WAILING CITY: August 2014

Anne's Show Picks for the Weekend (August 28)

By Anne Castellano

The last unofficial weekend of summer is upon us, and fortunately there is a lot of good live music to enjoy. Get the weekend started early if you wish, because there are a couple of shows across the river on Thursday night. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Sandy “Sandman” Allen and bassist Mike Palazzolo will be playing at Sneekers Cafe in Groton. You've probably seen Sandy and Mike with the Hoolios, and they are also former members of the Rivergods, but here is a good opportunity to hear Sandy play his own tunes. In addition to the excellent music, you'll also hear a lot of great stories from his many years of traveling and playing with bands. Music starts around 7 pm and continues until 10:00. It's a friendly place, there's no cover, and you might want to arrive hungry, because Sneekers is well known for its delicious food.

CD Review: Straight To VHS - Weekend Weekend Weekend

Published August 25, 2014
By Adam Wujtewicz

"You ain't no ninja!". That's pretty much the sum of the lyrical content of the first song on New London garage rockers Straight To VHS' new album Weekend Weekend Weekend. Bad grammar aside it shows the straight-forward-no-frills-completely-ireverant-style they're going for. With the bass in the right headphone, guitar in the left, drums and vocal in the middle - they're pushing the retro punk aesthetic to it's limits. It's a classic punk rock sandwich that's been proven to work and with a little pop and blues sprinkled in there STVHS is bound to start ears ringing this fall.

By Anne Castellano

We have a pretty good weekend coming up for live shows, and it starts on Thursday. The Oasis Pub in New London has a Thursday night show with Terrible Roars, Dr. Martino, and Nosy Mangabe. All three bands will be playing the Oasis for the first time. Terrible Roars is a CT indie rock band that is the side project of Ross Page, of Bristol band the Raven and the Wool. Dr. Martino is a vocal-driven surf rock trio from Willimantic, and Noisy Mangabe is a theatrical progressive folk band from Boston (or is it Miami? Go to their Facebook page and try to read their bio...) whose instrumentation includes upright bass and ukulele. This is a rare opportunity to see some out of town bands on a weeknight, and these are always good shows. Cover is $5 and the show starts at 9 pm.

By Anne Castellano

Thursday seems to be the busiest night of the upcoming weekend, with a couple of shows taking place on Golden Street in New London. The good news is that you will easily be able to see both of them. First up, there will be an early show at the Telegraph record store with Pocket Vinyl and Nemes. New London duo Pocket Vinyl has released three albums, most recently Death Anxiety in 2013. Eric Stevenson plays piano and sings while his wife Elizabeth Jancewicz paints. At the end of the set, the brand new painting is sold to the highest bidder. They've been taking it slow this summer while Elizabeth works on her art, but they plan to do a lot of touring beginning in October. Indie rock band Nemes will be visiting from Boston. (In case you want to talk to your friends about the show, you pronounce the band's name like "knee•miss." It must be a drag for them to have to explain that all the time, but I digress.) The current lineup of the band, which includes two brothers, has been together for about two years and they plan to release their first full length album in the fall. Not your typical four piece, their instrumentation includes guitar, bass, drums, and violin. They have been nominated for several New England Music Awards, and Alternative Press has named them one of the top 5 unsigned bands in the country. The show starts at 6 pm and you can BYOB. All ages are welcome, and there is no cover.

LOVE & PRESS

"I just wanted to thank you for all you do for the local music community. I have tonight off so I went to the wailing city site to see who was playing. It’s amazing all the work you put in for all the local musicians and venues and I just wanted to thank you."
- Phil Smith (musician)

"...my new best friend Meghan Killimade, who's site Wailing City, lets me find all the latest local bands -- where they are playing and the times -- has suddenly been a big help in letting me find some events outside of my usual box!"
- Stephanie Shawn "Bar Fly Journals"
(Sound Waves Magazine)
Published December 2024

"Wailing City is this absolutely fantastic local music blog here in CT. They've been the place to go to find out what's happening, what's new and why you should care for well over a decade. Graciously, they interviewed us about the new album, the book, the film and all that. While touring throughout the years, we've sometimes felt like 'one foot in, one foot out' with the local scene, but they've always made us feel right at home. Thanks Wailing City."
- Pocket Vinyl (band)

"There are a staggering 64 documented live music performances in my home of New London county, CT today alone! The population of this county is only 268,805 and it is only 772 square miles. That is an incredible saturation of venues hosting live music and is a stark contrast to places I've lived in the past! You would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country that has so much live music. Amazing really! Thank you for the hard work documenting and promoting Wailing City!"
-Travis Hyll (musician)

"Wailing City appreciation post: true champions of the New London county music scene. Follow them!"
-Dirt Pile (band)

"We wanna take a minute to shout out our friends over at Wailing City for always helping to spread the word about our shows. They've been curating the most comprehensive live music calendar for SECT since 2006. If you don't already, give them a follow."
- 33 Golden Street (venue)

"Wailing City should be your first check in for all local music schedules. Thank you so much for all your efforts in promoting the scene!!
- David Schena (musician)

"Wailing City has been keeping the calendar up to date since I first started going to shows 20 years ago. We’re lucky to have Meghan volunteer her time to help keep the scene going!"
-James Burke (musician)

"With a little footwork and a short drive I managed to visit three live music shows on Bank Street last night... New London ROCKS...and all made possible searching out local music on Wailing City... thanks Meghan."
- Don Diederich (musician / local music fan)

"If you don't have ears, then it's possible you're not aware that southeastern Connecticut - specifically New London County - has an incredibly vibrant music scene. Over the years, it's gone from a hotbed of indie rock to an area of musicians, fans and venues that support a complex and varied number of artistic styles. The wailingcity.com web site - newly and lovingly redesigned - is a tremendous resource. A labor of affection and devotion conceptualized in 2006, wailingcity.com boasts artist bios, reviews and interviews, a club and band data base and calendars, videos, audio streaming, and cross-referenced links on all of the above - as well as lists of music services such as instrument instruction, record and retail stores, related media and periodicals, festival information, and so on. It's the brainchild of musician/artist Meghan Killimade, (and contributors), and they do a terrific job."
- RICK KOSTER (The Day) Published April 03. 2014

“Wailing City, is, as of now, probably the most successfully comprehensive listing on local and area shows in Southeastern Connecticut on the Internet; the folks at Wailing City are doing an excellent job of making sounds from the underground.”
-Ben Johnson (The Day) Published July 27, 2006

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