NYS Music 20​12

Tag: The Egg

  • Dark Star Orchestra delivers at The Egg, December 5th

    It was my first time seeing Dark Star Orchestra at The Egg in Albany on December 5th. They had a high reputation among many of my friends and there was much anticipation built up around the show. The lobby area was packed, mostly with everyone waiting on the beer line and sitting in group circles chatting. As guests made their way into the show room, the aisle escorts did their best to find everyone to their correct seats. Once the first notes of “China Cat Sunflower” started, it was a party. The sold out crowd was thrilled to catch one of the last four shows of Dark Star Orchestra’s tour.

    Even better for fans at The Egg was Jeff Chimenti playing keys all night. Jeff is best known for performing in RatDog as well as other post-Grateful Dead bands such as The Dead and Furthur. He was steaming as he pounded the keyboards throughout the night and especially during “New Minglewood Blues.” Lisa Mackey on vocals was mesmerizing as she twirling around the stage, flawlessly joining the boys with great harmony. Rob Eaton was center stage, bringing energy with his every guitar note, especially during “Mexicali Blues”, while Kevin Rosen sent out groovy bass rifts.

    “New Speedway Boogie” started the second set and the band was more fired up than ever. Jeff Mattson on lead guitar was more than I could handle. He was rock solid on jams, playing with great concentration and ease. Dino English and Rob Kortiz had an intense drum solo during the beginning of the 2nd set that blew everyone to their seats; lesson learned that two drum sets are always better than one. Everyone seemed quite warped after the drum solo plus from the jam session of “Space.” Each song flowed into the other with the night ending with a good wakeup call from “Casey Jones” and a surprise encore of “Quinn The Eskimo.”

    Dark Star Orchestra pays tribute to the Grateful Dead by recreating past shows, song for song, at each of their shows. If you want to hear and experience the closest thing you can get to a Grateful Dead show, you go to a Dark Star Orchestra show and you get exactly what you pay for. To describe DSO simply as a cover band is incorrect. Everything about the Grateful Dead’s music history is legendary and for DSO to perform their music is more than half the battle. To try to replicate note for note, the music of one of the greatest bands in history, I’m sure can be more than overwhelming. Dark Star Orchestra delivered an amazing show, filled with great jams and feelings. Like fellow writer Lenny Stubbe, I was left with a “useless smile.”

    For setlists, music and more, go to Dark Star Orchestra’s webpage.

    Setlist

    Set One: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, New Minglewood Blues, Tennessee Jed, Mexicali Blues > Jack A Roe, Queen Jane Approximately, Loser, My Brother Esau, Bird Song > Victim Or The Crime > Bird Song

    Set Two: New Speedway Boogie > Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Crazy Fingers > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Drums > Space > Foolish Heart > Comes A Time > I Need A Miracle > Casey Jones

    Encore: Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)

  • Dark Star Orchestra Due at The Egg in Albany on December 5th

    Dark Star Orchestra Due at The Egg in Albany on December 5th

    Dark Star Orchestra has been heavily jamming all across the country on their fall tour this year and will be making a stop to play at The Egg in Albany, New York on Wednesday December 5th. DSO uses entire shows from the Grateful Dead‘s era to recreate song for song performances from historic set lists. At the end of each performance, the band announces the date and venue where the original show just covered took place, making the night a fun guessing game for fans. With each show, DSO performs with extreme precision to creating a sensational experience that new and old Grateful Dead fans can both appreciate.

    dark star orchestra Frontier FieldThis Dark Star Orchestra show at The Egg in Albany is sure to be extra special, besides the fact that it’s one of the last four nights of their tour, but also to the fact that Jeff Chimenti of Furthur will be sitting in as keyboardist.

