Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express w/ Amy Rigby 10/10/18 Cafe 9

Singer songwriter Rigby has played C-9 several times. A veteran of the Nashville scene, she doesn't seem twangy enough for that town. Caught a few originals to warm up the near capacity crowd. Rigby has three brothers, and had a good tune about "trying to hang with the guys".
I saw Chuck perform twice at this summer's Green River Festival. His set morphed into more of a club-oriented affair on this evening. Many smartass "you know ladies and gentlemen" comments and audience participation parts had the multi-generational crowd grooving. His remix version of Storm Across the Sea was great. Setlist included: Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins, Who Put the Bomp, The Left Hand and The Right Hand, Run Primo Run, the Wille Mays tune, Wasn't I Always a friend to You ( co-written with Alejandro Escovedo) were all great. Closed with an obscure cover of Bangkok and a syrupy instrumental (Sleepwalk maybe?). Glad to have seen this veteran rocker for the third time in 2018.

Unknown Band 9/30/18 Edgerton Park

Beautiful fall afternoon had me weeding and harvesting beats from the community garden patch. From a distance, I could hear the strains of a band playing a function at the park's carriage house. The first tune was Tom Petty's "Breakdown", a favorite from this clutched from the planet too soon rocker. Next up was an odd but lengthy intro to an even lengthier "Shakedown Street". So lengthy, that I was able to finish gardening and walk the park to peer through the bushes at this hip wedding. The band, as you'd expect, were hairy 30-somethings, obliviously grooving to their jammy output. The crowd, as you wouldn't expect, were a bunch of horrified, well-dressed oldsters parked at some circular tables in front of the band. Now I know it is a stretch for my live music blog to contain an entry pertaining to an unknown band at a show I wasn't truly at, but live music just happens. Traveling this world with big ears is some sage advice. To the hippie band at the oldster-laden wedding, I say "Play on Brother" because "The Music Never Stopped".

The Suitcase Junket w/ Belle of the Fall 9/30/18 Cafe 9

CT opener Belle of the Fall is a duo. Young woman on guitar/ vocals and guy on standup bass/ vocals. The sound reminded me of some of the Pentangle songs with female vocals and bass. BOTF vocalist was less impy and smokier. Good originals with some audience participation bits. The guy sang backup in a high register which made for an excellent rendition of S and G's Sounds of Silence.
Northampton's Suitcase Junket has been around for a while.  A true one man band, the dude plays multiple cymbals, shakers, saw blades, and beats with his feet. All the while whistling, singing, and playing a swampy, bluesy guitar, SJ made quite the racket. Hysterical inter song banter, SJ introduced one tune Swamp Chicken with his affinity for the term Swamp Yankee. While touring the south, SJ assumed the moniker of Swamp Yankee, he thought it would be the least worst Yankee. SJ had this weird whistling style that he described as throat whistling while curling his tongue to yield this odd synth effect. The Suitcase Junket's sound has evolved nicely, and while he seems a little van-queer, he was an enjoyable and engaging listen.

Ka Baird, Maria Chavez, Tongue Depressor, DJ Kryssi B 9/28/18 State House

First visit to the new New Haven concert space, State House. Very impressed, parking lot in front, small bar, nice stage and acoustics, plus two gender neutral bathrooms (talk about coming out!, you land on the dance floor). Happily arrived to the metal edged platters from Kryssi B (local axe-wielder for Headroom and The Mountain Movers) who was tapped to dj between sets, some cleverly placed Hawkwind was great. Local group Tongue Depressor started as a duo, two hairy dronesters one on keys, the other appeared to be playing lap zither (if that is even a real thing), played long sawing drones. The lap zither guy appeared to be mitring with a bow, other times he played a metal comb that was scraping the strings, he also played his string thing with what looked like a cigar-like pretzel. Both guys switched to violin and played this awesome drone that sounded like a swarm of bees. A third person appeared and played xylophone with this small multiple mallet technique. His sound was  the harpish run that often accompanies a magic spell on cartoons. The speedy slide on the xylophone looked like the guy was beating eggs or tossing a really small salad.
Maria Chavez is a NYC-based experimental turntablist. Quiet and shy, Maria urged everyone to come on stage and get really close when she was "playing".  The first piece had an LP, a 7", and a 45 on the table. MC screeched and popped the records to a jarring effect. The second picce had an instructional record that she overlayed a broken (almost in half) music record that gave this odd talking-pop-music combo. The final piece had two green vinyl records that MC slowed,sped, and popped the stylus. Very original, MC had this weird twitch in her cheek that seemed to coincide with the feedback.
Experimental vocalist and flautist  Ka Baird was stranger still. She didn't really sing, but scat, purr, and whinny into multiple mics, which had the odd Doppler effect. She had beats, she played two sanding blocks, she crowed operatically, and prowled the stage. Good crowd for this truly original show. Keep your eyes peeled for shows at this new space.

