There are a lot of shows this weekend, and there should be something to suit anyone's taste. On Friday night, there's a four band show at Strange Brew Pub in Norwich. The bands are Eastern Hollows, Dances, Straight to VHS, and The Mendition of the Quay. Jangle-psych quintet Eastern Hollows is from Brooklyn, NY. They released their debut LP, The Way That You've Gone, in May. Garage pop trio Dances, who is also from Brooklyn, put out a new EP called Whiter Sands in April. The Mendition of the Quay is a four-piece garage/psych/pop band from New Haven, who formed in 2008. They have released one album and a single, with a new one on the way soon. New London trio Straight to VHS, in addition to taking home a statuette for Best Garage Act at the recently Whalie Awards, recently released a new album called Weekend Weekend Weekend. The bands on this bill seem to be well matched, and this looks to be a great night. The show starts at 8 pm and cover is $5.
On Saturday night, there are three shows so close to each other in downtown New London that you could literally shout from one to the other. First, The Duhks and Daphne Lee Martin will be playing at the Hygienic Art Park. Canadian modern folk band the Duhks are on a five month U.S. tour to support their new album Beyond the Blue. Daphne has been doing quite a bit of touring as well, so catch her locally while you can. She's been booking shows for upcoming tours of the Northeast, Midwest, and Eastern U.S. that begin in early September. All ages are welcome, and beer, wine, and other refreshments will be sold. The show starts at 7 pm and tickets are usually $10 at the Art Park.
Across the street at Hot Rod Cafe, John Fries and the Elements will be playing the blues on Saturday night. John is a great player, and he always has some of the most talented area musicians in his band also. The current lineup includes Corina Malbaurn (the MacLean Sisters, Hellbent & Heartbreakin) on bass and Ben LaRose (the Suicide Dolls, Matzah Cigar) on drums. The show starts at 8 pm.
Next door to the Hygienic, Horns of Ormus will have their CD Release show at 33 Golden Street, along with Fatal Film and Losing Streak. The brand new Horns of Ormus CD is called Bashful, and it was just reviewed by Adam Wujtewicz of WailingCity.com. Read what he thought of it here: http://www.wailingcity.com/2014/07/cd-review-horns-of-ormus-bashful.html. Fatal Film's most recent release, a self titled full length CD, came out in January and won a Whalie Award for Best Rock Album. The show starts at 9 pm and cover is $5.
I should also mention that ArleneWow! and Dana Takaki will be doing three gigs in two days this weekend. The marathon begins at the Waterford Farmer's Market at 10 am on Saturday, then they move on to the New London Farmer's Market from 1:30-4:30 pm. The final show of the weekend tour is at Captain Scott's Lobster Dock on Sunday afternoon from 2-5 pm. Arlene is an excellent songwriter with a strong voice and stage personality, and Dana Takaki's violin/fiddle playing always complements the music of whoever she plays with. BYOB to Captain Scott's, and the whole family is welcome. The Capt. Scott's show is rain or shine.