    The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 and is open to all ages. Concert goers can buy tickets at the eggs website and can get more information on the bands website

  • Jimmy Herring and Victor Wooten close out Tour at The Egg, November 18th

    Jimmy Herring and Victor Wooten close out Tour at The Egg, November 18th

    Wrapping up an incredible tour featuring masters of guitar, bass and talent from Berklee College of Music, Jimmy Herring and Victor Wooten brought their respective bands to The Egg for a fantastic final show. Herring’s band featured a four-piece lineup that focused on jazz and blues channeled through Herring’s guitar-work, while Wooten’s band was an ensemble of four bassists and two drummers, giving a new twist to the night’s musical selections.

    jimmy herring victor wootenHerring, the lead guitarist for Widespread Panic and formerly of Aquarium Rescue Unit, Frogwings, Jazz is Dead and Project Z, took his position at stage right in his usual Captain Morgan ‘one foot forward, leg slightly bent’ stance. Bandmates Jeff Sipe (drums), Matt Slocum (keys) and Neal Fountain (bass) were incredibly tight sounding after this 12-show tour. Slocum’s keys added pizzazz to each song, while Herring gave a clinic on the interweaving of jazz and blues through his Stratocaster. Highlights of the instrumental set included “Rainbow”, covers of The Beatles “A Day in the Life” and “Within You Without You” and a phenomenal and scortching version of Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You” with Derico Watson and J.D. Blair on drums – three drummers for one incredible song. The 80 minute set kept the audience on their toes, with the direction of the music constantly changing. Herring’s new album Subject to Change without Notice is now out, check it out and experience his incredible guitar skills.

    Setlist: Matts Funk, Gospel 6/8, Duke and Cookie*, Ballad^, Rainbow, Miss Poopie, Since I’ve Been Loving You**, Heads Up, A Day in the Life, Bilgewater Blues, Within You Without You

    * with Victor Wooten on bass // ^ with Steve Bailey on bass // ** with Derico Watson and J.D. Blair on drums

    _________________________________________________________________________________________

    With a thundering bass intro, Victor Wooten and his seven-piece band arrived on stage. Taking out a bow and sitting down with a small upright bass, the show began with “A.W.S.” as the crowd gazed upon the lineup – four, count em FOUR bassists in ONE band, plus two drummers and the angelic voice of Krystal Peterson on vocals. “Brooklyn”, played for the makers of Wooten’s bass had a brief segue into “Tell me Something Good” inside before moving back into “Brooklyn”. Derico Watson blew it up on drums as “My Life” ended, featuring Wooten on vocals. “The House that Jack Built”, an Aretha Franklin rarity was dedicated to Jack at the soundboard and featured Matt Slocum on keys, continuing the collaboration between the two bands.

    Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” brought out with Jeff Sipe on drums and Neal Fountain on baritone guitar for a rousing rendition, with Wooten introducing the band, notably hyping up (Professor) Steve Bailey of Berklee College who plays a six-string fretless bass, leaving even the masterful Wooten in awe. More Steview followed with “Overjoyed” before the band left the stage, leaving Victor on the stage solo for a few minutes of bass noodling before bringing out Jimmy Herring for a duet of pure improvisation, capped off by a play on “Amazing Grace”. The two bands combined forces for the encore, bringing out all 11 musicians and two crew members to sing “I Shall Miss Your Smiling Face”, with a brief “Billie Jean” vocal jam from J.D. Blair in between, giving a wonderful ode to the audience and The Egg on their final night of the tour. With two masters of their craft and instrument, this was one for the ages.

    Setlist: A.W.S., Brooklyn, My Life, The House that Jack Built*, Superstition^, Overjoyed, Victor and Jimmy Improv duet

    Encore: I Shall Miss Your Smiling Face**

    * with Matt Slocum on keys // ^ with Jeff Sipe on drums and Neal Fountain on baritone guitar // ** with all members of both bands on stage

    Download the show from the night before in Buffalo via etree

    Watch a playlist of two songs from Jimmy Herring Band and three from Victor Wooten Band, including the huge encore.

  • 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.

  • Warren Haynes Band at The Egg, October 13th

    There might be literal and figurative reasons why the concert room at The Egg is called the Hart Theater. First and foremost, for anyone unfamiliar with the area across from the Governor’s mansion, The Egg is just that – a very large, concrete building in the shape of an egg. It perhaps provides one of the most unique ways to experience a concert. Inside the building, elevators lift attendees to the fourth floor where they walk into a large semi-circle lobby speckled with lounge seats and a makeshift bar. There are four separate walkways on each side of the theater, at different levels. The arteries of the ‘Hart’ empty into an amphitheater setting where the stage is below. Sight lines and legroom are a bonus, but even more so, the shape lends itself to pristine acoustics.

