Backwoods Gothic and Glam Metal – Bella’s Bartok and The Dust Bowl Fairies

BACKWOODS GOTHIC AND GLAM METAL – Bella’s Bartok and Dust Bowl Faeries at Lark Hall – by Dean Giagni

When you search Bella’s Bartok online, the keyword that comes up over and over again is “folk” but when you visit their Facebook it emphatically states “not a folk band”. I definitely heard a little bit of folk last night, but what I didn’t expect to hear was so much metal. Fronted by homunculus made of equal parts Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper with a dash of Mick Jagger thrown in and a washboard strumming pixie hippie channeling Karla DeVito, Bella’s Bartok at its core has an amazing hard rock power trio supporting all of the bizarre antics and musical choices.

Pleading that he can’t see very well, lead singer Asher Putnam quickly asked everyone in the audience to come up come closer to the stage so he could feed off their energy. With black kohl eye makeup and an all-black outfit resembling a negative version of Freddie Mercury, Putnam gracefully pranced and shuffled his way across the stage, knowing exactly where to put his face in the limelight for maximum dramatic effect, occasionally adding his own flourishes of acoustic guitar. Second vocalist, Julia Posen on washboard and a tiny little symbol was equally impressive; her powerful voice remining strong and constant while being in constant motion, dancing and stomping with the music. Even with so much going on stage; five pieces playing simultaneously, the sound was tight, funky and crystal clear. This is a band that can make a lot of loud and heavy noise without sounding muddled, mixing blues, hard rock and metal flourishes complementing the Eastern European melodies and sensibilities. I found myself being surprised over and over again by the sneaky but appropriately heavy metal shredding of guitarist Chris “Fancy” Kerrigan. Leading from behind, or should I say stage right, bassist Dan Niederhauser formed an amazing rhythm unit with the heavy hitting drummer Crisco (yes, you read that right) who sported black tears Wednesday Adams style eye make-up. The metal influences could not be denied in the sound, but also in Niederhauser’s amazing head banging, his giant head of hair in constant motion

The highlight of the show was the band’s epic song “Strange Ones”, talking not only about their themselves, but the audience. Going through multiple parts and theatrical changes, the song was epic and dramatic recalling some of the best elements of arena glam rock.

I ran into Dust Bowl Faeries’ lead singer Ryder Cooley outside the venue and said hello. She related she was having parking issues and I thought, “how could such an ethereal creature ever have to deal with parking a car?” Even on the street out in front of Lark Hall, she stood out as a Victorian folly, a dark iron statue covered in filigree. A magical creature not of this world.

Less than 5 minutes later she appeared on stage, joined at the neck to her spirit animal, Hazel, the taxidermy goat. Immediately setting the stage for backwoods Gothic weirdness, Cooley open the show with the evocative sound of a bow being dragged across a musical saw. She quickly shed the husk of Hazel for her second signature spiritual signifier, her wings; and morphed into the dark angel of black velvet draped cemetery music that we’ve all come to know. But it is her sharp diction and precise phrasing that makes Dust Bowl Fairies a transformative experience. Employing the weird, treacly voice of a little girl telling a horror story to her dolls, Ryder plays it straight, not kitsch. She uses her voice like a cast of actors and actresses, shifting modes and emotions, complimenting the creepy, hurdy, gurdy sound of her accordion playing. Like Morticia Adams, you wouldn’t be surprised to see her cut the head off of a Barbie doll to improve it.

One of my favorite songs of the evening, and a thing I admire in an artist or musician especially; is the ability to take a relatively simple, innocuous idea and somehow mine it into a serious, dramatic presentation that will have you laughing and smiling at the same time. “Bad Bun” comes off like an epic poem. Introduced as a seemingly innocent story of adopting distressed rabbit, it twists into a horrific recounting of how an “innocent” homeless pet, a mere fluffy bunny became a monster rivaling the rabbit of Caerbannog in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The fuzzy tyrant taking over their house, biting, kicking, scratching and attacking their other animals. This is all presented with a straight face – gravitas with the occasional wink, like something out of a Cormac McCarthy novel.

The crowd for both bands was passionate and enthusiastic with a lot of dancing. A cozy, creepy and cathartic time was had by all.

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