Denton, 2.19.2025

The second Joan of Bark Presents event at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios fell on a night even colder than the Smothered show the previous weekend -- after which that band had to bail from a previously booked show because all the members were sick; hope they're all recovered in time to play their She-Rock 2025 date at Gloves on March 1. Temperatures in the teens meant that there was practically nothing on the road between Fort Worth and Denton, so we had time to kill after picking up Larry the Animals Mistaken for Monsters video guy. (Larry's videos from Joan of Bark events, combined with Stephen Lucas' audio recordings, now have a YouTube channel of their own. Check it!)

Ogonosu is the performing alias of Dentonite Taylor Collins, whose performance at Fort Worth's Grackle Art Gallery a couple of months ago I missed -- my loss. On this occasion, Collins started out with an acoustic piano sound, playing an elegiac etude that gradually, organically, began to morph into synthesized sound, achieved a peak of intensity, then morphed back. Later, Collins said that he'd included more tension in the piece than usual because "people seem to like that" -- perhaps, I suggested, a reflection of the times in which we live. It was a centering, meditative set, and a good entree into the evening. 

When we saw Houston's El Mantis at New Media Contemporary in Dallas back in May, they'd just gone from a trio to a quintet, and their performance was a little tentative. (Their double live CD is a worthy document of this transition.) Now, with a few more months of playing together under their belts, and with Aubrey Seaton's always on-point sound mix, they sounded much more cohesive, and were able to play with abandon. 

Their unlikely mix of influences -- psychedelic rock, salsa, free jazz -- is seamless and stirring, like Meridian Brothers on acid, or "Latin rock" that's closer to Afro-Caribbean roots, with Sonny Sharrock rather than Carlos Santana as a sonic signifier. Drummer-leader Angel Garcia mixes up a heady brew of rhythms and vocalizes operatically, while Mark Medina adds folkloric textures on flute and percussion. Andrew Martinez (Ak'Chamel) also sings and provides the melodic/harmonic framework, switching between hollowbody Gretsch and electric standup bass, abetted by Jeremy Nuncio on keys. Danny Kamins on alto blows pure '60s fire music, channeling the spirits of Trane, Pharaoh, Ayler and Dolphy while remaining resolutely his own guy. He says that El Mantis' set was basically their new album, which is already in the can. Can't wait to hear. Till then there's this. 

Closing set was by an all-star percussion trio comprising Ellie Alonzo (Sunbuzzed), Chelsey Danielle (Helium Queens, Pearl Earl), and Stefan Gonzalez (Trio Glossia, FireLife Trio). Alonzo applied electronic treatments to a floor tom and small instruments. Danielle effectively fronted the band, freestyling verse like a beatnik poet while playing bongos, a cymbal, and small instruments including finger cymbals and a kalimba. Gonzalez played a full kit, employing a lighter attack than usual and listening attentively to the other musicians. "I'm walking and moving to the beat of my own drum," Danielle chanted, later asking, "Did the beat guide you home? Are you alright? Am I alright? Are we alright? Do we have a democracy?" A closing catharsis for an exceptionally well paced evening of expression. Next Joan of Bark Presents is March 12. Don't you dare miss it.