When Tortoise played the Middle East last December I was chided

by the club¹s publicist, rightly so, in fact, for giving the band a luke-warm

review. Suffice to say that, despite what we may think at times, rock critics

are imperfect just like everyone else. Well, Tortoise came back to the Middle

East Wednesday night (May 1) and so I¹m given an opportunity to do what many

people only dream of: rectify my mistakes. And the band was, indeed, amazing.

The quintet, who liberally share percussive, guitar, keyboard, and bass duties,

are unlike anything else playing on the rock circuit today. Their roots extend

back to the prog rock movement of the Œ70s‹Tortoise songs rarely, if ever,

feature vocals, and songs often top ten minutes in length‹but they display

little of the silly, self-indulgent, musically boring tendencies of bands like

Yes. They have their hands in the jazz pot also, with ringing vibraphone melody

lines, an emphasis on the groove and a relentless willingness to experiment.

But what sets Tortoise apart, and indeed, what makes them one of the most

appreciated bands on the club circuit today, is their blending of all these

elements with a firm grasp and heavy reliance on the importance of the riff.

When Tortoise embarks on one of their ten or so minute adventures, they don¹t

stray into free-for-all territory; instead, they build their songs around riffs

so catchy many a pop band would be glad to have penned them. Reports coming

back from their current tour (while in London recently producer Brad Wood

played sax with the band) have been mixed‹apparently, some nights Tortoise is

much tighter and more focused than they are on others. Wednesday night was one

of the good nights. With members jumping from guitar to drums to keyboards to

percussion, Tortoise was both full of energy and great musicianship. May all my

future musical transgressions be this easily remedied.