RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WEEK

This Friday night offers plenty in the way of live music in the New London area. The Oasis Pub seems to be booking more music shows lately, and hopefully this trend will continue. The club will have bands on both Friday and Saturday nights this week. On Friday, local favorites Pretty and Nice (http://prettyandnice.com/) will return to the Oasis. The band is from Boston, but they play in New London fairly often. Friday’s show will be the first of their month-long cross country tour.  Also on the bill are one of New London’s best-known bands, Fatal Film (http://fatalfilm.com/), and new local band Hind Legs, who will be playing what I believe is their third show. The music will probably get started around 10:30, and the cover is usually $5.

Also on Friday night, Girls Guns and Glory (http://www.girlsgunsandglory.com/) will be back at the Side Pocket Cafe in Groton for another Blue Collar Happy Hour. These guys always pack the place when they play here, so it should be a great night. I was finally able to see their complete show a couple of months ago, and even though I’ve heard a lot of music from their CDs (they have 4 full-length albums), I was really impressed by just how good they are live. They have been playing various clubs in this area for years and they have a lot of fans in the New London scene. In addition, they played the very first Blue Collar Happy Hour after the series moved to its current home at the Side Pocket. Ward Hayden’s original songs are great, and you might also hear them throw in a Hank Williams tune or two. I believe they did three sets the last time I saw them, and it seemed like they could have kept going for awhile longer. Girls Guns and Glory is an excellent rockin’ honky-tonk band with roots in the good old days of country music. If that sounds like your sort of thing (and if not, why?), then this is your show. Roy Dunn MacLean opens at 7 pm, followed by Girls Guns and Glory at 8 pm. There is no cover.

The Sue Menhart Band (http://www.suemenhart.com/fr_home.cfm) will be playing at Burke’s Tavern in Niantic on Friday night. Sue made a surprise guest appearance singing “Even Her Eyes” with the Hoolios at the Side Pocket last Friday and absolutely killed it. Later in the set Kevin Clark (husband and drummer) even jumped on stage to play rub-board for a few songs. Great fun! Sue has been playing a ton of shows and getting a lot of well-deserved local press lately. The show starts at 7 pm, and (I think) there’s no cover.

If that weren’t enough choices for Friday night, Vince Thompson and friends (www.reverbnation.com/vincethompson) also have a gig at the Voodoo Grill in downtown Mystic. Vince will have Bob Metzger (from Leonard Cohen’s band) on guitar and vocals, Lou Bocciarelli on upright bass, and Jim Gwin on drums. This show starts around 9 pm and they’ll play until about midnight.

On Saturday, Rhode Island folk/Americana band Brown Bird (www.brownbird.net) returns to the Oasis Pub. Last time I saw them there, the band was a five-piece, but they are now playing as a duo, with David Lamb on guitar, banjo, percussion, and vocals, and Morganeve Swain on fiddle, cello, upright bass, and vocals. Their most recent album, released this past fall, is called Salt for Salt. New Londoners Daphne Lee Martin and Raise the Rent are also on the bill.

Here is Fatal Film performing “Meet Market” at the Elm Bar in New Haven:

CONCERT CALENDAR     
Wed 2/22/12   – Jay Dempsey Band at the Knickerbocker Cafe in Westerly 8 pm NO COVER

- Richard Buckner, the Backyard Committee at BAR in New Haven 9pm NO COVER

Thur 2/23/12  – Sandman and friends at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7 pm

- Sam Bigelow at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9:30 pm

Fri 2/24/12      – Blue Collar Happy Hour with Girls Guns and Glory at the Side Pocket Cafe in Groton 7-11 pm NO COVER

- Pretty and Nice, Hind Legs, Fatal Film at the Oasis Pub in New London

- Sue Menhart Band at Burke’s Tavern in Niantic 7 pm

- Vince Thompson and friends at Voodoo Grill in Mystic 9 pm

- Mates of State, the Stepkids, Sean Bones at Intercambio in New Haven (756 Chapel Street) 8 pm

- Nick Depuy at Cafe Nine in New Haven 8:30 pm

- Five in the Chamber, Cinnamon Sky at Cafe Nine in New Haven 10 pm

- Little Ugly at Stella Blues in New Haven

- Gameday Regulars, the Tired and True, Fourth and Goal at Elm Bar in New Haven

- John Fries and the Heat at the Hungry Tiger in Manchester 10 pm

- Shai Hulud at the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury 6 pm

Sat 2/25/12      – Brown Bird, Daphne Lee Martin and Raise the Rent at the Oasis Pub in New London

- Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9pm

- Viva La Vox, Filthy Still at Elm Bar in New Haven

- Pianos Become the Teeth, Xerxes, the World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, the Saddest Landscape, Wess meets West at the Space in Hamden 7 pm

- The Bittersweet Vine, Uncle Shamus at Two Boots in Bridgeport 9:30pm

Sun 2/26/12    – Islands, Idiot Glee, Modern Merchant at the Space in Hamden 7pm

- Short Handed Goal, the Toasters, Senior Discount, the Rudie Crew, the Copasetics at PVD Social Club in Providence 6 pm

Tues 2/28/12   – Milksop:Unsung at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

- Matt Pryor, the Front Bottoms, Zac Clark & Young Volcanoes at Lilly’s Pad (Toad’s Place Upstairs) in New Haven 7 pm

- The Alehounds, Tragically Said at Elm Bar in New Haven NO COVER

- Julia Nunes, Mike Falzone at the Space in Hamden 7 pm

Wed 2/29/12   – Saint Motel, Stout Cortez at BAR in New Haven 9 pm NO COVER

- 1974, Ghost of Chance at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

Thur 3/1/12    - Jim Carpenter and friends at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7pm

- Celebrated Tigers at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

Fri 3/2/12        – Blue Collar Happy Hour with the Mallett Brothers Band at the Side Pocket Cafe in Groton 7-11pm NO COVER

- Black 47 at the Knickerbocker Cafe in Westerly 9pm

- Scott Kelly, Eugene Robinson (Spoken Word) at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

- Sneaky Castro, 27 Prophets, FOOD at Elm Bar in New Haven

Sat 3/3/12        – Sinner’s Circle Vol. XVI with Ian Meadows, Molly Bowers, Ian Maxwell, Trevor Giles at Bean and Leaf in New London 7:30-9:30 pm

- The Saw Doctors at the Wolf Den in Uncasville 8 pm

- Rope, the Mold Monkeys, the Furors at Elm Bar in New Haven

- Ferocious Fucking Teeth, the Naked Heroes, Space Orphans at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9pm

- Bear in Heaven, Slam Donahue, DBK at the Space in Hamden 7 pm

“Echo & Drake CD release party “Sundrenched Elsewhere”"

From Echo.And.Drake w/Little Ugly, posted by on 2/21/2012 (40 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez – lsg Original

Lover of music and the visual arts, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez is the insanity behind lsg original photography. lsg specializes in artist and performer photography. She’s had the honor of photographing national bands such as Weezer, Snoop Dogg, A Simple Plan, Paramore, Whitesnake, Wye Oak, and The Antlers along with countless local bands and performers.

