Let us not forget the unsung hero, Dan Bitney…
That man can play.
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Can’t have a Tortoise thread without posting this one
I love TNT so much I have the little bloke off the cover permanently on my arm 
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respect !! 
that’s one of my faves too
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I’m actually not sure who played bass with them on “Any Day”/touring for it. apparently Claridge has quite bad carpal tunnel and didn’t even tour for “Runner.” huge bummer. hope his condition improves.
speaking of Sam Prekop and the Chicago Undergound Duo discussion above… I did get to see Prekop play with Chad Taylor on drums, at the Pittsburgh Art Museum, in 2005 I think. really awesome show. perfect environment for their sound. I love Chad’s playing so much; the light touch, the flat ride and the snares-off sound he has going on for much of that Prekop stuff just suits it perfectly. I like the new Prekop stuff too, and that it’s significantly different than the Sea and Cake (moreso than his first two solo records), but that earlier material is excellent.
back to the original post… I’m still working my way through the video actually but first two observations: 1) awesome to see a real marimba for Ten-Day Interval, as I’ve only ever seen them play it with the Buchla Marimba Lumina. much easier to tour with, I’m sure (especially when you’re carting around a vibraphone too!), but the real deal is great to see. 2) was cool to have them use the horns for Swung From The Gutters instead of the melodica part, although I do like seeing them play that too.
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That first Prekop record is maybe my favorite O’Rourke produced album. No clue how much input he had on it, but just little stuff was delivered so well on that album. The backing rhythm section is perfection. Love other stuff of his, but for some reason that one was just the perfect storm of songwriting, production, and capturing that time of Chicago and sort of soundtracking my life at that moment.
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Here’s a Tortoise question - have they ever tried to play Cliff Dweller’s Society live? That’s one of my favorites, but can’t imagine they’d be able to execute without a sizable horn section.
It’s utterly delightful for sure, certainly my favourite of his, it’s a charming distillation of stuff i love about The Sea and Cake, but less frenetic - i must admit i’ve had this on today and it does have an O’Rourke touch to it, but through the mists of time i’d honestly forgotten he was involved in that project
It was just a short while after seeing them tour that particular record that i buckled and bought a Tele, i hadn’t been a fan for some reason, but now it makes so much sense - it was the pared back stage set and beautiful tones which did it for me, maybe a fender amp and possibly no pedals - iirc - Archer was touring his own album the same night with the Dan’ but Sam on the Tele just spoke to me in his hands during this set - I’ve certainly seen Chad with the underground duo/trio/quartet etc, but i presume he was touring, if they had a drummer, but i don’t think i saw Rob on that tour
It’s so uplifting, all too easy to overlook as it’s so understated - really nice
I think as a die-hard (smog) fan i’d have to say Knock Knock and Red Apple Falls would fill that slot, and maybe A Ghost is Born - but the Prekop is up there, it does wonders to gently sort your mood out
The track Smaller Rivers has just popped up - i swear if i was doing Invisible Jukebox i’d call it a Jim O’Rourke track 100%
Fantastically rich sonically, i think you’re right, i have certainly never seen it performed - must crack open the box set more often !
just finished this. all of them just sitting there while a turntable played “Almost Always Is Nearly Enough” cracked me up 
but what the hell were they supposed to do for that one, live? 
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TNT is just ridiculously good…
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The For Carnation is truly a hidden gem. Nice to find likeminded people in this thread. A month or so ago Pitchfork did TNT in one of their Sunday Reviews. Reading that jump started my Chicago binge.
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Just sharing the link, thanks for bringing it up … great insights
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on-point review… it captures the uneasy emotional tension of the album which is neither ‘happy’ nor ‘sad’ and sounds different each time you play it
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Having such a great time going through all the references in this thread. I’ve loved “Millions…” for years–especially Djed, one of my favorite tracks ever–but haven’t dug into the band members’ catalogs. Lotsa gems to discover in here.
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What a great thread! I’ve been a Tortoise fanatic since the early 90s. Seems to be that way for a lot of people into Tortoise. Otherwise the younger crowd are oblivious, too bad.
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Thanks for sharing this. TNT is one of my all time favourite albums. Managed to catch them live a few years back and it was mesmerising!
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