Garcia Peoples, Chris Forsyth, and Ryley Walker 12/28/19

My show attendance has waned a little in 2019, but this evening should count as three. Epic triple bill of guitar psychedelic jamminess from some of the top minds of this genre. Initially taken aback by the complete inverse of the stated lineup, the reason became clear as the show evolved. New Jersey hippes Garcia Peoples took the stage first. Two guitars, muscular bass, drums, and a Mr. Rogers sweatered dude on keys. Rhythm guitar and bass player took some vocals, but it was the mop top pyrotechnics of lead guitarist that seared the cortex. Imagine a cross between Jerry Garcia and Buckethead ( if you don't know Buckethead, please YouTube y'all some) with a smattering of Steve Howe. This guy had a built in trip-o-meter that was set to 11. GP's set was almost over before they played anything remotely recognizable from their excellent recent slab One Step Behind, a record that boasts the sax and flute playing of the lead guitarists dad who is credited on some Miles and Stanley Clark outings.
Chris Forsyth, from Philly, is an experimental guitarist with ties to Television's Richard Lloyd. His downtown cred is bolstered by affiliations with Loren Connors and Derek Bailey. He is usually backed by a unit he calls the Solar Motel Band, on this evening he used the capable services of GP. Forsyth also has an excellent 2019 release All Time Present, from which he played a fantastic rendition of Mystic Mountain, a fitting spotifyable slice of this evening's offering.
Next up was solo Ryley Walker who sarcastically quipped " it should be easy following those two raging bands". The evolution of Ryley is striking, from the early Brit folk meanderings of Primrose Green to the recent Thurston Moorey items on Deafman Glance, his output showcases his restless spirit. Kind of an asshole ( a quality that I admire in an artist), Ryley enjoys interacting with the crowd verbally with one exchange commenting on CT's moniker of the Nutmeg State, and it's infamous resident Vince Mc Mahon. The music on this evening was electric guitar noodling, he claimed he got some toys for Christmas. He did play The Roundabout from his excellent 2016 release and welcomed the entire crew onstage for a drone-psych finale.

Bassoonarama 12/16/19 Sudler Hall

Wouldn't be Christmas season without an installment of Dr. Frank Morelli's bassoon class doing their annual holiday recital. The 2019 concert was "Happy Anniversaries", a musical stroll through some important dates. In 1894, the Yale fight song Boola Boola March hit the charts (via pony express I guess). The tune sounded as if it was made for 8 bassoons. In 1969, yes you heard right, women were first admitted to Yale. In honor of this woefully out of date date, Morelli accompanied the female bassoonists in his class. In 1924, the former dean and professor of composition Ezra Laderman was born. Laderman composed a solo piece for his student and protege Morelli. In 1678, Antonio Vivaldi was born. The male members of the troupe performed a couple of movements of the Concierto in C major. In 1969, the first of the Godfather movies was released. Scored by the peerless Nino Rota, the bassoon crew played the Godfather waltz, the Godfather theme, Michael's theme and the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana. All of these selections were familiar and striking in the hands of the crew. Also in 1969, the world watched the moon landing. In homage to this event, the bassoons played Fly Me to the Moon and Moonlight Serenade. In 1969, Sesame Street began, you probably don't remember the episode where Big Bird says " what the cluck is going on here?, you mean women can't go to Yale?! Boola Boola my ass!". In honor of this great show, the bassoons played Rubber Duckie. The final date was 1919, the year that Yale changed its official color from green to blue. The medley started with Kermit's Bein' Green, on to Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo, and ending with the Elvis classic Blue Christmas. The sight and sound of multiple bassoons having fun means Christmas to me.

Patty Larkin 12/15/19 mActivity

Patty Larkin is a singer songwriter from Wellfleet. On this evening, Patty played what happens to be the final concert at mActivity. Turns out that the gym hours bump in to Fernando's East Rock Concert Series. Patty has amassed a decent body of work over the past 30 years. The "Regrooving The Dream" record would be a desert island pick for me, and her live album "A Go Go" gives a good view of her live experience. In scrolling through her discography, one sees that Patty  works and re works tunes over the years. Setlist included: Best of Intentions, Chained to These Loving Arms, Coming Up For Air, Tango, Dear Heart, Beg To Differ. Show highlights were the self-deprecating Don't and the closer Book I'm Not Reading. Encored with a frenetic rendition of Me And That Train. Yes, we " believe girls can play guitar".

Lage Lund Trio 12/6/19 Firehouse 12

Norwegian born Lage (pronounced Log-A) Lund on hollow body guitar was joined by Will Vinson on sax and Orlando Le Fleming on standup bass. I am a fan of Scandic ( maybe Nordic) jazz. Clean picking, melodic sax, and sturdy bass was more composed than improvised. Lage said that one tune was recorded with Kurt Elling on vocals, with lyrics penned by his wife. Lund has also done a stint with Maria Schneider's big band, so the modern composition is in his wheel house. The tunes sometimes veered into a jazz-Americana feel, like what I enjoy from Erik Friedlander. Final tune was from one of the greatest composers of all time, Morning Glory by the inimitable Duke Ellington.

Anbessa Orchestra w/ Nick Dimaria's Wired 11/20/19 State House

Local trumpeter Nick Dimaria has assembled a hip cast of local jazzbo's to flesh out his Wired project. A friend said that Dimaria fashions the sound after Mwandishi- era Herbie Hancock. 70s horn driven big band funk is an apt jumping off point for this sextet. Organ, guitar, athletic drummer, bass, and sax join Dimaria's trumpet for a full blast that gives the individual players room to stretch out. I recognized the wool-capped sax blower from a recent multiplex skronk-off. Bass man
was steady, even giving rise to dubby backdrop for one tune. On some sections, the music reminded me of long lost British prog-jazz-rock outfit If. Closing tune was the title track from their excellent new release Mr. Millenial's Revenge.
Anbessa Orchestra came exactly as billed. Young crew steeped in the traditions of 60s-70s era Ethiopian funk. Guitarist and leader seemed a little older than the 20-something band mates. The group consisted of organ, drums, bass, trumpet, sax/flute, baritone sax, and guitar. The leader talked of specific scale structure and some historical context. The music was straight-up instrumental trance African. I had pleasant flashes of Antibalas and The Budos Band. What is it about the musical melting pot of Brooklyn that gives birth to all of these groups? Access? Pool of talent? No matter, this matching suited crew of African music acolytes cruised through their high energy set. Trumpeter was a site to see, dancing and bobbing his way through tunes, dude was definitely buggin. Wish there was more in attendance for this truly danceable set.

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet 11/8/19 Firehouse 12

I take it for granted that Firehouse 12, a New Haven haven for improvised music,  is a magnet for top quality music exploration. Cornet player Taylor Ho Bynum is a progenitor of the venue, musically, and I think financially. The crew he assembled, is the Firehouse home team. Joined by Jim Hobbs on sax, Bill Lowe on tuba and trombone, Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Ken Filiano on bass, and Mary Halvorsen on guitar, the sextet explored one long piece for the second set. Most of these musicians have some tutelage from the great Anthony Braxton, and it shows. One section had Bynum doing a circular breathing workout, another section had the brass "laughing" through cup mutes and plungers. The bass was furious providing some funk backdrop with Fujiwara. Much of the piece had some duo doing a lyrical passage under some improvised blowing.

