NYS Music 20​12

Category: Reviews

  • Timbre Coup and Formula 5 at Red Square October 27

    It was the weekend before Halloween and Red Square was decked with decorations galore.  The bar was hosting two of Albany’s favorite young up and coming bands for the Halloween celebration – Timbre Coup and Formula 5. Formula 5 got the party started with their signature Phish style jams. All dressed in white lab coats, it was obvious throughout the show they were having fun on stage playing off each other in and out of every song. The talent is certainly beyond their years. Their 20 year old guitarist, Joe Davis, tore it apart all night with tight guitar riffs and tons of enthusiasm. It is refreshing to see some young new talent on the jam scene in Albany and Formula 5 always brings out a pretty vibrant crowd. The last song I heard before stepping outside was an interesting rendition of the “Ghost Busters” theme song. Certainly not the tightest song they played all night, but still a humorous choice to play for their costumed crowd.

    After a short break Timbre Coup took stage dressed as elderly men. It was seriously entertaining to see four men taking their music so seriously while dressed in such ridiculous costumes. Timbre Coup is always a pleasure to see live and their crowd never leaves disappointed. Their band is made up of Andrew Chamberlain on the guitar, Matt Pickering on the drums, and Dan Gerken and Ben Pickering trading off duties on the guitar and bass. While their music is often referred to as improvisational progressive rock, each song individualizes itself into its own category. While their dance-worthy bass lines keep the crowd moving, some songs stray away into heavy head banging guitar riffs that bring the energy in the room up another caliber. It seems every Timbre Coup show I see each band member grows individually as a musician and together as a band. One thing is for sure, they never disappoint. Their crowd always stays moving, and always leaves happy.

    Midway through their set a drummer took stage to pull up members of the crowd for an impromptu costume contest. Seeing 12 people squeezed onto the small stage all dressed in their Halloween finest was certainly a sight to see. The winner was a man dressed head to toe in gold spandex donning a Beauty and the Beast Lumiere candle-stick hat and light up candle hands. Truly the most creative Halloween costume I’ve seen in years. Overall the show was great, the Halloween Vibe was spot on and the energy was non-stop. As always, these bands did not disappoint.

  • Dr. John and The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Palace, November 1, 2012

    I was filled with wild thoughts of Mardi Gras and voodoo magic as I walked into The Palace Theatre in Albany, NY this past Thursday. Far from the bayou, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. John made a stop in the Capital District on November 1st with his Spirituals to Funk Tour featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama.

    Dr. John strolled on stage, wearing a blazing purple suit, took his place center stage in between a piano and an organ, both decorated with jeweled skulls. The band jumped right into the night playing some tunes off their newest album, “Locked Up” which was produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. One of the songs, “Revolution” gave off a whimsical circus vibe from Dr. John’s organ and featured a strong brass solo from the female trombonist. “Big Shot” had an easy flowing groove, with a simple beat and an eerie harmony, making Dr. John’s vocals intimating and hypnotizing. The top hit song “Right Place, Wrong Time” started and the audience cheered in excitement. The people sitting next to me politely excused themselves before immediately jumping out of their seats to start dancing in the aisles. This funky jam made for an excellent electric guitar solo and it’s understandable as to why it was such a chart topper.

    After that song, Dr. John was joined by the gospel legends, the Blind Boys of Alabama. The quartet eased on the stage with one member announcing, “Can’t believe I’m here at the Palace with the great Dr. John…and we don’t sing to a conservative crowd.” The audience grew loud and stood to their feet as the Blind Boys began to belt out ”People Get Ready” strong harmonies that I never saw coming. The boys each had a chair and would periodically stand for their solos or sing relaxed in unison in their seats. It was great entertainment to see the Blind Boys feel the music as they each jived to Dr. John and his band’s music. They covered one of my favorite songs, Norman Greenbaum’s, “Spirit in the Sky” with serious swag. The Blind Boys continued to bring a heart-lifting performance especially during “There is a light” with their comforting and strong vocals.

