An upright bass is such a formidable instrument; unlike its electric counterpart, so often tucked in the back corner of a stage set-up, the real deal is almost necessarily a focal point on stage. When an upright bass is the only thing on that stage, the feeling is amplified. You don’t really have a choice but to stare at the enormity of this whale of wood, this massive sound-producing instrument.
On Thursday night at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory, the man tasked with doing battle with the upright bass was Nat Baldwin, best known for manning that same station as part of the Dirty Projectors. Battle really is the right term for it – rather than letting the bass constrain him to low register, repetitive chugging, Baldwin digs in and pushes the instrument this way and that, savoring the wild tones of the E string’s higher positions, delicately hitting the harmonics, grinding on notes so low they barely seem fit for human consumption. He fights the bass and the bass fights back, and everyone – especially the audience – wins.
I missed the first opener, Cuddle Magic, but arrived in time to catch In One Wind, the second band of the night. The Brooklyn sextet played a terrific set, mixing vocal harmonies and woodwinds with some upright bass of their own. Traditionally rooted songs mixed with innovative stylings and funky rhythm breaks give In One Wind a unique sound, and they held the Knitting Factory audience’s attention throughout a long opening set. I had never heard of the young band before, but color me convinced – I’ll keep an eye on them in the future.
Baldwin followed In One Wind. Hunching over the bass, he set to work.
The set was a dynamic one, mixing songs old and new. Baldwin requested that photographers refrain from taking pictures during the first song, a welcome request that set the tone for the evening. The venue was filled with a reverential silence throughout the night, punctured only by Baldwin’s bass and stabs of applause from the audience between songs. That first song, completely enveloped by a shutter-free silence, was beautiful, quiet, and balanced. I thought it surely must have been a well-worn work; Baldwin admitted he had written it just three days earlier.
Baldwin’s hour long set mixed familiar songs, from his splendid debut full length Most Valuable Player and the Lights Out EP that preceded it, and new, unreleased tunes. He told the audience that the new songs had a different style, before dropping the façade. “Just kidding, they’re all the same style, obviously,” he said, motioning toward the bass on the ground in front of him, as if there were only so many things he could do with it.
Well, if there are a limited number of things you can do with a string bass, Baldwin must do most of them. His ability to launch the bass from one range or one mood to a completely different space is truly impressive. Between songs, Baldwin would shake his hands with a pained expression on his face – this instrument is no easy beast. But if his digital tightness was bothering him, it wasn’t obvious in his playing; as soon as he started each song, the crowd fell silent and Baldwin’s ailments melted away.
Rather than ending with one of his own tunes, Baldwin opted to close with a cover of Arthur Russell’s “A Little Lost.” I would imagine that it is sometimes difficult for Baldwin to distance himself from his roots with the Dirty Projectors – rarely is his name mentioned without reference to his work with that group – and it would be easy to read too much into the title of the night’s final song. By the time Baldwin quivered his bow for the final time, though, he had made it clear that this was nothing more than a fantastic musician paying homage to one of the greats. The cover was so good it made me forget everything else. I went home singing.
