One night stand with a sexy out-of-towner

The Bright Light Social Hour @ Up or on the Rocks, Hartford

Our facebook friends know we've been trying to get a buzz going for this Texas band that's swinging through town this Thursday. We caught wind of them because a.) they've been living out a van  on tour and they smell and b.) they're friends of our Brooklyn boyfriends, Black Taxi, who we were totally hot for at their Hartford debut. The Bright Light Social Hour fellas look and sound like damn good stuff, so we feel really lucky to catch them at a stage of their career when they don't just automatically skip Hartford (or only stop here for snacks), which is why we've been pestering you all so hard to actually turn out for this one. Check out their whole album  - it's great!

We're kind of out of touch with genre, but we're pretty sure they're hipsters (the pineapple is a dead giveaway). These days everything "cool" just sounds like the Rolling Stones in their disco phase to us. By which we mean classic but funky and danceable (these are good things). And oversexed - just look at that mustache! 

In deference to the short attention span and run-of-the-mill FB event invite fatigue we're sure you all experience, we've attempted to hook you by pairing this exciting band show with our first ever "Guerrilla Han Solo Bar," which will henceforth be Scenic code for something we extra especially think you should check out, even more than the other stuff we think is also worth your time. We assure you the Scenics and at least one other person that we know of will be there dressed as Han Solo (sometimes we just dress like this anyway). So of course we encourage you to get on that too. Because who doesn't enjoy shooting first, palling around with Wookies, and pairing a studly dark vest with an chest-baring pale shirt, amiright?

Hipstercana Wednesday: Sidewalk Dave & Elison Jackson

Wednesday, May 25

Elison Jackson, The Donkeys, Citay @ BAR, New Haven

Sidewalk Dave @ The Half Door, Hartford

Competing-for-our-affection on a Wednesday? Guys, really?

We've seen Elison Jackson twice, but both gigs were in private basements which we didn't feel comfortable telling you about (like anybody listens to us anyway...) and we liked them live even better than what we've heard of their recordings, which are nice and all, but don't quite convey Sam's delicate Thom Yorke/guy from a band you've never heard of-esque vocal delivery or the chemistry of the current band lineup. So we're looking forward to their upcoming release, which is now in the works with that guy from M.T. Bearington we met that one time. We'd see them again, in a basement or wherever they may roam! In a box, with a fox, etc.

Elison Jackson will be the local boys on a gig with Californians The Donkeys and Citay, who we are too lazy to check out in the context of a post about our CT hipstercana favs. This Wednesday night indie rock interlude is brought to you, as always, by Manic Productions.

Do you ever notice how we plug the same stuff over and over again? That's on purpose. You want to know every crap thing going on at every club with no regard to quality or style? That's somebody else's actual job. This is our passion, and there's only so much of it to go around. And there's only so many people of taste in the state. We can't be spreading them too thin either.

Speaking of passion, Sidewalk Dave returns this week for their monthly Half Door gig. They are celebrating their new EP release, Can't be Your Friend (which you can preview right there at the link). We're sufficiently turned on by Dave's explicit lyrical references to sexual acts and bloody dismemberment set to pleasant, jaunty indie/alt-country melodies, but have to admit to being less than enamored with this cover art. 

(appetite for self-destruction)

We hope you appreciate the depth of artistic integrity it takes for us to unfavorably critique our favorite things - even just the CD cover. In point of fact, the Scenics have a well-documented history in support of women disrobing (and most recently, a song about a Disrober - we're all about that shit!), but this particular composition of vacant-eyed chicks as visual props just leaves us flat. It's also weirdly familiar.

