Nels Cline w/ Julian Lage 12/21/12 Arch St Tavern

A night of guitar duo improv with these two masters at the renewed Arch St. was a treat. Nels Cline shelved his day job as lead axe-wielder for the band Wilco for a night of improv with the prodigy Lage. Those expecting Wilco hits or Frosty the Snowman were sadly disappointed. These two guitarists are on top of the food chain for speed and sheer dexterity. Cline, a so-cal native plays like a cross between Wes Montgomery and Walter White. Lage, while young, is no understudy ( see my review a few years back of the Firehouse 12 show). Guitar nerduosity at its finest.

Baroque Blues with Robert Zott at Artspace 12/7/12

What if Marcel Duchamp and Koko Taylor had an illegitimate child at Captain Beefheart's house in the Arizona desert? This progeny would be Robert Zott. We met him at erector square at city-wide open studios in October. An artist and blues guitarist, Zott is a real original. This performance was held at the Artspace Gallery. Zott's pieces included the use of "ready-mades" for lack of a better term. The first song showcased him singing into a submarine's talking tube that gave a weird echo effect. The next piece involved video close-up of a watch that acted as a metronomic percussion. A flight box lifted from a 737 acted as a music box for the next song. A video mashup of Zott playing an inverted flying V guitar projected him to be a human compass. The final piece went down outside on Orange St. Zott had his amplifier rigged to a propane tube that acted as a visual "equalizer". As notes were strummed, the propane flames danced in proportion to the sound. Part inventor, part blues man, Robert Zott is a true artist

Simone Felice w/ Smoke Signals 12/2/12 Cafe Nine

Opener Smoke Signals was a two man guitar outfit that played high energy rock. Played a good cover of Springsteen's Atlantic City.
   Simone Felice had a three piece outfit with fiddle, standup bass, and Felice on guitar and vocals. Felice, better known as one of the Felice Brothers and the Duke and the King, played songs of drugs, booze, prostitution, and abuse because "that's what I know best growing up in a degenerate community in upstate New York." Capable playing and singing. Covered I Shall Be Released in homage to neighbor late great Levon Helm. Felice also covered Atlantic City, seems that superstorm Sandy reached all the way up to the Catskills.

Black Light Dinner Party w/ Child Actor 11/28/12 Bar

Opener Child Actor was billed as a local electronica duo with one member studying with Anthony Braxton at Wesleyan Univ. They also were purported to be pals with the local hip hop presence Ceschi. These notes attracted me to this show. Unfortunately, synthy shoegaze dreampop highlighting the female breathy vocals was what materialized. Child Actor may have talent, but they found it difficult to pull off live.
    Black Light Dinner Party from NYC were more polished. Their sound was like Grizzly Bear with high range vocals and washes of sound. Keyboards, drum, bass, and guitar-vocals. Tight songs with thoughtful lyrics look promising for BLDP.

The Steel Wheels 11/16/12 Cafe 9

Oregon string band billed as a cross between The Avett Bros. and Old Crow Medicine Show was a very apt descriptor. Made it in for their second set which was great. Lead singer played acoustic and banjo, a second acoustic with mandolin, fiddle , and string bass rounded out this very tight quartet. Made great use of their old-timey microphone for There's a Rain Comin Down with close-vocal harmony and shaker stick. Covered a Tom Waits tune and closed with a great Shape I'm In by the Band.

Blitzen Trapper w/ The Mercies 10/27/12 Arch St Hartford

Opener Mercies starts off this show with a Grizzly Bear-esque set. Manic Productions making use of Arch St in the gentrified Convention Center section of Hartford. Blitzen Trapper takes the stage for a country-rock-metal set. Three guitar army with harmonica, shakers, multiple keyboards, capable bass, and drums. Hits from eponymous debut and Destroyer of the Void and two recent releases make for a rousing set. Covered Hey Joe, Dukes of Hazard Themesong, and concluded the evening with an awesome cover of Zeppelin's Good Times, Bad Times. BT had a good spot at Newport Folk and opened for Wilco on tour of the west. Portland Oregon natives BT are a band to watch.

