NYS Music 20​13

Category: Albany

  • Interview with Chris Wyse from The Cult, Owl and more

    When you hear Chris Wyse’s story it sounds almost like a movie script. Born in New York City to Irish immigrants, moved to the country in Upstate New York, picked up a guitar with his buddy Dan Dinsmore, went off to California to be a rock star, and is now coming back home to play a show with his old friend in his old stomping grounds. It’s a lot more complicated than that but it does make for a great movie, or perhaps a song. NYS Music was lucky enough to talk to Chris Wyse last week to find out what the New York native has been up to and what the future holds for the talented bassist.

    Back in the mid-80s, Chris and Dan met while attending Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, New York. Both were budding musicians and they quickly became good friends, Chris on bass and Dan on drums. “It was awesome [starting out in Upstate New York] because there was nothing else to do. So music ended up being our everything. We’d play the Koda Theater and do battle of the bands, and that became our learning ground.” There was a lot of support from friends and family. Things were simpler, but getting noticed was still a lot of hard work. They used tape to record demos, and they used to run around the area flyering cars for upcoming shows (a lost art that has been replaced by the non-personal events calendar on Facebook). At least less trees were harmed in the process. One of the places they used to flyer was the well-known club, Saratoga Winners. Chris and Dan would play there when they were seniors in high school and their first couple years after graduation, to adults packing the place with fans many years older.

    Chris got national attention for his innovative bass playing and was featured in Guitar Player Magazine when he was only 17. A few years after graduating from Shen, Chris moved to Los Angeles. In the 90’s, Chris played for various bands and projects with notable musicians including Tal Bachman (son of Randy Bachman of The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Paul D’Amour (original bassist for Tool) and more. It was for Paul D’Amour’s band Lusk that Chris “bought the upright bass, but that project froze due to troubles with the record company.” Chris went on from there and auditioned for Tal Bachman, playing a sort of John Paul Jones style of bass. After getting his passport straightened out, he found himself on a plane to Maui to produce the record. It was there that he met Bob Rock, “…a “real stand-up guy. Bob was one of those people that I had a great time working with, and I tried to rock his tracks. That got me into The Cult, the audition with Metallica and more. It is paramount to have someone like that [in your corner].”

    The Cult just finished seven years of touring, brought back producer Bob Rock (who also produced their albums Sonic Temple, The Cult, and Beyond Good and Evil), and released their ninth album, Choice of Weapon in 2012. Chris “loves this record, it’s a super strong record. It’s a very ‘now’ kind of record and they did a lot of work promoting it last year.” Later in 2012 The Cult also released a “prequel” album called Weapon of Choice, showing the stretches and energy that the band took in the studio. There is a raw feel to the new songs and it was evident that, as a whole, The Cult went back to their original UK roots. Chris’s unique style is evident throughout the album and it’s worth checking it out, on iTunes here.

    Now that The Cult is taking a break from touring and recording, Wyse can concentrate on his project, Owl. Owl includes his childhood friend, drummer Dan Dinsmore, and Jason Mezilis, who Chris met in Hollywood in the early 2000’s. “I met Jason in a club through a mutual friend. We hit it off and followed each other’s careers. I would join bands, be on the road, and Jason was aware of my old Owl shows. Jason is incredibly talented, competent and hit it off with Dan.” Together they are Owl and they recorded a few of their recent tracks at Overit Studios just outside of Albany.  Dinsmore built the studio in an old Catholic Church. Chris added, “…The feeling and acoustics [in the church] are amazing. It gets you really inspired.”

    Chris and Dan will be back in Clifton Park playing with Jason as Owl, on March 30th with other hometown artist, Maria Brink and her band, In This Moment. “Dan and I are excited to be there. It’s not just 2013 and promoting The Right Thing album.  We played at that there as teens, when it was called Tigers. That’s the interesting thing. Playing Manhattan and LA feels like playing at home, but still nothing like playing down the road from where you first started playing music. I was just a teenager and it’s an honor to have the opportunity to play to my roots.”

    Well, the honor is Upstate New York’s when local-gone-rock-star, Chris Wyse, comes back home to Upstate Concert Hall on March 30th. will be there to witness the warm homecoming performance.