    As the Blind Boys made their exit, the crowd was treated to Dr. John laying down some serious notes on his guitar before returning back to the keys for “Mos’ Scocious.”I watched in awe as Dr. John could play the piano to his left or the organ on his right or both at the same time. Each song oozed New Orleans charm with a perfect mix of jazz, the blues and funk. As quickly as they had left, The Blinds Boys were back to help end the show with a bone chilling, slow tempo, “Amazing Grace.”

    Much to my disappointment, the show ended before 10pm but it gave everyone a chance to have a meet and greet with the Blind Boys in the main lobby for autographs. The Spiritual to Funk Tour will be making stops in New Jersey and Virginia for the month of November. You can find more information about Dr. John by going to his website here. You can find more information about The Blind Boys of Alabama at their website here.

  • CD Review – The Rusty Doves Live

    I think it’s safe to say that at this point, anyone around the general CNY area has heard about the folk-Americana/ jazzy swinging newgrass duo, The Rusty Doves.  The pair has played countless types of shows around the Utica area from opening up for acts like Rusted Root to playing their lively music for children in the Utica City School District.  I was more excited than usual to take a hot off the press copy of The Rusty Doves’ newest effort, especially after learning it was a live recording.  As I’d hoped, this disc is nothing short of a pure delight and captures the style, energy, and extra special quality that The Doves embody.  I have to immediately and highly recommend that this become a part of your music arsenal, especially if you are already a fan of this project.  If you are new to the Doves’ music, this is an excellent chance for you to find out what all of the fuss is about.

    I had a chance to speak with Jerry D, the duo’s bassist, about how this CD came to be.  The recording is of a show they performed about a year ago with Strung Sideways, another great local group.  When Jerry and Alyssa (Stock, vocals and mandolin) heard the tracks back, they were very pleased with the quality and way their music was represented.  They’d become somewhat frustrated with attempting to get the same energetic sound out of their music in a studio setting and were happy to hear their true music selves reflected back at them from this set of songs.  They decided to run with it, and that brings us to this album, officially releasing on November 3, 2012 with a shindig at The Green Onion Pub on Genesee Street in Utica, NY.

    This effort is delightfully grassroots.  As I understand it, the recording was done by Strung Sideways themselves and the business as usual aura created a great scene for Jerry and Alyssa to simply be themselves and do what they do; make cheerful (though sometimes deliciously, deceptively dark in subject matter) and organic music.  Most of the songs represented here are covers reflected through The Doves’ unique prism, but “Shadow Blues” is an original composition.  Whether interpreting the songs of others or crafting their own creations, The Rusty Doves’ sets always are cohesive.  They have a distinct style that they are able, or perhaps more appropriately compelled, to carry from one song to the next regardless of the genre the original artist worked in.  They know who they are and this translates.  It is folk and it is Americana, but it also draws from a big band and swing sound which really sets the Doves apart from some of their brethren on the circuit.  Their modern selections come out sounding expertly antiqued.  There is no denying Jerry and Alyssa’s musicianship either.  The way each dances through keys on their respective instruments shows a mastery of craft.  They leave no room for laziness, stock structures, or the easy way out of a song as they chromatically build one chord upon another; the chugging rhythm of the mandolin to the perfect counterpoint of bass.

    I expect your journey into this live compilation to be a pleasant one.  Once you fall in love, please share this great music with a friend and help the network grow for these dedicated independent musicians.

