Cibo Matto 2/7/14 Spaceland Ballroom

Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, the asian hiphop duo that are Cibo Matto, are kind of an enigma. A cult classic in the late nineties (Viva! La Woman), multiple name-checks by the Beastie Boys and Handsome Boy Modeling School, odd appearances on tribute albums (KCRWs sounds eclectic, Concert for Tibet et. al.), these ladies are free spirits. I knew I was in for a treat when I found myself standing next to Chris Frantz (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club drummer). The crowd was appreciative of CMs return to the scene after a decade hiatus. Opening with the classic Sugar Water, playing some material from their new Hotel Valentine release, these musical chameleons are comfortable in hiphop, soul, and pop-punk. I dare you to put on your most sincere (or maybe cheesiest) asian accent and recite their lyric "Obi-wan Kenobi told me in the lobby" from Sci-Fi Wasabi and try not to smile.

Greensky Bluegrass 1/29/14 Toads

Medium turnout for "casual wednesday" show at Toads. It's amazing how many performers name check the Rolling Stones surprise show in 1986. I chuckle, because aside from maybe a bartender or "turban man", I am probably the only one in attendance who was actually at that show. Greensky Bluegrass was made up of banjo, mandolin, bass, guitar, and national steel standup slide guitar. Kind of a Yonder Mountain String Band plus one. These guys were capable, and have been around for 7 or 8 releases. It was a head-scratcher to enter the club at 10pm and be in my car at 11pm after they finished ,including one encore. Bluegrass bands are notorious for longer sets. Nice reggae intro to Mr. Charlie, a hoe down of a Midnight Rider, and a sweet Sittin On Top Of the World were not enough to outweigh the brevity of the set. Even the aging Glimmer Twins played longer and only charged me $3.01 to get in.

Merkit Hadero 1/14/14 Cafe 9

Call me a sucker for the Daptonian Formula of voluptuous african-american female and skinny white jazzbos. In the case of Merkit Hadero, a young ethiopian poet and songstress. The band consisted of Hadero on vocals and acoustic, trumpet, bass, and drums made for a funky world stew. Hadero channelled phoebe snow, betty carter, angela davis, erykah badu. She had a great vibrato and sang several songs in her native tongue. Many songs followed a call-and-response jam feel. Awesome covers of Talking Heads' Naive Melody, and a jazzy version of the Police song "Bring On The Night". Merkit Hadero is one song away from world music stardom.

Mark Dresser Quintet 12/13/13 Firehouse 12

Expert bass player Dresser played with piano, drums, trombone, and the versatile Rudresh Mahanthappa on sax. On the way in, I overheard Mario Pavone lauding Dresser's first set, "I heard Duke and Muhal, thanks for the nourishment." Turns out Dresser's recent release is titled "Nourishment" from which much of the second set was culled. Five players gave a full sound with waves of improv onslaught. Telemojo started with an odd prepared piano intro that grew into a five-man blowout. Dresser talked of a new technology that allows him to play, realtime with players in other parts of the world...like a hi-fi super-skype. He is working at NYU with artists playing in Belfast and Zurich simultaneously. I have been a fan of Dresser's since his Knitting Factory days. Equally adept at plucking or bowing, Mark Dresser is a restless improviser.

Grandchildren w/ Snake Oil 12/4/13 Bar

   Regional opener Snake Oil was billed as an instrumental rock band influenced by Can, Lungfish, and Fela...count me in. Muscular drums and bass were the perfect backdrop for shapeshifting guitarist and organ/keys. Classically trained asian woman played moog and korg that gave the feel of 70s instrumental work like Soft Machine or Planet Gong. Trippy guitar workouts enhanced by moog atmospherics were nice. This band reminded me of the 90s No Wave band Pell Mell.

  Grandchildren from Philly were a rock sextet with a multi-instrumental flair. Acoustic guitar/lead vocals, melodica/drums/trombone, bass/percussion, keys/laptop/trumpet, drums/synthdrums, and guitar gave a loud percussive sound. Song structure that ebbed and swelled was great. This band reminded me of Blitzen Trapper or another Philly product Dr. Dog. Good live show, lots going on.

Cat Power w/ Nico Turner Center Church on the Green 11/15/13

General admission sold out show at a church implies one waiting in line at 7pm to be scrunched into a pew to view the evening's opening act. Nico Turner was a female guitar and vocalist. The looping guitar had strains of Tom Verlaine, but the vocals were unintelligible, nervous ramblings. Imagine your high school punker androgynous girlfriend breaking up with you via two soup cans and a string and you are in the ballpark. Nico Turner had the performer audacity to ask the audience "how much time do i have left?" and I don't mean squeeze-another-song-in-cuz-you-guys-luv-me-so-much time left. Turner's shy vocal delivery may have made sense in a subway bathroom hallway, but it did not translate well to a historic church.
  Cat Power is the nom de plume of Chan Marshall. CP has released some great recordings in the past decade. Husky voiced and oddly arranged covers dot her landscape. CP has a sketchy performing past, with examples of her cancelling tours, substance abuse, and mental illness. I feel that these qualities are the recipe for a rousing success or a miserable concert experience. After the opener's hapless performance, I was skeptical. CP came out to sing and play guitar to a microphone-less microphone. The sound of the vocals was nonexistent....trouble right? She was a trooper and moved to piano, the mic worked and we got a glimpse of the true CP. As she progressed, the house lights came on in a blinding flash as if God was saying "last call". CP soldiered saying "it's only light". Her covers of Satisfaction and Wild is the Wind were good but were shrouded by the venue trying to take her down. This is an artist who once sang the word "no" for 45 minutes at a show. CP has been a Chanel model, a Gap model, Giovanni Ribisi's girlfriend, Beck's muse, Dylan coverer and more. She can now add musician's equivalent of the TV show Wipeout to her resume. Cat Power.......more like Fight the Power, ugh.

Plants and Animals w/ Kindred Queer 11/13/13 Bar

Opening act Kindred Queer is a local group sounding like a modern mix of Fairport Convention and Renaissance. Drums, six string electric bass, guitar/vocals, and female cellist/vocals. The harmony vocals and use of cello gave a baroque flavor to this quartet.  Not sure if KQ has Yale ties, but their musical IQ seems high. I urge concertgoers in the New Haven area to check this band out. Original songwriting with a folk groove, KQ has a future if they want it.
   Plants and Animals was billed as a Canadian Blitzen Trapper, which is truly a compliment. Frenetic drums, capable bass, lead guitar/vocals, lead vocals/rhythm guitar was their lineup. Songs flipped from 70s rock to spacey indie. Lead singer had charisma and chops. While I agree with the BT likeness, P and A resembled early Grant Lee Buffalo in their delivery. Decent crowd got a dose of songwriting that was absent in the last two Bar entries.