  • Sledgehammer – Who Played it Better?

    The first in an occasional series, we’ll look at local bands and acts performing in the Upstate region who cover the same tune and see who fans think performed it better. For our first installment, we have North Carolina act Big Something and Albany locals Formula 5 each performing Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”.

    They performed the tune two days apart at Red Square in Albany and found each version very well received from the audience on both occasions.

    Listen to both versions and then vote in the comments below which band played “Sledgehammer” better.

    Big Something, February 28th at Red Square

    Formula 5, March 2nd at Red Square

    The Original version, by Peter Gabriel

    Vote in the comments below!

  • B.B. King to celebrate The Massry Center for the Arts’ 5th Anniversary on Sunday April 14th

    The world’s greatest blues artist in the Capital Region’s most intimate concert venue.  It doesn’t get any better that that. The College of Saint Rose will proudly celebrate the fifth anniversary of its acclaimed Massry Center for the Arts with an exclusive benefit performance by the legendary B.B. King. The sold-out black-tie gala will take place Sunday, April 14, in the Kathleen McManus Picotte Recital Hall, Massry Center for the Arts, on the Saint Rose campus.  Co-chairing the gala planning committee are Julie Massry Knox and Murray C. Massry, with Tri-City Rentals  the gala’s presenting sponsor.

    massry center b.b. kingFor six decades, there has been only one King of the Blues: Riley B. King, affectionately known as B.B. King.  Since King started recording in the late 1940s, he has released more than 60 albums, many of them considered blues classics.  Over the years, King has developed one of the world’s most readily identified guitar styles.  He borrowed from Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of a rock guitarist’s vocabulary.  His economy, his every-note-counts phrasing, has been a model for thousands of players such as Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Rush, Johnny Winter and Albert King.

    King has mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound.  His singing is richly melodic, both vocally and in the “singing” that comes from Lucille, the name he has given to each of his guitars since the mid-1950s.  In King’s words, “When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille.  I’m trying to get people to see that we are our brother’s keeper, I still work on it.  Red, white, black, brown, yellow, rich, poor, we all have the blues.”

    For more about B.B. King, visit www.bbking.com and www.bbkingfanclub.net.

    The Massry Center for the Arts opened in 2008 and features the 400-seat Kathleen McManus Picotte Recital Hall, Esther Massry Art Gallery, choral and instrument rehearsal rooms, teaching studios, piano labs and classrooms, and played host to dozens of musical legends in it’s short lifespan.  The $14 million, 46,000 square-foot gem is certified LEED Gold, ranking it among the Capital Region’s most energy-efficient and Earth-friendly buildings.

  • An Interview with Ralph Castelli of RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles

    RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles will be playing at the Palace Theater on March 18th. I recently spoke with Ralph Castelli, who has played Ringo Starr for nearly 30 years in the Broadway production. Tickets are available at The Palace box office.

    Ralph Castelli Tom Miller: Hi Ralph. Can you tell our readers what they can expect to see next week at the RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles show?

    Ralph Castelli:  Sure. The show is obviously a show about the Beatles. It’s a live concert with a theatrical element to it. What I mean by that is it’s a multimedia extravaganza which is a time capsule that takes the viewer all the way back to the early 60’s. As the curtain opens, the viewer will see the complete set of the Ed Sullivan stage where the Beatles performed on that famous evening in February 1964. Then we move forward chronologically, showing more videos of events going on at the time, many costume changes, different stage sets which resemble Beatles album covers, and of course more Beatles music. We continue forward through the Sgt Pepper’s era, which of course is very colorful with the whole “flower power” movement, and our hair is getting longer (laughing) and our sideburns are getting bushier. Then we get into Abbey Road which takes us to the end of the show.

    TM:  That really sounds amazing! Do you have a favorite era or part of the show?

    RC:  Well, every two years or so we re-vamp the show so this is a new show for us. There’s a lot of new videos and a lot of new songs. Nearly 40% of the songs in this show are new for us. I think my favorite part of this show is the Sgt. Pepper’s era and I actually like everything from Sgt. Pepper’s to the end of the show. I really love it all. It’s hard to pick a section of their career that I like the most.