Mystic Braves w/ Creation Factory 9/17/18 Cafe 9

Thankfully, caught most of the set by opener Creation Factory. Two guitars, bass, and drums spewed a wall of psychedelic garage sound. Light on vocals and heavy on jams, the sprawling tunes reminded me of live Quicksilver Messenger Service. The band's attire matched the sound, one guitarist had a Noel Redding complex with paisley and ascot, mutton chops, and a white guy Afro. The drummer moved nonstop, getting maximum beat from a minimal kit. I have been a fan of this music for years ( Psychotic Reaction, The Seeds, The Electric Prunes) but rarely get a chance to view a modern example of the lineage. One song ended with the refrain "acid burns my brain, acid makes me insane".
Headliner Mystic Braves carried the garage torch through the evening. The first band's drummer moved to keys, and the bass moved to lead guitar. Joined by bass/vocals, guitar/lead vocals, and a new drummer, MB had more vocals and discernible song structure than Creation Factory. Jangly guitars and harmony vocals moved the garage to Laurel or Topanga. Lead guitar had chops and seemed like he could chameleon into any style. Anyone interested in garage psych or paisley underground would do well to Spotify these true keepers of the flame.

Charlie Hunter Trio 9/16/18 Cafe 9

I was dismayed to see that this Sunday afternoon show was billed as "sold out" on the C9 website minutes before I was due to leave. Intrepid, I rode my bike the 6 minutes to the venue. As I was locking the bike, I spot Charlie chatting with some hipsters outside. In my usual kook fashion, I pull out some old Charlie Hunter story and ask him to put me on the guest list. He obliges by saying he has no friends on the list, so I'm it. Two sets of guitar wizardry ensue. The trio was not the usual lineup. Instead, Charlie on guitar, Kei Okawa on drums, and young female vocalist Lucy were the group. Charlie is a musical omnivore and it showed. Some old blues standards, Soul of a Man, a Ruth Brown tune, Angel Eyes popularized by Sinatra or Bennett, were split up with George Michael's Faith, a Roxy Music tune among others. At one point Charlie says the crowd is ready for the drummers solo on Porkestra. That's right Kei played two squeezy pig toys while performing his solo, which gave a surreal beatbox effect. At the set break, I congratulated Kei on his innovative solo, he said he had a spare pig in the car if he busted one. On Charlie's early aught Analog Playground release, he enlisted a little known Norah Jones to sing Roxy's More Than This. While Lucy was no Norah Jones, her capable vocals were a welcome addition to the afternoon. Closed with a great version of Lucinda William's Can't Let Go and encored with an excellent version of Howlin Wolf's ( or maybe Cream's) Spoonful. Another example of the power of positive kooking.

Michael Musillami Trio +2 9/14/18 Firehouse 12

Always an exciting time when a Firehouse 12 season opens up. First on the fall docket was the MMT+2 group. The trio was Musillami on guitar, George Schuller on drums, and Joe Fonda on upright bass. On this evening, the plus 2 were Jason Robinson on sax and Kirk Knuffke on cornet. The sound was full, with Robinson taking the first solo honors. Schuller's assured drumming kept perfect time. I'm not sure if Fonda is shrinking or his bass is getting bigger, but on this outing he looked like the midget from Twin Peaks slow dancing with Uma Thurman. The bass playing was stellar, even going to the bow for a bit. Knuffke oozed downtown cool with hipster beard and hat and vintage plaid pants. The cornet has a creamy sound, like a trumpet with the edges sanded off. Musillami played a hollow body that sounded like Eric Gale on the first tune. The second song was more of a ballad that reminded me of Pat Metheny's New Chataqua recording. The final tune was "Uncle Fino's Garden" an angular bop workout that included all players nicely. Michael said his Uncle Fino was a safecracker who buried his stolen goods in the garden. As a young boy, Michael didn't understand why his uncle was so adamant about him not playing in the tomato patch.