Live Music Review //
Junk Orbit / Dan Greene / Aaron Snow / Michael Slyne
November 20th, 2022
@ Willimantic Records, Willimantic CT
http://blog.willimanticrecords.com/
Photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1119732628756957&type=3
First off, I want to admit how impressed I am with the level of live music that Willimantic Records consistently brings to people. There was a show the weekend prior to this that I am rather bummed I missed. While driving to this show I went the wrong way and it simply rerouted me so that I didn't lose any time but drove through a different rural type part of Connecticut, which was nice as well. The sun was shining so everything felt okay.
The interesting thing about this show- the way in which all of these artists are connected- is that everyone on this show was mostly playing solo (Junk Orbit is a duo) but they are members of bands which might even be what they are better known for musically. But each one of these artists still brought forth a sound their own and that just made the show feel special as well: everyone contributing their own pieces of themselves to it.
Michael Slyne was up first. This set came with the introduction of the song being called "Never throw a glass bottle into the woods" and then the entire set ended up being the one song. Musically, this was ambient and drone at times but it also just had that hypnotic way about it where you just get so drawn into the music you forget what else is going on around you. I've spent a lot of time listening to music and wondering how it is made.
It was neat to see how the guitar notes echo and you turn on this pedal or turn it up and it makes a certain effect. The one thing I'm still unsure of was that a tape player was used during the set and I'm not sure if it was for additional sounds or to record the music but I do like how that remains somewhat of a mystery to me. There is a recording of this set though, so I feel like that could've been part of it but the tape deck also could've been an instrument itself.
Aaron Snow was up second and the guitar made some dreamy / blissed out sounds while birds were chirping along. Since the pandemic, I've been to exactly three live music shows and they have all been at Willimantic Records and all in different spots. The way this one was set up in front of the windows, so that the sun came through during this set, just felt so fitting because the sound made me really feel like the sun but not on a beach. It felt like when the sun shines bright in the winter and there's snow on the ground, it's cold and so this all just worked well together.
Dan Greene was up third and he started up two tape players that had sounds on them which went along with his music. However, Dan Greene had an acoustic guitar and was singing songs with it in a style similar to some great folk hero. I want to say Dylan but it seems too cliché. The way the songs were acoustic but then you'd catch the odd bit of electronics in it with the tapes was just perfect. The first two sets you could feel this wave of feedback come through and shake everything, but this set by Dan Greene was loud and powerful in a different way.
The main event was Junk Orbit, a duo of guitar and bass with a lot of effects. This was a lot of fun because it was that looping and notes but it wasn't just one sound. The way that the guitar and the bass played off of each other and came together at times to form one sound just made it so brilliant. Everyone except for Dan Greene just played one long song as their set and it just felt like it all could've gone on so much longer but wanting more is not a bad thing.
The full set from Michael Slyne can be found here :::
https://thefamilystoned.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-willimantic-records-again
Music from Aaron Snow can be found here :::
https://surfshop.bandcamp.com/
Music from Dan Greene can be found here :::
https://csiterecordings.bandcamp.com/
Music from Junk Orbit can be found here :::
Comments
Post a Comment