  • Evening Jazz with Charlie Hunter, Club Helsinki, October 20th

    Evening Jazz with Charlie Hunter, Club Helsinki, October 20th

    I arrived fashionably late to Club Helsinki for Charlie Hunter on Friday, mostly because its rather unassuming at first glance. Understated even, compared to the elegance inside. A renovated Factory originally built in 1863, Helsinki has many irons in the fire with a Ballroom upstairs, full restaurant in front, Club in the rear and an adjacent courtyard.

    charlie hunterI had driven right by as I am not totally familiar with Hudson yet and hadn’t noticed the HELSINKI lettering dripping down the outer wall on either side. Duh, I thought, as I hustled inside. I mistakenly entered the restaurant first and was directed to the back via the courtyard. Luke, the Club Helsinki manager greeted me outside in the courtyard with a smile. He showed me in, informing me Charlie had started about 15 minutes before. Knowing his songs tend to noodle around, I figured I had missed around 3-4 songs. Club Helsinki has simple tasteful decor and is inviting and comfortable with a large bar, three levels of tables and an ample dance floor. I settled into the most immediate open table with my brown ale.

    The first song I’m privy to is an energetic and funky breakdown of Hall & Oates’ I Can’t Go For That! It was everything I could hope for in a jazzed up version of a song I grew up hearing. I enjoyed the next song and then noticed my friend Tom Carpenter and joined him at a table closer to the stage. I am not sure what the next couple songs were, but I noticed as I was sitting closer that Charlie has on his guitar face, that means business. Scott Amendola, his drummer, has come to play as well. Playfully covering a Curtis Mayfield B side Charlie’s chops are so incredible as he makes the bass lines with the top three bass strings and guitar licks and solos on the bottom four strings of his hybridized guitar. Next is a soulful You’ve Been A Good ole Wagon, But Baby Now You’ve Done Broke Down, an old Bessie Smith number. After a brief pause at the end of the show Scott and Charlie joined us for an encore after the crowd of 40 or so hooted and applauded them.

    I had a great time at Club Helsinki. Anyplace I can see some great musicians in an intimate setting with excellent sound and have drinks delivered to my table, I’m game. I will definitely be back.

    DOWNLOAD A FREE MP3
    “BLIND ARTHUR”

  • Jackie Greene Band, Club Helsinki, October 27th

    Jackie Greene Band, Club Helsinki, October 27th

    I first became “acquainted” with Jackie Greene, when a video of Jackie Greene performing “Brokedown Palace” with Phil Lesh at Phil’s Marin County home surfaced back in September 2007. The rehearsals were in preparation for the fall 2007 Phil and Friends tour. I happened to catch the 10/20/2007 show of that tour at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Most of the hype centered around the appearance of Phish’s Trey Anastasio who was residing in the area at the time. But “the new kid” in skinny jeans, as I referred to him in a blog post, impressed me with his gritty bluesy voice. Not an easy task when you are on stage with Larry Campbell, Phil Lesh and Trey Anastasio!

    I’ve been a fan since. I have caught his sets at Gathering of the Vibes, his performances with Ratdog and Bob Weir, and followed the YouTube videos he shoots of himself performing new tunes. Although I missed out on his Ramble appearances down at the late great Levon Helm’s Barn and his prior visits to Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY, I tentatively had the 11/2/12 show at Bearsville Theater pencilled in on my calender prior to the announcement he would be joining Phil and Friends (again) on tour shortly thereafter. While I was stuck working, I was shut out of tickets for the Phil & Friends dates at the Capitol Theater in Portchester, NY when those dates sold out quickly.

    It was serendipity that Jackie Greene announced an added date at Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY where I grew up and where family still lives. A 45 minute drive to Hudson sure beats the 1hr 45m drive to Bearsville as much as I enjoy hanging out in Woodstock.

    I had never been to Club Helsinki before, which I can best describe as a seated club (or at least it was for this night). It had a supper club/cabaret type feel. In fact people were dining throughout most of opening act Jabe Beyer’s set and through Jackie’s. The tables were all full when my friends and I arrived but we were told we could sit on the couch which was side stage and right next to Jackie’s tech.

    For a singer/songwriter type like Jackie Greene, the venue was perfect and the acoustics were outstanding. The 17 song set showcased Jackie’s versatility as he segued seamlessly from folk to pure country to rock and blues and back showing why the New York Times labeled him the “Prince of Americana”.