Hailing from Hartford, CT, Lisa is a life- long music connoisseur. Growing up, her mother exposed her to everything from The Stones to Simon and Garfunkel to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Loretta Lynn…and everything in between. No genre was left unexplored in her vinyl collection. She saw her first concert at 14…Rod Stewart at the (then called) Hartford Civic Center. Thirty years later, it’s still her favorite pastime.

Lisa has two kids (grown!) and a day job. Her loves of music and photography have melded into a second career. And her love of CT keeps her promoting and pushing for local artists and performers. Lisa spends the greater part of her free time seeing and shooting live bands, performers, and artists and art work…and purchasing vinyl!

You Scream I Scream and The Field Recordings
Arch Street Tavern in Hartford Connecticut

“February 17, 2012″

From Live & Local Presents You Scream I Scream w/The Field Recordings, posted by on 2/19/2012 (25 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez – lsg Original

Lover of music and the visual arts, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez is the insanity behind lsg original photography. lsg specializes in artist and performer photography. She’s had the honor of photographing national bands such as Weezer, Snoop Dogg, A Simple Plan, Paramore, Whitesnake, Wye Oak, and The Antlers along with countless local bands and performers.

Hailing from Hartford, CT, Lisa is a life- long music connoisseur. Growing up, her mother exposed her to everything from The Stones to Simon and Garfunkel to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Loretta Lynn…and everything in between. No genre was left unexplored in her vinyl collection. She saw her first concert at 14…Rod Stewart at the (then called) Hartford Civic Center. Thirty years later, it’s still her favorite pastime.

Lisa has two kids (grown!) and a day job. Her loves of music and photography have melded into a second career. And her love of CT keeps her promoting and pushing for local artists and performers. Lisa spends the greater part of her free time seeing and shooting live bands, performers, and artists and art work…and purchasing vinyl!

Swan Day 2012 Updates in pictures

“http://www.swandayct.com/
March 31, 2012″

From SWAN Day CT 2012, posted by on 12/28/2011 (41 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez – lsg Original

Lover of music and the visual arts, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez is the insanity behind lsg original photography. lsg specializes in artist and performer photography. She’s had the honor of photographing national bands such as Weezer, Snoop Dogg, A Simple Plan, Paramore, Whitesnake, Wye Oak, and The Antlers along with countless local bands and performers.

Hailing from Hartford, CT, Lisa is a life- long music connoisseur. Growing up, her mother exposed her to everything from The Stones to Simon and Garfunkel to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Loretta Lynn…and everything in between. No genre was left unexplored in her vinyl collection. She saw her first concert at 14…Rod Stewart at the (then called) Hartford Civic Center. Thirty years later, it’s still her favorite pastime.

Lisa has two kids (grown!) and a day job. Her loves of music and photography have melded into a second career. And her love of CT keeps her promoting and pushing for local artists and performers. Lisa spends the greater part of her free time seeing and shooting live bands, performers, and artists and art work…and purchasing vinyl!

Dot Mitzvah

“Spot”light on…Dot Mitzvah…Burly Q Goddess
http://www.dotmitzvahonline.com

I met the amazing and lovely Dot Mitzvah one year ago at this time.  She is a practitioner of the beautiful, and often misunderstood, art of burlesque as well as an opera singer here in Connecticut.  In addition, she holds a Master’s degree in Music Theater, is a wife, and is mother to young Tot.  If she doesn’t exemplify the power of being a woman, I don’t know who does.  I’ve had the privilege of watching Dot perform on many occasions at multiple venues and it’s always a treat. Her costumes range from 18^th century ball attire complete with powdered wig to corset-wearing wolf to pretty circus performer and everything imaginable (or unimaginable) in between.  She has this special blend of girl next door meets sex kitten meets spitfire rocker chick all rolled into one fabulous human being.  And boy can she cuss!  She is my burlesque girl crush.

lsg:  As I was prepping for this conversation, I was looking back at pictures from the first time I met you and saw you perform.  And that was exactly a year ago.

Dot:  It was!  It was at Sara’s (Lippgloss Crisis) birthday party (at Café 9).

lsg:  Exactly.  And there is a picture of you where you leaned right into my camera and looked right at me after you’d whipped off your powdered wig and you stuck your tongue out at me (completely rock n roll style!)

Both laughing…

Dot:  I remember that!

lsg:  And all I could think at that moment in time was “OMG!  I love her and I want to have her babies!  I fucking lover her!”

More giggles…

Dot:  And we can do that now in Connecticut!

lsg:  That’s right.  Isn’t it great that we live in this state?

Dot:  Absolutely!

Dot dressed as a Wolf

lsg:  First question.  How and when did you decide that you wanted to perform burlesque?

Dot:  I used to play roller derby with the Connecticut Roller Girls.  This is back in like 2006-2007.  There was a girl in the league who did this very neo-burlesque act.  It was out there.  And I watched her perform during a show that we were having and I thought “I could do that.”  I looked at my husband and said “I could totally do that!”  And he said “Sure you could.”  So after that, I cajoled Polly Sonic, who’s a New Haven artist into taking a 4 week class at the New York School of Burlesque with Jo “Boobs” Weldon (school Headmistress).  It was an essentials class so it was pretty much everything you need to know about burlesque.  And then, at the end of that 4 weeks, I debuted at the Slipper Room in NYC and I’ve been in love with it ever since.  That was in January of 2009 so I’ve been doing it for a little over 3 years.

lsg:  How funny is that.  I can’t even imagine that process of just going “Hey, I could do that (burlesque)!” and doing it.

