Mick Barr w/ The Regal Drug 7/8/26 Cannons ( New Haven )

 Cannons on Dwight St. in New Haven is not to be confused with the venerable Middletown beer paradise known as Eli Cannons. The New Haven “Eli-less” (is that even possible?) is more vegetable than venerable, literally, it’s a joint/vegan restaurant. Managed by local scenester, Carlos of (once again New Haven, State House) fame, Cannons assumes an unlikely address on Dwight St. As a suburban kid growing up in the area, Dwight St. was popular for prostitution, car radio boosting, and general hijinx. Fast forward 40 years, a sprinkling of gentrification, and voila, a vegan restaurant with a side of weird music is born. I enter the venue to the strains of The Regal Drug. Local guy on synth, drone, knob twiddling, he has been positively reviewed here before. One Weird Music Night, TRD had a local trumpeter in the mix. On this evening, some recorded vocal snippets made for a tasty tapestry.

Mick Barr is a black metal guitarist from Queens. For 20 years he has fronted the experimental metal band Krallice. The genre is outside my wheelhouse, to the point where I stupidly left my earplugs in the car. A hairy Barr takes the tiny performance space. He launches into hyperspeed runs, turned up to 11. The music was deafening. Seated at a small table, I was able to use natures earplugs, my pinky fingers, to unobtrusively soften the blow. Technically amazing but migraine inducing, I was reminded of my wheelhouse. Imagine if Ritchie Blackmore took control of your alarm clock, jammed the volume control and snooze function, and squalled an endless loop. About 20 minutes in, Mick loops a lick, then picks up an acoustic guitar. Out spills another half hour of some of the most beautifully executed finger picking I have witnessed in recent memory. Passages that sounded flamenco moved toward British folk before landing in some modern drone. Mick must be revered in guitarland, local educator/virtuoso Joe Morris was sitting in front. Spotify Barr and you’ll find he appears on a guitar nerd comp that includes such luminaries as Mary Halvorson,  Henry Kaiser, and Jeff Parker. Commended Carlos on his sticktoitiveness. Happy to have a night of contradictions, a vegan restaurant on  Dwight St. where I witnessed a blistering and complimentary beautiful set of music.