    Warren Haynes, who has crafted his skill to perfection, graced the sold out Hart Theater at The Egg with an abundance of heart for his adoring fans and love of his guitar. Playing the title track off the 2011 disc release, Warren Haynes opened the show with “Man in Motion.” He immediately engaged the crowd in the front, greeting them with hellos and smiles. His demeanor was friendly, inviting and kind. Three deep into the set, Haynes’ guitar and Ron Holloway’s saxophone playfully conversed back and forth, speaking through notes as if to say, “more, more.” More is what we get as the band moved through their set. Haynes greeted keyboardist Nigel Hall for another playful round of back and forth during “On a Real Lonely Night.” Haynes carried the conversation to Holloway, until the music reached a climax and the three played together. The first set was a display of musical talent that crossed genres and pushed boundaries, while maintaining the sound of soul and blues.

    After set break, the band gave the spotlight to drummer Terence Higgins, his red kit sitting above the band mid stage. He pounded his beats with enthusiasm until he broke away and gave it to the band, indicating the second set would be filled with a heavier rock essence. “Spanish Castle” was a weighty song driven by the backdrop of keys. Both Haynes and Holloway swap solos while Alicia Chakour interjected her soulful vocals at key moments. Towards the end of the set, Warren Haynes introduced each member by singing their names as they jammed on their respective instruments. The encore took a turn into the Gospel realm – yet another indication of their collective talents transitioning into multiple genres. The Warren Haynes Band put the soul in “Soulshine” and heart into the theater of the same name.

  • The Punch Brothers inside The Egg

    The Punch Brothers inside The Egg

    Singer and song writer Tom Brosseau was the opening act for the evening and took the stage with just him and an acoustic guitar. Brosseau swooned the small crowd with his emotional songs full of compassion and a slight optimism. Brosseau made cute conversation with the audience about the inspiration for his songs, that come from his Grandma and growing up in North Dakota. He said of The Egg, “(It) Always remains my favorite sight and sound.”  One of the songs that stood out most to me was “Youth Decay” a sorrowful melody that showcased Brosseau’s gifted folky guitar playing. As talented as Tom Brosseau was, I was hoping for a more upbeat opener for The Punch Brothers at The Egg.

    Much to my surprise the seats were half full as the progressive bluegrass band; The Punch Brothers took the stage.  The first beautiful notes are played and the audience falls deadly quiet; such a beautiful sound deserves complete silence. The feel of the music as it rapidly circles around the odd curves of the room only to gently wash over you, are irreplaceable. PB played a lot of songs off their newest album from February, Whose Feeling Young Now? showcasing a fine array of the bands individual as well as group talent.

    “No Concern of Yours” was a heartbreaking tune, especially with hard strumming from Chris Eldridge playing guitar. Noam Pikelny on banjo helped guide the music through the evening with a bluegrass sway.  “This Girl” was a song “about relationships” with lyrics full of love, a melody upbeat and sweet with chords that give you butterflies. Gabe Witcher was master of the fiddle as his strings had the ability to create visions and thoughts of the great outdoors and adventure, who said, “This song is about a place not too far from here” an obvious hint for one of their new songs, “New York City.” A fast tempo is kept up throughout the song, creating multiple beautiful build ups, similar to any day in the big city. The Punch Brothers have a fluidity that couldn’t be broken.   I was delighted to remember that the PB were fans of Radiohead too and couldn’t have been more impressed with their rendition of “Kid A.”  Paul Kowert’s steady bass notes were haunting, making this a cover song that any Radiohead fan should listen to. The night closed with one of their popular tunes, “Rye Whiskey” a mischievous song that had the audience nodding their heads in approval and wishing the show didn’t have to end.

    It was fun to watch Thile wander from his center spot to his surrounding band mates, everyone playing off of each other. For a good amount of the show, Chris Thile seems to be possessed by his very instrument. His body jerks uncontrollably as his fingertips radiate pure soul. Thile has brought life back into the mandolin, performing improvisational bluegrass, classical, folk and jazz with grace and sincerity. This musical experience was sacred, refreshing and inspiring to me. The music of the Punch Brothers expands the space in your mind and urges you to stretch your thoughts.

