Photo Gallery: Bright Dog Red, TV Doctors, and Sound For @ No Fun, 03/30/2023

By Rudy Lu On Apr 1, 2023

The tagline for the evening was, “If you wonder what we sound like. We do too. There are no setlists. All performances are improvised.” This was a direct quote from the headliner Bright Dog Red but was at least partially true for three acts curated by the Super Dark Collective at No Fun in Troy.

Bright Dog Red is an Albany-based but nationally recognized improvising collective of rotating musicians. Their recordings can be found on the jazz label Ropeadope. For this performance, the band consisted of leader Joe Pignato on drums, Cody Davies- on the computer, Tyreek Jackson – on guitar, Tony Berman-upright bass, and Cully-poetry freestyling. Their performance featured many elements, including electronica, free jazz, fusion, and funk, all driven by a funky beat laid down by Pignato, who was often smiling, observing the results of the groove he was laying down. Tyreek either laid back or played blazing leads with a lot of joy. Cody Davies added notationless color to the mix. Tony Berman’s phat bass lines anchored the band’s movements and kept them from taking off into too many places. Cully’s freestyling added a bit of spoken word to the mix. The meld of these different elements had many disappointingly small audiences closing their eyes and grooving to the beat.

Despite being listed as second on the bill, local favorites the TV Doctors opened the show after a complicated, lengthy setup. Guitarist Josh Wittmert sporting a white lab coat, quipped, “ We are doctors, but we are not licensed.” Guitarist Josh Wittner and bassist Evan Conway had banks of stomp boxes to operate and synchronize. The minute they started playing, you realized those boxes helped refine their sound. The TV Doctors were all instrumental and laid down some interesting grooves. Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone from the Sun ”, “Goldfinger,” “007 Theme,” and Bob Marley’s “Them Belly Full” were recognizable among the jams they played. Evan Conway was the opposite of the stereotype of a bass player, not standing quietly in the background but frequently dancing to the beat of Bob Morris’ drums.

Sound For played a brief set of industrial rock. The quartet consisted of guitar, computer, bass, and drums.

An interesting night of improvised music. All in downtown Troy on a Thursday night.