Monday, August 31, 2009

Lisa Bouvier

Bringing this post back out of archives, because it wound up buried beneath John's crazed run of posts about all the other great goings-on for the past couple weeks.

Thursday, September 3, 2009


LOCATION:
Cafe Nine
250 State Street
New Haven CT

FREE - 10:00PM - 21+

DIRECTIONS: CLICK

Lisa Bouvier hails from Malmö/Lund/Karlshamn, Sweden. She plays infectious pop music that straddles the pop punk line. Covering such topics as love and longing, Bouvier and her band, The Pop Messengers, keep heads bobbing and toes tapping. A busy woman, Bouvier splits her time among multiple other bands, including indie pop blog darlings, Stars in Coma.

New Haven’s The Tyler Trudeau Attempt has been compared to Elvis Costello, Billy Bragg, The Ramones and Richard Hell. Really it's just great poweer pop. They can be seen on stages all over the state of Connecticut. The New Haven Advocate said the following about The Tyler Trudeau Attempt’s EP, In My Despair I Took Up Painting: "[In My Despair, I Took Up Painting is] an EP brimming with social satire, gleeful punk music, enough organ for a prog band and Trudeau's instantly recognizable whine... The TTA looks back to the roots of punk and finds something immensely energetic, often hilarious and always political. On top of that, it's catchy as hell."

The Hallways are a three-piece pop band from Fairfield that feature guitar, drums and a stand-up bass. Guitarist Nathan Hall writes and sings Smith’s-inspired pop tunes.

Eula, Cleemann and Human Pontiac

Tuesday, September 8, 2009


LOCATION:
Cafe Nine
250 State Street
New Haven CT

FREE - 10:00PM - 21+

DIRECTIONS: CLICK

Eula may be the hardest working band out of New Haven, continually playing shows in and out of the city, as well as New York, Massachusetts and beyond. Alyse, Nate and Jeff play a unique brand of post rock that’s all the rage right now. They’re getting buzz all over the blogosphere and continually packing venues and playing with some of rock and pop’s hottest indie acts. The music blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted said about the band: "Eula absolutely propel themselves with their dynamic rhythm section and then stab you again and again with front lady Alyse Lamb's high-pitched, shrill voice. It's an exciting sound, one that makes you want to slam dance or just plain slam things."

Cleemann is a Danish one-man project centered around singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer Gunnar Cleemann. His album “45 Minutes Mostly About Caring” was co-produced with Mario Thaler, who has worked with the likes of indie bands The Notwist and Lali Puna. His music has been described as “subtle acoustic textures blending with computerized beats and loops,” and has a stripped-down Radiohead feel to it. The music blog Fensepost said about Cleemann: "Cleemann's music is about as unique and interesting as pop music comes. However you wish to classify the mystery that is Cleemann, it's hard to deny that there's something genius about his work."

Human Pontiac is the solo project of New Haven’s Adam Malec, who has made a name for himself in the local music scene in bands such as Groovski and Procedure Club. Malec uses computerized beats and loops while playing guitar to create 3-minute bursts of electronic pop. The live show is a must-see.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Show Review: The Mystery Lights

Thursday night I went down to Surf Nite! at Two Boots. It was a good time. The pizza was outstanding, and the Brooklyn Lager was cold and fresh. Onstage, there were two bands, The Villians, a surf rock band from New Haven, and The Mystery Lights, a garage band from California. It was a pretty killer night.