    TM:  How about playing it? Is any era more difficult than another?

    RC:  Yeah, definitely. When we get into the Sgt. Pepper’s album and All You Need is Love, there’s a fifth band member that comes out and plays with us. The only way we could perform these songs live was to have a fifth member. There’s a lot of intricate parts and over dubs that the Beatles used. “Strawberry Fields Forever”, for example, is very tricky ’cause of all the over dubs. You know, trying to get it all in the context of the song is tricky, but at the same time, it’s really fun. But the only way we can do it live is to have a fifth member.

    TM:  How long have you been with the production?

    RC:  I’ve been with RAIN for almost 30 years.

    TM:  Being with RAIN for so long, you must have a ton of interesting stories and experiences. Can you share a few that stand out?

    RC:  Oh, yeah! There’s a lot of great stories and interesting places and a lot of great people. Nothing really stands out right now but I do meet a lot of interesting people. That’s what stands out the most. A lot of those people share their stories with us, about when they saw the Beatles or even stories about meeting them. Those are the stories I enjoy hearing. Another great thing I enjoy is, sometimes when the curtain is raised, we can see two or even three generations of Beatles fans watching the show together. You know what I mean? You see the grandparents, and then the parents and their kids. It’s really something special when you think about it. There’s always a lot of kids, both teenagers and younger kids. And they all know the words to the songs!

    TM: That actually brings me to my next question. Do you guys, the band, feel an obligation or responsibility to bridge the past to the present as far as keeping the Beatles experience and Beatles music alive? Especially to the younger generations?

    RC: You know Tom, it just seems to happen that way. It just transcends that way. It’s a natural progression for our show. Touring the country or being on Broadway like we are now, it’s just natural that the experience and the music is introduced to younger generations. It’s not something we have to go out of our way to do. It just happens naturally. The kids are loving it as much as their parents and grandparents!

    TM:  That’s great news for everyone! And that leads me to my final question. With the “Beatles Generation” getting older and ultimately fewer and fewer, where do you see the future of RAIN?

    RC:  Well, we just had that discussion with the production agency and management not too long ago. We see the show going on for another 10, 15, or even 20 years. Especially on Broadway. There’s tons of Broadway shows that run for decades. I still think this show has a lot of life left in it. And we do it right, you know? We’re like Kentucky Fried Chicken (laughing), “we do Beatles right!”

    TM:  Ralph, it’s been great talking to you. I’m really looking forward to seeing you and seeing the show. Thank you.

  • Phish Announces Summer 2013 Tour Dates Just in the Nick of Time, will play SPAC July 5-7

    Well ladies and gentlemen, your prayers have been answered. The long waited Phish Summer Tour 2013 dates have been released just before we all lost our minds, and just in their phashion, in the most creative way possible.

    phish summer tour 2013Much like our dearest Phish, most of us had begin to feel that these dates would never be released and our Summer tour schedules would be seriously lacking. As usual, message boards and Facebook feeds began filling up instantaneously with the rejoice over the long anticipated dates. The tour will start off in Maine on July 3rd, stop at Saratoga Performing Arts Center from July 5th-7th and end in Colorado with another three-night run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, August 30-September 1 . More dates for the fall will most likely be announced soon.

    The ticketing window for requesting tickets to the first leg of tour is already open. Make sure you put your requests in before Monday, March 12th at 11:59 AM.

    7/3 Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, Bangor, ME
    7/5 Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
    7/6 Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
    7/7 Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
    7/9 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ONT
    7/10 P.N.C. Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
    7/12 Nikon Theatre at Jones Beach, Wantaugh, NY
    7/13 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
    7/14 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
    7/16 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alphraretta, GA
    7/17 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alphraretta, GA
    7/19 Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, IL
    7/20 Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, IL
    7/21 Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, IL
    7/26 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
    7/27 The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
    7/30 Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena, Stateline, NV
    7/31 Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena, Stateline, NV
    8/2 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
    8/3 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
    8/4 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
    8/5 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA
    8/30 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
    8/31 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
    9/1 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO

    See you on tour! Check out our coverage from last year’s three-night run at SPAC.

