Big Ears No. 3: Tindersticks

The iridescent and soulful low-boil of Stuart Staples and crew at the Tennessee Theater

Part 3 (or 4) of a visual journal of Big Ears. (see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

I’ve chosen to give Tindersticks their own post in this multi-part visual journal of Big Ears. It’s been three weeks since the conclusion of the festival (and I feel under pressure to publish the work) but even within the worlds of the ten or so artists I spent time with, I’m still fully immersed in digesting everything there was to take in.

Another dimension of the rewards and challenges of Big Ears is it provides a platform not only for exciting emerging artists, but also for entities who have persevered and evolved over decades and still have something new to communicate. That’s easier to do with the jazz-oriented bookings, where we are conditioned to expect new, recombinant projects from artists like Charles Lloyd, Bill Frisell or Béla Fleck. But rock bands are often constrained by the weight of nostalgia and sometimes not given the same space to change and expand. (I’d imagine you’d get murdered if you heckled Miles to play something from Cookin’ at a Bitches Brew-era concert.)

While they have been recording and releasing music since 1992, I came to Tindersticks as a neophyte. As I got more familiar with the their music, I found it had a reserved sonic presence that itself flies under the radar. As with other artists I photographed at Big Ears, I had tried to get some additional access to their doings and had emailed with band figurehead Stuart Staples directly. He hesitated at the idea, explaining, “I love photography, but I hate being photographed. Not a good trait for someone in my profession. I have been avoiding being ‘documented' for a very long time.” But, he invited me to work from the wings, and so I did. (Contrary to his claim, there is a wonderful archive of photos, stories and discussions of their recordings at https://elsantuariodelosburros.com/)

Tindersticks recently released their 12th studio album, Soft Tissue, and were touring in the United States for the first time in 16 years. The album is full of dark, minimalist soul-influenced music of hypnotic beats augmented with horns, strings and backing vocals. As with the majority of their music, the instrumental sounds provided by the band are constructed to provide safe harbor for Staples’ plaintive and incantatory vocals.

So it was at 2PM on Sunday in the dimly glowing golden cave of the Tennessee Theater— a sensory deprivation chamber in contrast to the warm sunny day outside—that Tindersticks performed their set. Staples edged in and out of an overhead spotlight while the band, comprised of founding members Neil Fraser (guitar) and Dave Boulter (keyboard), plus long-time associates Dan McKinna (bass) and Earl Harvin (drums), summoned sounds around him.

I found that while editing, sequences of photos excited me more than selecting single shots when it came to conveying Staples’ presence and energy. I’m hypnotized by viewing the slight changes and variations of gesture within a series of photos, which is possibly an attempt at a tribute to the iridescent low-boil of Tindersticks’ music.

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Festival founder Ashley Capps greeting Staples in the green room.

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PREVIOUSLY:

Ambrose Akinmusire: Bloomed at Big Ears (with Nate Chinen / The Gig)
Big Ears No. 1: Rich Ruth / William Tyler
Big Ears No. 2: Tortoise/SML

NEXT:

Meshell Ndegeocello/Rufus Wainwright