Recording: fuZzy n' frenz

Artist: fuZzy n' frenz

Song: [excerpt from 1st piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Living Room (fuZzfest), May 13, 2023.

fuZzy n' frenz - [excerpt from 1st piece]

On the cusp of joining the exodus of artists departing Toronto, Fahmid "fuZzy" Nibesh put together an afternoon of music, good company, and food to celebrate some of the folks he has most enjoyed making sounds with/hearing sounds from. This set perhaps gave some hints of what a promised upcoming solo album might offer — although "solo" concepts were being pre-expanded with a group that included Mira Martin-Gray (electronics), Germaine Liu (percussion), %%30%30 (percussion), Victor O. (bass), and Marilyn Y. (trumpet).

You can check out footage of the full set over on youtube:

Recording: Sarah Greene

Artist: Sarah Greene with fuZzy

Song: Being Real

Recorded at The Tranzac's Living Room (fuZzfest), May 13, 2023.

Sarah Greene with fuZzy - Being Real

On the cusp of joining the exodus of artists departing Toronto, Fahmid "fuZzy" Nibesh put together an afternoon of music, good company, and food to celebrate some of the folks he has most enjoyed making sounds with/hearing sounds from. With some more abstract sounds to follow, the day started with some songs from Tranzac booker/open stage host/singer-songwriter Sarah Greene, with songs old and new being embellished with fuZzy's guitar work.

You can check out footage of the full set over on youtube:

Monday Roundup #127

Community notes:

• Okay, let's try a thing. I feel like there's gigs I should be hearing about that I'm not hearing about. So instead of me banging my head against the infowall, I've created an online form for folks to tell me about the gigs I need to know about. Might work, might not — but for now, submit your gigs here.

---

Concert announcements:

CCMC [Al Mattes/Casey Sokol/Paul Dutton/John Oswald with guest Heather Saumer] / Array Space 2023-06-29 (Thursday). $pwyc, livestream available.

Exit Points #39 (feat. Ananya Ganesh/Alejandro Franco Briones/Andrew Noseworthy/Alexander Vincent/Marc Herscovitch / Amahl Arulanandam/Ron Johnston/Veronica Zupanic/Nolan Hildebrand/Michael Palumbo) / Array Space 2023-06-30 (Friday). $20. [FB event]

Unbleak Trio [Ananya Ganesh/Alex Fournier/Raphael Roter] / Annette Studios 2023-07-01 (Saturday). $10.

Track Could Bend #81 (feat. Brian Ruryk / Del Stephen's Wurld Of Xo '42 Multivurse Melody Band) / Wenona Lodge 2023-07-04 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Man on Man / The Baby G 2023-09-19 (Tuesday). $23.73. [FB event]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

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Shows this week:

Unbleak Trio [Ananya Ganesh/Alex Fournier/Raphael Roter] / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2023-06-20 (Tuesday). [more info]

Adrian Russouw presents (feat. Downbeat Machine [Marilyn Yogarajah/Joe Sorbara/%%30%30/Andrew Furlong]) / Wenona Lodge 2023-06-20 (Tuesday). $pwyc.

Sarah Greene Presents (feat. Tania Gill / Shawn William Clarke) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-21 (Wednesday – early) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Zoh Amba & Chris Corsano / Farida Amadou / Ways [Brodie West/Evan Cartwright]) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-06-21 (Wednesday). $17.52, 19+. [FB event]

Musica Universalis (feat. Prince Nifty/Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-21 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Reverb II [works by Romain Camiolo, Nasim Khorassani, Bekah Simms, Devon Osamu Tipp and Jocelyn Morlock alongside world premieres by Luke Nickel and Anthony Tan] (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective) / 918 Bathurst 2023-06-22 (Thursday). $20.00 (General Admission)/$15.00 (Arts Worker/Senior/Student). [FB event]

DIG presents (feat. Hot Garbage / Burner / Scooter Jay) / The Horseshoe 2023-06-22 (Thursday). $25.29. [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. White People Killed Them [Raven Chacon/John Dieterich/Marshall Trammell] / Animatist / not a band) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-06-24 (Saturday). $17.52, 19+. [FB event]

Wax Mannequin [record launch!] (Hamilton Trading Co. / The Idaho Stop / Hiroki Tanaka) / The Dakota Tavern 2023-06-24 (Saturday). $13.54 advance/$15 doors, 19+. [FB event]

