Karen Ponzio Photo
Addy Edward and Sarah Golley Thursday night at Cafe 9..
Killer clowns, candy, and catchy tunes that make you want to dance are not typically associated with one another, but Thursday night at Cafe Nine a combination birthday/Halloween celebration with two local acts showcasing their original music brought them together.
The musician’s living room on State and Crown became party central in honor of Sarah Golley’s 30th birthday. With Oct. 31 only a few days away, the theme was a spooky one.
Tables were covered with candy, as well as glow sticks and a headband that could be used to connect them and make your own glow-in-the-dark headpiece. A few tables also held balls made out of glow sticks that resembled small neon pumpkins. The stage held a screen on which a looping video of clips from older black-and-white movies and cartoons — such as Nosferatu, Frankenstein — kept the Halloween theme alive.
First to the stage was Addy Edward, who immediately told the audience, “I bought a fog machine just for you guys,” which garnered him much applause. He also announced that he had written a couple original Halloween songs. “I was so inspired this year,” he said. “I hope you like them.”
He asked for the lights to be turned down and proceeded with his set, a black light shining upon him to make his guitar glow. He created an eerie sound with his guitar and effects, singing “Have you seen the ghost of John?” the music getting more menacing as the ghost story went on.
When the two songs — both of which received rousing cheers from the crowd — were over, he announced “I’m Addy Edward and I don’t usually make music like this, but here we are.”
“You’re good at it” yelled an audience member.
Edward kicked up the beat with the next two songs, and a few people in the audience took to the dance floor to take advantage of it. He added the song “Barking Answers” from his 2019 EP Sedative Answers, saying beforehand that he hadn’t rehearsed it in a while. “Let’s see how this goes,” he said.
As soon as he began singing the lyrics a number of audience members started singing along, creating a joyous group experience that detracted from any difficulties he may or may not have had playing the song.
After that song was over, he mentioned that he had been reading about Ronald McDonald recently, and learned that the “final nail” for him was the killer clown scare of 2016 – 17. “RIP Ronald,” he said. “Anyone here afraid of clowns?” He got a few positive acknowledgements.
For his last song he went “back to the spooky stuff,” telling the audience he would be “permanently adding” the fog machine “to my pedal board.” Even the cartoon skeletons on the screen seemed to be dancing along with everyone to this one. The final line he sang was “it’s a scream,” and that’s exactly what everyone there answered with.
Speaking of killer clowns, Sarah Golley was dressed as one of them. She came to the stage and thanked everyone for coming out. “I’m impressed with Addy’s Halloween set,” she said, adding that her set would be a mixture of old and new songs with Edward joining her later.
She began with her own take on Bo Burnham’s “Turning Thirty,” looping some of the lines to create her own lyrical back-up repeating the title phrase and getting laughs from the audience with the line “My stupid friends are having stupid children.”
The rest of the set — which also included one more cover, Fiona Apple’s “I Want You to Love Me” — showcased both Golley’s lyrical and musical prowess as she volleyed between songs that used looping and sound boards to create a cacophony of auditory delights and songs that showcased her lush vocals and keyboards.
Many of her songs came from her most recent album, As We Crawl, which came out in 2019; she noted she was “trying hard to comprehend that it was two years ago.”
In “Over Time,” she contemplated change and the lack thereof with the lyrics “But your drama mask is paper / it’s full of rips and tears / Kept mending it for decades / It’s on its last repairs.” With “Out,” she ended with the question “So very thirsty yet too pained to drink, how can I go on to taste better things?” And with “Through a Black Hole” — a sprawling epic of a piece and the final song from that album — she sang “I am trudging through the multiverse / and I’m crawling from our universe / out a black hole,” later adding “Maybe more like an over the shoulder roll than a leap / Intentionally falling into the deep.” The audience offered a wealth of applause and cheers after each selection.
After adding a song titled “We’re Already Dead,” which she noted she hadn’t played live before (“a Halloween song,” someone from the audience shouted), Golley brought Edward to the stage to play drums on her last two, the final song being the single “ “Maybe You’re Right (At Least for Today)”” that she had released on this day. Two more dancers came to the floor and even tossed one of the neon balls back and forth as Golley sang “Am I OK / I’m doing great / so says my brain / At least for today.” When the song was over the crowd yelled “Happy Birthday” to the smiling and appreciative host. She and the rest of them were all doing great.