    Jackie opened with I Don’t Live in a Dream from 2008’s Giving up the Ghost. He then put on the harmonica for a Dylanesque Gone Wanderin’ prefaced by stating “a little joy before the storm hits” referring to the looming Hurricane Sandy. Honey I Been Thinking about you had folky Arlo Guthrie like humor. A Side of the Road and Honey also showcased folk influences. There was a a nod to the outstanding sound because “I can hear myself” with pure country ballad When Did you Stop Loving Me?

    A cover of the Grateful Dead’s Deal featured an outstanding keyboard solo by Steve Taylor on a very clean and crisp sounding Yamaha. I was continuously torn between putting down my camcorder to just listen especially on the lush harmonies of A Moment of Temporary Color where Steve Taylor showed restraint and a light ethereal touch on those ivories.

    Jackie took an audience request on 1961 playfully stating “WTF are the words!! I always get myself into these situations” It was then his turn to take to the piano and he swapped places with Steve Taylor for Shaken, So Hard To Find My Way and the gritty, soulful and very old-school blues of Tell Me Mama, Tell me Right were he asked the soundman to take everyone else out of the mix.

    Jackie then returned to the guitar for a duet with Steve on Elton John classic Bennie & The Jets. The playful back and forth of Bennie Bennie Bennie…. Bennie & the Jets had both singers at the tops of their range in falsetto. A switch to acoustic guitar for One Bad Love and one of my favorite tunes of the evening Uphill Mountain signaled the night was winding down all too quickly. Band introductions followed and it was back to the electric for set closer and the second Grateful Dead cover of the night: Sugaree. After the band left the stage briefly, they came back out with Jabe Beyer. With a nod to Levon Helm and The Band, Jackie and Jabe encored with The Weight.

    Setlist: Tuning, I Don’t Live In A Dream, Gone Wanderin’, By the Side of the Road, Dressed to Kill,
    Honey I Been Thinking About You,
    When Did You Stop Loving Me?, Deal, A Moment of Temporary Color, Till the Light Comes, 1961, Shaken, So Hard To Find My Way, Tell Me Mama, Tell Me Right, Bennie and the Jets, One Bad Love
    Uphill Mountain, Sugaree

    Encore: The Weight*

    *with Jabe Beyer (Jackie’s Opener)

    Club Helsinki Entrance

  • Review: Dead Channels – C.R.E.A.M.

    Dead Channels – C.R.E.A.M. (Manic Progression/Shattered Ego Records)

    This is 2012. Bands often spend more time coordinating outfits than worrying about silly notions such as their own integrity or what their legacy will look like if they manage to kiss enough ass to seperate themselves from the herd. When the quality of your music is dictated by desperate businessmen or the ability to make drunken women with daddy complexes wet, you’ve produced the equivalent of a walmart quality landscape painting in what should be a wall reserved for Picassos. With that said, it makes the occasions when you do find someone worthy of holding a brush that much more special. Dead Channels gets it.

    What Dead Channels has released here is a three song 7″ titled Cash Ruined Everything Around Me. Bassist/Vocalist Angelo Mosca told me it’s ‘somewhat of a concept EP’. The trilogy of songs within cover the topics of being in an honest band in a very dishonest, and I’ll just say it, bad time for music. The first song, Substance Abuse, tackles the topic of bad bands in positions of success. “Won’t sing along to your preacher song, like sirens to deaf ears/You work the stage like an usher the plate”. The second song, PMA vs. 401K, is an ode to the frustration of having to work a day job that you hate. The last song in this trilogy to the thankless joy of being in a band, Dirt Poor, deals with the illusiary quality of material things and the inner struggle to search for what truly matters in a world where you need to eat to survive. “Father don’t label me failed yet, I only want good things same as you. My blood, and my friends, this band is my family./ And I’ll keep working on quote “meaningless things”,like love and respect. And when I’m finished you can cash the checks, but the ground hasn’t covered me yet.” I don’t generally like to do reviews song by song like this at all, but I feel the topic and the flow of this ep call for it. As someone who was in an underground band for a good many years, this speaks to me.

