Erin Rae 7/9/18 Cafe 9

While driving to this show, the title track from Gillian Welch's "Time The Revelator" appeared on my playlist. Nashville singer songwriter Rae reminded me of a cross between Gillian and Emmylou Harris. Great, confident voice on this set of all original tunes. The band was hipster Nashville with organ, drums, bass, guitar/vocals, and Rae on guitar and lead vocals. She said she played this venue in 2015 with her "friend" Spoken Nerd. Songs unfolded with a folk country feel before Rae's stellar vocals kicked in. The guitar player was great too, he had a penchant for vibrato or tremolo, his whole body shook with each note he played to give the distinctive quaver. Anyone who is a fan of Welch or Harris should check out Erin Rae.

Sammy Miller and The Congregation Wesleyan CFA Courtyard 7/5/18

Wesleyan always puts on a free outdoor show on a summer weekday evening. Sammy and company were an assemblage of jazz poofters playing their shtick on a beautiful summer evening. Sammy on drums and vocals was joined by organ, upright bass, trumpet, sax, and a gregarious trombone player. They started out by playing the Looney Tunes Theme, which was apt. This crew could play and had a sense of humor, the inter-song banter was comical and a decent crowd rolled in for the affair. At one point, Sammy talks of keeping the Jazz tradition alive for the next generation by fusing it with...rock and roll, no...hiphop, nah... opera?! That's right, Jopera, tunes that are always "longer than you want them to be." Sammy starts singing as the goofy trombone player dons a dress and a blond wig. The other musicians get into character (and costume) as the Jopera jazzily reaches a climax. The show closed with an excellent schmaltzy version of My One And Only Love, and ended with a rousing Nawlins second line number.

The War On Women 7/2/18 Cafe 9

Maryland aggro-punk collective War On Women played a brief gnarly set at the 9. The resume includes the Vans Warped tour which tells a lot. I knew to grab the earplugs when my car was shaking while parking two blocks up the street from the club. WOW were a quintet, three front females on lead vocals and yelping, bass, and rhythm guitar, with a male skinhead on lead and an African American male on drums. The drummer was shirtless and ripped and provided the high octane motor for the group. The singer prowled and growled in a manner of The Minutemen or Husker Du. Comparisons to the riot grrl progenitors Bikini Kill are apt, and the lead singer's "don't fuck with me" mentality is like Kathleen Hanna from that band. The crowd, New Haven's finest face metal, autistically bobbed and sang along with each tune. This brings me to the political part of the story. WOW coalesced in synchronicity with the #metoo movement fueled by the misogynist in the White House. Feminist punk seems like a lonely genre, but the chorus of "Fuck Trump" between songs made me realize I was among friendlys. Towards the end of the show, the traditional punk circle formed with bearded white outsiders pushing and flailing to the music. The message from WOW was distinctly liberal (here's a song about trans rights), but the vocal delivery of this genre is kind of unintelligible. This leads me to the current state of the Democratic Party.  The underlying message may resonate with many, but the delivery is heard by a few.

Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin Stones

HWATSS hail from the Richmond VA area. A power trio comprised of Wicklund on guitar and vocals, bass, and drums. A diminutive Hannah was a force on guitar, blues rock with searing leads was the evening's fare. Hannah, all of about 23, had long curly hair and a tube-top (I think it's illegal to wear a tube-top if you are over 25). Capable stoners on drums and bass laid the groundwork for Wicklunds pyrotechnics. Mostly original songs, one deriding the Facebook generation were excellent for such a young artist. Speaking of Young, HWATSS performed an awesome cover of CSNY's "Ohio". Imagine Cousin It's hot sister channeling Stevie Ray Vaughan while torching the Neil Young classic and you are in the ballpark. Many festival goers will be delighted to see this young tour warrior light up some second stages.

The Toasters w/ Micah Schnabel

Just caught the last tune from opener Schnabel. He was billed as the lead singer of alt-angsty Two Cow Garage. He looked like Truman Capote's younger brother, and sang like early Ani Difranco. The tune was great and wished I saw more.
The Toasters are a NYC second wave ska band. The evolution of ska is interesting, from the early days in Jamaica of the scratchily recorded pre-Marley groups to the British second wave revolving around the legendary Two-tone label. The Specials, The English Beat and others oozed back across the Atlantic to infect a punkier version in the states. The Toasters and the Dropkick Murphys took the horn driven ska and fused it with moshy, limb flailing punk. Lead singer of the Toasters was British and helped connect the dots. The band was sax, trombone, drums, bass, and guitar/lead vocals. Excellent set from these guys who have been around since the 80s. Show highlight was "Two-tone Army" yet another dot connected.

Willie Nile w/ The Manchurians 6/15/18 Cafe 9

Veteran local Blues-garage outfit The Manchurians were a quartet with drums, harmonica/vocals, bass/lead vocals, and guitar. These guys are present at many local shows and I notice the guitar player Dean Falcone was a year behind me at Hamden High. A friend asked me if Dean was in a band in H.S., and while I wasn't sure, I did remember him dressed in black and hanging with the goth kids at the time. Solid garage band with strong vocals, harmonica, and guitar licks.
Willie Nile is also a veteran rocker from Buffalo then NYC. He came to the 9 with his acoustic guitar and a bass player to offer some stripped down versions of his original rock and roll. He reminded me of Little Steven in looks and attitude. I'm pretty sure I heard him talk of opening for The Who, which is a long way from Cafe 9 on a Friday night. No matter, he's still plying his craft after all these years and seems to have benefitted from years being onstage. He spoke of "praying at the altar" of Bob Dylan and did a great rendition of Love Minus Zero No Limit from the Bringing It All Back Home LP, a tune that he played at Zimmy's 75th birthday celebration. After the show, I bored Willie with my Rolling Stones at Toads show to which he responded " rock and roll, that's what it's all about man."

David Keenan 6/11/18 Cafe 9

Armed only with an acoustic guitar and a thick Irish (specifically Dundalk) accent, young troubadour Keenan rolled through a brief set of original tunes. The most difficult configuration is the solo acoustic show, you are at the mercy of the relatively sparse crowd. Keenan had some tunes and some interesting stories between songs. From an explanation of Tir Na Nog ( Irish equivalent of never land), to the helping hand offered by troubadour countryman Glen Hansard in fostering the career of 20-something Keenan, the Irish stories always seem to amuse. A young talent who is putting in the touring necessity always gets kudos from me, especially when traveling from the old sod to do it.