Dot:  That’s sort of how I live my life though.  I used to play roller derby.  I used to fly trapeze.  I perform all the time.  So, I’m just not afraid of jumping out there and saying “I can do that” and trying.  And if I fail, I fail but if I find something I love, I just keep going with it.

lsg:  And I think that’s why I love you so much.  You’re inspirational that way.  You’re just balls-out, just go!  So you had 4 weeks of training?

Dot:  Well, I’ve taken other classes since then.  I take a lot of dance classes when I can.  There is a whole wealth of classes you can take.  It’s not just 4 weeks and go and just you’re at this high level.  A lot of the stuff that I’ve learned along the way I’ve learned from wonderful performers.  Also I think that having a theatrical and musical background helps me a lot because I can, I don’t want to sound like a diva, but I think I can command a stage.  (lsg note:  No.  She REALLY does command a stage!)  I never feel lost on a stage.  There’s always something to do.  So there’s a lot of other training that is outside of the classroom.

lsg:  What inspires your performances?  How do you come up with your routines?

Dot:  That’s a good question.  That’s a hard question, actually.  I feel like there’s usually one thing.  There’s either a costume piece I have or a song I have and I tend to think of burlesque performances with a beginning, middle, and an end.  So I kind of plot a story line that goes with it.  Sometimes I’ll do a show that has a specific theme.  Like the Nerds show we do with Lippgloss Crisis or in April, I’m doing Bon Appetit Burlesque in Northampton and they’re doing a time travel theme.  So sometimes I need to come up with an act to fit the theme but generally there’s just one element I build off of.

lsg:  Do you have a favorite performance?  And if so, what and why?

Dot:  I don’t perform things I don’t like so I don’t know I feel like a mother choosing her favorite child!   I’d probably have to say that my favorite act is the one I’m taking to London.  It’s my first opera act.  It’s “Glitter and Be Gay”.  I feel like that’s something that people generally haven’t seen and I like doing things that are fresh and new to the audience.

lsg:  That’s a great segue into my next question which is about your opera singing.  You are an opera singer.  Tell me about that.  Was it burlesque first then opera or do you have the two loves?

Dot:  It is opera first.  It’s always been opera.  I have my Bachelor’s degree in opera and my Master’s degree in musical theater.  I’ve been singing all my life.  My father was a singer.  I’m a singer.  I teach voice.  So, I’m surrounded by that.  And when I started performing burlesque, one of my long-term goals was to include opera in it because I like using all the tools in my bag.  I was always so nervous about doing it because I thought “What if I fuck up? And what if I hit a terrible note? What if my corset doesn’t come off?”  I mean, I have all the regular panic attacks that burlesque performers sometimes have about clothes coming off or not coming off.  And then I have vocal technique, phrasing, and if I’m singing in another language, I’ve got to get the language right.  Then I realize that you can straddle both worlds and its fine.  Its fine if I fuck up a note because even if I fuck up something in a burlesque routine, no one is going to criticize you unless it’s a complete hot mess.  It really just fit together so much better than I thought it would and the first time I did “Glitter and Be Gay” I thought, “This is what I should have been doing the whole time.”

lsg:  You’re performing in SWAN Day CT for the first time.

Dot:  I know!  I’m getting my cherry busted!

Dot Circus Dress

lsg:  Why are you involved and what does it mean to you?

Dot:  Oh gosh.  It’s huge.  It means so much to me. It’s not just a gig.  In my mind, burlesque is so empowering to women.  A lot of people say “No, it’s stripping.  There’s no power in that.”  And burlesque is stripping; however, I choose what comes off when.  I have an extremely wide palate of creativity.  There is so much wonderful female empowerment in burlesque. So, how great it is to be part of SWAN Day which is all about women and celebrating women?  So that’s wonderful and I’m really excited.  I actually got into it because I did a show with Jennifer Hill (SWAN Day CT organizer) and…you were actually there!  That’s the one where I lost my pasties and froze my ass!  (lsg note:  Yes. Yes, I was.  Dot was performing a routine in her wolf costume.  She spun around to remove her corset and, to the surprise of the entire audience – and herself! -, her pasties came off with the corset!  Holy wardrobe malfunction!) That was a fun night!  That was the night she and I met and she asked me if I would do it and I said “Of course!  Thank you so much.”

lsg:  You are competing in the World Burlesque Games in London!  Woo Hoo! “Best Newbie” category.  Holy Hell!  How did that happen?  That’s amazing!

(http://londonburlesquefest.com/dot-mitzvah)

Dot:  One of the things that I love about burlesque is that you don’t really need to audition for things.  You know, by word of mouth you get gigs and you network just like anything but you generally don’t have to make your video for things except for festivals.  And I applied to a few different festivals and I saw the one in London and I thought “Well, hell.  I’ll just submit my information.  I’m not gonna get it.”  Then all of a sudden, I got this email saying if you are receiving this email, you are a finalist in the World Burlesque Games.  I almost shat myself!  I couldn’t believe it.  I had submitted the video of me doing “Be Glitter or Be Gay” and I guess they must have liked it!

lsg:  I took a look at some of the places that are being represented and…Dude!  New Haven, CT!  Come on!  You know obviously, I’m going to be rooting for you sister!

Dot:  Well, thank you!  We’re doing a quote unquote get Dot to London show on March 16^th at Café 9.  Lippgloss Crisis is producing the show.  The host of the show is going to be Hors D’oeuvres who is the MC at Bon Appétit Burlesque.  All of my favorite performers have said they will come and donate an act so I can actually get to London.

lsg:  Gotta love Lippgloss for that.  She’s just awesome!

Dot:  That’s my girl.  She’s such a good friend of mine.

lsg:  Well, we’ll promote that show at LBR.  We want to make sure you get what you need to get to London.  You’re representin’ CT, girl!

Dot:  New Haven in the house!!

lsg:  If you could perform and have any band/musician in the world play live with you, who would it be and what song would it be?

Dot:  It would definitely be The Tiger Lillies.  I adore them and, I don’t know.  They do so many crazy, dark cabaret songs.  I’m not sure what song I would pick.  They are my favorite and I love them.  If we talked about something local, I love the band Bipolar Jukebox and I’ve actually talked with them about doing something together.

lsg:  I like to end with a nonsense question.  So, since it’s Valentine’s Day, and it’s our one year anniversary…

Dot:  Aw.  I love you!

lsg:  I love you too!

Dot:  Did you buy me a diamond?

Dot in period dress

lsg:  I didn’t buy you a diamond but do you really need a diamond, honey?

Dot:  For pasties!

lsg:  HA!  What is your favorite Valentine candy?

