Asterisk gallery with Morticia’s Chair. On March 18, 2005 we played a show with Morticia’s Chair. It was my first time at the Asterisk art gallery. We did one opening set while M.C. entertained us all the rest of the evening. It was a wonder night with good weather. I really enjoy doing shows with only two bands on the bill. The relaxed environment makes the performance far more enjoyable and allows a performer to focus on the dynamics of the performance. The wide-open spaces and hard wood floors of the gallery made for an acoustically live room. This can be hazardous for an inexperienced group of musicians. Drums have a tendency to sound as if they were the size of houses and played by a giant. Amps with heavy reverb will quickly turn murky and overbearing. So needless to say it took a few adjustments before we began to sound acceptable. Moticia’s Chair, on the other hand, were well ready for such circumstances. As a result they sounded pristine and under control. Our show began with an instrumental titled “Flight”. A very good opener with its quiet classical style finger picking that grows into a soaring wall of sound. The choice of songs followed this trend of gradually getting bigger and more threatening. I hope to do more of this in the context of a show in the future. This show was also my first time seeing Morticia’s Chair. A few of my friends told me that I would enjoy them. They were correct. Their sound had a nice amount of Celtic influence. These fellows certainly hold firmly the rewards of well-seasoned musicians. That is to say “excellent musicality”. They also had their audience 100% engaged in their performance. That is something very few acts can lay claim to. If you haven’t had the chance to see this talented crew you should not hesitate to treat yourself to an evening with them. |
Metaphysical Zoo - Live! 02/16/07 @ Phantasy Nite Club w/ Glue 01/20/07 w/ Audio Euphoria @ The Happy Dog 12/23/06 @ Verlies w/ Smiley Baldazar 05/20/06 personal party @ Ray's house 03/04/06 @Phanasy nite club w/Slither Monkey 02/10/06 w/This Present Expression, & Mad Bunny @Pat's In The Flats 09/16/05 w/Morticia's Chair@Pat's In The Flats 08/27/05 w/Smiley Baldazar@The Winchester 06/04/05 w/Burning Sage@The Maple Grove 05/14/05 w/Morticia's Chair & about 30 other bands@Peabody's 05/06/05 w/Hetmana & Betamen of Judea@Capsule 04/23/05 w/Slither Monkey & Lightning Fingers@Pat's In The Flats 03/18/05 w/Morticia's Chair@Asterisk Art Gallery, 2393 Professor, Tremont 02/26/05@Recycled Rainboww/Fuzzhead & A Host Of Other Folks 02/05/05 w/Angwish@Pat's In The Flats 10/15/04 w/Colorforms, 9 Volt Haunted House, Volta Sound & many other talented ExBe performers@Recycled Rainbow 09/02/04 w/Leroy's Frosted Rocks & The Last Show@The Grog Shop 07/31/04@Private Party 05/22/04@Pat's In The Flats 04/18/04@Pat's In The Flats 03/13/04@Pat's In The Flats 09/27/03 w/Burning Sage & Elliot James and The Snakes@The Maple Grove 09/20/03@Pat's In The Flats 08/30/03 w/Caribou Foot, Echo Canyon Players@Nelson Ledges 07/05/03 w/The Francii & The Trippers@The Phantasy 04/05/03@Doubting Thomas metaphysicalzoo@yahoo.com |
With Slither Monkey and Lightning Fingers at Pat’s in the Flats After a lot of talk and very little planning we finally had a chance to share the stage with Slither Monkey, a band featuring my brother Danny on vocals, as well as my old friend and former guitar student Phil (on guitar of course). Slither Monkey’s former bassist, Brandy, made her debut on drums that night. She had only been practicing for a few weeks and sounded quite good. Another old friend of mine, Stan, had stepped in on bass. I had played in band called Shaman’s Circle with him a few years back and it was great to see him again. He is indeed a great musician. The show opened with the wild antics of Lightning Fingers! I truly believe that there exists no one on this Earth that knows how to have fun more than Steve Barret. Whether it’s Lightning Fingers, Beta-men of Judea, or any other performance art creations of this mad genius, you simply don’t know what to expect. He began by slow dancing to a gentle Strauss waltz while wearing a feather mask and tossing broken 45 rpm records in the crowd. His set progressed to jumping off ladders, playing air-guitar, beating cardboard boxes, and breaking stuff. The patrons of Pats had water poured on their heads and black lipstick on their faces. Steve in turn received many looks of dismay. Unfortunately earlier that evening I had assured two of the spectators that no such thing would happen and that it was perfectly safe to sit close the performance area. Sorry? Although many people were not sure what had just taken place, I have to believe that they all enjoyed the uninhibited feeling of being a silly child again. I, for one, loved it! |
Doubting Thomas Gallery. Our drummer, Shawn, landed us this show. I was more than happy to find that our first show together as a full band would be at an art gallery opening. Nothing could be more appropriate for the premier of an art rock / progressive rock band. The works of Timmie Boose and Cloe Galvanic were on display. Grim and surreal images of unearthly faces created an inspiring atmosphere for our short sets filled with a lot improvisation (give us a break it was our first show and we were the only act). By the end of the night we were all very happy with the crowds positive response and encouraging words. I have provided here an video of one our improvisations from the evening that I feel turned out fairly good. It’s called “You wrote it too”. You can find it on the sounds page. |
The Davenport in Parma with Humphry Clinker and Boomlet 06-08-07 We were surprised at ourselves for being able to pull this gig off when we had not practiced in over two months. We are very grateful to Humphry Clinker for giving us this chance to shake the dust and rust off. We were all impressed with HC's sound. They have become an incredibly tight band. We all remembered hearing them when Jon and Ben did their first show at Pat's in the Flats. They have truly evolved into beautiful wall of sound that caresses the listener into a euphoric state. As for the Davenport the staff was freindly, the drinks were reasonable but the venue itself was hard to find. I would love to play there again, or see another band there soon I hope this venue will be around for along time. |