Live Music Review // Blueraspberry, Myles Bullen, The Bumbling Woohas, MJ Bones, Lars and Their Lilac Uke May 28th, 2023 at Never Ending Books, New Haven CT

Additional photos can be found here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1256126418450910&type=3

I saw a flyer for this show on Instagram and thought it looked like fun.   I'd like to make a note that this was our third show in a row and if you look at the reviews I've posted for the two shows we attended before this one, all three shows were very different in their own ways.  And the fact that as a music scene in Connecticut we can have this variety of quality music is just still something I'm forever grateful for being able to experience.

This show opened with a surprise set by Lars and the Lilac Ukulele and though it was only a few songs it was a lot of fun to hear the ukulele + voice sound live as I've had some cassettes come through along these lines but haven't really been to this type of show in quite some time.  I'm not really sure if this was a folk punk show or not, but it was definitely something that I don't usually go to live but would love to start seeing more of in the future.

MJ Bones was up second and also sang complex songs with only a voice and ukulele.  I like this idea of punk rock though because you don't really need to set up a drum kit, plug in guitars and even mic check.  All you need is a space big enough to move your arms so you can strum and then you can have this impromptu punk concert.   MJ Bones is also this local New Haven favorite and so having their name on this show and my not seeing them live before did play a role into going to this show.

Up next was The Bumbling Woohas and I didn't know anything about them other than that they were a duo.   When I saw the name, I told Jess that this was either going to be the worst thing we ever saw or the best thing we ever saw and I didn't want to listen to them beforehand to sway that decision and I just wanted to go into cold and see what came of it.   As soon as they started playing though, I just knew we had stumbled upon the greatest thing we had ever seen.

Playing a saw, juggling, theatrics like Tenacious D but then also being fueled by the fire it made this set not only that special in a musical sense but it was one of those live performances where even if you don't really like the music the idea of going out of your way to take in the show is worth it.   There is just this certain stage presence that a lot of artists lack these days and The Bumbling Woohas seemed to bring it on tenfold.

This show was pretty packed in terms of the crowd and The Bumbling Woohas were also into audience participation.   At one point, they had us be their drums, clapping along, and the sound could go from that raging acoustic and harmonica to a computer filled with dance beats so quickly that it was just unlike anything I had ever seen before and I certainly would like to see it again and again.

Myles Bullen was up next and this was one of the artists I was really into prior to going to this show.  I feel like being as old as I am, I'm somewhat spoiled when it comes to rap music and so a lot of what is on the radio right now doesn't appeal to me.   So if I'm listening to hip hop it has to be special and Myles Bullen, described as a grief rapper, is special.   Sometimes it can sound like they're simply speaking and other times it's obvious that they're screaming.  Either way, you're going to pay attention.

Being a grief rapper I suppose means confronting that everyone at some point in their life has wanted to die whether or not we talk about it.   There is also this great song about wanting to die eating ice cream.   I'm torn thinking of Myles Bullen as a cross between Sage Francis and Twenty One Pilots in terms of sound.   There was also some crowd participation during Myles Bullen's set and as both Myles Bullen and The Bumbling Woohas are from Portland, Maine it truly felt like we were there- in their hometown- rather than New Haven, CT in terms of how well the crowd knew them.

Myles Bullen also played this song with the introduction that it was for children and is about the apocalypse.   Before another song, the intro then once again came that it was for children only this time it was about suicide.  A small child seated in front of us said to an adult next to them "What does that word mean?" in a bit of perfect timing.  

Blueraspberry headlined the show and you could tell it was getting late because they seemed to just fly through their set.  A duo from New Haven, this show really seemed to be that mix of NHV and Portland, Maine but if you have a good music scene you should flaunt it.  The music of Blueraspberry was fun in that way that you might expect a duo with acoustic guitars singing to sound, only this also happened to be kicked up a few notches to give it that extra burst of energy.  

Lars and Their Lilac Uke can be found on Instagram here :::

https://www.instagram.com/lilac.uke.music/

MJ Bones can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://mjbonesmusic.bandcamp.com/music

The Bumbling Woohas can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://thebumblingwoohas.bandcamp.com/

Myles Bullen can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://mylesbullen.bandcamp.com/

Blueraspberry can be found on Bandcamp here :::

https://blueraspberry.bandcamp.com/