  • The Big Up 2013 – August 8th-10th at a new home in Claverack, NY

    There was an immense amount of disappointment voiced when Shireworks Productions announced the one year hiatus of The Big Up festival in 2012. The mass letdown only fueled the excitement when they announced that they would be back Summer 2013. This year, however, the festival will be held in Claverack, NY which is just a quick 45 minutes from Albany.

    The time has come to start planning your summer festival schedule and it seems like The Big Up is at the top of many festie-goers list this year. The dates are Thursday August 8th – Saturday August 10th

    “Wow! Tickets are flying out the door!”, they posted just hours after tickets went on sale. The first string of artists released for the lineup include  Holy Fuck, Escort, the world premiere of Abakus live band, a DJ set from Chris Keating of Yeasayer, Jojo Mayer & Nerve, the host band Higher Organix, Kung Fu, Dopapod, Brothers Past, Normal Instruments and Party Supplies.  Their second announcement included Beats Antique,  GAUDI, The Egg , Kung Fu,  DrFameus, The Indobox , Consider The Source, Timbre Coup , lespecial, SOUNDUO, Greenhouse Lounge, Cosmic Dust Bunnies, Business Casual Disco,  Former Champions, Jeff Bujak, Blacklight Rukus,  Ian Stewart, The Edd, FiKus, King Holiday, Horizon Wireless, Speakerbot, Richard James & The Name Changers, Formula 5, Color Channel, ConnetICON, Interlopers, Galaxy Dynamite, Laser Sex, Hot Jambalaya, Mister F, Rizzo’s Dilemma, Stokeswood, The Blue Goddess, Aqueous, Spundose, Arpetrio, DJ Adam Amrod, Narkatta, ShwizZ , Sojourner, and SOLARiS..
    Phase three of the lineup announcement  unveiled a huge add on to the list of artists including AN-TEN-NAE, Orchard Lounge

    Kung Fu Prince Tribute set ft. The Motet’s Jans Ingber, Space Jesus Live, IMANGELES, Elephant Wrecking Ball, Jahman Brahman, Dynamo and Badnutbeats, Izahead, I Yahn I Arkestra, Operation Dankstar, Lost Optical, Beat Machine, Baam Bada, People’s Blues of Richmond and Jammin Toast
    Judging by the huge response from social media, if you are planning on getting tickets; buy them soon.

    Also follow The Big Up for more updates on Twitter and Facebook.

  • Camp Bisco 12: Back with a Vengeance

    It’s about that time of year again when the social media feeds fill with people’s excitement and let downs about their up coming festival season. Every year I find myself in a mad dash to acquire the funds to support my undying love for live music. It seems everyone is in agreement over this past week’s Camp Bisco 12 lineup release. The best thing about Camp Bisco is you never know what to expect. Within the past six or seven years of my own attendance I’ve been able to see such a wide spectrum of music acts all so close to home.

    The past years have included major acts such as Shpongle live, (including Simon Posford, Raja Ramm and the rest of their psychedelic entourage) LCD Soundystem, The Disco Biscuits (of course), Cut Copy, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg (when he wasn’t quite a lion yet), Pretty Lights,  Sound Tribe Sector 9, The New Deal, Girl Talk, and many, many more. Over the past years we have seen Camp Bisco grow from the one stage local festival into a national phenomena attracting individuals from all across America for the longest weekend of their lives. It has been amazing to watch the growth of such an amazing festival over the past few years. This will be the twelfth Camp Bisco and the seventh of which will be hosted at the Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, New York.

