The Grateful Gallery tour will feature concert posters and artwork from leading artists in the scene including John Warner, Mike DuBois, AJ Masthay and William Giese, among others. Framed and unframed prints will be on sale from the artists, who will also be making appearances in the gallery as their schedules permit. In addition, the gallery will feature original paintings from acclaimed artist William Giese, whose artwork has graced the covers of several Grateful Dead albums.
At each festival stop, an extensive art gallery will be created whereby festival goers will be able to view and purchase gig posters from numerous bands, including The Grateful Dead, Furthur, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Railroad Earth, Cabinet and many more.
The Grateful Gallery tour will be installed at the following Northeast festivals this summer:
Rochester Jazz Festival has offered a schedule update – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings announced that plans to tour in 2013 have been postponed due to illness. Sharon Jones was recently diagnosed with stage-1 bile duct cancer – which doctors say is both operable and curable. and The Rochester Jazz Fest wish Sharon all the best and a speedy recovery.
The James Hunter Six, previously scheduled for 7PM on June 28th, will now play at 9PM. Added to the schedule, now performing at 7PM on the 28th, is two-time Grammy nominee, Shemekia Copeland. Both are free shows on the City of Rochester East Avenue and Chestnut Street Stage presented by Rochester General Health System.
More than 1200 artists from around the world will perform in 280 concerts including more than 75 free shows at 19 venues and outdoor stages. Last years festival drew more than 187,000 people from around the world and across the U.S. XRIJF has grown to become one of the worlds largest jazz festivals with one of the nations most extensive international lineups.
For more information on the XRIJF please visit our news about the event.
The ninth annual Mountain Jam Music Festival will return to Hunter Mountain, NY in the beautiful Catskill Mountains from Thursday, June 6 through Sunday, June 9, 2013. For those who can’t attend, EVNTLIVE will offer free live broadcasts from all four days at Hunter Mountain.
Though the schedule and details are subject to change, it appears EVNTLIVE will stream performances from the likes of Rubblebucket, Primus, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Deer Tick, The Avett Brothers, Widespread Panic, Amy Helm, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Gary Clark Jr., Gov’t Mule, The Lumineers, ALO, Jackie Greene and Phil Lesh and Friends.
Here’s the schedule as it currently stands for the Mountain Jam 2013 webcast:
Thursday, June 6 (All Times ET)
Rubblebucket 8 – 9:15 PM Primus 10 PM – 12 AM
Friday, June 7
Michael Bernard Fitzgerald 1:00 – 2:00 PM Roadkill Ghost Choir 2:00 – 3:00 PM Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers 3:10 – 4:10 PM Deer Tick 4:15 – 5:30 PM The Avett Brothers 5:45 – 7:15 PM Widespread Panic 8:00 – 12:00 AM
Saturday, June 8
Swear and Shake 12:00 – 12:45 PM The Revivalists 1:00 – 2:00 PM Amy Helm 2:15 – 3:15 PM Michael Franti & Spearhead 3:30 – 5:00 PM Gary Clark Jr. 5:15 – 6:30 PM The Lumineers 6:45 – 8:15 PM Gov’t Mule 9:00 – 12:30 AM
Sunday, June 9
The Lone Bellow 12:00 – 12:45 PM ALO 12:50 – 1:50 PM The London Souls 1:50 – 2:50 PM Dispatch 3:00 – 4:30 PM Jackie Greene 4:30 – 5:45 PM Phil Lesh and Friends 6:00 – 10:00 PM
STREAM Mountain Jam HERE
Check out our preview coverage of Mountain Jam by ‘s Tabitha Clancy
“Turr-kwaz” is how you say Turkuaz, and you should remember that pronunciation, as this Brooklyn based band isn’t going anywhere. The word as defined is the Turkish translation of turquoise, but unlike the gemstone there is nothing blue about this band. Their style is pure funk, which is deliciously refreshing in the modern landscape of never-ending jambands with musical Attention Deficit Disorder. Don’t mistake this musical singularity for boredom though, as only moss-covered rocks and Nickelback fans could possibly not feel the urge to dance their posteriors off while Turkuaz rages their funktasticness, and Thursday, May 16th at Rochester’s Club at Water Street would be no exception. Blessed with a large crowd, at least partially in part due to the earlier Rusted Root show at the annual Lilac Festival, the band took full advantage of the packed house and played their asses off for two sets.