Satchmo At The Waldorf Long Wharf Theater 10/16/12

Satchmo is a play about the end of Louis Armstrong's life and reflections of race, respect, and the early jazz industry. Masterfully acted by John Douglas Thompson, the actor switches personas with lighting changes. The two central characters are Armstrong and his manager Joe Glaser. In an age of segregation, Glaser a Chicago jew with mob ties manages the career of Armstrong and handles while profiting from stardom. Spurned by the beboppers, Armstrong was regarded as an Uncle Tom. Armstrong wants to set the record straight that he paved the way for the artists of the 60s. The interplay ( by the same actor!) of Armstrong and Glaser was powerful. Glaser commanded the rights and riches to Armstrong's catalog and appeared to be blackmailed into handing them over to mob affiliates. Armstrong like so many artists of the time was stripped of the rights to his music. This powerful play is an excellent depiction of race and the early days of jazz.

Jamie Saft Trio Firehouse 12 9/28/12

Billed as the "New Zion Trio", this incarnation with pianist leader Saft was just that. Roots-dub-jazz is the best way to describe this sound. Echo, delay, reverb attached to the repetitive drum and bass laid the back drop for Saft's soundscapes. Saft moving from Steinway to organ to casio played a variety of layers on the dub anchor. Plug Saft into Pandora and you'll get dub, jazz, jewish folk, and metal. With that kind of affiliation the world, and definitely Firehouse 12, is his oyster. Closed out the set with a jazz classic I couldn't place woven with the kitsch reggae of "Pass the Duchy".

Love of Everything 9/5/12 Bar

Love of Everything was a Brooklyn duo with a habit of looped phrases with a decided indie-rock sound. A free Wednesday show at Bar needs to grab you to stay...this one didn't.  It's not that I'm only partial to the loop in the jam context, a la Keller Williams. LOE had a good idea in the use of the loop, but lost me with muddy angst vocals.  With guitar and voice, and drums, this duo had potential just needed to lean on the loop more

Tauk 8/12/12 Cafe 9 New Haven

New York's Tauk makes it up to New Haven for some pizza and show at the 9. Four piece instrumental only band. Organ, drums, bass, and stellar guitar. These guys have chops and have been together for a while, I remember them in Bridgeport a few vibes ago. While this combo sounds like it could get monotonous, these four kept it moving. Intricate guitar shreds over solid rhythm section did wonders for the cover of I Want You/ She's So Heavy. Decent crowd for a Sunday night.

Paleface 8/1/12 The Outer Space Hamden

While the rest of the CT concert going folk were rocking to Jeff Tweedy and Wilco at the Bushnell, I rounded up twenty strangers to go to the Outer Space for the legendary Paleface. Cutting his teeth in the subway stations of New York in the 90s, Paleface's DIY brand of freak folk is still amazing. Love song to New York, Little by Little were standouts. Now hailing from Charleston, Paleface with gal pal Mo on drums and a friend on electric were a real treat got the NC attention of the Avett Brothers who lend a hand on his recent release One Big Party.....love this guy.

GOTV Seaside Park Bridgeport 7/19-22/12

What can I say, another year, another vibes. Camped in Boardie-land thanks to Sneaky Jack and crew for securing the real estate. With the Pleasuredome assembled we started the dance known as GOTV.
   Thursday 7/19: Lucid starts us out with some funky jamminess hailing from Plattsburgh. George Porter Jr. and the Runnin Pardners brought some nawlins style had a good cover of Billy Preston's Round in Circles.  Main stage puts up Yonder Mountain String Band. Colorado product plays great slam grass could have used a jammy Snow On the Pines, but good set overall. Dark Star Orchestra's signature Thurs night slot suits them. The show was culled from Alpine Valley in the mid-80s and had all kinds of grateful gold. Late-night was the Royal Family Ball featuring Soulive and Lettuce. Not as smoking at Lettuce a few years back, somebody could have spiked Kras' lemonade to kick it up a notch.
   Friday 7/20: Start off with Vermont offering Twiddle who play a jammy mixture of Zappa-esque prog. After a dip in the sound, we see 7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann and more George Porter and Papa Mali giving us a bluesy swamp-thing. Second stage had the rocking outfit Bad Rabbits with a stellar frontman. Who said Karl Denson wasn't with the Greyboy Allstars? Veteran sax-flute man Denson delivered an Allstar set with this signature seminal jam group. Local group Kung Fu scorched the second stage with their full-on rock show. This band is ready for the main stage. Bob Weir with Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis give a fairly tame jam-lite short offering, seems like these guys are showing their age. After Bobby, Phil and Friends take the main stage. As usual, Jackie Greene owns this stage. Late-night shows Conspirator with the Gigantic Underground Conspiracy. Members of the Disco Biscuits and the Motet drum and bass the night away.
   Saturday 7/21: Dweezil Zappa mines his father's catalog for some St Alfonso type Frank fix. Local duo Mates of State did not seem out of place at this festival. Go for a swim and back for Mickey Hart Band. Global drum group with nice front woman vocals made up for Weir' lackluster Dead offering. Skip the Strangefolk reunion and make it back for Primus. Les Claypool made more friends since last time at the vibes, could be their new release Green Naugahyde. Weak Floyd tribute The Machine could have used a better light show. Late-late night showed excellent jam group Papadosio who played the 4-5Am slot.....that's right, I said 4-5AM slot.
   Sunday 7/22: My favorite, Keller Williams blisters an early Sunday slot. Skip the mid-day festivities to break down camp. Ended the day with a bang with ALO on the second stage. Over to the main stage for a Sunday dose of reggae with Steel Pulse who rolled through Hansworth Revolution and other hits. Was really looking forward to Toubab Krewe a global mashup of afro-appalachian grooves, they were great! Ended the day with one of my faces the Avett Brothers. Seth and Scott added some other members to create a fuller sound. Always a success, GOTV is a go to event of the summer. Peace to all involved

