TORTOISE – Locomotic Club, Bologna 19th February 2016
It’s gonna rain? Tortoise are ready for all weathers. L-R: John McEntire, Doug McCombs, John Herndon, Dan Bitney & Jeff Parker
“No moving lights please”. This is the polite but firm request made to lighting engineers by Tortoise’s Dan Bitney after the first song.
The message is clear; the beats may sometimes be danceable but this ain’t no disco.
But the question as to how exactly you do begin to categorize the music of Tortoise has been an ongoing challenge for the past 25 years of the Chicago band’s existence.
Calling it post-rock, as many still do, runs the risk of implying that the band are somehow opposed to conventional rock music. In an interview with The Wire in 2001 John McEntire said “As far as I’m concerned all we’ve ever been is a rock band” and on the strength of their brilliant sold out show at Bologna this is clearly still his position.
What makes them less conventional, and thus harder to pigeonhole, is that no-one sings and they are so clearly wide open to sounds and rhythms from other genres. Jazz is an obvious influence but there are also strong elements of funk, soul and R’n’B. Continue reading