    Two weeks ago when the lineup was released the excitement slowly began to build, and will continue to do so until the day we all wait in line in the hot July sun to enter the world of Bisco. “126 days until Camp Bisco”- the banner reads, ticking down every second on CampBisco.net. This years lineup so far includes The Disco Biscuits, Bassnectar, Passion Pit, STS9, Animal Collective, Umphrey’s McGee, Flux Pavillion, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Lotus, Boys Noize, Wolfgang Gartner, Tommy Trash, Dillion Francis, UZ, Aeroplane, Alvin Risk, Audrey Napoleon, Baauer, Bear Mountain, Boombox, Break Science, Cherub, Chris Malinchak, Clockwork, Com Truise, Congorock, Cosby Sweater, Crizzly, Dan Deacon, Designer Drugs, Dirtyphonics (Live), El-P, Eskmo, Flosstradamus, Free Energy, Gigamesh, Govinda, Gramatik, Grandtheft, Green Lantern, HeRobust, Heroes x Villians, Indobox, Killer Mike, Koan Sound, Manic Focus, M | O | D, Nadis Warriors, Nick Thayer, Paper Diamond, Party Supplies, Popeska, Project 46, RL Grime, Rubblebucket, Ryan Hemsworth, The Werks, Toro y Moi, Twiddle, Vacationer, VHS or Beta, Wick-It the Instigator, and Zoogma.

    Second leg announcement includes Destroid (Feat. Excision, Downlink and KJ Sawka), Madeon, Danny Brown, Seven Lions, Digital Tape Machine, Bondax, Strip Steve, Moon boots, Perseus, Alpha Data, Autobody and The Manhattan Project. PLUS: Curated tents by Owsla Vs. BoyzNoise Records, French Express and ThisSongIsSick.Com

    Last years lineup included artists such as Bassnectar, Crystal Castles, Amon Tobin, Big Boi and Atmosphere. Just when you think that Camp Bisco cannot out do themselves, they do.

    If you would like to listen to some of the scheduled artists check out Baxstar’s playlist on soundcloud:
    https://soundcloud.com/soulryder-princess/sets/get-pumped-for-bisco-carla-d

    The latest announcements are centered around the highly speculated and exciting performance by Zeds Dead. The festival also welcomed LTJ Bukem, Destructo, Samo Sound Boy and Gravity A for the upcoming festival. The announcement also included the famous Camp Bisco ferris wheel, a Bisco Air Bag, yoga and hooping workshops, greening initiatives and a brand new Hammock Lounge by the Lake. This year there will be increased water stations, new showers and refresh stations with power outlets for all you folks who need to charge up those cellphones. New and exciting things are heading our way for this upcoming festival which is just a few short weeks away.

    Tickets are still on sale at Campbisco.net, stay tuned for more updates

  • Three Takes: Dopapod at Red Square in Albany, February 28th, The Westcott in Syracuse, March 1st and Water Street Music Hall in Rochester, March 2nd

    Dopapod is in the midst of a huge tour and made three stops in Upstate New York last weekend including at Red Square. Here are recaps, videos and photos of shows in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester.

    Red Square, Albany, February 28th

    Review by Pete Mason

    Red Square in Albany kicked off the first of three incredible nights of music as Dopapod swung through Upstate New York with Big Something from Burlington, NC in support. The opener was a new sextet to visit the region and slayed with a great cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and uniquely incorporated an instrument I had never seen before, an EWI (an acronym for electric wind instrument), into the show without overshadowing the rest of the music. These guys are worth finding at a festival this summer or the next time they make it to Upstate NY.

    Having played with Dopapod at The Big What Festival in North Carolina, the two bands found solid support and kinship on the road. They have a good core sound and layer each instrument on top of one another, leading to thick and complicated jams that ignite the dance fuel in the crowd.

    It has been great to see Dopapod grow and develop in the past few years, exciting fanbase no matter where and when they play. With a new lighting setup, Dopapod played to a packed house, tearing through old songs and a pair of new tunes, including “Like a Ball”.

    “Braindead”, off Redivider ,was hit with the industrial stick and spiced up a notch. The crowd, 20s-30s for the most part, was full of folks getting down to the set, especially when songs meandered off into the oblivion of improvisational bliss. “Carolina”, a slow rumba if I ever heard one, filled in nicely before the debut of “Priorities”.

    Dopapod also announced that night that they would be playing Saturday May 11th at The Spring Revival in Lyons NY, hosted by ‘s own HerbyOne and State Wide Music. There are other area festival appearances this summer, some still yet to be named, but one that is announced is one of ’s favorite’s, Backwoods Pondfest, located in Peru, NY near the Ausable Chasm. Catching Dopapod is entering another world of jam music, one that combined the best of progressive rock and electronic beats for some heavy duty performances. They are one you don’t want to regret missing.

