Live Music Review // Dave Scanlon
Laura Wolf
Fireworks Factory
Untold Joys
June 30th, 2023
at Never Ending Books, New Haven CT
Additional photos can be found on Facebook here :::
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1276032366460315&type=3
When it comes to FiFac's House you might have come to expect a certain style of music. But while this was not the traditional electronic/experimental music that has been heard before, the fact that all of the artists still seemed to share that overall sound was what really tied the show together and made this just feel like a bill of artists who had elements in common but by no means were you hearing the same sound twice.
The show opened with Untold Joys who are a three piece band. This brought in fans there specifically to see them, as the chairs were not out and it became standing room. I was waiting for someone to open up the pit. With a pop punk sound that reminds me of early Fall Out Boy but with a live show that delivered, I was also thinking about Green Day and by the end I had thoughts of The Strokes in my head.
There is something to be said for playing songs fast and loud while maintaining a sense of pop in the music as well. Certain bands can do this but their whole set can just come out sounding like one long song. Untold Joys has a way of finding that rhythm, slowing down some of the songs and just making this music that you know when it finds its way onto an album it's going to be really really fucking great.
In between sets, the chairs came out and though it appeared as if a lot of the punk rock crowd who was there for Untold Joys had left, Never Ending Books was still very much full, which has become the new norm at FiFac's House. I respect the dedication of the Untold Joys fans as well, and I agree that there is certainly something special there.
Fireworks Factory was up second, a duo where Jeff Dragan played guitar. There was a lot of looping in here, some singing and beats. It had that idea- if you want to get into the more mainstream comparisons- of Owl City and Death Cab For Cutie. As the night went on, you would hear that sound change as well, as we went from a trio to a duo, from a live drum kit to the electronics.
This pattern would continue with Laura Wolf, who was up third. From a duo to a single person, Laura Wolf use a cello sparsely to create loops which accompanied electronic beats and singing. The way that both the instruments and vocals looped is something which Laura Wolf and Fireworks Factory shared, but as we went from Untold Joys to Fireworks Factory to Laura Wolf, it just felt like we were taking away one element of the sound with each new set, but remaining in that pop bliss.
Dave Scanlon headlined this show solo with just the guitar. The songs of Dave Scanlon are so unique because the guitar comes through not quite in the electric way and not quite in the acoustic way, but somewhere in between- some new level of sound that hasn't been defined yet. Scanlon can certainly sing, but on songs which are about sharks, for example, it feels like somewhere between singing and a TED Talk, which I do enjoy.
Of all the artists tonight, Dave Scanlon was the first to make note that Fireworks Factory was playing so close to the 4th of July, but I also like that Dave Scanlon has a song about sharks and I do believe that July is now Shark Month. I know it used to be Shark Week, but I think it got so big the sharks got their own month.
As this show felt like a disjointed pop show with pieces being taken away as the night went on, it was really something special to not just hear these artists play their own sets but also just to think about how this show was overall. I know people were leaving after artists they wanted to see play (not just the Untold Joys fans, but some folks after Laura Wolf as well) and that's fine but to really experience the true bigger picture here is what makes this all so beautiful.
Never Ending Books can be found on the web here :::
Untold Joys can be found on Bandcamp here :::
https://untoldjoys.bandcamp.com/album/hello-my-name-is-demos
Fireworks Factory can be found on Instagram here :::
https://www.instagram.com/fireworksfactory/
Laura Wolf can be found on Bandcamp here :::
https://laurawolfmusic.bandcamp.com/album/shelf-life
Dave Scanlon can be found on Bandcamp here :::
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