El Khat w/ The Dharma Bums 7/21/26 Cafe 9

 Tireless local trumpeter Nick DiMaria plays often at any and all venues around town. As lead wrangler for The New Haven Jazz Underground, he is an integral part of our scene. Not just a jazzman, his interest spans the globe. Cue up The Dharma Bums, Nick’s group that plays the music of Jamaica’s Skatlalites. The Skatalites are still active and were the Jamaican equivalent of the Wrecking Crew, backing ska and reggae acts. Nick is joined by standup bass, trombone, and drums. The sound is full and a good approximation of the ska beat. Not sure how the Kerouac reference applies, but I was happy to get a rare glimpse of the genre.

El Khat is a trio of musicians from Yemen by way of Tel Aviv who now reside in Berlin. Named for the drug widely chewed across the Arab peninsula, the band forges original compositions inspired by traditional Yemeni music. The leader is Eyal El Wahab, a true multi-instrumentalist who plays things of his own design. With names like dli and kearat, Wahab makes instruments from items people discard. The repurposed sound holds true to its musical roots. On this evening, only two people are on stage. Wahab explains that their drummer needed to go home for a family emergency but that they will compensate and soldier on. Singing in their native tongue, they cruise through their set. They seem unfazed by being down a man. The other musician plays a variety of keyboards and percussion. Because they were seated and the 9 was packed to capacity, it was difficult to see the variety of instruments. At one point, the other musician hops into the crowd and leads a  traditional Yemeni dance that dates back some 600 years. The decidedly uncoordinated New Haven audience joins the dance in a true smash of cultures. I have read that El Khat’s left leaning audience has trouble squaring the possibility of an Arab Jew. Get over it I say. This group makes beautiful traditional music with a modern flair. As I was leaving, I heard one patron say “ and they said they were missing a drummer!”

James Limerick Kerr 7/17/26 Best Video

 James Limerick Kerr is a guitar wizard from New Haven. Currently a professor at Northampton’s Smith College, one couldn’t help but notice the guitar nerdiness worn on his sleeve. The guitar for the first half of the performance was an unusual custom 7-string. Allowing for more bass and a larger neck for fret tapping, the songs had a Keller Williams meets Christopher Parkening (read hippie vs. classical) vibe. His record Seven Smiling Strings is an homage to the instrument. He plays several in this style: Clear Slate for All, The Lifeline and the Castaway, and The Messenger from Afar. While discussing the difficulty in odd tunings, he describes his recent release where he transcribes lute compositions of the 16th century Italian composer Simone Molinaro for rendering on the 7 string. Molinaro was almost relegated to trash can icon of history before being discovered by a New England guitar prodigy half a world and centuries apart, thanks internet. These songs oozed the renaissance lute and I’m sure were a bitch to transpose for play on the 7-string. He played a tremolo heavy composition then moved into something he called Gallup Study 1 or as he puts it “Iron Maiden Visiting a Spanish Village”. For the last third of the set, he picks up a Dobro or resonator guitar. I could have googled this, but better to have a legit guitar prof explain that the Dobro was the creation of the of Slovak immigrant John Dopyera and his brothers in the late twenties. They fashioned an outward facing metal cone that allowed for pre-pedal echo and sustain that was popular among blues musicians and the American south. The instrument is often played face up with with a bottle neck or slide (thanks to the Ballad of Curtis Lowe). He stays with the geography and plays Package of Peaches, Hay Barn in the Rain, and Bluegrass 511. Closed with the only tune with vocals, a heart wrenching version of the Blind Willie McTell number “Momma Taint Long For Day”. Beautiful guitar music again.

