Karen Ponzio Photos
Stephen Gritz King.
“Are you with me?” said New Haven musician Stephen Gritz King. “No time like the present.”
The present was Thursday night, and Thursday night was the first musical performance from At Home In New Haven, a new virtual stage that began operations on Monday, May 4.
King was the first of three acts to play on this night, the other two being Frederic Anthony and Patrick Dalton. Each act played from their own space and was broadcast via Zoom.
Paul Bryant Hudson, a co-organizer of AHINH and a frequent collaborator with King, welcomed viewers (participating via Zoom) before switching the screen over to King, also letting them know he had the ability to share their cameras. He said if anyone wanted to shoot him a message he would do that. “I think Gritz would appreciate some friendly faces,” Hudson said.
Two screens were shared and King did indeed appreciate it. “I usually like to have crowd participation,” he said. “I’ll have to trust you’re participating.”
King spent his set not only rolling through a wealth of fun, sweet, and sexy selections from his two EPs — including his most recent, Morning Music, which was released in April — but also telling the viewers what each song was about. There was “Ready,” which he said was “for my people who are always late,” and “Let’s Go to the Movies,” about which he said “the whole premise is ‘I know you’re mad at me, but it’s five-dollar Tuesday and the Sour Patch Kids are on me,’ and you’re trying to get to a good space.” King alternated between his saxophone and keyboards — sometimes within the same song — and the occasional vocals. “I am not really a singer,” he said, though one would not know that from his soulful renditions.
He easily got viewers interacting. Those on screen snapped their fingers and sang along when he asked them to, and he got many a shout out and cheers via the Zoom chat area. He played a quick round of Name That Song that garnered more than a few laughs, but also got serious when right before the song “Black Art,” he told the audience “Know your worth, you’re worth a lot. My black and brown people, know your worth. We love you.”
His final song, “Spread Your Wings,” conveyed the feeling of floating in a dream, and when he asked everyone to sing along with the lines “spread your wings, but just don’t fly away,” it was as if we were all making a promise to one another. King asked that everyone be taken off mute after he was done so he could thank and interact with them. He voiced his appreciation as well as encouragement.
“Don’t let this quarantine stop you,” he implored. “Don’t let the Covid stop you.”
Frederic Anthony.
The next show featured singer and musician Frederic Anthony, who first appeared on camera alone and smiling among a set of bright lights, then revealed himself to be playing with three others, including S.G. Carlson (who is recording Anthony’s new album) on drums and his friends Travis and Sean on bass and keyboards — all safely distanced from each other and all wearing masks except for Anthony, on vocals and guitar. The set was short, four songs in all, including “Crazy,” a recently released rock and roll blast of high-octane energy, and “Last Kiss,” a cover of the song made famous by The Cavaliers and famously covered by Pearl Jam. Thought brief, the set was garage rock fabulous and fun, with Anthony often coming up close to the camera, peeking out over his sunglasses and interacting with the viewers. The final song, one that Anthony said had not been released yet, had a “House of the Rising Sun” feel to it interspersed with enough intensity to whet our appetites for more of the same.
“I love all of you,” Anthony said. “I love this so much. I haven’t played in three months. This is so exciting.”
The final show of the night belonged to singer songwriter Patrick Dalton, who mesmerized viewers with his mix of well-loved originals and carefully selected covers. After a sound check with Hudson, Dalton thanked everyone for their patience. “It’s weird to be on a webcam when you want to be on a stage,” he said, “but I’m happy to be here and be invited, so let’s get going.”
After beginning with the glorious fingerpicking blues of “Charred Glory,” from the album Home by his band The Proud Flesh, he changed his screen so he could see the viewers.
“I see some familiar names,” he said, ”and some people I’m related to.” Later in the set he played a cover his brother requested — “Motion Picture Song” by David Dondero — and also played stunning versions of The Kinks’ “Stranger” and “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake, as well as “Green Green Rocky Road,” which he said he “learned from Dave Van Ronk.”
Patrick Dalton.
He of course played many a Proud Flesh tune, including favorites “Fanfare for the Pathetic Loser” and “Company Man” as well as one from the band’s yet to be released new album. He also shouted out and thanked The Arts Council, noting that the virtual ticket proceeds for this show were going to the New Haven Creative Sector Relief Fund, which he said “helped me me out of a jam when this thing started and I know they are helping others.”
His Proud Flesh bandmate and friend Alex Burnet was also a recipient, and Dalton noted that Burnet “is such a proactive dude that he made a compilation I’m proud to be a part of. Dalton then performed his contribution to that album, “Picking Up After the Lord,” which he said was a “bit of a departure from what I do” after being “stuck inside messing around with Ableton.” With a more electronic sound combined with a heavy dose of soulfulness and Dalton’s trademark poetic and poignant lyricism, the tune is destined to become another New Haven-born classic.
The comments on the chat were rousingly appreciative of Dalton and his music. “Beautiful end to my night,” Hudson typed. “Can we do this, like, every night?”
Dalton expressed similar sentiments. “It’s been a blast,” he said when his set was over. “I hope to do it again.”
Hudson came back on screen and responded: “The idea is for us to figure out what’s next, to keep it going. Everyone stay tuned.”
There are eight more musical performances planned over the next three days, New Haven. If you are missing live music, you know what to do.
For more schedules of upcoming shows and to register for any of them, please visit the At Home in New Haven website.
