Despite the fact that not that many people seemed to be interested in the opening bands, quite a few fellow concert junkies really warmed up to Surrender the Fall.
Surrender the Fall started their speedy setlist with “Love Hate Masquerade”, quickly followed by “Everything You Want Me to Be”, and “Bleed”. The concert goers from the back of the small venue began to make their way towards the front of the stage, intrigued by this band’s unique gruff sound. The band then continued with “Pitiful” and “Deeper Inside”, by the end of the song, a small group had formed in front of the Tennesseean band, completely mesmerized by their killer sound and rocked their hearts out. The band finished their set with their current single, “Some Kind of Perfect” and “Nothing”.
To say the least, this opening band made their mark with their energizing vibe, their very catchy tunes, and their strong ability of connecting with the fans. All in all, Surrender the Fall rocked the House of Rock.
The music playing in the overhead speakers came to a screeching halt, hinting it was time for the insanity known as Carnival of Madness to begin. We As Human was the first to hit the stage, starting their speedy setlist with “Sever” and “Dead Man”. Skillet’s John Cooper accompanied the band for the performance of “Zombie”, and the band finished the set with “I Stand” and their current single “Strike Back”. They left the eager concertgoers hungry for more of their music, but they all knew it was time for In This Moment to carry the torch of madness.
In This Moment began with the first song from their latest record, “Rise with Me”, the daunting setting intensified as a cool fog rolled across the stage and the two white-masked backup dancers made their way to their posts and waited for Upstate New York’s siren to make her presence known. Maria Brink, clad in a red ringmaster coat and a top hat, stepped onto the platform and grabbed the skull staffs as the band began to play “Adrenalize”. Her dancers then handed her a smoke gun, hinting the next song to play was “Blazin’”, her piercing shriek gave the ever-adoring fans such chills. For the next song, “Whore”, Maria wore a white button down shirt and a plaid mini skirt with a cone hat that read WHORE. At the end of the song, Brink gave the hat to an over-eager fan. In This Moment ended their set with “Burn” and “Blood”. During those two songs, Maria wore a red billowing cape, definitely a fitting outfit for both songs. In This Moment definitely pumped the fans up for Skillet’s heavenly arrival.
To say Skillet‘s introduction was “awesome” is a huge understatement. They started with a heavy electronic remixed version of “Hero”, the anticipation from the fellow concert junkies growing within every booming second. Finally, Skillet made their presence known, immediately starting their set with “Hero”, quickly followed by “Whispers in the Dark”. John introduced the next song from their latest album, Rise, “Sick of It” to which the fans began to chant with Cooper, then the band went straight into the catchy, heavy-beat song. Skillet then brought out their two musicians who played the strings intro for “Comatose”. The next to be performed was “Rise” and the band surprised their fans with their rising platforms during the performance of “Awake and Alive”. Before Skillet proceeded with “The Last Night”, John gave a brief explanation of the song, of a close friend attempted to end her life, and he wrote the song to say that God is more than willing to give second chances, because everyone deserves them. Afterwards, the band played “Not Gonna Die”, “Circus for a Psycho”, ending the set with “Monster” and “Rebirthing”. Skillet sure did put on a very powerful performance, filled with songs that will haunt the back of the music lovers mind for the rest of the night. Oh, but the madness did not end there. It was Papa Roach‘s turn to reveal what they had in store for us.
By the looks of it, Papa Roach was more than ready to blow everyone away, starting their set with “Still Swingin’”, proceeded by “Blood Brothers”, and “Give Me Back My Life”. The madness brewing from the crowd was definitely kicked up a notch with Papa Roach‘s killer performance. But the party was really getting started, they continued their set with “Between Angels and Insects”, “Where Did the Angels Go”, and “Burn”. The moshing and head-banging intensified with every waking minute that Jacoby Shaddix was doing what he does best, riling up the crowd with his fantastic pipes. Still, he was not done with heating the fans up with “Forever”, their current single, “Leader of the Broken Hearts”, and their classic, “Scars”. Papa Roach left the very excited crowd with “…To Be Loved”, “Getting Away with Murder”, and their very well known single, “Last Resort”. Now it was time for Shinedown to blow a hole in the stormy sky.
Shinedown started with a giant black drape set in front of the stage with their symbol in the dead center of it. The lights dimmed, hinting it was time for the madness to continue. Brent Smith’s powerful, melodic voice could be heard from behind the drape as he began to sing “I’m Not Alright”, then the drape dropped and revealed what was really going on behind the curtain. Street performers waving flames around, fire-breathers on the stage, it was the very definition of what is expected of the Carnival of Madness. Shinedown continued their set with “Enemies”, “Devour”, and “Unity”. Through the speedy setlist, they proceeded with “The Crow and the Butterfly”, their fast paced track, “Adrenaline”, and their very moving yet powerful current single, “I’ll Follow You”. The next song to play was “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)”, the overhead lights spelled out BOOM after each time Shinedown yelled out the word. The thunderstorm outside of the amphitheater began to intensify with every beat of the song and at the last BOOM, a crack of thunder shook the ground, as if God was really rocking out to Shinedown as well. They then continued with “If You Only Knew”, “Amaryllis”, and “45”. But the evening did not end there. Shinedown briefly left the stage, leaving some of the fans chanting their name, begging for more. They then returned to the stage, giving the crowd the encore they’ve all been waiting for: the song that fits their performance perfectly, “Sound of Madness”, “Second Chance”, and their infamous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man”. Shinedown ended the evening with the first single from their latest record, “Bully”. One mind-blowing way to end the evening.
