Three Bands Shake The Shelves

Best Video Film & Cultural Center was alight on Friday night with movies, music, and general merriment. Three acts — Dan Soto’s Natural Fool, Katy Pinke, and Sallow Friend — performed live music to a crowd of 30 to 40 people, sandwiched together between shelves of video tapes. Before the night was over, the walls would seem to shake with the combined sound of instruments, vocals, and thunderous applause.

Dan Soto opened the night with his own brand of new rock ​‘n’ roll, which he described as non-denominational inspiration — music that brings hope without being religious. ​“Some of the songs that I’m gonna play, they’re probably people in this audience who they’re about or who they’re for,” he said. ​“You won’t know, but maybe they will … that’s part of the fun.”

He started with the catchy ​“Birthday” before transitioning to the vibrantly mournful ​“Lonesome Heart,” which featured laments like ​“Lonesome heart, why do you want to be my friend / Lonesome heart, why does it have to end.” Dan Soto’s songs told stories: stories about heartbreak, stories about isolation, and sometimes, stories about ​“an organism that is sometimes wet and sometimes dry.” That song, the delightfully weird ​“Gunge #1,” charmed the audience immediately with its strange pathos. ​“Gunge, I am the slime, I am the sludge,” sang Soto, deepening his voice. ​“Gunge, you are the rag, you are the sponge.” As he played, the crowd migrated closer, several people settling on the floor to be as near as possible to the music.

On the projector screen behind Soto, the movie Ninja Destroyer, from 1986, played. ​“So how’s the movie?” Soto asked the audience. ​“I haven’t looked yet.”

“Not good!” shouted someone from the crowd.

“Is that the guy who chose it?” said Soto.

“Yes,” came the reply, and the audience laughed.

Soto continued to engage with the crowd as he played his set, which included songs like ​“Shrink,” ​“Broken Dreams,” and ​“Deep Dark Heart.” He finished up with ​“Roast My Head,” an upbeat if somewhat macabre anthem. ​“Roast my head / Roast my head till it’s burned and I’m dead,” sang Soto. The audience fanned the flames with cheers and applause.

Next up was Katy Pinke, accompanied by Jeremy Gustin on drums and Nico Osborne on keys and bass. The Color of Pomegranates (1969) played in the background. Pinke performed a mix of indie-rock songs from her eponymous album, like ​“One Coin,” and songs that would be on future albums, like ​“Look Around.”

“Oranges,” which is not on the album, was originally written as a poem, until Pinke was invited to perform at an event and didn’t have any songs, so she transformed it into one. ​“Cutting oranges that never existed / And now every little things gonna be alright,” she crooned. Her music was at once melancholy and hopefully, more bittersweet than saccharine, and her voice soft and strong, permeating Best Video like a perfume.

When Pinke asked if she was running out of time and should stop, the audience responded with a resounding no. So she played one more new song, ​“Mirror,” before closing her set with ​“Bloom.” Pinke’s last words to New Haven were both inspirational and aspirational, in keeping with the tone of the evening. ​“It isn’t heavy to feel / It’s only heavy to think / And when you want to stay light / Don’t force it with your mind / Flow, flow, however it goes,” she sang.

Rounding out the evening was the New Haven-based experimental rock band Sallow Friend. The group is composed of Hayden Nork and Luke Slomba, both of whom do vocals, guitar, and drums, although for the majority of the set Nork played guitar and vocals while Slomba played drums and backup vocals. Behind them, Babette’s Feast (1987) played.

“I’m very lucky to live close to Best Video,” said Nork. ​“What a wonderful cultural institution.” The audience cheered in agreement.

Sallow Friend opened with ​“Joanna Newsong” before transitioning into ​“Femboy.” Their playing was loud but intimate, building from near-mournful laments to head-banging intensity. ​“I have patience, you own that / Lightning in a bottle is a joke,” sang Nork. Audience members tapped their feet along with the beat.

They went on to play ​“Jacob F” and ​“Best Dress,” which Nork described as a ​“fake Cat Power song,” and one of their favorites. ​“Let yourself get some rest out here,” sang Nork.

Friend of the band Chet Sims joined the duo on guitar for a couple songs, which only continued to build enthusiasm — both on the part of the audience and the performers. For Sallow Friend’s last song, Nork took drums and Slomba guitar and lead vocals as they played ​“Cowboys From Hell.” It was a rousing tune, fading away momentarily only to return with a vengeance, conjuring images of demonic riders galloping across starlit plains. When the music spiraled to a conclusion, accompanied with a triumphant scream, everyone in the audience seemed to hold their breath. Then they shook themselves, as if waking from a long and melodious dream, and began to clap.