Jon Brion's Amazing Musicquarium

The Nowhere/Everywhere man on Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Frank Sinatra, quantum physics, Roxy Music, acoustic alchemy, God and extreme coffee drinking

A A A Comments By John Payne Wednesday, May 10 2006

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With only his 10 digits and this tiny piano, Jon Brion will attempt to stay submerged for at least a month?.?.?.?or until the coffee runs out. (Photos by Garik Gyurjyan)

The hair, the scarf, the shirt, the jacket, the slightly effete way of holding his coffee cup � this man is good, maybe too good!

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Now in his 10th year of the Largo gig, the multilimbed Brion tonight also gives a minilecture on the majesty of Duke Ellington, bangs the inside of the piano and loops it to make rhythms, then waterfalls an opulent Ferrante & Teicher–ish instrumental piece over it, segues into a bottleneck-slide-aided “You’re the Love of My Life (So Far),” to a sweet voice and piano ditty called “Trial and Error,” to the Velvets’ “Femme Fatale” squawked out via Vocoder, full-circle back into a highly swangin’ capper of Ellington’s “Take the A Train.” Two more tunes from his recent film scores, then it’s his tribute to Les Paul, on multitracked echoplexed guitar and bass.

He could probably chew gum at the same time. He should run for president of the United States.