Marty Ehrlich Rites Quartet 11/11/11 Firehouse 12

Ehrlich on sax and clarinet, Ben Perowsky on drums, Ron Horton on trumpet, with standup bass (instead of Erik Friedlander on cello!) Second time in a row that F-12 group was missing a key component of what lured me to the show. Ehrlich was great as was Perowsky (of Lost Tribe fame in the 90s). These accomplished musicians were adept at moving songs from straight ahead to free without skipping a beat.

Glenn Jones 11/4/11 Neverending Books New Haven

Musty lo-fi hovel was the perfect place to see John Fahey disciple Jones. He played 6 and 12 string, banjo, national steel slide with songs from Martha's Vineyard , in memory of Jack Rose, and for a little girl (neighbor? relative?). Jones recently retouched a chunk of Fahey's career. Deliberate blues-americana served up to 25 or so hungry listeners. Final piece was a "duet" that he performed with Espers, Yo la tengo, and Chris Corsano. This time the duet was with a young woman (from Colorguard) who played what looked like an ancient phonograph with an album of gospel tunes weighed down by a coffee can. Various other switches and dials were employed to create "percussion" over Jones delicate playing.

Malcolm Holcombe 10/25/11 Cafe Nine

Like a cross between Tom Waits and John Hiatt, North Carolina singer songwriter Holcombe spun tales with just acoustic guitar and gravel voice. Inter-song banter ranged from insightful to deranged with stories of tater salad and weird California. To Drink The Rain was a highlight from his recent recording

Fela The Musical Shubert Theater New Haven 10/22/10

Original Broadway Cast comes to New Haven for three days. With Aaron Johnson of the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra on trombone and musical direction and Bill T. Jones on choreography, this show packed a punch. A musical biography of Fela Kuti was full of Fela hits. A bevy of wives/dancers completed the visual. After Fela introduced us to the Shrine his famous Lagos nightclub, Fela urged the predominantly white crowd to explore their "clock" of rhythm. Followed Fela's journey to England then LA then back to hostile Nigeria. The ending dance sequence to the orishas was truly memorable.

Harriet Tubman 10/14/11 Firehouse 12

Harriet Tubman a downtown supergroup formed in the nineties and dormant until recently boasts Brandon Ross on guitar, Melvin Gibbs bass, J.T. Lewis drums, Graham Haynes on electronically processed cornet, DJ Val Inc. and DJ Logic on turntables. The new project takes Coltrane's Ascension as a jump off point to futuristic funkjazz. Unfortunately, DJ Logic was stuck in Japan the night of this show. Ross seemed to have some sound issues on set 1 and stomped off momentarily leaving Gibbs to show off some explosive 5-string bass. Haynes always the extraterrestrial coaxed weird sounds from the processed cornet. The highlight was DJ Val Inc. with her Sinead O'connor hairdo offered excellent song-bending percussion which played well with Lewis. Sadly, we are left to imagine this project with DJ Logic in attendance

Erik Friedlander's Bonebridge 10/7/11 Firehouse 12

Friedlander's recent project Bonebridge is an homage to bluegrass camp. Friedlander on cello, Doug Wamble on guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass, and Mike Sarin on drums. The cello plucked and bowed was front and center with Erik looking as comfortable as with John Zorn's atonal Masada projects. Warm song structure with little improv made for an enjoyable listening experience which would have appealed to a wider than F-12 audience. Erik's extensive and varied career is worth digging in to.

Yo La Tengo 9/23/11 Toads Place New Haven

New Jersey skronkmeisters brought their convulsive feedback to Toads Place. Georgia, Ira, and James have been plying their trade since the 80s. Recent success with albums like Popular Songs, and Summer Sun were touched on in this high voltage show. Free to Fall and an excellent rendition of Pass The Hatchet were the highlights. These musicians are true artists and musicologists who have a true vision. Ira chided Toads place for showing a football game during the show. Opening act The Joiner Inners were picked from a letter they wrote YLT.