    Musically, this is no departure from 2011’s Soul Pollution. The music is hectic and conveys a sense of urgency. Much like on Soul Pollution, the vocals are used as a fourth instrument to round out this three piece. This adds to the raw quality and makes the subject matter feel sincere. This ep shows Dead Channels achieving a stride and comfortablity in their music that should make people eagerly await their next album.

    http://www.facebook.com/deadchannels
    http://deadchannels.bandcamp.com/
    http://www.youtube.com/DEADCHANNELSNY

    -Brian Lawrence

  • Biodiesel with DigiMUN at Red Square, October 20th

    While JGB was rocking the Den and Australian Pink Floyd played the Palace, Red Square hosted three electronic-based acts: Biodiesel, Digimun and Albany’s own Digital Dharma. I had no expectations going into the show, other than the knowledge that both Johnny Rabb and Clay Parnell of Biodiesel are both monumentally talented individuals. Clay Parnell has been an important and well known electronic bassist on the scene for years working with bands such as Brothers Past, The Join and Philabuster. Then there is Johnny Rabb, pioneer of the free-hand technique and a drumming legend. These two joined up to walk the line of Band & DJ and create an electronic super-duo that explores the new genre of “Livetronica.”

    I was lucky enough to catch the very end of the opening act DigiMUN, which is a mash up of Digital Dharma and Mun from NYC, playing what they describe as “astrofunktronica”. DigiMUN was created after an accident involving bassist Steve Mink  and keys/synth player Eli Ramos, which left both injured and Eli in critical condition. Eli insisted that band push forward after the accident, and DigiMUN was born.

    DigiMUN is 100% improvised on the spot. Much of their influence is derived from bands including The Disco Biscuits, STS9 and The New Deal. You can tell that there is a connection between the band members, even after working together for such a short period of time. It was certainly a pleasure to be able to catch an up and coming collaboration group.

    When Biodiesel hit the stage, drum and bass began emanating outside to the parking lot. The one thing I love more than seeing a show at Red Square is seeing a show where the back room is filled to capacity with a dancing crowd. You don’t expect much when going to see a two-man band but I found myself pleasantly surprised. The hard beats and bass lines had everybody in the crowd moving. One thing that stood out to me in particular were the samples they used to break apart the heavy beats. It was a perfect mix of man and machine and created a totally different atmosphere than I had expected. You could certainly tell that both Rabb and Carnell were pouring everything they had into their work and keeping the crowd hyped.

    Biodiesel ended around 1am, relatively early but came back on for a hard hitting encore that left the entire crowd wanting more. Although I have seen Biodiesel a handful of times, it was refreshing to see such a high-powered show with a crowd to match.

  • Wild Nothing at Bowery Ballroom

    Wild Nothing at Bowery Ballroom

    Every year, College Music Journal (CMJ) invites hundreds of the music industry’s leading professionals to come speak in New York City, to share their knowledge with students interested in breaking into the industry and followers of “the biz.” The CMJ Music Marathon also showcases over one thousand musicians, exhibiting concerts all throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn for five October nights. In the past, musicians like Mumford and Sons, Arcade Fire, and Lady Gaga found themselves performing in the City’s most intimate venues, sponsored by CMJ, just before breaking into the national spotlight and garnering widespread attention.

    I had the opportunity this year to experience CMJ firsthand, listening to Daniel Glass of Glassnote Records and Bill Werde of Billboard Magazine by day and venue hopping from The Knitting Factory to Santos Party House by night.

    My 2012 CMJ Music Marathon experience came to a close, however, on Saturday night with a Wild Nothing performance at the Bowery Ballroom, a venue that occupies a building originally built in the 1920’s. Although the building acted as a high-end retail store until its conversion into a music venue in 1997, its old school elements—wide, wooden banisters leading to a balcony view, and its large, stage-encompassing curtain that greets the venue’s guests—create a comfortable, personal atmosphere.

    Taking the stage after opening sets from FORMA, Weekend, and Braids, the 5-piece, Virginia-based band began their set with “Shadow,” the first track off of their recently released album, Nocturn.

