Covin and Double of the Dial at Toad's

Covin and Double of the Dial at Toad's - 8/17/06

Who the hell ever heard of a show in New Haven starting before 10 o'clock? I guess the kids' parents were coming to pick them up early, so they had to start the show before sundown or something. Because of that, I missed the first three bands, including Spider and Fly - the main band I went to see.
It was the Covin album release show. Covin do overblown rockstar metal with Green Day moments. They certainly have their act down, but when it's all just right, there's no room for magic. And I want magic damnit. Plus, they think it's acceptable to play a Motley Crue cover - so fuck that shit.
Double of the Dial seemed like an afterthought on the part of the organizers. They weren't named on the promo tickets and they played after the "headliners." Their first two songs were absolutely awful - the second was some kind of funk/metal piece of crap - and I was inclined to leave, but I could hardly consider my opinion justified based on those two. And frankly, everyone else had left and I felt bad for them - fewer than ten people remained after Covin was finished. I'm glad I stuck around. The rest of their set was actually really good. They went from Sabbathy psychedelic metal to shoegazey country (My Bloody Valentine vs. Uncle Tupelo.) They weren't glamorous and didn't have much of an act, as such - which was a breath of fresh air after Covin. Just guys playing their guitars and performing their songs. My major complaint with them is in the name. It's hard to say and nobody will ever remember it. I look forward to seeing them again, though.

I took pictures, but I can't be bothered to upload them right now.

http://www.myspace.com/covin
http://www.myspace.com/doubleofthedial

Also:
Pencilgrass put out a bulletin wherein they claim to be breaking up. If true, this makes me unhappy. Their version of Wild Thing was a worthy successor to Hendrix's. Hopefully some weird and spacey phoenix will rise from the ashes.

Crooked Hood and Humanoid at Cafe 9

Crooked Hood and Humanoid at Cafe 9 - 8/16/06

Crooked Hook were a last-minute replacement for the no-show Subliminator. Nuts to your car-crash excuses, Subliminator.
Due to technical troubles and general sloppiness, Crooked Hook failed to bring the overwhelming inertia that we've come to expect.
After all the other disasters, I half expected some member of Humanoid to spontaneously combust onstage, but instead they gave a fine performance. The disorienting volume and ponderous riffs kept me trapped in my seat much of the time. They play for themselves, surely; they turn their backs to the audience; but they are aware of the audience - the ten minutes of false stops attest to that. It's music for people who want to get lost in the all-encompassing noise.

Last night was the first in a four-night binge of the rock. Tonight is Spider and Fly with Covin at Toad's. Tomorrow is The Vultures, Groovski and Muck and the Mires at Cafe Nine. Saturday will be The Chuck Hestons and The Liz Larsons at Rudy's.


Pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594241046685/

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/crookedhook
http://www.myspace.com/humanoidsapiens

Catching Up

Chris Buskey and the High Lonesome Plains and Susan Cowsill at Cafe 9 - 7/18/06

Susan Cowsill inspires no particular memories in me. They say she was a big deal 40 years ago.
Chris Buskey sounds like the guys from They Might Be Giants fronting REM. He's a good, solid, inventive pop-rock songwriter. I saw him once before playing solo but this time he had a band. Either way, it's good stuff.

Pictures:

http://flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594206973571

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/chrisbuskey


Nasty Disaster, Krull and Appetite for Destruction at Toad's - 8/3/06

Nasty Disaster try very hard to be a ridiculous over-the-top mock-metal band. I guess they succeed - every song is about metal and has metal in the title. I don't quite understand how they've lasted this long, though. It's like the kind of half-funny nonsense that high school kids would work up for the talent show. I could see if they were accomplished musicians or something, but these guys were, in every sense, thoroughly mediocre. This is for people who weren't smart enough to get Spinal Tap.
Krull are a heavy rock band. They bare a lot of influences, but aren't beholden to any particular genre. Their most interesting influence is probably Tool - take that as you will. Sometimes the drummer is the lead singer and that's kind of weird. This is among my favorite pictures:

That's Anthony from Krull.
Appetite for Destruction are a Guns 'n' Roses cover band. I don't like Guns 'n' Roses.

