We drive hard to the north to make it to the Space in Hamden, CT for their open mic. We’ve heard lots of good things about this venue for years, and have just never had the occassion to stop in and see it.
As we pull up to its surrounding industrial park there are nearly 30 kids, probably high school, balancing on one leg in the parking lot, and as we park, the drumming starts, and we get treated to a half-hour step show. Heather pulls out her djembe and jams along – we don’t even notice that people are beginning to line up outside the Christmasesque lit Space.
We manage to get on the list despite our lack of attention and get a slot fourth on the list. Our host is feeling kind of poorly and so is his wife, so we’re going to make an effort to get out of there early…
Which is a shame because good lord we encounter some amazing people…
I’m not going to get into a LOT of details because I’m way behind in my Journal writing and I’m not in the mood to recount – but the first act was a woman from the area named Vange (?) who played the Hell out of her guitar in a way that few women can. The second act was a woman passing through from Arizona named Namoli Brennet who is breaking my heart as I listen to the music on her website. She played the most exquisite song about someone who played the lottery with her last dollar. Her voice and her playing were these simple, beautiful, strong strong things.
Before reaching Connecticut, we have to struggle our way through New York City. Not nearly as rough a trip as it has been in the past, I’m still struck by the pseudo-artistry of the repetition of their signs. So number by staring at the never-moving cars in front of you, I can understand how you might miss the edge of an overpass and just go sailing off into space….
We are greeted by a step-squad outside of the Space in Hamden, CT. Though I’m not overly impressed with their moves (and my prudish rob-self cringes at the over-sexualized motions of some of the moves being done by the early-teens) the DRUMMERS were AWESOME. I want a team of drummers like that to play on stage with us!
I was so proud that after our set, despite a broken string (in the first lines of LooseN! – I ended up playing on Vange’s Takoma) Vange and Namoli Loved us. There are some compliments that you take to heart, and others you brush off. You never completely ignore them, but you don’t have to file all of them, and especially from other artists, often its more politic than respect – Namoli went over the line into some really beautiful things that let me know that this was genuine mutual respect… or that she was REALLY REALLY good at playing the game. I prefer the more optimistic thought.