    Go to punchbrothers.com or find them on Facebook for more information on the bands tour dates as well as merchandise. I highly recommend purchasing their newest album, Whose Feeling Young Now? as well as Chris Thile’s solo album The Goat Rodeo Sessions” which was recently collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma.

  • An Interview with Keller Williams

    An Interview with Keller Williams

    On the heels of a summer playing shows and festivals throughout the country, both solo and with The Travelin’ McCoury’s, Keller Williams embarks on a cross-country tour that spans much of the rest of the year. We sat down with Keller Williams for an interview to talk about his new album Pick and talk about his style of music and some unique  burning topics that Keller was happy to answer.

    Keller plays September 21st at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park and September 22 at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse.

    Lauren Lagowski: I gave Pick a good listen a few times through. I’m always impressed with how you marry your humor with your incredible talent on the guitar. Where does the inspiration for much of your lyrics come from?

    Keller Williams: I like to keep things light and fun and not take myself too seriously. I just put myself in the place of the audience, keep things in a positive direction, and the rest is just entertaining myself.

    Lauren: Pick is a unique and awesome bluegrass album that is just a lot of fun to listen to.What was your favorite part of making this album?

    Keller: It’s just beautiful playing with such awesome musicians and the vocals in the group are stellar. It was a fun album to make.

    Lauren: Have you ever considered having a more permanent band or do you like the freedom of switching it up and playing solo when you want?

    Keller: I consider the whole solo looping thing my day job and everything else is just a lot of fun. The freedom and being happy doing both is a beautiful thing. Playing solo is fun and makes me want to play with other musicians and playing in groups makes me want to play solo. It just keeps things interesting for everyone involved.

    Lauren: I feel as though switching it up and dipping your toes in different genres has helped you develop as an artist..would you agree?

    Keller: Definitely. I like playing dabbling in different genres. In fact this winter I’ll be playing with a six-piece R&B group that I assembled. We started messing around with things in the studio and it’s really funky. I’m really excited to explore that more.

    Lauren: That sounds awesome! Where is your favorite place in this wide world to play?

    Keller: I’ve played at a lot of amazing places. I love playing Red Rocks and I love playing at The Egg in Albany, there’s so many great ones.

    Lauren: Pick is a unique and awesome bluegrass album that is just a lot of fun to listen to.What was your favorite part of making this album? It’s just beautiful playing with such awesome musicians and the vocals in the group are stellar. It was a fun album to make.

    Lauren: Why does it seem all your album titles are one word? Is there a purpose or did it just happen like that?

    Keller: Not really. I just like to keep things simple and express in one word, what the album is all about. No guess work for the listener.

    Lauren: We are excited to welcome you back to Upstate New York. Do you have any special memories of this part of country?

    Keller: I’ve played so many great festivals in this part of the country. I have so many great memories of playing out this way. You can’t beat the sunny, warm days and the cool nights with the fans sticking it out and having fun all the while.

    Lauren: You obviously have some bluegrass roots. What are some of your other musical influences and genres that really inspire you?

    Keller: Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, The Grateful Dead are all major influences in my musical sphere. Michael Hedges is another big one.

    Lauren: Who would you like to work with in the future?

    Keller: I’d love to work with the guys of Soulive and also The Slip. I think they’re all really talented and put out some amazing music.

    Lauren: You get to play with a lot of great musicians. What’s your favorite on-stage collaboration you’ve been apart of?

    Keller: I guess the one the sticks out in my mind right now was recently at NedFest in Nederland, Colorado where I played with my friends Steve Kimock, Kyle Hollingsworth, and Dave Watts.

    For news and tourdates, visit Keller Williams’ website.

  • In Memory of Doc Watson, 1923-2012

    In Memory of Doc Watson, 1923-2012

    Sad news in the folk and bluegrass music world, as 7-time Grammy winner Arthel Lane ‘Doc’ Watson passed away due to complications from surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was an amazing flat-picker and played for generations of folk fans, including the third Bonnaroo in 2004. Here, we present a review of Doc Watson’s final Capital Region performance from The Egg in Albany, NY on August 1st, 2010. RIP Doc Watson.

    doc watsonUpdate 6/3/12 – A recording of this show has surfaced. Take a listen here http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=555469

    The first time I saw Doc Watson was in 2004 at Bonnaroo on the recommendation of Trey Anastasio who remarked in the program that Doc was one of the few acts he was dying to see. Having never heard of Doc Watson, I thought, “Well, if it’s good enough for Trey, it’s good enough for me”. I was not disappointed and I even had a chance to chat with mandolin virtuoso Sam Bush before he headed on stage to play a couple of tunes with Doc.

