It felt like a gift to see Claude twice just a week apart. I noticed different songs, and new things about songs I liked last time. Claude’s signature dreamy existential rock is transporting. I was carried away by the ending refrain of “Turn,” “you won’t know if I’m lying.” The first time ’round I got lost in the lyrics of “Screen.” In an introspective contemplation of digital culture. This time I noticed the instrumentation by Michael Mac (bass player) and Sean McClure (drummer) as they hit a thum, thum, thum beat together. It was so simple, but watching them as they watched each other to stay perfectly in sync made me smile.
SETLIST:
- Everything’s Great
- Reality
- Turn
- Twenty Something
- Screen
- Oh, to be
- Enactor
This is only the second time I’ve seen Sen Morimoto, but I am already excited to see hi
m in action again. SASAMI has done well to choose him to tour. He brings equal parts hype and smooth to his set, enough to get the audience hooting at his stellar sax solos. Michael Cantella on six string bass kept the groove steady with a smile. Kaina Castillo on vocals brought some truly killer solos and added to the party atmosphere with her elation. I was extra excited to watch Nnamdi Ogbonnaya get aggressive at the drum kit. I had seen Cantella play in Nnamdi’s band last year. It’s great to see musicians collaborating an supporting each other in different combinations, bringing new flavors to each others’ performances.
SETLIST:
- Sections
- Thought of you
- Cannonball
- Picture of a Painting
- I Just Spoke to Mama
- People Watching
- How it Feels
- Shouldn’t Live or Remember a Day
My first impression of SASAMI: this band is having a kick-ass kind of fun. They aren’t going to apologize or tone it down for anyone. I loved the sense of play as they charged each other. Sasami Ashworth seemed to be using her guitar like a sword–or wand, given the wizardy cape. The performance was part aggression and part silly. In all of that, they didn’t lose the thread of the music. When she sang, Ashworth was soulful, but brought a note of anger to many of the songs. It added a layer of aggression to the music, which suits the raw stripped down trio.
SETLIST:
- Morning Comes
- I Was a Window
- At Hollywood
- Not the Time
- Take Care
- Jealousy
- Free
- Adult Contemporary
- Callous
- Pacify My Heart
Claude Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Sen Morimoto Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
SASAMI Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram—
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