Memorize The Sky 5/24/13 Firehouse 12

Aaron Siegel, drums and percussion: Zach Wallace, standup bass: and Matt Bauder, clarinet, sax, flute, and electronics. Odd trio of jazzbos. Siegel played drums, bells, and a tiny xylophone with roofing nails as mallets. Wallace spent alot of time bowing drone backdrop to the four tunes that comprised the second set. The real attraction was Bauder who approached playing his wind instruments from five inches away from reed or mouthpiece as if the instruments were whispering. Circuit-bending electronics from Bauder offered weird textures and waves of staccato percussion. At one point, these bleeps and blaps sounded like a metronome humping a geiger counter, go figure.

Peter Case 5/7/13 Cafe 9

Peter Case has been around. Born in Buffalo, got into his first band Pig Nation and lived in a house with 20 other hippies. Hitchhiked to Boston and saw Lightnin Hopkins. Moved on to the Nerves, then the Plimsouls. These bands have cobbled an excellent career of guitar-based indie rock. Was a shame that only 20 people came to this show. Peter's hobo look and voice have not changed over the years. "I hear your voice everywhere I go", "Who's gonna cure your crooked mind?", "Poor Old Tom", "Words in Red". Closed with "Saw you in the first light"

David Rothenberg 5/1/13 Peabody Museum

As part of the celebration of the 17yr cicada emergence, sound artist and author Rothenberg sets up in the hall of dinosaurs to play looped whalesongs and cicada drones while playing clarinet or bass clarinet. Not sure if an entomusicologist is a real vocation, but this guy is it. Spoke of the origin of these natural sounds. The whalesong, sung exclusively by males, is just assumed to be an attempt to attract females. Rothenberg points out that there is no evidence showing that whale females have any interest in these songs. I purchased a whale re-mix disc where Rothenberg sent whalesongs to world renowned sound artists (dj spooky, scanner, warren burt, stephen chopek and others) to re-mix. With penpals like that, well you know.

Slobberpup 4/23/13 Cafe 9

Slobberpup, a free jazz skronkfest had Joe Morris on guitar, Jamie Saft on keys, and frenetic drummer. Morris is a local axe-wielder who is on top of the improviser food chain. Saft, whose beard stretches to below his knees, was reviewed in  this blog with his dub trio last year. If you plug Saft's name into pandora, you're likely to get dub, metal, free-jazz, or movie soundtrack music. This music was difficult listening and came to the same sheets of sound as my previous blog entry. While the Akron Family aimed from rock, Slobberpup lasered from jazz.

Akron Family 4/22/13 The Spaceland Ballroom

First time at the new Space-node. The Spaceland Ballroom is the largest "Space" yet. It is connected to the Outer-Space by a hallway. The Akron Family create sheets of sound with some droney vocals. Two guitars (sometimes bass), keys (sometimes drum machine), and drums. Song structure was loose, and many of the songs were deemed "new". Good crowd for a Monday night. Final song, "I Get Tired Standing on Something I Can't See" was killer.

Holy Ghost Tent Revival 4/16/13 Cafe Nine

How can you resist  a show with a name like HGTR? Young tour warriors from North Carolina. Southern rock with kind of a psycho trombone player out front. Good song structure: "One Step Outside Your Door", "Sway Like the Old Days" had a nice acapella ending. Trombone, guitar/vocalsx2, bass/vocals, and drums. Sparse crowd for a Tuesday.

David Wax Museum, Kingsley Flood, Plume Giant 4/14/13 Cafe Nine

Caught the last song of Yalie trio Plume Giant. Transplanted to Brooklyn and a complete recording under their belt, this two-guitar, fiddle, and harmony vocal trio are great. Wished i got to the club earlier to hear more. Kingsley Flood I noticed was on this year's uber-hip Newport Folkfest lineup. This band will fit nicely. A savory blend of Avett Bros., Wilco, and punk, this band could rock. Guy and girl singers made for great frenzied interplay. Girl played fiddle and sax too. Songs like "Set in Stone", and "i Don't Wanna Go Home" seriously rocked. Chatting with lead singer Yassim who said they were only on Newport's bill for summer festivals. Headliner David Wax Museum has been in this blog before. I like their sound of guy-girl vocals and latin influences. Unfortunately, the girl was sick and unable to play. DWM soldiered on as a trio. They put on a good show despite missing a key component. The girl sings, plays fiddle, and percussion (banging on cow skulls and such) so she was sorely missed. No letdown because this was truly a great triple bill. I would recommend seeing any of these bands.