Karen Ponzio Photos
Crippled Earn
On Friday one of the first truly summer-like days led into one of the first truly hot shows of the summer season at Three Sheets on Elm Street. Three bands, each with a heavy sound but distinctly different in how they delivered it, gathered at the bar to get everyone more than warmed up for the months ahead.
Three Sheets was coming off a heavy metal happy hour with tunes playing before the show from many old favorites including Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, and Dio. The crowd was consistent and the outdoor patio was the place to be to watch the jagged pink sky lean into the gray and lead everyone into the night ahead.
The first band to the stage — though only their drummer remained on stage for the entire set — was Crippled Earn from the Bronx. Vocalist Tyler Guida thanked the other bands for letting Earn “sneak in” on the bill, but along with Will Romeo and Jerry Joseph on guitars, Gino Romeo on drums, and Phil Wasinovitz on bass there was no more sneaking around for this band. The musicians launched hard and fast into a punk-powered high-energy set of rock that stayed loud but also delivered lyrics that lingered on songs such as “World Without Religion” and “The Lack Thereof,” the band’s newest single. Guida barely stayed still for a second throughout the set, bringing himself and his growling vocals right to the crowd and then back to his bandmates again, the audience slowly building as the set progressed. By the time it was over everyone was ready to keep rocking.
The second act, New Haven’s own Pinto Graham, also delivered a definitive hard and heavy sound, primarily of the bluesy southern rock variety with a little psychedelia for good measure (the swirling crystal lights through the bass drum added to that aesthetic). The trio — Andre Roman on guitar and vocals, Ant Reckart on bass and vocals, and Brian Harris on drums — were as tight as any band I have seen in recent times, and although the music was undoubtedly loud it was also melodic and mesmerizing. The crowd, which was still growing strong but stayed somewhat back, stood enraptured by these musicians, whose songs included “The Creeper” and “High Flyer” off their album Uno from last year, as well as “Sleeping Giant,” which was included in last year’s compilation It Came From Connecticut Volume Three. The crowd was way past warmed up. It was getting pretty hot.
The final act of the night was New Haven’s Bone Church, a band many during the evening were heard to mention that they could not wait to see. The room seemed to fill to capacity for this five-member band consisting of Jack Rune on vocals, Dan Sefcik and Nick Firine on guitars, Pat Good on bass and Rob Sickinger in drums. Standing in front of the drums onstage while the rest of band played from the floor, Rune presided over the set like a preacher delivering the good word of riff-laden metal rock with just enough of the blues in his voice to soften the edges. Make no mistake — this set was loud and dense, though Sefcik’s deft solos were almost like a delicate dance at times, and kept this crowd head banging, body thrashing, and having a wild ride.
Bone Church
Yes, drinks were spilled and bodies crushed into one another in the front of the stage, but to be honest, it felt as if it was filled with love and kinship, and at that point the coolness of the ice that landed on my skin felt pretty damned good. “Altered States” was not just the name of one of Bone Church’s songs; it was really what the entire set felt like at this point, a collective cohesion of friends and music fans celebrating the end of the week and the beginning of another season. The band left the stage in a hail of applause and cheers. I think we can now say summer is officially here.
