Brian Slattery Photo
“Show him some love, Elm City!” Puma Simone admonished the crowd at Stella Blues. “He came all the way from Oklahoma City. That’s not close!”
So Simone introduced Gregory Jerome, the second performer of the night at the latest Something 2 Do showcase. The night started out mellow. It didn’t stay that way.
Simone kicked things off with a short set of her own material, as she roused the crowd, tired from the cold outside, to attention.
She then let Parlay Droner, from Bethel, Connecticut, take the stage at last Wednesday’s performance. Manipulating a series of sounds and samples, Parlay Droner’s set settled into musical territory somewhere on the border between hip hop and electronic experimentalism, marrying eclectic soundscapes to strong grooves.
Jerome came after that. He started his set a cappella, so the audience could “pay attention to the lyrics.” But it was his last number, hard-edged and set to a pensive Harry Belafonte sample, that grabbed the crowd and didn’t let go.
The energy was building. Drew Kaboom, in from Brooklyn, delivered a thoughtful set, laid back but insistent. Then Simone introduced New Haven’s own Kyle Jamal to the mic.
Jamal, who has been putting out music for a few years now, came on like a live wire, starting urgent and ended frantic, intense, and real. The mellowness that had started the night off was nowhere in sight. Now the crowd was hollering and cheering.
“Give it up for Kyle Jamal,” Simone said, “who just killed it.”
Stealth Hands and Ritz the Lioness followed with sets that let the audience relax a bit. Then, as if there was still some energy left in the room to burn off, the night ended with a freestyle session featuring Simone, Jamal, Kaboom, and several members from the audience.
Simone, switching hats from host to performer, wasn’t in the position to say they killed it again. But they did.
The next Something 2 Do is slated for Mar. 25 at Stella Blues, 204 Crown St.