Pictures:

http://flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594224122168

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/nastydisaster
http://www.myspace.com/krullmusic


Goose Lane on Broadway - 8/5/06

I'm not familiar with much jazz that was made after the mid '60s, so maybe Goose Lane are part of some kind of postmodern jazz movement, but they don't sound quite like anything I've ever heard. The most interesting moment, for me, was a transition from a dixie-style section to a sort of free/fusion thing - but not Miles Davis fusion, it was a much more modern sound.
I took a video:

I was really happy that I got some video of that crazy guy who walks around downtown and says hello to everybody and you think he's just a friendly guy, but then you realize he's also saying hello to his own reflection in the window.

Pictures:

http://flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594241011708

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/gooselane


Frank Critelli and Shandy Lawson at Koffee? - 8/10/06

It was a coffeeshop thing. They both played well. It was all very casual. Frank Critelli told his stories. It was a night among friends. Even so, Shandy Lawson's natural intensity was engrossing.

Pictures:

http://flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594241015597

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/frankcritelli
http://www.myspace.com/shandylawson

Simple Pleasures, Liz Larsons, Battlecats at the Brass Rail

The Simple Pleasures, The Liz Larsons and The Battlecats at The Brass Rail in New London on 7/16/06

The Simple Pleasures were operating at 2/3 capacity that night. One member was sick and so the remaining had to fill in, sometimes playing multiple instruments at once. They played well, all things considered. Unfortunately, the mostly flamboyantly gay audience didn't get into the show.
It was the second time I've seen the Liz Larsons. They are okay, but the singer sounds bored a lot of the time. I'd like to see them do some weirder stuff. It's all a bit too straightforward.
I've seen the Battlecats many times and sometimes I ask myself why I keep going. I guess I go because they consistently put on an exciting and interesting show, even if the material is simple and well-worn. Their new project sees Kelly playing bass, Jimmy on acoustic guitar and Sean on electric and they play to a prerecorded drum track. I don't know what the benefit of this modification is, but it's nice to see them experimenting.

Pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594210256647

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/chadrainesandthesimplepleasures
http://www.myspace.com/thelizlarsons
http://www.myspace.com/thebattlecats

Self Promotion and A Compilation

Self Promotion

For a while now, I've been working on some music of my own. I've played guitar for around 12 years now, but that is not to be taken as any indication of quality. I've tried, over the years, to come up with my own stuff. I always failed miserably. Everything I wrote was stupid and I couldn't remember it anyway.
Well, I don't know what happened, but sometime in the last year or so, I committed myself to really trying to write some songs and, somehow, it worked. To start off with, I wrote a few folky, basic, traditionally structured songs. I was happy enough with the result, but I really wanted to do something weirder.
I finally came up with something I really like. It's called "Madman Stomp." The end result is nothing like the original conception of the song, but I'm happy with it, anyway. It is nothing like anything I've ever done before, but I hope it is indicative of things I will do in the future.
I put together a separate MySpace page for the music project. It is here: http://www.myspace.com/oxidizer0


I have a friend who doesn't make it to New Haven all that often and I wanted to share with him some of my favorite bands. So, I made a compilation. It was compiled from cds and downloads I have amassed. My friend seemed pleased, so I figured I'd post it to share.
Not all of the performers are at their best in recorded form, a few have to be witnessed live, but on the whole, I'm happy with the results. It was made to fit on a single cd, so it is far from comprehensive. I left it in alphabetical order and that leads to some weird juxtapositions - see the transition from Shandy Lawson to The Battlecats.

Download the Zip file:
http://pantheon.yale.edu/~dm453/oxidizer/musi/compilation/NHC.zip

The tracklist is:

Bloarzeyd - new accidental stain
Chris Buskey - 40 Acres
Eiderdown - Cityside
Frank Critelli - Amnesia
GrimFacts Ed - when the aliens stole my car
Humanoid - Description of
Hygiene Wilder - They Can't Say
Kimono Draggin' - Leggo My Ego
Low Beam - Fathom
Nightcrawler 1947 - unheard
Paul Belbusti - Demons and Carpenters
Pencilgrass - edward prendergast
Ray Neal - Our Year
Shandy Lawson - The Threads of Jack Dupree
The Battlecats - Jungle Jim
The Bourgeois Heroes - Judy
The Chuck Hestons - AntsandCar
The Danglers - Chicks is Evil
The Liz Larsons - Gosh Its Hot
The Tyler Trudeau Attempt - Come to Life
The Vultures - another cliche