Patterson Hood and Craig Finn 7/14/26 Spaceland

 Two established front men ditched their bands for a short tour called The Devil is in the Details. Patterson has been the mastermind of The Drive By Truckers for some 20 years, Craig has the same position in The Hold Steady. Both bands have cult status and a decent catalog to pull from. From the stage banter, we learn that Craig was a DBT groupie from the jump, resorting to stalking Patterson after a Conan O’Brien appearance. They trade off tunes, each on an acoustic, with a multi-instrumentalist friend Ben Macklin also on stage. Ben plays keys, sax, flute, clarinet, even subtle percussion to help the proceedings. The setlist pulls from both bands and some solo material: The Forks of Cypress, Bethany, Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife, The Righteous Path, People of Substance, Crumbs, Uncle Disney, Pinocchio, Easter Weekend, Shamrock, Palomino, Miss Coldiron’s Oldsmobile, The Van Pelt Parties, Heathens, Mission Viejo, Magic Marker, (I Never Heard of) Emmett Till, Newmyer’s Roof, Grand Canyon, encored with The Company I Keep and Certain Songs. Craig said The Hold Steady was trying to be the Drive By Truckers of the north. The subject matter of Patterson’s songs came from his life experiences growing up in Alabama. His easy drawl was an added bonus. Craig’s tunes were more story-like, it made sense that he was hawking a novel he wrote. These two have years of arena crowds under their belts, they seemed happy to get back to the close interaction of a club like Spaceland.

Mick Barr w/ The Regal Drug 7/8/26 Cannons ( New Haven )

 Cannons on Dwight St. in New Haven is not to be confused with the venerable Middletown beer paradise known as Eli Cannons. The New Haven “Eli-less” (is that even possible?) is more vegetable than venerable, literally, it’s a joint/vegan restaurant. Managed by local scenester, Carlos of (once again New Haven, State House) fame, Cannons assumes an unlikely address on Dwight St. As a suburban kid growing up in the area, Dwight St. was popular for prostitution, car radio boosting, and general hijinx. Fast forward 40 years, a sprinkling of gentrification, and voila, a vegan restaurant with a side of weird music is born. I enter the venue to the strains of The Regal Drug. Local guy on synth, drone, knob twiddling, he has been positively reviewed here before. One Weird Music Night, TRD had a local trumpeter in the mix. On this evening, some recorded vocal snippets made for a tasty tapestry.

Mick Barr is a black metal guitarist from Queens. For 20 years he has fronted the experimental metal band Krallice. The genre is outside my wheelhouse, to the point where I stupidly left my earplugs in the car. A hairy Barr takes the tiny performance space. He launches into hyperspeed runs, turned up to 11. The music was deafening. Seated at a small table, I was able to use natures earplugs, my pinky fingers, to unobtrusively soften the blow. Technically amazing but migraine inducing, I was reminded of my wheelhouse. Imagine if Ritchie Blackmore took control of your alarm clock, jammed the volume control and snooze function, and squalled an endless loop. About 20 minutes in, Mick loops a lick, then picks up an acoustic guitar. Out spills another half hour of some of the most beautifully executed finger picking I have witnessed in recent memory. Passages that sounded flamenco moved toward British folk before landing in some modern drone. Mick must be revered in guitarland, local educator/virtuoso Joe Morris was sitting in front. Spotify Barr and you’ll find he appears on a guitar nerd comp that includes such luminaries as Mary Halvorson,  Henry Kaiser, and Jeff Parker. Commended Carlos on his sticktoitiveness. Happy to have a night of contradictions, a vegan restaurant on  Dwight St. where I witnessed a blistering and complimentary beautiful set of music.

Dr. Caterwaul’s Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps play the music of Tom Waits 6/26/26 Best Video

 Tom Waits was a pied piper to me in the 90s. We “whistled past the graveyard”,we took a left at “9th and Hennepin”, we even sailed one night for “Singapore”. Before streaming, or Spotify we were left to our own devices. In my case, convince the guy who buys cds for your local library that he should purchase any and all work by Tom Waits. This allowed me to spend time with the likes of Rain Dogs, Bone Machine, The Mule Variations, Real Gone, and Swordfishtrombones. While I thought it was just me and the library guy following Tom down raspy voice lane, turns out in a nearby hamlet the geeks that would go on to form Doc C found the same rabbit hole. Doc C has been positively reviewed in this blog many times. Local musical omnivores, they are ideally suited to take on this challenging music. The group has Adam Matlock on accordion, keys, drum pads and vocals, Brian Slattery on fiddle, banjo, guitar, trombone and lead vocals, drummer, standup bass and two guitars on this evening. Chris Cretella and Bob Gorry are responsible for the twin guitar attack. Waits oeuvre is split into two distinct periods, the first is piano-whiskey-cigarettes lounge crooner that gave us such gems as The Heart of Saturday Night or Foreign Affairs. The second period got darker and more experimental thanks to his music and life partner Kathleen Brennan, it is from this period that the evenings music was pulled. Pretty full house of Waitslovers at Best Video made for an enjoyable set. We start with Anywhere I Lay My Head, Temptation, Jockey Full Of Bourbon, Time, Dirt in the Ground, Singapore, Goin Out West (Brian’s theme song), Chocolate Jesus (Bob on vocals), Horse That Ran, Big Black Mariah, Cold Water, Walking Spanish, Earth Dies Screaming, Cold Cold Ground, Come On Up To the House, and closed out with Telephone Call From Istanbul. Brian did most of the singing, Adam sang a few as did Bob. While no one can approximate the Tom Waits growl, the crew performed admirably. The hallmark of this music is the odd instrumentation, harmonium, saw, out there percussion serve as a perfect backdrop for the advanced images conjured by the lyrics. Hearing this music brings me back to a wonderful place in time, thanks to Best Video and Doc C for manning the wheel.

