Autumn in Halifax, Part of Baby Shiver's Boutique, and The Leaky Boat Blues with Dr. Hamburger at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2009-Oct-14 by Jason Olshefsky

I stopped by The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) for the show — one I was quite excited about. Dr . Hamburger was providing projected video over the bands. Starting out was The Leaky Boat Blues which was Tim from A Wonderful. He played some great acoustic that I really liked. Next was a nearly minimal version of Baby Shiver's Boutique. I have to make it a point to see these guys more often — their "motley folk" music is enhanced by their singer's crystal clear and ever-so-melancholic voice. Finishing up the night was Autumn In Halifax — just Dave this time accompanied by the electronic-boxes form of the Leaves. His luscious, poetic acoustic rock always cracks open some inner creativity and I'm left longing for the night to never end.

The Lobster Quadrille and Daryl Fleming and the Public Domain at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2009-Jun-06 by Jason Olshefsky

Ali was really sad she couldn't make it, but Christina and I forged on to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) to see The Lobster Quadrille play. Opening up was Daryl Fleming and the Public Domain who did a fine job. They spun some lyrical, interesting, groove-rock-ish country/folk/rock … if that's any help at all. The Lobster Quadrille really did a great job too. They brought their Gothic satirical gospel back to the Bug Jar, and even had a bunch of toy instruments so the audience could join in too. Their new CD is — like many bands CD's — an idealized studio form of their live work, but it gives us fans a chance to learn all the words.

Mountains, Autumn in Halifax, and Stone Baby at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2009-Apr-18 by Jason Olshefsky

Later that night, Ali and I headed to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) to see the bands. Starting off, Stone Baby did some pretty good ambient noise although I got tired of it before they had finished. Likewise, the last band was Mountains who did also performed some good ambient noise — somewhat different and somewhat more engaging than Stone Baby.

Autumn In Halifax played in the middle. I was impressed when I first heard Dave Merulla's solo presentation, but have grown to love the band with "the Leaves" — a semi-rotating group of backup performers. On this particular night, I made a note that they "uncork my dreams and inspires me to create". The meandering melodies and the ambiguous lyrics lead my mind to a place where I contemplate my dreams, goals, and projects in life. It's really a treat.

Chae Hawk and Secret Secret Dino Club at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2009-Jan-22 by Jason Olshefsky

I headed out to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) to see Chae Hawk, and The Secret Secret Dino Club. Okay, actually I went specifically because Secret Secret Dino Club is headed by a guy named Jayce, born just before I left high school and not far from where I grew up (according to the MySpace page). [That, and I'm writing this far later than I had intended so some people might miss it entirely.]

Anyway, the show was kicked off with a DJ along with a video projection. The Secret Secret Dino Club was up first and did some fun and clever hip-hop. Chae Hawk brought some stuff that was a little … oh, I don't know … less whimsical? — but similar nonetheless. The crowd was much younger than I was (except for some parental-looking folks) and this style of music is kind of new to me. It's an exercise in overstimulation — between the prerecorded music for the performers, the live performance, the video projection, and a DJ adding in a couple turntables, it can get to be a bit overwhelming. But somehow it all stays coherent, and with a thoroughly rough edge — kind of like an extension of the gritty garage sound of the 1960's and the punk sound of the 1970's, this is the gritty sound of the generation with access to cheap digital replication and editing.

As for Jayce, I stopped after the show and said hi. He said he's usually met by black women who share his name, and I'm the first guy. My own nickname was cemented by the presence of the cartoon show Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors during high school (and for you geeky trivia nuts [you know who you are], none other than J. Michael Straczynski wrote 13 episodes, according to IMDb). I told Jayce this and he said he was also named after a cartoon — presumably the same one. How weird is that? And who'd have thought that 20 years after naming a kid that that he'd end up 3 hours away from home and run into someone who got the same name from the same place. But he's going to have to keep looking because I'm not his father.

Bird Show, Sun Circle, and Autumn in Halifax at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2008-Dec-10 by Jason Olshefsky

I headed out to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) a second time [and a late update to the JayceLand page, in case you wondered if you missed it the first time]. First up was Bird Show which consisted of one guy playing synth-sourced, digitally-altered, experimental, anti-melodic, anti-tempo music. It was a lot like interesting ambient — only not mellow. Next was Sun Circle who did a trippy meditative set — in one song, for instance, they harmonized reed instruments with a rolling synth tone and burned incense; it was actually a lot better than you might expect.

Finishing up was Autumn In Halifax — joined by "leaves" Joe Tunis and R. Scott Oliver. Although I loved Dave's solo work when he first started playing as Halifax, I've come to really enjoy the new line-up, especially now that it's more mature. The lush poetry of Dave's lyrics works just as well now as it did before, only now it's set against a more traditional three-piece band.

Lobster Quadrille, Township, and Auld Lang Syne at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2008-Dec-06 by Jason Olshefsky

I guess it's been a while since I wrote any reports of performances, much less one where I see a band. I still get out — although less often than I used to — and tonight was one of those cases. I went to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) and got there a bit early so I had a chance to catch up with the folks in The Lobster Quadrille. As it turns out, they were up first — there was some confusion about who was when, as it was Auld Lang Syne's show (so they got top billing) and Township came in from Boston.