(I think we've seen this movie too)

CT Metal: Rekindling the Romance

(Ipsissimus)

As I've mentioned time and again, I was a pretty seriously committed metalhead in my youth and young adulthood, and in an effort to be down I was willing to try really hard to get into all kinds of crap if it seemed trend-evil enough. But now that I've branched out musically and I'm entering early Cougardom, it's a bit harder to get my meat up about new metal, the local scene in particular, being all too familiar with the pay-to-play tactics of some local clubs, which falsely elevates those bands with the nicest friends or most indulgent parents. I know peeps who will just get drunk and headbang to any old crap, but they probably have IQs less than 100 and I just can't get down like that. And sorry, death metal, you may be "technical," but you are are terrible at any volume. Show me the catchy riffs or go home.

(Nightbitch)

As you may have read here on CT Scenic, I've been pretty excited about CT stoner/metal band Treebeard ever since catching their first gig at then newly opened Elm Bar, and I thought they were just as great on a second viewing at the same venue. So when I saw that they were playing Cherry Street Station with scene vet and all-the-way-back-t0-high-school pal Ryan's two bands, Ipsissimus and enticingly named Nightbitch, I thought this show had promise.

And when I pulled up to the poorly marked club on a desolate industrial block by the train tracks in Wallingford, I knew I was in for a real treat. And when I observed the dirt cheap prices ($4 for Magic Hat!) and amazing back smoking yard, I mentally punished myself for never having been to this club before.

(Corrupting a garden gnome. Smoking is so cool.)

Bygones. I was probably right. Most of those shows I opted not to drive 45 minutes to probably were indeed awful. But not this one! Nightbitch got this party started right. The three piece has "the guy from Treebeard" (and like 10 other bands - Chris) on drums and vocals, which is wicked impressive just by itself, and Ryan delivered all those catchy guitar riffs I was just craving. Their music is seriously good and reminded me of Danzig, but their not-so-serious, over-the-top evil song titles and perverted between-song banter, explaining that this song is about masturbation and that song is about werewolves fucking and whatnot really hit the spot (my g-spot, duh).



Next up was De Omega, featuring the bass player from Nightbitch (the theme of this show was Nightbitch and all the guys' from Nightbitch's other bands). They were described as "tech metal." They're all instrumental, which is inherently a bit less entertaining than sex/party metal, but they had some really lovely, dark atmospheric bits (as I might have said if I were writing metal journalism) and the bassist and guitarist were like nonstop tapping, which was giving all the young dudes in the crowd hella wood.

I am automatically skeptical of new American black metal, because it sort of seems like a style that is maybe better left to a certain time and place (Norway, 80s/90s), but I'm gonna have to hand it to Ipsissimus as well. It pains me to dole out such unadulterated praise about one night, but here again we had Ryan's being awesome on guitar at the heart of things, and the vocalist had a pretty killer rasp, and he made the most complicated banter comment about Nightbitch's set: "That band just did what your genitals were..." And I was like "huh?" and then totally got that he meant "ROCK HARD!" and it was the best thing ever, and I will never make fun of American guys for having black metal alteregos again.**



I have to admit to being overcome by pumpkin syndrome and leaving around midnight, before Treebeard got around to playing. Sorry Treebeard! But I already knew I liked them, so 4/4 stars for this gig! Look out for Ipsissimus' brand new release, The Way of Descent, on Metal Blade Records. Treebeard will be playing a gig at Cafe Nine June 11, and Chris from Treebeard, who has perfected human cloning, will also be playing that same night with Garbage Barge, who list GWAR as a primary influence and thus win my immediate good will - also at Cherry Street Station with for "Garbage Barge's Birthday Masquerade." We'll keep you posted about upcoming gigs from any of these fine bands as we hear about them. Check the FB for more sexy pics.

**LYING!

The Gay Movies

May 26-June 4: The Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival @ Cinestudio, Hartford











First of all, we'd like to wish the film festival a very happy 24th birthday, and excluding only the Hartford Art Cinema, we couldn't think of a better venue to celebrate in than Trinity's lovely Cinestudio.
