Multiplex 5 10/27/19 State House

Another early Sunday show featuring regional improv musicians curated by local skronksters Bob Gorry and Joe Morris. I missed the first group. The second outfit had a young man on clarinet and baritone sax, two drummers, and big fella on guitar. The two drummer assault was the perfect backdrop for the reedman and fuzzed out guitar. The guitar was creepy ( in keeping with the season), completely black, strings, knobs, fretboard, even the player was clad in black. The sound was sludgy fuzz that didn't even sound like a guitar, as if this man was playing batman's flamethrower. After the set, this guitarist sat next to me and I queried him on his axe. He talked of an 8 string setup with odd placement of the additional strings. The third group had Bob Gorry on guitar, Vance Provey on trumpet, and Paul Gunsberg on drums, sax, and pocket cornet. I've seen Gorry many times and am always impressed with the improv interplay. With trumpet and drums, the sound was jazzier than the first group. The drummer got out from behind the kit to play the final song on pocket cornet ( that's what I'm calling it), a mini trumpet that echoed then complemented the trad trumpeter. The final duo was upstate New York denizen Jamie Saft on mellotron and Joe Morris on drums. Morris' primary instrument is guitar, but he took to the kit for this outing. Saft is a sight to behold with a ZZ Top beard and looked like he was having fun on the keys. Morris, on the other hand, had the wondered look of of a teenager on January 10th, who had been given a drum set for Christmas. Please examine Saft's bio, from the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack to Loneliness Road ( with some Iggy Pop), to a dub workout with legendary noisoids Merzbow. On driving to the show, I spied Saft and Morris walking near the green and passed on a perfect opportunity to kook them by saying that I was with the FBI Special Avant Garde Jazz Unit and that they were in violation of all tonality laws.

Mike Watt and The Missingmen 10/10/19 Spaceland Ballroom

Unfortunately missed Northampton freak collective Sunburned Hand Of The Man's opening set on this evening. I did have a flashback of seeing them at Bar back in the day. It was a December show and they pinched a Christmas tree somewhere, donned drum and cymbal cases on their heads, and oozed their freak prog-noise assault while dancing around the tree in some sort of blotto pagan ritual.

Anywho, the main ingredient on this evening is another freak of nature Mike Watt. Driving up from San Pedro in the 80s, Watt formed the seminal LA hardcore outfit  The Minuteman with D. Boon and George Hurley. Rated as one of the top 20 bassists of all time, Watt was joined by longtime cohort Tom Watson on guitar and youngster Nick Aguilar on drums, the Missingmen. Looking at Watt's discography, you realize that he has been a part of many rock and punk acts, Porno For Pyros, The Stooges, Ciccone Youth just to name a few. His mind bending bass playing was buoyed by Watson's angular guitar and Aguilar's incessant drumming. When Watt introduced the young drummer, he said he went to high school with his dad. The stage setup was egalitarian, drums up front flanked by bass and guitar. The mush mouthed singing style of Watt reminded me of a punk version of the tobacco chewing sheriff in the Smoky and the Bandit movies, it was truly difficult to understand what he was saying. There are no sing along " hits" associated with this artist, the songs veered from punk  speediness to beat poetry angularity. Watson's vocal style was reminiscent of Fred Schneider. Encored with some Stooges TV Eye. Watt listed some influences, Fogerty, Buck Dharma ( from Blue Oyster Cult), with a dash of Pete Townsend, good company indeed. Just so the crowd didn't lose the free jazz angle, Watt left the stage and uttered one more name.....John Coltrane.

Luna 10/3/19 Spaceland Ballroom

Formed in 1991 after the demise of Galaxie 500, Dean Wareham on vocals and guitar assembled a true indie pop gem. With Sean Eden on lead guitar, Britta Phillips on bass, and Lee Wall on drums the crew was in good form after a decade-long hiatus. With trademark NYC snarkiness and odd literate lyrics, the mid 90s saw a string of critically acclaimed hits that drew comparisons to the Velvet Underground and Television. I saw them at the skater hangout The Tune-in (R.I.P.) on a sweltering sold out show and then again open for Lou Reed at the Palace. Wareham name-checked the Lou Reed show saying that his amp and microphone were stolen (" seemed like an inside job"). No one made it out of the 90s without an Andy mix CD containing the churning 23 Minutes in Brussels. Other nuggets Sideshow By the Seashore, Bewitched, Pup Tent were all great. Encored with their amazing lo-fi take on Donovan's Season of the Witch which I first heard off the equally amazing I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack that contains contributions by an early Wilco and Yo La Tengo. As with that recording, Luna is in that league.

Nobide w/ Polluter 9/23/19 Cafe 9

Polluter is a regional jam trio who bill themselves as " demented blues rock". Solid drums and bass back up epic guitar noodling. Expansive jams would ebb and flow and eventually lead into a guitar psych-out. This band reminded me of the not-jazz, not-rock, not-jam but all three meanderings of  another regional outfit The Slip. Maybe it was the trucker hatted hipness of the guitarist.
Nobide was an electronica trio from Denver. Three young kids in a van plying their trade on the East coast. Keys/laptops, sax, and metronomic drums was the layout. Keyboard player had many effects, bass qualities and looping abilities. The sax also had more pedals than he knew what to do with, often times you could tell it was a sax. The drummer kept perfect time and was essential to this dancey mix. This group was the same type of lineup as The Big Gigantic, and had similar control of the volume knob to keep the audience engaged.

Space Kadet 9/19/19 Cafe 9

Unfortunately missed local groove opener Strawberry Cheesesteak. Space Kadet is a noodley trio from GA. Drums, bass/laptop, and guitar was the lineup. The drummer thrashed and made a lot of noise with seemingly minimal effort. Bass had a five string setup that affords an extra level of flexibility. Bass player also used a computer to shade and add loop effects. Guitar player brought the noodle with speedy fills and runs. Space Kadet was yet another group sans vocals. It is difficult to hold a Monday night audience's interest without some vocal and songwriting. The tunes were mashups of familiar jams. I heard some Pink Floyd, 2001 Space Odyssey, and metal riffs pieced together with effects and jams. Space Kadet seems like a band better viewed late night at Camp Bisco with some chemical aid to the fray.

Shana Falana 9/9/18 Cafe 9

NY shoegaze rocker Shana Falana mixes pop, sludge, noise to create her self-described " druggy music by sober people".  Falana plays guitar, loops her vocals, and pogos in front of a video backdrop. Joined by a drummer, the songs veer from pop to punk. One tune started syrupy and pop like and ended with a sneering onslaught that reminded me of Entertainment-era Gang of Four. She played a Depeche Mode cover that I couldn't place.