The first set from Turkuaz featured tons of original material showcasing the band’s deep influences from old school masters such as George Clinton and James Brown to 90’s funk machines like Galactic and Lettuce. Sexy people playing sexy music laden with delicious horn sections: this always works. Some highlights of the first set included exploratory jamming within original compositions with names like “Bubba Slide” and “Electric Habitat” as well as a nicely chosen array of covers including “Slippery People” by the Talking Heads and Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright”. Towards the end of the first set, Dopapod’s Rob Compa joined the band on guitar for the original tune “Physical Challenge” and a cover of The Band’s “The Shape I’m In”. Rob can often be found sitting in or attending Rochester shows when Dopapod is on break and he always brings the heat on his 6 string.
Despite being a weeknight, the venue only seemed to get busier during set-break and the second set featured perhaps the most energetic crowd this writer has EVER seen at Club-side Water Street during the week. The segues were heavy and it almost seemed as if the music never stopped; fine by me! The ladies ruled the roost for much of this set, with top notch vocals by Sammi Garret and Geneva Williams. Really, beyond the excellent music, this band has some of the finest vocals out there, with all four singers laying it down with heaping spoonfuls of soul goodness. Set highlights included all the segues, the twosome of original “Chatte Lunatique” into Hot Chocolate’s “Everyone’s a Winner” and a spot on funky-blast-off version of Led Zeppelin’s “Trampled Under Foot”.
Beyond the music, the crowd, the sit-in and everything else; it was inherently apparent that this band is a group of people who have deep kinship. Throughout the night they were endlessly smiling at each other, putting their arms around each others shoulders and cheering each other on. Any group of fine musicians can put together an excellent itinerary of rage, but when one can sense an internal warmth; a group that is truly acts as one soul; it brings the entire experience over the top.
Check out Turkuaz’s next stop in Upstate NY on June 29th at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse. You will not regret it.
Setlist
Set 1: Jb intro, 20 dollar bill, Smarter than the speaker>Coast to coast, Bubba slide, Future 86, Electric habitat, Slippery people, Nightswimming, It’s hard>Feelin’ alright, Back to normal, Physical challenge, The shape I’m in
Set 2: Lookin’ tough, Feelin’ good, Chatte lunatique>Everyone’s a winner, M’lady, XYZ, Trampled under foot, Bijou drains, The bird dog>Sledgehammer, Pickin’ up>Hold on, I’m coming
Day two of Rock on the Range started off quietly, with a bright cloudy day and an empty stadium with the exception of the security in front of the barricade at the Monster Stage. Then the clock stroked 11 am, allowing the Rangers to enter the stadium, filling up the front of the barricade very quickly. Finally after 45 minutes of waiting impatiently, the outdoor music ended, hinting it was Pop Evil’s time to rock the stage. However, before the band arrived, the sponsors brought out the U.S. Army to salute the American Flag. Once they left, it was time to officially begin day two.
The first to enter the stage was Chachi Riot (drums), second, Matt DiRito (bass), followed by Nick Fueling (guitar) and Dave Grahs (guitar). The last to make an appearance was the one and only, Leigh Kakaty (lead vocals). Pop Evil started their set with their hit single from the 2008 record, Lipstick on the Mirror, “Hero”, and from their latest record, Onyx, “Deal with the Devil”. Despite the name, the band was anything but evil. “Pop Evil was kind of just derived from where we were from; we kind of never fit in. At the time the band was originating, a lot of Michigan bands were starting to blow up and do well; some of them were hardcore, some were more alternative, and nothing we were doing seemed to quite be ‘pop’ enough to be mainstream but we didn’t fit in with the metal bands because we weren’t hard enough, so we weren’t really evil,” said Chachi Riot to Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel, later that day in the Media Tent, explaining the meaning behind the band’s name. “So the two kind of contradicted and we just labeled ourselves, like we were the ‘anti-pop’ but we were too ‘poppy’ to be evil so it just kind of stuck. We started rolling and got a following and though some of us hated it, once you label it at any amount of success, you stick with the name.”
