by | Aug 12, 2021 9:02 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Rich Moran and his band had already swung through way through the classics “Let’s Fall in Love” and “Getting to Know You” when he addressed the audience directly. “Thank you for being here. We are so happy to be here, finally.”
Continue reading ‘Great American Songbook Takes Edge Off Heat’
by | Aug 11, 2021 9:43 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Loralee and Bruce Crowder.
A new documentary from Gorman Bechard, the New Haven Documentary Film Festival’s executive director, sparked a gathering of New Haven musicians who came together to pay tribute to a departed rock icon at Cafe Nine Tuesday night.
by | Aug 10, 2021 7:08 pm | Comments (0)
Lisa Reisman Photo
Rocky Lawrence channels Robert Johnson at Monday night’s Hi-Fi Pie.
He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and clutched the neck of his guitar. His faded leather shoes pounded the ground. His voice broke. His guitar moaned.
Continue reading ‘Bluesman, Pie Champ Reveal Secret Ingredients’
by | Aug 10, 2021 11:54 am | Comments (1)
Sophie Sonnenfeld photo
Gamaliel “Gammy” Moses performs at festival’s first week.
Newhallville neighbors gathered at the Learning Corridor Saturday afternoon to enjoy jazz, art, and an interactive drum circle, for the first week of a concert series that is scheduled to run through September.
Continue reading ‘Newhallville Kicks Off Weekly Summer Music And Arts Festival’
by | Aug 4, 2021 9:29 am | Comments (0)
“Brightest and Best,” the lead single from Joshua Banbury’s and Kevin Sherwin’s Forgotten Folklore, starts with the crackle of a record, a wash of strings that evokes wide open spaces, before settling into a sparse, urgent guitar pattern, a voice hovering somewhere between a warble and a chant.
“Hail the blest morn, when the great Mediator / Down from the regions of glory descends,” the singer intones. “Shepherds, go worship the babe in the manger / Lo, for His guard, the bright angels attends,” the singer intones. It’s a prayer of hope, but the music suggests something more complex, elements of fear and awe.
Continue reading ‘New Album Ensures The Folklore Isn’t Forgotten’
by | Aug 3, 2021 9:10 am | Comments (0)
Olive Tiger.
“The Boys,” from Olive Tiger’s latest release, Softest Eyes: Side A, starts off with a growling drone, a pulse, and then pounding drums, the kind of beat that can make people put down their drinks in a club, get up, and swing their hips to. The vocal wastes no time to come in, with a message to deliver: “Why don’t the boys paint their faces? / My mother laughed and called it ‘war paint’ / Pink pepper spray on a keychain / My father gave me mace for Christmas / Because he loves me.” On that last line, the guitar lets it rip, noise rattles in the distance. The voice has more to say, as a organ joins the sound, filling it out. “Why are the boys taught survival? / All I got was that friendship bracelet / Homework to draw a pretty tiger / I quit the Girl Scouts from that assignment / Because I love me.”
by | Aug 2, 2021 9:34 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Two New Haven-based bands — Love ‘N Co. and Thabisa — brought groove and growth to Cafe Nine on Friday night, as both made music that nourished heads, hearts, and feet.
Continue reading ‘Love ‘N Co And Thabisa Make The People Move’
by | Jul 29, 2021 8:32 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Ferrer.
Fernandito Ferrer began the last song of his set Wednesday night with a shaker that he fanned in the air in front of the microphone. His pedal captured the sound. He added whistles uncannily like bird calls, a falling chain that sounded like rain. Then he began playing the guitar and lifting his voice. By the end he had built the song into cascading waves of sound that entranced the full house that had come to Cafe Nine to hear music — and he, humbly, was the opening act.
by | Jul 28, 2021 9:53 am | Comments (0)
The song “Go Down Moses” may be familiar, but the New Haven-based Afro-Semitic Experience’s take on it isn’t. It starts with the rhythms, stretching through the Caribbean and back to West Africa, the sense of the interlocking drums propelling everything. And above the impassioned vocals, there’s a trumpet drenched in effects, creating its own small universe of sound. It feels new but drenched in history — which is fitting for Freedom Seder, the Afro-Semitic Experience’s latest album and one that has a history of its own.
by | Jul 27, 2021 9:34 am | Comments (0)
Natalie Kainz
The Nields in Westville on Monday.
Sending folk harmonies and bluegrass tunes out onto the grassy slope behind Mitchell Branch Library, folk-rock band The Nields became a part of the Westville community on Monday afternoon.
by | Jul 26, 2021 9:02 am | Comments (1)
Karen Ponzio Photos
Jazz on the patio at The Orchid Cafe
Brunch is one of the most celebrated meals in this city, and the brunches that include jazz are particularly revered. This reporter decided it was time to revisit three of them: one that had recently restarted, one that was a limited-run event, and one that had been ongoing for the past year.
by | Jul 23, 2021 5:16 pm | Comments (9)
Jami LaRue Photo
DeLauro with constituent at YMCA event.
New Haven’s federal delegation came home Friday with big smiles — and big pots of money for local families and businesses.
by | Jul 23, 2021 9:18 am | Comments (1)
Brian Slattery Photos
Singer/songwriter Dylan Hartigan began the final song of his set alone on acoustic guitar. Alex Haddad joined him on electric. Halfway through the song, Hartigan said if the audience would sing along in the chorus, he might have a surprise for them. The audience obliged, and an entire backup band — Them Vibes — joined Hartigan and Haddad on stage to turn Hartigan’s quiet song into an all-out rocker. The shift set the tone for the rest of the evening, as a three-band evening of headliner Maggie Rose, supported by Them Vibes and Hartigan, brought the sound of ‘70s rock and funk to CT Folk’s Folk at the Edge concert series and showed how expansive the concept of folk music can be.
by | Jul 22, 2021 9:36 am | Comments (0)
Karen Ponzio Photos
(from left to right) Lawrence, James, Serenita, and Andersen
Four singer/songwriters shared their words, music and admiration for each other side by side last night under the ever-changing spotlights on The Cellar at Treadwell’s stage while a full moon glowed in the night sky.