From the looks of things on the festival's website, we can all look forward to a diverse offering of short and feature length queer films. We are particularly interested in a short from Canada, titled "5 Dysfunctional People in a Car", (which is one person away from being "Team Scenic in a Car") based on this description: A 43-year-old woman, her 21-year-old boyfriend, her unhappily married sister, an aging mother and a burgeoning lesbian niece take a ride into discontent one winter's afternoon.

Then, there is another short titled "Gayby" on Saturday, that comes with this disclaimer: Warning: this film contains an incredibly awkward sex scene. Well, regardless of your sexual preference, we can all relate to that.

On the last day of the festival, there is a promising looking feature film called "Going Down in La La Land" and we're not just saying that because of the strong possibility of hot male nudity- really! From what we got from the trailer, this looks like it may be one of the standouts of the festival, funny and intense.


OH! And if you ACT NOW! (or very, very soon), you can get tickets at a discounted rate through Groupon. See you at the gay movies!

Happy Crickle Day!

Do you like made up holidays? Do you like inappropriate touching and gift giving? Awkward traditions? Well, we have something miraculous to tell you! Some friends of the blog recently clued us in to the word "crickle", a word that they invented as a hybrid of the words "creepy" and "tickle". Seriously, its on urban dictionary, so its totally valid and real. And, the first annual Crickle Day happens to be today, May 21st! We're told that this holiday should be celebrated by giving inappropriate gifts to your friends (box of latex gloves?), or maybe an outing at the Gold Club for a little bit o' holiday sleaze. Happy Crickle Day to one and all!

Friends-of-the-blog compete-for-our-affections Friday

Friday, May 20

Sidewalk Dave @ The Outer Space, Hamden

(fake boyfriends of the blog celebrate their new release, Girls, Girls Girls)

Black Taxi @ Rack n Roll, Stamford

(sexy out-of-town Brooklyn hipster boyfriends of the blog, hot off SXSW, etc.)

The Ninas @ Bank Street Cafe, New London

("just good friends" - hey, Ninas, get your act together so we can be all lazy and just post youtube!)

Terrible, awful, SEXY decisions! We feel just like Kelly Taylor.

(Does anyone know where I can score some blow?)

Lunching in Woodbury

Ohhh Woodbury. You are slowly becoming my favorite CT town, and today may have just sealed the deal. With 2 hours to kill betwixt work appts, I wandered Route 6 in search of some entertainment. I headed for one of my fav indie natural food stores, New Morning, but instead pulled into the Good News Cafe to investigate. I hesitated in my car for a few, until the Meat Without Feet truck pulled up, and decided that was a sign to go in.


I've been driving by this place for months, but the timing was just never right until now. The sign is a little confusing, partially why I hadn't ventured in yet. I mean, can I get a cup of coffee to go or what?

I kind of expected to walk into Tisane when I opened the door, and I wasn't too far off. The walls are covered in artwork - paintings, photos, a mural in the bar, some weird sculptures hanging from the ceiling; and there is a case housing some Bridgewater chocolates and other baked items.

I sat at the bar, ogled some guy's martini, and perused the menu. A bit pricey, so I got the vegetarian-soup-of-the-day and some oysters. (I know. Weird.)


The soup was some kind of kale, chickpea concoction that far exceeded my expectations of a veg soup. The oysters were.. yknow.. oysters. I chatted up one of the "regulars" sitting next to me who shared his abundant knowledge of the restaurant, the owner, and other sights to see in CT. Apparently this restaurant is often written up as the best restaurant in CT and is visited by celebs on route to their summer homes. (Swoon? Whatever.) The owner, Carole Peck, has been featured on Martha Stewart several times and just opened another restaurant literally across the parking lot, Zeeburger. Apparently it's the cat's pajamas. (Maybe I would have known any of this if I ever read other blogs?) Coincidentally, we love cheeseburgers this week, and can't wait to check that out. Bob, our new friend at the bar, explained how he helped shape the new burger place with his suggestions of putting syrup in the milkshakes, and cooking the burgers by request, not just guessing. He also suggested Heinz ketchup, but doesnt think Carole will go for it. She makes everything from scratch, no artificial-anything allowed.

