The Angelica Sanchez Nonet 10/16/26 Firehouse 12

 I have to be honest, last season I witnessed an excellent female pianist at the Firehouse in a solo setting. She was Marta. This evening showcased Angelica. While they are both piano playing Sanchezes, the shows couldn’t have been more disparate. Angelica rolled in with her nonet, a number that tested the stage-craftery for space and seating arrangements of the usually ample space. This is before we get to the space required by the house piano that spans the length of two football fields. They made it work, which might just be the moral of tonight’s story. These were modern big band compositions, where sounds ebbed and flowed depending on the number of players engaged. You have to appreciate the inter-musician cohesion required for a group this size, it was obvious that all members functioned as a team. The music was unlike any big band in the traditional sense. There were  composed passages that required conducting from Sanchez and others that complemented  the free wheeling solos  which were epic. Angelica on piano and composition was joined by John Hebert on bass, Sam Ospavot on drums, Michael Attias on alto and soprano sax, Hery Paz on tenor sax and flute, Thomas Heberer on trumpet, Kenny Warren on cornet, Ben Davis on cello, and Ben Goldberg on clarinet and contra-alto clarinet. That’s right, a one woman eight guy group. I was situated in front of the brass line and it was a treat to see the interplay. The creamy cornet offset by a stabbing trumpet. Attias, an F-12 regular, at one point played both of his horns simultaneously. Paz, of Cuban heritage, played one sax solo sequence that would make Pharoah Sanders blush. The drummer wasn’t flashy, but was critical in the mix. The positioning of the cello in front of the standup bass emphasized the jazz classical junction of this music. The contra alto clarinet looked like a high school metal shop reject that made beautiful sounds which straddled the reed-brass line. The flexibility of the instrumentation gave the composer a myriad of options to ply her trade. This crew made it work, beautiful set of music.

Horse Lords/ Silk Fence/ No Thank You 10/6/26 The Iron Horse

 First time at the new Iron Horse in Northampton. They’ve absorbed a neighboring address and set up a nice long thin bar parallel to the old space. Bathrooms got a reboot, which takes alley-peeing out of the mix. The stage and viewing space is largely unchanged making for intimate listening experiences. Evening starts with (maybe local) No Thank You. A duo with young woman on guitar and guy on drums. Proggy mix with occasional vocals. Drummer was feverish and guitarist got some bass noises from her rig. Suffice to say that all acts are creatively “on the spectrum”, puzzling then that the decidedly dismissive No Thank You was voted best band name by these two. Silk Fence is a NYC trio that makes instrumental electro-acoustic music. Arian Shafie, of Guerilla Toss fame, on guitar, Booker Stardrum on drums, and Justin Frye on double bass and tapes. The music was atmospheric, with Shafie sounding like Frisell, a detour from GT. Stardrum reminds me of Oneida’s Kid Millions in that he gets varied sounds of simple instrumentation. Who knew putting a golf ball in a cloud bowl swirling it near the mic could make a wonderful sound. Frye had his back to me so it was difficult to observe. The group made cinematic instrumentals, understated but blurred the line between rock and jazz. Horse Lords have been on my “must see” list for a while. They played New Haven’s State House like 8 years back and I sadly did not go. Bubbling out of the Baltimore freak scene with the likes of Matmos and Lungfish, HL consists of Owen Gardner on guitar,  Sam Haberman on drums, Max Eilbacher on bass,  and Andrew Bernstein on alto sax and percussion synths. Some members have moved to Berlin, so this stateside tour was all the more appetizing. They too play instrumental music that lives in the jazz rock realm. The reason to see them is to experience the visual of whiplash jumps and polyrhythms. The polyrhythm concept seemed to come from sub-Saharan Africa, with baseline beat and differing time signature overlays creating a heady stew of percussiveness. The African thinking is that the main beat represents one’s life, with the polyrhythm representing the detours of life’s journey. A friend said that HL try to trip each other with the beat changes, which seemed evident. Gardner seemed to drive the train, his small body electric guitar chugged and churned. Haberman had to be alert to follow the song’s progression. Eilbacher could not dawdle as the bass is critical for cohesive sound. Bernstein seemed to have a free-blowing jazz pedigree. He employed some nice circular breathing passages to add to the racket. Circular breathing, popularized by the likes of Roland Kirk, is the breath technique of playing while inhaling, allowing the reedman the ability to sustain notes indefinitely. His work on percussive synths brought the polyrhythms to the front. Horse Lords are touring in support of their recent live record “Demand to be a taken to Heaven Alive”, where they share the stage with some avant warblers. This music is engaging by headphone, but is truly magical when viewed live. Check.