Astor Swings [a night of Astor Piazzolla arrangements played by a jazz septet! Works by Ernesto Nazareth and others.] (feat. Oleksandra Fedyshyn/Galen Weir/Rebecca Synard/Luan Phung/Sean Stanely/Jake Oelrichs/Gabe Girard) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-24 (Saturday) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Caroline Davis' Alula / Madeleine Ertel Trio [Madeleine Ertel/Steven Noronha/Jonathan Chapman]) / The Rex 2023-06-25 (Sunday). $27.12. [FB event]

Saxophone Music (feat. Paul Newman / Harrison Argatoff) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-25 (Sunday). $pwyc. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on June 21, 2014 at The Great Hall (NXNE – Buzz Records Day Party).

Ancient Ocean - unknown

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Recording: Cetacean

Artist: Cetacean

Song: [second section]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #79), May 2, 2023.

Cetacean - [second section]

Names, of course, are important, so note well here how Bryan Bray performed this set as Cetacean, that final letter both drawing it alongside but also distinguishing it from his long-running Cetacea project. The key difference being a matter of tools more than sonic destination, with this version eschewing guitars for synths (and even a laptop!) to generate its heavy dronefields.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[Track Could Bend will be back at Wenona Lodge on Tuesday, July 4th.]

Recording: Mira Martin-Gray & Friends

Artist: Mira Martin-Gray & Friends

Song: Body Language

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #79), May 2, 2023.

Mira Martin-Gray & Friends - Body Language

Celebrating the release of the wonderful Hen's Teeth, Mira Martin-Gray asked along a couple peers (Del Stephen on keyb and Fahmid Nibesh on guit) to both flesh out the tunes and to find ways to dig into their experimental superstructures, letting things stretch out with languid patience. The set ended with a nod to the album's "non-song" side, asking the audience to join in on "Play each note as if it will help", whose title is drawn from its text score ("play each note as if it will help / as if it could / when it doesn’t / rest / try again").

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[Track Could Bend will be back at Wenona Lodge on Tuesday, July 4th.]

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XIX

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XIX

Songs: Disco Whispers [excerpt] + Zero Gravity Bird Ceremony [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), April 30, 2023.

Cosmic Homeostasis XIX - Disco Whispers [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis XIX - Zero Gravity Bird Ceremony [excerpt]

Another fifth-Sunday-of-the-month drone meetup brought out a mid-sized group (a dozen people) for some space-drift, spreading out around the Southern Cross.

The ensemble this time around was:

• Paul Newman - tenor saxophone
• Philip Hamilton - oscillator, contact mic
• fuzzy - guitar, pedals
• Patrick O'Reilly - circuit bent SK-1, piano
• Nilan Perera - prepared guitar + slicer pedal
• Ian McPhedran - guitar + pedals
• Sterling McPhedran - guitar + pedals
• Scott M2 - Animoog
• Ron Blake - iOS apps
• Sheldon - percussion+
• Victor O - toy keyboard + mixer
• Heraclitus Akimbo - synths

And as usual, you can stream/download the full session over on bandcamp:

[Cosmic Homeostasis will be back in the Southern Cross on the afternoon of the fifth Sunday of July — that is to say on July 30th, 2023.]

Recording: Ng/Allemano/Driver/Fraser

Artist: Karen Ng/Lina Allemano/Ryan Driver/Nick Fraser

Songs: [two pieces from the second set]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng Presents), April 27, 2023.

Karen Ng/Lina Allemano/Ryan Driver/Nick Fraser - [2nd set, 1st piece excerpt]

Karen Ng/Lina Allemano/Ryan Driver/Nick Fraser - [2nd set, 4th piece]

Another one of those casual recombinations that the Tranzac makes possible. On paper, you might look at this and think of it as three-quarters of Titanium Riot, but that wasn't the vibe here, especially with Ryan Driver on his street-sweeper bristle bass. And with Lina Allemano adding some metal mute-on-cymbal floor percussion in the latter piece here, there were some titillating tastes of other destinations, though ultimately host Karen Ng's sax/clarinet/laughter added the animating joie de vivre to the proceedings.

Recording: Farahbakhsh/Ganesh/McCarroll-Butler/Ng

Artist: Isaiah Farahbakhsh/Ananya Ganesh/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Karen Ng

Song: [1st piece, excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), April 23, 2023.