Here is Bob's coconut cake. He insisted that it be included:


Well, I still had 45 minutes to kill, so I went for round 2 - an iced cappuccino and a chocolate-peanut butter cookie.


Everything was just delightful. I would definitely come back, however, Zeeburger is next on my Woodbury agenda. Who knew there were amazing restaurants just sitting there on route 6 all this time? Not only is the food amazing, but the staff were friendly and willing to talk Bob and I through our lunches. The bartender, Michael, was both charming and informative. He told me about the Bethel Cinema, which used to be a porn theatre but now plays indie films. And some hiking trails nearby at something called Steep Rock. Looks like we have our work cut out for us in the-middle-of-nowhere, CT. Stay tuned.

Phallic Artistry at Elizabeth Park

We haven't featured much art that looks like a penis here lately, have we? Hey, this sculpture at Hartford's Elizabeth Park looks like whale peen! They're bendy.

The lady Scenics observed this on an idyllic afternoon at the park recently, one of those Sundays when it wasn't raining. We're looking forward to the majesty of the rose garden (where we're all gonna gay-marry each other one day), and maybe taking the brunch shift at The Pondhouse Cafe some time soon.

Lucky - FOR YOU - I keep chatting up all these hot men

I never get to talk to you all about the hottest rock n roll band on the planet, J Roddy Walston and the Business, because this isn't a music blog or anything and in my years as a fan they have not seen it fit to visit CT, so I've been forced to travel to New York and Boston to see them. As we've noted before, it's a good thing Hartford is so "conveniently" located - it only takes a couple-to-several hours and many dollars to reach destinations in either of those cities. We're lucky if cool bands even stop here for snacks. Well, this week I took a walk on the wild side and traveled to Brooklyn on a weeknight to see them play at my new favorite venue, Brooklyn Bowl, a giant bowling alley/music venue with obscenely portioned food and great beer on tap that plays cult films (like The Warriors and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) projected on the wall and on big screens over the bowling lanes... J Roddy is doing a "residency" there this month, playing every Monday night. You all should go and see them up close and cheap before they are hugely famous and won't be available to humor silly questions while soundchecking their own instruments like "Is there a dollar amount you can tell me that would get you guys to Connecticut?"

The band is from Baltimore and they play rock n roll with classic blues and southern influences. They are charismatic as hell, with dirty, catchy lyrics about fucking and fighting, and everyone in the band does what they do really well and they all do all these great backing vocals and falsettos and stuff, but why should I describe it when you can just listen? First time I saw and heard them I walked in on them playing this song and I was immediately hooked. The room was packed - we couldn't see shit, so I'm not being superficial here, I didn't even know they were handsome for like another year - I turned to my friend and said "OMG I want to sit on their face - METAPHORICALLY"**

But before J Roddy played last night, there were these opening bands, and all this idle time. I was already hanging out with more or less the coolest guy in the room (you remember professional donut model Will... omg he always has the craziest work stories like "and so now this beautiful androgynous Dutch chick is totally licking glaze and sprinkles from the contours of my exquisite washboard abs..."), so it's not like I was trying to meet peeps. But then Will disappeared for a bit, and the next-best-looking man in the club happened to sit down near where our group was sitting, so I asked him if he was a fan of the band.

He didn't know them, but knew they were playing Bonnaroo, and his band was playing Bonnaroo, so he was curious... So OK, this guy is really cool, obvs, but I'm really cool too because I dress badly and know more about J Roddy Walston and the Business, who are about to be his favorite too. And then he casually mentioned that his band played with the Allmans, so I was like "blah blah blah...Matt Zeiner...?" and lo and behold he and I have a mutual friend in Connecticut! And this guy's band, The Jamie McClean Band, is actually gonna be in charming little Colinsville for a gig next month - so it's a good thing he happened to meet Hartford's second favorite local blogger, right?!