Anna Webber’s Shimmer and Wince 10/3/26 Firehouse 12

 NYC sax and flautist Webber brings her quintet to F12 to showcase some new music. Along with Anna, there is Mariel Roberts on cello, Elias Stemeseder on synths, Lesley Mok on drums, and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet. With that group, the music leaned modern classical. The cello, either bowed or plucked, could make the music move from chamber to a cartoon vibe. The synth work stayed mainly in the low end which allowed the cello to go midrange. Drumming was understated but capable. Adam, a frequent flyer at the Firehouse, was a great counter to Anna’s sax and flute. The trumpet had speedy runs sometimes using the cup mute. The music for this ensemble explores the applications of Just Intonation, which is an ancient  tuning system based on the natural harmonics and resonances of notes. Adam comes from a serious jazz pedigree, father Arturo and grandfather Chico were Latin jazz bandleaders of great renown. They play some material from the new record, Anna polls the crowd to see if anyone is familiar with centuries old Georgian (the country) folk music. This is a legit ask for the Firehouse crowd, but sadly no one raises their hand. The group launches into a jazz rendition of a choral piece. Excellent crew of downtown jazzbos making old music new.

The Yawpers w/Wolf Harbor 9/30/26 Cafe 9

 Locally sauced quartet Wolf Harbor brings some prog-punk-pop slurry to the 9. Drums, bass are onstage while two singing guitarists inhabit the space in front of the stage. Friends for at least 13 years of the band’s life, the singers couldn’t appear more different. Blond, clean cut, in a sweater, thing one could have been an assistant manager at Staples. Thing two had aqua hair, large grandma earrings and maroon overalls. He was the guy you told your daughter “not to get too serious” with. Together, they have a potent yin yang assault. Their bio lists them as “shovin, swingin, Americana punk”, which I agree with.

The Yawpers are a tight quintet from Denver. Drums, bass, synths, lead guitar, and a front man singer. The singer has a Fanny pack on one hip, and what looks like a tascam equalizer on the other. While singing, he is able to fiddle with the knobs to distort the vocals, at one point he moves to the back and his singing assumes a percussion role. The group had matching outfits, sneakers, white exercise pants, and tshirts with a small message “words on shirts”. The music was excellent, they were at home with breezy tropicalia or in your face danceable ragers. The singer was a hoot, he looked like John Leguizamo but spasmodically moved like DEVO or David Byrne. The guitarist had a large hollow body guitar which lent its sound to loungey and jammy sections. Synth player added some nice counterpoint vocals. Bassist was integral, but kind of hidden on stage. The drummer was out front, and I could see why. His kit was standard but had a set of bongos fixed to the top. When struck with sticks, the bongos made a nice tribal racket. While drumming, this dude was in a trance, he stared at one point on the ceiling. He didn’t look at his drums once during the set. Some guy in front of me started jumping around, trying to dislodge the trance, not happening. The set leaned on a new record, Teething which showcased the full range of this group. Kind of sad that the crowd consisted of the opening band, their friends and me. I see an opening for me as manager of The Yawpers. The name sounds like an incredulous exclamation from an octogenarian, the uniform made them look like triage nurses, and “words on shirts”, really? As manager, these items would be tweaked. As for the music, no change was necessary, excellent show.

Rhinoch w/ Knox Chandler 9/21/26 Stella Blues

 Stella Blues is a long thin bar on Crown St. that is usually a hippie hovel. They make their nut getting aftershow spillout from College St Music Hall’s jammier fare. Seems that they approached local noisenik and leader of The New Haven Improvisors Collective ,Bob Gorry to fill the coveted “third Monday of the month” time slot, with something. The something is The Impossible Music Series where Bob assembles a fluid group of regional musicians to peel some hippie paint. I just miss local guitarist and educator Chandler. Knox has a fascinating background that bears mention. A touring guitarist, he has done time with The Psychedelic Furs and Siouxsie and The Banshees. His current gig as music prof allows him to take part in events like this. He plays a looped guitar for some excellent soundscapes. Headliner Rhinoch is a power trio with Gorry on bass, Jeff Cedrone on guitar, and Peter Riccio on drums. The evening celebrated a new release and they stretched some new material. Rubbery bass lines from Bob, effects laden flourishes from Jeff, and metronomic drumming from Peter. Bob usually plays guitar, so in this setting, more song structure appears. At one point I even hear some Can-like choogle. The music is outside of the Stella Blues box, in a good way. A homeless guy with a bag of cans wanders in and starts to do a little Mississippi Half Step, quickly he realizes that the music is, well….impossible.