Isaiah Farahbakhsh/Ananya Ganesh/Naomi-McCarroll Butler/Karen Ng - [1st piece, excerpt]

After some duo explorations, cellist Isaiah Farahbakhsh and pianist Ananya Ganesh added a wind section, with Naomi McCarroll-Butler (fipple flute, bass clarinet, alto sax) and Karen Ng (clarinet, alto sax) adding extra textures.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

Recording: Isaiah Farahbakhsh & Ananya Ganesh

Artist: Isaiah Farahbakhsh & Ananya Ganesh

Song: [2nd piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), April 23, 2023.

Isaiah Farahbakhsh & Ananya Ganesh - [2nd piece]

Pianist Ananya Ganesh continues to forge connections in T.O, appearing here in a duo with cellist Isaiah Farahbakhsh and exploring some song-sized chamber miniatures.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[Ananya Ganesh will be performing as half of meimei (மெய்மெய்) alongside vocalist Amirtha Kidambi, opening things up at Jason Doell's album release, part of the TONE Festival this Sunday (June 18th).]

Monday Roundup #126

Community notes:

• This blog's purview generally keeps things confined in the 416, but a rare exception is due to take note of Audiopollination Guelph's upcoming 24 Hour Improvisation Marathon. Conceptualized as a fundraiser to help sustain the series in its upcoming season, its home venue Silence will be hosting soundmakers from noon on July 8th to noon on July 9th. As with its regular shows (and that of its local parent series), this is a self-curated affair, so interested improvisers can check out the sign-up spreadsheet. And obviously, any donations are most welcome.

---

Concert announcements:

Reverb II [works by Romain Camiolo, Nasim Khorassani, Bekah Simms, Devon Osamu Tipp and Jocelyn Morlock alongside world premieres by Luke Nickel and Anthony Tan] (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective) / 918 Bathurst 2023-06-22 (Thursday). $20.00 (General Admission)/$15.00 (Arts Worker/Senior/Student). [FB event]

Wax Mannequin [record launch!] (Hamilton Trading Co. / The Idaho Stop / Hiroki Tanaka) / The Dakota Tavern 2023-06-24 (Saturday). $13.54 advance/$15 doors, 19+. [FB event]

Marker Starling (The Crime Family) / The Garrison 2023-07-06 (Thursday). $23.17, 19+. [FB event]

Bo Ningen (Biblical) / Monarch Tavern 2023-07-19 (Wednesday). $19, 19+. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Jelly Ear [Cory Harper-Latkovich/Allison Cameron/Yang Chen/Sara Constant/Andrew Noseworthy/Seb Shinwell] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-12 (Monday). $pwyc. [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. New York Review of Cocksucking / Laura Swankey / Del Stephen) / Bar Orwell 2023-06-13 (Tuesday). $14.29, 19+. [FB event]

Dun-Dun Land (feat. Dun-Dun Man) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-13 (Tuesday – early)

a Josh Cole trio + strings f/ John Oswald [Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Blake Howard/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-13 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Emergents Series (feat. Jairus Sharif/Mustafa Rafiq / Marilyn Yogarajah/Subsume/Adrian Russouw) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-14 (Wednesday). $10, all ages [FB event]

Brodie West presents (feat. Ted Crosby/Josh Cole/Blake Howard) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-14 (Wednesday – early)

Music By Harry and Furlong (feat. Daniel Wyche [solo] / The Search For Eternal Happiness [Alex Samaras/Laura Swankey/Harrison Argatoff/Patrick Smith/Jeff LaRochelle/Madeleine Ertel/Kae Murphy/Andrew Furlong/Caleb Klager/Chris Pruden/Patrick O’Reilly/Aidan McConnell/Harry Vetro]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-14 (Wednesday). $pwyc [FB event]

You in Mind (feat. Duo Cichorium / Jaz Tsui & Louis Pino) / The Music Gallery 2023-06-16 (Friday). $15; $10 for MG members, students, arts workers. [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents: Lemen CD Release Concert (feat. Fantahun Shewankochew) / Alliance Française 2023-06-16 (Friday). $25. [more info]

$™ Presents: The Wrong Show (feat. Astrolope / Infinite Monotremes / JazzTobacco / Popular Narcotics / Everyone's Intestines) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-17 (Saturday) [FB event]

Sweet Session [Randi Helmers/Rob Clutton] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-18 (Sunday – early) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Jason Doell [becoming in shadows ~ of being touched LP Release!] / New Hermitage) / Array Space 2023-06-18 (Sunday). $14.29, all ages. [FB event]

Happy Sundays (feat. FRAN / Motorists / Curt James) / The Baby G 2023-06-18 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• Congrats to Pantayo, whose second full-length Ang Pagdaloy was named Bandcamp's album of the day on its release. Regular followers of this space will not be surprised it also gets a hearty recommendation from me.