He just happened to have a CD on him ("Is that a CD in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Oh! It is a CD! Give me!") which I checked out on the ride home. And what do you know, this guy is really good. We've occasionally mentioned how challenging we Scenics sometimes find it to describe art or music that isn't about being tortured or miserable without sounding like we're being insincere. And here I have that challenge again, because this guy reminds me of Steve Miller or the Black Crowes, and I mean that as a compliment, because I grew up on classic rock radio like anybody else my age, and it's rockin and catchy and he has a nice voice and these great guitar solos. A quick Youtube perusal finds him sitting in with everyone from Govt Mule to Blues Traveler to Gavin DeGraw. But is it my fault that reality has conspired to make me identify most closely with songs about boozing up, fucking up and inner rage, and not so much with songs about this great, total package guy who is not at all ashamed of expressing his sexuality and how he loves this chick and isn't trying to keep it on the DL or also go after some other chick? Whatever. I'm looking forward to checking this guy out June 18th at Bridge Street Live. And don't worry, we'll remind you about it again before then!

**(I cannot emphasize enough the importance of saying what you really mean and differentiating between literal and symbolic language, and neither can this guy)

Fishing, anyone?

As a 13 year old kid on the shoreline of Connecticut, seeing those Master Bait and Tackle commercials on TV was a frequent source of amusement.














Yes, its a real store. And yes, 20 years later, it's still funny.

$5 Movies

We've already told you about the late night screenings of old favorites in Hartford and New Haven, but in case you're new, or just not paying attention, here are a few movie outings you may be interested in.

~Friday May 20 and Saturday May 21- Pink Floyd: The Wall @ The Criterion, New Haven





















Have you been feeling nostalgic about taking LSD and watching some fucked up shit? Here ya go.

~Friday May 20 and Saturday May 21- The Rocky Horror Picture Show @ Bow Tie Cinema, Hartford

















What is going on here? We've noticed that Rocky Horror has been playing pretty regularly at Bow Tie over the last few months, but haven't heard anything about a live cast performing alongside the movie. Anyone want to organize one? We have a veteran Rocky Horror performer right here on Team Scenic.













Spot the Scenic, and win a prize*!

~Friday May 27 and Saturday May 28- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan @ The Criterion, New Haven


















....we should also organize some audience participation to go with this one.

~Friday May 27 and Saturday May 28- Pee Wee's Big Adventure @ Bow Tie Cinema, Hartford










Amazing Larry is the most underrated character of this beloved movie (obviously).


*a photoshop of you with Tim Curry

In Soviet CT, Boston Comes to You!

Boston rock band The Few are comin' to town! (We totally know their manager - shoutout Bryan Donoghue!) They're playing 2 shows, Friday at the Hessian Lion in Avon, and Saturday at the Mapletree Cafe in Simsbury. The band has a little something for everyone... they are described as classic rock, blues, funk, soul... y'know, all the funnest genres. The lead singer, Jaime MacKenzie, is not only a hottie, but classically trained and hella talented. Her husband, Kevin MacKenzie, sings, plays amazing guitar solos, and reminds us that functional relationships can exist! Bassist Ryan Martin is a luthier who crafts custom instruments for the band. (How impressive is that??). We don't know much about drummer Shaemus Shepard, but the imternets tell us that he kicks ass. The live show promises both visual AND aural excitement, as they do something involving a projector, and tend to bust out bizarre instruments like the mandolin or the washboard. They are upbeat and fun and dancey and this should be a wonderful time. This is also a great opportunity to check the Hessian Lion which we hear has all of our favorite things - couches, $4 Guinness, and sexy bartenders! See you there.

