Brian Slattery Photos
Sounds and Scenarios.
At Stella Blues on Wednesday night, four bands — three of them based in Connecticut, supporting headliners Sounds and Scenarios from Boston — unleashed four sets of rock, ranging from heavy to thrashing to atmospheric, that all had one thing in common: a commitment to emotional directness and honesty.
The night began with Was and When — a duo of Mike Held on vocals and guitar and Matt Bliss on drums — who were on tour supporting Sounds and Scenarios and just happened to be making a stop at home base. Was and When, which released a new EP in January, created a lush, atmospheric sound thanks to some judicious use of effects on vocals and guitar, Bliss’s thoughtful drumming, and some very choice, swirling backup tracks. The result was a set of shimmering dream pop that kept the steadily filling bar quiet and listening, then clapping and whistling their appreciation after every song.
The New Haven-based Colebert — Cole Crawford on vocals and guitar, with Justis on bass and Kevin on drums — dialed up the energy a notch with the band’s own set of songs that kept the now-full bar smiling. Kevin’s drums were the spacious foundation for the band’s sound, which let Justis range across the bottom end of the music while Crawford picked out textures and lines to accompany his plaintive vocals.
In between songs the band traded banter about living in central Connecticut, where all of them had spent time at some point. It might have appeared at first from their tone that they had little love for the Nutmeg State, but that appearance was deceiving.
“We don’t hate Connecticut,” Justis said near the end of the band’s set. “I’m just being salty.” He then delivered a heartfelt ode to Willimantic, where he grew up, and the others followed suit regarding their hometowns, their allegiance to their roots showing through.
The Future I Dream Of, based out of Ellington, then kicked the night into high gear, as the four-piece of Ryan Milliken on vocals, David Fulton and Chris Kallaniotis on guitars, and Jake Paranzino on drums tore up the stage with a set of high-octane originals interspersed with engaging banter from the outgoing Milliken. The band came out swinging, with driving rhythms from Paranzino while the two guitars created a crunchy wall of rock that Milliken’s vocals sailed over.
“We’ve got a lot of variety here. We’re hitting you with the hardest stuff and then we’re going to slow it down. Or maybe not. We’ll see,” said Milliken. It turned out mostly that The Future I Dream Of had come to rock, egged on by appreciative fans who sang along to the choruses, especially after Milliken taught them the words to one beforehand (“how many of you guys are good at learning?” Milliken asked semi-jokingly).
The band exuded enthusiasm and confidence in every note they sang and played, but showed humility throughout as well. “This is the first song we made together as a band,” Milliken explained most of the way through the set. “It’s often a crowd favorite, and I hope it’s a favorite of yours as well.” As The Future I Dream Of reached its last song, each of the band members explained that it was dedicated to a friend in Ellington.
“It’s a sad song,” Milliken said. “Get out your phone lighters.” The audience did.
The Future I Dream Of cleared the musical path for Sounds and Scenarios, with the stable lineup of Tyler Chase on lead vocals and guitar, Braeden Rawa on vocals and guitar, and Avery James on bass and vocals, backed up by a drummer for this tour. It was now midnight, and some in the crowd had called it night. But plenty of people weren’t ready to go home yet, and judging from the appreciative screams the audience hurled the band’s way, Sounds and Scenarios gave them the energy they were looking for.
“New Haven! What the fuck is up?” Chase yelled as soon as the band was ready to play. “Get over here! We’re going to party. I’m not kidding! Get over here!” The audience heeded the call, and soon crowded close to the stage. Sounds and Scenarios then ripped through a set of the fastest, loudest songs of the night yet.
Like The Future I Dream Of, Sounds and Scenarios also requested phone lighters, though in the second case, Chase asked the audience to “wave them in the air like we’re doing a really shitty rendition of Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive.’ ”
“Terrible!” James interjected.
That song was followed a string of thrashers, whereupon Chase stated that “the reason we’re on tour is because we recorded new music and we’re really excited about it. New Haven, do you want to hear a new song?”
The crowd screamed in the affirmative.
“I’m basically deaf,” Chase said. “Do you want to hear a new song?”
The crowd screamed louder, and the band gave them what was promised.