11/29/07- George Cartwright/Gloryland Ponycat @cedar cultural center-minneapolis

Cedar Cultural Center can feel like an icebox in the winter when the audience is less than crowded (this is usually the case for the shows that I am most interested in) but this week George Cartwright's Gloryland Ponycat did a good job at raising the temperature, once they got warmed up themselves.


george cartwright and alden ikeda

The first couple of pieces were loose improvisations that relied heavily on George's soloing to stay on course. No complaints; he's a wonderful soloist who's worked with people such as Tom Cora and Davey Williams (as members of the band Curlew), Christian Marclay, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Sharrock, Fred Frith, LX Chilton and Mark Dresser.

But the four-piece version of Gloryland Ponycat has the potential to be much more than the backing band of a soloist.


adam linz and george cartwright

The band really got it together during thier cover of Bob Dylan's Oxford Town (featuring Andrew Broder of the band Fog on vocals) and then ventured out a little further during a medley of Henry Grimes compositions (For Django and two others).


alden ikeda


andrew broder

The last piece of the set, Panther Burn, was also a highlight. George told the story behind the meaning of the song--one which had nothing to do with the music of Tav Falco. This was another song where Broder contributed some interesting guitar sounds that blended well with Cartwright's sax. These guys are on to something good.






Gloryland Ponycat
george cartwright-saxophones
adam linz-bass
alden ikeda-drums
andrew broder-guitar vocals