Four Bands Rage As It Ever Was

Kelly Kancyr of Corpse Flower was just doing her mic check from behind the drum kit Thursday night, but she had a message for the audience. ​“What’s up Cafe Nine?” she said. ​“New owner, still the same vibe. We love you, Cafe Nine!” So it seemed in the final days of club owner Paul Mayer’s run of the place. The club may be changing hands this weekend, when new owners Patrick Meyer, Jesse Burke, and Chris Meyer take the wheel. But it felt like just another good night of music for the live-music institution on State and Crown.

First up was Solgyres, from Storrs. The seven-member band — Skyelyn Bernier on keys and vocals, Scott Bernier on bass and vocals, Lucia Magnuson on vocals, Logan Tichnor and Jake Russell on guitars, Zach Neuneter on drum kit, and Sol Ramirez on percussion — filled Cafe Nine’s stage and pumped out a ton of energy with a strong set of originals that drew from reggae and punk to craft music that drew people in and got them moving. The two percussionists and bass created thick, driving rhythms that the guitars either augmented or played off against, creating just the right amount of chaos. Likewise, the keyboards either delivered a reggae bounce or helped create the kind of atmosphere that made the band sound even bigger than it was. Skyelyn Bernier and Lucia Magnuson, meanwhile, led the audience through it all with expertly blended harmonies and voices that easily filled the club. From each and every band member came the distinct impression that they were thrilled to be playing music with each other and for the crowd, which returned the favor with steady cheers as more people came in. 

The following ferocious set from the New Haven-based Corpse Flower — Grace Yukich on lead vocals and guitar, Sarah Dunn on vocals and bass, and Kelly Kancyr on vocals and drums — showed the band digging ever further into its sound since its first performances in the fall. Yukich’s guitar and Dunn’s bass often merged into a dank wall of sludgy distortion, through which Kancyr hammered out her heavy rhythms. Meanwhile, all three pitched their vocals high, singing at the tops of their voices and then pushing them further into screams. The resulting sound, all highs and lows with little in between, was confrontational, forcing the audience’s attention even as it was clear from the smiles on the performers’ faces that the music was often cathartic, and often fun. In between songs, all three smiled and waved to friends offstage while Yukich gave a little each song its own short introduction (“this one’s about everyone’s favorite elitist institution in Connecticut — the pool club!”). The overall effect was summed up by one audience member’s spontaneous declaration at the end of one song.

“That was so good!” she said.

Rat Bath — Fred Kenyon on vocals, Cora Bequeaith on guitar and vocals, Roísin Shields on guitar, Ivy Escobedo on bass and vocals, and Nikki Nelson on drums — then kept tearing up the place with a set of blazing punk and sly humor. 

“We came all the way from Milwaukee,” Kenyon said at the beginning of the set. ​“We’re going to play some songs and see how you feel about it.” By the sound of the audience, they felt great about it, as Rat Bath gave them workouts of songs that raged through one minute, then slowed to a menacing crawl, than exploded into bursts of frantic distortion again. Other songs had a strut that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in the 1970s or even the 1950s, but Rat Bath made sure to drench those rhythms in an up-to-the-minute punk sound. Toward the end of Rat Bath’s set, Kenyon taught the audience a singalong — ​“If you touch me again, I will take your fucking hands” — that the crowd screamed back to the band at full volume. An encore was demanded, and provided, to the delight of all.

The New Haven-based Minus Points — Julian Michaels, Paul Buzel, and Jeremy Friedler — then closed out the evening with a set of blistering originals interspersed with verbal sparring with friends from the stage. There were still people left in Cafe Nine, people who seemed not quite ready to go home. The energy the band put out was enough to bring almost everyone left in the place to the stage. Minus Points played as if the club was full. In a sense, it was.