After the performance of “Monster You Made” from their previous record, War of Angels, Pop Evil continued their majestic set with the song from their latest record, “Sick Sense”, showing the change in their music style. “We were carrying a lot of stereotypes like being a party band, being wild and fun which is fine but we’re ready to be taken seriously, so we kind of put a halt to that. We got really serious, we challenged ourselves, we worked hard, and it’s been a different ballgame,” Chachi explained to Drexel, when asked about inspirations used in the new record. “As far as musically, we’re five different individuals that really listen to different music, and you hear that in the song writing, because everyone in the band writes, so we have songs like ‘Sick Sense’, that carries more of a Nine Inch Nails vibe and you have ‘Silence and Scars’ has been referred kind of like The Pixies I heard earlier, and we’ve gotten a couple of songs that sounded like Rage Against the Machine, and those are three bands that have nothing in common, but somehow we have managed to make it work in one album, so I really like the diversity in the band and what we’re expressing. It’s fun,” he added excitedly.
The second to last song on their set was “Last Man Standing” and it was during that number when Kakaty did a different form of crowd surfing that took the Rangers by surprise, he walked on the hands of the fans, impersonating Iggy Pop. The final song was their dark, awe-inspiring single, “Trenches”, the song that strongly proved their determination of becoming the successful rock band that they have become. “‘Trenches’ is just like that for us, the whole album; it was like the perfect lyrical description of the album. And we felt like we’ve been waiting for so long to get out of the trenches and it’s just like we’ve been grinding and we’ve been working and we’re all from Michigan, which is not the most economically successful state, obviously, and everyone out there like in the Midwest, they get it and nothing is ever easy, nothing is ever handed out or free, and we’re just ready to work hard and overcome the obstacles,” explained Riot to Drexel about the story behind the song. To end it all, Leigh thanked the crowd for their continued outstanding support while DiRito smashed his bass guitar.
All in all, an excellent setlist, the whole band was very interactive with the Rangers, their performance was simply superlative. Be sure to check out their recent album, Onyx and to catch one of their shows. It is one band that you do not want to miss.
We here in Upstate NY have more than our share of music festivals, from the large (Mountain Jam, Camp Bisco, moe.down) to the small (Great Heron, Backwoods Pondfest). There is little reason to venture out of Upstate when festival season rolls around. But when Upstate bands branch out and hit off festivals outside the region, we take note and follow them for an adventure. Summer Camp Music Festival, located in central Illinois, is one of the better produced festivals out there, with an enormous lineup that encompasses bands both big and small on seven stages, bringing together a wide variety of genres that broaden the experience for even the most die-hard music fan. Here’s our take on Summer Camp, simply the best festival in the Midwest.
moe. on the Moonshine Stage
After spending Wednesday night in Chicago, we ventured down I-55 to Peoria and arrived in Chillicothe, a small town on the Illinois River. The flat layout of the festival was immediately appealing. Anyone who has attended a festival in NY can attest – lugging your stuff up hills and through a menagerie of inclines can be off-putting. With a slight breeze in the air, camp was set up in the middle of four stages – Sunshine, Starshine, Camping and the Vibe Tent. This proved to be a number one reason why you arrive at a festival early – prime location for camping is hard to come by after Day One. The first band for the weekend was Chicago’s Family Groove Company, who kicked things off with “The Charmer”, invited up Allie Kral from Cornmeal for “One Eye Dreaming”, followed by a well-placed cover of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ “American Girl,”, quite apt for the talented Kral.
Around 8 p.m., one of the great staples of Summer Camp took the stage: Cornmeal. This Illinois-based blue collar band has seen their popularity rise slowly but surely over the years as they’ve vigorously delivered their own special blend of bluegrass and folk music throughout the country. This marks the band’s 11th appearance at Summer Camp and they did nothing to disappoint the revelers that were ready to go on this first day of the festival. This weekend was also a sendoff of sorts for the band who were saying good bye to their longtime and supremely talented fiddler, Allie Kral, who earned MVP honors this weekend by sitting in on multiple bands’ sets and blowing the house down each and every time.