Green River Festival 7/14/12 Greenfield MA

Always a spot on my calendar for Green River. The Saturday lineup slightly (and only slightly!) trumped the Sunday bill. Ok so here goes: Park in the Emu line and make it to field before the music starts. Mainstage has Sara Lee Guthrie and husband Johnny Irion, standard folkie set gearing up for Woody's 100th birthday celebration closer. Dance tent had Rebirth Brass Band steamin up a set of Nawlins funk, good cover of All Over Now by the Stones.  Made it back to the main stage for David Wax Museum's finale Maria (see Fall 2011 entry at Bar).  Saw poppy Brooklynites Lake Street Dive who have matured recently. My man Chuck Prophet kicked it: Storm Across the Sea, Temple Beautiful, Left Hand-Right Hand, Friend To You (for Alejandro E), Summertime Thing, Who Put The Bomp closed out. This crowd had a real treat to see Chuck in all his smartass glory. I know I saw him a few months ago at the Nine, but he is always great. Caught the end of Pokey Lafarge, no relation to Gumby, sometimes the old timey gets too old timey which can be a problem. Back up to the main stage for Charles Bradley and the Extraordinaires who was a James Brown disciple captured by Daptone records and got the Sharon Jones treatment. Must have been hot in his mustard velour suit.  JD McPherson, from Oklahoma has been getting much buzz from critics. He had some Jerry Lee Lewis mannerisms and great songwriting, he rocked the sweltering dance tent with his old-turned-new style. Spanglish Fly was next in the dance tent. Brooklyn-latin boogaloo fronted by this sequined sultry front woman they had a song with the refrain "get up off your butt and ride your bike". Mainstage featured Los Lobos, I was thinking that the lineup, except drummer, was the same as I saw in a parking lot at URI in 1982. Will the Wolf Survive, Don't Worry Baby, In the Neighborhood, Kiko, Saint Behind The Glass, and all the deadheads were bopping to their reading of West LA Fadeaway. Show closed with the Guthrie family reunion, with Arlo leading the charge. Airline to Heaven, Show and Tell, Shit makes the Flowers Grow. Excellent day!

Wye Oak w/ Other Colors 7/5/12 The Space Hamden CT

Other Colors, from Baltimore was a pop trio. Drums, bass, 8-string looping guitar and vocals. Tight song structure but these guys were young. Many songs in the high vocal register will a problem as these lads age, but good for them for living in the moment. Wye Oak are a duo. Guy on drums,synths, and sometimes bass. Girl on looping 12-string and vocals. These two got a lot of noise out, but the songs seemed repetitive. Sing, shred, sing again was their m.o. I liked their newer material. They got a "request" for an older song that sounded....old, like before they got good. I give them props, no a/c at the Space makes a July event with a capacity crowd a sweatbox they did well to not melt before our eyes.

