Wicked Knee 6/22/13 Realartways Hartford

Psyched to learn of the collaboration of old friends and free show at RAW. Billy Martin leader on drums and percussion, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Marcus Rojas on tuba, and Steven Bernstein on trumpet, flugelhorn, and slide trumpet. These guys have been playing improvised jazz for 30+ years as part of the downtown scene. Most as part of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards. The show was billed as "ragtime funk", and while this quartet surely has the chops to deliver on some nawlins groove funk, they seemed unable to ditch the skronk avant vibe. While I am a listener who is ok with either genre, it seemed as if the crowd was unprepared. Martin spending time on "percussion table", Bernstein wowing with multiple horn prowess, Fowlkes ever the deft-slide blower, and Rojas on lead tuba sounding as if he was cradling an injured calf in his arms resulted in more improv and less funk. Highlights were "sugar foot stomp", and a dizzy Gillespie tune, and some standards put through the Martin kaleidoscope. While this seemed like an uneven opening, I have faith that preserverance will help this allstar band become more of household name.

Kronos Quartet w/ Wu Man A/I Fest New Haven Green 6/22/13

One of the great things about being a city dweller is that I can ride my bike around and happen upon Kronos and Wu Man doing a sound check for their show that is to happen later that night. Modern classical group with two violins, viola, and cello is enhanced by chinese pipa player Wu Man. Modern chamber music that touches many cultures. Kronos' excellent Flood Plain recording from a few years back is on heavy rotation in my collection. While not able to be present for the actual show, this four tune warm-up as viewed from 10 feet away was great. Got to hear Harrington interact with Wu Man about time and tempo of a certain piece.

Low, with Mike Doughty Spaceland Ballroom 6/20/13

Was hard to figure who would open this show. We entered Spaceland to the snarky strums of Mike Doughty. As a frontman for the seminal Soul Coughing, Doughty had a penchant for delivering oddly poetic lyrics to a smack-soaked downtown jungle backdrop. He even worked as a doorman for the Knitting Factory for a while (rhubarb butter anyone?). Trading in heroin for coffee and losing the band, Doughty worked smart, riffy, folk, with occasional beats (more bacon than the pan can handle, anyone?). Just Doughty and drums, he ripped through some back catalog: 27 Jennifers, Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well, Real Love, Nectarine, and a host of others. His new record of un-knowable covers seemed weirdly absent. I love this guy, even though his uber-hipster lyrics were often muddied by the guitar.
  Low has been around forever. Husband and wife Alan Sparhawk (guitars) and Mimi Parker (drums) with bass/keys to round out the trio. I saw a description of Low as being "slow-core", which makes no sense until you start listening. Soft harmony vocal treats often give way to thunderous walls of squall. The new release, "The Invisible Way" produced by Jeff Tweedy is great and was well represented at this show. "The Great Destroyer" was also very good. This show was a run-up to Low's performance at Wilco's Solid Sound Festival. Don't put on some Low when you want to get up and dance, but if you are couch-bound and looking to reach for dreamland, wrap yourself in some Low and enjoy.

Calexico with Susana Baca International Festival of Arts and Ideas 6/16/13

Rain held off for a change for the A/I fest first Sunday of events. Opener Susana Baca is a Peruvian Diva of sorts. Sporting a peach colored wrap, this venerable latin songstress offered up some slowburn songs from Peru. All songs and inter-song banter were in spanish, and while I couldn't understand them, they were certainly beautiful.
  Calexico is an in-demand band. They were the anchor group for the Dylan movie "I'm Not There" soundtrack. They collaborated with Iron and Wine for the excellent "In the Reins" ep. Their solo material "Feast of Wire" and "Carried to Dust" and "Algiers" are all good. The malleable Tex-mex sound worked well for a good turnout at the New Haven Green. Their cover version of "Alone Again Or" by Arthur Lee's Love from 1967 could have been written for these guys. Fleshing out their sound by adding some new musicians, as well as welcoming Susana Baca's band to the stage made for a good earfeast.

!!! with The Yellow Dogs Spaceland Ballroom 6/14/13

Unfortunately, only caught the last few songs of Tehran by way of Brooklyn's Yellow Dogs. Their blend of middle-eastern trance-punk was very infectious. Beats, repetitious guitar, and crazy hair were their craft.
  Headliner !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk) were great. Lead singer strolls into the club wearing "Some Girls" boxers, and he definitely had a Jagger complex. He gyrated and felt himself up as if he was auditioning for the Lipped-One's younger stand-in. Five nerdy beat purveyors rounded out the band. Guitar, drums, bass, synths x 2, with occasional sax and trumpet created a full sound. You can see why this band is a festival staple. Frenzied, clubby songs had the entire crowd moving. Singer routinely hopped off stage and sashayed through the crowd which made one feel like you were part of a Candid Camera nerd-core porn film. Evening was capped by singer wringing his sweat-drenched shirt onto his face while while gyrating to ecstatic encore, I mean climax.

Josephine Foster, Victor the Spaniard, Daniel Greene: Marsh Botanical Garden 6/5/13

The Marsh (as in O.C.) Botanical Garden is on Prospect street and has a cool greenhouse where this happening happened. Local "teacher" Daniel Greene sang simple folk songs of relevance to the New Haven community. The self-proclaimed assistant mayor of State St, offered up some funny local stories which fared better than his "i-wrote-them-on-the-back-of-a-napkin-while-riding-the-bus-to-get-here" style of songcraft. Next up was Victor, who was definitely from Spain, but gave no indication of his last name. Maybe he was in the Spanish witness protection program. He played beautiful percussive, flamenco-y songs of love, horses, and friends. His instrumental about the Pacific side of North America was great, i mean.......nice. Headliner Foster has a couple of recordings. Her woozy, old timey voice got tiring after a few songs.

Dave Douglas Quintet 5/31/13 Firehouse 12

Trumpeter and purveyor of positive karma Douglas hits F-12 as part of his 50th birthday gift of touring 50 states. "Connecticut, while not the first, is certainly not the last." Bringing improvised jazz to odd venues and locales, Douglas is idealistic. Pulling from two recent recordings, Be Still and Time Travel, the quintet was firing on all cylinders. Sharing the stage was Jon Irabogon on sax, Matt Mitchell on piano, Chris Tordini on bass. and Rudy Royston on drums. Be Still was an album of hymns requested by his dying mother. Title cut from Time Travel and Garden State from the same record were great. Closed with a Scottish ballad, this jazzy chameleon can slip in and out of any musical genre.