Allie Kral with Floodwood
After Cornmeal’s initial set of the weekend, the musical mood on the Starshine stage shifted to electronica as Digital Tape Machine delivered a pulsating set that set the stage beautifully for some of the late night acts this weekend. Featuring Joel Cummins and Kris Myers from Umphrey’s McGee, it seems this side project of sorts is really starting to find its niche as they displayed a powerful cohesiveness that only comes after time and multiple gigs. Their unique version of IDM with elements of tech house, dance house and drum and bass kept the Thursday night crowd dancing and wanting more. Out in the Camping Stage was a band from Minnesota, Roster McCabe – the Midwest is heavily represented out in these parts, as one would suspect – and they showed some gravitas and fervor during a power-charged set of originals that brought to mind Umphrey’s McGee and Dopapod. A well played version of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” caught the crowd off guard and resulted in a dance party in the woods, making for the first of many covers of the popular disco/dance tune that we will all be hearing this summer.
In the Vibe Tent, UV Hippo from Michigan was laying down jams that built on top of each other, culminating in a breathtaking climax and showing mastery of their craft. A solid “Square Pegs, Round Holes” preceded Roster McCabe’s Alex Steele joining the group for Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish”, a well placed cover and one of those late night moments you love to catch.
Future Rock in the Red Barn
The dance party continued well into the night with Future Rock, a band that’s seemingly designed specifically for a late night time slot at any festival. The Chicago rockers kept the action fast and furious in the Red Barn which was open to everyone this evening. A unique aspect of the Summer Camp festival is that late night acts at this location required an extra ticket that had to be purchased ahead of time, and depending on your musical tastes, will compel you to plan ahead or seek out new and unknown acts amid the general late night sets.
Dopapod in the Vibe Tent
At the same time, Dopapod was throwing down more of the late night goodness this band has become known for at the Vibe Tent. There seemed to be an even bigger crowd here which speaks somewhat to the fact that not everyone knew the Red Barn was open tonight to the general public, but more to the reputation this band is developing within the jamband and festival circuits. As usual, they delivered a fun, high intensity set, punctuated by “Braindead” off their latest album Redivider, playing nearly until sunrise and sent Summer Campers home spent, but with smiles on their faces.
Friday
With good locations for stages and campground layout, plus an option for the forest, RVs and VIP experiences, Summer Camp felt a bit like Mountain Jam, and is about the same size, just… flatter. The grounds were laid out on a grid much like the Midwest and they offered regional foods and had a few carnival rides and the like, seemingly giving in to the universality of music festivals in the 21st Century. Friday’s action got underway with the help of two of the better band names currently out there. Cosby Sweater, another Umphrey’s side project of sorts featuring the ever busy Mr. Joel Cummins, played on the Camping stage and surely played a part in waking up nearby campers. This stage was literally located within woods containing tents and campsites in the general vicinity and it played host to some of the better ‘under the radar’ acts of the weekend (see: Roster McCabe). Over on the Starshine stage, Pimps of Joytime threw down a fun and memorable set that surely garnered them a few new fans. If you haven’t heard this group’s blend of funk, rock, afrobeats and electronic elements, you should really do so as soon as possible. It was nice to see this primarily East Coast band on the bill of one of the most successful Midwest musical festivals going right now.
Diplo crowd
Next, it was time for the opening salvo from one of the festival’s musical co-hosts, moe. Their set featured a blistering ‘Captain America” opener that segued nicely into ‘‘Recreational Chemistry”, a song that many felt wouldn’t appear until later in the weekend. The band seemed energetic and on point from the get go as they closed the set with the always entertaining ‘Seat of My Pants’ and the encore of “Okayalright” seemed to sum up the general sentiment that the 2013 version of Summer Camp was officially in full gear.
Over at the Media Center, located in the Church, Dumpstaphunk gave an interview to an attentive audience curious about a little bit of everything: their new album, Dirty Word, featuring Skerik, Flea, Trombone Shorty and Rebirth Brass Band, the experience of playing two festivals in the same weekend with each one a time zone away from the other (Summer Camp and StrangeCreek) and the importance of bassist Nick Daniels who quit the Neville Brothers to get Dumpstaphunk to where they are now.
moe. on the Moonshine Stage
After a quick trip to the Sunshine stage to catch some of the reggae music dished out by the legendary Wailers, it was back to the Moonshine stage for some heady jazz improv as only Medeski, Martin and Wood can deliver. Highlights included a fantastic Billy Martin drum solo that flowed right into “Night Marchers”. This trio never disappoints and John Medeski seemed extra energized towards the end of this hour long set and showed off his chops on the set closing “Heaven on Earth”. With any big music festival there inevitably comes a time when you have to make a tough decision on which act you see and which one you miss. Summer campers were now faced with such a decision as Keller Williams with More Than a Little played on the Sunshine Stage and Yonder Mountain String Band took the reigns back down on the Moonshine Stage. These two stages were pretty much at opposite ends of ThreeSistersPark so the chance of seeing significant portions of each was pretty slim.
