Lucinda Williams 6/26/15 Arts and Ideas Fest

Nice weather for Lucinda on the New Haven green. Good crowd supported some classics, Joy, Car Wheels, Passionate Kisses. Solid backing band could rock these tunes from legendary songwriter. Lucinda was in good form, she is a temperamental artist and feeds off good karma. I saw her at Toads once and a Sox-yanks game was showing on the back bar TV eliciting some untimely (with the music) cheers. "What the fuck is goin on back there?" She blurted before quickly ending her set. Tonight's  show ended with two classic encores, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash and "Rockin in the Free World" the Neil Young classic that was recently wrongfully pinched to serve as the theme song for Donald Trump's candidacy for president.

Cibo Matto w/ Invisible Feathers 6/25/15 Spaceland

Caught the last tune from opener Invisible Feathers, a psych-rock trio. Capable guitar, bass, and female drummer showed some blue collar psych.

Asian, female, hip hop duo CM are always a sight. Preparing for their stint at Wilco's solid sound festival, CM made a stop at Spaceland. "So wha you chew do in dis Ham den?" Says vocalist, rapper Miho Hatori. I notice that Hatori has bad teeth that leave her face in a permanent state of sly chuckle. Her NyQuil induced dance moves added flavor to hits Birthday Cake and Sci-fiWasabi. Beatmaster and knob twiddler Yuka Honda had Yoko Ono shades and was able to coax many sounds from her laptop/keyboard setup. Male drummer and bassist, both dressed in white looked like a stud rhythm section brought along for their self-titled Banana Split tour. CM played some songs from their recent Hotel Valentine release, including the catchy environmental song MFN (ease da mutha fucking nay cha!) 

Mono 6/11/15 Spaceland

Tokyo noise quartet Mono swooped into Hamden to shatter some eardrums. Two guitars, female bassist, and monster drummer comprised Mono. Songs had the same formula, quiet intro that swelled to a raucous caterwaul. Japanese rock bands ooze hipness, and Mono is no exception. The guitarists, both seated, dressed in black, flailed their shoulder length hair at crescendo time. They looked like twin Buckingham Palace guards keeping watch over skronk-town. Female bass player in black dress with red pumps seemed like a stewardess guiding the listener to jump off the cliff of noise. The drummer came with gong and tympani to punctuate the sound. My ears are still ringing.

Ringo Deathstarr 6/10/15 Bar

Austin Texas based trio RD brought the noise for this show at Bar. Guitar/vocals, bass/vocals, and drums were all that was required to deliver ear-splitting squall. Guitarist reminded me of the spazz version of Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan. Lanky female bassist and motorik drummer provided the perfect backdrop for the fuzz and reverb drenched songs. Barely audible vocals were almost unnecessary in the Deathstarr attack. At one point, the singer asked if anyone in attendance was in the Skull and Bones, they said they would accept any and all grant money. It's curious why the proboscis-oriented drummer for the Beatles has spawned so many band names. Obla-Dee, oblin-deed.