The Villains were having a really hard time. It seems like the vocals were flat and they were playing really sloppy. After hearing their tunes on MySpace I was expecting a lot more out of them, but they weren't up to par. Maybe it was just a bad night? I mean, I don't want to trash talk them or anything, they were trying pretty damn hard, it just seems like they weren't on top of things, the guitar work was sloppy and late at times, and they just didn't seem to gel. Lead singer/guitarist John Paul seemed to have a little trouble working the crowd, too. He had a smoking jacket and an ascot on for the show, possibly playing a Lex Luthor type role? It also seemed like he was doing his best to be an old time crooner while he sang. It was a little too cheesy for me, but it had a bit of an off-kilter charm to it. It's like he was trying too hard to get you to like him (or maybe that's part of the character he was playing? If so, then it was absolute genius!) While they did struggle, they had some legitimately good moments throughout the night. There was one point where they dropped the singing and decided to play instrumental. When they did, it was really high energy and great, and exactly what I expected to hear out of a surf band. Their drummer really had a chance to shine here, throwing in two killer solos in the middle of the tune. I just wish they played more like that throughout the night.

The Mystery Lights were intense. They were completely high-energy, fueled garage rock action. From a first look, these guys were young, way younger than they sounded. I was not expecting what was in store for me. As they warmed up and did a sound check, you could easily tell that the energy and suspense building up in the crowd was overwhelming.

Dressed like Dee Dee Ramone, lead singer Mike Brandon was full of raw energy. He was a blur onstage most of the time, legs thrashing, arms flailing, jumping and just going crazy with the microphone. He had a really great voice too - it was perfect for the bluesy 60s garage sound they were going for. The band played loud: a wall of guitar riffs with a pounding bass line and thunderous drums. Their sound was massive for just four people.

The songs themselves were absolute nonstop action. They seemed to move from really fast overgained guitar-driven rockouts to slow bluesy bass groves on a whim, and the dichotomy of these two never got old. How they managed to keep up all that energy for the entire show, I'll never know. After walking onstage, they assaulted us for what felt like a scant 20 minutes, then they were done. I wanted way more. I know they played for over an hour, but seriously, it was still way too short.

After the show wound down and the world settled back on its axis, I picked up a copy of their album Teenage Catgirls and The Mystery Lights Show. It's good, but it really doesn't capture what these guys are all about. It's slower and quieter than their stage show, but I guess that's not a surprise as their sound was monstrous onstage. All the same songs are there, but the execution just isn't the same. Anyway, you can listen to the album and snag a copy from Closet Trekkie if you're interested.

It looks like after the few East Coast shows they've done in the past few days, they're heading back to CA. If they ever make it back to CT, it's definitely worthwhile to check them out. It was a hell of a show, absolutely the most energetic and charged shows I've heard in a long time.


Surf Nite! takes place on Thursdays at Two Boots in Bridgeport, and comes at you courtesy of Bobby D.

Records, Records, Records

It seems like this summer a weekend can't go by without a big record sale. There are two upcoming events that you should not miss.

The first is the Back to School Record Convention. Sponsored by Redscroll Records and Manic Productions, this is going to be a huge, huge record sale. Sept 19th, Hamden Elks Lodge, admission is a scant $3.

The second: Trash American Style presents The Danbury Record and CD Expo. All kinds of dealers from across the state will be there, and admission is $4. Sept 27th, at the Holiday Inn (80 Newtown Rd).

Never heard of Trash American Style? It's sort of an American folk legend. As the story goes, Trash started as a quiet little record store in Danbury, but soon exploded as CT's premier underground music store. About two years ago, their landlords dicked them over and kicked them out of their shop (after 18 years!). Since then, Trash has been on the road selling records and sticking it to the man at various conventions and colleges all over the New England area.

Other places you can catch Trash and other record vendors in CT this summer include:

9/4-6: Safe To Swim Weekend in Danbury

9/10: Wesleyan University

9/12: I Am Festival, New London

9/19: Back To School Record Convention

9/20: Trash or Treasure Tag Sale, Heirloom Arts Theatre

9/27: The Danbury Record + CD Expo!

10/11: WESU Community Record Fair, Middletown

10/23-25: WFMU Record Fair

11/2: Wesleyan University.