Continue reading ‘Storytellers in The Cellar Share the Love’
by | Jul 20, 2021 9:45 am | Comments (1)
Natalie Kainz Photo
Some came for the tunes, some came for the pies, and others just came for the vibes.
Continue reading ‘As R&B Fills The Air, Mexican Sweet Corn Pie Takes The Prize’
by | Jul 19, 2021 9:40 am | Comments (0)
“Horse,” the lead song from Nose Bleed’s self-titled album, starts with an ambling beat, a simple guitar line, keyboards murmuring in the background. “I want to see how the other half lives because too much honey has made me sick,” the vocals intone. “I want to feel something sweet.” Then the song suddenly kicks into a higher gear, the drums and guitar gaining urgency. “The face of Our Lord,” the vocals sing. “You can’t hurt me any more.”
by | Jul 15, 2021 9:27 am | Comments (0)
“Hi! Hey everybody!” Nick Grunerud says at the beginning of The Best Wing of the Psych Ward, his latest release as Underwear. As Grunerud tests the keys on his keyboard, we hear cheering in the background, of a live audience. “Thanks for coming out. It’s been a long time — do I need to mention all this? Is it obvious?” he says with a laugh. “I guess I’ll start.” He then launches into “Been A Long Time,” full of the fractured vocals, glitchy keys, surprising samples, and dance rhythms that have become the vocabulary Grunerud uses to build his songs. “It’s been a long time since I went back in,” he sings. “It’s been a long time since anyone gave me confidence.”
Continue reading ‘“Best Wing In Psyche Ward” Album Marks New Beginning For Underwear’
by | Jul 14, 2021 9:18 am | Comments (0)
In her new video for “Paradise,” New Haven-based rapper Snowsa — formerly Snowprah — stares down an adversary over the mysterious contents of a duffel bag. Her antagonist accosts her. There’s an argument. He throws a punch. Snowsa ducks it and throws a punch back. She makes contact, and he staggers. She grabs the bag and runs, out into the streets of the Hill, toward friends, toward safety.
by | Jul 12, 2021 9:41 am | Comments (0)
Nelson.
Sunday afternoon’s tribute at Cafe Nine to New Haven-based musician and writer Rob Nelson, who died of a heart attack on May 26 at the age of 56, began with a reading of an excerpt of Walt Whitman, from his preface to Leaves of Grass.
by | Jul 12, 2021 8:00 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Brian Ember.
Baroque-pop theatrics and pop confections went head-to-head on Friday night at Cafe Nine on the corner of State and Crown Streets, as the New Haven-based Brian Ember and Youth XL gave two sets of music that heralded the return of something a lot like pre-pandemic normalcy to the long-running music club.
by | Jul 9, 2021 10:09 am | Comments (0)
Garrison Zweers Photo
Paul Belbusti.
Laughter and conversation permeate the air while percussion, horns, and piano each tap in to begin “Just For Fun,” the sing-a-long-ready first single off Mercy Choir’s latest album, the eclectic Kitchen Knife Collection. Whether you have ventured out to a live show recently or are still keeping yourself socially distant, local singer-songwriter Paul Belbusti has created a listening experience for everyone who wants to feel alive in the moment.
Continue reading ‘Mercy Choir Hones In On “Kitchen Knife Collection”’
by | Jul 8, 2021 9:42 am | Comments (0)
Album cover of Comfort in Illusion.
“Of Uncertainty,” the first track from Head With Wings’s new album Comfort in Illusion, starts as the title implies, drums, bass, guitars, and vocals each occupying their own space, the atmosphere around them uneasy. The melody carries words that reflect the musical mood: “From where I’m holding down / relentless / protecting my / relaxation / or so I thought / I began to question it all,” Joshua Corum sings. “Doubt from within / strangled my wits / to choke out the best part of my being / I fed it backwards / back towards my gut / yet I still hunger.”
by | Jun 28, 2021 1:10 pm | Comments (1)
Charlie Widmer locked eyes with his wife in the front row.
“There is nothing for me but to love you and the way you look tonight,” crooned the trained operatic tenor. The song was Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight.” The soft accompaniment came from piano, saxophone, bass … and the squeals of seagulls on Long Wharf.
by | Jun 25, 2021 10:16 am | Comments (0)
Brian Slattery Photos
Erik Elligers (r.). Mat Crowley (l.).
The audience applauded even the sound check for the New Haven-based Goodnight Blue Moon, as four members of the seven-piece band — Erik Elligers on guitar, Mat Crowley on mandolin, Nancy Matlack on cello and banjo, and Vicki Wepler on violin, with all four providing vocals — regaled a crowd of about 70 on Thursday night, in the latest of Best Video’s run of outdoor shows since the weather warmed up in April.
by | Jun 24, 2021 9:12 am | Comments (0)
Daniel Shoemaker Photo
Mountain Movers at Cafe Nine in 2018.
“I Wanna See the Sun,” the first track from World What World, the new album from New Haven-based underground anchors The Mountain Movers, starts right where the band’s previous full-length release, Pink Skies, left off. There’s the powerful, elemental rhythm section of Ross Menze on drums and Rick Omonte on bass. There’s Dan Greene’s surging rhythm guide, his voice and elliptical lyrics serving as a guide through the band’s sonic landscape. And there’s Kryssi Battalene’s guitar, first prowling in the background, them roaring to the front in the song’s second half like a howling storm.