Green River Festival 6/20/26 Franklin County Fairgrounds MA

 Not to be confused with the Green Reflecting Pool Debacle, the GRF is a must on the summer circuit. For 20 years (at least) this low-key affair just north of Northampton puts together three days of well curated and organized fest. We opt for the Saturday, music starts noonish and runs till 10ish. Three stages invites strolling to catch some of each artist

Greg Freeman: Vermont based rocker starts off the main stage

Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars: New Orleans old timey music with a great singer. Lotta bodies on stage with washboard and slap happy standup bass

Alex Amen: California singer songwriter who dropped out of film school and shacked up in the historic Dittman Family Commune, a hotbed of  60s counterculture. Joined by another folkie on 12 string, I got a decided Jesse ColinYoung vibe

Tunde Adebimpe: Front man for the Brooklyn based TV On The Radio. Had some keyboards and samplers to flesh out this solo performance

Sonido Gallo Negro: Cumbia band from Mexico City inspired by the roots of psychedelic tropical music. Guitars, organs, percussion, analog synths, and theremin. Your heard right, theremin added a spooky backdrop. Excellent version of Devo’s Whip It

Fust: Durham NC country tinged folk band. Great drawl on the singer reminded me of Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt fame. Good backing band brought the full sound to the small back porch stage.

Kurt Vile and the Violaters: Philly lofi slacker and band rock the main stage. His deadpan vocal delivery reminds me of last years headliner Courtney Barnett. Plays his hits, trades his guitar for a trumpet at one point. Brings out local guitar legend and Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis for the signature tune Chance to Bleed

Los Mirlos: Created in Lima in 1973, Los Mirlos deal in “Amazonian cumbia”. Like Os Mutantes, these old guys tour the world spreading their brand of cumbia.

Folk BitchTrio: Three young women from Australia have great harmony vocals. Haunting tunes would have been better served in a small club.

The Beths: New Zealand indie rock outfit takes the main stage. They have many lamps on stage, seem to be popular with the kids.

We head out before headliner Spoon takes the stage but had a full day of music.

Sunny War 6/18/26 Cafe 9

 The methods for discovering new music have evolved in my lifetime. I remember buying the 45rpm singles, the beloved mixtape from a friend (hopefully with some cover adornment), that moved to the mix cd, and now to the dreaded algorithm. While relinquishing control of the picks to Spotify Central Headquarters seems like a step backwards, we must realize that it is here to stay. I am happy to report that my introduction to the Nashville based singer songwriter Sunny War, was straight up serendipity. Traveling to Music City, I had to make a stop at the legendary record store outpost Grimey’s. When pulling in to my parking spot, I see the side of the building is freshly painted with the likeness of a young african American woman with the title Sunny War. Once inside, I see a small section dedicated to the emerging artist. Born Sydney Lyndella Ward, Sunny captivates audiences with her fantastic alto voice. On this evening, she is joined by a drummer for helpful timekeeping and stage banter. Sounding like a cross between Joan Armatrading and Cassandra Wilson, War’s blend of folk and blues pushed through a modern lens is a treat. Highlighting her recent release “Armageddon in a Summer Dress”. Her popularity is snowballing and has a choice time slot at the Friday Green River Festival the following day. The inter song chatter is comical in that her speaking voice is that of a weed-addled 8th grader. No matter, when the music starts her beautiful singing voice tumbles out. Her voice is so novel it acts as a third instrument. The setlist was great, Lucid Lucy, No Reason,  If It Wasn’t Broken, Big Baby (about her guitar),  closes with her signature tune Whole. Keep an eye out for Sunny War, her captivating voice will undoubtedly increase her popularity.