Anne’s Shore & More #55 – August 29 2012

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WEEK

Labor Day weekend is upon us, and although it signifies the traditional end of summer, there’s still plenty of live music to see in the New London area. Once again the shows start on Wednesday and continue through Sunday.

There are a couple of cool shows on Wednesday night, with Sue Menhart (www.suemenhart.com) and Nancy Parent (http://nancyparent.wordpress.com/) performing together at Sneekers Cafe in Groton. The show starts at 7 pm and there is no cover. Also on Wednesday, there will be a house show at 134 Ledyard Street in New London. Home Body (https://www.facebook.com/helloHOMEBODY), an electro-pop duo featuring Eric from HNATIW, will be in town from Northampton, MA. Liz Larson will do a solo set, and New London area band A Honey Wagon (http://www.jango.com/music/A+Honey+Wagon?l=0) will also play. This is a rare opportunity to see A Honey Wagon, as they don’t usually play more than one show a year. The ceramic fish (in lieu of a hat) will be passed to collect money for the touring band, so please be sure to “feed the fish”. These house shows are always a lot of fun, with good people and good music.

You have a few choices on Thursday night as well, with the Hoolios (www.locodare.com) at Steak Loft in Mystic (7 pm, free) and Vince Thompson and friends (www.reverbnation.com/vincethompson) at Sneekers in Groton (7:30 pm, free). Daphne Lee Martin & Raise the Rent (www.raisetherentmusic.com) will also be playing at 33 Golden Street in New London on Thursday. Sharing the bill with Raise the Rent will be New Haven band the Hickups (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hickups), a country band from the New Haven area that is fronted by Kriss Santala Crowder.

The really busy night for live music is Saturday night. Both the Bank Street Cafe and the Oasis Pub have big shows that night. The Oasis Pub in New London will be celebrating the birthdays of Rich Martin and Shannon Richardson, and there will be three bands playing: Pretty and Nice, Fatal Film, and Wonderlust. Wonderlust is now a bit older and of legal drinking age, and they are reuniting to play this show. Fatal Film (www.fatalfilm.com) shows no signs of slowing down, even after years of being one of the New London scene’s best and busiest bands.  Pretty and Nice (http://prettyandnice.com/), from Boston, has played at the Oasis Pub many times. The alt-pop band has a new EP called US YOU ALL WE coming out in early November, but you can pre-order it now on their website.

Down the street at the Bank Street Cafe, you can check out KNTRLR (http://www.kntrlr.com), the Field Recordings (http://tfrjournal.wordpress.com/), and Estrogen and Tonic. Estrogen and Tonic released an album called Project Involvement almost a year ago, and it’s available to listen to or download at http://estrogenandtonic.bandcamp.com/. The band is still going strong after sixteen years, with the current lineup of Christian Moore on guitar and vocals, Anne Marie Newport on drums and vocals, Steve Swan on guitar, and Todd Romanella on bass. KNTRLR and the Field Recordings are both from New York, and the Field Recordings will be playing this show as a trio, according to their website. Cover is $5, which also gets you a free drink.

Also on Saturday night, the Rivergods (http://therivergods.wordpress.com/) will be at Burke’s Tavern in Niantic, along with Dirt Road Radio (http://dirtroadradio.wordpress.com/). Dirt Road Radio has been busy lately, doing  lots of gigs and also working on their first album. There’s a lot of talent in this band, with great harmonies, and Dennis Walley’s songs often remind me of the Jayhawks. I still remember the first time I saw the Rivergods, many years ago, downstairs at Station 58 in New London. Ben and Nancy relocated to California for a few years, so they were only playing in this area once a year when they returned for the holidays. Now there are a lot of opportunities to see them, and when a band plays together that much, they get really good. Needless to say, these guys are really good. The show starts at 8 pm and there is no cover.

The final show of the season at Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock in New London will take place on Sunday afternoon, with the MacLeans (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-MacLeans/255791447789707) and the Hoolios (www.lododare.com). The show starts at 3 pm with the MacLeans, followed by the Hoolios at 5 pm. This is an outdoor show, but there’s a pavilion for the bands to play under, so bad weather is not a problem. It’s free and BYOB, and should be a great way to wrap up the weekend.

