nothin “Art In The Back” Gets Gritty And Soulful | New Haven Independent

Art In The Back” Gets Gritty And Soulful

Halfway through Grit Rhythms set at Three Sheets, singer Matt Rhone introduced the next song as a cover of a cover” and was answered by laughs, cheers, and an audience member shouting back covers on covers on covers” — which was also answered by laughter. It was a rare moment of speaking on a cold snowy night dedicated to creative endeavors, in the week before the spring semester begins and before the president elect becomes the president in charge, and the weather once again gifted us with a reason to hide away from it all.

However, it was the second Saturday of the month, which means it was time for Three Sheets’s monthly series, Art in the Back, Music in the Front,” which features the work of one, two, or several local visual artists in the back room of the bar — which also houses the pool table — and music from bands in the front stage area.

Jim LoPriesti

“Untitled.”

Usually, the pieces in the art show — curated by Sara Scranton, who is also known under the name Lipgloss Crisis, and is a visual artist in her own right — hang in the back room of Three Sheets, on display and possibly for sale. This month’s show happened to be a fundraiser as well. Rick Seiden, one of the owners of Three Sheets, explained that he had set the show up this month as a benefit with proceeds from raffle sales and a percentage of bar sales going to Stamford Education 4 Autism.

The art was provided by three artists who work at Lucky Soul Tattoo — Jim LoPriesti, Bronwyn Cyr, and Dora Ahmed — as well as Tim Tanker and Lipgloss Crisis herself. The art, as well as one gift certificate to Three Sheets and one to Lucky Soul Tattoo, was donated to be raffled off in between the band sets. But first, it will be on display until the next Art in the Back Show” on Feb. 11.

Lipgloss Crisis

“Bloodletting.”

Grit Rhythm, the first band to play on Saturday night, was a four-piece that barely stopped to rest in between songs, putting their energy into an intense, bluesy, vocally strong set of tunes delivered by Rhone on vocals and harmonica, Michael Colavolpe on guitar, Andrew Dapkin on bass, and Nick D’Errico on drums. The aforementioned cover of a cover — which ended up being Prince’s Purple Rain” — was especially endearing to the Three Sheets crowd. This particular rendition, which began slow and lush but built to a deeper toned yet faster pace and then circled back to its original tempo, won the audience over; it was greeted with multiple shouts of yes!” and other positive affirmations.

The second band of the night, Tobacco Juice, set up almost entirely on the floor in front of the stage (except for its drummer, Colin Kavanaugh, on stage). Tobacco Juice also largely dispensed with banter, turning instead to its heavy and loyal dedication to a bluesy rock n’ roll that filled the small room and brought a steady stream of late-night newcomers to a stop so they could be a part of it.

Andre Roman and Sean Hannah exchanged vocals and guitar solos, working easily together and separately. Bassist Mike DeMauro handed his instrument over to Hannah for the final song so he could take the mic and bring Cream’s Tales of Brave Ulysses” to life vocally while the rest of the band created the intricate and intense sounds that made the tune a show stopper. When his vocal part was done, DeMauro took a seat to the side and let the band finish the tale. The set ended with cheers and smiles all around.

The end of Ulysses’s journey has been told again and again. We know what it is. The rest of us, well, we’re not so sure what lies ahead. Luckily, we have art, music, companions, and events such as these to help us make it more tolerable — and beautiful.

The Art in the Back, Music in the Front series is held the second Saturday of every month at Three Sheets on Elm Street. The next event is scheduled for February 11 and features the music of Olive Tiger and Glambat as well as art from Dionel Altreche, Courtney Tracy, David Gagné, Matt Fantastic, Evād Art, Emily Rose Alderman, and (in full disclosure) this reporter. If you are interested in being considered to contribute artwork to a show in the future, please contact Sara Scranton at [email protected].

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