Moon Bright

On Thursday, I was at the Monarch Tavern for an eclectic but enjoyable show. Prince Ness started early but had a good crowd. Their set reminded me a bit of the Talking Heads with a little bit of Hooded Fang from their early twee pop phase. They had a small, vocal group of fans who danced weird (this is a good thing). In my younger days, Prince Ness would probably be the sort of local, under-the-radar band I'd embraced.

It's been a while since Carmen Elle sang outside of her front-woman gig with Diana. And probably the first time I've seen her doing a solo acoustic set. But she brought all her electric guitar skills including driving chords and ring harmonics to some personal lyrics. Her assured stage presence kept the audience rapt throughout.

I saw NYC band Ava Luna opened for Warpaint a few years ago and was impressed. After tonight, and likely the most engaging set I've seen this year, I'm always bemused by which band achieve success. By any metric, the performance theatre + devo + funk energy of this band should be seen at a much larger venue than this rinky-dink (if loved) old bar. No matter the song, the drum and bass kept a complex, but tight, section. The 3 singers brought their own stylings from R'n'B to musical theatre. It was a wonderful set both musically and visually, as well as making your butt move.