Live Music Review // XÉNOS / The Toneshifters / The Whales / The Pretty Graves , @ Hygenic Art Gallery, New London CT, August 17th 2024
Additional photos can be found in an album on Facebook here :::
When I saw that XÉNOS was on this show I knew that we needed to go, but the fact that some of the bands on here were artists I was already following but hadn't seen live yet (some of which were rained out on Make Music Day 2024 at the Whale Tail or we just showed up late) it just made it an even better line up. We got down to New London and had dinner at the Blue Duck prior to this show and I recommend you to do the same.
Whenever you have that feeling of "I should do this", you should probably do it. That's what I learned about The Pretty Graves after this show. See, one week prior to this show The Pretty Graves played at Best Video with an artist called Songbird. I looked into the show and thought about going because an artist I deeply love posted on Instagram about playing with Songbird, but it turned out to be a different "Songbird" so we didn't end up going.
After seeing The Pretty Graves at this show though, I wish we had gone because it would've been such a great time as The Pretty Graves have that specific type of music that I like. Back in the early 2000's I was burning out on music, mainly writing about it got to me because everyone seemed to want to sound the same, but by 2012 I was getting into shoegaze, which brought me back into writing about music and overall The Pretty Graves could really fit into that genre.
But there is also something about the way which The Pretty Graves delivers their rock which can bring out these non-gaze aspects. At times as much as I might think about My Bloody Valentine, I'm also thinking about The Replacements. The sound can also just turn instrumental and take a dive into the psychedelic, as it just builds this wall that feels like you cannot escape. I definitely want to see The Pretty Graves again.
The Whales took the stage second and this was a band that was finishing up their set when we got to Make Music Day. With three guitarists, the bassist played the harmonica for a song and they were even joined on stage by a saxophone and an accordian at different times. The rock n roll that The Whales play is just an overall fun vibe that reminds me of some combination of that 1950's / 1960's rock n roll with a bit of that surf vibe, which based upon their name and the New London theme makes sense.
Up third were The Toneshifters who had a guitarist that sang lead on a few songs, an accordian and a front man who played both the bongos and washboard, among other instruments while singing. This band had the most mix of rock n roll with that feeling of being swing or just something along those same lines. It's as if they covered genres from The Stray Cats to the Brian Setzer Orchestra. People were up dancing and this music just also brought a good time vibe with it.
XÉNOS played fourth and were a lot of the reason why we went to this show. They played as a three piece again, as they did on Make Music Day, so their keyboardist escapes me yet again. Throughout this night the music had a certain feel to it, one where maybe it was accessible to everyone or perhaps if you were outside the fence walking by you'd say "Oh, that's nice", and even The Whales and Toneshifters shared musical similarities. But what XÉNOS brings to that stage is unlike what any other artist brings to it.
People walking by on this night would stop and wonder what was happening as XÉNOS played, probably kicking themselves for not somehow being a part of it. It was apparently Dress Like A Pirate Day in New London on Saturday (it's real, look it up, I promise) and I didn't know that. But imagine walking the streets of your city, hearing XÉNOS and not being a part of it. You would have to feel like everyone else is keeping this secret from you.
The musical style of XÉNOS is not one which can easily be compared with other artists but (and this is saying a lot because the CT scene is vast and full of amazing artists) I feel as if they are one of the most unique artists who needs to be talked about the most when people ask what's going on musically in Connecticut. Again, I feel like there's a good handful of artists who could be named as a follow up, but my answer now would be an easy "XÉNOS", even though I cannot pronounce it either.
Lately, one thing I've been thinking about a lot in terms of music is that all good music makes you feel something. For me, listening to XÉNOS, it didn't matter what had happened that day leading up to this or even the past week. All that mattered was that we were here now, in this moment, and that made everything better. Even if you don't feel like you do anything that can be considered an accomplishment, experiencing XÉNOS just feels like everything you've had to endure (even if you didn't) is all made worthwhile by celebrating this sound.
The Geoff Mitchill Band would play last, but as it was already 10pm and Quentin and Jess were both getting tired we decided to head out and leave them for another time. We also stopped for gas off the highway at Noble, which used to have a Nardelli's in it but it no longer does so if you're looking to franchise a Nardelli's that might be the place.
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