    Setlist: FABA, Like A Ball, French Bowling, New James, Sonic > Braindead, Off The Cuff, Ellemenno > The Chocolate Drum Machine > Carolina, Priorities > Tequila* > Priorities, Bahbi
    E: Nuggy Jawson, Trapper Keeper^
    *impromptu cover; Rob quoted the first Ninja Turtles movie twice
    ^dedicated to Jason Gibbs for becoming the new Pope… No one thought it was funny.

    Photos by Andy Hill

    The Westcott Theater, Syracuse, March 1st

    review by Quinn Donnell, photos by Kevin Burke

    As Dopapod spent their weekend touring through Albany, Syracuse, and Rochester, the four-piece experimental funk-rock group surely experienced a number of similarities associated with playing shows in Upstate New York. On Friday night in Syracuse, however, an audience dominated by Syracuse University students provided a unique experience for the band. Joined for the first time this tour by The Manhattan Project, a Rochester-based duo whose synth-led jams put the Westcott Theater’s crowd in the perfect mood for a night of groovin’, Dopapod headlined an evening of great jams and great times.

    As the Manhattan Project concluded their opening set, audience members who had spent the beginning portion of their evening either at the bar or hula hooping away from the dance-designated pit came together in front of the stage for a performance from their favorite electro-jam band. After a nearly ten minute intro involving beams of light and slow, monotonous bells, Dopapod took the Westcott’s stage. Juxtaposed with their mellow introduction, the band’s opening song, “Bubblebrain,” involved delay-heavy guitar riffs and a booming, tribal-like drumbeat. As Dopapod’s set progressed, their experience as performers who have played over 150 shows every year for the last three years, became apparent. The crowd found its groove and danced under flashing lights with glow-in-the-dark accessories. Playing a cover of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” Dopapod concluded their set to appreciative applause from the audience. As Dopapod continues to tour throughout the country, a future stop back in Syracuse would be greatly appreciated. Check them out in Ithaca on April 23rd.

    Setlist: Bubblebrain, Roid Rage, Present Ghosts, Jam > Onionhead, Turnin’ Knobs, Drum Machine > STADA, Trapper Keeper, Weird Charlie, Indian Grits > Psycho Nature

    Encore: You Oughta Know

    Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, March 2nd

    Review by Darren Kemp

    The Upstate NY Dopapod run continued Saturday with a nearly sold out show at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester. Local band Haewa opened with a scorcher of a set that showed they would not be an opener for long. Dopapod hit the stage around 11 pm for a long two-hour set filled with a nicely selected mix of new material, old songs and a spot on cover of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun complete with organ vocals.

    Highlights included the aforementioned cover and an absolutely mind-bending “French Bowling” > “Brain Dead” pairing. The band left the stage around 1:15 am to an ear deafening roar and came back to reward the audience with a “Off the Cuff” cover with Fleet Foxes teases. An excellent performance by two bands with bright futures.

    Setlist: Priorities, Black and White. French Bowling > Braindead, Black Hole Sun* > Present Ghosts, Sonic > My Elephant Vs. Your Elephant, Vol. 3 #86^, We Are Not Alone > Give It A Name
    Encore: Off The Cuff%

    *Soundgarden,  ^contained “Rondo Alla Turka” tease (Mozart) %contained “Ragged Wood” tease (Fleet Foxes)

  • Formula 5 hosted an album release party with Funktional Flow at Red Square on March 2nd

    On March 2nd at Red Square, two of Upstate’s finest bands took the stage and amid a packed house, reinvigorated the jamband brand with the music of Buffalo’s Funktional Flow and Albany’s Formula 5. From opposite ends of the NYS Thruway, these two bands have played together before and had an amicability that was apparent before the show started and carried through, when after “Mulligans”, Funktional Flow brought up Mike McDonald and Joe Davis from Formula 5 for “Crosseyed and Painless” and a dub version of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe”. The sound for Funktional Flow is a bit reggae with hints of Disco Biscuits worked in, particularly the sound of Jon Barber. Overall, the opener proved to be an eye-opener, showing that across Upstate New York, every city and region has a band on the rise, and with Funktional Flow, some serious potential.