Donna the Buffalo w/ Birds of Chicago 9/6/19 Edgerton Park

Annual CT Folkfest at Edgerton Park saw good weather and solid turnout. The music runs all day with a bevy of local folkies and some organic-centric food trucks. We arrived for Birds of Chicago, the brainchild of guitarist singer songwriter JT Nero and singer fiddler Allison Russell. On this evening they added a third musician on guitar. The acoustics could have been better but a good set from this young group. Russell was a solid singer and her stage presence reminded me of Rhiannon Giddens. They had a speedy jam workout for their finale which was great.
Donna The Buffalo has been satisfying the jam world since the early aughts. Had a fond memory of seeing them at a roots festival in Lowell MA in 2003. Jeb Puryear on guitar and vocals and Tara Nevins on fiddle, guitar, accordion, and vocals are the focal point of the troupe. Organ, drums, and bass round out the quintet. Good mix of Cajun informed, hippie folk, and lyrical nerdiness had the crowd swaying. Nice rendition of the Cash nugget Ring Of Fire. Heard a great interview with Nevins who said they had a recent bus breakdown and crowd funded a replacement in less than a month, the Internet is good for something.

Kaleta and The Super Yamba Band 8/8/19 The State House

Leon Ligan-Majek is a veteran Afrobeat and juju guitarist better known as Kaleta. He is credited with time in Fela's Egypt 80, King Sunny Ade's African Beats, and more recently spending time playing with Ms. Lauryn Hill. Kaleta has located the perfect backing ensemble, Brooklyn's Super Yamba Band. SYB is a loose collective of young Afrobeat acolytes who must have jumped at the chance to support this living lifeline to the originator of the genre. The group of hipsters had conga/ talking drum, drummer ( and band wrangler), bass, lead guitar, sax/ keys, trumpet to provide Kaleta's backdrop. The sound was pure danceable Afrobeat with all musicians double timing it on shakers or cowbells. Kaleta prowled the stage showing off his apprenticeship with the master which was dotted with a Toots Hibbert grunt and Fela-style "everybody say Ya Ya"s. Told a funny story of his brother locking him in a room with James Brown records. Afrobeat is an amalgam of African rhythms mixed in a stew of James Brown and Sly Stone for extended funk soul jams. Show highlight was the Fela cover "Black Man's Cry".

Newport Jazz Festival , Fort Adams 8/3/19

Beautiful weather this year brought the crowds to the NJF Saturday. Always difficult to remember all the great things I saw, but here goes:
Joel Ross and Goodvibes: Young man vibraphonist had cool dreads and sharp backing band. Claims to be a protege of vibes master Stefon Harris.
James Francies Flight: Saw this young man light up the keys when he played with Nate Smith at YUAG. Big man from Houston has played with Pat Metheny and the Roots, not bad for a 23 year old.
Jenny Scheinman and Allison Miller's Parlour Game: Jenny on violin and Allison on drums, with bass and piano brought some gypsy swing. Scheinman does a good guest spot on Christian McBride's Live At Tonic recording.
Ravi Coltrane and David Virelles: Downright creepy how much Ravi looks like the old man. I've seen him several times and he has grown into the chops sown by the late great. Virelles on piano was a real treat. Some middle-aged Lions right there.
Makaya Mckraven: Chicago drummer and self proclaimed "beat scientist", MM has studied with the masters (Yusef Lateef, Archie Shepp). Solid crew playing with him, if he introduced them I didn't hear.
Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Memphis Soulphony: Jazz vocalist Bridgewater has had a checkered career. Largely overlooked in the 70s, Dee Dee moved to France to hone her chops. Excellent tributes to Ella , Horace Silver, and Lady Day emerged. On this outing, Dee Dee pays tribute to her birthplace with a horn filled slice of classic R&B and soul tunes.
Buika: Critically acclaimed Spanish chanteuse, Buika gave us some jazz influenced flamenco fusion on the main stage.
Ron Carter Trio: Standup bass legend Carter's bio reads like a Who's Who in jazz. Part of Miles catalog, Monk and many others. I've read that he's credited on thousands of recordings. On this date he's joined by guitar and drums. Ron's recent recording has him paired with novelist, poet, and painter Danny Simmons.
Ghost Note: Spin-off from the Snarky Puppy collective, this percussion and horn heavy crew were an odd assemblage. Lead man on drums, guitar player dressed as a super hero, bass, two guys on saxes and flutes, and a keyboard player. They kept calling out the keys man to say that he was in Toto. While I find this hard to believe, I really can get behind a band that boasts a super hero, a little Asian guy, and a keys man from Toto. They didn't bless the rains down in Africa, but they could have.
Hailu Mergia: So much music at this festival that they feel compelled to set up a tiny stage in a room in the fort and call it the Storyville stage. The headliner at this stage was Ethiopian accordionist Mergia who had some success in the 70s. The room was packed so we had to listen through the wall, sounded jamming, should have been outside.
Hancock, McBride, Colaiuta: The festival always lets me check at least one jazz legend off my must view list. On this day, Herbie Hancock ruled. Mostly piano, but some organ, he played his early monster composition Dolphin Dance and an awesome rendition of Footprints written by his friend Wayne Shorter. Joined by festival organizer and general jazz man about town Christian Mc Bride on bass and veteran drum wizard Vinnie Colaiuta. Hancock just turned 79, he did not look or act it.
Kamasi Washington: The Saturday closed with the Afro- futuristic jazz of Kamasi Washington. Joined by his regular crew, female vocalist, multiple drummers, monster bass, his father Ricky on sax and flutes, and Kamasi at the center of the maelstrom channeling Sun Ra and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane in the same circular breath.

Cycles w/ The Alpaca Gnomes 7/29/19 Cafe 9

Local gnome-hatted groovers AG are ever present in jam oriented shows. Whether I'm standing with them in the crowd, or they are on stage plying the jams, AG implies a hippie presence that I usually felt at the Vibes festivals. While I missed most of their set, there was enough pixie dust in the air to welcome Cycles. A true power trio, Cycles consisted of guitar/ loop pedals, furious slap bass, and multi-genre frenetic drumming. Like many in this genre, their woeful singing/ songwriting capabilities took a way back seat to their instrumental prowess. The guitar player was stellar and could easily switch from Jeff Beck to Eddie Van Halen to Jimmy Herring. At times, the loop pedal sound distortions detracted from his game. The bass player loped and slapped his way through songs reminding me of Rob Derhak from jam originalists moe. The bass also had some Claypoolian thumpery that could give tunes a sinister edge. The drummer kept pace with it all, shading funk and hiphop where necessary. The big question is what to do when you know you can't sing, Cycles took the approach of sampling people who can sing and blending them through the loop effect. One rap tune that audience members under 30 seemed to know was chopped and screwed to sound like a fourth member. Show highlight was Madonna's "Ray Of Light" put through the sequencer. Spotify this tune from 2001 GHV2 Madonna release and imagine an ecstasy-fueled jam blowout of the tune. Maybe Cycles should get Madonna to guest vocal.

