2/2/08 - Crustaceans and
Aquatudes in CT
It's probably bad form to review a show that you're personally involved with,
but bad form never stopped me before so here goes:
This past Saturday Feb 2nd two NESMA bands, The Aquatudes and The Crustaceans
brought the surf vibe to a venue not previously hip to the scene. The
Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, CT (www.roaringbrookconcerts.org/)
is usually host to solo acoustic acts, folk music, etc. Tom Bittel of The
Aquatudes convinced RBNC to take a chance on a surf music night and (for some
reason) invited The Crustaceans to join in the fun. The show -"Surfing The
Brook!" - was a blast. The venue is a beautiful wood-paneled room with
high
ceilings, a small stage, a PA system, soundman, and various wild creatures in
cages along the wall. The Aquatudes had the place decked out with Hawaiian leis,
cut-outs of sea creatures, and even some hula-hoops. The place was full and the
crowd very receptive to the surf stylings of the two bands. The Aquatudes
succeeded in getting a contingent of kids (and kids-at heart) from the crowd to
join in on percussion for several songs and the grand-finale jam of "Wipeout"
with both bands back on stage brought the house down.
Special thanks to Rockabilly Willy from WESU radio who showed up and introduced
the bands, and also to NESMA's own Blue Stingraye who was also in attendance.
Unsolicited by us, Blue posted gig notices for
this show on the NESMA board and the Surf-Guitar 101 site, and her own website.
Where else do you get support like that except in NESMA? Check out her own
music series at The Zen Bar in Farmington, CT. The next show is this Saturday
Feb 9th. Her website has all the details:
www.myspace.com/bluestingraye Thanks again Blue Stingraye!
Without getting too long-winded, The Crustaceans want to thank The Aquatudes for
inviting us to play at their show. We had a great time with them at a
joint practice at their cool rehearsal space in a Hartford warehouse and the gig
couldn't have gone better. We even got paid. With money! Tom, Dick and
Fred are great musicians and people and they play some mean surf-tunes.
I've already got a few of their originals stuck in my head. I'd
very-highly recommend you go see them. Their MySpace page is
www.myspace.com/theaquatudes and they have a few shows coming up in the near
future.
Crusty Dave/The Crustaceans
www.myspace.com/crustaceansrock