    Formula 5, who had decked the walls of Red Square with poster board highlighting the names of their tracks with a nerdy/artistic flair, were playing in support of their debut album, Formula 5. The first set was full of horns from Bryan Brundige and Jeff Nania from The Chronicles, who also play on the album. They say in for a first set that opened with “Mister Elixer” off the album and ended the set with an outstanding and surprising version of Zeppelin’s “Trampled Underfoot”.

    formula 5 funktional flow

    The second set featured mostly originals, both on the album and not, with the four piece hammering through the tunes at a paced speed. There was no reason to rush on this night of celebration. Later in the set, “Sand” was an unexpected surprise and Jammed our nicely by all, particularly McDonald on keys. The catchiest tune I’ve heard in years, “Hot Box”, led to the biggest dance party of the night with the packed house crowding near the front of the stage for this number. Not to end it early, they followed up “Hot Box” with “The Music Never Stopped” and the engines were fired up again among the crowd. An encore of “The Fall” and “Goin’ Down” rounded out the night.

    Altogether, this was a stellar night and provided one of the best crowds of 2013 for local music. This was a celebration not just for the release of an album, but for whats to come.

    Formula 5 setlist – Download the show here!

    Set 1: Mister Elixer, Houdini, Sledgehammer, Paella, 3 Ring Circus, Trampled Underfoot (entire first set with Jeff Nania and Bryan Brundige from The Chronicles)

    Set 2: Pedro, Coming Home, Earthbound Tim, The Clear -> Sand -> Hot Box, Music Never Stopped

    Encore: The Fall ->Goin’ Down

  • Cinnamon Chasers, Digital Dharma and more energized Red Square in Albany on March 1st

    Red Square began filling up the moment the doors opened, with people from all over the Northeast eager to see the legend that is Russ Davies (Cinnamon Chasers). The night began with a bang as DJ duo PartyHorn took the front stage at Red Square spinning some classic disco remixes. The vocal samples were perfectly entwined with the light and whimsical beats these guys pumped out. Halfway through their set they busted out a fun rendition of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” and the crowd couldn’t get enough. Partyhorn played in between every band to keep the energy high throughout the night.

    Organik Time Machine took the stage back with a funky blend of jamtronic beats with the accompaniment of a female singer. It is very rare to see a female singer heading a band, especially for more that just a few vocal samples. It was definitely refreshing to see something different done so well. Each song created its own energy and permeated throughout the Red Square. The light show these guys brought with them was absolutely phenomenal and only further bettered their already amazing set. From the front of the bar I heard the opening chords to the Sound Tribe Sector 9 song, “Ramone and Emiglio.” I can honestly say this is the first time in my life I have ever seen a band cover a STS9 song and I was pleasantly surprised to see them do it so well. Then it was Digital Dharma’s time to shine. I was greatly impressed by how far these guys have come since the last time I had seen them live. The amount of energy and passion these boys pour into their music is evident the moment they take stage. Steve Mink tore up the heavy bass lines while Jess Radosti threw out some guitar riffs that were reminiscent to that of Jon Barber from The Disco Biscuits. Elliot Kershner used the synth as a vehicle to carry each song and jam to further and further depths. It was seriously flooring to see how far these boys have come since they first took stage two years ago.

    At this point in the night Red Square was packed wall to wall and the excitement was eminent as Cinnamon Chasers got ready to take stage. Cinnamon Chasers is a side project of Abakus’ Russ Davies (son of legendary Dave Davies of The Kinks) infusing electronic and disco to make a master mix for a serious dance party. Cinnamon Chasers played well into the early hours of the morning with the high energy crowd doing their best to keep up. Some of the samples and remixes included Bill Withers’ “A Lovely Day” and The Clash’s “Rock the Casbah.” He also pulled out many song from his album Dreams and Machines, including “Flash gun,” “Hyper waves” and “Have I Said Something” . The entire set was filled with an outrageous amount of energy from both Davies and the crowd. For the encore he played “Night Walker” and “Diametric.” I left Red Square almost delusional from the exhaustion of dancing for five hours straight but needless to say, completely content. Truly an amazing show by all artists involved.