Club d’Elf
25th Anniversary Tour
Story and Photography By Joshua Touster
Club d’Elf
2023-02-22
25th Anniversary Tour
Lizard Lounge, Cambridge MA
Never have I witnessed a band and venue as simpatico with one another as when Club d’Elf is playing the Lizard Lounge. The musical greatness I have heard and seen by that band, in that room, has been truly mind-altering. And this past Wednesday was no exception.
Club d’Elf is the brain child of bassist and sintir player Mike Rivard. Along with mainstay drummer Dean (Dux) Johnston, d'Elf is made up of an ever revolving cast of musicians; singers, dancers, percussionists, guitarists, horn players, and dj’s on turntable, and you never quite know what you might be in store for on any given night. Rivard envisioned a band that wasn't built around the specificity and spotlight that frontmen usually demand, but one that would follow spontaneous cinematic soundscapes created by each member of the collective. And their sound...a complex combination of Trance, improvisational jazz, Frank Zappa, and Moroccan music, in particular the music of the Gnawa, a pre-Arabic culture in North Africa. And on this night they even threw in a few tunes by Jeff Beck and Curtis Mayfield!
Cast of characters...
Mike Rivard-Bass and Sintir
Dean Johnston- Drums
Duke Levine- Guitar
Kevin Barry- Guitar and Lapsteel
Mr. Rourke-Turntables
Paul Schultheis-Keys
