On Friday, November 20th, Allentown, PA’s humble Alternative Gallery was host to a special, intimate show. Scott Kelly (Neurosis) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) traveled lightly and each played solo sets as part of their East Coast tour together.
Opening the show was Adam Rothenberger, an acoustic solo act with (who briefly reunited with his old band for a number). There was also Dave Kresge from Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Air who did a set aided by his numerous pedals, lights and a PC running in the background.
Bruce Lamont then came out and using a number of pedals, an iPad, a saxophone, clarinet, guitar and voice, created a wall of sounds and loops. One could see a number of these sonic creations being a fantastic score for a western or horror movie.
After this, Scott Kelly came out, picked up his acoustic guitar and launched into material from his solo endeavors, and some Towns Van Zant covers. Lamont stayed up with him to provide some supplemental vocals. They also combined to cover Neil Young’s ‘Cortez The Killer’.
The evening was concluded with two of them collaborating to present renditions of their Corrections House songs. Their new album, Know How To Carry A Whip which also features Mike ‘IX’ Williams (Eyehategod) and Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium), was recently released and is fantastic.
Before playing his set, I had the pleasure of being able to speak to Scott. We covered a number of his musical projects, his many collaborations, Neurosis, his now-defunct radio show, Corrections House, Neurot Records, MMA, and more.
I also touched on the GoFundMe campaign, that was established to help the Kelly family as Scott’s wife has recently experienced some serious health issues. Any contribution you can make would help them to manage some of the staggering medical expenses involved.
It was a rare treat to have two musicians who are so influential and widely-respected coming to Allentown to do such a stripped down show. Those who joined me in attendance were witnesses to something special.
Interview by:
When J.J. Ellis isn’t writing as the Allentown DVD Examiner, his Decent Exposure Radio show can be heard on the air every Friday night from 10:30 to midnight (EST) on WXLV 90.3 FM. Streaming on wxlv.org and on the iHeartRadio & Tune In apps (search WXLV in app).
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