Marbin 8/18/21 Cafe 9

 Welcome to the new normal. Due to the resurgence of the delta variant, the short lived ability to see indoor live music maskless appears to be over temporarily. Marbin is a jazz fusion quartet from Chicago. The frontmen, saxes and guitar, are originally from Israel. Rounded out with drums and bass, they pounded out virtuosic instrumental jams The guitar player asked if we knew about “story time”. He related that instrumental music is not confined by lyric association for song titles, Marbin’s song titles come usually from bad experiences on the road. “Dirty Horse” came from an ill-fated residency at Laconia’s Bike Week that involved a biker clown and some townie hanky panky. “Sid Yiddish” paid homage to an elderly percussionist who auditioned for the band, his instrument of choice was an electric toothbrush. The guitar player was excellent and I heard strains of McLaughlin, Van Halen, and Buckethead. The sax man played a variety of saxes, but spent most of his time on a mini, not a soprano. Marbin is highly original and seem to have a niche audience, which seems fine by them

Gobruccio 8/5/21 Best Video

 Gobruccio, that trendy restaurant on the Upper West Side? Gobruccio, it’s a drink with rose and elderflower seltzer right?  No, it’s the skronk brainchild of Bob Gorry, Pete Brunelli, and Pete Riccio. Caught the last few tunes on the lo-fi deck at Best. Gorry plunked and scraped guitar, Brunelli slid up and down a sleek fret less bass, while Riccio tapped behind them. One thing is clear, these three avant- nerds truly enjoy their craft and are happy to have a venue, any venue to spew. Shows start at 5pm so as not to annoy the neighbors, which is a bummer, cuz it seems I missed Gorry singing Jockey Full Of Bourbon on acoustic during the first “set”.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead 7/30/21 Westville Music Bowl

First time at the re- purposed Pilot Pen tennis center which is now called the Westville Music Bowl. The upper deck houses solar panels, mid-level seats are reserved, and an astroturfed “floor” in front of the stage is where the hippies congregate. The setlist is as follows: Friend of the Devil, Jack-a-roe, Black Throated Wind, Jack Straw, Wharf Rat, King Solomon’s Marbles, Yazoo Street Scandal, The Golden Road, Althea, Lost Sailor, Saint of Circumstance, China Doll. If you’ve been following the geometry Grateful Dead homage it’s varied. The Dark Star Orchestra recreates entire set lists, Keller Williams Grateful Grass bluegrasses even the non bluegrass numbers, and JRAD weaves chestnuts and lost nuggets from the back catalog. Joe Russo on drums, Marco Benevento on keys, Dave Dreiwitz on bass, Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton on guitars. These guys have been anchors of the jam scene since it’s inception, and treat the GD covers with care. I joke that Joe must be a meter maid in New Haven by day, while playing this venue at night. He seems to play here several times a month. I guess you can’t knock success, he packs in the fans regularly. I always love me some Wharf Rat, and the excellent rendition of China Doll was sung by the lead guy from The Fruit Bats.

Steve Gunn with Ellison Jackson 7/29/21 Cafe 9

 Hooray! The pandemic is over and two of my favorite guitar slingers share the bill at Cafe 9. Cue a humongous record scratch, because the opener , Nashville based William Tyler tests positive for COVID. Replaced by former NewHavenites and now chilly scenesters EJ. I have seen these guys with a larger group back in the day, tonight it was two, vocals and guitar and standup bass. These guys have aged well and the singer’s style reminded me of a nicer, less obtuse, Stephen Malkmus from Pavement. They did an admirable last minute fill in, but it was hard not to regret William’s absence. You know he would have played some duet work with Steve.

Versatile guitarist Steve Gunn has been positively reviewed in this blog before. A resident of Philadelphia as well, Steve has had quite the evolution. He has some punk roots, played jazz  and instrumental work with drummer pal John Truczinski, ambient soundscapes and more. In the past few years he has discovered an ability to sing, albeit in a fractured freak folk fashion. The song lyrics are hard to follow but his voice and playing are captivating, especially when it’s just him, acoustic guitar, and some effects pedals. He played a tune from Tyler’s catalog in homage. Some new material including a great reading of The Byrd’s Wild Mountain Thyme was featured. Morning Has Mended from recent The Unseen Inbetween and the title track from Way Out Weather, were excellent. Gunn appears to be “on the spectrum”, and I mean that as an asset to his craft. He gets bothered by crowd noises, which was not a problem from this rapt pandemic-addled crowd. As with any adversity, the new normal will present subtle (or maybe not so) changes to the live music experience, I’m just happy to be back.