Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin Stones

HWATSS hail from the Richmond VA area. A power trio comprised of Wicklund on guitar and vocals, bass, and drums. A diminutive Hannah was a force on guitar, blues rock with searing leads was the evening's fare. Hannah, all of about 23, had long curly hair and a tube-top (I think it's illegal to wear a tube-top if you are over 25). Capable stoners on drums and bass laid the groundwork for Wicklunds pyrotechnics. Mostly original songs, one deriding the Facebook generation were excellent for such a young artist. Speaking of Young, HWATSS performed an awesome cover of CSNY's "Ohio". Imagine Cousin It's hot sister channeling Stevie Ray Vaughan while torching the Neil Young classic and you are in the ballpark. Many festival goers will be delighted to see this young tour warrior light up some second stages.

The Toasters w/ Micah Schnabel

Just caught the last tune from opener Schnabel. He was billed as the lead singer of alt-angsty Two Cow Garage. He looked like Truman Capote's younger brother, and sang like early Ani Difranco. The tune was great and wished I saw more.
The Toasters are a NYC second wave ska band. The evolution of ska is interesting, from the early days in Jamaica of the scratchily recorded pre-Marley groups to the British second wave revolving around the legendary Two-tone label. The Specials, The English Beat and others oozed back across the Atlantic to infect a punkier version in the states. The Toasters and the Dropkick Murphys took the horn driven ska and fused it with moshy, limb flailing punk. Lead singer of the Toasters was British and helped connect the dots. The band was sax, trombone, drums, bass, and guitar/lead vocals. Excellent set from these guys who have been around since the 80s. Show highlight was "Two-tone Army" yet another dot connected.

Willie Nile w/ The Manchurians 6/15/18 Cafe 9

Veteran local Blues-garage outfit The Manchurians were a quartet with drums, harmonica/vocals, bass/lead vocals, and guitar. These guys are present at many local shows and I notice the guitar player Dean Falcone was a year behind me at Hamden High. A friend asked me if Dean was in a band in H.S., and while I wasn't sure, I did remember him dressed in black and hanging with the goth kids at the time. Solid garage band with strong vocals, harmonica, and guitar licks.
Willie Nile is also a veteran rocker from Buffalo then NYC. He came to the 9 with his acoustic guitar and a bass player to offer some stripped down versions of his original rock and roll. He reminded me of Little Steven in looks and attitude. I'm pretty sure I heard him talk of opening for The Who, which is a long way from Cafe 9 on a Friday night. No matter, he's still plying his craft after all these years and seems to have benefitted from years being onstage. He spoke of "praying at the altar" of Bob Dylan and did a great rendition of Love Minus Zero No Limit from the Bringing It All Back Home LP, a tune that he played at Zimmy's 75th birthday celebration. After the show, I bored Willie with my Rolling Stones at Toads show to which he responded " rock and roll, that's what it's all about man."

David Keenan 6/11/18 Cafe 9

Armed only with an acoustic guitar and a thick Irish (specifically Dundalk) accent, young troubadour Keenan rolled through a brief set of original tunes. The most difficult configuration is the solo acoustic show, you are at the mercy of the relatively sparse crowd. Keenan had some tunes and some interesting stories between songs. From an explanation of Tir Na Nog ( Irish equivalent of never land), to the helping hand offered by troubadour countryman Glen Hansard in fostering the career of 20-something Keenan, the Irish stories always seem to amuse. A young talent who is putting in the touring necessity always gets kudos from me, especially when traveling from the old sod to do it.

Ben Goldberg Quintet 6/8/18 Firehouse 12

The quintet was Goldberg on clarinet, E-flat Albert system clarinet, contralto clarinet; Ellery Eskellin on sax, Mary Halvorsen on guitar, Michael Formanek on standup bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. The clarinet is a striking jazz presence, coupled with some playing from the sawed off E-flat Albert popularized by Bechet, and the bizarre contralto that looks like a plumbing drain trap repair gone wrong, made for an excellent set. The firehouse is home court advantage for Halvorsen, Fujiwara, and Formanek who have been reviewed in this blog for their mighty trio Thumbscrew. Eskellin was an added bonus, tall and lanky, he had a Nordic presence. I say that because of his cool shoes, glasses, and hat, in addition to his playing that reminded me of Frode Gjerstad. Halvorsen's understated guitar work never ceases to amaze, she looks like a nerdy coxswain, controlling the boat from behind Leslie Stahl glasses. Mary is like an exotic saltwater fish, her wide eyes soaking in improv cues from her band mates, while oblivious to the fact that her form of expression is usually resigned to men. Formanek plucked and bowed with abandon, while hip Fujiwara looked like a Miami Vice stuntman epileptically supplied some brush work. It's hard not to evoke old time jazz with the use of clarinet, but this group deftly straddled old and new. A sublime take on Abide With Me, popularized by Theloniuos Monk but actually an old hymn, exemplifies the smash of old and new.

Bent Knee 6/4/18 Cafe 9

Bent Knee is a group of Berklee School of Music hipsters that have been brought to New Haven by Manic Productions back when the free shows were at Bar. The sextet was violin/vocals, two guitars, drums, bass, and a frontwoman on Korg and vocals. I remember dinging this group for the abrasive vocals and complicated song structure. On this evening, I embraced these qualities and found a more enjoyable listen. The woman's vocals ranged from Adelle-ey pop to Yoko-esque treated caterwaul often in the same song. The scruffy lead guitarist pogoed his way through jump stop leads that offered some Zappa tones. The violinist shaded some prog/punk songs, one even veered into Sister Ray territory. These are music students (or recent grads), and it showed.