The second annual MOVE Music Festival was held April 27th in Albany, bringing 100 bands to play in 10 venues across the city, catering to a wide array of musical genres. People are always looking for the next big thing and wanting to be a part of something, especially from the beginning. Some bands catch big breaks and it’s fun to be a fan who can say, “I saw them before they were famous.” Albany’s MOVE Music Fest gave concert goers the opportunity to experience new acts from all over the state and country, promoting the cities’ ever growing music scene. I barely knew 5 out of 100 bands on the lineup and was expecting really amateur music from bands who I thought were getting their first gig out of their mother’s basement. However, I was more than surprised with the talent that each group displayed and can’t wait to see their upcoming shows.
It was more than overwhelming to look at the schedule for the day and pick a place to start. With each band only getting an hour to play, my friends and I tried to strategize a route which was convenient for ourselves and would give us the chance to catch the few bands we did know in action. In the end, we decided to start at Valentines because it was the closest venue to my apartment and never fails with good music. We arrived at the venue around 4pm with plenty of people inside and out ready to catch the first of many acts to come. Party Boat kicked off my evening with wailing vocals that reminded me of the indie band GroupLove, complete with catchy lyrics and simple harmonies. I love surfer music, mostly for the unique guitar sounds that I don’t hear too often living in Upstate New York. I was excited to learn that the group is from Saratoga Springs and often play at Valentines plus other nearby venues.
Next up was The Ameros, who opened with one of my favorite songs, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage the Elephant. This not only pumped me up but the rest of the crowd too causing a massive surge to the front of the stage. Lead singer Jesse Calhoun belted out lyrics of freedom and rebellion with great passion and honesty, almost causing a riot on the dance floor. Charles Pope blew me away with his sharp guitar riffs especially during “New American Century.” The Ameros musical style ranges from reggae, rock, funk and explosive hip hop. This was their second time playing at the MOVE Music Festival and Calhoun said it went way better this year since they got to play at one of their favorite venues, Valentines, and were able to support their friends’ bands by catching more music too.
While catching some fresh air outside, my friends and I were approached by a few tie dye wearing, hairy faced dudes handing out flyers for the band, TreeHouse! It seemed legit. We headed upstairs at Valentines to check out the reggae group that had traveled all the way from the Carolinas to play here. As it was getting closer to show time, we noticed that the guys handing flyers outside were now on stage, tuning up and was actually the band TreeHouse! The band takes pride in their excessive way to self-promote themselves, such as pulling people in from out the streets. I was totally surprised by the deep vocals coming from Jeremy Anderson that echoed off the walls in the venue. Bassist Matt Link did not stop dancing and grooving the entire time they were on stage. Trey Moody laid out tasty beats throughout the set, only encouraging the band to keep pushing the reggae party vibe.
Barons in the Attic, the grunge rock Albany locals, took the downstairs Valentines stage and blasted into their set with “Julia.” The upbeat melody mixed with hardcore rhythm was more than enough to get the crowd in full dance mode. The Barons combine punk, garage and folk with energetic force and attitude, always making for a good show. Matt Hamilton was unavailable for the show so fans were treated to Eric Krans from “The Parlor” who fit right in by strumming and stirring up the crowd just as loud as the rest of the boys.
For a change of pace, we headed towards Lark St where there would be more venues with more music. My girlfriend suggested we check out Brown Bread & Von Holt, an electronic pop band from her home town in Beacon, NY. We cruised into Lark Tavern, a bar that after undergoing renovations, hosts routine musical acts of all genres in their back room with a small stage and plenty of table seating. The dynamic duo is Rebecca Doerfer (Brown Bread) and Colin Cheyne (Von Holt) who together make up a bone chilling dance party. Doerfer’s voice is haunting and angelic while Cheyne sends out eerie chords from his guitar. Their sound is a dark and electronic space jam full of heartbreak yet good spirits.
Still a new festival, MOVE is off to a great start and has support next year when they want to host 100 bands in our back yard of Albany.
