Elephant Stone 5/20/22 Cafe 9

 Montreal psych pop outfit Elephant Stone makes a stop in New Haven. Led by Rishi Dhir on bass, vocals and sitar, this Canadian quartet were the real deal. Garage, psychedelic, paisley underground, this is an under-appreciated genre that conjures moptop coeds frugging to the jangly beat. Dhir, assisted by keys/synths, guitar and drums brought a lot of sound. Retro yet modern, Dhir’s soaring vocals were a treat. The group played a few songs from their recent pandemic inspired EP ( sung in French) a song cycle about a guy who thinks quarantine still has too much human contact and takes a rocket to the moon. The Electric Prunes, The Seeds, The Amboy Dukes ( fronted by current right wing nutjob Ted Nugent), were prevalent in the ES sound. The sitar is an amazing instrument and it is rare to get an up close viewing. Dhir had a small platform where he sat cross legged, while feverishly plucking. The sitar stance almost looked like a yoga pose. Should have been a larger crowd to appreciate this excellent international act.

Low Cut Connie 5/18/22 Spaceland Ballroom

 Low Cut Connie is the brainchild of Philly ex-teacher Adam Weiner. Adam proclaimed that he “loves all of you motherfuckers” then launched into a sweaty set of straight up rock and roll. Weiner plays piano, you heard right, piano. He tours with this beat up honky tonk piano that I noticed had handles and straps so as to load into the van and stages. It is instrument and prop, Weiner plays in, on, and around the thing, rolling around on top or humping the sides, the piano is in the band. Weiner looks like an inner city Jerry Lee Lewis as he sweats and dives through the set. He is joined by guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and two scantily clad female backup singers ( one played fiddle and rhythm guitar). The music is high energy, with one song teasing Shotgun and then Bang a Gong. The ladies were a sight, writhing and shimmying to compliment Adam, it gave some songs an almost Meatloafian veneer. I’m noticing that musicians are so grateful to be back in front of a live audience, this guy thrives on the personal contact, high fiving anyone who got near him. Good crowd, with an element of fans who knew the word to every song. In the bio of LCC, it seems that he has a superfan in Elton John and Obama.

Sun Ra Tribute Concert 5/11/22 Best Video

 How lucky to be able to attend an outdoor tribute to jazz pianist and legendary intergalactic traveler Herman Sonny Blount aka Sun Ra. Ra famously claimed to be from Saturn piloting his Arkestra through jazz, R and B, spoken word, and any other medium he could lay his hands on. He is too multidimensional to describe here, but for the uninitiated, please Google and YouTube this master bandleader. The tribute concert was helmed by local guitarist Mykael Ross, joined by sax, trumpet, drums, congas, bass, and ofcourse keyboards (both Prophet and Korg).The band was proficient in paying homage, with guitar and bass holding down the affair. The breadth of material is vast as Ra released hundreds of recordings, with posthumous recordings coming fast and furious. On this evening, the set list included: I’ll Wait for You, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Sunology, Sunrise. Show highlight was an excellent rendering of Space is The Place. The crowd was safely returned to earth after a brief and welcome tour of the galaxy.

Jonathan Kreisberg Trio 4/21/22 Sudler Hall at Yale

 The Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective has done it again. A loose collection of jazz nerds assemble a spring festival to celebrate jazz. On this evening, guitar wizard Kreisberg along with drums and standup bass was the offering. Kreisberg’s bio showed him holding down guitar duties for the late great polychromatic-turbanned Dr. Lonnie Smith. Smith died last September so Kreisberg struck out on his own. Nice evening of mainly standards showcased the fluid style of the hollow body guitar. In the style of Wes Montgomery or George Benson, the trio played How Deep is the Ocean, a speedy Moonlight in Vermont, You and the Night and the Music, and Easy Living. Closed with and excellent version of My Favorite Things.

Les Filles de Illighadad w/ DJ Shaki 4/12/22 Cafe 9

 Delighted to see DJ Shaki aka Rick Omonte back in the show promoting game. For those locals too young to remember, before there was Manic Mark of Manic Productions, there was Rick of DJ Shaki presents. Rick presented countless interesting, usually world beat inflected shows around town. In addition to his duties as bass player in local psych legends Headroom, Rick is a dj who spun records as a warmup to this show.

Les Filles de Illighadad is a quartet of women from Niger who play the signature style of  “ desert blues” popularized by Tinawaren and Mdou Moctar. Guitars, chanting, and simple percussion lead to a hypnotic blend of world music transporting the listener to a bazaar on the edge of the Sahara. Dressed in their traditional garb, with one member performing in full face covering hijab, these women gave New Haven listeners a taste of their craft. An egalitarian affair, the members took turns leading the charge. I’m reminded of a snippet from a Mdou Moctar show where his handler explained that he had to make his own guitar and practice in secret for fear of religious reprisal. Imagine then, the artistic journey taken by four women in the same circumstances. Very enjoyable listen. I wished there was some interpreter to put the songs in context, but not surprised that these trailblazing musicians have the confidence to power across the globe on their own. Merci beaucoup.

Gobruccio with Stephen Haynes 3/10/22 Best Video

Legend has it that Bob Gorry, guitarist and “Go” in Gobruccio, rode the train to NYC and happened upon avant- cornetist Haynes. Gorry going to study composition with Butch Morris, and Haynes doing time with Cecil Taylor, I’m assuming the conversation veered far from sports and weather. On this evening, a small crowd got a glimpse of spontaneous improv. With Gobruccio acting as the “rhythm” section, the group played a series of pieces. Pete Brunelli on fretless bass, and Pete Riccio on spare drums accompanied Gorry and Haynes. Haynes played cornet and what looked like a flugelhorn using a variety of mutes, flowerpots, and cookware to attenuate the sound. This music must be seen live to appreciate the interplay, glad to have it back.

Robert Randolph and The Family Band 3/4/22 Mohegan Sun Wolf Den

 Close your eyes, and conjure the notion of a free show in the heart of a casino. If poor sight lines, questionable sound, and throngs of O2 tank-tethered oldsters dropping their life savings into slots comes to mind, you’d be wrong. Many of the shows that grace this stage, are acts in the twilight of their career, Herman’s Hermits and the following nights headliner….Charo. So it was with amazement that I was able to view sacred steel guitar wiz RR, from a good vantage point, with excellent sound, and only a whiff of elderly slot seepage. Randolph plays a sit down pedal steel guitar ( unless he breaks multiple strings as on this evening), joined by the “family” on bass, another guitar, and drums. When strings break, he switches to a strap-on axe that has the same style of perpendicular to your body arrangement as the sit down variety. Seems like this is a pretty common occurrence, cuz we saw the roady move with pit-crew speed to restore, twice. Shows start promptly at 8 and run till 930, perfect interval for these guys to show their chops. Started with Skip James (a la Cream) I’m So Glad. Moved into an excellent Outside Woman Blues. Next stop was funk, some originals, great bass solo that I’m sure teased One Nation Under a Groove. Moved on to the War chestnut Me And Baby Brother. A Hendrix section ensued with Red House and then Foxey Lady. Randolph said he was happy to see people’s smiling faces again, even teasing Vanilla Fudges “set me free” section of You Keep Me Hanging On. So whether it is the Hoochie Coochie of Robert Randolph or the Cuchi Cuchi of Charo, consider me a new fan of this venue.