Brother Jocephus 6/21/12 Arts and Ideas Festival New Haven Green

New Orleans style brass, funk, girl backup singers, funny shades, a green trumpet. BroJo takes the stage for the Thurs. A/I slot. While abbreviated, this Brooklyn collective, and Brooklyn Bowl mainstays were smoking on this sultry evening. Good covers of We Are the Champions, and Sublime's What I Got were nice. City life is nice when you can saddle up the Townie, buy a big beer at the Wine Thief, and make it to the green for some down home Nawlins funk

Les Rhinoceros w/ Steve Assett 6/12/12 Cafe Nine

Opener Steve played bass clarinet and theremin looked like a substitute teacher, hipster dudes on uke and standup bass, and a dead ringer for Sun Ra on percussion. Odd combination for an avant jazz group, always good to see a theremin in use. When I say Sun Ra dude on percussion, I mean percussion. This guy played an altoids box, dog squish toys, a lucky bean, all while growling into a can! Headliner Les Rhinoceros from D.C. is also on John Zorn's Tzadik label (see previous review of Many Arms). The Rhino lineup had mini-electric violin and processed samples, guitar , dubby bass, and fierce drumming. Drumming and violin were the highlight, this band sounded like Jean Luc-Ponty fronting Firehose. Beatles and Sketches of Spain tease were welcome. Rhinos were en route to a date at the out-jazz fest Suoni Per Il Popolo in Montreal late June.

Eef Barzelay 6/4/12 Outer Space Hamden

Let's say you were a left-handed uke playing frontman of the band Clem Snide. Throw in an entire recording of Journey covers, spice with stories of being an american music cultural ambassador to Ecuador. Top with parents who are kind enough to name you Eef Barzelay.....and I'm in. This guy was the real deal on a low-key evening in Outer Space. Having been in and around the music business since the 90s, Eef had the cynical charm of a veteran. Songs like That Nick Drake Tape, and Stuck Inside Wallingford with the Hamden Blues Again (sic) were great. Ended the show with a great version of Train Train. Don't Stop Believing indeed!

Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express 5/23/12 Cafe Nine

Chuck Prophet is amazing. San Francisco native, Chuck led the band Green On Red in the 80s before embarking on a career of solid recordings. "No Other Love" ranks as one of my favorite recordings of all time. Rocking a sold out crowd at the Nine, Chuck played tracks from his new recording, sprinkled with blasts from the past. Chuck had two mics, one had a distortion quality that allowed him scramble some choruses for extra power. Female cohort Stephanie Finch sang a couple tunes. Prophet live brings out his smart-ass inter song banter which is always a treat. Summertime Thing, and Who Put the Bomp were standouts. He played a Flamin Groovies tune which he labelled as the SF national anthem

Mary Halvorsen Quintet 5/18/12 Firehouse 12

Second set at the Firehouse showed Halvorsen and company in good form. Halvorsen on guitar, Stephan Crump on bass, Ches Smith drums, John Irabogon sax, and Finlayson on trumpet. Smith's solo resembled a bb gun fight, his loose-limbed style honed with Mike Patton's Mister Bungle. Halvorsen, quiet and geeky, is an able leader, her style on this evening was aided with a whammy-effect pedal. Crump, Harry Chapin's son-in-law, mimes his notes, and gives a new meaning to full contact bass. Irabogon is a chameleon, he seems at home in any style. He could play Ayler with a wedding band. Finlayson looked like a cross between Thomas Dolby and Buckwheat. His full tone was enhanced by aiming directly at the audience. (you'd be surprised how many trumpeters aim at the floor)

M. Ward w/ Lee Ranaldo 5/7/12 Toads

Sonic Youth lieutenant shredder Ranaldo opens with songs from a new solo recording. Nasally vocals wrapped around trademark skronk make for an enjoyable listen.  Dark and goofy with a good cover of T Heads "Thank You for Sending Me An Angel". I liked the fretwork on "Christina"s World". M. Ward shows up with a top-notch band and rolls through some of his back catalog. Ward is a true musical chameleon. Equal parts western swing, She and Him hipster, and superb picker topped with his distinctive aw shucks vocal delivery. Great version of "Helicopter" off the Transfiguration of Vincent recording.

Shpongle w/ Phutureprimitive 4/19/12 Toads

 Came in with Phutureprimitive at the helm. One skater type spitting beats. Large crowd of youngsters waiting for Simon Posford aka Shpongle. Same idea as opener but with a little more pep to the beats and some bizarre vocal snippets wound into the mix. Tame light show but the crowd was in a constant state of motion.  I feel weird to say, but this show was not trippy enough. The music is infectious but needs the whole package for success. Show was listed as a masquerade, where were the masks, the light show.  Seems like a lot of space between top electronica acts like Thievery Corp and the second layer, I urge young people with laptops to get busy. Shpongle did play his hit Divine Moment of Truth which is kind of like his Lucy in the Sky. He didn't play the B-side, Mother Don't Make Applesauce, just kidding.