    As the set progressed, Wild Nothing’s influence on the audience brought about clusters of dancing concertgoers. The band’s arrangement of alluring guitar riffs, prevalent bass lines, quick drum beats, and mellowed-out, reverb-heavy vocals hypnotized the venue’s 550 guests into a state of grooving in a way completely dissimilar to many of today’s fist-pumping acts that occupy popular dance clubs. It was this presentation of instruments and vocals that engaged the audience in such an authentic way, focusing the crowd’s attention on the music while also creating a fun, dance-dominated atmosphere.

    Coming off a well-received sophomore album, Wild Nothing seems to be heading in the right direction. Frontman Jack Tatum’s tunes translate well into a live setting, and the exposure gained at an event like CMJ will no doubt cultivate the band’s already solid fan base. Wild Nothing’s music has already made an impact on the industry, and their appearance at 2012’s CMJ Music Marathon may prove to be just the beginning.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3n_M9jYW04

  • One Angry-Man Show: Henry Rollins at The Egg, October 25th

    One Angry-Man Show: Henry Rollins at The Egg, October 25th

    With a history of politically-tinged acts such as State of Alert, Black Flag and Rollins Band, Henry Rollins’ foray into spoken word performance is a natural segue, removing the music and adding in an uninterrupted stream of consciousness covering a multitude of topics for two and a half straight hours. Appealing to the populist crowd scattered with faithful hardcore punk fans, Rollins delved into broad topics, ranging from national literacy to elections, traveling the world to growing up in Washington D.C. and his life with Black Flag on the road and in Los Angeles.

    henry rollins
    Henry Rollins

    On this night at The Egg, dressed as usual in black shirt, black pants and black shoes, Rollins dripped sweat from his left arm as he held the mic, barely moving from his spot at center stage for the entire performance, deviating perhaps only a few inches at most from beginning to end. After an hour, he seemed like a Rockem Sockem Robot, fixed in position and only moving his arms, just a little more fluidly than the robots and with a deep passion that kept the audience engrossed throughout the performance. Rollins was nothing short of intense in speaking to the crowd, never engaging them directly but keeping them on their proverbial toes with random bursts of pure energy, akin to the refrain in the “Liar” video.

    Among the multitude of topics that Rollins segued in and out of over the course of the night:

    • Lincoln and his recognizing that the greatest threat to America was internal;
    • Having played many state capitals this tour, most of them, Albany included, seem to shut down shortly after 6pm;
    • The use of polysyllabic words as a sign of intelligence and more prevalent among one of the two political parties;
    • Hope that the 21st century is looked upon centuries into the future and taught in schools as THE century where things changed for the better for all;
    • Megyn Kelly of Fox News and her reaction to news stories (one can never look at Megyn the same way again after hearing his observations);
    • The greatness of live music as described by seeing a 19 year-old playing with a punk band;
    • The wisdom of David Lee Roth (yes, wisdom);
    • Having turned 50 recently, recognizing that he is not at the midpoint of life, but rather within field goal range of death;
    • The trend of old bands and punk rockers reuniting to scare new generations at summer music festivals (with better sound this time);
    • Black Flag as an ancient traveling troupe and stories from the road, some happy, some sad and but mostly generally fucked up experiences;
    • Heroin in Los Angeles during Black Flag’s heyday and the friends lost to overdoses;
    • Visits to Syria, Iran, North Korea, China, Bhutan, Tibet and Haiti; all out of personal curiosity and general restlessness;
    • While visiting Haiti, having a sense of urgency to do something to help the Haitians, by getting them soap and soccer balls at their request; and,
    • Realizing that his Western solution to helping them (buying them things) was not a solution, but possibly adding to the problem.

    For 150 minutes, Henry Rollins delivered thought provoking laughs to a crowd fixated on his every word. Without a break for a drink or a spare breath, there was much to take away from the mind of a prolific thinker and musician. A spoken-word show of this nature is one not to miss.

