Upon seeing the Instagram post announcing the upcoming LP release of Bill Orcutts The Four Louies, an inspired mashup plonking excerpts from Steve Reichs epochal Minimalist slo-mo phase variant Four Organs onto the Kingsmens equally canonical garage/frat/mumblecore chestnut ‘Louie Louie,’ I immediately commented ‘Kingsreich as opposed to Qeensryche’ (not even realizing the Kingsmen and Qeensryche both hailed from the Pacific Northwest). My bon mot was seemingly rewarded with a mailed copy, and upon receipt I luxuriated in Bills latest open-source leveling of rock and classical minimalist tropes, a worthy successor to A Mechanical Joeys tautological tomfoolery. I was jazzed when a year or so later he inquired if I would be up for taking part in Louies live in New York. I wasnt sure how familiar Bill was with my checkered history of untutored organ playing (both in Run On and solo contexts, not to mention a short-lived go at the pipe organ with Connie Burg and Haino Keiji), but he also tapped fellow guitarists/non-organists Wendy Eisenberg, Mari Maurice, and Cyrus Pireh, plus a couple of ringers (David Golightly and musical director Eli Knowles). So thats already six organs instead of four, flanked by a full-fledged rock trio (the nimble Gumbys Junk), a noise-tablist (Bryan Day), master percussionist William Winant, and frequent Orcutt sparring partner Chris Corsanoa veritable Orcuttstra, whose ranks exceeded the lineups of the Kingsmen and Qeensryche put together.

With the performance scheduled as the fulcrum of a three-day weekend residency of various artists/projects on Bills label (which I dubbed ‘Palilaliapalooza’), I dutifully showed up at Roulette at noon on concert day, having carefully studied the provided staff notation, graphic scores, and recording so as to be confident I was playing the assigned single-note triplet in its properly appointed spots. Initially my part (‘Louie Organ 2’) sort of hockets the original Kingsmen cha-cha-cha organ chords, and then I got to spread my knuckles and lend six to eight notes to the Reichian clusters in the rollicking second half. Much like my experiences playing in Rhys Chathams Guitar Trio or the Boredoms 77 Boadrum, the parts are simple but everyone can put their own spin on them. I opted for using a weird-ass 60s Teisco organ from the venues keyboard backline, which truly fit the bill. There were four hours allotted for rehearsal (one per Louie, I guess) but we managed to nail it in 90 minutes. Bill begged off playing in the rehearsal so he could oversee the proceedings (and perhaps also shop for a new hoodie online).

After some downtime and enjoyable band bonding backstage, we finally traipsed upstairs and hit the downbeat. Frankly, it exceeded all expectations. The Four Louies album is well-executed but, given its plunderphonic provenance, comparatively stiff. The live Louies was a blazing and expansive wall of sound, with impeccable time-keeping by Mr. Winant on maracas. The twin drums exploded immediately, and Bills riffing prodded Gumbys Junk into some boisterous interplay. In the grand tradition of Kiss Alive, Frampton Comes Alive, Live at Leeds, or When the Shit Hits the Fans, Four Louies Live eclipses its studio predeccessor, and surely portends an attendant commercial breakthrough. Alan Licht