As usual, Billy Bang gave a superb performance. The tunes, all originals, were not new, but Bang handled them with his usual flair. Once the quartet got past the heads, which in true Bang fashion were very romantic and full of the angst of his Vietnam tour of duty, the action really began with Bang with his dense, magnificent solos reaching from deep down in the violin to the highest, scratchiest sounds possible.

Bang tried a new thing with his tried and true tunes, beginning many of them with extended, seemingly unrelated, instrumental introductions. Bassist Todd Nicholson began the first set with a long, extended bass intro before Bang went into "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," adding a new flexibility to the tune. And pianist Andrew Bemkey, the newest addition to the group, got to reaaly stretch out in the second set and proved to be a vibrant new part of the band.

The Old Office was packed and I got to meet some of Bang's relatives, who took up about a quarter of the room.