Three Bands Make The Future Now

“Hi, we’re people making noises,” said Emily Rose of Glambat, the opening act of a three-band bill at Cafe Nine on Friday that filled the small space with large waves of sound, loads of mirth, and lots of movement.

Brooklyn band Future Punx headlined the night, supported by local bands Pleasure Beat and the aforementioned Glambat, who when last seen by this reporter had begun working on a record and had a few different members.

“This is a super group now,” Rose said as she introduced bassist Jac, who also fronts the band Dump Him from Northampton, Mass., and drummer Gabe, who fronts local band Hylda. ​“We’ve been practicing really hard.”

Gabe joined Rose about three months ago and Jac only about two weeks ago, but all three were excited to play the show that night, especially being that it was Jac’s first time playing live with the band. Rose talked about her forthcoming EP that she has been recording with Pat Dalton of The Proud Flesh, noting that members of that band are performing on her record as well. She is hoping to have it out by mid-April, in time for her band’s show at The State House opening for Deerhoof. She also hopes to have a full album out later in the year; she was still recording music but ​“the bones of it all are there,” she said.

Rose also talked about her enthusiasm for the current New Haven music scene as well as its future. ​“This is very DIY. It all is in New Haven. It’s all friends, the people booking the shows and running the venues, everyone no matter how big or small the show is, we are all doing it. It’s all people you know and people who love what they do. I love it,” she said.

The phrase ​“power trio” came to mind immediately as the musicians in Glambat brought their own mighty sounds to the songs and melded together as smoothly as the strands of a braided silk rope. Rose’s mesmerizing vocals guided the songs as they transitioned from light as air to tough as nails as needed. Songs with titles like ​“Brazil” (“this is a song called Brazil,” Rose said. ​“It’s not about the country. It’s about the movie, which is not about Brazil”) and ​“Gandhi Bot” (“it’s about beer, but it’s about more than that”) took subjects that at first take sounded more humorous but then went deeper (“I’m having nightmares about the movie Brazil,” Rose eventually sang) which has become a trademark of Glambat’s musical repertoire. It is as if one is holding on to that silken rope and is being led through the past and future and back again, with Rose as lyrical leader. The intimate crowd at the Nine ate it all up, and it was a more than auspicious beginning to the night.

The aptly named Pleasure Beat took to the stage next with three guitarists that combined with a danceable back beat that made the ever growing crowd begin to move more and sing along. The band’s five-song set was packed with enough melody and harmonies to make everyone smile, and included “(Runnin’ From The) Changes” and ​“Hard Feelings” off the EP Hard Feelings, released in November 2018. The band’s super-catchy indie pop-infused rock ​‘n’ roll was perfect for a Friday night when you’re looking for a way to forge into the weekend free and easy. Pleasure Beat appeared to have a lot of cheering fans there, but if the ever-growing responses to the band were any indication, new fans were made, too.

The final band of the night, Future Punx, came to the stage with an even larger crowd waiting. The band asked for the lights to be turned down, and then launched into a near-nonstop hour of some of the most danceable music I have heard in years. With a wink and a nod to such bands as Devo and Talking Heads, this foursome kept the stage alight not just with their own floor strobes and multicolored flashers, but with a sound that settled into your muscles and loosened them up enough to move whether you wanted to or not. As most of you know, I always want to move, and this was everything I look for. They even covered the classic X tune ​“The World is a Mess (It’s in my Kiss),” which is included on their most recent EP The World is a Mess. You don’t get a video for that one, folks. I was too busy singing and dancing during it, but I highly suggest you check them out, as this was the first night of their most recent tour. Yes, the world might still be a mess, but sometimes you get to leave everything else behind and be a part of something you love with other people who love it as well — and that keeps you present enough to enjoy the now for everything it is.

“This is my favorite thing to do,” said Rose before Glambat’s last number. Me too, Emily. Me too.

For more info about Future Punx current tour please visit their bandcamp or Facebook pages.