Brother Jocephus 6/21/12 Arts and Ideas Festival New Haven Green

New Orleans style brass, funk, girl backup singers, funny shades, a green trumpet. BroJo takes the stage for the Thurs. A/I slot. While abbreviated, this Brooklyn collective, and Brooklyn Bowl mainstays were smoking on this sultry evening. Good covers of We Are the Champions, and Sublime's What I Got were nice. City life is nice when you can saddle up the Townie, buy a big beer at the Wine Thief, and make it to the green for some down home Nawlins funk

Les Rhinoceros w/ Steve Assett 6/12/12 Cafe Nine

Opener Steve played bass clarinet and theremin looked like a substitute teacher, hipster dudes on uke and standup bass, and a dead ringer for Sun Ra on percussion. Odd combination for an avant jazz group, always good to see a theremin in use. When I say Sun Ra dude on percussion, I mean percussion. This guy played an altoids box, dog squish toys, a lucky bean, all while growling into a can! Headliner Les Rhinoceros from D.C. is also on John Zorn's Tzadik label (see previous review of Many Arms). The Rhino lineup had mini-electric violin and processed samples, guitar , dubby bass, and fierce drumming. Drumming and violin were the highlight, this band sounded like Jean Luc-Ponty fronting Firehose. Beatles and Sketches of Spain tease were welcome. Rhinos were en route to a date at the out-jazz fest Suoni Per Il Popolo in Montreal late June.

Eef Barzelay 6/4/12 Outer Space Hamden

Let's say you were a left-handed uke playing frontman of the band Clem Snide. Throw in an entire recording of Journey covers, spice with stories of being an american music cultural ambassador to Ecuador. Top with parents who are kind enough to name you Eef Barzelay.....and I'm in. This guy was the real deal on a low-key evening in Outer Space. Having been in and around the music business since the 90s, Eef had the cynical charm of a veteran. Songs like That Nick Drake Tape, and Stuck Inside Wallingford with the Hamden Blues Again (sic) were great. Ended the show with a great version of Train Train. Don't Stop Believing indeed!

Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express 5/23/12 Cafe Nine

Chuck Prophet is amazing. San Francisco native, Chuck led the band Green On Red in the 80s before embarking on a career of solid recordings. "No Other Love" ranks as one of my favorite recordings of all time. Rocking a sold out crowd at the Nine, Chuck played tracks from his new recording, sprinkled with blasts from the past. Chuck had two mics, one had a distortion quality that allowed him scramble some choruses for extra power. Female cohort Stephanie Finch sang a couple tunes. Prophet live brings out his smart-ass inter song banter which is always a treat. Summertime Thing, and Who Put the Bomp were standouts. He played a Flamin Groovies tune which he labelled as the SF national anthem

Mary Halvorsen Quintet 5/18/12 Firehouse 12

Second set at the Firehouse showed Halvorsen and company in good form. Halvorsen on guitar, Stephan Crump on bass, Ches Smith drums, John Irabogon sax, and Finlayson on trumpet. Smith's solo resembled a bb gun fight, his loose-limbed style honed with Mike Patton's Mister Bungle. Halvorsen, quiet and geeky, is an able leader, her style on this evening was aided with a whammy-effect pedal. Crump, Harry Chapin's son-in-law, mimes his notes, and gives a new meaning to full contact bass. Irabogon is a chameleon, he seems at home in any style. He could play Ayler with a wedding band. Finlayson looked like a cross between Thomas Dolby and Buckwheat. His full tone was enhanced by aiming directly at the audience. (you'd be surprised how many trumpeters aim at the floor)

M. Ward w/ Lee Ranaldo 5/7/12 Toads

Sonic Youth lieutenant shredder Ranaldo opens with songs from a new solo recording. Nasally vocals wrapped around trademark skronk make for an enjoyable listen.  Dark and goofy with a good cover of T Heads "Thank You for Sending Me An Angel". I liked the fretwork on "Christina"s World". M. Ward shows up with a top-notch band and rolls through some of his back catalog. Ward is a true musical chameleon. Equal parts western swing, She and Him hipster, and superb picker topped with his distinctive aw shucks vocal delivery. Great version of "Helicopter" off the Transfiguration of Vincent recording.

Shpongle w/ Phutureprimitive 4/19/12 Toads

 Came in with Phutureprimitive at the helm. One skater type spitting beats. Large crowd of youngsters waiting for Simon Posford aka Shpongle. Same idea as opener but with a little more pep to the beats and some bizarre vocal snippets wound into the mix. Tame light show but the crowd was in a constant state of motion.  I feel weird to say, but this show was not trippy enough. The music is infectious but needs the whole package for success. Show was listed as a masquerade, where were the masks, the light show.  Seems like a lot of space between top electronica acts like Thievery Corp and the second layer, I urge young people with laptops to get busy. Shpongle did play his hit Divine Moment of Truth which is kind of like his Lucy in the Sky. He didn't play the B-side, Mother Don't Make Applesauce, just kidding.