12/2: University Of Connecticut, Storrs


Saturday, August 29, 2009

Joe Jack Talcum

Joe Jack Talcum, (of the legendary punk rock band The Dead Milkmen), will be performing a solo acoustic set at Cafe Nine in New Haven, on Saturday, Sept. 5th, alongside The Mathematicians from upstate NY, The Bassturd from Las Vegas, Samuel Locke-Ward vs. Darren Brown, and local favorite Larry Loud. This is sure to be a really great show, so you better get your bitchin' Camaro down there.

$8, 21+, 9PM

Friday, August 28, 2009

Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy

Last year, Mark Mulcahy's wife Melissa suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. Mark is now on his own with his three-year-old twins. I can't even imagine the kind of pain he must be going through.

For those of you unfamiliar with Mulcahy, he's a legend in the local CT music scene. He was the front man for the amazing Miracle Legion. They were a jangle-pop band from the 80s and 90s, based in New Haven. They were one of the biggest local bands in New England for many years. After they split up, Mulcahy founded Polaris, the house band for the fantastic Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Any fan of the show knows that the soundtrack is one of the most important things in the entire show, and the songs he wrote for that show are flawless. After the show was cancelled, Mulcahy went on to play solo, releasing 3 LPs and 3 EPs, and playing countless shows across the country. Lately, he's been releasing albums on Mezzotint/Loose. Personally, I grew up listening to Polaris, thanks to Pete and Pete. Since then I've been a very big fan of everything Mark's done, and I've been listening to him almost my entire life. All of his music is absolutely beautiful, his vocals both uplifting and heartbreaking in the same breath.

Fortunately, some help is coming to him to help him get through this tragedy. A tribute album entitled Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy is set to be released on September 29. It will be released via Shout! Factory, and 20 extra tracks will be avaliable for download. It features contributions from huge artists like Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Frank Black, Dinosaur Jr., Michael Stipe, Elvis Perkins and many many other big names. More than being a tribute, the album will also serve as a benefit for Mulcahy. For a full tracklisting and more information, surf on over to his site.

So I'm asking you readers to show some support and buy the album. I'm sure it means a whole lot to him. You can also pre-order the album from Amazon. Again, an additional 20 tracks from other big names like A.C. Newman, Buffalo Tom and Laura Veirs will be released digitally.

In addition to the album, there will be two shows, one in Brooklyn and one in London, to coincide with its release. Performing at the Brooklyn show will be Frank Black, Joseph Arthur, David Berkeley, plus many more. It will also feature the world premiere of the Thom Yorke video "All For The Best," a cover of Mulcahy's song. There will also be readings by graphic novelist and playwright Ben Katchor. The show will be at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday, Sept. 20th.

$25 advance / $25 day of show
Sunday, Sept 20
7:30pm - 11:00pm
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North 6th St, Brooklyn, NY
Buy tickets here.

Mark, my heart goes out to you, and I wish you all the best. Don't ever stop making music.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

News update

Two pieces of news here.

First up!
While promoting shows is the largest part of what we're trying to do, we're also currently looking at expanding our coverage to add more interviews, show reviews, and album reviews. With the end of summer looming and real life commitments back and breathing down our necks, it's getting harder and harder to find the extra time to write articles. Lots of great show and interview opportunities are just passing us by due to work and life and just being understaffed in general. I mean, how much can two guys really get done in one day?

What this boils down to is we're looking for another writer. So if you're interested in writing for us, please shoot us an email. You've got to be willing to go to a lot of shows and do interviews with bands. You've got to also be willing to write a whole heck of a lot for not much reward (at least not physical!). Sense of humor required. There are some very great fringe benefiets like getting into shows for free on a press pass, and getting to interview some really awesome bands. We're preferrably looking for someone from the New Haven area who's willing to go to a lot of shows and write about them.

Item the second:
I just booted up a Facebook group, and I'd really appreciate it if you join and pass this around to your friends. I'm not really sure what the purpose of Facebook groups are quite yet, but it might be yet another way to reach people and get more people interested in quality local music. Hopefully as this website grows, so do the number of readers and the CT music community in general.


