Coming of Age in New Haven: Telescreens at Toad's Place
Just a couple weeks ago, I was at Toad's Place covering punk legends Social Distortion. And on August 6, I was back in the storied venue to catch an opener that had wandered an hour or so north of NYC's alt-rock scene.
Telescreens are regulars at the City's music halls, with unforgettable nights notched at Webster Hall, Bowery Ballroom, and Irving Plaza (one of which they shared with Cab Ellis).
Toad's hosted this midweek show for a smaller crowd, with tables and chairs loosely arranged on either side of the stage. The room skewed noticeably younger, so much so that the band got carded cashing in their drink tickets after the set. So why open in a small room outside your home turf, to a crowd that may not know your distinct brand of rock and roll? Quite possibly a brush-up before the coast-to-coast tour that kicks off next month.
What started as Hamm’s project in 2016 is having a coming-of-age moment ten years later. Joined by Austin Brenner on bass, Josiah Valerius on keys/synth, and Oliver Graf on drums, frontman and guitarist Jackson Hamm delivered an electric opening set, working the whole stage. The crowd matched his energy, dancing and drenched in the sweat of a hot August night.
As the opener, I imagine not everyone in the room came to see them, but by the end it felt like Telescreens had won the whole place over.
As they moved into their last song, Hamm went to each band member and whispered a cue for how they would close the night. That turned out to be “Nothing", my favorite song off their latest album Why The Lights Flicker, released just two months prior. This one song alone could bring a NYC room to life, but tonight the Connecticut crowd was more subdued, maybe a bit more locked into absorbing this new sound.
And what do they sound like? I thought for a couple days on this following the show. There is something transcendental about Telescreens' music: nostalgic and yet incredibly self-aware. The songwriting is conscious of, and often alludes to the messiness of life in the world today, one that feels like an endless scroll through cultural moments. Yep, that's about as close as I can get.
It’s fitting that Hamm had taken the stage that night in a vintage ringer tee, the strings on his red Gibson left untrimmed from its most recent tune-up. Tonight’s set could have easily soundtracked a movie. Perhaps, some indie flick that dissects heavy topics of relationships and grief, yet somehow the main character still finds hope and encouragement, pouring out his heart from the stage among friends.
After their set, I chatted with the band members at the merch table. They were so down to earth, each introducing themselves by name before I could offer mine. We connected over mutuals in the NYC scene, and I told them when I heard they would be here in Connecticut, I had to come show support.
Of course I had to plug Norwalk’s District Music Hall, a room they could easily sell out, with its music-loving demographic of twenty and thirty somethings (and this forty something), who commute daily to the City and live in both music scenes.
The band kicks off their U.S. tour next month, hitting both coasts and major cities in between. I have included the full list of dates below. I can't recommend this band enough. They will end the fall run at home in NYC, at their beloved Bowery Ballroom, for two nights on October 23 and 24.
Those NYC shows will almost certainly sell out, so I would secure tickets now. I can't promise every room on this tour will be packed, but the NYC show may be one of the best you catch all year!
