Dee Monte meet Alyse Lamb

What is it about the local New Haven music scene that attracts so many talented musicians over the years? Why is it that this scene still survives even after decades of relative obscurity? Hard to say, but if you were following this blog and happened to catch the pair of shows this weekend that I had previewed, then maybe you’re a little bit more in the know.

2 shows, 4 bands, all great in their own right. Fri. 6-11-10 @ Huntington Street Café in Shelton, CT. it was The Big Fat Combo opening for DELVIS (a reunion) and Sat. 6-12-10 @ Café 9 in New Haven, CT. it was Eula opening for Titles (their CD release). I’ve written about The Big Fat Combo before, the release of their 1st CD (in their 10 year career), the highly anticipated Chicks Dig It, brought accolades from many, as well as myself, who already considers it one of the best CDs of 2010. Their live shows are always a blast and Friday was no exception. Playing a fun and rollicking set that saw guest artist such as Dave Schnieder (The Zambonis) joining in on “The Helmet Song” and Forrest Harlow with his autoharp playing the Bee Gee's “Words,” it was everything a Big Fat Combo show has come to stand for. I’ll leave it at that and say almost the same for Titles a band with whom I’m familiar, yet haven’t been exposed to enough. Loved by many, their live shows are few and far between, so Saturday’s show supporting their 3rd release, Dirt Bell, was a must see for the throng that turned out. Add in that Eric Danton of the Hartford Current has called Dirt Bell the best Local release ever (I have the disc, but have not had the time to devote to it yet – and it will be on the IndepenDisc web site shortly), and you can understand why Titles have been getting a lot of well deserved buzz.

But this Blog entry isn’t about The Big Fat Combo, nor Titles. Both deserving in their own right, both worth boning up on, and both must listens, so hit the links if you are so inclined, in the meantime I’m going to tell you about the other two.

I missed DELVIS back in the day (’87 – ’92) and had to do a bit of research to find out what kind of stir they had created. Fronted by Dee Monte (a local legend in her own right) they received a lot of attention, played a lot of shows and made a lot of great music. I walked into the show not knowing what to expect and was promptly blown away. It had been 18 years since DELVIS last performed and they left no doubt as to why they are still talked about. Dee’s presence commanded the stage as the trio behind her commanded the music, drawing heavy on Surf-Punk and good old Rock-n-Roll they did New Haven’s local independent music scene proud. I was thrilled to be able to experience a bit of local history that I had missed the 1st time around, and it made me smile. Here’s a video I took of DELVIS playing one of their singles, Tiger In My Tank. Dee’s voice may sound a little worse-for-the-wear (it was near the end of the set & she hadn’t sung this much in ages), but it only goes to prove how good DELVIS was/is within the context of the music.

DELVIS ~ Tiger In My Tank
06-11-10 Live @ The Huntington Street Cafe
Shelton, CT

I’ve been a fan and friend of Eula since they started in ’06 and while I had never seen Dee Monte with DELVIS when they were performing, after their show Fri. night, I realized that Alyse Lamb, who fronts Eula is most likely this era’s incarnation of Dee. Saturday’s blistering set at Café 9 proved to me that not only does Alyse embody the spirit and the music of Dee, but Eula embodies the spirit and music of DELVIS to a degree. That degree is the flat out rocking of the music. Each band fit and is comfortable upon the stage and within the scene they were born into, decades apart, yet bonded like siblings to make their parents (New Haven) proud. This video of Eula performing Fight Riff suffers a bit in sound quality, but shows the raw energy that is the essential part of the New Haven scene whether past, present or future.

Eula ~ Fight Riff
06-12-10 Live @ Cafe 9
New Haven, CT

I want to thank all 4 bands for making this weekend a remarkable convergence of New Haven music and history.