Martin Courtney w/ Ryley Walker 7/23/19 Spaceland Ballroom

It is rare to go to a show and be very interested in the opener and have no knowledge of the headliner. On this evening, I made it to the Ballroom early to catch the force of nature known as Ryley Walker. Spotify Ryley and you get a mash of Brit-folk, raga-space, and guitar histrionics that are difficult to discern from your streambox. Catch him live and you see a self deprecating guitar wizard dotted with hysterical inter song banter. The last time I saw Ryley, a native Chicagoan, was the marathon final game of the World Series in which the Cubs won. The game lasted so long, with a rain delay, we were the last two in the bar. Good set this evening pulling from his several releases: Roundabout from The Halfwit In Me, and a stellar Primrose Green ( check that album cover for a cheeky homage to Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece). The highlight was an extended raga infused If I Were A Carpenter, the Tim Hardin one, not the sucky imitators. I urge readers to deeply listen to this artist, gems abound.
Martin Courtney is the front man for the indie band Real Estate. He has a solo record and was praised by Ryley as a "great songwriter". I didn't get that sense, he seemed like a lo-fi Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie. The songs were stripped down and Martin seemed uncomfortable sans the clubby millennial mope-core that usually occupies his audience. Martin would do well to imitate Ryley and drink a big glass of Idon'tgiveaFuck before the show. Maybe I should follow my own advice and give Martin a deep listen.

Ali McGuirk w/ Dharmasoul 7/11/19 Wellfleet Preservation Hall

Countless summer walks had me go by this venue located in the town center of our favorite Cape Cod destination. So nice serendipity to see some live music in its basement concert space. Dharmasoul is a duo of guitar/ vocals and drums. Caught the last few tunes of their set, bluesy and soulful, not what you might expect from these decidedly nerdy white guys. The singing was capable but the guitar licks were large.
Ali McGuirk is a young singer songwriter who played electric guitar. Her choppy playing style was excellently off set by her monstrous vocal delivery. Many songs from the 2017 offering Slow Burn. The mournful heft off her singing style belied her age. Wonderfully screwed down deconstruction of the Dionne Warwick/ Burt Bacharach concoction I Say A Little Prayer. AM pulled the Dharmasoul crew on stage for her second set. At first, her solo-oriented guitar style clashed with the DS axe man. After a tune or two, she deferred the guitar shading and focused on her strong suit, singing. Closed with an obscure Bill Withers tune that I could not place.

Erin McKeown 6/30/19 mActivity

Final show of the spring concert series at mActivity had singer songwriter McKeown. Haven't seen her in many Newport Folkfests, Erin has made a wide and varied career. In 2018, Erin released the soundtrack to her musical Miss You Like Hell about an undocumented mother reconnecting with her daughter while traveling across the US. The opening tune was an acapella rendering of Mirrors Break Back. Good versions of Aspera, To The Stars, and The Queer Gospel. Erin gave props to being the last day of Pride month, but was quick to point out as a lesbian, every day is pride day. Good version of The Mountain Goats, Jenny. One of my favorites is Blackbirds, a bluesy start stop number that she has been playing for years. Whether on guitar or organ, Erin is a seasoned artist who has honed her talents over the past twenty years.

Bombadil 6/24/19 Cafe 9

Bombadil is a trio of young men from Durham ( one syllable, like Derm). Drums, bass/keys, and guitar was their configuration. The interesting component was that they all sang, all the time, on all songs. While the bass player seemed to sing lead on most tunes, the other guys were capable of taking the helm, contributing to harmonies, and adding nice vocal effects. The sound reminded me of the 70s, not quite the Beach Boys or America, but an old familiar jean jacket of a sound. A perfect cover came in the form of The Left Banke's 70s hit Walk Away Renee. A woman in front of me turned and said " they were adorable". While that wasn't the praise line these three were hoping for, they did have an easy going style that put them in a recent Relix " bands to watch" article.

Tanya Tagaq 6/20/19 College Street Music Hall

One of the few interesting performances associated with the unfortunately emaciated International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Tanya Tagaq is an Inuit avant garde vocal improviser, which must be a lonely category. Joined by drummer ( and pocket trumpeter) Jean Martin, Jesse Zubot on electric violin and synths, and Christine Duncan on vocals, synths and theremin, the group forged an hour of challenging improvised music. Tagaq's performances allege themes of environmentalism, human rights, and post colonial issues of indigenous peoples. I read that she accepted an award while standing in front of a video feed of thousands of  names of women "disappeared" by colonial intruders. Wordless vocalizations took the form of huffing, whinnying, child-like squiggles, and an unnerving exorcist rasp. Tagaq is a true performance artist as she prowled and pantomimed in conjunction with her sounds. In the improvised jazz realm, it seems that interplay, soloing, and return to a common theme is the modus operandi. In this setting, Tagaq was central, and the other musicians had to cue off her sounds. At one point, violin and tribal drumming seemed the perfect backdrop. Tanya must be exhausted at the end of a set due to the continual full body contact of her art. I was interested to see the cue to stop and it turned out to be a sigh ( which was not heard previously), as if she was saying " damn, I made it through another performance!"

Nadah El Shazly, Reduction Plan, Stefan Christenson 6/6/19 State House

The deal with the State House is that the music starts approximately one hour after they list on the website. With this in mind, one can navigate the start times of the main act. On this evening I saw all three performances. Stefan Christenson is a local knob twiddler who is part of the incestuos noise avant rock scene that includes The Mountain Movers, Headroom et. al. A lefty guitarist, SC creates noisy static-laden loops with some kind of an old lo-fi noise box then layers guitar shards over them. Occasional lyrics reminded me of the simplicity of Madcap Laughs-era Syd Barrett.
SC was joined on stage by Alexander ( aka David Shapiro) on guitar and drummer to get noisier and call themselves the Reduction Plan. A power trio of sorts, RP played one extended song sequence that showcased dueling guitars and drums.
Nadah El Shazly is an Egyptian (Cairo to be specific) electronic sound artist. I have seen her posted on some great international festivals like Le Guess Who. She played a modified keyboard with synth board and sang in her native tongue. She was joined by a young man on sax and Shayna Dulberger on standup bass. The sounds were modern and exotic, NES coaxed some middle eastern sounds from the synths. Dulberger was half the size of her instrument but was able to fling it around with ease. The sax man was understated, rhythm sax if you will, but offered good shading to the sounds. NES's 2017 release was produced by Montreal electronic wizard Sam Shalabi. Decent crowd on hand to welcome this globe-trotting artist.

Brian Krock's LIDDLE 5/31/19 Firehouse 12

Final event of the Firehouse spring set had Krock on sax and clarinet, Olli Hirvonen on guitar, Marty Kenney on bass, and Nathan Ellman-Bell on drums.  A full sound with Krock's explorations out front. It was amazing to see the other three move from traditional jazz backing to a churning prog-metal canvas to accept the sax and clarinet work. Hirvonen was great and would be interested to see him in other contexts. The clarinet veered from snake-charmer to bandsaw mode. A couple tunes had titles based on James Joyce references, and Krock told a story about meeting modern classical composer Elliot Carter at his 103rd birthday party. Krock gave a shout out for his other band, Big Heart Machine which alleges to be some sort of prog-metal big band.

