Karen Ponzio photos
Bitch Fit
“I’m so excited I’m forgetting to breathe,” said Megan, vocalist for Bitch Fit — one of three local bands that gave the audience some breath-stopping moments during a Tuesday night when many braved the icy sidewalks and below-freezing temperatures to be warmed and welcomed by a trio of acts all celebrating their first time playing at Cafe Nine on State and Crown.
First to the stage was Evelyn Gray, who, though solo with guitar and pedalboard, created a soundscape that filled the air immediately with a lush mixture of strings that broke through the cold and coaxed the crowd closer and closer to the stage to become a part of its heady vibe. Each song began with a dedication from Gray: “This one is for anyone who had to learn how to accept themselves to take care of themselves, to love themselves”; “This is for anyone who is tired: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, just fucking tired.”
Karen Ponzio photos
Evelyn Gray
Each song — some from the recently released EP Live @ Backroom Studios — began tenderly, inviting you to come in and be comforted, reassuring you that you were safe and understood, and then allowing you to release whatever ailed you as Gray then brought each song to its climax, guitar swung back, hands raised with voice and spirit elevated. The crowd was held captive (“This is the quietest I have ever heard a bar, and I am thankful for that,” Gray said) though each song was greeted with resounding applause and cheers.
“You could be anywhere else and you chose here,” Gray said. By the time the final song “Severed Hands” — with the lines “and I know I don’t look how I should / so how should I?” — was completed, it was apparent that this crowd was more than satisfied with its choice.
The second act to the stage, Alethea, brought another kind of physicality and musicality to the room, the crowd inching even closer during this set as the trio of Kurt on guitar, Dan on bass and Kelly on drums unleashed a power that was just the right mixture of punk, metal, grunge, and good old rock ‘n’ roll, with just a hint of pop when needed. Trading off on vocals and occasionally joining in together, Kurt and Dan kept the intensity building, with Kurt switching off into guitar-solo swagger while Dan and Kelly matched and melded with each other beat after banging beat. The energy was high, met equally with exuberance from the audience, and the songs kept coming hard and fast with just a little room in between to chat with the audience. Dan jokingly asked Kelly at one point how she and her day were, and both acknowledged that they worked and asked the crowd if they worked too, getting a few laughs before playing their newest song. Dan noted that it “didn’t sound anything like the others,” as it offered a more pop-melodic beginning, before diving back into their guitar heavy punk rock. This one as well as the final few songs got the ever-growing crowd moving more and more, and solidified this band as one to seek out and party with again.
The final act of the night, the aforementioned Bitch Fit, not only kept the vivacity of the night stoked, but practically lit it on fire, as the five members played songs from their most recent EP, Sanctuary, beginning with the song “End Game” but also adding a couple of songs that “are only about a week and a half old,” according to vocalist Megan. She expressed gratitude to Cafe Nine and the audience multiple times for giving the band their first show there. In addition to taking a few more moments to breathe, Megan also took time between songs to talk about their meaning. One was about “fake friends — we can all relate.” Another discussed “when you grow up and you don’t think you’re gonna get very old and then you do and you’re kind of lost.” The music was tight and fresh, the best elements of classic punk but with a new and enthusiastic vibe enhanced by the band’s obvious enjoyment of what they were doing and eagerness to connect with the audience, who got closer and more vocal, and moved along with them more and more with each tune. When the band got to its last song, Megan announced with a big smile that this was the time when they usually told everyone to come up front, but with this crowd they didn’t have to.
“We named our EP Sanctuary because a sanctuary is a place for people to be safe, and that is what is important to us. Everyone deserves to live their lives.”
If these three acts are any indication of what the newest of the New Haven scene has to offer 2019, I think we are in for quite the year.