Karen Ponzio Photos.
That Virginia at Witch Bitch Thrift.
The Black Box at Witch Bitch Thrift echoed with music, laughter, and an ever-present sense of community as AcoustiQueers made its premiere at the event space on Saturday night. A series that — according to Witch Bitch’s social media post, “creates an intimate space to celebrate queer music and queer joy” — was started by artist Eli Wood in New York City in 2017. After playing one of those events, the store’s co-owner and musician Virginia Semighini received permission to bring the series to Connecticut, where it ran until 2018. With the evolution of the Whitney Avenue thrift store to now include an event space, the series is being revived and, on this evening, features Semeghini, the New Haven-based trio Untold Joys, and a solo performance by Olive Tiger.
With a floor dotted with red, grey, and turquoise cushions for attendees to use, in addition to the couches and chairs that are always there, the Black Box welcomed audience members to arrange themselves in a way that gave the space a family room feel, as if one had invited their friends over for a listening party. The mood was kept informal, freeing, and, in the Witch Bitch tradition, super fun.
“Is there a Mike in the room?” asked co-owner Eva Ray twice from the stage as Semeghini prepared her equipment. “This has been a mic check,” she then said as she left the stage, which caused the room to erupt in laughter and applause.
A short time later Ray came back as the MC of the evening to welcome everyone, speaking about how they had been dreaming about events for the space. and that this one in particular was at the forefront of what they wanted to present. They then introduced Semeghini as “near and dear to her heart,” noting that she had stopped performing as That Virginia to concentrate on the business, but since coming back to it for this event, sounded “just as amazing as ever.”
As blue, pink, and yellow lights formed a lava-lamp like splash of color on the screen behind her, Semeghini began with “Seeds of Healing,” an a cappella performance that showcased her vocal range as well as her lyrical prowess: “Less focus on walls, more light on the fact that we have lived so long under some sort of contract. We’re born to live up to expectations, but we won’t grow unless you bless us with your patience.”
After receiving rousing applause and cheers, she told the audience how strange she felt to see parts of her worlds “colliding” as she performed her music in her store. “It feels really cool to be colliding,” she said.
The rest of the set continued with Semeghini adding guitar to selections from her 2017 EP Record Labor, including “Take the Blame.” She called that song an “angry one,” but in her nurturing hands, it felt triumphant, focusing more on the strength gathered to leave a relationship that no longer serves you. “Tropical,” which she said she wrote when she was “really cold,” saw the Brazilian – born and raised singer celebrating her body and its warmth which lyrics such as “my essence tastes like papaya when it’s ripe and I speak with the sweetness of fresh juice. My body is tropical.”
Semeghini referenced her roots once more as she ended her set asking the audience if they were “down to learn Brazilian rhythms.” She readied a song she said was about “beauty and connection, which is what this is all about.” Everyone joined in with gusto when she instructed them to come in with their clapping. She sped up her strumming and the crowd more than met the challenge to keep up, a rather apt way to celebrate presence and set the vibe for the rest of the night.
Untold Joys came to the stage from the side door with bassist/vocalist Colin Anderson playing a ukulele and singing. They led the rest of the band as they settled on to the stage. Guitarist/vocalist Violet Falkowski added harmonies and percussionist Melody McCarthy brought in cajon in as well. The trio lived up to its name as it soared through an energetic and ecstatic set of delectable pop-punctuated songs — some from their soon to be released new album, that made you wish you could go out and buy it immediately and learn all the lyrics to sing along.
Each and every song raised the bar — from “Forgot To Mention,” which had many in the audience swaying along, to “Cecelia,” which Falkowski said was one of the first songs she and Anderson had written together and showcased their heavenly harmonies. When performing “Turn Your Heart on Like a Lever,” they sang “did you cry?” Someone yelled out “yeah!” and everybody laughed.
“We haven’t done this since we moved to CT,” said Anderson. “It’s something we need to do more, and I think I speak for everyone when I say this has been an absolute dream.” They also said they couldn’t wait to come back.
“How about tomorrow?” Semeghini asked from her seat next to the front of the stage, and many cheered. After the final song, an audience member screamed “I’m obsessed!” and Ray added from the stage “I’m obsessed too.”
The final performer of the evening, Olive Tiger, called Untold Joys “a balm for my weary soul.” Many may have called her the same. She performing her set with the room mostly darkened except for a kaleidoscope-like bath of light projected on the screen from the stage below. It framed Olive, playing solo on this evening, in a dreamy angelic beam.
Semeghini had mentioned earlier that having Olive at this event was a “full circle moment,” as she had performed at the very first AcoustiQueers in CT back in 2017. Olive expressed her gratitude for being there in the space, which she called “freaking awesome” and added to the “good vibe” by asking everyone to say hi to their neighbor if they hadn’t met them already.
Beginning on cello and adding vocals, Olive brought an almost meditative mood to the room, switching from bow to plucking and strumming that mesmerized the crowd.
Asking the audience if they wanted another “sad breakup song” — to which they answered “yes” — Olive then switched to guitar for “Crooked,” with the lyrics “I don’t even want to be in love with you, don’t want to lose myself” resonating throughout the room along with the lush instrumentation.
“Until My Body Breaks” saw Olive pick up the cello again, calling it “one of the purest love songs I’ve ever written.”
“I love this one,” Semeghini added.
You could hear the proverbial pin drop as she sang “lay your head, rest easy in this vow, I will love you beyond what life allows.”
She planned on ending the set with “The Choir,” a song she said took three years to finish. The crowd encouraged her to do one more, a “silly song” called “Cosmic Shrug” that she added was “as silly as a song about existentialism can be.” This one had not only guitar accompaniment, but also kazoo. Olive then asked the audience to add in their own version of kazoo along with them, using their voices to create a similar type of sound.
“The more chaotic it sounds, the better,” she added.
The set ended with a room full of mouth kazooing, laughter, and even a scream of joy from Semeghini. Though the show was over, it seemed as if something else had just begun.
For more information about events at the Black Box please visit the Witch Bitch Thrift website where you can sign up for their newsletter, or follow their accounts on Instagram.
