WITCH w/ Death Valley Girls 6/7/23 Spaceland Ballroom

 Odd double bill of disparate sounds. DVG are a young female-centric California quartet. Young women at bass, drums, organ/vocals and a young man on guitar. The sound was punk and the lyrics had a lysergic bent. Front woman was a character and had large sea-green swoosh makeup around her eyes a la Dale Bozzio from Missing Persons. While I won’t make comparisons to the Go Gos or the Bangles, this crew showed the lineage of girl bands of yore. The singer urged patrons to meet her at the merch table to talk about the existence of aliens.

WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) is from Zambia and seemed to have some releases in the 70s. I was curious to see the geometry of the players. Youngsters on bass, percussion, drums, and two guitars were joined by two elderly African men. The sound was full on Afrobeat with one of the original members on organ while the other sang. It was clear that someone, probably the bass player, coaxed these two (and their band name) out of retirement. The beat was infectious and the crowd was receptive. I would be remiss if I didn’t describe these musicians, as they were as disparate as the double bill. One guitarist was American, he wore a Flying Burrito Brothers country rock shirt and looked like Burt Reynolds. The other guitarist was Canadian and looked as if he were in a Romantics cover band. The percussionist played bongos and congas and was dressed in white overalls and wore a Gilligan hat. His “kit” was graced with a plush Woodstock (snoopy’s pal). The drummer was a young African American man from New Orleans. The bass player was a sight, at sound check he (they?) wore a satin jacket with the Fame logo on the back. During the show, they opted for an orange frilly pirate shirt. They is Dutch and goes by the name Jacco Gardner who has some excellent solo offerings. The Zambians were equally colorful. The organ player looked like a day-glo Art Blakey, and the singer appeared to be a psychedelic Huggy Bear. The twin guitar assault emphasized the James Browness of the afrobeat. I notice that the recent WITCH release has some nice rap vocal guesting from Sampa The Great.

Joshua Abrams and The Natural Information Society 6/3/23 Wadsworth Atheneum

Basement theater under the gallery, who knew? Couldn’t think of a better place to view this unusual group. Leader Abrams played the Guimbri, a three stringed homemade-looking bass, Mikel Avery on drums and hand percussion, Jason Stein on bass clarinet, and Lisa Alvarado on harmonium and set design. The music was African trance with the guimbri leading the exotic sounding charge. Josh had an effect pedal that emitted a metallic echo from the guimbri strings to give an industrial clang. The drummer flowed effortlessly, quietly tapping and scraping all surfaces on the kit. Some drums were cloaked in fabric as to muffle or obscure the beat. Drums are critical in any type of trance or drone offering and Avery rose to the metronomic challenge. The bass clarinet is an awesome instrument. While echoes of Eric Dolphy  emerge when a bass clarinet is played, I am amazed by the timbre and scope of the sound. Stein’s contribution to the drone was more nuanced, entering and exiting with a regal wail. Alvarado was a sight to behold, dressed in a fluorescent mauve frock. She is also a visual artist working with brightly colored fabrics and tapestries hung as a backdrop to the stage. The Wadsworth devoted an exhibit space in the main gallery to closely view her work. She looked as if Olive Oyl (yes Popeye’s gal) ran an ashram made from caution tape. The harmonium is another unusual instrument, it looks like a large breadbox with a bellows attachment. A sit down bagpipe driven by the bellows was a perfect trance inducing item. As a whole, these musicians worked telepathically, with Abrams’ occasional head bobs the only conducting present. The concert consisted of two long form trance pieces, the second one was titled Descension from Constriction. Abrams is originally from Philly, in the 90s he played bass in a group called the SquareRoots which morphed into the Roots after his departure. Moving to Chicago, he was quickly absorbed into the Windy City’s fertile post rock scene hanging with Tortoise, Jeff Parker, and the Bitchin Bajas. This music is challenging but rewarding. The listener that can let the sound wash over them is rewarded with a happy hypnotic groove courtesy of a world class guimbrist.

Nick DiMaria and Indigo Seven 6/2/23 Firehouse 12

 Local trumpeter DiMaria gets a showcase at the Firehouse spring series. One of the hardest working jazz nerds in the New Haven area, Nick has, and will play any venue. While not as straight ahead and “out there” as many groups to grace this stage, Nick’s take on 70s fusion was a welcome addition to the roster. Joined by guitar, drums, bass (electric and standup), keys (piano and organ), the group took a stab at On the Corner-era Miles. A flood of fusion memories came back. Whether it be the Larry Coryell guitar stylings of his Eleventh House project, Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, or even the mighty Mahavishnu Orchestra. The group has several offerings on Bandcamp and played a confident set. The keyboard player was excellent and the toggle between piano and organ backed by the bass toggle shaped the tunes. The organ evoked some JanHammertime in spots.

Baba Commandant w/ Emily Robb 5/31/23 Cafe 9

 Emily Robb was a solo guitarist from Philly. She hovered over the electric and spit shards of dissonant shrapnel. The result was abrasive but hypnotic and I just caught the last tune.