East Rock Porchfest 9/19/26

 The Porchfest concept is relatively new. You need a fairly walkable section of town, a mostly young artistic hipster contingent, bonus ethnic diversity, and obviously porches. The East Rock section of New Haven ticks all of those boxes. Having lived in this neighborhood, I was ideally suited for a visit. Music started around 11am on a gorgeous weather Saturday. I make the scene around noon and park in my old spot. Orange street is the main artery which is where I start my trek. First porch has a rock and roll outfit called Lostsol. They remind me of Stone Temple Pilots, charismatic singer wore a PBS shirt. In front of P&M Market has the turntablist rapper Terron The Light. As I get close, I remember dissing Terron as an opener for Sunny War. In this setting, Terron seems much more engaging and has a big crowd of listeners. Down the street Golden Eris takes flight. They claim Bowie and St. Vincent as influences. Going down Cottage St I happen upon Brian Ember. Ember outkooked me back in the day and he could often be found singing while walking down the street. On his porch he wore a yellow boa and chirped out some fractured pop fare. Cherrie Cherrie occupied the patio in front of Nica’s market. Folk songs with drums and standup bass were well received. I head over to Clark St. for Fuselaje, a high power world beat group that I’ve seen as local openers. Horns and ska beat filled the air to a large crowd. Back to Orange and I catch a little of The Mushroom Cloud, another opener for hippie bands that pass through. On my way back to the car, I take a turn to see The East Rock Brass Band. Five trumpets, two trombones, two drums, and a tuba need a massive porch to inhabit. This event was very well planned, they even have a website with band descriptions, timing and walking directions. I will definitely put it on the calendar for next year.

Bucket List 9/17/26 Wesleyan

 The original listing for this show featured a group called The Splice Ensemble but changed to reference Bucket List a few weeks prior. No matter, Wesleyan prof Paula Matthusen and her band of merry knob twiddlers are pals with the fringe contingent of unknown electronic musicians from all corners of the world. On this evening, San Francisco was the corner. Bucket List had Travis Andrews on guitar and percussion, Andy Myerson on vibes and percussion, and composer Mark Applebaum on keys and percussion. I say “ and percussion” because all three had a table with assorted flotsam and jetsam to add sounds to their main instrument. The performance was billed as Achievement, and they called themselves The Achievement Institute for the purpose of the show. They all wore hard hats and fake labcoats with the Institute logo as if to legitimize their expertise. Applebaum had mustard colored rims on his glasses, French’s, not Grey Poupon, as if to emphasize caution or I’m crazy, or both. Located in the nicely appointed Ring Hall, the stage backdrop had a screen highlighting the “achievements”  that corresponded with the sounds. The 13 achievements were obviously tailored to the student audience: Enhance REM sleep, Pass a breathalyzer test,  Submit a successful insurance claim, Excel as an online influencer, Microdose lucratively; Invent algorithm that will destroy democracy, Apply for a mortgage and research the best infant car seats, were some of the screened achievements. The guitar swooped and droned, the vibes were sometimes bowed with a cello bow, the variety of keyboards created a myriad of sounds. The percussion was a treat, they did one passage where they each used various sized triangles, they plinked empty bottles and Ehrlenmeyer flasks for a cartoonish sound, sandpaper and those ovoid fridge magnets all make for great listening when mic’d properly. There was one fascinating piece where old mustard rims says “ment” over and over again in a monotone fashion. The others expertly spoke, what turns out to be an insane number of choices, prefixes or suffixes to the ment. The timing required for success on a piece like this is palpable. To reinforce their abilities as legit musicians, they played a couple difficult modern classical passages and a familiar tune that was not familiar enough for me to name. Another juncture had them each shaking what looked like metallic shakers that were apple shaped. Let’s be clear, the music had nothing to do with the achievements on the screen, which I’m sure is the point. They did a “planned encore”, which was “subject to audience consent”. We acquiesced for two versions of the minute long Canon VI from 6 Canons for vibraphone and electric guitar. The versions differed in that one had Applebaum on drums.  The result was a snarl of sounds that did somewhat resemble each other. Fitting for Applebaum to end on drums, nothing is spared with this guy in the room.