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.