Dot:  Favorite Valentine candy.  I.  Like.  Chocolate.  I like chocolate.  I’m an easy kind of girl.  Give me a box of chocolate.  You know what I really like?  It’s not Valentines-y but I really like them.  Lindt makes a white chocolate truffle with crispies inside it.  It’s not very romantic but it’s good.

lsg:  Oh that sounds wonderful!  Oooh yeah…

Sigh…Dot and chocolate all in one interview.  Heaven.

-lsg

Please join Dot Mitzvah and Lippgloss Crisis on March 16, 2012 at Café 9 in New Haven as Dot’s friends perform a benefit in her honor to help her get to London in May.

Dot’s performance that got her into the World Burlesque Games finals…

Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez – lsg Original

Lover of music and the visual arts, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez is the insanity behind lsg original photography. lsg specializes in artist and performer photography. She’s had the honor of photographing national bands such as Weezer, Snoop Dogg, A Simple Plan, Paramore, Whitesnake, Wye Oak, and The Antlers along with countless local bands and performers.

Hailing from Hartford, CT, Lisa is a life- long music connoisseur. Growing up, her mother exposed her to everything from The Stones to Simon and Garfunkel to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Loretta Lynn…and everything in between. No genre was left unexplored in her vinyl collection. She saw her first concert at 14…Rod Stewart at the (then called) Hartford Civic Center. Thirty years later, it’s still her favorite pastime.

Lisa has two kids (grown!) and a day job. Her loves of music and photography have melded into a second career. And her love of CT keeps her promoting and pushing for local artists and performers. Lisa spends the greater part of her free time seeing and shooting live bands, performers, and artists and art work…and purchasing vinyl!

It has been a busy 2 weeks for me, full of live music, video editing & promoting.

I finally made it down to the CT Folk First Friday Concert this month. I have been meaning to make it to one of these for some time & what better time to go than when one of my most favorite singer/songwriters, Shawn Taylor (http://shawntaylortunes.com/) happened to be performing. Also on the schedule for this month were Seth Adam (http://www.sethadam.com/) & Dr. Caterwaul’s Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps (http://drcaterwauls.bandcamp.com/). What a great lineup! Unfortunately, I couldn’t stick around for Dr. Caterwaul’s, because Feb 4^th was a really busy music night in New Haven County.  For more info on CT Folk & their first Friday concerts please check out their website, http://ctfolk.com/.

Up next on this particular evening, I stop by Twisted Vine (http://twistedvinerestaurant.com/) in Derby to catch The Nameless Trio. This normally my first Friday spot, as The Nameless Trio plays there the first Friday of every single month. I’m happy to say that they are also currently in the studio recording & gearing up to play Bluegrass on the Bogs (http://www.bluegrassonthebogs.com/), which happens to be one of my favorite small fests & usually kicks off festival season for me.

After catching those, it was time to head down to my favorite music venue, The Outer Space (http://theouterspace.net/) & see Five In The Chamber (http://www.reverbnation.com/fiveinthechamber). Five In The Chamber is a great new bluegrass/folk/Americana band that has been playing around Fairfield & New Haven Counties for a few months now & they seem to be taking the music scene by storm. I have yet to attend one of their shows, where they haven’t filled the venue.

Since there was so much music on Friday night, I thought maybe I’d take it easy on Saturday, but then discovered that Uncle Shamus was making their debut at The All American General Store in Seymour. Figured since it was their first gig ever, it would be cool to check them out. They definitely didn’t disappoint & I’m looking forward to hearing more of these guys. If you’d like to see what they’re all about, there is a video of them posted on the Lucky Soul’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/luckysoulsproductions).

Wrybred Band (Picture from their website)

The following week, I was able to make it to both Honky Tonk Tuesday & open mic at The Outer Space. Honky Tonk Tuesday featured Wry Bred  (http://www.biteyourownelbow.com/wrybred.htm), a contra/barn dance band featuring truly talented players. They are at The Outer Space once a month for Honky Tonk Tuesday, if you’d like to go do some dancing! Open mic on Wednesday was filled, as always with some of the most talented local musicians in the New Haven area. If you haven’t made down for this open mic, what are you waiting for?!?!

In between all the music I was also promoting a Lucky Souls show that took place last Saturday. We brought Honeyspot(http://www.reverbnation.com/honeyspot) & The Grimm Generation(http://www.thegrimmgeneration.com/home.cfm) to Huntington Street Café (http://huntingtonstreetcafe.com/). This was only Honeyspots 2^nd gig & singer, Julie was nursing a sore throat, but you’d never know it. Simply amazing! And, of course, The Grimm Generation never disappoints. They gave us 2 sets, the first with mulit-instrumentalist, Lys Guillorn (http://www.lysguillorn.com/) sitting in with them. Both bands were great & played to a standing room only crowd for much of the night!

After my evening of playing promoter, I headed on down to Coasters Tap & Grill (http://www.coasterstapandgrill.com/) where I managed to catch Hubinger Streets 2^nd set. After all that hard work promoting & videotaping, I needed to boogie a little, & those boys always get me moving with their jamming’ originals & incredible covers.

Yeah, it was a busy couple of weeks for me, so sorry that it took me a bit to get this up.

A thing or two to do for this weekend

Friday, 02/17 - Lucky Souls Productions presents Jamie Lynn Hart, Frank Viele & The Folkadelics at The Outer Space, 295 Treadwell St, Hamden, CT. Doors open at 7:30, music at 8 p.m., $10

Saturday 02/18- BlackRock Rocks…23 bands, 3 venues, $25 tix. For more info please goto their website, http://www.blackrockrocks.org/

- Gravyhound at Lanza, 370 E. Main St, Ansonia, CT. Music starts at 10 p.m.

Aim D’Amaro – Lucky Souls Productions

By the time she was 12, Amy D’Amaro knew that she wanted a career that would keep her surrounded by music. At 16, she became an intern at WPLR radio in New Haven, CT where she would stay for 5 yrs learning all aspects of music programming at a commercial radio station. In the time that she was at WPLR, she also became friends with many musicians on the local scene & spent much of her time taking in music at venues all over New Haven County.

In 1993, Amy left the radio station to raise her son, but her love of music & the local scene never faded. In 2003 she began what would become a very successful dog walking & pet sitting service, but still spent much of her time checking out the local music scene in both New Haven & Fairfield Counties. In 2009 she began Lucky Souls Productions to help out the local musicians she knew by promoting their music through live video footage. In 2011, Lucky Souls grew & began booking musicians in some of the local venues. When not busy walking dogs or editing videos, Amy still spends much of her time out with friends, supporting the local music scene & venues & attending music festivals.