Meat Puppets w/ Sumo Princess 5/14/19 Spaceland

California duo Sumo Princess consisted of a guy on drums and a woman (the SP?) on bass and vocals. Like the Meat Puppets, these two were no spring chickens. The woman's bass had some distortion pedals that made her sound like a guitarist who played low notes, the definition of bass I guess. The drummer kept a frantic pace and hit the skins with such force that his kit might be "single use". The woman had leopard print pants, a shirt with a ghost emoji, and some misplaced bangles that put forth a scary "don't fuck with me" persona. The vocals vacillated between Julia Child warble and riot grrl snarl.
I had never seen the Meat Puppets back in their heady start in the 80s and 90s. A couple viewings in recent years have made me appreciate their arc and longevity. Arizona-based brothers Kurt and Chris Kirkwood were joined this outing by their original drummer, Chris' son Elmo on rhythm guitar and vocals, and a keyboard player. The sound can best be described as "desert-country-punk-grunge-psych". The brothers must be in their 50s and are gray and grizzled like a couple of grunge Moses's who have witnessed the burning bush. In this case, the burning bush was being pals with and touring with Nirvana ( and a late great Kurt). The songs Plateau and Lake of Fire are firmly etched on Nirvana's Unplugged recording and were highlights on this evening. Their recent recording Dusty Notes, a mixture of country and punk templates were jumping off points for Kurt's almost Hendrixian guitar psych noodlings. The venue was packed to get a glimpse of these truly original artists. I heard a snippet of a 90s interview with Kurt who said" I don' t know man, I just wanna play music and connect people with my imagination".

Here Lies Man 4/30/19 Cafe 9

If a band bio describes them as melding Afrobeat and metal, with a guitarist from Antibalas and The Daktaris, you know that will get me out of my chair. Here Lies Man, an LA based quartet, boasts such a pedigree. Guitar and frontman Chico Mann (aka Marcos Garcia) led the charge with crunchy fretwork and vocals. Joined by keys, bass, and drums, it was hard to draw the line to Afrobeat, which usually implies more bodies and horns. No matter, the sound was infectious. One tune started out like Locomotive Breath, while another had strains of Mississippi Queen. The Afrobeat parallel could best be attributed to the drummer Geoff Mann, who is the son of jazz flute legend Herbie Mann, and was reminiscent of Ginger Baker's stint with Fela. The bassist had long hair and rose colored glasses with an extendo- strap that made it look like he was tickling the back of his knee when he played. The keys were understated but added positive shading in the form of creepy wind noises at the beginning and end of some tunes. Many tunes were pulled from HLM's recent release You Will Know Nothing. It would have been nice to get an explanation of the band's moniker.

Multiplex 4/28/19 State House

Another afternoon of uneasy listening courtesy of  local skronksters Bob Gorry and Joe Morris. First up was Ann Rhoades and Adam Matlock with a trio of local teenagers billed as Gneiss. Disciples of Anthony Braxton, Ann and Adam conducted the youngsters with a series of hand gestures. I got a peek at the sheet music, which was circular, and looked like a star chart. The teenagers, two young women on flute and clarinet and a young man on guitar followed the dizzying conducting. Matlock and Rhoades fresh off vocal detail on Braxton's recent 20 CD "opera", were weird bookends to the group. Ann chirped and giggled, sometimes looking like an avant garde ventriloquist, moving her mouth only slightly shading the improv with vocals. Adam, who also played accordion, sounded like a crazy-haired love child of Paul Robeson and Frankenstein.
Next in line was a trio of Morris on guitar, Carl Testa on standup bass, and Mike Pride on marimba. Morris' spider like hands are familiar at the State House. Testa was all over the bass, bowing and plucking all surfaces of the instrument. Center stage was Pride on marimba, he had many types of mallets that coaxed all manner of sounds from the marimba.
The third group was Gorry on a sweet hollow body guitar paired with local legend Stan Nishimaura on trombone. Gorry seemed psyched to pair with the tiny Asian octogenarian. One might think Stan would play soft given his age, but in fact some bleeps and blaps felt like a face slap.
The final group was Morris on standup bass, Paul Gunsberg on drums and soprano sax, and Chicago- based fireball Jaimie Branch on trumpet. Branch's recent release Fly Or Die, topped many jazzbos best of the year in 2018. Jaimie's delivery was all growl and gut punch with some excellent plunger mute work. The take home lesson was the wide berth of viewers and players. From the African American teens to the 80 year Nishimaura, jazz improv players and fans come in all stripes. Not all of us are hatched from a nest behind the train station.

Nate Smith and Kinfolk 4/14/19 Yale Art Gallery Theater

YUJC is the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective, a bunch of well-connected nerds that put on an awesome free jazz festival every spring. In recent years, Nicholas Payton and piano giant Randy Weston have been on their bills. Drummer Smith and band; sax, organ, guitar, bass, and a young woman vocalist made up the sextet. Nate is a monster drummer with speedy fills and an odd style of cymbal muffling. He threw his tricep part of his arm to the far (audience) part of the cymbal which may have been more timing than musical effect. He took one solo with one arm, the other shading with a hand shaker. Sax ( soprano and alto), was helmed by young lion Jalil Shaw. More Cannonball than Coltrane, Shaw oozed a lot of notes into his solo spots. Did not recognize the big guy on organ, but he was very capable in his craft. The rhythm section of funk guitar and Brooklyn Funk Essentials bass player Fima Ephron, gave the sound a more funk-soul feel. The vocalist, while capable, seemed like a distracting add-on. I often have problems with jazz vocals. Even the late great Ella Fitzgerald recorded some questionable efforts ( are we to believe that Ella would say something like " you like oysters and I like ersters"?, please, just call the whole thing off). Smith's Grammy nominated effort Postcards was highlighted on this fine afternoon of jazz. Kudos to the nerds for arranging this annual event.

Robyn Hitchcock 4/13/19 The Kate Old Saybrook

First time at this beautiful old theater in the heart of Old Saybrook. Trippy Brit-folk legend Hichcock played two full sets of music to a near capacity crowd. The first set featured Robyn on acoustic and some harmonica. From the solo material; I Often Dream of Trains, Mad Shelley's Letterbox, Virginia Woolf, to material from the Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians era; Balloon Man, Madonna of the Wasps, Queen Elvis, and I'm sure some seminal Soft Boys material thrown in for good measure. Robyn is a true performer, like a cross between Robin Williams and Salvador Dali, his often outrageous inter-song banter is worth seeing. He conjured up some omniscient sound woman named Patricia who was tasked with making him sound "like a sober David Crosby", or "double the reverb minus the delay". In the second set, he launched into this Alice in Wonderland-type tale of his cat Tubby, who had one- eye and flew a single engine bi-plane round the world at the request of Bryan Ferry's butler, who needed to keep the foppish bard in constant supply of hair products. You can't make this stuff up, well, if you are Robyn Hitchcock you can. It seems that several decades of psychedelics have bestowed him with a continual flow of acid flashbacks that color his live performance. The second set saw him bring Emma Swift on stage for some beautiful harmony vocals. Many songs seemed to lean on the imagery of a hotel (glass hotel, flesh hotel), potent in this modern world of anti-immigrant and who gets to stay where mentality. Robyn then switched to piano, which sounded great in the small hall. Encored with nods to his mentors, a fantastic piano rendition of Pink Floyd's Astronomy Domine and John Lennon's God.

