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The Space295 Treadwell St. Building H Hamden 06514 Manila Avenue 203-288-6400 The Space Is The Place November 13, 2004 By DAN BARRY, Hartford Advocate Is The Space the coolest venue in Connecticut or what? Tucked off to the side of an industrial park in Hamden, it radiates a creative energy I've yet to see matched in this state. Take a look at their schedule and you'll see what I mean: They're booking all of the best local and regional acts, and there is literally something going on there every night of the week. I went to The Space this past Friday night to see Welcome and Eschellon , two local bands with a whole lot of buzz surrounding them. Welcome (formerly known as Ladyfriend) is made of three members armed with an assload of instruments, and they churn out slinky, electro-inspired indie rock. Imagine, if you will, a drummer who pauses every now and then to play a melody on the keyboard, holding his sticks in his mouth like some armed-to-the-teeth pirate. That's Dave. Meet Carmella, their jazz-inflected vocalist, nasty on both electric and upright bass. She also plays the legendarily cool Moog synthesizer. And Steve, who also plays keys, is half-hidden behind a pile of techno-toys and percussion instruments; yet somewhere in there he finds time to sing, too. For all their schizophrenic instrument-switching, Welcome's songs are composed and accessible, and not in the least bit intimidating. Bass and keys lock into an enormous bassline, and Dave shreds through it like a human drum loop. With lyrics like "this is for the children who didn't get ice skates for Christmas," and "Danbury is no place for people like us," songs such as "Baby New Year" read like a love/hate letter to Connecticut. The only sticky part was that Steve and Carmella's harmonies were occasionally off-key, which slowed down some of their vocally driven songs. But on the whole, Welcome's set was full of delightful twists and turns that made the air crackle. While Radiohead comparisons are merited, there's a lot at work in Eschellon's sound. Ryan Monahan's falsetto owes as much to Roy Orbison or Jeff Buckley as it does to Thom Yorke; and Bob Nuzello's pedal-heavy guitar work is reminiscent of Japanese noise sculptors like Melt Banana or Mono. Their songs are saturated with a noir-ish feel that takes the place of Radiohead's patently British drear. Eschellon's set drew on material from their brand-new LP, The History of Fire , in which the three-piece abandons its jam-band roots entirely in favor of emotional, bass-driven melodic rock. Their songs were slow and slender. While a few had power chords and hooks, the real spectacle is the interplay between Monahan's crooning and Nuzello's pedalboard, which he uses to coax ethereal noise out of his guitar. At the end of "The History of Fire," Monahan grabbed his head with both hands, looking guilty and ashamed for letting such a magnificent monster of a song roar out of him. It felt like watching something forbidden. Why read other people's mail when you can see music like that? Shows at The Space are all-ages, wheelchair-accessible, and alcohol-free; you can find a schedule at www.thespace.tk. Hours: Tue., open mic at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sun., live shows in the evening Current/Upcoming Events | Map | Printer-Friendly Page | Email to a Friend
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