Here’s Estrogen and Tonic at the Oasis Pub in October 2011:

CONCERT CALENDAR     
Wed 8/29/12   – Home Body, A Honey Wagon, Liz Larson at 134 Ledyard Street in New London 7 pm (house show)

- Sue Menhart, Nancy Parent at Sneekers in Groton 7 pm

- The Black Swans at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

Thu 8/30/12    – The Hoolios at Steak Loft in Mystic 7 pm

- Vince Thompson and friends at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7:30-11 pm

- Daphne Lee Martin & Raise the Rent, the Hickups at 33 Golden Street in New London

- The Black Swans at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

- Greg Burroughs, Swordmasters of Ginaz at Elm Bar in New Haven

- Lys Guillorn, the Grimm Generation, the Danbury Lie at Two Boots in Bridgeport 8:30 pm NO COVER

Fri 8/31/12      – Pat Daddona, Sue Mead at Captain’s Pizza in New London 5-7 pm NO COVER

- Folk Y’All at the High Noon Saloon in Norwich 8 pm

- The Hoolios at Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington 7 pm

- The B-Stars, Big Fat Combo at Cafe Nine in New Haven 8 pm

- Tsunami of Sound, more TBA at Two Boots in Bridgeport 9:30 pm

- Built to Spill at the Met in Pawtucket 9 pm

Sat 9/1/12        – Pretty & Nice, Fatal Film, Wonderlust at the Oasis Pub in New London

- KNTRLR, the Field Recordings, Estrogen & Tonic at the Bank Street Cafe in New London 9 pm

- The Rivergods, Dirt Road Radio at Burke’s Tavern in Niantic 8 pm NO COVER

- Patrick Sweaney, Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons, the Danglers at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

- Kath Bloom, Vipers Bugloss, Home Body at Elm Bar in New Haven

- 9^th Wave, the Clams at Olde School Bistro in New Haven NO COVER

- The Mallett Brothers Band at Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport

Sun 9/2/12      – The Hoolios, the MacLeans at Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock in New London 3 pm

- The Rivergods (acoustic trio) at Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington 4-7 pm

Tues 9/4/12     – Joe Flood at Cafe Nine in New Haven 7 pm

Thur 9/6/12    – Jim Carpenter and friends at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7-10 pm NO COVER

- The Mallett Brothers Band at the Met in Pawtucket  8 pm

- Man on Earth, Find Vienna at Two Boots in Bridgeport 9 pm NO COVER

Fri 9/7/12        – The Mallett Brothers Band, the Colt Six, Brian Larney at the High Noon Saloon in Norwich 8 pm

- Leftover Crack, Juicy Karkass, Opposition Rising, Midnight Saints, Dead City Riot, BlastMat, PickPocket at the El ‘n’ Gee in New London 5 pm

- Anonymous Inc., Crunk Witch, Jesse Dangerously, Adam Warrock, Mikal K Hill at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

Sat 9/8/12        - I AM FEST 2012 in New London with Hospitality, Bear Hands, Sean Bones, Bearstronaut, Shake the Baron, the Suicide Dolls, Sidewalk Dave, Dom, Math the Band (on the Parade Plaza and at Hygienic Art Park)

- David Carradine, Biigpiigwan, Toad at the El ‘n’ Gee in New London 4-7 pm

- Old Man Lady Luck, Shark at Elm Bar in New Haven

- Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons at the Met in Pawtucket 9 pm

Sun 9/9/12      – The Suicide Dolls at Galaxy Roller Rink in Groton (halftime at Shoreline Roller Derby bout) all ages, doors 6 pm, bout 7 pm, tix $10 advance, $12 door

- Cracker at Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington 6:30-8:30 pm

- Old Monk, Dead Wives at the Space in Hamden 7 pm

- Dirt Road Radio at the Outer Space in Hamden 8 pm

Anne Castellano is a New London songwriter and musician who has played in several bands over the years (the Uninformed, the Skin Walkers, and the Cavities). She has been performing as a solo artist since 2007 but is currently rehearsing with her new band Anne Castellano and the Smoke.

In 2010 she released a full-length self-produced CD entitled “What’s Been Going On” on the New London-based Cosmodemonic Telegraph label. She is a 30-year veteran of college radio, and is currently doing the Deranged Radio Show on alternate Tuesday evenings from 6-9pm at WCNI 90.9 FM in New London.

She grew up in New Fairfield, CT in a musical family, with a father who played guitar and listened to country artists such as Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, and a mother who loved Elvis Presley. Involvement in band and chorus in high school led to membership in the UCONN Marching Band and a two-week tour of Europe performing with the band in the early 1980s.

Anne moved to New London in 1987 because of the vibrant local music scene there. In 2005 she began putting together a concert calendar to get the word out about all the local band shows that were taking place in the area. She enjoys books, animals, hiking, and the beach, and sees as much live original music as her “day job” schedule permits.

Subscribe to Anne’s Weekly Concert updates via email by contacting her at morbidprincessmusic@yahoo.com

Listen to her music at http://www.reverbnation.com/annecastellano

Anne on LBR: http://www.localbandreview.com/author/anne-c/