Baba Commandant hails from the tiny African country Burkina Faso. The set started with guitar, bass, and drums setting the groove. The ample crowd parted and a tiny figure approached the stage. We learn that this diminutive shaman is BC. He played tambourine, sang, growled, and played something that looked like a kora. A guitar playing friend could only commit to “kora-like” in describing his instrument. The music was decidedly Afro-beat, as BC sang in his native tongue. Most tunes had some call and response passages that kept the crowd dancing and engaged. The bass player and drummer were younger than the other two, and bassist acted as translator/ ambassador. No sooner did I comment that the bass player could join Santana, when a Burkina Fasoan rendition of Jingo appeared. At one point, the bassist asked the crowd to shape the song, “how you like? Salty, sugary, or spicey?” The guitar player was definitely older, but like BC, he could have been 30 or 70. The show seemed to be fostered by the excellent Sublime Frequencies record label. True afrobeat is a rarity in the US, many like Antibalas or Kaleta and the Super Yamba band, have one member with African roots and a crew of Brooklyn hipsters. I’m not dogging this configuration, we can’t all be from Ougadougou (the capitol of Burkina Faso). I’m always amazed at the confidence of these intrepid travellers and am glad they made the trip. Keep an eye out for this crew at a summer festival, you won’t be able to stop dancing.

The Heartless Bastards 5/14/23 Spaceland Ballroom

 Pulling their moniker from an errant trivia answer regarding Tom Petty’s backing band, The Heartless Bastards showed out some blues based rock and roll. Fronted by chief songwriter and singer Erika Wennerstrom, this six piece group choogled with purpose. Erika was joined by lead guitar, bass, female backing vocals, keys/rhythm guitar, and drums. Starting in Ohio and relocating to Texas, the group caught the eye of Black Keys impresario Pat Carney who channeled them to the apt Fat Possum label. Wennerstrom’s booming alto commanded attention and was the star of the show. Decent crowd was supportive, but it would have been nice for some inter song banter. Most of  the set came from the recent A Beautiful Life record that veered closer towards pop in spots. Excellent cover of Warren Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns, and Money was a show highlight.

Damon and Naomi 5/12/23 Best Video

 Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang are musical and life partners based in Cambridge MA. They were two thirds of the literate dream pop outfit Galaxie 500. In that band, Damon played drums, Naomi played bass, and Dean Wareham played guitar. Wareham would go on to form the  mildly successful indie rock group Luna that has been positively reviewed in this blog before. On this evening, Damon strummed a 12 string acoustic and Naomi alternated between keys and bass. They both sang and continued with the literate dream pop mode. Several tunes came from their recent release A Sky Record. The setlist included How Do I Say Goodbye, The Robot Speaks, How Long, Sailing By, Between The Wars, Season Without Time. The theme of the evening was “almost pretty” which could be a compliment or a dis. The pair spent the day slogging up the Merritt from Philly and decided that Connecticut was almost pretty. The songs were hushed and beautiful with the video store providing perfect acoustics. The show was a Fernando Pinto production and he has moved his East Rock Concert series from the Mactivity Gym space to Best Video. They played an excellent cover of Tim Buckley’s Song To The Siren, Damon noted that Buckley played the song on the final episode of The Monkees. Show highlight was Turn of the Century, a tune from 1998 that was literal.

Erik Friedlander’s The Throw 5/5/23 Firehouse 12

Jazz cello is somewhat of a unicorn. If there was a heap of jazz cellists, Erik Friedlander would be at the top of it. He brought his quartet to the Firehouse. Uri  Caine on piano, Mark Helias on standup bass, and Ches Smith on drums rounded out the group for this excellent set of music. I’m not sure if it is the richness of the cello tone, the omnivorous stylings of the compositions, or the fact that Friedlander is the son of legendary photographer Lee Friedlander ( whose snaps from the 60s and 70s chronicled the American condition with an emphasis on music during that period). With the exception of the younger Smith, these three are pillars of the downtown scene releasing some of the best records that you never heard. The cello allows for a chameleonic quality to the music, the groove based Tan Helmet gave way to the lyrical passages of Little Daily Miracles then on to the free jazz passages of Darse. Erik was definitely driving the trane , to the point of stopping and restarting one tune that didn’t hit his ear correctly. If I told you to conjure an image of Caine, you might get close. Ill- fitting polo, pleated haggar slacks and a haircut better suited to Richard Carpenter, Caine seemed to shun vanity and chose virtuosity. The piano runs could sound downright MikePosty or breathe fire as on the excellent Revelation. Helias added glue, dressed in black with a smooth shaven head, he looked as if a punk Mr. Clean was invited to the festivities. I have seen Smith in many incarnations, he is an in demand drummer for this type of music and I am sure appreciated the opportunity to play with this crew. Jumping time signatures, scraping his cymbals, Smith fit right in with this group. Erik could bow or pluck with one passage sounding Asian and another bowed duet with Helias exuded a mournful sound. Many who come to the Firehouse give me the “I don’t get it” in response to the music. To them, I say catch an Erik Friedlander show. His barrage of styles offers a gateway drug to jazz. Planned lyrical music detours into the realm of free improv, affording the listener a roadmap as to how they might get “it”. Encored with a strict reading of the Oscar Pettiford tune, fittingly titled Cello Again.