Karen Ponzio Photos
Mightymoonchew.
Thursday night’s music bill on the Best Video deck in Hamden began under an ominous umbrella of dark clouds and ended in a burst of sunshine and blue, all to the soundtrack of two New Haven-based bands.
A Pallet for the Shoal initiated the proceedings between a scattering of raindrops that ceased almost as soon as they began. The duo, consisting of Clayton Eles on guitar and vocals and Lucas Healy-Hibbard on bass, settled right in with an instrumental piece that Eles said was “a groovy tune written by our groovy bass player.” The luscious bass line was met by the guitar; they melded into a solid psychedelic showpiece that had the audience moving along in their seats. They followed that up with “Our Old Ways,” after which Eles told the audience he hoped they were “enjoying the weather.”
A Pallet for the Shoal.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we hope you enjoy it,” he added as they launched into a more upbeat tune, the sky starting to clear as if in response. That song, appropriately enough, was called “Crystal Ball Skies in Our Eyes,” which Eles said was called that “because I like to make up weird combinations sometimes. It’s fun.”
Elkes then mentioned that the last three songs and the next one were on the newer side. “I have some other songs brewing … started when we were still underground during Covid. They’re still cooking. I’m not in charge of how long it takes to write them.”
That next song offered the lines “I think I’m gonna get it right / You know things are gonna work out alright”; Eles mentioned after it was over that it was dedicated to “anyone who deals with perfectionism.” Many in the audience nodded in solidarity.
The band concluded with two more songs, one a more folky yet soulful cover of Madonna’s “Borderline.” The sky was now much less gray, and the appreciative audience offered applause and cheers readily.
The second band of the night was Mightymoonchew, a trio consisting of “Mighty” on the keyboard, “Moon” on guitar and vocals, and “Chew” on drums, as introduced by Moon, a.k.a. Mooncha, who then thanked everyone for “coming out in this questionable weather. There are question marks in the sky!”
“We made this one a week ago,” they added before proceeding with their first song. “We’re gonna see what we can do with it.” That song repeated the lines “there’s some hard days ahead. There’s some hard days ahead. We’re gonna make it. We’re gonna make it. We’re gonna make it there.”
A few audience members almost immediately began to move and sing along, and Moon encouraged even more. “I know y’all can relate to this song,” they said. “It’s been difficult. Sing along!” More audience members smiled and obliged as the grayness was slowly replaced by blue skies and sunshine.
After the next song Moon acknowledged the change: “We started in Seattle and now we in California!”
They added a medley of covers, ending with “Hot in Herre” by Nelly, and many in the crowd sang and moved along, much to Moon’s encouragement and approval.
The band also played a selection of songs from its album 900 Grand, released on New Year’s Eve 2020, including “Upside Down,” “Galaga” complete with Mighty creating the sounds of aliens attacking from that beloved video game), and “Don’t Make Me.”
Moon talked about making that album in the middle of quarantine, and related to Eles’ comment about being “underground,” noting that it was “kinda great being so secluded and away from people’s opinions.”
The band also offered its latest release, “Maserati,” a song that audience members were shouting requests for earlier. “Thinking about, thinking ‘bout you baby, and I know it’s all about, ‘bout to drive you crazy,” sang Moon as the band unleashed two minutes of fiery punk funk, to everyone’s delight.
The band followed that up with one more from its album, a song called “Harder” that went hard indeed, showcasing each of the band member’s talents and creating a sexy sonic fusion you could feel in your bones. The end of the set was met with thunderous applause. The show was over, but the day almost seemed younger and the energy level higher, as many stayed to chat with both the bands and squeeze out a bit more summer fun while they still could.