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It happened this week...

• ...on June 17, 2018 at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival).

Sick Boss Löve - [second section]

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Recording: Carl Didur

Artist: Carl Didur

Song: [1st piece, excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Idée Fixe & Ansible presents), April 20, 2023.

Carl Didur - [1st piece, excerpt]

This no-longer-new residency from the folks at Idée Fixe and Ansible Editions aims to present musics from and adjacent to the sibling labels, bridging the former's "rock" action and the latter's more experimental outlook. It's always a joy to hear Carl Didur in action, and something of a rarity to hear him playing piano, so this was a special treat. The other extended piece he played was more in the floridly "romantic" mode that I remember him tackling before, but this one has more of a Lubomyr Melnyk thing going on. (He'd also shift over to taishōgoto for the last pice, with guitarist Tobin Hopwood, the evening's other performer, joining in to dig deep into some Funkadelic.)

[The Idée Fixe/Ansible Editions residency will be back in the Southern Cross next week (June 15th), though at this writing I haven't seen an announcement of who's playing yet.]

Recording: Tobin Hopwood

Artist: Tobin Hopwood

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Idée Fixe & Ansible presents), April 20, 2023.

Tobin Hopwood - [excerpt]

This no-longer-new residency from the folks at Idée Fixe and Ansible Editions aims to present musics from and adjacent to the sibling labels, bridging the former's "rock" action and the latter's more experimental outlook. This night started with Possum's Tobin Hopwood in solo mode, building some echoplexed psychedelic structures while some excellent old-school projections morphed behind him.

[The Idée Fixe/Ansible Editions residency will be back in the Southern Cross next week (June 15th), though at this writing I haven't seen an announcement of who's playing yet.]

Monday Roundup #125

Community notes:

• Good news to hear that regularly scheduled concerts are returning to Burdock's Music Hall, a cozy and good-sounding room. Keep an eye out here for upcoming events in the space.

• Meanwhile, for reasons that are completely opaque to me, I was kicked off Instagram — some algorithm thought my postings were too much like bots, I guess — so apologies to anyone that found that to be a useful spot to keep up with postings here.

• And also meanwhile, if you'd rather see me in person anyway, there's an unusual confluence of things this week. Besides the regular first-Tuesday-of-the-month hang at Wenona for Track Could Bend tomorrow, I'll also be guest-hosting Audiopollination (Friday at Array) and Ayal Senior's Tranzac residency (Sunday at 2:30). Come hang out!

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Concert announcements:

Jelly Ear [Cory Harper-Latkovich/Allison Cameron/Yang Chen/Sara Constant/Andrew Noseworthy/Seb Shinwell] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-12 (Monday). $pwyc. [FB event]

a Josh Cole trio + strings f/ John Oswald [Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Blake Howard/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-13 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents: Lemen CD Release Concert (feat. Fantahun Shewankochew) / Alliance Française 2023-06-16 (Friday). $25. [morfe info]

Sweet Session [Randi Helmers/Rob Clutton] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-18 (Sunday – early) [FB event]

Happy Sundays (feat. FRAN / Motorists / Curt James) / The Baby G 2023-06-18 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]

Toronto Jazz Fest (feat. Aline's étoile magique [Aline Homzy/Michael Davidson/Marito Marques/Dan Fortin/Thom Gill]) / [corporate name] Village Stage 2023-06-28 (Wednesday – 4:30 p.m.). $free, outdoors. [more info]

Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Tafelmusik) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-06-29 (Thursday). $free, outdoors. [more info]

Avalon Tassonyi [album release] (No Frills / The Royal Family) / Monarch Tavern 2023-06-29 (Thursday). $19.48, 19+. [FB event]

