Local rockers The Palomino Brothers played original songs. Lead singer had some swagger, his dance style reminded me of Peewee Herman or Martin Short.
G,G, and G has been reviewed in this blog before. Basically an outlaw country outfit, they were welcoming the return of their newlywed bassist. Nice amount of twang. Lead singer/rhythm guitar, lead guitar (also pedal steel), drums and bass (sometimes standup for a rockabilly feel). Singer frontman had a high lonesome weariness to his vocals that suited these tunes well. Highlights were Lonesome Train, Lonesome Track, cover of Rose of Tacloban and a nod to Chuck Berry with Johnny B. Goode.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Wreckmeister Harmonies w/ Thalia Zedek 5/17/17 Bar
Landed at Bar at the end of hot day to a 20 minute version of Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime" by New Haven troubadour and Kung Fu jam-master of ceremonies Tim Palmieri. The garage doors were open and it just felt like summer.
Thalia Zedek was reviewed recently in this blog when she came to Bar with her group E. Critically acclaimed punker from the eighties in bands like Come and some solo projects, Zedek has been honing her craft for decades. I had a funny interaction with her about playing at New Haven's famed Grotto back in the day. I noticed her guitar had one sticker FCK NZS, which probably meant Fuck Nazis that could have any number of significances. Zedek's mournful vocals and punchy solo guitar was a different animal than the ear-splitting Z. Jump stop closer was excellent.
The bio on Wreckmeister Harmonies was fascinating. Noise-drone collective whose members swell to 30, enjoys playing in unusual venues (tunnels, shipyards) that naturally amplify their noisy squall. On this evening there were two musicians. A young Asian female on keys, viola, and wordless vocals and a grizzled gray-bearded guitarist with laptop. The noise penetrated my 32 decibel rated earplug cocoon. The sound was almost acid new age probably because of the viola and vocals. Pre-show, the grizzly man passed by in a cloud of pot smoke which must have grounded him in the noisy fray. When he sang, he used words but the vocals low like Nick Cave, or the guy from Tindersticks. I had to laugh because the thought of a high, biker Santa mumbling at me while I was under twilight anesthesia was funny. There was nothing funny about WM's music, they were all business.
Thalia Zedek was reviewed recently in this blog when she came to Bar with her group E. Critically acclaimed punker from the eighties in bands like Come and some solo projects, Zedek has been honing her craft for decades. I had a funny interaction with her about playing at New Haven's famed Grotto back in the day. I noticed her guitar had one sticker FCK NZS, which probably meant Fuck Nazis that could have any number of significances. Zedek's mournful vocals and punchy solo guitar was a different animal than the ear-splitting Z. Jump stop closer was excellent.
The bio on Wreckmeister Harmonies was fascinating. Noise-drone collective whose members swell to 30, enjoys playing in unusual venues (tunnels, shipyards) that naturally amplify their noisy squall. On this evening there were two musicians. A young Asian female on keys, viola, and wordless vocals and a grizzled gray-bearded guitarist with laptop. The noise penetrated my 32 decibel rated earplug cocoon. The sound was almost acid new age probably because of the viola and vocals. Pre-show, the grizzly man passed by in a cloud of pot smoke which must have grounded him in the noisy fray. When he sang, he used words but the vocals low like Nick Cave, or the guy from Tindersticks. I had to laugh because the thought of a high, biker Santa mumbling at me while I was under twilight anesthesia was funny. There was nothing funny about WM's music, they were all business.
Monday, May 15, 2017
The Meat Puppets w/ Mike Watt 5/13/17 Spaceland
Mike Watt is the ferocious bass player from the seminal LA punk band The Minutemen. Masters of two minute shards of hardcore, The Minutemen along with The Germs, Black Flag, and The Circle Jerks are an integral part of the punk lexicon. Tragedy struck The Minutemen with the death of guitarist and founder D. Boon. Watt was left to poke his bass into whatever punk amalgam would have him. Sonic (and Ciccone) Youth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, and Nirvana all crossed paths with this versatile bassist. Watt's current touring group was a trio with guitar and drums. The bass is way out front with acrobatic fills and runs. Watt looked like a grizzled Lewis Black with unintelligible yelps above the fray. Even if one could understand the lyrics, one might not "understand" the lyrics because Watt has invented his own language or "spiel" to accompany his songs. The liner notes to 1995's Ball Hog or Tugboat came with a mini translation "dictionary" to help one decipher lyrical content. Watt closed his set with a Blue Oyster Cult song.
The Meat Puppets are the same relative vintage as Mike Watt. Hailing from Arizona, The Meat Puppets must have been birthed from a tequila-laden saguaro given their penchant for Western swing crossed with face-melting psychedelia. Brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood on guitar and bass came with drummer and rhythm guitar. It was all about the brothers, bassist Cris looked like Moses while Curt resembled Jesus. It would be fun to watch these brothers have a "Leggo my eggo" moment. The genre-jumping was jarring, it was hard to parse get along little doggie whistling with maggot brain guitar fuzz workouts. No matter, this was truly an original bill of original musicians that played music that was...original.
The Meat Puppets are the same relative vintage as Mike Watt. Hailing from Arizona, The Meat Puppets must have been birthed from a tequila-laden saguaro given their penchant for Western swing crossed with face-melting psychedelia. Brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood on guitar and bass came with drummer and rhythm guitar. It was all about the brothers, bassist Cris looked like Moses while Curt resembled Jesus. It would be fun to watch these brothers have a "Leggo my eggo" moment. The genre-jumping was jarring, it was hard to parse get along little doggie whistling with maggot brain guitar fuzz workouts. No matter, this was truly an original bill of original musicians that played music that was...original.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Hollis Brown w/ National Reserve 5/3/17 Bar
Opener National Reserve reminded me of many bands. Big fella on lead guitar and vocals, rhythm guitar, drums, bass, and organ were the National Reserve. The singer looked like Leslie West of Mountain, or Bob "the Bear" Hite from Canned Heat. Straight up rock and roll songs with juicy guitar leads and punchy organ fills sounded like The Band crossed with the Byrds. They did a great Neil Young-ified cover of Gillian Welch's Miss Ohio complete with "yak choking on a soup bone" guitar solo.
Hollis Brown hails from NYC. Guitar/vocals, lead guitar, drums, bass, and organ/vocals made up the group. I noticed that they are performing at this year's Mountain Jam. Tight original songs had a rocking Americana feel. They pulled local Blues axeman Neil Caputo on stage for an excellent take on Dylan's Meet Me In The Morning. The organ player croaked out an ok version of the Beatles Oh Darlin. Hollis Brown also covered Jesse Malin's She Don't Love Me Now which is ironic given that I saw Jesse perform that tune a few months ago at this very same venue.
Hollis Brown hails from NYC. Guitar/vocals, lead guitar, drums, bass, and organ/vocals made up the group. I noticed that they are performing at this year's Mountain Jam. Tight original songs had a rocking Americana feel. They pulled local Blues axeman Neil Caputo on stage for an excellent take on Dylan's Meet Me In The Morning. The organ player croaked out an ok version of the Beatles Oh Darlin. Hollis Brown also covered Jesse Malin's She Don't Love Me Now which is ironic given that I saw Jesse perform that tune a few months ago at this very same venue.
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