Website: http://luckysoulsproductions.com/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/luckysoulsproductions

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LuckySoulsProduction

lsg spot
by Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez
2.17.2012

HOT Rewind…                                                                   

Sam Perduta

You know what’s great about the CT local music scene?  For me anyway, it means I get to take a new lover just about every week – In the form of a new band, a great show, or a new release!  This week…I’m having an affair with the guys from Echo.and.Drake.  I just listened to – over and over (does that constitute multiples?) – “Sundrenched Elsewhere”.  Wow.  It’s all I’m going to say about it right now.  But I think you should make it to their CD release party at The Capital Theater in Willimantic on Saturday (2/18).  Satisfaction guaranteed!

This past Friday night, the Charter Oak Cultural Center put on a fund-raiser called Forgeries at Union Station in downtown Hartford.  The event helped to raise money for artists affiliated with the Cultural Center.  Great works of art were “forged” by local artists for a silent action.  The evening was MC’d by WRCH’s Joan Dylan along with a performance by String Theorie.  It was a great evening in Hartford.

City Streets Country Roads

And so I moved on from there to The Half Door to see Sam Perduta from Elison Jackson and City Streets Country Roads.  What a great pairing of musicians.  And I forget how much I like seeing live music at the Half Door.  The place was packed with a very enthusiastic crowd.

And since 3 bands in one night can’t possibly be enough, we hit last call at Center Station in Berlin so we could check in on 1800 Band.  Honestly, they are just more fun than one room can contain.  You should really check them out!

Many thanks to Crosseyed Cat for playing along Wednesday night on another episode of LBR’s Scene Queen lsg.  I learned that they are my Cuban cousins from another…ok well you get it.  Not only that, but they are fab musicians with big hearts who put together an annual fundraiser for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (April 22, 2012).  Rock on, fellas!  Oh and PS…they are one of the many amazing bands performing at this year’s Meriden Daffodil Fest!

Lastly, WCCC 106.9 announced their Big Gig show line up for May 19 this week.  Headliners will include Godsmack, Staind (practically local!), and Dead Sara (http://www.localbandreview.com/2011/11/spotlight-on-dead-sara/) as well as many others with more tba.  Hoping for some amazing locals to be incorporated into that show!  Ticket are on sale NOW!

Support LOCAL!  And, as always…

Occupy a VENUE!!

Dot Mitzvah

“Spot”light on…Dot Mitzvah…Burly Q Goddess
http://www.dotmitzvahonline.com

I met the amazing and lovely Dot Mitzvah one year ago at this time.  She is a practitioner of the beautiful, and often misunderstood, art of burlesque as well as an opera singer here in Connecticut.  In addition, she holds a Master’s degree in Music Theater, is a wife, and is mother to young Tot.  If she doesn’t exemplify the power of being a woman, I don’t know who does.  I’ve had the privilege of watching Dot perform on many occasions at multiple venues and it’s always a treat. Her costumes range from 18^th century ball attire complete with powdered wig to corset-wearing wolf to pretty circus performer and everything imaginable (or unimaginable) in between.  She has this special blend of girl next door meets sex kitten meets spitfire rocker chick all rolled into one fabulous human being.  And boy can she cuss!  She is my burlesque girl crush.

lsg:  As I was prepping for this conversation, I was looking back at pictures from the first time I met you and saw you perform.  And that was exactly a year ago.

Dot:  It was!  It was at Sara’s (Lippgloss Crisis) birthday party (at Café 9).

lsg:  Exactly.  And there is a picture of you where you leaned right into my camera and looked right at me after you’d whipped off your powdered wig and you stuck your tongue out at me (completely rock n roll style!)

Both laughing…

Dot:  I remember that!

lsg:  And all I could think at that moment in time was “OMG!  I love her and I want to have her babies!  I fucking lover her!”

More giggles…

Dot:  And we can do that now in Connecticut!

lsg:  That’s right.  Isn’t it great that we live in this state?

Dot:  Absolutely!

Dot dressed as a Wolf

lsg:  First question.  How and when did you decide that you wanted to perform burlesque?

Dot:  I used to play roller derby with the Connecticut Roller Girls.  This is back in like 2006-2007.  There was a girl in the league who did this very neo-burlesque act.  It was out there.  And I watched her perform during a show that we were having and I thought “I could do that.”  I looked at my husband and said “I could totally do that!”  And he said “Sure you could.”  So after that, I cajoled Polly Sonic, who’s a New Haven artist into taking a 4 week class at the New York School of Burlesque with Jo “Boobs” Weldon (school Headmistress).  It was an essentials class so it was pretty much everything you need to know about burlesque.  And then, at the end of that 4 weeks, I debuted at the Slipper Room in NYC and I’ve been in love with it ever since.  That was in January of 2009 so I’ve been doing it for a little over 3 years.

lsg:  How funny is that.  I can’t even imagine that process of just going “Hey, I could do that (burlesque)!” and doing it.

Dot:  That’s sort of how I live my life though.  I used to play roller derby.  I used to fly trapeze.  I perform all the time.  So, I’m just not afraid of jumping out there and saying “I can do that” and trying.  And if I fail, I fail but if I find something I love, I just keep going with it.

lsg:  And I think that’s why I love you so much.  You’re inspirational that way.  You’re just balls-out, just go!  So you had 4 weeks of training?

Dot:  Well, I’ve taken other classes since then.  I take a lot of dance classes when I can.  There is a whole wealth of classes you can take.  It’s not just 4 weeks and go and just you’re at this high level.  A lot of the stuff that I’ve learned along the way I’ve learned from wonderful performers.  Also I think that having a theatrical and musical background helps me a lot because I can, I don’t want to sound like a diva, but I think I can command a stage.  (lsg note:  No.  She REALLY does command a stage!)  I never feel lost on a stage.  There’s always something to do.  So there’s a lot of other training that is outside of the classroom.

lsg:  What inspires your performances?  How do you come up with your routines?