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets 4/12/19 Oakdale

What constitutes a super fan ? Listening to Lucifer Sam through the wall of your sister's room (1975), coveting your vinyl only copy of Dark Side of The Moo (sic) (1988), or purchasing a costly but worth it LP A Perfect Pair (2019)? Maybe it is watching Nick Mason and crew plow through early Pink Floyd material to a devoted corps of aging rock fans. Everyone has a point in their musical appreciation trajectory to which a phenom happened just prior to their awakening ( would have been painful to cajole my mom into driving me to Shea Stadium and wait to drive me home). So it is a welcome concert to see under-appreciated Floyd drummer Mason, bass, two guitarists, keys, play songs that were out of my concert realm but definitely in my conscious realm. Interstellar Overdrive, Lucifer Sam, Remember a Day, One of These Days, Fearless, Nile Song,, Arnold Layne, See Emily Play, Bike, Let There Be More Light, Childhood's End, Set The Controls, Astonomy Domine, even Vegetable Man ( unearthed from The Screaming Abdab days?), closed with Saucerful. I'm sure I'm missing things, the point is that no one, I mean no one, could escape the 80s without an Andy Burke mixtape with Childhood's End happily seared on to a tdk 90. The band was able, bass player Pratt played Water's part after the split, one guitarist was from Ian Dury's band, the other and lead singer was in Spandau Ballet ( no sniggering, because, well, this much is true-hoo). Pratt introduced Remember A Day as having been written by his son's grandfather, which sent the audience into a phone-induced search-a-verse (Pratt is married to original keys man Richard Wright's daughter Gaia). The animosity has tamed, Mason said that Water's never sanctioned a gong solo but now it was ok to willingly launch one. It's becoming clear, Mason and I are reaching and childhood may have yet to find it's end.

Brooks Williams w/ Mark Zaretsky 4/7/19 mActivity New Haven

Mark is a local blues wailer and harmonica ace. Recently saw him perform with WPKN's legendary DJ Mark Naftalin (R&R hall of Famer for his stint in The Butterfield Blues Band). Mark travels with dozens of harps because each is in a different key. Fortunate to see his Sandy Hook fueled rant " Put The Gun Down".
Been looking forward to this one for a while. I told Brooks that his easy going version of Shady Grove is in high rotation in my ears. Solo acoustic and National Steel guitar were effortlessly plucked by this instructional video superstar. Told the crowd that he lived in New Haven as a kid, he thinks he went to ECA ( like me). Based in Georgia, it was a natural fit to play Statesboro Blues. Setlist included some Sister Rosetta Tharp tunes, Kristofferson's No One Wins, a tune he wrote for but wasn't picked by Michael Buble, Rock Me, Gambling Man, Mercury Blues, spoke of a foray into the Smithsonian Folkways archives to study Sittin On Top of the World a tune that can morph from bluegrass to blues, Walk You Off My Mind, closed with Zaretsky on the mighty Hesitation Blues.

Baby Gramps 4/4/19 Cafe 9

Oxymoronic folkie, or maybe an old folkie moron gakked out on Oxy, Seattle-based Baby Gramps was quite the character. Armed with a National Steel guitar, vocals, vocal stylings ( including percussive sounds and lo-fi throat singing) and a dumpster full of stories, Gramps has been lauded as in the top 100 most influential American musicians. More Gramps than baby, BG looked like a cross between Dr. John and Eugene Chadbourne. Gramps recent claim to fame was touring the magnificent Rogues Gallery cache of pirate songs culled and overseen by Jonny Depp, would have liked to be a psilocybin-infused fly on that wall. Seems that Gramps was a denizen of Greenwich Village in the early 60s ( see Inside Llewyn Davis for a glorification of this time and space), referencing opening for Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. His stories oozed authenticity, sang a perfect Visions of Johanna as if he was in the room at it's inception. Industry insider or homeless guy peering in the window when an ancient reel tape of Farewell Angelina was unearthed that had the Dylan-scrawled title "Alcatraz to the 9th Degree", Gramps seemed to get around. Plugging Seattle's answer to Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot, BG brought a young melodica blower out to shade some tunes and crab about a $7 royalty check he received from playing with Phish. BG also claimed to have recorded with Peter Stampfel and The Holy Modal Rounders who were the first band to have been billed as "psychedelic". Closed with a lysergic-addled medley of the Kinks All Day and All of the Night into Lotus Blossom and finally an audience participation Louie Louie. Gramps said The Kingsmen and  Louie Louie put Seattle on the musical map and chortled at the FBI investigating the song's lyrics for hidden subversive meaning, sounds like some 2019 governmental lunacy.

& More ( Chill Moody and Donn T) 4/1/19 Cafe 9

& More is the ampersandific combination of Philly rapper Chill Moody and African American soulstress Donn T. Helped by a drummer and laptop twiddler, these two were the hiphop answer to Sonny and Cher. Moody spit socially conscious rhymes while Donn complemented with a soulful croon. Only in existence for a couple of years, these cats played for Michelle Obama at her birthday bash, and name check Chuck D. on their forthcoming release "Ethel Bobcat". Moody explained EB is a concept album focusing on the wisdom of a grandmotherly character that we all can relate to. Donn was a sight to behold, she danced through the crowd and on stage with a Gladys Knight pantsuit and an Angela Davis fro. Keep an eye out for these two, they seem destined for bigger things.

Noura Mint Seymali w/ Prince Royal 3/22/19 State House

Local roots reggae purveyor Prince Royal opened this evening of world beat. 24 year old Royal is from St. Catherine Jamaica and his vocal delivery bears this out. Fronting his band Souls of Zion, a mixed race bag of reggae acolytes who provided the backdrop for Royal's skank. Two keyboard players, sax, drums, and blue-eyed guitar and bass were deft in the craft. Royal's singing and stage movements reminded me of Winston Rodney, leader of Burning Spear. Every so often, Royal would say "dub-wise", and the crew would spin out some echo and reverb-laden " space" that called to mind the diddlings of Scientist or Lee Perry. It seems that the key to authentic reggae is how little the English speaker can discern from the Jamaican accent-drenched delivery of the toaster ( I got things like " me muddah and me faddah), with this in mind Prince Royal fits the bill. Jah.....Rastafari.
Mauritanian singer Noura Mint Seymali has been lighting up the world music charts in recent years. Raised in a musical griot tradition, Noura has a booming singing voice. With her husband on modified guitar, brother on bass (apparently the original bass player had visa problems getting to the US, natch), and drummer band wrangler from Philly, this group spun some traditional music steeped in desert blues, and psych. Singing in her native tongue, many of the tunes had a call and response nature, either with her husband or the crowd. It was fascinating to see the universal nature of music with Noura urging the crowd to mimic her vocals. The near capacity crowd was either comprised of Yale's Mauritanian Song and Dance Appreciation Society (sic), or fans eager to get a glimpse of this original artist from across the globe. Pretty sure the latter.