Friends-of-the-blog New Haven takeover

Wednesday, May 11: Sidewalk Dave & Johnny Corndawg @ BAR, New Haven

Friday, May 13: Steven Deal, The Jackies, Stark Raving Lulu @ Elm Bar, New Haven

By now you're all well aware of our special feelings for New Haven's Sidewalk Dave, and if you're not, well, here... This Wednesday watch Sidewalk Dave's Dave play with himself (*sizzle*) for a rare solo gig at BAR, which will also feature this Johnny Corndawg fellow, who we're just looking into now, but his style seems to be that cherry blend of singer-songwriter and autism spectrum disorder that always drives us out of our pants. This show is brought to you by Manic Productions. They seem to like it when we say their name. Maybe if we say it enough they will book our out-of-town pretend boyfriends, Black Taxi, to play in New Haven. We only go to New York for donuts. Gigs are impossible.

Friday night our friend Steven Deal will be playing at Elm Bar, who we apparently bullied into lowering their ridiculous Guinness prices in our greatest accidental accomplishment yet, along with some girlie bands. We totally don't know The Jackies, but their name is certainly promising! 

Steven and Katie met via JDate and hit it off famously over some fries, back when that Elm joint was real Rudy's. Oy! The self-loathing of these two though! He's a nazi reenactor; she once ghost-wrote an unflattering portrait of David Ben-Gurion for a scholarly publication. Ha ha, just kidding - they only look Druish.

I call that a donut, the best I ever had

Sorry CT, sometimes I've got to get away. This weekend I left your sorry ass for Brooklyn, where I drank beer, ate a turkey sandwich, had some mediocre latenite diner food, consumed copious amounts of iced coffee, watched dvds, played videos on youtube, listened to tunes on Grooveshark - stuff I simply cannot do here at home. Well, the least I could do was review some indie donuts while I was there! You remember how we used to review donuts on the regs before donuts went and jumped the shark?

(Professional donut model Will has his work
cut out for him staying so fit selling donuts)

Sunday morning my host and I walked to Dough. I immediately noticed that the donuts were the size of small pillows, then gawked over enticing flavors like chocolate chipotle and hibiscus. Ultimately, I played it kind of safe with a cinnamon sugar donut and one slathered in chocolate "with cocoa nibs." These donuts were huge, but I ate two - for you. And while I am so happy that they were as delicious as one could possibly hope, it is with some regret that I admit they are better than any of those CT donuts we tried last year, which will now pale in comparison. The cinnamon sugar one tasted just like perfect, fresh fried dough, and the topping on the other was rich, real chocolate. Can a thing be moist and fluffy at the same time? Yes, I do believe it can. What if a sheep got left out in the rain? These donuts were simultaneously moist and fluffy. I must report that the "dollars to donuts" exchange rate we've boasted of before is less favorable when we're talking about New York gourmet donuts; in the city, we are only half as wealthy.

(Lucky girl! Katie Scenic can't get over how big it is!)

CT Oddities

This exists:

Abbott Tech, Danbury

Holly Golightly and The Proud Flesh

Sunday, May 8: Holly Golightly and The Proud Flesh @ Cafe Nine






























It was only a week ago that 3/4 of Team Scenic had fun seeing MT Bearington and Eula at Cafe Nine, and the awesome streak continues with Holly Golightly and the Proud Flesh on Sunday. After you take your mom to see Mommie Dearest, take her to this!

I have a friend that makes me mix cds for my birthday every year, and she always includes a track by Holly Golightly. Having absolutely no knowledge of who Holly Golightly is, I had always gotten the feeling that she was a garage musician from the 60's by the way those songs sounded. Not the case! As it turns out, her career began in the 90s, and she was also a part of Thee Headcoatees (who we've totally heard of). Because I am lazy, here is what her website has to say:

Although often connected with garage rock, HOLLY GOLIGHTLY'S music is more a mixture of pre-rock electric country blues, folk and less frantic rock & roll. It brings to mind a bourbon soaked honky tonk bar, evenings on a dusty front porch with your faithful hound, cracked hearts and foot stomping good times. She creates a world all of her own, one that's warm hearted, true to it's roots and not swayed by fads and fashions.