Dot:  That’s a good question.  That’s a hard question, actually.  I feel like there’s usually one thing.  There’s either a costume piece I have or a song I have and I tend to think of burlesque performances with a beginning, middle, and an end.  So I kind of plot a story line that goes with it.  Sometimes I’ll do a show that has a specific theme.  Like the Nerds show we do with Lippgloss Crisis or in April, I’m doing Bon Appetit Burlesque in Northampton and they’re doing a time travel theme.  So sometimes I need to come up with an act to fit the theme but generally there’s just one element I build off of.

lsg:  Do you have a favorite performance?  And if so, what and why?

Dot:  I don’t perform things I don’t like so I don’t know I feel like a mother choosing her favorite child!   I’d probably have to say that my favorite act is the one I’m taking to London.  It’s my first opera act.  It’s “Glitter and Be Gay”.  I feel like that’s something that people generally haven’t seen and I like doing things that are fresh and new to the audience.

lsg:  That’s a great segue into my next question which is about your opera singing.  You are an opera singer.  Tell me about that.  Was it burlesque first then opera or do you have the two loves?

Dot:  It is opera first.  It’s always been opera.  I have my Bachelor’s degree in opera and my Master’s degree in musical theater.  I’ve been singing all my life.  My father was a singer.  I’m a singer.  I teach voice.  So, I’m surrounded by that.  And when I started performing burlesque, one of my long-term goals was to include opera in it because I like using all the tools in my bag.  I was always so nervous about doing it because I thought “What if I fuck up? And what if I hit a terrible note? What if my corset doesn’t come off?”  I mean, I have all the regular panic attacks that burlesque performers sometimes have about clothes coming off or not coming off.  And then I have vocal technique, phrasing, and if I’m singing in another language, I’ve got to get the language right.  Then I realize that you can straddle both worlds and its fine.  Its fine if I fuck up a note because even if I fuck up something in a burlesque routine, no one is going to criticize you unless it’s a complete hot mess.  It really just fit together so much better than I thought it would and the first time I did “Glitter and Be Gay” I thought, “This is what I should have been doing the whole time.”

lsg:  You’re performing in SWAN Day CT for the first time.

Dot:  I know!  I’m getting my cherry busted!

Dot Circus Dress

lsg:  Why are you involved and what does it mean to you?

Dot:  Oh gosh.  It’s huge.  It means so much to me. It’s not just a gig.  In my mind, burlesque is so empowering to women.  A lot of people say “No, it’s stripping.  There’s no power in that.”  And burlesque is stripping; however, I choose what comes off when.  I have an extremely wide palate of creativity.  There is so much wonderful female empowerment in burlesque. So, how great it is to be part of SWAN Day which is all about women and celebrating women?  So that’s wonderful and I’m really excited.  I actually got into it because I did a show with Jennifer Hill (SWAN Day CT organizer) and…you were actually there!  That’s the one where I lost my pasties and froze my ass!  (lsg note:  Yes. Yes, I was.  Dot was performing a routine in her wolf costume.  She spun around to remove her corset and, to the surprise of the entire audience – and herself! -, her pasties came off with the corset!  Holy wardrobe malfunction!) That was a fun night!  That was the night she and I met and she asked me if I would do it and I said “Of course!  Thank you so much.”

lsg:  You are competing in the World Burlesque Games in London!  Woo Hoo! “Best Newbie” category.  Holy Hell!  How did that happen?  That’s amazing!

(http://londonburlesquefest.com/dot-mitzvah)

Dot:  One of the things that I love about burlesque is that you don’t really need to audition for things.  You know, by word of mouth you get gigs and you network just like anything but you generally don’t have to make your video for things except for festivals.  And I applied to a few different festivals and I saw the one in London and I thought “Well, hell.  I’ll just submit my information.  I’m not gonna get it.”  Then all of a sudden, I got this email saying if you are receiving this email, you are a finalist in the World Burlesque Games.  I almost shat myself!  I couldn’t believe it.  I had submitted the video of me doing “Be Glitter or Be Gay” and I guess they must have liked it!

lsg:  I took a look at some of the places that are being represented and…Dude!  New Haven, CT!  Come on!  You know obviously, I’m going to be rooting for you sister!

Dot:  Well, thank you!  We’re doing a quote unquote get Dot to London show on March 16^th at Café 9.  Lippgloss Crisis is producing the show.  The host of the show is going to be Hors D’oeuvres who is the MC at Bon Appétit Burlesque.  All of my favorite performers have said they will come and donate an act so I can actually get to London.

lsg:  Gotta love Lippgloss for that.  She’s just awesome!

Dot:  That’s my girl.  She’s such a good friend of mine.

lsg:  Well, we’ll promote that show at LBR.  We want to make sure you get what you need to get to London.  You’re representin’ CT, girl!

Dot:  New Haven in the house!!

lsg:  If you could perform and have any band/musician in the world play live with you, who would it be and what song would it be?

Dot:  It would definitely be The Tiger Lillies.  I adore them and, I don’t know.  They do so many crazy, dark cabaret songs.  I’m not sure what song I would pick.  They are my favorite and I love them.  If we talked about something local, I love the band Bipolar Jukebox and I’ve actually talked with them about doing something together.

lsg:  I like to end with a nonsense question.  So, since it’s Valentine’s Day, and it’s our one year anniversary…

Dot:  Aw.  I love you!

lsg:  I love you too!

Dot:  Did you buy me a diamond?

Dot in period dress

lsg:  I didn’t buy you a diamond but do you really need a diamond, honey?

Dot:  For pasties!

lsg:  HA!  What is your favorite Valentine candy?

Dot:  Favorite Valentine candy.  I.  Like.  Chocolate.  I like chocolate.  I’m an easy kind of girl.  Give me a box of chocolate.  You know what I really like?  It’s not Valentines-y but I really like them.  Lindt makes a white chocolate truffle with crispies inside it.  It’s not very romantic but it’s good.

lsg:  Oh that sounds wonderful!  Oooh yeah…

Sigh…Dot and chocolate all in one interview.  Heaven.

-lsg

Please join Dot Mitzvah and Lippgloss Crisis on March 16, 2012 at Café 9 in New Haven as Dot’s friends perform a benefit in her honor to help her get to London in May.

