Indie Scene Feels The Bern

Sam Carlson looked up from his drumset, rolling his neck with the last beats of Ports of Spain’s second song of the night. A dance party that had broken out to the left of the stage showed no sign of stopping. Its three members waved their arms in the air after the last cymbal clash, a final chord. Guitarist Ilya Gitelman flashed them a smile. At the back of the room, DIY Checkpoint’s Brian Springsteen grinned widely, counting a wad of cash in his left hand.

People were having fun. Newly-branded G‑Bot was on tap. Bernie was, at least in spirit, very much in the house. It was shaping up to be a very good night.

“But seriously,” Carlson said. ​“Bernie … he’s a progressive, and the only people in our country who have made a positive change in office, regardless of party, have all been progressives. He could be the next one, so vote for him.”

Carlson and Gitelman, who make up indie wet dream Ports of Spain, were helping round out a raucous energy‑, humor‑, and activism-filled evening Saturday at the Ballroom at the Outer Space, where CT Progressives and DIY Checkpoint came together for ​“Weekend at Bernie’s,” a six-hour, six-band fundraiser for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

Drawing around 80 attendees, the event raised close to $800 for the campaign. Volunteers registered around 20 voters in between sets. 

The idea for the fundraiser first came to Nick Smith, a West Haven property manager who has become a vocal volunteer and organizer with CT Progressives, when he realized how much he and Springsteen see eye-to-eye on not just politics, but music as well. If the Clinton campaign could show its true colors by having a Connecticut fundraiser that was $2700 a head, why couldn’t he do the same unofficially for Sanders?

“What I realized for tonight is that the DIY aspect of booking shows goes with the DIY aspect of community organizing,” he said at the event.

“I’m the last person you would expect to be politically motivated,” he added. ​“I was excited about Obama in 2008, and … when it seemed to me that he didn’t fight for universal health care as hard as he could, I got very apathetic and disillusioned. It wasn’t until 2008, when Bernie was doing his filibuster … that I really started to notice who he was. Since then I’ve been following him … I’ve kind of had to learn as I’m going. I’ve found that it’s not that difficult to get involved with this type of stuff, but it is absolutely necessary.”

Inside the ballroom, volunteers set up tables with computers, buttons, and Bernie Sanders stickers.

“I think this is an important election in terms of how far apart things feel for the direction of the country,” Violent Mae​’s Floyd Kellogg said, adding that participating in the fundraiser was a fast and easy ​“yes” for him and virtuosic bandmate Becky Kessler. ​“It’s scary. That feeling … when I watch the Trump stuff is a little frightening. I need to stop checking in with that shit and start looking at what Bernie is saying.”

Moments before, they had brought the house to its feet with songs off their new album Kid. Now they were mingling with Matthew Matis and Bonita Yarboro, nodding vigorously as the latter, the head of the Bernie Sanders Connecticut team, advocated for Sanders’ take on income inequality. ​“It’s been a really good night,” the Morris Cove resident said. ​“I want someone who is in the White House working for middle and lower-class people. Lower-income people. People who don’t really have voices.”

“The event’s been really successful,” Matis, a member of CT Progressives, added. ​“We need to fight apathy among young voters.”

At the edge of the table, as if on cue, another new voter stepped up to the computer to register online (here’s how), his face illuminated by the white light of the computer screen.

Bands shared the message to get out and vote, voicing their support for Sanders between songs. They included Polluter, Rusty Things, Lady Liz + Chris deAngelis & Tim Walsh, and The Wool Hats.

“I’m excited about how the event went,” Springsteen said by phone on Sunday. ​“It was great to have Bernie supporters meet each other, come out, and sign up.” The event is the first, he added, of many collaborations to come later this spring.