Grandpa in this case refers to the kind of guitar player Leo Kottke is – playing songs on an acoustic guitar while stopping to tell long, drawn out stories as he gets the tuning just right. He could easily be pictured sitting on the edge of a porch telling folk tales while strumming his guitar, just as he performed his 90 minute set this past Friday in the smaller and much more intimate Swyer Theater at The Egg, just a floor below the main room many are familiar with. I only learned of Leo Kottke in 2003 when he put out Clone with 
Playing 15 or so songs over the course of the night, the setlist that was only found inside the mind of Leo. Comprised of ballads and love songs, instrumentals of both a progressive and orchestral nature, Kottke could have tackled classical numbers in the style of Bela Fleck and given a performance that would be of nearly the same caliber.
Two fans placed on either side, next came banners reading IN THIS MOMENT with an image of a hand holding an apple, dripping blood that represented the theme of their new record, Blood. The crew team then placed two white shiny mannequins with red markings, one on each side. Finally, a white sculpture with melted faces and swords sticking out was arranged in front of the box; a piece of a catacomb wall, if you will. Smoke glided elegantly across the stage…overall, a very eerie setting that raised a question that everyone was thinking: What do they have in store for us?
Finally, the lights dimmed and a familiar drumbeat filled the ears of fellow concertgoers, Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, that quickly faded into mixed creepy whispers, belonging to “It is Written”, off of Blood. The whispers ended and the song changed to the very first track from the record, “Rise With Me”, cuing Albany’s angel of metal, Maria Brink, to make herself known. She stepped upon the stage wearing a white hooded cloak that covered her one-piece latex outfit with nude stocks and two white straps wrapped around her knees. She made her way to the stage, the fans blowing up her long blonde wavy hair, the blue hue revealed her dark, smeared eye-shadow. Through her mic headset, she sang the lyrics to “Rise With Me”, and with that, the rest of the band members emerged through the thick mist. The song then changed to their current single, “Adrenalize”, the fast paced drumbeat energized. Maria gripped the skull stands as she whipped her hair wildly to the rhythm of the song and danced provocatively.
Once the solo ended, Maria came back on stage wearing her white Oxford shirt, the latex one-piece and a white navy hat with the smoke gun. She then screamed out the band’s well-known single, “The Gun Show”. Her piercing scream rang the fellow music lovers’ ears and bounced off the Upstate Concert Hall’s walls. The smoke shot from the gun whenever she screamed “WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW”. Fans mouthed along to the words, fists pumped the air, and some moshed to the song. Eventually the mood changed from sexy heavy metal to just plain sexy as crewmembers held up a white sheet and Maria wore shredded white wings on her arms. There was a white backlight that revealed her silhouette, as she waved her arms and danced to the rhythm of the drums. After the performance of “Aries”, a man wearing a bunny-mask and a tuxedo stepped up onto Maria’s box, and stood behind her as the band began to perform the second to last song, “Beast Within”.
All in all, the setlist was amazing, the set itself was very creepy and probably will continue to haunt the fellow concertgoers’ dreams, and Maria Brink with her beautifully bone-chilling scream will ring in their minds, as they remember the night In This Moment rocked the Upstate Concert Hall.
Anchored by guitarists Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt, along with drummer Tom Hunting, (each of whom have been, for the most part, playing under the Exodus flag since the early ’80s), singer Rob Dukes prowled the stage like a prize fighter daring someone to enter the ring, HIS ring. Bassist Jack Gibson, earning the misleading honor of being the most subdued band member, provided a firm, gut-bruising foundation, and together, Exodus whipped the faithful crowd into a maelstrom of pumping fists, spasmodic thrashing, and a sea of heavy-metal-devil-horns.
The Machine was top notch and recreated the Pink Floyd sound and nearly the stage show, with copious amounts of smoke filling the air, creating silhouettes of the band members, particularly guitarist Ryan Ball and his mane of hair. The lights and lasers had hints of the Dark Side of the Moon prism in the colors, a visual treat, particularly on this night. A dark ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’ formed out of a jam from ‘Signs of Life’, ‘Money’ elicited attention from the audience for one of the most played songs in the Floyd catalog, as well as a psychedelic ‘Astronomy Domine’. The encore was a dose of rare and popular ‘Julia Dream’, from the 1960s era of Pink Floyd that kept everyone focused while they explored the early catalog (which is highly undervalued, by the way). The drum beats to signal ‘Run Like Hell’ recalled The Wall and had fist pumps from a handful in the crowd and ended the night, although the audience wanted more on a night that was still young, even if the crowd wasn’t.
The Machine, Upstate Concert Hall
Timbre Coup, Bayou Cafe, Albany 4/20/13 
