Club d'Elf returns for another groovy Halloween. Costumes encouraged!
What begins as a groove in Club d’Elf’s world often becomes a doorway into someplace older, stranger and unshackled by time. The band has spent twenty seven years helping audiences lose track of time with its shape-shifting fusion of Moroccan trance, dub, electronica, jazz and improvised funk. Built around bassist and composer Mike Rivard, each performance features a rotating cast drawn from Boston, New York and beyond, creating a constantly shifting ecosystem where trance forms the central core of the band’s aesthetic. Under longtime member and Casablanca native Brahim Fribgane, the group absorbed Moroccan trance music deeply into its DNA. Fribgane passed away in early 2024, but his spirit remains embedded in the band’s sound, especially through Rivard’s commanding sintir work, learned under the guidance of Fribgane and Gnawa masters Hassan Hakmoun and Mahmoud Guinia.
Their new album, Loon and Thrush, recorded entirely live in the studio with minimal overdubs, channels that lineage into a raw, improvisatory flight. While largely built on Rivard originals, the album continues the band’s tradition of honoring key influences, offering Moroccan-infused takes on Grateful Dead classics “Bird Song” and “New Speedway Boogie.” The overarching theme of the record is “flight” itself — the avian imagery of the title track, the Dead’s celestial wanderings, and the enduring presence of Fribgane, whose spirit continues to guide the music from beyond.
with special guest Scott Metzger
“…an ace guitarist of a thousand styles.” – Village Voice
Scott Metzger, guitarist for the critically acclaimed and increasingly popular Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, has performed, recorded, and toured with artists including: John Mayer, John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Nels Cline, Anders Osborne, Phil Lesh, Shooter Jennings, LaLa Brooks (of the world famous Crystals), & many others from a variety of genres. His overall approach is aimed at serving the integrity of the song & group while expressing his unique voice through his guitar. His style combines a lyrical, melodic sound and sensibility that shows a deep understanding of the instrument’s history, while at the same time has an edginess that is unmistakably Metzger’s own.