So please keep sending us emails, sarcastic comments, ideas, money, show dates, music and any feedback in general.

Saturday at Two Boots

If you're familiar with the CT indie pop scene, chances are you've heard of Singing Bridges. Featuring members of the now-defunct Manchester by the Sea, their fun, infectious pop songs get stuck in your head for weeks. They've got jangle and noise and smiles all around, and it should be a really fun show.

Also on the bill:
King Sexy is a garage/punk rock band from Bridgeport.
The Midnightmares are a pop-punk/emo band from Port Chester, NY.

The show's at 9PM on Saturday the 29th and will cost about 5 buckaroo bandits and will be at the always fantastic Two Boots in Bridgeport.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

My Name is Nobody & EULA

Sunday, August 30th @ BAR (part of Shaki Presents' weekly Sunday series, Sundazed):

My Name Is Nobody is from the city of Nantes, in the Bretagne region of France. With the band comes the distinct and intelligent warble of Vincent Dupas. Immediately reflective of formative years spent discovering American folk music and indie rock, Dupas' songs carry rich subtextual elements, deep enough to be explored with vigor -- his lyrics, reflections on culture and politics and the personal adventure of being human, are colorful, beautiful, and often fascinating contortions of the English language. Dupas' self-awareness and humor are matched only by his sincerity.

This tour marks the maiden voyage of My Name is Nobody to the United States, although they have toured extensively throughout greater Europe, performing upwards of 200 shows in the past 3 years. This tour as well is being undertaken in support of the release of a new full-length "The Mentor."

Eula is opening - if you haven't heard of Eula, where the hell have you been living for the past few years? Chances are, if you've been to any show in CT, you've seen them. Just look at their schedule, they've been playing tons of big shows in New Haven and surrounding area. I mean, come on, it's Eula! Get ready for loud loud loud rock rock rock.

BAR, 254 Crown St. New Haven, CT
Sunday, August 30th
Absolutely Free!
21+ please

Monday, August 24, 2009

Free 2 Be Festival

Saturday, Aug 29th
Free 2 Be Fest
2pm - 10pm
Temple St. Plaza, New Haven

This event will be huge. Tons of experimental, psychedelic, and noise bands will be playing, including:
Lightning Bolt
Juiceboxxx Adventure
Narwhalz
Teethmountain
D. Gookin

Also, the afterparty takes place at BAR in New Haven, featuring Machine Drum and DJ J Prez.

An all night atom bomb of musical action.

The Mystery Lights and The Villains

This Thursday evening, Surf Nite! at Two Boots has a special little surprise for us. A psych garage band called The Mystery Lights from California will be rocking out with local surf legends The Villians.

The Mystery Lights have some great songs with wild 60s-inspired guitar riffs. Sometimes the songs meander into long psychadelic breakdowns, sometimes they're loud yellfests. Either way, they're definately displaying a lot of 60s Detroit garage influence with their tunes. They were at Heirloom Arts Theatre on Saturday, a show I missed but heard was pretty decent.

I freaking love The Villains. They've got some great surf tunes that make you want to just rock out. My only complaint about these guys is that they don't play enough shows! I mean seriously, they rule.

Thrs, Aug 27
Surf Nite! at Two Boots with The Mystery Lights and The Villains
281 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport, CT
9 p.m., $5

Thanks to both Bobby D and Tweefort for throwing this show together!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Shapiro at The Space

Don't miss Shapiro on Wednesday, Aug 26th at The Space. They've got some really damn catchy keyboard driven songs. You can definitely hear the Kid A-era Radiohead influence here, but they've got a lot of classic rock riffs mixed in and some really hooky choruses. Check it out.

Also on the bill are locals The Framecell and Rich Pellegrino.