Tomas Fujiwara Triple Double 3/15/19 Firehouse 12

Caught the second set from these six regional improv tricksters. Truly a triple-double, with Fujiwara and Gerald Cleaver on drums, flanked by Mary Halvorsen and Brandon Seabrook on guitar, anchored by Taylor Ho Bynum and Ralph Alessi on cornet and trumpet respectively. The interesting lineup was begging for like musicians to flow from complementary to competitive runs. Halvorsen and Seabrook traded barbs. Mary, seated , and nerdy as last review, had a pedal effect that made bent notes sound Asian, her solo stretching out like someone slipped some peyote into Wes Montgomery's tea. Seabrook was phenomenal, his herky-jerky movements made me think of Seinfeld's Kramer crossed with Elliot Sharp on skronk guitar. Bynum, oozing hipster cool, played multiple cornets, one of them was blue. He should write a jazz improv kids book entitled The Blue Cornet, it would sell. The drummers leaned on complimentary playing. The understated force of one drummer using brushes while the other struck with mallets was palpable. The headshot of this triple double has them wearing Boston Celtics jerseys. While they seem entirely school-able on the hardwood, I wouldn't want to face them on the court of jazz improv, where they are Allstars.

Joe Russo's Almost Dead 3/14/19 College Street Music Hall

The hippies descended on New Haven for a sold out JRAD session at College Street. Russo on drums, Marco Benevento on a Rick Wakeman-sized keyboard setup, two guitars and bass filled the hall with sound. Two sets of Grateful Dead and inspired improv from these torchbearers of jam. First set highlights: Feel Like A Stranger, Candyman, and Bertha. Ever the Cheshire Cat, Marco a musical omnivore, teases his way in and out of many songs. At times, it seemed hard for the support staff to keep up with his Robin Williams ricochet. The second set started with Neil Young's Vampire Blues, swooped into a Blues For Allah anchored set into Minglewood Blues. These guys revel in the segueway, at one point playing a rousing Beatles' Hey Bulldog that moved from some Allman's keyboard workout. Closed with the mighty Terrapin. At the risk of wearing my old fogey status on my sleeve, I do remember The Duo which was Benevento-Russo  in the early aughts at the birth of jam. At a ski lodge in Great Barrington, I sat on Marco's speaker with a handful of jam disciples watching these two develop their chops. They've come a long way baby.
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Dead Horses w/ Honeysuckle 3/5/19 Cafe 9

Note to promoters and concert venues, the way the show is billed should reflect the order of the evening's acts. This is the second time this year where I went to a show and missed the headliner because they went on first. Dead Horses is an Americana folk duo from Wisconsin. I only caught the tail end of their set, because they went on first.
Honeysuckle is a MA-based string band trio. Big fella on banjo and acoustic guitar, another guy on mandolin, and a young woman on acoustic guitar and lead vocals. The girl looked nerdy and unassuming, but when she sang a full throated alto like Norah Jones came out. Songs were mostly sad and folkie, but the band had a wry sense of humor. One song was about how the banjo player "loves his phone", another was about a "canary resuscitator". This band would be a pleasant acquisition to any folk festival lineup.

Deerhunter w/ Mary Lattimore 2/23/19 College St. Music Hall

LA-based harpist Lattimore is an in-demand or maybe indie-indemand harp player who has backed many rock bands. Mary also has quite a pedigree of soundtrack scores. Coming from the baroque freak folk Philly scene with bands like Espers and collaborations with Meg Baird, Mary has put the harp front and center. Unfortunately missed her brief set on this evening.
Deerhunter is an indie-psych-pop outfit from Atlanta. Led by enigmatic frontman Bradford Cox, DH has been struggling to be heard since the mid-aughts. The band was Cox on vocals/guitar, keys/sax, drums, bass, and lead guitar. The drummer had a metal edge, which gave an arena sound. The band reminded me of Spoon, Grizzly Bear, and Animal Collective. Pop nuggets often devolved into loud psych workouts. Many tunes were pulled from their recent release "Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?". Ended the show with their "hit", "He Would Have Laughed", which culminated in a frenzied light show noise-out that was great. Cox had this odd button on his mic which transformed his voice into a devilly rasp. At the encore, Cox came out to thank New Haven and Yale for gracing the world the most recent Supreme Court Justice Schlitz Kavanaugh. Using the devil rasp and a loop pedal, Cox chanted "I Went To Yale" and "I Like Beer" (Kavanaugh tag lines for the un-initiated) into a beelzebub MAGA rally, chilling.

Lily and Madeleine 2/18/19 Cafe 9

L and M are sisters from Indianapolis who now reside in hipster Mecca Brooklyn. The group was a quartet with the sisters on keys, guitar and vocals joined by a young woman on cello and lead guitar, and a female drummer. The songs were lush angsty pop for the most part, but veered into psych and even some disco at times. The cello was electric but the sound was decidedly cellish, which shaded the intensely personal lyrics. L and M said their forthcoming release was produced by the Nashville duo that worked on the Grammy nominated Kacey Musgraves album. I don't have to confess that pop music is not my thing ( I thought Cardi B was a rum drink with Red Bull!), but an interesting interview with the psilocybin chomping pop country crossover star Musgraves  made me open to the genre. L and M's vocals were the center point of their sound, most tunes started with one or the other solo then moved to beautiful harmony vocals. While listening, I was struck by the obvious genetic homologous nature of these two sibling singers. The sisters just came off a stint at CBS this Morning and you get a sense that they are bound for larger things.

Bill Frisell Solo Fairfield Theater Company 2/15/19

Thanks to a friend for gifting a pair of tickets to see jazz guitar master Frisell. Unbelievably, this is my first encounter with FTC. An intimate seated venue with excellent views was a perfect place to see Bill. The Frisell catalog is long and varied, Spotify him and you are just as likely to get a skronk workout with the likes of Wadada Leo Smith and Andrew Cyrille or a dreamy jazz cover of the surf nugget Pipeline. Frisell came of age in the 80s-90s Downtown Scene with luminaries like John Zorn and The Lounge Lizards. Bill looks like a nerdy, shy, grandpa armed with a simple electric guitar, some effects and loop pedals, and an unexplained cache of beanie baby moose. A true musical omnivore, the show unfolded like Frisell's Great American Songbook Armoire. I mean this in the sense that the songs are pulled from a drawer, laid on the bed, stretched, teased, sped up, slowed down, and presented in a Frisellian new context. Setlist included: Moon River, Ruby My Dear, Come On In My Kitchen (I think), Lush Life, My Funny Valentine. An excellent version of the Bond theme, You Only Live Twice made great use of the loop pedal. Half the fun of this show was trying to figure out the tune, Bill's shyness prevented him from speaking a word the whole evening. Ended the set with What The World Needs Now and encored with the Shenandoah-Somewhere Over The Rainbow medley.