Down at Moonshine, Yonder was in full form, tearing through “Pretty Daughter” midway into their set, and a hoe-down worth “Casualty”. Roosevelt Collier of The Lee Boys sat in with the Yonder boys for versions of “Kentucky Mandolin”, “Dear Prudence” and “Raleigh and Spencer,” playing on same level and adding a soulful slide guitar to each tune. A return for and encore of “Two Hits and the Joint Turned Brown” had accents of that steel sound, and with Jeff Austin’s breakneck speed on mandolin, the crowd was kept dancing along to a phenomenal sit in.
Roosevelt Collier and Jeff Austin
On the other main stage, Sunshine, this was not your typical Keller Williams set. The ever evolving artist decided to get himself a backing 6-piece funk band for this go round and, just for good measure, added Victor Wooten as a second bass player. This group was tight, in tune and delivered some truly memorable versions of Keller classics like “Let’s Jam” and “Freeker by the Speaker”. Hearing these tunes with female backup singers and a tight rhythm section gave each a real different feel, in a good way. Perhaps more impressive was the covers they tackled as well. These included The Talking Heads’ classic “Once in a Lifetime” and Keller also invited Jake Cinninger from Umphrey’s McGee to join them on a truly remarkable take of The Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway”. This closed out the set and was met by a raucous crowd’s approval. There’s no reason to think Keller won’t continue to bring this outfit of funk and soul out on the road from the time to time.
Umphrey’s McGee kicked off their first set of the weekend with the walk-on instrumental “No Crying in Mexico,” a unique start to a show as the band arrives on stage to join pre-recorded music. “All in Time” kicked things off with the first half of the song, which later found its second half mid second set. Conversely, “Nothing Too Fancy” appeared midway through the first set and closed the set, after a dirty “Comma Later”. “Bright Lights, Big City” featured Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic, blowing the song up amid Jeff Waful’s light show. “Puppet String”, yet another true Umph-rocker, was split between the sets and closed out the evening, but not before Umphrey’s played a first in more than a decade version of moe.’s classic “Rebubula,”, leading many to speculate on what song moe. may cover of Umphrey’s that weekend.
Later on Friday night, things began to get electronic again as Sound Tribe Sector 9 took the stage and got the dance party started once again. A well-established act at this point, STS9 delivered 90 minutes of inventive and inspirational electronica. If you weren’t in the mood for this, over on the Campfire stage was Allie Kral and Friends who treated all to a fun set of bluegrass staples and covers. The set even included an impromptu version of “Friend of the Devil” with Chicago’s own Barry Brown sitting in on vocals, followed by spirited versions of “Graceland” and “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Over in the Vibe Tent, a pair of DJs known as Team Bayside High put on an incredibly fun set, utilizing house samples and remixes in the Belding style of late night while Alvin Risk took the tent past 4 a.m. Once you are up so close to dawn, it’s a simple task to make it to 5 a.m. Kickball, the official start of Field Day. Think Camp Bisco’s Color Wars with some slight variation. Team Purple was well represented during the game, led by Umphrey’s bassist Ryan Stasik, although Team Red pulled out the victory during the rain on Saturday afternoon. Purple will be back…
Stay tuned tomorrow for Pete and Tim’s recap of Saturday and Sunday at Summer Camp Music Festival!
In less than 50 days, Bridgeport, Connecticut will host one of the biggest parties on the east coast, best known as Gathering of the Vibes four day festival, once again taking place at Seaside Park on July 25th-28th, for its 18th year of music, arts and camping. Vibes has already announced the first batch of headliners to include Phil Lesh and Friends featuring Jon Scofield, John Medeski, Joe Russo and John Kadlecik, Gov’t Mule, The Black Crowes, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Roots, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Dark Star Orchestra, John Butler Trio, the funky METERS, Railroad Earth, John Scofield, Fishbone, Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real, Ryan Montbleau Band, Deep Banana Blackout, plus many more talented musicians and more artist announcements to be released in just a few short days on June 10th.