    This performance was a bit more subdued from a tent stage playing to 5,000 sweaty 20-somethings. Instead, there were around 800 fans in attendance averaging around 40-50 years old with a few younger fans sprinkled throughout. Since I had last seen him, Doc Watson received a lifetime achievement award, predated by his 3-disk biographical album Legacy that won him one of his seven Grammys in 2002 for Best Traditional Folk Album. This collection is worth listening to if you want to acclimate yourself to this bluegrass legend.

    With Doc Watson on guitar, T Michael Coleman on bass, David Holt on guitar/banjo and later, Doc’s grandson Richard Watson on guitar, the two 50-minute sets were a trip through American Roots music history. Songs were played that will one day be forgotten in time and were so old that that they bridge the gap from the 19th century to the 21st century in both their meanings and history. Doc Watson teaches this music to us like a non-activist Pete Seeger.

    Still playing at 87 years old, Doc was born Arthel Lane Watson with the nickname ‘Doc’ given to him as a replacement for his stuffy birth name. While he may be blind, this does not define him. His music does. The only indication of his lack of sight is that of him being led to his seat on the stage. This does not hold him back in any form nor has it ever seemed to be more than a footnote to his musical legacy.

    The songs over the course of the night gave a wide range of bluegrass and other blues-rooted music. The Carter Family song “Cannonball” which has its roots in English folk. “Feel Like Cryin’ Since She’s Gone” got the audience involved for the first of many sing-a-longs. The classic “Sittin’ On Top of the World” featured Holt on slide guitar with Doc singing a tune we all know from either The Grateful Dead or Cream or any number of acts that have made this song their own. Lyrics like “now she’s gone and I don’t worry” can resonate with so many different people that dozens of versions are the result.

    The 2nd set featured various solo tunes from Doc, with his southern hills dialect from North Carolina that has a distinct drawl on the I’s which makes each song sound that much more personal and a hesitation of ‘aih’ every so often, giving an extra breath and half per measure throughout the night. Every so often, Doc called out to his guitar to ‘behave now’, while he was prepping for the next tune. It may have been the equipment, but it all seemed to be part of Doc’s character.

    “Freight Train” by Elizabeth Cotten elicited a proud response from the crowd that knew the roots of this song. Kris Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times” was slow and not as uplifting as the original and was nearly somber at points. “Big Bouquet of Roses (for every time you broke my heart)” continued the trend by telling us a story in each verse. “T for Texas, T for Tennessee”, a classic tune of Watson’s, was a great treat for the entire audience.

    The rest of the ensemble returned for “Walk On” and the quartet provided the best tunes of the night. Some tunes in bluegrass are just arranged and meant to be played by multiple strings. “I Am a Pilgrim” by Merle Travis and “Frankie and Johnny”, a sweethearts song, were crowd-pleasers for those familiar with Doc’s catalog. “Workin’ Man’s Blues” was the most upbeat song of the night thanks to bass playing from the youngest Watson on stage.

    A personal treat was “In the Pines”, a song that dates back to the 1870s. This song has the same musical/lyrical roots as ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” (also known as “Black Girl”) and was made popular again by folk troupe Leadbelly in the 1940s and again by Nirvana on their Unplugged album recorded in 1993. This version was a bit more upbeat and happier than the pain and suffering ingrained in the song’s lyrics.

    Sunday night services ended around 9:30 p.m. with Mississippi John Hurt’s “Blues for the Banjo” which had great lines that all can identify with:

    “I get the blues but I can’t be satisfied….
    I need a shot of whiskey to drive the blues away…
    I think I’ll need a quart today”

    The crowd headed home smiling and content knowing that they had seen a living bluegrass legend play great songs that were both known and already forgotten. This was a masterfully guided trip through American bluegrass and blues roots.