Special World tours new EP at the Lilypad on Saturday, 14 October 2023.

Lane and Christian Kids sandwich the triple stack late show at Inman Square.

Full house, fuller house, fullest house.

The Lilypad went into overdrive on Saturday, packing four shows into a single day. That’s a lot of action.

The day started in the early afternoon with Amelia Boyce Munson, a “Brooklyn-based composer and choreographer who infuses their work with playfulness, curiosity, and a sense of belonging.” Was there dancing? Maybe? Definitely a cast of six.

In the late afternoon Elan Mehler took to the keys to play selections from Duke Ellington, with bassist Matt Stravakas and Lee Fish on drums. Elan! Not a big ‘Grammer, but Mehler’s rocking one of those baller accounts with zero posts and more followers than followed. Everyone’s waiting for him to erupt!

As night fell the Creative Music Series hosted the New Haven Jazz Underground for two sets of ‘creative music.’ It’s jazz, people! Maybe a little too wild and unkempt for Duke Ellington’s taste, but jazz all the same.

Still time for one more show before local ordinances shut down the nightlife. Say hi to a three-band bill of indie rock to polish off the night.

Four events in a single day. Pack ‘em in!

The Lilypad runs on a rental space model, so it will snap up as many bookings as walk its way. But be careful. Renting to any yahoo with a pocketful of cash might sound like a good idea. If the artist/promoter doesn’t know what they’re doing, though, chaos will ensue. If Amelia Boyce Munson runs late, can’t get her gear out of the venue on time, shit rolls downhill for the next three paying rental customers.

Not that Munson would ever run late – she’s a pro!

Christian Kids

It’s Christian Kids! A heavy pop duo composed of Shawnie Brando (Bugs and Rats) and Mariam Saleh (Bong Wish). The former traded time between a guitar and sampler while the latter handled a bass. The music was moody, a bit spooky. More atmospheric than melodic, and heavy on the instrumental.

Special World

The Philadelphia-based outfit Special World toured its new EP Elowyn.

Hey, there’s no real rules about how long an EP needs to be, but this one clocks in at 6:26. That breaks down to three songs, of which one is :57 long and another is a cover. Does this amount of sound justify the ‘EP’ nomenclature?

Take it up with the man behind the moniker Andy Moholt (Laser Background). He brings a synth-driven, neu-chillwave pop ethos to Special World, along with the help of three other musicians on the night to bring the EP to life.

Circling back to that third song on the EP “Mr. Shadow.” It’s a cover of an AI-generated pop song. What kind of music do robots make? Kind of country meets lounge meets pop balladry. Moholt reappropriates the material into a humane imagination, which is a natural artistic response to a landscape increasingly peopled by fake people. Are we playing into the hands of the robots?

We’ll find out on Judgment Day.

Lane

Rumor has it the local four-piece Lane is dropping a new single or two at some point late in the year.

This year. Which we’re late in.

The krautrock, minprog jammers might have trotted out some of the new material on Saturday night. Did you hear any new songs?

Who can say for sure. There were a few turns in the set that sounded like more conventional pop than the noise-to-the grindstone, microtonal-adjacent pattern mashing of their previous work. Maybe those were the new singles? Time will tell.

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