Gathering of the Vibes started with Ken Hays, a Grateful Deadhead and business man, who got a few friends together in 1996 on the SUNY Purchase campus to share in the memory of Jerry Garcia by hosting a small music filled weekend. Each year since, the festival has continued to grow with gifted musicians and artists, with attendees coming from all over to share in the fun times and heady vibes. Past headliners have included moe., The Allman Brothers, James Brown, Primus, Les Claypool and all founding members of the Grateful Dead.
Gathering of the Vibes offers single day tickets, VIP single day tickets, full Weekend Camping passes, VIP tickets, RV passes and Kids tickets, but children under 12 years old get in for free. The single day tickets do not give include access to the campgrounds or the late night sets, so if you don’t want to miss DJ sets from James Murphy, Kung Fu and Thievery Corporation’s Rob Garza, as well as Silent Disco, you should consider just buying the Weekend Camping pass. The gates open on Thursday, July 25th at 8am and the party is over once the last band performs on Sunday after 8pm. For those looking to get an early start, there is a $20 Early-Entry Parking Fee on Thursday anytime before midnight.
Gathering of the Vibes has also launched a “Road to the Vibes” contest which gives fans the chance to vote for who they’d like to see play at the festival this year. Fans can vote once a day until June 14th to get their favorite band on the last remaining spot on the Green Vibes Stage. Upstate NY bands Positive Mental Trip, Blind Owl Band, Funktional Flow, Formula 5, Project Weather Machine, Sassafras Jenkins, Cosmic Dust Bunnies, The Assortment of Crayons, Aqueous, The Chronicles, Haewa and Digital Dharma are ALL in the running for this last spot, so show some love to your favorite Upstate band!
This year’s Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival (XRIJF) will be offering a free shuttle service, courtesy of Simcona Electronics and Horizon Club Tours. Shuttle service will be offered at no charge all nine days during the festival, June 21 – 29, to make it easy for patrons to get to and from downtown parking garages and lots surrounding the festival.
Continuous round trip service will be provided daily from 5:00pm to Midnight. Buses will run on an approximate 15-minute schedule for each stop, last pick-ups will be promptly at 11:30pm. Festival brochures and program guides will be aboard each bus for patrons and each shuttle is air conditioned as well as equipped with bathrooms. Download a map of the Shuttle route
Shuttle Bus Stops
Stops are conveniently located near downtown parking garages. Look for the Shuttle Bus Signs
1– State St. & Church St. (Across from Rochester Plaza Hotel) (daily) 2– South Ave between Broad and Court Streets (daily ) 3– Clinton Avenue South at Woodbury, near GEVA (daily) 4– Roundabout at Broadway and Broad (near Manhattan Square Park) (Friday 6/21, Saturday 6/22, Friday 6/28, Saturday 6/29 only) 5– Chestnut St. & East Main St. (Sunday 6/23 – Thursday 6/27 only) 6– Andrews St. & Liberty Pole Way (daily)
The crowd of eager fellow concert junkies and music lovers formed before the Jäger Stage of ROTR, waiting for the next band to make their appearance. Then the band makes their appearance known and the crowd begins to cheer, most in an excited manner, while some drunken. They began to play their first song, “We Are Stars” and the crowd threw their horns up, bouncing along to the beat. This band was very interactive with the crowd, made them feel like they were a part of the next big thing. This incredible band continued their set with “Ready”, “Invisible”, and quite a few more before performing their latest single, “Burn It Down”, which dropped recently. Who is this band, you ask? Introducing, Mindset Evolution.
