Live Music Review //
Renee Zon / Human Flourishing / Air for Effect / Waste My Breath
@ C****h H***e, West Haven CT
April 20th, 2024
(NHV Fest)
Additional photos can be found in a Facebook album here :::
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1465833637480186&type=3
Day time made way for night time, as Quentin and Jess switched places. I fully believe that whether or not you believe in taking drugs (even though marijuana is largely legal now and so it's not the same as, say, having a meth day) you should at least find an event that will make you feel like you do smoke pot for this specific day. This lineup for NHV Fest Day 2 seemed to do exactly that.
Everyone brought something different to the table (literally, they all had tables) and it just went to show how the Connecticut scene isn't only full of various genres but also has some of the best artists in those genres. The show opened with Waste My Breath and I've heard that name somewhere before because I follow them on Bandcamp and get notifications when new music and such comes about.
As a duo, Waste My Breath had both electronic sounds and beats but for some of the songs there was an acoustic guitar and singing. I've always enjoyed when those lines between acoustic and electric get blurred and this was definitely a way of doing that. It was also just a lot of fun, as seemed to be the theme for this show. Everyone had a beat that just lifted your spirits up.
Up second was Air for Effect and this was an artist that was completely new to me. Sometimes it's those wild cards that will surprise you though. I think I had that general sense in my mind of this being an ambient/electronic/chill type of show overall, but I didn't expect it to be like this. Somewhere between hip hop and vaporwave, Air for Effect dropped beats and made sounds that at another time and place could've had the whole club shaking.
Audio samples within the music brought out Bill Murray in Ghostbusters which was both topical and retro at the same time. This was one of the louder sets, in the sense that we could've been at a rave, and after the show Jess told me that not only did she like this set the best but she wanted to see more music like this live. So everyone out there, book Air for Effect and then also book similar artists and the elder ravers will come.
At this point in time it was time for Human Flourishing. To see Human Flourishing live is an experience in and of itself, as it is something I think everyone should do at least once in their life regardless of what type of music they enjoy. This was that perfect balance between electric guitar, sound manipulation and a circus horn. It started in a calmer way, but it built up to where it was chaotic by the end.
There was also this metal can which was used as percussion. This just felt like that type of set where some of these sounds were traditional- some were not- and they were being mostly made by non-traditional instruments. But it goes a long way in showing what sound can do and how it can be used in various ways. Out of all the sets, Human Flourishing was definitely the weirdest and I would've expected nothing less.
Renee Zon would close out this show with those beeps and boops of electronics. If you ever search Bandcamp for music tagged with "Connecticut", you will find Renee Zon especially since there are two new Renee Zon albums that came out in March of this year. The tone set by Renee Zon seemed to the theme of this evening not on paper but what you come to realize after the show happened and you can reflect.
All of these musicians feel like the type that can go into a studio and record an album should that be something they want to do. But on this day, on 4/20, it felt more like they were going in with some ideas in their minds but also an attitude of "Once I get up there, I'll see where the music takes me". And this was just such a fun and special vibe, for 4/20, for the CT Music Scene, and just for everyone there who was able to experience it first hand.
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