Dot’s performance that got her into the World Burlesque Games finals…

What’s HOT this week…

Friday February 17

*Indie Night at the Oak, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford – 9:00 pm

* Live and Local presents You Scream I Scream, Arch Street Tavern, Hartford – 8:00 pm

*Museum After Dark – Mardi Gras – with DJ Originate, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain – 8:00 pm

*Daphne Lee Martin & Raise the Rent with The Proud Flesh, High Noon Saloon, Norwich – 8:00 pm

* Michael Cleary Band, The Winchester Café, Portland – 8:30 pm

* Bad Rooster Playing, The Stadium, Waterbury – 9:00 pm

* The Sawtelles, Javapalooza, Middletown – 7:30 pm

* Hannah’s Field Gypsy Reggae, The Hessian Lion, Avon – 9:30 pm

Saturday February 18

*Echo & Drake CD Release Show w/Little Ugly, The Capitol Theater, Willimantic – 7:00 pm

*HOE at BlackRock Rocks, Neutral Ground, Bridgeport – 12:30 pm

*City Streets Country Roads, Deweys Pub, Seymour – 7:00 pm

* Hannah Cranna/The Manchurians/Age of Reason, Café 9, New Haven – 9:00 pm

*MT Bearington with Herff Jones and Pocket Viny, Oasis, New London – 9:00 pm

* Duece Bug, Cannon Gang, Tre Banga, Tuckers Cafe, Norwalk – 9:00 pm

* Graylight Campfire, LuLu’s Hot Spot, Bridgeport – 6:00 pm

* The Sky Light, Waking Elliot, Breakthrough Frequencies, Jesse Festa, Corner Pocket Café, Orange – 8:00 pm

Monday February 20

* She Eats Planets, Toad’s Place, New Haven – 4:00 pm

Tuesday February 21

* Mardi Gras featuring SHAKA and THE SOUL SHAKERS, TWO BOOTS, Bridgeport – All day event!

Wednesday February 22

* “Miss Representation” Screening, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford – 7:00 pm

* Manic Productions presents Richard Buckner w/ The Backyard Committee, BAR, New Haven – 9:00 pm

PLEASE LIKE MY FACEBOOK PAGE…WORKING HARD FOR CT LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT http://www.facebook.com/lsgoriginal – and follow my antics on Twitter at @lsgoriginal. Web page forthcoming!

Peace…

lsg

Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez – lsg Original

Lover of music and the visual arts, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez is the insanity behind lsg original photography. lsg specializes in artist and performer photography. She’s had the honor of photographing national bands such as Weezer, Snoop Dogg, A Simple Plan, Paramore, Whitesnake, Wye Oak, and The Antlers along with countless local bands and performers.

Hailing from Hartford, CT, Lisa is a life- long music connoisseur. Growing up, her mother exposed her to everything from The Stones to Simon and Garfunkel to Earth, Wind, and Fire to Loretta Lynn…and everything in between. No genre was left unexplored in her vinyl collection. She saw her first concert at 14…Rod Stewart at the (then called) Hartford Civic Center. Thirty years later, it’s still her favorite pastime.

Lisa has two kids (grown!) and a day job. Her loves of music and photography have melded into a second career. And her love of CT keeps her promoting and pushing for local artists and performers. Lisa spends the greater part of her free time seeing and shooting live bands, performers, and artists and art work…and purchasing vinyl!

Scene Queen lsg
Episode 7
Length 63:43

Guests: Sweet Eddie and Tommy Sanchez from the band Crosseyed Cat
Hosts: Michael Lawson, Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez

Crossed Cats has been a prominent Connecticut based rock and blues band for over 20 years, and has appeared with many national acts including Edgar Winter, J. Giles, and The Marshall Tucker Band. Crosseyed Cat is the official Wigout Band for WPLR 99 Rock in New Haven, CT and host lots of events.  Along with playing music this band is heavily involved in fund raising activities for such great causes as the Salvation Army and The Connecticut Children’s Hospital.

You can enjoy the whole hour long show or just check out the excerpt, it was a great time. Their next fundraiser is on Sunday April 22, 2012 at The Elks Club in Waterbury CT with a requested donation of $10 which includes a buffet and 4 bands. Last year they raised over $7,000 and had over 700 people attend this event. The night  before  on April 21, 2012 The Crosseyed Cat will be opening for the Charlie Daniels band at The Palace Theater also in Waterbury, CT, and course you can catch the band playing the main stage at this years Daffodil Festival.

THIS IS A FLASH VIDEO AND WILL APPEAR AS UNAVAILABLE ON DEVICES THAT DON’T SUPPORT FLASH

Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/crosseyedcat

Show Notes:

• We open with a video taken from last years Connecticut Children’s Hospital Fundraiser.
• Mike continually refers to this as Episode 6 when it’s really Episode 7.
• Eddie breaks the show by doing what nobody has done so far PLAYING THE SHOW AT THE SAME TIME AS RECORDING IT!!!! You may want to skip to the 11:15 mark to protect your ears and sanity.
• Lisa talks about her Interviews this week, Mike regrets buying a chocolate flavored beer.
• Eddie and Tom talk about why they sound so good live, some great advice here for some of the younger bands I’ve heard lately.
• Crosseyed Cat talks about their history as a band.
• Tommy talks about their fundraising efforts about 20 minutes in, what great guys!!!!
• 30 minutes in we go live and talk about the history of the Song I’m the Law, currently the Crosseyed Cat single playing on Amp Radio.
• At the 46 minute mark we talk about Cup Cakes and Valentines Day.
• 47 minutes we do the plugs for this weeks shows coming up.
•  Around the 53 minute mark the Cat recalls an experience with Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were Bobby Brown jumped a fence trying to score some BBQ Chicken…
• The boys talk about their new App on Android and the IPhone.
• We lose Lisa at the hour mark due to technical difficulties.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WEEK

Once again, the weekend starts on Thursday night in the New London area, when the Sue Menhart Band (http://www.suemenhart.com/fr_home.cfm) will open for the James Montgomery Band (featuring Barrence Whitfield) at the Olde Mistick Village Art Cinemas.  The show starts at 8 pm with a 45-minute set from Sue and her Million Man Band. Tickets are limited and cost $25 each. Sue is an extremely hard-working musician and it’s great to see another one of our local bands get on the bill for a really high-profile show. Congrats, guys.

There are a couple of venues you will want to check out on Friday night. First of all, the Hoolios (http://www.reverbnation.com/thehoolios) are playing at the Blue Collar Happy Hour at the Side Pocket Cafe in Groton. Last time they played there I was working overnight shifts, so I had to leave before the first set was over. Not the easiest thing to do! This time I have to work until 9:30, so hopefully they will keep playing until late (please?)…  If you’ve never seen them, do yourself a favor and go see this band of top-notch musicians performing Jim Carpenter’s great songs. Jim is a talented writer and player who is one of the best storytellers around. All six band members sing, three of them sing lead, and most of them are in at least one other band. I never get tired of them. Roy Dunn MacLean opens the show at 7:00, followed by the Hoolios on the big stage at 8 pm. There is never a cover for the Blue Collar Happy Hour.

