Various over the last couple months.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

I keep putting off writing about the stuff I've been to. I've been taking too many pictures and that's satisfying my documentary nature. It's been a while for some of this stuff, and memory does funny things.

September 5 - Beatnik 2000 with Frank Critelli at Cafe 9.
My first trip to a Beatnik 2000 event was pretty unremarkable. I was glad to see Frank. I always enjoy seeing him in new environments and I believe this was actually the first time I'd seen him in a bar. That seems odd. There were also other Critelli-esque performers, but none did it as good. There was spoken word by local beatnik-wannabes. My favorite was a guy who works at Toad's who did some really socially deviant story/list/poems. Great stuff. Everybody hated him. He had a horribly obnoxious voice. Hard to tell if it was a put on or authentic. I loved it. Other than that, it was pretty dead.

September 8 - Bludrum at Rudy's.
Doctor Dark was meant to play, but they had just returned from Germany and the bass player decided to quit. I was glad to have the chance to finally see Bludrum. Bacchanalian is, I think, a good word. They are billed as an experimental percussion band, but that doesn't give a good sense of what they're really like. I was expecting some hippie nonsense, but it was actually pretty intense. At their core, they are a basic band consisting of guitar, bass and vocals. But they also pass out percussion instruments and devices to members of the audience. They have some loosely structured songs that seem to have a lot of room for improvisation. The singer was pretty impressive with interesting vocal effects and strange hoots and growls. It was a good time.

September 17 - Angry Johnny and the Killbillies at Rudy's.
My memory's foggy with this one. There were a couple of rockabilly bands. One was old-time rockabilly, one more new wave rockabilly. I think the first opening band sucked real bad.

September 20 - Tyler Trudeau Attempt and The Furors at Cafe 9.
Continuing in the tradition, Brian plays better every time I see him. I like the Furors, but I don't trust someone who smiles that much while on stage. It seems inauthentic. Like Duke Ellington, that smiling bastard.

September 23 - Honeyboy Edwards at Cafe 9.
Seeing Honeyboy Edwards was an odd mix of awe and disappointment. I knew he was an important character, but if I hadn't known going into it, I would never have guessed. I listen to a lot of old blues, but his playing reminded me more of newer styles. I couldn't determine if he had adapted over time to play what people wanted to hear or if that was how he'd always played. Part of it must have been the electric guitar. Surely, he wasn't playing electric back in the '40s when he played with Robert Johnson. Maybe it's that fact that overshadows whatever else he is. He played with Robert Johnson. So, therefore, he must be of that period. He can no longer appear as a dynamic artist, rather he's a museum piece meant to hang on the wall to show us what it was really like back then. He played with a younger guy on washboard and harmonica (he'd have to, he just turned 90 years old shortly before I saw him.) The harmonica was a bit of a distraction, it always makes me think of the Blues Brothers for some reason. Then some local guy showed up with a guitar and started to play along. He sat on stage in everybody's way with his back to the audience. I don't know. I'm glad I went. It was great to see a man like that in a setting like that. Just a small bar, intimate and personal. Surely, it's how blues is most properly represented. Rather than Eric Clapton in a big arena.

September 24 - Art of Shooting, the Battlecats and the Carlos Project at Cafe 9.
Art of Shooting is from New York, and are fronted by two female vocalists. They were pretty good. Their vocal interplay was interesting and even more so on the cd. They are very modern, about what you'd expect from a New York band. The Battlecats played well. They seem less schticky since their period in New York. The songs are a little more solid. The newer recordings sound good. This was the first time I'd seen the Carlos Project. I didn't really care for them. Kind of overblown neo-prog. It went over real well with the jock-frat boy types. I was tired and decided to make an early night of it.

October 6 - The Decemberists at Toad's.
I was amazed at how many people turned up for this show. I was expecting a crowd more like the one for Camper Van Beethoven, maybe fifty people standing around looking awkward. It was completely packed. I was up near the front and couldn't move. I don't know how all these people know the band. I assume they must have been on the soundtrack to an episode of Gilmore Girls or the OC or something. Anyway, it was a good show. The opening band sucked. They were a bunch of hippies that put me to sleep where I stood. Their songs were boring and went on way too long. But the Decemberists made up for it. They opened with Shanty for Arethusa, which was great but then got into their more poppy stuff, eventually they got into the stuff I really like. Their Mariner's Revenge Song is particularly beloved of audiences, what with the giant cardboard whale mouth they bring out to scare the audience. Other theatricalities included making the audience crouch down and get silent and a couple of the band members donned fake wigs and marched through the crowd with drums. A personal highlight was a sparse rendition of Eli the Barrowboy. Their version of the Velvet Underground's I'm Sticking with You was also very well done. Very satisfactory.

October 15 - Kimono Draggin' at Rudy's.
I wasn't sure the first time I saw them, but now I think they may be one of the best bands in New Haven. They're creative and eclectic and they play really well. They occassionally wear their influences on their sleeve, but I won't hold that against them because they show good taste. Their nerdiness and kitschiness worried me last time, but I don't think it overwhelms. I look forward to hearing their new recording.

October 16 - Doctor Dark and Project Object at Toad's.
Doctor Dark was again great. They got Warren from the Vultures to play bass. He said they'd only practiced twice, but it seemed like he had the parts down. Also, Joe from Kimono Draggin' was playing guitar. I don't know if that was new, I didn't notice last time. About Project Object, though, I think I just don't really like Frank Zappa. I certainly appreciate his work. I may even regard him as a genius, but I just don't like it. Something about being all technique and no heart. It feels inauthentic (yeah, there's that word again.) This group had some musicians that originally recorded with Zappa, so I guess they're not a tribute band so much as his band continuing without him.