  • The Australian Pink Floyd Show at The Palace Theater, October 20th

    Pink Floyd enthusiasts were treated to a fun night of music and visual displays Saturday night in Albany. The Australian Pink Floyd Show made a stop at the Palace Theater and put on a complete show filled with classic Pink Floyd songs that spanned their entire catalog. Along with a giant circular video monitor, laser light projections and backup singers, it made for a true theatrical experience. Writers Tim O’Shea and Pete Mason attended and each took something different from the show. 

    Review by Tim O’Shea

    The show opened with the dark and brooding “In the Flesh” and instantly captured the audience’s attention. The early portion of the show included several selections from some of the later Pink Floyd albums. “Sorrow” from the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason was also well received. The band then shifted gears and went into one of the group’s earlier numbers with a stirring rendition of “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”. Another first set highlight was “Pigs” which was performed flawlessly. After this, spotlights and that familiar helicopter sound led into the set closer of “Another Brick in the Wall” which also featured a giant inflatable “teacher” on stage which corresponded to the video being shown on stage.

    The second set opened with the Syd Barrett tribute “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”. This was another song complemented beautifully by the video being shown which included some very early images of the band when Barrett was still included. The chiming of clocks that followed could only mean it was time for “Time”, followed by another song from the epic Dark Side of the Moon album with “Great Gig in the Sky”. This gave the three backup singers a chance to shine as each took their own approach to the classic vocal solo that ends the song. “Us and Them” was also played later in the set giving the audience a good sampling from this classic album.

    Review by Pete Mason

    What stood out about Australian Pink Floyd was the the fact that this was not a cover band, it was a true tribute band. The band not only had strong improvisational structure to songs with full jamming capabilities. But the key thing for me was that they featured a great deal of rarities and for once, a band playing Pink Floyd was not a greatest hits parade. Utilizing the full catalog, the band’s songs connected you with the four decades of Floyd, especially the songs that harken back to the emothional aftermath of World War Two that is intertwined throughout a number of their songs.

    Opening up with “In the Flesh” is setting the bar high for the night with the ‘thrust you back into your seat’  power of this tune from The Wall. “Set the Controls” was a huge highlight, with the sun projected in various lenses behind the band as the ominous and dark song got into motion; with Halloween around the corner, this is true Haunted House music. “Pigs”, appropriately, showed political leaders with snouts and pig ears super imposed on their visages on the screen as the full song was played well enough that you could picture Battersea Power Station behind the band. But instead, we got the incredibly creepy/acid-visual of a giant teacher inflated on stage left behind the backup singers, perfect to bring in “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2“

    The second set gave a nice tribute to the memory of Syd Barrett with a medley of photos and his musical compositions from the 1960s, followed by the apropos “Shine on you Crazy Diamond”. After a pair of tuned from Dark Side of the Moon, we were treated to two rarer songs, “What do you want from me” off 1994s’ The Division Bell and “The Fletcher Memorial Home” off 1983’s The Final Cut, each of which allowed the various singers in the band to showcase their chops and dipped back into the well of creepy for the visuals broadcast on the screen during “Fletcher”, a truly troubling tune, albiet one of Waters more introspective songs. With some more Dark Side songs, the highlight of the night was the off-setlist Interstellar Overdrive that featured a giant pink kangaroo that arose from nowhere, keeping the psychedelic aspect of Pink Floyd lasting beyond their years. Aussie Pink Floyd no doubt redefined tribute band for me this night, as well as gave a nice sampling of the four decades of Floyd.

    Australian Pink Floyd Show Setlist:

    Set 1: In the Flesh, Take it Back, Sorrow, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, High Hopes, Pigs, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2

    Set 2: Syd Barrett Medley, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Time->Great Gig in the Sky, What do you Want From Me, The Fletcher Memorial Home, Us and Them, Wish You Were Here, Interstellar Overdrive, Comfortably Numb

    E: Run like hell

    The Australian Pink Floyd Show and on Twitter