Doors at 7
$10

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

King Curly

Thursday, August 20, 2009, SUB ROSA PARTY PRESENTS:


LOCATION:
Heirloom Arts Theatre
155 Main St
Danbury CT
$5 (door) - 8:00PM - all ages

King Curly is contemporary Australian songwriting at its finest, voiced through a highly original, loose and sparse style of instrumentation aptly termed “Garage-Cabaret”. Their work is a refreshing anomaly on our musical landscape. Its apparent creative naivety masks exceptional skill that draws as much from the tragically misunderstood Tiny Tim as the gritty storytelling of Lou Reed.

Opening is the local band Morningside.

Noise show at Le Paloma

Saturday, August 22, 2009


LOCATION: La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse
405 Capitol Ave
Hartford, CT
7:00pm - 11:00pm
COST: $5 donation

This is Whitney House's first noise show and first off-premises show. Get jacked on caffeine, eat grub, and check out the music at Hartford's La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse. The event is BYOB but you must bring an ID if you will be drinking.

Telecult Powers
Towering Heroic Dudes
Family Treasures
Free Guns (guys from florida=DEATH)
Parakeets (J-P wizardry)

Petite Mal in Hartford Advocate

~Sarah Zucker photo

Petite Mal got a little writeup in the Hartford Advocate. "Petite Mal says she's very easy to ignore onstage, if the audience so chooses. That's because the 22-year-old (real name Mia Zucker, shown here) is only 4'11", has no band, no musical backup, no technology at all — just a rather small voice." Read the rest here: CLICK.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Old Hannah, David Dondero, Sinforiano Diaz +

Wednesday, August 19, 2009





Connecticut DIY brings you two CT locals, Old Hannah and Sinforiano Diaz, along with outlanders Wingnut Dishasher's Union (who might not be coming considering the WDU site says all Northeast dates are canceled because of car issues), Erik Petersen of Mischief Brew, and David Dondero. We're talking folk flying free from the usual acoustic strums. From freak, riot, indie, to creepy, sleepy, or weirdo beardo, you name it. But before you do, go to the show.

LOCATION: The Fucking Discovery Zone
74 Dwight St, New Haven
Cost: donation

Monday, August 17, 2009

RYS Indie Night 3 Year Anniversary at Grady Tavern

Friday, August 21, 2009


Grady Tavern
622 E. Middle Turnpike
Manchester, CT
10 PM, 21+ only, $2 at the door.

It's been 3 beautiful years. You are cordially invited to help celebrate a legacy of rock.

Here's the pure local lineup:

Petite Mal - one girl act from Hartford that will make you cry
Organic Chemistry - acoustic funk
Weird Beards- New London anti-folk/gypsy punk
Bret the One Man Band - punk rock on an acoustic + some tin cans
Slam Donahue - rock and roll and synthesizers

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Gringo Star plays BAR

Gringo Star comes to BAR in New Haven this Sunday. You know them, you love them, and you'll be at this show. They'll definately be there kicking some serious ass. It seems like every time I turn around they're playing BAR. Not surprising because they play about a billion shows a year. I remember hearing about these guys way back when they were called A Fir-Ju Well, and they've only gotten better with time. Also, be sure to check out this Daytrotter session they did back in February. It's pretty freaking sweet. Stop by and see Atlanta's Finest in their Sunday best.

As always, the show is 21+, starts at 9PM and is completely free. BAR is at 254 Crown St, New Haven.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Drew and the Medicinal Pen at Wrench

Tonight, Monday, August 10, 2009:


Come check out Brooklyn's Drew and the Medicinal Pen. Some of you may remember them from past performances such as at the Thunderdome basement. Drew brought great music and really cool artwork through town last time and had a blast. Please come and show them some love - this time at the Wrench Collective in Willimantic.

Sock rocker Maria will be warming up the crowd at 7:30 with a few originals and a few Hawaiian tunes.

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Wrench in the Works Collective
861 Main Street
Willimantic, CT

$5.00 suggested donation

Friday, August 7, 2009

Black Taxi double-header

Brooklyn's Black Taxi is playing two back to back shows in CT this weekend.

