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REVIEW: The Cave Singers bring mid-week revelry to Club 9ONE9

The ghosts of Rifflandia past and future take to the stage at 9ONE9.
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The Cave Singers' Pete Quirk and Derek Fudesco at Club 9ONE9, Wed., July 18.

Mid-week concerts are a mixed blessing.  While those who attended Wednesday night's Cave Singers show were undoubtedly slower to rise on Thursday morning, we did so with a giddy, groggy, glee that only live music can evoke.  On Wednesday night, we were introduced the ghost of Rifflandia past--The Cave Singers played two sets at last year's proceedings-- and the ghost of Rifflandia future, as openers Bonehoof are set to play their first Rifflandia this year; needless to say, it was a very good night indeed.

 

Bonehoof started the evening off with a bang.  Having seen this band several times over the past year, it is startling to witness the speed of their evolution.  As the four piece eased their way into a dynamic and tightly woven set, it became consummately clear that Bonehoof is comprised of intensely devoted musicians. Drawing from a multitude of musical genres and periods with ease, Bonehoof is a veritable pastiche of all that is good in music. From opener "Paris Rain", to the crescendo peak of the chilling, closer "Peggy Powler", the band gained momentum though they started off at a full gallop; Bonehoof is clearly a band to watch.

 

The bar having been raised by their opener, The Cave Singers quickly set to work on a lively and intensely  impassioned set to counter the rather bleak subject matter of their newest album, No Witch, from which they primarily drew.  Lead singer Pete Quirk led a near capacity crowd into frenzied hand claps and foot stomps with the expressive delivery of his high pitched and raspy lines, shrugging off all his North-Western sadness and trampling it with impromptu dance steps.  The Cave Singers' set made us forget about the time, and forget about the impending Thursday morning that awaited us, well into the encore.