And let's not forget the Proud Flesh, who, if you've been paying attention around here, you've totally heard of. Katie Scenic enjoyed their performance at that guy's house that time, and also told you about their album Tiny Picture Frames over here.

Farm to Street... specifically, Broad St.

We'd been hearing rumors that the chefs from Middletown's It's Only Natural were going to start a vegan food truck business, but didn't have any details- until I came into work on Thursday, to find this friendly note from a thoughtful coworker:

















The Billings Forge Farmer's Market is a nice place to enjoy your lunch break on a Thursday. Besides selling produce, bread and cheese from local farms, vendors also sell artisan soaps and other handmade goods, cargo bikes, and there is usually some kind of live music going on. I got a cup of organic fair trade coffee from Bean and Leaf before going to check out the GMonkey Truck.



























Oh, such options! I had run into a scenic pal who recommended the black bean burger, and yet another scenic pal who had nice things to say about the spicy peanut noodles and the smoothies. I was interested in the chili, but decided to get the burger instead.













Ok, friendly suggestion? More burger, less bread. Maybe even less bread, and a few GMonkey fries (those are the sweet potato fries that are so delicious at ION). A few bites in, I realized it would be in my best interest to take the top pieces of bread off and actually enjoy the flavor of chipotle and pesto, which is what I was going for. The black bean patty was quite tasty, but for $7, eh... I wound up throwing that bread away.

Anyway, the GMonkey truck will be at Billings Forge every Thursday, and that is good. They also have a regular gig in Durham, and possibly Bushnell Park. Check out their calendar on facebook, and if you beg them hard enough, maybe you can get tasty organic vegan truck food where you live.

I'll like whatever Kimono Josh tells me to like

Sunday, May 8: Old Man Lady Luck, Chumps, Electric Bucket @ BAR, New Haven

So Wednesday night I went to see that Kimono Draggin' farewell show *sniff* - you remember, it was like, one post ago. I got their early so I could say hi to the band fellas, and right away Josh wanted to know why wasn't I wearing my Morbid Angel t-shirt, which made such a splash on facebook when I posted this adorable old picture:


This got us into a whole thing about what huge metal dorks we all were and how horribly unfashionable "back in the day." And Kimono Chris said something about Slayer or maybe it was back patches, and I had to confess to this item:

(which was actually cobbled together from hand-me-downs for an
80s themed day back in the 90s, but still... yeah... this)

Anyway, I explained that I had indeed considered various outfits that evening to pay fitting tribute on the occasion of their final show, but had ultimately decided to go with kind of a "sexy Han Solo" vibe because it was Star Wars Day, and earlier Josh had posted "May the Fourth be with you" on Facebook, and then we got into it about how much we love those movies and what great Star Wars toys we all own.

(truth: I just like to dress like Han Solo, and then I saw the Star Wars Day thing - synchronicity!)

Point being, these guys are obviously my long lost brothers, so if one of them says check out some band that's playing a must-see show this Sunday, I'm gonna take the thirty seconds on youtube and check out the band. Old Man Lady Luck seems to be some kind of stoner/doom heavy thing, which I can dig, and a New Haven "supergroup" to boot (members of the Vultures, Bloarzeyd and Murdervan - we've mentioned all those cats here before). And wow, Steve Albini worked on their record. That's some serious indie cred right there. And dig that flier! That broad with the hot body and the big beard will be me after menopause if I keep up the Bikram!

I'm too hungry to check out those other bands right now, but isn't this enough? Check the links... sorry, Electric Bucket's is a myspace page. Those are the worst!