Tonight, they'll be playing at Rack N Roll sports bar in Stamford, with fellow New Yorkers Black Bunny. Both bands are guaranteed fun.

Tomorrow night they'll be at Two Boots in Bridgeport. The Two Boots show will be with Ali Eskandarian, who blends traditional American rock and folk sounds with traditional Persian music. This show should be really great, so get some pizza and rock out.

Both events kick off at 9PM. Just remember, the Rack N Roll show is 21+ and the Two Boots show is all ages.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Canopy

The other day a mysterious email floated it's way into CT Indie central. A certain band named Canopy, comprised of an individual who "chooses to remain anonymous at this point," submitted his album for our perusal. You can download and listen to the demo EP for free at Canopy's Bandcamp site. Apparently Canopy does all of the instrumentation and vocals himself, so it's a one man show.

No one song on here is alike, but while it is just a few demos, there's definitely some things worth hearing. The first song, Cheated Again, is a freak-folk ballad in the style of Woods, with quavering falsetto vocals and noisy guitars. It's got an interesting Elephant 6-esque non sequitur distorted freakout in the middle, which was pretty damn cool. I found myself wanting more that sounded like this first track. The second track, Underneath, is an upbeat rocker that could kick teeth in with a live band behind it. Father's Day is just a 30 second track featuring two threadbare paternal threats as lyrics. It's funny to reduce to banality what has been shouted in many a kid's face, but the tune is missing the glue of a catchy hook. The last track Know is the strongest both lyrically and vocally, with a really bluesy, crafty melody. On all the songs, the vocals are a bit too loud, and on a song like Cheated Again it's always nice to have a little wash of reverb, or the use of a distant mic, to help blend things together. I was at least hoping for more than we hear here.

All in all I think Canopy is off to a good start, and perhaps in the future, we'll hear some really killer tunes from this guy, if he could only nail down a direction.

Bad News for Two Boots?


We just got word that Two Boots of Bridgeport is in danger of not being able to host indie bands anymore. The management doesn't like the small crowds and "has never heard of most of the bands." They want to start hosting DJs and cover bands in lieu of the indie bands. I'm left shaking my head thinking, here we go again. More on this soon.

In the meantime, please take a moment to post your comments in support of Bobby D and Two Boots. Even more importantly, GO TO TWO BOOTS to support the upcoming shows. Pack the place. Make those bozos wish they hadn't even thought of dropping the curtain on all these bands they "never heard of."

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Lovvers live session

Last Tuesday, The Needle Drop, Adorea Recording Studio and Manic Productions hosted a show featuring UK band Lovvers at The Space in Hamden. The live show has been recorded and made available for your discerning ears, so give it a listen.

Hear the live session here.

WHUS Basement Tapes

There's something really nostalgic and enticing about old radio broadcasts. I'm a radio nerd myself, and for a short while had a radio show at a college station (WLVR) and the idea behind radio broadcasting and music shows has always interested me.

Ray Hardman at WNPR has been putting together an archive of basement tapes from the state of CT. These tapes are found sound from all over the state. There's a lot of really interesting tapes he's unearthed, but the one that interested me most was a tape from UConn Student Radio channel WHUS-FM. It was a broadcast from 1971, a program called the Ancient Archives Show, which happened to be playing every major Elvis recording ever in chronological order. It's wild stuff, and being the radio geek I am, I thought it was worth sharing.

Listen to the original NPR broadcast here.


So start digging in your basements, attics, garages, if you find anything worthwhile, tapes, video, 78s, etc. send it to Ray Hardman, and it might end up on the air.

Also, for you WHUS fans, I stumbled across Robert J's WHUS Memories Museum site while poking around the web - there's a lot of really amazing archives here, and if you dig deep enough, you'll find some really mindblowing broadcasts.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Show Review: Jack Rose & Bill Nace

August 2, 2009

I went to see Jack Rose with Bill Nace at BAR in New Haven on Sunday night. I expected to see a lot more people there, but since it's summer and Yale isn't in full swing, there was a pretty small crowd. Those who went were lucky enough to see a damn fine show.

