What am I waiting for? The day the music really died. A viral pandemic chokes the globe and live music is one of the first to fall, collateral damage from head in sand politicians cross pollinated with increasingly insidious microbes that seem to be able to outsmart Bill Gates, Dr. Fauci, and Donald Trump. It is with heavy heart that I review this show. Jonathan Richman fronted a seminal punk band The Modern Lovers, a quirky cult unit with a few under the radar hits. I have seen him before and his wild-eyed child-like goofiness brings to mind dearly departed savant Daniel Johnston. Richman sang songs in French or Italian because they " sounded better". His songs about "cold pizza" or "dancing at a lesbian bar" were poignant and hysterical. With a dwindling crowd, Richman urged the audience to close in (a few days prior to social distancing). At one point, Jonathan spied a young fan and brought him onstage to sing backup.
I have wanted see Bonnie Prince Billy for years. His real name is Will Oldham and he has fronted and collaborated with a wide array of folkies and "out" musicians since the late 90s. An early release I See A Darkness was my path in, literate but dark lyrics coupled with a world weary voice is captivating. A random video of Oldham and Zach Gallifinakas singing a Britney Spears song on a riding mower piqued my curiosity further. BPB also performed a couple of knockout cuts on the recent Grateful Dead tribute behemoth The Day of the Dead. On this evening, BPB was joined by Emmet Kelly ( no, not the sad-faced clown from the early 1900s) a honey voiced pal to help plow through his set. The new release I Have Made A Place was the main source of material. While a Spotify listen exhibited a slick production, two voices and two acoustic guitars in the echoey live setting was magical. It's hard to think that this will be my last posting for a while, but have faith, live music is like a dandelion in a cracked sidewalk, that shit ain't going anywhere.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Saturday, March 14, 2020
The Kerry Boys 3/8/20 Thornton Wilder Hall Hamden
It is rare that I am junior by 20 years at a musical event, but the Kerry Boys at 3pm on a pre-St Patty Sunday, at the library no less, brought out the oldsters. The KBs have been spinning their yarns for 30 years. Two guitars/vocals, banjo, and electric bass is their lineup. Lead singer and frontman has the Irish brogue and corny inter song banter that moves the set along. The other guitarist and sometimes mandolin player is Pierce Campbell, a local folkie who I've seen often back in the day as an opening act. The band engages the crowd with various sing-along and clap-along segments. Most tunes are traditional, with the exception of Galway Girl ( thanks Steve Earle). I realize that Danny Boy, the lynchpin of any Irish set, is the most impossible song. With high notes, swooping falsetto, the bloke that wrote it must be chuckling in heaven as he looks down on a planet of Irishmen, true and faux drunkenly yodeling their way the verse.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
75 Dollar Bill w/ Headroom 3/4/20 The State House
It is always great to see touring artist's jaws drop when they view New Haven's own shred collective Headroom. Fronted by experimental guitarist ( and sometimes Spaceland bartendress) Kryssi Battalene, a local lefty feedback purveyor, a droney rhythm guitarist, throbbing bass, and acrobatic drummer, Headroom always brings the sonic assault. The sheer experimental "guitar army" create washes of psych-drone-shoegaze fuzz that rocks. Kryssi has been adding some subdued vocals that add an extra element to their sound. One feedback battle between Kryssi and the lefty was great.
75 Dollar Bill is a Brooklyn duo comprised of Che Chen on microtonal guitar and percussion and Rick Brown on percussion. Chen's Touareg guitar sound is a function of his study with a Mauritanian master. The guitar is repetitive and trancey and reminded me of the Mdou Moctar shows I saw last year. Brown was a sight to behold, he sat on a wooden box that he struck with what appeared to be bath loofahs covered with tube socks. The sound was pulsing tympanic. Sometimes he picked up a cigar box and some other shakers and things to color the flow of Chen's guitar. I'm pretty sure I scoffed at the notion of drums/ guitar as a viable unit pre-Black Keys and White Stripes. I'm glad to say I was wrong, while the Keys and Stripes have enigmatic front men as a dimension, the rawness of those bands and 75 Dollar Bill is striking. On a final tune, Chen picked up a soprano sax, they called a friend up with an alto sax, and Brown played a series of plastic oil funnels fitted with sax mouthpieces. This band's take on what I will call Africambient was thoroughly entertaining.
75 Dollar Bill is a Brooklyn duo comprised of Che Chen on microtonal guitar and percussion and Rick Brown on percussion. Chen's Touareg guitar sound is a function of his study with a Mauritanian master. The guitar is repetitive and trancey and reminded me of the Mdou Moctar shows I saw last year. Brown was a sight to behold, he sat on a wooden box that he struck with what appeared to be bath loofahs covered with tube socks. The sound was pulsing tympanic. Sometimes he picked up a cigar box and some other shakers and things to color the flow of Chen's guitar. I'm pretty sure I scoffed at the notion of drums/ guitar as a viable unit pre-Black Keys and White Stripes. I'm glad to say I was wrong, while the Keys and Stripes have enigmatic front men as a dimension, the rawness of those bands and 75 Dollar Bill is striking. On a final tune, Chen picked up a soprano sax, they called a friend up with an alto sax, and Brown played a series of plastic oil funnels fitted with sax mouthpieces. This band's take on what I will call Africambient was thoroughly entertaining.
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