Steve Gunn w/ Meg Baird, and Alexander 1/30/19 State House New Haven

Alexander, aka David Shapiro, was positively reviewed in the last blog post. Local musician showed different talents on this evening. Simple acoustic guitar instrumentals morphed into psych-tinged folk. Alexander played some banjo too. One tune was about a friend who moved to California, while another he had the audience envision Kath Bloom (legendary local fractured folkie with whom Alexander plays with) accompanying on recorder. Chatting with him between sets, I was struck by how positive and humble he is.
Meg Baird, from Philly, also played solo acoustic. Her vocal style reminded me of female Brit-folk like Sandy Denny or Linda Thompson. She had this great habit of sliding into notes for added vocal effect. Awesome cover of Neil Young by way of Emmylou Harris "Wrecking Ball". Meg played in the band Espers and Heron Oblivion as well as duetting with harpist Mary Lattimore that exhibits a more experimental and rocking vibe. Meg stayed on stage to play keys and sing backup for Steve.
I love Steve Gunn. He played instrumental music with his pal drummer John Trucsinski when opening for Kim Gordon last year. On this outing, Steve on guitars, James Elkington on guitar and pedal steel, Meg, drums and bass. Steve sang some fractured melodies mostly off his excellent new release, The Unseen In Between. Vagabond, New Moon, New Familiar were all great. Luciano, the song about a neighbor's cat was a favorite.

Ava Mendoza w/ Headroom 1/28/19 Cafe 9

Arrived at the 9 a little later than normal only to realize the evening's lineup had been jumbled. Unfortunately missed the entire set from solo guitarist Mendoza.  The website listing clearly had Ava as the headliner, but she went on first. A note to all establishments, please post a chalkboard with band names and times so as to not annoy your local blogger. I have seen Mendoza in the past and her angular chops reminded me of Marc Ribot. She has also guested on recordings by Sir Richard Bihop et. al.
I did get to see a full set by local fuzz warriors Headroom. The lineup has 3 guitars, bass and drums. Headroom is the brainchild of Kryssi Battalene ( sometimes DJ Kryssi B) who lays down dense layers of droney guitar with some spare vocals. Alexander aka David Shapiro is another axe-wielder. Rick Omonte, talent scout for the nearby State House, plays bass. Add another guitarist and drums and you have the makings for a noisy affair. The set started with their wordless, fuzz-drenched, shoegazey take on what sounds to be Wharf Rat. This band has chops and I urge their viewing and local support.

Multiplex 1/27/19 The State House, New Haven

Multiplex was an afternoon of regional jazz improvisers convening for a skronk fest. First up was New Haven Improv stalwarts Bob Gorry and Jeff Cedrone guitars, Adam Matlock on accordion, and Tom Hogan on drums. The quartet careened through their set, Cedrone squiggled and Gorry squaggled. Matlock, coming off a stint performing in Anthony Braxton's recent "opera", was a focal point. The accordion brings to mind the circus and Tom Waits, Matlock intervalled between speedy runs and slow screeches, his expression looked like a serial killer on Thorazine.
The second set was a young solo alto sax player named Chris Pitsiokos. The first tune unfolded like a Russian doll of sax improv with a layer of John Zorn giving way to a layer of Pharoah Sanders further unfolding to a juicy center of Roland Kirk. Pitsiokos was adept at the technique of circular breathing, the second tune was an avalanche of notes that had Chris playing for ten minutes without coming up for a breath. The dizzying pace and onslaught of noise was difficult to assess to just one musician. A frenetic staccato piece sounded like what I can only imagine to be what a pileated woodpecker connecting with ones eardrum would sound like, the woodpecker gave way to a repeated phrase of a car leaving a crime scene. Chris had this odd technique of snuffing out sound by moving the sax bell into his crossed knee.
The third group was local guru Joe Morris on guitar with Dan O'brien on clarinet and saxes. Morris, largely responsible for this outing spidered up and down the guitar neck while O'brien moved from clarinet to baritone sax...
 The final group was Damon Smith on double bass, Jeff Platz on guitar, Matt Crane on drums, and extra-terrestrial cornet player Stephen Haynes. Haynes used a variety of flower pots and pans to bend his sound. Happy to see this crew of like-minded jazzbos move this event from Real Art Ways to the local State House, a sandbox for musical outsiders to get together and wow with sound

Sun Parade w/ James Darling and The Nuclear Heartbreak 1/14/19 Cafe 9

JDATNH is a local power trio. Energetic guitar, bass, and drums with original songwriting. The band had a healthy local following in attendance. The sound was reminiscent of Green Day with sharp lyrics and a punk backdrop.
Sun Parade is a Northampton MA quintet. The sound pinged with a variety of influences. MGMT, Animal Collective and modern pop psych amalgam was a heady stew. Two guitar/vocalists, keys, bass, and drums were a tight knit group. The lead guys were complimentary, one was tall inked and gangly, the other was short spectacled and nerdy. They both had a falsetto delivery  which blended nicely with the psych noodlings.

Mdou Moctar/ Rob Noyes/ Major Stars 1/3/19 The State House

Caught the last frenzied tune of western Mass. psych outfit Major Stars. Crunching guitars, swirling hair, and sweat flew around the stage. Unfortunately earplugless, it was good to see this group's finale.
Rob Noyes is a monster 12-string picker from Cambridge who has been lauded in this blog before. Nerdy and seated, his approach to frenzied delivery comes in the form of speedy runs and note-heavy fills. His trance-like focus made me realize his disparate but logical pick for a second act. Rob told me once that he runs the warehouse for Forced Exposure, the now defunct zine that evolved into a punk, world, outsider music distributor in Boston. It would make sense that the FE people would be keen on Mdou Moctar.
It was a year and a half since my last viewing of MM. The capacity crowd was treated to Touareg music and dress ( the band wear robes and turbans with their faces obscured). On this evening, it was Moctar on lead guitar and vocals, rhythm guitar backing vocals, drums, and bass. The bass was new, and the player did not appear to be of the same ethnicity. The sound has evolved, the bass lent an almost EDM flavor to the music. Moctar, from the Saharan region of Niger, had to make his own guitar and learn in secret due to his religion. His lefty playing is trancey, bluesy, Hendrixy and yes frenzied. They sing in their native tongue, and songs seem to ebb and swell with Moctar's tempo. At my last viewing, an ecstatic patron hopped on stage and reverently bowed to the guitar master. I bristled at this act of adoration, thinking the fan must have scared the shit out of the wailing nomad. On this evening, for the final tune, Moctar hopped off stage and egged on the throng of undulating freaks and hipsters. I guess frenzy crosses cultural barriers.