I Just Read About That…

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 2, 2024] Joseph Keckler

I saw Joseph Keckler open for Sleater-Kinney five years ago.  It was a great and memorable performance:

The short version is that he has an utterly amazing voice.  It is deep and rich and operatic and I can honestly say I have never been in the presence of someone who could sing like that before.

But he doesn’t sing opera.  Well, he does, sort of.

He came out on stage and didn’t introduce himself.  He asked us how we were doing and then said that he wasn’t doing great.  Then he turned on a laptop and played a musical motif and he began to sing in beautiful Italian.  The video screen behind him projected the translation of the words.  And they were hilarious.

It was a song about going to a party and eating shroom-laced chocolate.  Then walking home and wanting to kill himself until he remembered he had to brush his teeth.  It is called, naturally enough “Shroom Trip Opera.”

I saw that he was touring and then I was shocked that he was playing in Frenchtown (not all that far from me).  I was thrilled to discover there was a performance space closer than Philly.  So he introduced me to this location as well.

ArtYard is a cultural campus and this theater opened in May 2021 (ouch, on the timing).

Who has played at ArtYard?

A lot of emerging musicians I have heard of but don’t know a ton about like Zoe Keating, Martha Redbone, Madison McFerrin and Red Baraat will be there in March.

I’m very excited to have learned of this place!

And I’m bummed that we didn’t go.  Neither my wife or I was up for going out that night and my daughter was hoping we’d have a nice night in.  So we obliged.