Anyhow, The Lobster Quadrille did a great set. I found myself particularly mesmerized by Love is Cold. I've mentioned it hundreds of times [okay, for each of the last 29 of their shows I posted], but they do a great rendition of satirical gospel with all of 6 [or is it 7?] people on stage performing. Lead singer Solomon commented afterward that he felt the set was a bit melancholic feeling; although I think that "melancholic" suits them quite well.

Next up was Township who I really enjoyed as well. They do a crisp, fresh version of classic rock. I even bought their CD which I've been enjoying as well. Finishing up was Auld Lang Syne who I've now finally had the chance to hear. The night was getting a bit long for me, but I stayed enough to find they played a great heavy-hitting proto-rock that I'll likely seek out in future shows.

The Copyrights and Kepi Ghoulie at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2008-Jun-29 by Jason Olshefsky

I headed out to the late show at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) First up was The Copyrights who played some superb high-energy punk-rock with a rich thumping bass. Next up was Kepi Ghoulie (a.k.a. Kepi: The Band) former front-man of The Groovie Ghoulies. Well, his new band is naturally very similar in that it's still a ghoul-themed punk-rock band, but it's got a more gritty, distorted sound that suits them well. Plus more people.

Unfortunately they hadn't learned the Ghoulies' Chupacabra yet so I'm stuck with it in my head — perhaps until the next time someone mentions the Chupacabra (or is it three times into the mirror?). Regardless: I had an absolute blast.

Autumn in Halifax and the Weird Weeds at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2008-Jun-16 by Jason Olshefsky

I got to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) a bit early just in case but things got started later than usual. I chatted a bit with Dave Merulla of Autumn In Halifax who was interested in what I'd think of the show tonight. Despite my description last week, Dave would be playing things vanilla acoustic style: no "Leaves" (additional members who join him now and then) and no "band in a box" (a reference he made a few years ago to the digital effects he uses).

In the end, the show was excellent. It's still Dave and still his songs. He was clearly itching to use some effects or have people accompany his playing at times, but he persevered. Afterward he said that he likes to do a few shows all alone like that to shake out the songs. It's like he's building a foundation: that the melody and lyrics have to be strong on their own before he fiddles around with adding decoration and style. And they are generally strong songs to start with. He'll be playing them with "The Leaves" in July at The Little Theatre Café (240 East Ave.).

I've come to really appreciate what he's trying to accomplish. He said that he enjoys playing with additional people for the variation it causes — that there's always something unknown by doing that. He commented that it's usually a matter of trying to figure out which of the wheels is going to fall off first. And as such, the band is constantly changing … I said that my notes on bands are thrown way off with this kind of thing: by this time next year, Autumn in Halifax will have a completely different sound, although rooted in the same quality of music.

I got to thinking about how I like to see people do what they've done before, but it kind of makes them machines. I already have machines for that: they play back audio recordings. So no matter how many times any band plays something different, there's always the possibility of revisiting what was through the last CD.

Anyway, the other band up was The Weird Weeds. They do a sort of accessible experimental music — a bit of alternative-rock and with a bit of experimentation and a bit of harmonization. One of their members was nursing some kind of cold with whiskey, but they still did a great job.

Mose Giganticus and The Mathematicians at the Bug Jar (sorry, Emotron)

Posted on 2008-May-01 by Jason Olshefsky

I headed to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) and tried not to miss any of the show. Unfortunately I arrived long after The Emotron had finished — Mose Giganticus was just taking the stage. They were great — a really fun snyth-rock band. Following up, The Mathematicians put on an excellent show. Their synth-driven sound covers things like rock, punk, and hip-hop seamlessly. Unfortunately they had some power problems and I got in on the fray [hopefully] being helpful and getting them to play one more song before an effects-pedal problem did them in — and I was so close to fixing that one too.

Monotonix, Handsome Jack, and Blue Spark and Flame at the Bug Jar

Posted on 2008-Apr-02 by Jason Olshefsky

After having dinner with Ali, I headed out to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) later on. When I arrived, Blue Spark and Flame was just finishing their set. They sounded great: loud and powerful, like rock should be. I didn't realize, but Handsome Jack was on the bill too. Their set was very good, but the last time I saw them, I liked them better — the chemistry just wasn't perfect in the whole thing tonight.

Finishing up was Monotonix who blew everything away. They opened up with a flaming drum kit (paper, lighter fluid, and flames, that is). The lead singer Ami started running around and even did a bit of crowd surfing. He grabbed my half-full beer out of my hand before I realized that was where he was getting all the beer I got sprayed with minutes earlier. The guitarist stayed mostly out of the blast radius, but the drummer had his kit moved around by Ami during songs. Half-an-hour in, there's this guy who pops into the fray, moshing with his pants around his ankles. It wasn't long before he was streaking in his socks and being molested by the singer using the microphone cord.

Now that's a show not to miss.