By: David Schultz

Over the past decade, many of the historic venues in New York City have been forced to close their doors as the economic feasibility of operating a small, musician-centered venue decreases with each passing year. CBGB has been the most publicized casualty, but the changing Metropolitan musical landscape has become littered with the corpses of the likes of The Bottom Line and The Luna Lounge. Given the logistical and artistic perils to operating a modestly sized venue, the 20th Anniversary of The Knitting Factory deserves recognition and admiration. To celebrate the milestone, Michael Dorf, one of the Knitting Factory's original founding members, gathered a handful of the artists who benefited from and best exemplified the adventurous spirit of the "Old Knit" for a one-night concert at Town Hall.

The path to the Knitting Factory's China Anniversary began at its original home of 47 Houston Street before moving to its current home on Leonard Street in TriBeCa. The genteel surroundings of Town Hall may not have entirely captured the feel of the Knit's past and present home, but the music did. Throughout the night, the performances acted as a microcosm for The Knitting Factory, reflecting its eclectic and experimental nature: the strings of Rebecca Moore and Pinky Weitzman found common ground with electric guitars; DJ Spooky worked splendidly with Lee Ranaldo's avant-garde guitar work and everyone seemed to get a chance to try something new or celebrate something old. Not simply cashing in on the notoriety and goodwill of the venue's name, all of the net proceeds from the night were earmarked for The Stone, an East Village, not-for-profit performance space dedicated to freedom of expression.

Mike Doughty, who worked as Dorf's doorman at the Knitting Factory while Soul Coughing was in its formative stages, nicely summed up the appeal and allure of the venue. Relating back to his own interest in various musical styles, Doughty explained that The Knitting Factory was one of the few stages where you could hear and experience a wide breadth of musical textures. Doughty seemed genuinely touched to be included on the bill, taking delight in telling a couple anecdotes of his time as a Knitting Factory employee, including a tale of Don Byron setting his tip sign on fire. In contrast to the reserved demeanor of the majority of the other graying artists, Doughty's enthusiasm proved refreshing.

In celebrating the liberating, experimental atmosphere fostered by the Knitting Factory, the Town Hall performance featured the ingenuity of some of the musicians responsible for the venue's reputation. John Zorn coaxed squeaks, yelps and chirps out of his saxophone and Lee Ranaldo seemed to do everything with his guitar but strum it: swirling it overhead, tapping it with drumsticks, hovering it just above the stage and generating feedback while DJ Spooky providing backing rhythms that moved between Iron Butterfly and atmospheric Pink Floyd.

The first act featured a couple ensemble performances from some Knitting Factory stalwarts. The evening commenced with a jazz collective including Roy Nathanson and Don Byron and later, trumpeter Steve Bernstein and guitarist Marc Ribot anchored a slightly avant-garde assembly though a brief set. The brevity of time allotted to each of the performers worked to their advantage with most able to leave their mark before wearing out their welcome.

Lou Reed, the night's most well-known performer, concluded the first act with two tracks from his 2000 album Ecstasy. Accompanied by longtime guitarist Mike Rathke and cellist Jane Scarpantoni, Reed's stripped down performance focused on his streetwise poetry and crisply precise guitar riffs. After the title track, John Zorn joined Reed for their first ever pairing on stage on "Rock Minuet," melding wonderfully with Scarpantoni to give depth and heft to an otherwise straightforward tune. His lady friend, Laurie Anderson followed him, opening up the second set with a mix of atmospheric keyboards, campfire monologue, dry witty humor and caustic political observation.

Like all experiments, some fail. The promised Medeski Martin & Wood appearance fell one Wood short of occurring, with Oren Bloedow playing bass in his stead. After a jaunty run through "Queen Bee" featuring Medeski moving between his various keyboards, they became mired down in one of Bloedow's originals. Without Chris Wood, the Medeski and Martin set fell disappointingly flat and the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" finale seemed unrehearsed and was barely held together by the lyrical thread and Doughty's rowdy excitement. The show also suffered from the expectations raised by billing the appearance of surprise guests. Late February saw a number of remarkable collaborations: Pete Townshend and Lou Reed played Velvet Underground songs at Joe's Pub as part of an In The Attic show, Michael Stipe and Patti Smith sang "Everybody Hurts" at the Tibet House Benefit at Carnegie Hall and Ray Davies and Debbie Harry joined up for "Lola" at the same show. Hence, the admittedly anti-climactic appearance of guitarist Gary Lucas and vocalist Jennifer Charles for the final ramble through the Beatles tune came nowhere near meeting unnecessarily raised hopes.

As Dorf's vision for honoring the Knitting Factory differed from his fellow board members, he organized his concert at Town Hall as opposed to the Leonard Street locale. It also won't be the only celebration. Over the course of this year, the Knitting Factory will organize special 20th Anniversary shows featuring Jonathan Richman, Robyn Hitchcock and other artists with a connection to iconic venue. They will also make a move onto XM Satellite Radio with Live From The Knitting Factory on XMU, on XM's indie/college music channel (#43). The new show kicked off this past Friday with a performance by The Boy Least Likely To and will feature Art Brut later this week.

Labels: John Zorn, Knitting Factory, Laurie Anderson, Lee Ranaldo, Lou Reed, Medeski Martin and Wood, Mike Doughty