambient artists, and Eli Winter leading the rollicking Eli Winter Trio.
Opening the night was Minnesota-via-Iowa artist Jonah Lyddo, who performed a rumbling, fuzzy version of Fahey-esque primitive Americana. For having as few moving parts as possible, he made an orchestra blend of finger picking twang and almost drone level dissonance cutting through the dust. His acoustic guitar had to plug ins, with two Hendrix-style curly cables going into different amps, a process he seemed to be wrestling with a lot of the set but that did create a unique sound. There were moments of some old-fashioned, dexterous picking and other times where it felt like a barbed-wire wall of sound. It was a nice entry point into an evening of electric sounds.
Up next was Luke Schneider, an artist I’ve listened to maybe more than any other artist in the last few years. He creates angelic, peace-producing loops of his pedal steel guitar and other sounds, and it’s some of the most hypnotic, relaxing music imaginable, a quality that I’ve needed more than I wish over the last few years. Live he creates his loops using his pedal steel and small tables of gear (both electronic and tactile) on each side of his rig.
He creates the main loops using strums, pokes and taps on his pedal steels (and an Ebow), highlighting the power of the instrument so often buttonholed as a fancy side piece in a country band. He added in sounds from other instruments as well, including shakers, harmonica and some sort of wooden flute. Like on his recording, at time it swells and at time it cascades, but the vibe is always immaculate. I found myself closing my eyes, feeling a level of peace that I often get listening to his music, but then reminding myself I was at a concert and remembering to soak in the live show. It was a great set and as he said during one of his breaks, we could all use some peaceful, meditative breaks these days.
Headlining the evening was the Eli Winter Trio, a group that comprises Winter on electric guitar, Sam Wagster (Fruit Bats) on pedal steel and Tyler Damon (Circuit des Yeux) on drums. They upped the ante from the openers, especially Schneider’s tranquil set, jumping out the gates with a swashbuckling blend of musical styles. The duel guitars blended nicely, with both Winter and Wagster both showing off their chops and also not overpowering each other, while Damon’s drums gave the music a galloping confidence. Winter mentioned this was a short, two-stop tour, but the band sounded in good form throughout their set.
Their music did take moments of reflection, but much of the set had the kind of kick that almost could have warrants a dance floor versus the seated setup that was provided for the evening. The music touched on jazz (including cover songs) and was rich in melodies, but there was a strut and growl underneath that gave it a muscular feel. It was a great set, helping to tie together a night of music that nominally all birthed from a similar genre (instrumental guitar music) but highlighted three unique, interesting and entertaining artists.
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