This was one great show. As the Connecticut release party of "Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy," a CD that came out two months ago, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I bought the CD, and a lot of the bands at this show were local, ones that didn't appear on the album. However, the bands rocked it that night at Toad's Place, and they played some great Mark Mulcahy covers as well as their own songs.
The lineup was as follows: The Furors, Frank Critelli, Spike Priggen, Dumptruck, Mr. Ray Neal, The Zambonis, Senator, Peacock Flounders, Boy Genius, Jounce, School for the Dead, Winterpills Chris Collingwood, Elvis Perkins, The Reducers, The Butterflies of Love, Chris Harford.
Frank Critelli (representing my hometown of Meriden) did a great cover of "She is Staggering," one of my favorite songs from Polaris, the house band of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which Mulcahy was a part of. The Zambonis came out later in Whalers jerseys and other hockey attire - they are a band that plays all songs about hockey - and were a lot of fun. I was actually excited to see them because we stopped in for a quick dinner at Yorkside Pizza next door, and they were right near us. Jounce came on later, which was exciting because the lead signer is Daniel Tamberelli, the kid who played "Little Pete" in Pete & Pete. They were actually really good, and we bought their CD afterward.
Highlight of the night: Mark Mulcahy came on stage with Jounce and Michael Maronna, who played Big Pete. I tweeted that it was a dream come true to see Big Pete, Little Pete and Mark Mulcahy all on stage. Mulcahy sang, and Maronna played guitar as they performed a Miracle Legion song. I made my way up front to take some pictures.
Some bigger names that played included Chris Collingwood, of Fountains of Wayne, and Elvis Perkins. Both are on the actual tribute album.
The crowd at the show was a little older - it was mainly made up of the people who were part of the New Haven music scene in the 1980s, back when Mulcahy was part of Miracle Legion. There were also people there my age who remembered Mulcahy from The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which was, and still is, one of my favorite shows. I went into Toad's Place around when doors opened, and there was like no one there. However, it quickly filled up, which was really nice because it meant there was a lot of support for Mulcahy, whose wife died and left him with two young twin daughters. The tribute CD and show were to support Mulcahy and make sure he can keep doing what he does best - make music. The merch table was filled with CDs, all donated from the local bands, where proceeds went straight to Mulcahy. There was also a cool silent auction with things like a signed Ramones poster, again with the proceeds going to Mulcahy.
For more about the "Ciao My Shining Star" project, check out the CD review I wrote for this blog a little while ago: "Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy."
No comments:
Post a Comment