The Ivory Bills and The Vultures at Cafe 9

The Ivory Bills and The Vultures at Cafe 9 - 9/8/07

Two of New Haven's past and presently most popular bands put on a pretty good show together. The Ivory Bills played a set, then the Vultures, then both bands again separately, then both bands together.

The Ivory Bills rocked harder than I expected them to, all things considered. I'd seen James Velvet do his folk thing before, but I never got a chance to see the Mockingbirds so I didn't know about his more aggressive tendencies.

The Vultures played a set of mall punk songs w/ vocals, then a set of surfey instrumentals. It was a good way to break things up.



Having both bands play together was very strange. For one thing, they made for a bizarre visual impression. James Velvet is at least a head taller than Warren Brelsford. I kept expecting Warren to climb up on Velvet's back and play on his shoulders. They did a cover of "Waiting for the Man" and some Louisiana blues thing. Velvet was enthusiastic, but most of the band members seemed confused. Then, one of the strangest things I'd ever seen, the drummer from the Ivory Bills played bass and sang for a cover of "The Message." I don't know how well that worked, musically speaking, but it was fun to watch.