The other place to be on Friday is the Bank Street Cafe in New London, which has been booking mostly cover bands lately, so this will be a nice change. Three local bands will be playing on Friday night: Wrist Like this, Recur Occurrence, and Hind Legs. Wrist Like This (Matt Potter, J Kurt Curland, Todd Romanella, and  Christian Moore) have been playing local shows for about a year. Hind Legs is a new band consisting of another group of well-known New London musicians: Hollis Dunlap (Above/Below), Mike Winslow (Fatal Film), Jon Young (Straight to VHS), and Ryan Perkins (Gone For Good). Recur Occurrence (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Recur-Occurrence/94107356369) played a solid, rocking set at the recent Hygienic Rock Fix. They also released  an excellent new CD single “Eat Your Heart Out” and “Fairy Tale Ending”, and according to the liner notes there will be a new record coming out in the spring.

On Saturday night, Nancy Parent of the Rivergods (http://nancyparent.wordpress.com/) and Sue Menhart will be appearing at the Bean and Leaf coffee shop in New London for “A Night of Winter Blues”. These two talented singer/songwriters will be playing music from their forthcoming albums and will also collaborate on a few tunes. The show starts at 7:00 pm and ends at 9:00. (Bean and Leaf closes at 10:00 pm.)

Also on Saturday, the Oasis Pub will host M.T. Bearington (http://www.mtbearington.com/), Pocket Vinyl (http://pocketvinyl.com/), and Herff Jones (https://www.facebook.com/Herffjonesband) . Earlier in the evening, Pocket Vinyl will make an in-store appearance at the Telegraph record store in New London. That show will start at 6:30 pm and it’s free and BYOB. Cover at the Oasis is usually about $5.

Here’s the Sue Menhart Band performing “Where’d You Come From” at the Old Mistick Village Art Cinemas in November:

CONCERT CALENDAR   

  
Wed 2/15/12   – Junius, Sannhet, Burrows at BAR in New Haven 9 pm NO COVER

- Colin Cunningham, Mike Sembos, Will Hayes at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm NO COVER

- Barn Burning, the Mallett Brothers Band, Northern Lands, Vallencourt at the Met in Pawtucket 9 pm

Thur 2/16/12  – JC Hatfield at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7 pm

- Sue Menhart Band, James Montgomery Band featuring Barrence Whitfield at the Olde Mistick Village Art Cinemas 8 pm

- Danny Kalb, Rocky Lawrence at Cafe Nine in New Haven 8 pm

- Whiskey For Breakfast at Elm Bar in New Haven

Fri 2/17/12      - Blue Collar Happy Hour with the Hoolios, Roy Dunn MacLean at the Side Pocket Cafe in Groton 7 pm NO COVER

- Wrist Like This, Recur Occurrence, Hind Legs at the Bank Street Cafe in New London 9:30 pm

- Lenny Lashley, Creepin Cadavers, Hooks and Sinkers, the Abductors, Damn Broads at the El ‘n’ Gee in New London 8 pm

- Daphne Lee Martin & Raise the Rent, the Proud Flesh at the High Noon Saloon in Norwich 8 pm

- Woolen Kits, Medication, the Mountain Movers at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9 pm

- Thick Shakes, Tyler Trudeau Attempt, Lead Stones at Elm Bar in New Haven

Sat 2/18/12      – Nancy Parent and Sue Menhart at Bean and Leaf in New London 7-9 pm

- Pocket Vinyl at the Telegraph in New London 6:30 pm

- M.T. Bearington, Herff Jones, Pocket Vinyl at the Oasis Pub in New London

- Hannah Cranna (CD Release), the Manchurians, Age of Reason at Cafe Nine in New Haven (Manchurians open at 10 pm)

- Lamb Bombs, Night of the Rabbit, the Beta Phase at Elm Bar in New Haven

- Hub City Stompers, the Hempsteadys, Hooks and Sinkers at the Webster Underground in Hartford 8 pm

- The Voodoo Fix, the Mystery Lights at Two Boots in Bridgeport 10 pm

Sun 2/19/12    – George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at Toad’s Place in New  Haven

Tues 2/21/12   – John Fries and the Heat at the Voodoo Grill in Mystic 9 pm

- Red Blade, La Tunda at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9:30 pm

Wed 2/22/12   – Jay Dempsey Band at the Knickerbocker Cafe in Westerly 8 pm NO COVER

- Richard Buckner, the Backyard Committee at BAR in New Haven 9pm NO COVER

Thur 2/23/12  – Sandman and friends at Sneekers Cafe in Groton 7 pm

- Sam Bigelow at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9:30 pm

Fri 2/24/12      – Blue Collar Happy Hour with Girls Guns and Glory at the Side Pocket Cafe in Groton 7-11 pm NO COVER

- Pretty and Nice, Hind Legs at the Oasis Pub in New London

- Sue Menhart Band at Burke’s Tavern in Niantic 7 pm

- Vince Thompson and friends at Voodoo Grill in Mystic

- Mates of State, the Stepkids, Sean Bones at Intercambio in New Haven (756 Chapel Street) 8 pm

- Five in the Chamber, Cinnamon Sky at Cafe Nine in New Haven 10 pm

- Little Ugly at Stella Blues in New Haven

- Gameday Regulars, the Tired and True, Fourth and Goal at Elm Bar in New Haven

- John Fries and the Heat at the Hungry Tiger in Manchester 10 pm

- Shai Hulud at the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury 6 pm

Sat 2/25/12      – Brown Bird, Daphne Lee Martin and Raise the Rent at the Oasis Pub in New London

- Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez at Cafe Nine in New Haven 9pm

- Viva La Vox, Filthy Still at Elm Bar in New Haven

- Pianos Become the Teeth, Xerxes, the World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, the Saddest Landscape, Wess meets West at the Space in Hamden 7 pm

- The Bittersweet Vine, Uncle Shamus at Two Boots in Bridgeport 9:30pm

Sun 2/26/12    – Islands, Idiot Glee, Modern Merchant at the Space in Hamden 7pm

- The Toasters, Sr. Discount, the Rudie Crew, the Copacetics, Short Handed Goal 6 pm (21+ gets in free, $5 for under 21)