Without a single word, Bill Nace took to the stage and unleashed a sonic fury. Holding his Fender Jaguar on his lap like a lap steel, he quietly prepared turned up his tiny amp and started the onslaught. He began the set with staccato bursts of noise created by a shallow metal bowl over his pickups, and then waves and waves of feedback. Throughout the show Nace's hands moved like lightning across the fretboard, striking notes both above and below the capo, and even blasting directly at his pickups with tiny metal objects. He was using all kinds of things to hammer away at his guitar, including what I think was a comb, but it was too dark and too small to tell. One song had him creating a really nice quavering, shimmering rhythm with what looked like a small drumstick, while punctuating the timing with noise and arrhythmic feedback squonk. Toward the end of the set, some drunk asshole ran up to the stage and yelled something at Nace, but he was quickly handled by Rick and company. Nace loudly finished his set, and with nothing more than a smile and a nod was packed up and offstage. At a set lasting only 20 minutes, I was left wanting way more.

The moment Jack Rose took the stage was surreal. As he started his set, a sort of quiet fell on the audience. Everyone was watching him. He began playing fast, flowing ragtime tunes with both ferocity and grace. His fingers are a blur, and how he manages an alternating bassline that fast is beyond me. The sounds he was able to coax out of just one acoustic guitar and a microphone were astounding - at one point it sounded like he had an entire chorus singing along, but it was just the drone of the top strings. He played a few songs on the 6 string, changing tunings here and there, before moving to a lap steel. He then proceeded to play two songs on lap steel, ending with a slowly building Now That I'm A Man Full Grown II which was mindblowingly executed. All the while, the BAR backdrop lights seemed to change with the music, constantly shifting in and out of deep blues with the slower tunes and stark red when the songs got more intense. I couldn't believe how great Jack Rose was live. Seeing him in person and listening to him on a record really just can't compete. The show completely inspired me, and all told, it was a great night in New Haven.


Monday, August 3, 2009

Get Haunted



Being a sucker for outré primitive lo-fi oddness and a sucker for late night b-horror cable TV in the 80's, I was happy to find that a new Connecticut band called Get Haunted recently stumbled upon CT Indie. Imagine The Cramps meets Beat Happening on a banjo. They're the sort of monster movie hootenanny that Carnival of Souls would have been had it been set in the Deep South. Vist their page here: CLICK.

This may be a little wide of the mark, but Get Haunted reminded me of Jeri Cain Rossi's adaptation of the Flannery O’Connor short story A Good Man Is Hard To Find, which you can find here if you're not familiar with it.

Tweefort Comp Show


This coming Friday, Tweefort will be releasing the first in a series of compilation albums featuring Connecticut, national and international pop bands. To celebrate the launch of the series, they'll be having a 4-band pop showcase at Cafe Nine in New Haven where we'll be giving the CD away for free.

More than half of the bands on the first compilation album are from Connecticut or have ties to the state, including: Conversion Party (New London), Steven Deal (New Haven), Welcome (New Haven), The Cavemen Go (New Haven), The Joyful Beginners (Stratford), The Procedure Club (New Haven), Panda and Child (Manchester) and Boy Genius (ties to East Lyme). The album also features bands from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas, New York and as far away as Sweden, Denmark and Germany!


FRIDAY, AUG. 7:
CAFE NINE, 250 State St., New Haven, CT

CONVERSION PARTY (New London)
BOY GENIUS (Brooklyn, NY)
THE BYNARS (Boston)
WELCOME (New Haven)

Music starts at 10 p.m.
FREE show. 21+

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Cursive @ Daniel St



Don't let this pass you by, Cursive will be at Daniel st to melt hearts and soul's for only 15 wing wangs.



Cursive @ Daniel St
Tuesday August 4th
Cost: $15
Milford, CT