Originating from Peoria, Il., Mindset Evolution is a five piece active rock band, with members Rob Ulrich (vocals), Skylar Baer (guitar), Bradley Prentice (guitar), Josh Bodeen (bass), and Joey Gibbs (drums). They formed in 2005 with a goal to get to where they are now. “We wanted a way to say that you have to find a way through, over, or around obstacles, and sometimes you have to completely change the way to do that, so it takes a mindset evolution,” explained Ulrich to Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel last night at Rock on the Range, in the air conditioned media tent. Well, indeed they have gone through many obstacles like working very hard to go from playing in their hometown to being a part of the Warped Tour lineup. And with that, they have a strong fan base, as well as becoming the winners in the Best Buy Music Gear Battle of the Bands. Throughout the years, Mindset Evolution has toured with bands such as Seether, Hinder, Breaking Benjamin and quite a few more well known names. “Honestly, a lot of it came from our home rock station. They have been huge supporters of us for a long time and they would always throw our names out for us, and it started picking up that way. Last year, we won the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Battle of the Bands and then we got to tour the whole nation. Last year, we got to tour with Godsmack, Shinedown, Staind, and Adelitas Way…it was killer, killer,” said Rob when explaining how they got to tour with such major bands. “And In This Moment,” chimed in Joey, when pointing to Drexel’s white rubber In This Moment bracelet. “Ah, they are murderous, they’re so good live, love them!” said Rob, enthusiastically. When it comes to their influences, the band as a whole has a very eclectic taste in music. For Rob, “Tool, well, everything that Maynard James Keenan does, Eagles, Beatles, Clearwater Revival, Jay-Z, Eminem, kind of all over the board…a little Garth Brooks, I love Garth Brooks.” As for Joey, he makes the statement that makes Drexel very excited, “I have to say Trent Reznor is a God, that’s about it. I’m a huge Nails fan.” Then he proceeded to mention that he listens to Motley Crue, other 80s music, as well as “a lot of electronic music, like Depeche Mode.” As a band, according to Ulrich, the genres are very diverse for each of the members. “I think that’s awesome, that’s what makes bands…it gives them the opportunity to create something special and have those kind of influences coming, they’re so diverse, that when they happen to come together in a song, it creates something unique for that band.” Gibbs added that, “It’s a unique influence for the band especially when we sit down and write together, different elements are coming out of our style.”
Be sure to look out for their upcoming record, Brave, Bold and Broken, out this summer and their latest single, “Burn It Down” is out for digital download.
The crowd by the Jäger stage grew with every passing second as the sun over Crew Stadium was setting. They wanted more, nay they needed more live rock music. Once the sun had finally set, the background music quieted and the stage lights turned to a light blue hue with white, hinting it was the next band’s, In Flames, turn to rock the small stage at ROTR. The cheering from drunk and excited Rangers increased immensely as each band member made their presence known one by one, starting with Daniel Svensson (drums), Peter Iwers (bass), Niclas Engelin (guitar), and Björn Gelotte (guitar). The last to appear was their frontman, Anders Fridén. In Flames was more than ready to show the concertgoers of Rock on the Range what they had up their sleeves.
They started the set with the first and title song from their latest record, Sounds of a Playground Fading, followed by the next two from the same record, “Where the Dead Ships Dwell”, and “Ropes”. “I think it’s a song that we all kind of liked from the beginning, music wise, rhythm wise. Dynamically, it’s a really cool song, also a song we like to play live and since it is a live song, we consider it a live song, we wanted to incorporate how other people see it like especially the audience or fans or that people that go to our shows, so we asked them to help in making the video. It’s going to be interesting for us to see it through,” said Gelotte to Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel in the Media Tent earlier that evening, when asked the story behind the single.
The rest of the setlist consisted of quite a few songs from their older records, mostly from their latest one. In Flames ended their set with “Deliver Us” and from their 2006 record, ComeClarity, “Take This Life”. For a first time performance at Rock on the Range, they sure did one hell of a job and gained a lot of new fans. “I guess our booking agent sorted it out. No, actually, maybe, I think they wanted to add what we do to the lineup, to get our diversity to what’s going on here. We love playing in the U.S., in general. This is the fifth time on this album so we did four tours, and now we’re doing this really short tour. We did a warm up show in Chicago yesterday, and today, we’re doing Rock on the Range, then we go to Mexico”, explained Björn to Drexel, after asking about how they got to be a part of this incredible festival.
All in all, they showed Ohio what this heavy metal Swedish band is made of and In Flames picked a fantastic setlist. Their vibe was mind blowing and they are a must see band, if one has not seen them already.