Cinco de Mayo happenings at City Steam

Drink away your Cinco de Mayo to the sweet sounds of Shuli Egar, John Tole and CT local Claudia Stavola. They will be at City Steam this Thursday to hilarify you and raise funds for our most favorite film festival, the Silk City Flick Fest. You're not having deja vu, we went to a very similar fundraiser last year, and had a super time. Shuli made all our favorite kinds of jokes; penis jokes, Jewish jokes, midget jokes, etc... but even better was when another comedian dropped the "faggot"-bomb, and all the homosexuals in the audience dramatically gasped in unison. Well, that guy apparently was not invited back, but judging by the blow-up doll on Claudia's webpage, she is our kind of lady. Come down, drink delicious local beer, hear funny things, and support this year's film festival!

PS. We know downtown sux, but there will be free parking on Morgan Street!

Our life is an endless succession of people saying goodbye: Kimono Draggin' Edition

Wednesday, May 4: Kimono Draggin', Cats and Cats and Cats, Ladycop @ BAR, New Haven

(Kimono Joe got SuperScenic Vision for his B-Day, that's how much we like him)

Alas, with heavy hearts we bid farewell this week to our recent "newest favorite CT band" Kimono Draggin' - seems we only just met and fell in love with them, WTF.

Well, at least they're playing themselves out. We've been checking the Wednesday night scene at BAR where consummate show booker Manic Productions has been doing great things, presenting indie rock from near and far. It's pretty cool. It's free, they brew their own beer, there's pizza, and these big padded fish tank thingies you can sit in if you're lazy. And as you would expect, the joint is typically full of CT music scene-lebrities, like this guy.

In case you haven't heard them and were too lazy to click the link above (which is one of our funniest posts, seriously!), here's what we had to say about Kimono Draggin' on our first impression:

These guys are kind of like Mister Bungle, if Mister Bungle was actually fun (for us) to listen to. By which we mean they are amazing technical musicians playing silly, schizoid music that pretty much makes a raucous mockery of overblown rock and metal as well as overly earnest alternative styles via genre hopping, shredding, goofy lyrics, outrageous falsettos, and unexpected references. They also made adorable small penis jokes about their half (3 1/2") of the 7-inch. You know this means their actual cocks are HUGE.

Since then we've also learned that bassist/singer Josh is an amazing whiskey blogger, which doesn't tell you much about their music, but may give you some idea what drinks to buy him. Suffice to say, we are bummed that these guys are calling it quits as a band, especially since the Scenic ladies had high hopes of using our association with them to realize their video vixen fantasies. Oh well, maybe those puppet people can give us something debauched to do on camera instead if we keep talking them up.

The FB event tells us KD is playing first, so don't be late. We haven't heard Cats and Cats and Cats but understand they've come all the way from the UK to charm us with their accents. Ladycop is from NYC; let's show them that CT knows how to stand around with arms crossed in slovenly  dress just as well as Brooklyn, thank you very much.

This new KD vid does not feature any Scenics, but it's still hot stuff!

"The Mother of Them All!"

Saturday May 7 and Sunday May 8: Mommie Dearest at Bowtie Cinema, Hartford @ 11am














Looking for something special to do with mom this weekend? Take her to a screening of the unintentionally hilarious mother-from-hell biopic, Mommie Dearest! This Mother's Day classic has played in years past at New Haven's Criterion Cinema, but this year, Hartford will be getting the wire hanger treatment.

You know, Bow Tie should really consider a Mother's Day screening of Fitzscenic family favorite mom movie, Serial Mom. My own mother actually introduced me to this movie when it came out in the 90s, and inadvertently started my undying love for everything John Waters. My mom regards Kathleen Turner's character as some kind of personal role model, but really, who hasn't fantasized about murdering someone for simply getting on your nerves?


As legend has it, Mom Fitzscenic even made a little prank call to one of her friends one intoxicated night, imitating the obscene phone call Serial Mom makes in the movie (you'll have to google that one yourself).