Karen Ponzio Photo
Shilpa Ray.
Right before beginning his song “Sweet Embrace” at Cafe Nine on Wednesday night, Hnry Flwr explained that the song was about “embracing our mistakes, because we live in chaos.” The area had been experiencing the aftermath of a chaotic storm that brought tornados, macrobursts and much destruction to many of the surrounding towns, but in New Haven that night two acts from New York, Hnry Flwr and Shilpa Ray, brought a respite and a sort of controlled chaos in the form of music to those who came in from the rain and chose another way to get back on their feet.
Opening the show was the aforementioned Flwr on guitar along with Galen Gatzke on bass and Sarah Galdes on drums, a new lineup from his visit to this stage last year right before the release of his EP Flowerama. Formerly of New Haven and currently based in Brooklyn, Flwr had the crowd ready and waiting for him and his band, many speaking beforehand about how much they loved him and couldn’t wait to hear him again. His six-song set captured the crowd as if gently waking them up from a dream that they were eager to recall the details of.
Hnry Flwr.
The music flowed from slower and often ethereal to moments of harder intensity and back again, remaining captivating and enticing throughout. Flwr occasionally motioned with his hands, as if guiding the audience along with the sounds. He also mentioned how New Haven used to be his home and how happy he was to be here. He even name-checked the city in his last song, “The Mystery Is” (“The Mystery is, and it lives right here in New Haven”). There was no mystery, however, about how much this crowd loved this performance.
Next up was Shilpa Ray, here on the opening night of her tour to support the release, also that day, of her new EP called Nihilism. This genre-defying band, which included Ray on vocals, keyboards, harmonium, and cowbell, Alister Paxton on guitar, Turner Staugh on bass, Rich Hutchins on drums, and Christian Lee Buss on backing vocals, synth, and much more, brought the crowd closer to the stage and moving and singing along throughout the rest of the evening. Though it also felt like rock and roll at its purest. To me that means it is bent and twisted in a way that creates a sound that makes you unable to look away from it or to stand still, with lyrics that speak of heartbreak and loneliness but also make you feel like you’re definitively not alone. This band did that for over an hour, beginning with a song that built from gentle keyboards and layered in the rest of the band until they were at full throttle and Ray was half kneeling on the instrument itself and growling her lyrics into the mic. Throughout the set the band added in flavors from almost every genre, including a reggae tinged number, the blues, and even some ‘50s/‘60s pop-rock flavors. At one point Ray grabbed the mic, came to the floor in front of the stage and added punk rock poetry to the proceedings with the song “EMT, Police, Fire Department.” A good number of audience members sang along with her on the chorus. She ended on her knees at the feet of her adoring fans. Many in this crowd, which became more frenzied as the show progressed, shouted out yes and song requests. “This is my song,” some said here and there as well.
This band did not stop. Even when at the back of the stage on harmonium, Ray’s vibe was felt like a heartbeat in your limbs.
“I don’t remember the last time I rocked out that hard,” she said, as she came back to the keyboards and sat down after a few songs in back. The night ended with a cover of Alice Cooper’s “Is it My Body,” which is also on her new EP. After it was over Ray stood up with her drink and simply walked off the stage and into the crowd, with whom she chatted and laughed afterwards.
“Thank you so much for breaking us into this tour,” she had told everyone earlier, but it felt like she had also helped many of us break out of our shells and get back into it, chaos or not.
Shilpa Ray’s tour continues through May and June. Details can be found on here. Hnry Flwr begins his tour June 19 in Vermont. Details can be found here.