July Long Weekend (feat. OKAN) / Harbourfront Centre – Stage in the Park 2023-07-02 (Sunday). $free, outdoors. [more info]

Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Nick Fraser Quartet [Nick Fraser/Tony Malaby/Andrew Downing/Rob Clutton]) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-07-30 (Sunday – 4 p.m.). $free, outdoors. [more info]

Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Aline Morales) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-08-03 (Thursday). $free, outdoors. [more info]

Summer Music in the Garden (feat. Waleed Abdulhamid) / Toronto Music Garden 2023-08-13 (Sunday – 4 p.m.). $free, outdoors. [more info]

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Shows this week:

Track Could Bend #80 (feat. Dan Pitt & Alexei Orechin / Lima/Roblin/Hall) / Wenona Lodge 2023-06-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog / Andy Moor / Adversarial Networks) / The Great Hall 2023-06-07 (Wednesday). $28.27, 19+. [FB event]

Cheryl Duvall [world premiere performance of Patrick Giguère's "Intimes exubérances"] / Canadian Music Centre 2023-06-08 (Thursday). $20 general/$15 arts worker, students, seniors. [FB event]

Music and the Shadow People [sneak peak of a live radio play performance written by William Parker with immersive multi-channel sound design by Andrew O’Connor] (feat. William Parker/Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine/Anita Katakkar/Mike Rinaldi/Trent Pardy/Gary Kirkham/Rosina Kazi) / Array Space 2023-06-08 (Thursday). $20 or PWYC (cash only).

TONE Festival: Telephone Explosion x International Anthem Records Showcase (feat. Badge Époque Ensemble / Ben Lamar Gay / Masahiro Takahashi) / Nineteen Seventy Eight 2023-06-09 (Friday). $22.89, all ages. [FB event]

Audiopollination (feat. Zoë Alexis-Abrams/David Sait/Marilyn Yogarajah / Luke Roberts/Rod Campbell/Rosie Cochrane / Grace Scheele/Martin van de Ven / Michael Palumbo/TBA) / Array Space 2023-06-09 (Friday). $10 or PWYC. [FB event]

Transmit Presents @ Do West Fest 2023 (feat. Godcaster / Shrewd / Scooter Jay / Weird Nightmare) / The Garrison Outdoor Stage 2023-06-09 (Friday). $free, outdoors. [FB event]

Transmit Presents @ Do West Fest 2023 (feat. Toronto All Star Steel Orchestra / Vikki Minor / Night Finger / (((Hastings))) / Gossamer Blue / Roach / Theo Vandenhoff / Ducks Ltd. / Slash Need / Cartel Madras) / The Garrison Outdoor Stage 2023-06-10 (Saturday). $free, outdoors. [FB event]

Michael Palumbo/Zoma Tochi/Hiro / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-10 (Saturday)

Jessie Dara (Emilie Mover) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-06-11 (Sunday) [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on June 8, 2012 at Polyhaus.

Childs - White Phosphorus

• ...on June 10, 2012 at David Pecaut Square (Luminato Festival).

Abyssinian Roots feat. Henok Abebe - Cheferaw Dera

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Recording: Many People

Artist: Many People

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Karen Ng's Monthly), April 18, 2023.

Many People - [excerpt 1]

Many People - [excerpt 2]

A return apearance from this... well, call it more of a "concept" than a "band", with Karen Ng gathering together as many horn players as can be wrangled. The twist here was some extra spacialization, with the crew (on this night: Ng plus Leland Whitty, Kae Murphy, Brodie West, Jay Hay and Ted Crosby) spreading along the length of the room, giving some incredible in-person surround-sound vibes. (The stereoification on the recording here can only give a taste of how lovely it was!)

You can also check out some footage of the (nearly) full set from Many Penguins People over on youtube (though do note it was impossible to get more than half the group in the frame at any given time!):

Recording: Wenderly Park feat. Karen Ng

Artist: Wenderly Park feat. Karen Ng

Songs: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Karen Ng's Monthly), April 18, 2023.

Wenderly Park feat. Karen Ng - [excerpt, part 1]

Wenderly Park feat. Karen Ng - [excerpt, part 2]

Invited to make some basement sounds at Karen Ng's monthly, this pair first explored in duo format with guitar, harmonica, mandolin, and guiro before inviting the host to join in to close things out.

You can also check out some footage of the full set over on youtube: