Live Music Review // Rear Window / Cryptwarbler / winj June 29th, 2023 at Redscroll Records, Wallingford CT

More photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1274187286644823&type=3

Summer time really seems to be heating up things in the Connecticut music scene and this was the second appearance of Rear Window at Redscroll Records.   After missing the first one, this show was just something I was not going to miss and as a bonus for people like me who missed the first show a cassette of it was available and this was the release show for that cassette.  

I have to admit that as someone who tried to document these shows through words, photos and videos, there are rare times when I get distracted by the music itself but this was the case I found with the music of winj.   Through various electronics the sound came out through the speakers from a table but then there was also a boombox underneath the table which had cassettes removed from and substituted to play various audio clips.

It took me longer into the set than I care to admit to realize that boombox was under there, though I saw the cassettes on the table and nowhere else for them to really go, but that just made this all the more interesting.  It was a collage of sounds, but the way that winj shifted from parts of the table to even underneath the table which made the sound feel like the work of more than one person.  At one point, for one moment, you could also hear a dog bark.

Cryptwarbler was up second and I really enjoyed that this sound played between the electronic side of noise and the harsh side of it.  There were moments where I checked on Quentin to see how he was handling it.   With a Casio keyboard, many of these tones were pleasant and just felt like fun.   It was electronic noise, but in that way where you can get lost in it because you're not thinking about how it's made.

Then every so often this distorted blast would just rip through, wiping out everything else you heard and felt.  The way I felt like this wasn't harsh noise all of the time, but really could feel the loudness of it still is what made it so cool.   There exists this strange feeling of going from the loudest, harshest sound you can hear to silence and in a similar sense going from sounds which my ears enjoyed to which my ears were like "Too loud!" was the type of audio drug I like to be on.

Rear Window is a trio comprised of perhaps three of the busiest artists out there today.   Rex Morris is an established tattoo artist who just released an album as EXCAVATOR.   Max Hamel, who has released split cassettes with Zach Rowden, performs as HSFB and most recently is out there in duos like Dreamcast and Chicken Flag.   Along with Tongue Depressor, Zach Rowden appears with Joe Moffett as Windscour, so to think of this as a noise supergroup would be right on.

When I lived in Houston, Texas I had never lived somewhere so hot before.  The heat, along with the humidity, would just sit on your shoulders.  As soon as you walked outside, you just felt it like an invisible backpack you now forced to take around with you.  In many ways, the sound of Rear Window feels like that.  It's not heavy like heavy metal, but it's heavy like it just rests on your shoulders and back.

I'm excited to hear the cassette from the previous set by Rear Window because it felt like there were a lot of small pieces going into one to form a larger scale sound.  This was almost like a harsh noise wall, but if it was made by electronics more than the static you're used to with that.  It definitely set a dark mood, like a blanket of darkness wiping out the entire earth, and it's something I'm really looking forward to hearing again. 

Redscroll Records can be found on the web here :::

https://redscrollrecords.com/

winj can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://allgonelabel.bandcamp.com/album/winj-black-dogs-cute-whips

Cryptwarbler can be found on the interwebs here :::

https://cryptwarblr.net/

Rex Morris can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://earth-mover.bandcamp.com/album/hole-cutting-viaduct

Max Hamel can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://hsfb.bandcamp.com/

Zach Rowden can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://zachrowden.bandcamp.com/

Music Review // Marcus Lowry "Hold You Tight"

Marcus Lowry demonstrates the power of an acoustic guitar on the song "Hold You Tight".  This song is about exactly what the title suggests and it is a pretty acoustic ballad with vocals.  As you can tell by watching this music video, the song is being performed at night and on the side of the road as well.  

There seems to be a connection between wanting to hold someone tight and being isolated on a highway while cars pass you by.  During this song, you can also hear the cars driving by, which makes it feel like it was recorded live in a way which might have been just set up-record and run before the cops show up.

Along with the humming, this song has the darkness of it not only visually but within the lyrics.   This song after all is about wanting to hold someone tight and not actually doing it, so that longing makes it feel sadder.   Though, at its core I suppose it is a love song, that type of acoustic rock n roll number influenced by Buddy Holly.

I think we've all been in a position where we've wanted to hold someone tight before, even if it wasn't always a person or in a literal sense.  But much like The Beatles wanted to hold your hand, Marcus Lowry seems to just want to hold you in general.  This is a nice song though because it feels sad but will hopefully result in happiness.  

Music Review // MSB "Shout Out Loud"

 

On the song "Shout Out Loud", MSB has these soft electronics and a sound which reminds me of Tom Petty or Milky Chance.   As we hit what could be considered the chorus, the guitar grows louder and it has that fuzzy MPLS sound.   This electric guitar can also make me think of Don Henley and just that specific era of musicians.

With a little bit of folk influence, the song has lyrics such as: "We go on / pretending it's fine", which just goes to show that there is a problem but it is being ignored.   I'm not sure why people do this, I'm not even why sure I did it, but often times we overlook our problems out of fear of losing our comfort and safety.  We'd rather let things fester than make a scene.

But at MSB explains in this song: "Then I shout it all out loud".   That's the thing about emotions.   You can bottle it up as long as you can try, but eventually it's going to come out.  If you wait and wait, then you end up shouting out loud instead of having a normal conversation which could be more likely to resolve it.

As this song begins somewhat quiet, discussing the remaining quiet, it grows quite louder and becomes more of a forced rock n roll when you hear the end about shouting out loud.  The general vibe of the song switches with the lyrics and I do enjoy that because if you're feeling like you want to address something but can't see to bring yourself to do it, hopefully by the end of this song you'll find that courage.  

Music Review // Butterfly Black "BRB"

Listening to the sound of Butterfly Black takes me right back to a very specific point in the 1990's when I was listening to a lot of R&B type of music on cassette.   Styles like PM Dawn, TLC and others come to mind but there was also this subset of musicians that people might not even remember.    With soulful synth, I hear some Paula Abdul right away and this just has a fun vibe to it while maintaining its composure.

As a duo, Butterfly Black can take turns singing but can also come together and sing at the same time.   With pulsating beats and a guitar solo at the end this feels like a cross between pop and jazz, definitely a sound more common in the '90's than today but one I've sorely missed.   A little bit of funk can be found in here as well, just to further demonstrate the depths of this song while making it more difficult to pin down a genre.

The music video for BRB makes me think of the 1990's.  From the style of clothing, to the glasses being flipped up which will always make me think of Dwayne Wayne, there is also just activities happening like rollerskating and by the end the visuals look like a VCR and Polaroids.   Much of this song shows the two leaving a hotel room but during a spoken word portion it discusses them staying in and that's what the song is really about.

In this world we often times always feel like we have to go and do something.  But sometimes just staying in, just spending that time one-on-one with another person or alone is what we need as well.  I really enjoy that message being combined with this sound that we should really be hearing more modern variations of but Butterfly Black has managed to keep it alive in the best possible way.  

Music Review // Kasador "Youth"

 

The older you get the more you realize that the saying "Youth is wasted on the young" is correct.   Kasador blows through a song which has elements of Cage The Elephant, AWOLNATION and just a lot of soul while tackling the topic of wasting your youth.   The verses have this specific tempo to them that I like while the chorus is fast and loud.

Hidden within these lyrics about coasting through your youth are lines like "I don't attach to things 'cause I can't relate", which is really something more people should be willing to admit rather than faking interest.   I'm not sure how that relates to being young other than when you get older you begin to feel like you have less time to fake interest so you stop lying to yourself and everyone else and just tell it how you see it.

This music video takes place inside of a studio where the musicians are playing and to see it go by so fast is just a reminder of everything in life.  "I can't slow down or stop" is an important line because it just feels like we need to keep going and if nothing else it always feels like we need to be doing more.   

No matter how you live your life, I think most people wake up in their 30's feeling like they wasted their 20's, but that's kind of the point of your 20's maybe.   As long as you're learning and growing, time isn't really wasted because you're gaining experience.   This song says "I will never say goodbye to my youth" and I think as long as we keep growing and learning it can help us to stay young.  

Music Review // Brendan Scott Friel "Simon the Doubter"

 

As soon as this song starts there are these moments where it is being played and as the guitar is strum you can hear the strings make this noise that most would consider to not be technical or classical, but I really enjoy that sound.  This continues throughout the song as well.  Light and upbeat, Brendan Scott Friel has created a sound similar to that of Death Cab For Cutie in that rock music is being combined with elements of pop.

The song has lines such as: "I can't count on anything these days" and coming out of the global pandemic I think that's a fair statement to make.  Being told to go home, having schools shut down, I mean these are things we just haven't seen before in our life and hopefully won't see again.  But it doesn't kind of put me (and I think a lot of other people) on edge because that call could come just as easily tomorrow, so it would seem.

Brendan Scott Friel eventually comes around to the idea of trust, but does so with the line: "I'll trust in autumn when the leaves start to change", which is pretty clever.   Trusting the leaves to change in autumn is like saying that the only constant in this world is change.  It's a certain amount of stability, but you're finding it within something unstable.  Sometimes, in life, perhaps that is the best which we can hope for.

Electronics sneak through in the back and this definitely has the making of a radio hit, alongside Silversun Pickups and The Pale Pacific, this is just such a great mix of melody and rock.  It's not pop in the way that it's overly catchy but rather in the way that's non-threatening and just generally something you could put on without offending anyone.   Given the nature of the lyrics, that seems only perfect to me.  

Baseball Review // South Windsor Phillies, 1 Record-Journal Expos, 3 June 27th, 2023 at Ceppa Field, Meriden CT (GHTBL)

Official box score here :::

https://www.ghtbl.org/event/record-journal-expos-vs-south-windsor-phillies-2/

More photos can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1273451270051758&type=3

With threats of rain during the day and a dark cloud still looming over the field, this was a fun game because the weather just felt perfect.   The Expos are in the middle of the league right now while the Phillies are closer to the bottom, but as we reach the halfway point of the season it truly still feels like the playoffs could belong to anyone (except the Greeners) as there is that potential to turn it around and just spend the month of July winning.

This game was really a pitchers duel between Luke Mathewson and Charlie Hesseltine.  With moments of runners on base, both were able to get out of sticky situations and as you can tell by the score, the offense in terms of runs came only in bursts.  Both teams threatened, but it didn't always add up.

The first two innings went by scoreless. It was until the third inning when Aedin Wadja singled onto first base. A nice shot down the first base line by Thomas Slane had Wadja running to make it first and third.   With no outs, Jake Petrozza would load the bases.   A sac fly out to left field would score the first run of the game and the only run for the South Windsor Phillies.    A strike out and ground out to first would get the Expos out of the inning.

The bottom of the fourth inning saw the Expos put up their first run of the game as well.  Javon Malone, who has just been so consistent this season in the tales of how runs are scored, lead the inning off with a double.   Jack Rich flew out to center, but that moved Malone over to third base.   Will Kszywanos hit a beautiful shot down the first base line to score Malone and after four innings it was tied 1-1.

Another thing I must note about this game is that even though GHTBL doesn't have pitch clocks, this game went by fast.  It started right on time at 6:30pm and was over a little bit after 8:00pm.  This was partly due to it being low scoring, which was also because of the defense and a few 1-2-3 innings.   Both teams were really on their game, tied at 1-1, and it was just a matter of who would crack first.

Before we get to the end though, I would like to note that the top of the sixth inning saw a great catch by Max Giacco to end the inning and this was just one of those times when it looked like the Expos could've been in trouble with runners on first and third, but that stellar defense saved some runs.   

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Jack Rich hit a double out to right/center and if it had gone inches further it would've been a homerun.   AJ Hendrickson came up with Rich on second and smacked a no-doubt homerun over the left field fence to give the Expos a 3-1 lead.  The way this thing carried you just knew it was gone and there was no way any play would be made or it could possibly be called foul.

As the Expos ended the game defensively I <redacted for legal purposes> to get the AJ Hendrickson homerun ball, as it seems we get at least one from him every season.   What I liked about this game was that it could've gone either way.  One of the Phillies could've hit a homerun and we'd be looking at an Expos loss.  But the fact that it went this way, that the Expos won and that AJ Hendrickson sort of walked it off in the sixth provided a lot of excitement.

This game pushed the Expos back into third place, above the Orioles, and if the playoffs were being decided today then the Expos would meet the Phillies in the first round.   But, M&T Bank has fallen to four losses now, at 8-4 with the Expos at 8-5, so before this is all over the Expos might even claim second place.   The Rainbow Graphics are just unstoppable with only two losses and eleven wins.  

What is perhaps most interesting right now is that the Jets and Orioles, who are usually battling it out in the finals of the playoffs, sit in the middle of the standings, tied for fourth place at 7-4, and if they were to meet in the playoffs today both teams would have to win every game after the first initial loss to make it to the finals again.  

My bold prediction for the playoffs, which are a little over a month away, is that we somehow see Rainbow Graphics vs Record-Journal Expos in the finals and the South Windsor Phillies eliminate the Vernon Orioles.   We'll see what happens as the summer goes on, but those are my bold predictions for right now.

Live Music Review // Conor Perreault Ambigere Nursing Death FiFac June 25th, 2023 at Never Ending Books, New Haven CT

Additional photos can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1273415910055294&type=3

We found ourselves back at where we started the weekend: Never Ending Books.  Originally, this show only had the two touring artists- Ambigere and Nursing Death- listed but the additions of FiFac and Conor Perreault made it even more of a priority for us to see.   This show also had us going from one side of music to another, as this was perhaps our harshest show of the weekend, foreshadowed by Compactor the night before.

This Sunday was probably the hottest it had been in a while, so when the show opened with FiFac I was dripping in sweat.   As I look back on it now, for all of the times I've seen FiFac perform (and not just this weekend) I want to say that this was the first time I've seen him solo.  This, combined with the electronic music being played, made for quite the loud FiFac set as I'm used to it being more chill.

Granted, as the show would go on, the music would get louder but I've become used to hearing FiFac as this electronic/experimental/improv type of musician and while those elements were all here it was definitely louder than anything I've heard FiFac do before.   This was also a good way to open this show as someone walking by might have heard it and wanted to stop in for more.

That feeling all changed though as soon as Nursing Death started playing.  Nothing about the music of Nursing Death is going to bring in people from the outside.  If anything, it might cause people from the inside to go outside.  And that is one of the reasons why I really love it.  It's harsh noise.  It's loud.  It's in your face.  It's unrelenting.  The sound never really gave you a break to feel like it was going to be anything else.  Every time it felt like it might another distorted blast came through.

There is an old saying about always leaving them wanting more and as this set was just over ten minutes it definitely did that.  But this also made it feel punk rock, like just getting up doing your thing and then leaving before the cops came.  This wasn't a marathon, it was a sprint and somehow that made it just feel all the more violent.   I also know about the same amount as I did before of how harsh noise is created with listening to it on cassette versus seeing it live because the tricks of the trade weren't revealed here.

Ambigere took to the stage next and this was a harsh noise set as well except there were different sounds creating that noise and also audio clips throughout.  It's funny because you can have this idea of what makes harsh noise but then hear two different artists back to back and realize that there are different ways for it to come out.   Ambigere stayed mostly behind a giant "FUCK" for this set as well, not giving away any secrets.

This felt more like there were audio clips in the beginning and at the end, with the noise in between, but I think most everyone who experienced this set is going to remember it for the audio clips at the end which discussed the greatness of soup.  I feel like soup gets a bad rap because people only tend to eat it when they're sick or it's cold outside but we should all eat soup more because there are so many different types.  

The show ended with Conor Perreault who created weird noise that was borderline harsh at times but overall just felt hypnotic.  I will confess that this music put me into this trance and so at one moment I was switching to go from video into photo mode and this loud burst of distortion just came through and gave me a jump scare.  If someone behind me was recording, they would've seen me fly back at least two feet.

But the way that the music was able to lure me in to begin with is what really matters and how this music sounded.   To feel that level of comfort to be able to get that type of reaction on a jump scare really speaks volumes because everyone (especially me) should've been on their toes when we had just experienced harsh noise before this.   This just goes to further prove the unpredictable nature of music.  

FiFac can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://fifac.bandcamp.com/

Nursing Death can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://nursingdeath.bandcamp.com/

Ambigere can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://prettygirlproblems.bandcamp.com/

Conor Perreault can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://humanflourishing.bandcamp.com/album/patterns-of-welcomes-and-partings-2

Live Music Review // Compactor Snowbeasts Revenge Body Moon // Factory June 24th, 2023 at Redscroll Records, Wallingford CT

More photos can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1272168803513338&type=3

If you're following along with all of my show reviews, first off thank you and secondly you will notice that this is my third show in two days and as the shows from Friday night and Saturday afternoon had Ceremonial Abyss vibes, this is when we turn into the harsher side of noise vibes, which would carry over into Sunday as well.  

This was a show that I was specifically excited about for the months leading up to it because I was very hyped to see both Compactor and Snowbeasts, who were doing a tour together.    This was just one of those shows where I knew I'd be needing to up my merch money game and I did.   But before any of that even started, I was browsing the music selection at Redscroll Records itself and that lead me to some purchases.

I was able to get the Doom Beach cassette from Redscroll Records directly.  There are still copies of it there as well.  When I saw Doom Beach last they no longer had copies to sell themselves, so this might be your best way to get it.  I also picked up the new cassettes from Chained To The Bottom of the Ocean and Revenge Body.   If you donate $10 or more to her charity, there is also a record from Cyndi Lauper for sale and I got that as well (which would come back later on as well)

Moon Factory opened up this show and it was the duo of The Moon and FiFac.   The Moon has done solo music and collaborated with some of the best and the same can be said for FiFac.   This set was electronics with audio clips and beats, which really made it feel like instrumental hip hop.   It was really chill and it felt like something I could hear on the Hand'Solo Records label as a cassette for sure.

What I realized after this show as well was that it seemed to have this vibe of going from the most chill sort of relaxed sound to the harshest of sounds as Compactor closed out the show.   I'm not sure if it was planned this way or not, but the way that every artist seemed to add a little bit more to their set until it became harsh noise was just something to behold as well.

Revenge Body was up next and this was a darkwave type sound with singing, beats and just that overall mood of brooding.  It was somewhat like that era of 1980's/early 1990's rock but also the slower more direct music which felt more like something I couldn't quite put my finger on either.  And I think that's the beauty of the sound.  It's not quite that one song you know from "The Breakfast Club" and it's not quite that one goth artist you know, but the music borrows elements from both of those ideas.

Coincidentally, the last song played by Revenge Body was the best cover I've ever heard of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper.   This became a fun trivia fact for me because I purchased both the Revenge Body cassette and Cyndi Lauper record earlier, before the show, with no idea that this was all about to come together and worlds would collide.   This just made everything feel that much better, as the show already had such a great vibe.  

Snowbeasts was up next and seeing them live for the first time was just fantastic.  I cannot recommend going out of your way to see Snowbeasts enough.  I'm happy with the path I chose this weekend, but there was a time when I was going to go to MA, RI and maybe even NH to follow the Snowbeasts/Compactor tour and I know after this show I would've absolutely loved it but I also somewhat prevented from doing so with my family obligations the Thursday prior to this.

The beats, the singing, everything about Snowbeasts was just amazing.  It felt like a dance party at times and at other times it felt like a noise set.  My only complaint (as minimal as it is) with this show was that it was not at a location where we had a dance floor because I feel like Snowbeasts would just have absolutely torn it up.  I wasn't really looking around, but I'm sure that the people at Redscroll Records on this Saturday night were dancing in the aisles.

Snowbeasts was atop the flyer for this show so when it came down to Compactor headlining I figured maybe they were just taking turns during the tour.  But after witnessing the Compactor set, I knew that nothing could've possibly followed that and so I understood now why Compactor had to headline this show.

In full military-esque gear with a mask and bullhorn, the noise started and never really ended throughout the set of Compactor.   This was loud.  And when it got quiet, like you felt like it might just groove to a beat it seemed to get even louder again.   It was this harsh intrusion that wouldn't let you get comfortable.  

Now, in front of where this set up was there was this sort of sheet over something box-shaped and I didn't really think about what it was but maybe thought it was something a podium that Compactor would eventually stand on with the bullhorn sounding.   However, as the set came to its end, what was under the sheet was revealed to be a large metal crate for animals.  

Upon first seeing this I thought Compactor would go into the crate.  I also thought that maybe this was a time for audience participation and Quentin would be sent into the crate.  But, as I saw wires being attached and the cage being struck like a piece of percussion I came to the conclusion that it was only here to serve as a musical instrument.

Until it wasn't.   Compactor ended up inside of the cage, as the music kept playing, and eventually had to kick his way out of it until it was broken.    This added quite the overall element to the live show, as the music itself was just so loud and in your face this would have become an even bigger talking point for a lot of people.   But, I've always been a firm believer in making the live show something more than just the music to give people a reason to go outside and this entire show more than delivered on that.   This was hands down one of my favorite shows of the year thus far.  

Redscroll Records can be found on the web here :::

https://redscrollrecords.com/

THE//MOON can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://themoonisnt.bandcamp.com/

FiFac can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://fifac.bandcamp.com/

Revenge Body can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://rvngbdy.bandcamp.com/

Snowbeasts can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://snowbeasts.bandcamp.com/

Compactor can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://compactor.bandcamp.com/

Live Music Review // Ceremonial Abyss Caleb Duval + Michael Larocca Kevin Murray June 24th, 2023 at Willimantic Records, Willimantic CT

More photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1272090496854502&type=3

This monthly series by Michael Larocca of improvised music at Willimantic Records just becomes more can't-miss every month.   The way that the music can differ from month to month but remain under the same banner is what continues to impress me because it doesn't feel like what we're seeing is repeating.  In fact, this is the first time we've seen someone for the second time in the sense of Caleb Duval and Michael Larocca playing as a duo.  

First up on this show was Kevin Murray, who is a saxophonist and played a solo set.  Every time I see someone playing a saxophone as an adult it makes me sad because throughout middle school and into high school I played saxophone but didn't stick with it after high school.  This always makes me think about what could happen- what I might be capable of- if I went to a pawn shop or wherever and found a saxophone for sale and I tried picking it back up again.

Kevin Murray played a soprano saxophone and while I tend to think of the sax of being the type of instrument where the notes flow (which is how you hear the sax in most songs with rock bands), Murray played this style where the notes came out sharper and cut through like daggers.  It was loud to the point of being borderline harsh and I really enjoyed it because it wasn't what I was expecting and it just showcased for me a new layer of what a sax can do.

The duo of Caleb Duval and Michael Larocca were up next.   This show was sending Duval and Larocca on tour (with Kevin Murray as well) and it was to support the "drum and bass" album released earlier this year (which I've been listening to since I bought the CD back in January)  This was also my second time seeing Duval and Larocca as a duo, as they played together back in January as part of a release show for that album.

One thing I had this realization about when listening to this set was just how much goes into the music via the percussion.  When listening to other versions of Michael Larocca with several other musicians it doesn't seem as apparent, but when you know that Caleb Duval isn't making a certain sound with the bass then it has to be coming from the percussion.  The way this just opens up what percussion is capable of, combined with the fine tuning of Duval on bass and just overall these two musicians just work so well together that you should always take the opportunity to see them play as such.

I've always had this internal monologue inside of my head that constantly asks "Why don't more people like music like this" but I always come to the same conclusion that it isn't fair for me to assume everyone will like free improv music when someone who likes something I don't listen to can very easily flip the question on me.   That being said, I've always enjoyed those moments when you feel justified as a music listener.  One such moment occurred after the set of Ceremonial Abyss when a shop worker came in and asked who was just playing because they really liked it.  

Those moments of just being able to reach someone new who might not have heard this music before but would like it is why I do everything I do.   Ceremonial Abyss was in a solo set here, which was different from the two sets I had heard the night before in the sense that now I could really focus on what specifically was the sound of Ceremonial Abyss.   

With the tape looping, the sound was really ambient and just took over the entire space.  It was hypnotic at times, which really just felt like we were being put into a trance, and overall it just had this wave of beauty that cannot be described with words but only with hearing the music itself.  Whatever genre of music you're into, you should give Ceremonial Abyss a chance if you have the opportunity because you might just find yourself enlightened.  

Willimantic Records can be found on the web here :::

http://blog.willimanticrecords.com/

Kevin Murray can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://kevinmurray.bandcamp.com/

Caleb Duval & Michael Larocca can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://michaellarocca.bandcamp.com/album/drum-and-bass

Ceremonial Abyss can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://ceremonialabyss.bandcamp.com/

Live Music Review // Anda Volley x Ceremonial Abyss Conor Perreault x hissquiet Marie Carroll x Jeff Dragan Will Fesperman x Ceremonial Abyss June 23rd, 2023 at Never Ending Books, New Haven CT

More photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1271492336914318&type=3

  This show started off a weekend where a lot of these same characters would return in the coming days, and to see them as duos here was really something special.  Seeing hissquiet solo, for example, is something I haven't experienced yet, but when you can put two artists together to create something I feel like that can be just as important as a solo set.

Will Fesperman and Ceremonial Abyss started this show together.  I was really excited to see Ceremonial Abyss, who was doing a string of dates here, and I didn't know anything about Will Fesperman going into this.  Ceremonial Abyss creates these hypnotic loops of calming sound.  If I was going to be lost at sea and had no chance of ever returning to shore, this is the soundtrack I would want for it.

At the same time, Will Fesperman read poetry from a book as the music played.  I've always been kind of envious of the time when The Beats were a thing because I feel like in present day society we don't have anyone like them, not even attemping to do what they did, but to hear this poetry read with the music of Ceremonial Abyss made me feel for a moment as if we might just have that type of scene coming around again soon.

Jeff Dragan and Marie Carroll joined together to create electronics with however you would describe the sound of the koto.   I was not really aware of the koto before this, but it's a string instrument which can kind of be both electric and acoustic sounding at the same time or at different times.   I'd hear these sounds and just be focused on what Marie Carroll was doing, but then all of a sudden the sound would come through like a bolt of lightning, a reminder Jeff Dragan was also there.

When you listen to duos, it can have the affect that Will Fesperman and Ceremonial Abyss had where the two sounds fit together but you could listen to it back as a recording and know which part was by whom because of the spoken words and music aspects of it.   With Jeff Dragan and Marie Carroll though, a lot of the time their sounds blended together so perfectly that it was not easy to tell who was creating it.   This made for a nice bit of harmony, which I don't always think of when it comes to duos.

The same can also be said for the duo of hissquiet and Conor Perreault.   The electronics in here were often times noisy but they could also be harsh.  Conor Perreault was playing the electric guitar, mostly through the means of a soulful blues manner, but every once in a while I'd just hear what I thought could be a distorted guitar chord but also could've been that harsh noise element coming from hissquiet.  

This was a really fun aspect of the hissquiet x Conor Perreault set because it made for that mystery of who was doing what.  Sometimes it was apparent, but at times it felt like it could've been either of them.  I've always enjoyed listening to noise on cassette because I often don't know how the sounds are being made so it lends my imagination to it all.  The way this set felt like it was offering up that same amount of using your imagination was great.  Sometimes I feel like by watching a noise artist live I'm seeing them reveal their secrets, but this felt like that top notch magician showcase.

As the show ended with Ceremonial Abyss and Anda Volley, the way the two played together in a somewhat similar sound left a lot to the imagination as well.  But I mostly just got lost in the way this felt so trippy, just spatial and as if we began to float around as well.  There were times where it felt like the two artists were on the same page, times when they felt like they were echoing each other and times when it felt like they were in that piano battle from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" between Daffy Duck and Donald Duck.

Every so often I would glance over and one of the two artists would be looking at the other, almost as if to say "How are you doing that?" and I think the way that we can all feel that when listening and that music can still provide us with that mystery and sense of child-like wonder is important.   Being able to recognize a sound is good, but a lot of times I feel like not knowing what a sound is just feels even better.  

Ceremonial Abyss can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://ceremonialabyss.bandcamp.com/

Will Fesperman can be found on Instagram here :::

https://www.instagram.com/will.fesperman/

Marie Carroll can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://mariecarroll.bandcamp.com/track/in-flux

Jeff Dragan can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://fifac.bandcamp.com/

hissquiet can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://hissquiet.bandcamp.com/

Conor Perreault can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://humanflourishing.bandcamp.com/album/patterns-of-welcomes-and-partings-2

Anda Volley can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://andavolley.bandcamp.com/album/light-dancer

Music Review // Phillip Vonesh "Fly Over State"

If you're unsure as to whether or not you live in a fly over state, odds are that you probably do.   The fact that I've spent most of my life living in Connecticut, which most people use as a means of getting from NYC to Boston, has me relating with this song for sure.   In this song, Phillip Vonesh compares himself with being the fly over state and wonders how he can become the destination.

With these slow tones like The Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache", Phillip Vonesh makes me think about what it's like to live in a fly over state.   Knowing for so long that so many people use Connecticut as a means to get to somewhere else and most musicians when touring don't even come here, you have to wonder how that has affected me (and others) growing up without even realizing it.

As the lyrics say "I'm used to being used" and I think about a state like California, which many people seem to want to move from the east coast to be a part of.  But what if you lived in California and life wasn't good?  Where would you want to go from there?  At least now, at least being in a fly over state, you can have that hope to cling to of things being better elsewhere and maybe you can be there one day.

Regardless of where you live, I think we've all felt at one point in our lives like we were the background actors in a play and we want to be the main character.  Yes, we are the main characters in our own stories, but what about the stories of others?  How do we make them see our worth?  And the answer is, you really can't, they just have to see it.  But until then, all you can do is think maybe things are the way that they are for a better reason.  

Music Review // LTtheMonk "2 & A Half"

LTtheMonk has a really chill way about the beats and hip hop qualities of the song "2 & A Half".   The song is about how after two and a half years you wonder if you're ever going to speak to someone again.   The song focuses on the idea of this relationship being one of the ones that could've lasted and now it doesn't seem as if it will- it feels over.

When I was younger I used to think of relationships as time spent and if it didn't work out then you have that mentality of "I just wasted two and a half years on you!" and you're not happy about it.   But, as I got older, and look back at it now, you can't think about it as time wasted but rather as experience and events which helped shape who you are today.

It's funny how in this way something like a romantic relationship can be like a job in a professional sense because now you have this two and a half years on your dating profile and it makes you seem like you know more about dating because you can speak from that experience.  It's not always something you see that way though until it's in hindsight.

"2 & A Half" has this cool flow to it that if you were to just get out of a relationship, whether it be for as long or just whatever you consider enough time to feel like it was wasted, this song should help you through it.  The song seems like the time was wasted but it doesn't sound angry or vengeful and feels more relaxed about it, as if that healing process can begin.  

Music Review // Twilight Muse "A Moment Out Of Time"

When listening to Twilight Muse, there is this distinct sound which combines rock music with undertones of country music.  This reminds me of a time in the late 1990's when artists would be popular doing this, like Sheryl Crow, Fastball, Cracker and the Wallflowers.   There are also elements of Fleetwood Mac and They Might Be Giants in here, as the album overall tends to lean towards being melodic.

Right away the album starts with "Dreamspace", which has acoustics in the guitar sound and electronics in the way it feels like a keyboard is coming in.   "Oh Mama" has piano keys and a saxophone, showing the range on this album.   I'm reminded of Tom Petty and at times I'm also reminded of Metric, as the name Twilight Muse always makes me think of that band as well.   There is just a drive to these songs that you have to hear.

The single "Electrify Me" is in the middle of this album while "Are You In?" has perhaps the strongest of the country undertones on it.  The last song, "Audacious", sings the name "Twighlight Muse", and while each song should be considered on an individual basis I do enjoy the line: "I'm between real livin' and livin' a lie", which is on "Oh Mama" and as it relates to matters of the family sometimes you just feel like you're somewhere in between.

Whether you're driving to the beach on a hot and sunny day or heading back home on a cool summer night in the dark, Twilight Muse has provided a soundtrack for all of life's adventures.  You can take the time to truly grasp what these songs are about lyrically, but also just to soak in how pleasant they are in a musical sense will leave you wanting more.  

Baseball Review // Vernon Orioles, 10 Record-Journal Expos, 7 June 20th, 2023 at Ceppa Field, Meriden CT (GHTBL)

Official box score here :::

https://www.ghtbl.org/event/record-journal-expos-vs-vernon-orioles/

Additional photos can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1269120227151529&type=3

This was the second meeting of these teams this season and the first one took place in Vernon.    It was a cool summer night and you knew this game was going to be exciting because on the first pitch of the game the Orioles' Jordan English hit a homerun over the left field fence.   This would put the O's up 1-0 right away, but the next three batters would go down in order.  

The bottom of the first inning was unlike anything I've ever seen in baseball before.  My uncle showed up right about the time this was happening, he asked me what was going on and I told him that I didn't know.   The inning started with Sebby Grignano hitting a single into center field.  Javon Malone flew out but then Jeff Massicotte was hit by pitch.  With one out, there were now runners on first and second.

Will Kszywanos would hit a fly ball just past where second and third base meet- just outside of the infield- and what looked like an easy catch was dropped.  This is when chaos ensued.  With the runners assuming it would be caught, they were then on the move and this lead to several unsuccessful run down attempts by the Orioles defense.  It was like watching something from the circus out there.

At one point, both Massicotte and Kszywanos were on first base together.   Ultimately, the ruling was that Will Kszywanos was out and then Jeff Massicotte went back to first and Sebby Grignano back to second.  This acted like the infield fly rule, but it was outside of the infield.  I had been talking with my dad about this recently- why the infield fly rule only applies to the infield.  Sure, if a shot is hit far enough to the outfield and it's dropped then the runners have time to go to their respective bases.

But if a shot is maybe halfway or so between the outfield fence and the infield then, well, this ensues.  And for a while during this, the Orioles dugout was yelling for the players on the field to throw to third (which they never did) because in theory, not catching the ball should've made it where a throw to third meant Sebby Grignano was out and a throw to second meant Jeff Massicotte was out and then Will Kszywanos would've been safe at first but that would've ended the inning.  

I definitely don't think that the Orioles missed the catch on purpose to try and attempt a double play because I think it was just miscommunication, but a team could certainly attempt something similar on purpose and the umpire in that game might not modify the infield fly rule for them.   It's an interesting thing to think about in baseball and something which I think about a bit more than I probably should.

We reset it to Sebby Grignano on second and Jeff Massicotte on first with two outs now.   AJ Hendrickson came up next, hit a shot to center field and Sebby Grignano came home to make it a 1-1 game after the first inning.   This was, as you can tell by the final score, a higher scoring game where it took longer for the innings to progress because out of seven innings there were only two when the Orioles didn't score and only three when the Expos didn't score.

In the second inning a throw past first base and then a fielder's choice brought in two more runs for the Orioles.   This had them up 3-1 going into the bottom of the second, but this would be the inning that the Expos scored their most runs.   Brendan O'Connell hit a nice shot down the first base line to single on while Brandon Hernandez walked on.  Sebby Grignano would also draw a walk to load the bases.  Javon Malone with a huge hit would drive in two runs and the game was tied again, 3-3.

Jeff Massicotte would draw a walk next, which would once again load the bases.  Will Kszywanos would single in both Malone and Grignano to make it a 5-3 game with the Expos on top.  The Orioles would change pitchers at this point, as Matt Curtis would leave the game.  Zach Donahue was in as a replacement and got out of that inning and held down the rest of the game fairly well.

The third inning was one of the only innings in which the Orioles didn't score.   The bottom of the third inning featured a solo homerun by Evan Avery, putting the Expos up 6-3.   This homerun went over the left field fence and bounced off of a tree, so I went to see if I could find it.  The funny thing is, while I was out there, I found one homerun ball from Jordan English just sitting at the bottom of the grass.  The other ball, which had ricocheted had rolled down into someone's driveway.   To see how far that Evan Avery baseball traveled was pretty neat.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Orioles would put up four runs and take the lead back.  There were a few deep doubles and the Orioles just had their hitting on point here, as they just dropped the ball where it couldn't be caught and often times got multiple bases out of it.  But the Expos kept fighting, as AJ Hendrickson would score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning, tying the game once again at 7-7.

After the fourth inning, the Expos offense shut down.   In the top of the fifth, Zach Donahue helped himself with a first pitch homerun that I was not going to walk to get because it was growing colder outside.    A triple by Ryan Bagdasarian would bring in another run and after five it was 9-7.   In the top of the sixth, Jack Halpin would hit a double to plate the final run of the game with the score ending at 10-7.   

This game really felt like it was about fighting and I would give props to the Orioles even if they lost.   The way both teams were scoring it felt very much like an idea of "Anything you can do I can do better", where they would just try and out match each other.  I get that is the point of baseball, but to see them so close and always within reach of each other just made this game exciting.  

I've said this before, but I truly do feel as if the Expos of seasons past might have topped off at four or five runs and just had their offense shut down the rest of the game.  The way that they kept scoring and taking the lead just proved this is a different team this year, and a better team at that.   When all of the pieces come together for the playoffs, the Expos might end up surprising some of the other teams.

Speaking of surprising other teams, the Rainbow Graphics still sit atop the standings with no signs of slowing down.  M&T Bank is in second with the Expos right behind them and then the Orioles and Jets are both at 5-4.   It'll be interesting to see who the Top 4 teams are at the end of the season and if they are able to make it to the semi-finals because right now the Orioles and Jets are both on that cusp and possibly not making it as far as they did last season, if the playoffs were at the end of June and not July.

Music Review // Alex Exists "With A Bang"

The sound of Alex Exists is a dark synth pop and it has a lot of rock in it as well.  The music video for this song very much reminds me of rock n roll music videos from back when MTV would play such things.  There is also a storyline going on in this music video where at the end the main character is locked in the trunk of a car, so take that for what it's worth.

"With A Bang" is the idea of going out with a bang and this very much feels like an end of the world party anthem.  We all feel like the world is going to end in our time, mostly because we don't want to think about it going on without us, and this song just sets the tone for those events to where you can dance and be prepared for whatever comes next.

There is a line in here which I really like that says: "Surviving purely out of spite".  I feel like that is true of a lot of things: The United States Postal Service, Netflix, etc. but as a human I also believe the human race somehow collectively is surviving out of spite.  It feels like there's always something to predict our downfall and then that downfall never comes, so we somehow hang on just to show them that they were wrong.

Regardless of whether or not you believe the world is coming to an end soon, this is still just such a great party rock song.  Realizing that summer has just started, I could see this on playlists especially as the summer comes closer to its end because the end doesn't always have to be so apocalyptic, it could simply be about the end of summer and going back to school or into the real world.   Either way, do it with a bang.  

Music Review // Michel Neray "Let the Wild Orchids Grow"

Michel Neray has found a way to create folk rock music that has elements of someone such as Tom Petty in it, in a more classic rock sense, but also that 1990's era of acoustic rock where bands like Del Amitri had hits with songs like "Roll to Me".   Even just thinking about a band like Toad the Wet Sprocket in comparison, Neray offers up a style that has been done before but isn't utilized enough.

The lyrics in here are interesting as there is the line: "You've gotta live the life you choose and choose the life you live", which is a way of saying we're all responsible for our own happiness.  Then the line is spoken: "Well, I shrugged my shoulders and I said" before the title.  There is also a reference to a dragon being his friend, but I'm most interested by these lyrics: "As long as there's another town / I know my road won't end".

To some extent, I feel like we all have that mentality- or at least the busy person does- where as long as we have something to do we can't die and our happiness can't end if what we're doing is making us happy.   And there are obviously people who had plans and still didn't live to see them play out, but that mentality of not stopping and you can go on forever is one I can identify with.  

Whether you're looking for a song to help on a long drive or just to motivate you to get out of bed, I think the general idea of "Let the Wild Orchids Grow" is that we're still here, we're still alive, and so while we are we should do what makes us happy and make the best of it.   We all need that reminder sometimes and this song is a good way to remember it.  

Cassette Review // instant messenger "sologuitar 1" (Orb Tapes)

 

https://orbtapes.bandcamp.com/album/sologuitar-1

The way this cassette begins is with a lot of noise that sounds like pushing stuff around.  There is a distinct sound of guitar string scraping, but otherwise it just feels like going through the cabinets, moving around items and the sounds which come from that.   This goes into this deep hum, which is where the guitar cable meets the amp I believe, and then strings are plucked and this has the feelings of a music box.

Some beeping brings on the sound of a modem now, as it gets louder.   Scraping and echoing comes through and then it sounds as if percussion is reigning down now, like a bouncing ball, as the distortion fills all of the space behind it.   This grows louder as that banging returns behind it now and it all just feels so sharp and somewhat mechanical.   The sound now can remind me of a shovel scraping across a driveway.  

A softer digging sound now and it can at the same time feel like we're flipping through frequencies.   This is all broken up as that modem-like loudness blasts through again.  It grows quiet, with minimal acoustic percussion sounds.  Through echoes in space the sound trails out and then returns one note at a time.   Everything comes back up in this solemn bass way and then it turns into these tiny electronics which resonate deep waves of bass.  

An electronic storm brings out notes and beeps which come through like we're changing frequencies again, like tuning the dial on the radio.  This happens while also breaking for moments of echoing into space.  The guitar strings rattle.   We fall into a deep distortion now.   As we reach the end of the first side, we find the most intricate of guitar parts so far as there is just no denying the way that the notes and chords sound. 

On the flip side we open up with this supersonic distortion which just radiates through in waves.   This grows much louder, more intense and drops off into harsh noise territory before getting cut off.   Magical sounding tones return now.   Back and forth between moments that are quieter and moments that are louder, we've gone to a deeper, darker place now that feels like it is underwater.   This leads us into the guitar coming through with strong distortion but very much in a rock way.

The sounds of the guitar all get scrambled now and this reminds me of Primus for some reason.   The distortion begins to echo like Hendrix and then we're flipping through channels again as well, back and forth.   As this ends, a brief spot of fast paced percussion comes in and leaves, then we have what feels like string bending with a tapping beat.   Before the static comes in, this has a fun bouncing way about it where it almost sounds like the day the teddy bears have their picnic.  

Very sharp tones cut through now like a siren and the whooshes and whirrs and behind it.   Angelic tones, almost like we are in church now.   It feels like a harp as well.   The distortion returns and takes over the entire sound now.  It's just blasting.   That sound once again returns where it feels like a ball is bouncing or something is growing, and I'm reminded of the Disney "Gummy Bears" cartoon, but overall this is just a great representation of what a guitar can do.  

Cassette Review // Mallwalker "Danger" (Tetryon Tapes)

https://tetryontapes.bandcamp.com/album/danger

The raw power of Mallwalker is truly something to behold.   Somewhere between rock n roll, punk and hardcore come sounds which make me think back to a time when punk rock was dangerous.    These songs make me think about when this type of music could get a venue shut down simply because people would complain that it was too loud.

Even just listening to the song "Shit Talk" is enough to get you stirred up, but then thinking about these lyrics can put your mind into this state where you realize maybe the person doing the shit talking is the piece of shit.   This takes us into a song called "Wet Spot", which addresses not wanting to sleep in the wet spot on the bed after sex and I don't think anyone has ever really talked about that before.

On the first side of this cassette you get the recordings of these songs.  The flip side has live recordings of them and also includes the songs "job" and "hot tip", which don't have the Side A versions.   What really struck me was that this live recording was from all the way back in 2018 and the album on Side A is actually from 2019.

Sadly, this cassette is a memorial as Sarah Danger Underhill is no longer with us.   Mallwalker just feels like such a rare breed of band that would've played CBGB's back in the day.  To know that they came and went without my knowing about them until now makes me sad, but knowing that this type of music is here to hopefully influence more people is a bright sign for the future.  

Live Music Review // Adam Arritola, Anne Rhodes, Jeff Dragan / Cow Person / Harry Woods / Neonach June 17th, 2023 at Grey Matter Books, New Haven CT

Additional photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1268046643925554&type=3

When this show first started making the rounds as a flyer it had an artist on it named Kidnapped.   This sparked some curiosity because there is a hardcore band from Connecticut called Kidnapped and so I thought perhaps they would be playing, though I'm not sure if Grey Matter Books is the right setting for them but I was keeping an open mind.   I even had this idea of the hardcore band playing stripped down with just the singer and an acoustic guitar.  

The show itself would end up not having anyone named Kidnapped play, so that all seems to remain a mystery.   In time, it could become one of those memories that doesn't feel like it's real.    It already gives me something funny to look back on about this show, a way to remember it over all other shows, and that doesn't even have anything to do with the actual music involved in it.  As the confusion of Kidnapped kept us in suspense for weeks, the line up of this show was somewhat of a mystery.

While the flyer has Kidnapped listed, they also have someone called Nynavy as well as Father Hotep.   We know that Father Hotep played as a duo instead, which was Cow Person, but what happened to Nynavy is unclear.   Also, the fate of Kidnapped seems uncertain but, again, it'll be a fun story to tell in the future.  One of the main reasons I wanted to go to this was for the trio headlining and because Harry Woods was also on here from the start.   Initially- the first time I saw this show announced- Neonach wasn't listed and so that later became a pleasant surprise.

Neonach opened up this show and Neonach is someone who I have heard of in name only but always see on flyers and playing with other artists that I like, so I knew going into this it would likely be good.   To say this was a noise set feels like an over-simplification.   While there were electronics and this was quiet and calm at times, there was a bit of looping and that came into play with both vocals and eventually an acoustic guitar.

This really felt like the type of sound that I would've heard first on cassette and wondered what was making each sound.  Being able to see it live helped me to put something physical to what was happening in an audio sense.  There was this small wind up music box type of toy that I would've described the sound as just that on a cassette and it was used to record directly into the mic and then looped.   This was really fun to hear but also it was an experience in seeing how it was also done, like watching a master chef prepare a meal and not just eating it.

Harry Woods played second and with a combination of recorded sounds this set was mostly giant guitar chords.   I believe you can really tell when someone grew up based upon how they think of the guitar.  Having some of my most formidable years of music in the 1990's (which isn't to say they aren't still happening now) really had me enjoying the sounds of Harry Woods because when you break down the music of that time it's in many ways about those big, distorted guitar chords.

People might want to be music snobs, but some of the best big guitar chords like this came from songs like "Lakini's Juice" by Live and even the band Creed.   So to hear these chords which you could extract from those types of songs and add into loops with percussion and electronics, it's like you're pulling out one of the best parts of music from that time and just focusing on that. That made this set of Harry Woods just feel like a guitar showcase but in a very specific way which is one of the ways I most like to hear the guitar sing.

Cow Person was the third set and this was where Father Hotep came into play.   I will admit that one thing I've always liked about music is that it can get a reaction from people and that reaction doesn't always have to be positive.  The way that a harsh noise set can turn people away is still so great to me.   So, as Cow Person played, there were vocals with this country sort of twang that at times would go out of tune.  Right at the doorway of Grey Matter Books there is a few boxes of free items.  

Now, during most of this set, there was a person going through the boxes of free books.  When the voice would hit that twang and go out of tune, I would notice the person going through the free books look up kind of confused as to what was going on.  I found that to be funny because this person obviously just wanted free books but was also kind of disturbed by what was going on, but also not enough to actually stop looking through the books and leave.

With electronics, the singing and an electric guitar which sounded like Buddy Holly at times and even Johnny Cash at other times, Cow Person has a very unique sound which if you're not prepared for can catch you off guard.  If you're just looking for free books it might really catch you off guard, but if you know you're going into a noise show (as most of the people in Grey Matter Books did) then this sound would catch you off guard in the best possible way.  This was also their first show as Cow Person.

The final set of the night was a duo consisting of Adam Arritola, Anne Rhodes and Jeff Dragan.   I had seen Anne Rhodes solo before and I've seen Jeff Dragon perform with others, so just the idea of seeing what they would do together was intriguing.  On top of that, Adam Arritola was added into the mix and that just made everything a bit more magical.  

On the way back home I was talking to Jess about this and I don't think she understood what I was asking but I don't know if there even is an answer but the thing which amazes me about improv music like this is how each person knows what to do.  It's not like they practice or rehearse it or even write material before they play, so the way it all comes together so spontaneously- sometimes people play together who have never met in real life before- just leaves me dumbfounded.  

It would take a great deal of talent to create something like this if you spent a year writing it and then six months practicing it together before going on tour and playing the same thing every night for six to eight months.   But there's no chance to say "Hey, instead of doing this here why don't you try doing this other thing instead" as it all just comes out.   There is just something special in this type of sound and these three artists as individuals came together prove that as a whole.  

_____________________________________________________

Neonach can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://neonach.bandcamp.com/

Harry Woods can be found on Instagram here :::

https://www.instagram.com/warryhoods/

Cow Person can be found on Instagram here :::

https://www.instagram.com/c0wperson/

Jeff Dragan can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://fifac.bandcamp.com/

Anne Rhodes can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://annerhodes.bandcamp.com/

Adam Arritola can be found on the web here :::

https://www.adamarritola.com/

Live Music Review // The Terrible Fates / Therese Masotta June 15th, 2023 at The Cellar on Treadwell, Hamden CT

Additional photos can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1265664567497095&type=3

This was our first time at The Cellar on Treadwell but it worked out that I saw them post about this show and it was a night we happened to be free.   I presented this idea to Quentin as a band singing about The Legend of Zelda and he was immediately in.  The show was all ages to the extent that kids had to be accompanied by an adult and more places should allow the youth in because it is often times the difference between me making it to a show or not (As in, I can't go to a 21+ show with Quentin, so often times I don't)

The Cellar on Treadwell is this really cool space with a bar and food.  It felt like a music club, but also it felt like a place you could just go and eat food while you share drinks with friends.   Quentin ordered food, I ordered drinks and just that aspect of this space was really nice and not something I'm used to in other places that I go.  I won't name names but I can think of at least one place that is usually 21+ but their bar is subpar.

Therese Masotta opened up this show with only an acoustic guitar and a voice.  The songs had this way where you feel like they would when you combine singing and the strumming of the acoustic guitar (folk) but at least one song broke down more into the blues and that Buddy Holly type of rock n roll sound.   The differences between the songs were apparent and this just felt like such a lovely set of songs to hear.

To close out the set, Therese Masotta said she woke up and wondered what would be worse than the band Nickelback and it was if she was every member of the band.  Which, to be fair, isn't true.   This ended up being a cover of the Nickelback song "How You Remind Me" (I think that's the title but I'm not looking it up) which was more upbeat and faster paced than the original.  Again, I'd listen to Therese Masotta sing these songs any day but when Nickelback comes on the radio I'm changing it (unless I'm really not sober)

The Terrible Fates were the headliners and their set was certainly something to behold.  With an acoustic guitar, a mandolin and their voices the duo brought to life songs that felt like they were both Medieval and from Middle Earth.   There was as much to the show in a live setting as there was to the music itself and for our first time seeing The Terrible Fates, it certainly will not be our last.

They played a song called "The Silent Hero", which is of course about Link.   They also played their new single, "Aim for the Eye", which had Therese Masotta come back on stage to accompany them.  This all acted out much like a play and I would glance over every so often to see Quentin laughing at the antics on stage.   This was one of the ways I really knew he was into this music.

After a few cover songs, The Terrible Fates closed with "Cut 'em in Three", which is a song that counts down and they even had lyric sheets for us to sing along with the countdown.  Quentin especially enjoyed the fifth part where he got to go "AHHHHHHHHH!!" and it is something that he also told me that he wants to go back and do again.  

You don't have to be into Dungeons & Dragons or Magic The Gathering to listen to The Terrible Fates, but it might help.  The fact that this type of music exists though, as someone who is into all things Middle Earth and adjacent, I just like that this is here for those who may have never knew they needed to hear it or could hear it before.   And I also enjoy that it feels like it's super kid-friendly because in some ways listening to it, experiencing it, just brings out your inner child and we all need that reminder once in a while.  

The Cellar on Treadwell can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/thecellarontreadwell/

Therese Masotta can be found on Instagram here :::

https://www.instagram.com/a_lil_adventure/?hl=en

The Terrible Fates can be found on Bandcamp and Spotify, respectively, here :::

https://heylisten.bandcamp.com/album/sunset-in-stony-creek

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4uMJJhRQH6wByCQSUORYS9