Cibo Matto w/ Invisible Feathers 6/25/15 Spaceland

Caught the last tune from opener Invisible Feathers, a psych-rock trio. Capable guitar, bass, and female drummer showed some blue collar psych.

Asian, female, hip hop duo CM are always a sight. Preparing for their stint at Wilco's solid sound festival, CM made a stop at Spaceland. "So wha you chew do in dis Ham den?" Says vocalist, rapper Miho Hatori. I notice that Hatori has bad teeth that leave her face in a permanent state of sly chuckle. Her NyQuil induced dance moves added flavor to hits Birthday Cake and Sci-fiWasabi. Beatmaster and knob twiddler Yuka Honda had Yoko Ono shades and was able to coax many sounds from her laptop/keyboard setup. Male drummer and bassist, both dressed in white looked like a stud rhythm section brought along for their self-titled Banana Split tour. CM played some songs from their recent Hotel Valentine release, including the catchy environmental song MFN (ease da mutha fucking nay cha!) 

Mono 6/11/15 Spaceland

Tokyo noise quartet Mono swooped into Hamden to shatter some eardrums. Two guitars, female bassist, and monster drummer comprised Mono. Songs had the same formula, quiet intro that swelled to a raucous caterwaul. Japanese rock bands ooze hipness, and Mono is no exception. The guitarists, both seated, dressed in black, flailed their shoulder length hair at crescendo time. They looked like twin Buckingham Palace guards keeping watch over skronk-town. Female bass player in black dress with red pumps seemed like a stewardess guiding the listener to jump off the cliff of noise. The drummer came with gong and tympani to punctuate the sound. My ears are still ringing.

Ringo Deathstarr 6/10/15 Bar

Austin Texas based trio RD brought the noise for this show at Bar. Guitar/vocals, bass/vocals, and drums were all that was required to deliver ear-splitting squall. Guitarist reminded me of the spazz version of Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan. Lanky female bassist and motorik drummer provided the perfect backdrop for the fuzz and reverb drenched songs. Barely audible vocals were almost unnecessary in the Deathstarr attack. At one point, the singer asked if anyone in attendance was in the Skull and Bones, they said they would accept any and all grant money. It's curious why the proboscis-oriented drummer for the Beatles has spawned so many band names. Obla-Dee, oblin-deed.

Dark Star Orchestra 5/30/15 Capitol Theater Portchester NY

What is the definition of Deadhead? Do you....
1) go to a DSO show at the Cap to celebrate a friend's birthday?
2) remember the actual 3/29/90 GD show at the Nassau Coliseum (Bertha, Jack Straw, The Wheel, Throwing Stones, Estimated Prophet, One More Saturday Night, Goin Down the Road, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Eyes of the World et.al.)
3) after 20 minutes of Eyes of the World, you feel like the song is just starting?
4) know the actual Mayor of Hippie-town?
5) start your parking lot dance/swagger in mid-May in advance of festival season.

 If you answered yes to any of the above, it is very likely you are a deadhead.

Kayo Dot w/ Shilpa Ray 5/20/15 Bar

Opener Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers from Brooklyn with a recent release on Knitting Factory records gave off a lot of sound. Ray played harmonium, which I learned is a tabletop pump organ. It  looked like she was opening and closing a dresser drawer, part accordion, part furniture. Her vocals swelled from somber melancholy to stub-your-toe level scrawl. Capable backing band were all solid. I can see why she is a favorite of Nick Cave, even opening some shows on the Grinderman tours. I asked her about the harmonium, which I confused with a euphonium ( which is actually a large tuba).
  Kayo Dot were billed as "avant-metal". They were sinister, wore black, and played metal-ish tunes with proggy lyrics. Five string bass player and singer seemed like the leader. Guitar, keys/synths, and propulsive drummer rounded out the group.

Agent Orange 5/15/15 Cafe 9

California punk outfit Agent Orange had been on my radar for a couple of months. Judging from iTunes, AO had a few hits in the 80s surfing the punk snarl oozing from LA. Dormant for a decade, they decided to lure out punk fans with a tour. Being a Friday night, it was poor planning to not have an advance ticket and dawdle before entry as the show was sold out on our arrival at 10pm. (One needs a little room to mosh, isn't that a constitutional right?). After hanging out in miniskirt land, we decided to swing back and were allowed entry to view the last two songs. Typical, sweaty, high energy punkness was the genre. I hope they have a Posture-pedic in that van, these guys aren't as young as they used to be.

Low Cut Connie w/ The Silks 5/6/15 Bar

.  Providence- based The Silks were a 70s sounding rock trio. Guitarist looked and played like Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Frenetic drummer and Slade t-shirt wearing bassist comprised the group.
    Low Cut Connie hails from Philadelphia although drummer and sometimes guitarist had a decidedly British accent (a touch more vocals in the monitor mate). Two guitars, drums, bass, and charismatic leader on a beat up piano named Shandra. Straight up rock and roll with the pianist doing his best Jerry Lee Lewis acrobatics in,on, and around Shandra. "Shake it Little Tina" from their recent record was a highlight. Closed the show with a rousing version of Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into The Fire" complete with Ray Liotta, Goodfellas reference. This song is playing during the crazy cocaine-fueled helicopter scene at the end of that movie.