Many Arms w/ Geoglyph 4/10/12 Cafe Nine

Duo opener Geoglyph is just drums and guitar/effects but create a lot of sound. Frenetic drumming on a simple kit reminded me of Ginger Baker and Chris Corsano. Guitar effects and loops also created a full sound worthy of two or three people. Effects dude had a suitcase of tricks like Gary Lucas. With a new release on John Zorn's Tzadik label, Many Arms was a power trio. Drums, guitar, and bass led the squall. This noise-improv world has few listeners, but these guys could play, made me think of Laswell's group with Ronald Shannon Jackson Last Exit.

De Profundis, Music for Low Instruments 3/28/12 Sprague Hall

Faculty and student arranged pieces for; sackbuts, bassoon, double bass, trombones, cellos, and tuba were the highlights from the low end. What a concept, and some eyebrow-raising arrangements from Mozart, Bach, and Penderecki. A sackbut is a mini trombone that sometimes needs an extender to reach the truly low notes. The double bass piece had the professor whispering at his bass while slapping and accosting with mallets.

The Joe Krown Trio 3/26/12 Cafe Nine

Who is Joe Krown? I don't know, but his trio consisted of Russell Batiste on drums, Walter Wolfman Washington on guitar, and Krown on organ. Krown must be NOLA royalty to get the other two out from their house band status at The Maple Leaf from the big easy. Funky trio with WWW occasionally singing, these guys had chops. Early show at the nine was well attended. Occasional Meters teases and soul classics were flowing.

Ron Carter Trio 3/23/12 Sprague Hall

The bio on Ron Carter bassist to the stars is that he is credited on over 2000 recordings. Carter on standup bass, Ruben Vega on piano, and Russell Malone on guitar, these veterans gave some standards to a packed Sprague Hall. Part of the Ellington series, there can be no better fit than Carter who effortlessly led My Funny Valentine, I Could Have Danced and others. Diana Krall guitarist Malone had amazing chops. Closeout tune was Golden Striker by the Modern Jazz Quartet, it was as if John Lewis wrote the tune for bass instead of Milt Jackson's vibes. Always good to see an icon in a beautiful setting.

Richard Buckner 2/22/12 BAR

Fractured folkie Buckner has been around a while. I unearthed a CD Since that was recorded in 1993 with some personnel from Tortoise and other Chicago scenesters. Buckner looked the part as well, stringy long hair with an artist (or homeless) look in his eye. His voice is monotone and dark. With just guitar and looping device, he plowed through cuts from his prolific yet under the radar career. I'm sure mining his back catalog would produce some gems.

Ha Ha Tonka w/ Ellison Jackson 2/8/12 BAR

Unpolished opener EJ almost forced an early departure. It wasn't that they were bad, they had some good ideas just needed some practice. The keyboard player would not have looked out of place in the high school pep band. Ha Ha Tonka was a different animal entirely. I see them billed on most of the major SE festivals. Kind of a Lynyrd Skynyrd meets power pop ethos. Two guitars, bass and drums with occasional sweet mandolin, this was a road-worthy band.

O'Death w/ Brown Bird and The Proud Flesh BAR 1/25/12

Another winner lineup for Manic Productions. Caught the last couple tunes of The Proud Flesh. RI's Brown Bird (See Cafe Nine review a few posts ago) kicks it again. With civil war era beard, Brown Bird has the two-person americana down slow dirges and uptempo hoots with excellent harmony vocals were great. Headliner O'Death from Brooklyn were high energy. Guitar, ukelele, trombone, bass, drums, and frenetic fiddle created a lot of sound for this packed house. O'Death frontman had the Abe Lincoln beard too! Glad to have these free shows back at Bar, always inspired listening.

Eleanor Friedberger w/ John Wesley Harding 1/7/12 The Outer Space Hamden

First time at the alcohol-serving Outer Space (which is across the parking lot from the all-ages Space) to see Fiery Furnace vocalist Friedberger and Brit-folkie Harding. Unusual pairing and was hard to see if they were romantically or use artistically linked. Eleanor's rough-edged singing which is a trademark sound of the Fiery Furnaces was sanded down a bit for this coffee-house type setting. The house was packed for a Saturday night and while it was difficult to see the stage from the bar, I could see this venue hosting some good shows. After Hamden, these two were off to Australia for some winter festivals