All in all, this event was just definitely indescribable. One would have to be there to witness the insanity known as Carnival of Madness. Be sure to check out upcoming tour dates on the website, www.carnivalofmadness.com. This is something you will not want to miss!
The Avett Brothers brought their unique punk-rock, rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll style of bluegrassy music to CMAC on July 26th – to a crowd that was pumped to experience the energy that this band brings to the stage, each and every time, increasing their antics to new levels without pause or hesitation.
Opening with “Live and Die” – the bar was set high for the night, the crowd roared and cheered to this upbeat song about finding love to make it through a conflict. Seeing this band live is an interaction between artist and fans using the universal language of music, portraying emotions we can all relate to in one way or another, and this is why their fans adore them so.
This is not a band that stands in one spot jamming out on their guitar; no no, The Avetts live and breathe the music they create, they leap around the stage with their instruments without missing a note, they jump on top of the piano and speakers, with the enthusiasm of a child; it is nothing short of a spiritual experience to see this band live.
During a high energy “Kick Drum Heart” Seth leaped into the crowd and body surfed deep into the crowd. Fans went wild with excitement at the opportunity to be a part of Seth’s well-known rock-star behavior. Singalongs with the entire crowd on nearly every song fueled this fire as well. There was no time to sit down! Hell, there wasn’t even a setbreak. The band played their heats out and the crowd ate it up like musical dessert.
Bringing the show full circle from hard-hitting ballads to down right drinking songs – the night ended with this gal’s all time favorite, “I And Love And You” the outpouring of emotion seen on Scott’s face was epic. With one finger pointed straight into the air the crowd and band together belted out: “Three words that became hard to say, I and love and you”. One couldn’t have asked for a more intense show if they dreamt it. The Avett Brothers came to rage! – game, set, match.
The Avett Brothers July 26, 2013 CMAC in Canandaguia
Set 1: Live and Die, Got To Sleep, The Fall, Slight Figure, 74, At The Beach, Head Full Of Doubts, Melody Anne, Winter In My Heart, Just A Closer, No Place To Fall, Paranoia, Kick Drum, Geraldine, Feb 7, Laundry Room, Old ??, Gimme a Kiss, Indolence, Life.
Encore: Fireball Mail, Blue Ridge, Girl From Chile, ILY
Fledging Crow Vegetables is a certified organic farm just northeast of the Adirondack High Peaks region. If you follow the mighty Ausable River you’ll find yourself among some of the greenest, most fertile land New York State can offer and Fledging Crow Vegetable farm is tucked away in the small town of Keeseville. Saturday, August 24th the crew on the farm threw a party – Fledging Crow Fest – for all of their fans. What was once a “Thank You” potluck is now an all out celebration of the good things in life, art, live music, endless dancing, locally crafted beer, and the simple act of sharing a nutritious meal with your neighbors.
The weather for this gathering was 75′ and sunny. The sky was purely blue and the sun was shining down with all of its might. Everyone in the crowd was busy, buzzing around the dance tent, the food line, the artists, vendors, the kids area, the unveiling of the pit roasted pork, and the greenhouses. A local favorite, the band Big Slyde got on stage first and shared their ever-evolving music with the crowd as it poured in. They offered the friendly sounds of the guitar, cello, mandolin, banjo, cajon, various percussion instruments and the voices of multiple singers in the band- the perfect introduction to a jam packed day of music.
As the food was served buffet style and the lines filled up, guests filled their plates and bellies with fresh greens, home made salads, breads, rolls, BBQ chicken, pork, and deserts. Some local breweries had a chance to share some of their finest brews as well. Much to guest’s surprise, the full-glass samples came along with the $30 ticket to get in and the flow of beer seemed endless! Co-owner David Bruce of Schroon Lake’s Paradox Brewery explained how delighted and honored he felt to be a part of something so wholesome and real; he described how it reminded him of the Woodstock generation, a time and place of freedom, self-expression, peace, and strangers coming together as family. What a way to eat, drink and be merry!
Next up on the stage was one the north country’s finest bands, Lucid. Promising more to come later, they played out their day set with sophisticated jams and classy renditions of songs off of their latest album Home is Where We Wanna Grow. With special guest and friend Meadow on stage singing along, the group got the crowd moving and their words of wisdom filled the air, their lyrics like the anthem of the day. Crow Fest mixed things up a bit and invited a local troupe of Samba/Afro-Brazilian dancers along to perform. The ladies of the troupe danced a mesmerizing dance to the drumming of the congas and djembe. Colorful and lively, their energy was infectious and people young and old joined in the performance; the boundary of the performers and crowd disappearing. Hands clapping, feet stomping, faces painted and smiles all around, the show went on like a sandy storm of color, worldly rhythm and pure joy.
As dusk approached and the moon finally graced it’s presence upon the land, the true farm vibe was set into motion thanks to TheBlindOwlBand. Dubbed “Adirondack Freight Train String Music”, these boys know how to bring any party back to its roots. With their true bluegrass sound, dusty ol’ display of character and hearty following of fans, this band brings a show through town that is hard to forget and the perfect fit for a farmyard get down. With the crowd asking for more, Crow Fest brought SpiritualRez along for the ride too. With their island sounds that progress into straight up rock and true funk, Spiritual Rez turned the scene into a dance party. Their lyrics inspired and their beats ignited. The music moved on too fast but Lucid kept playing until sunrise and the vegetable fields filled with sleepy campers.
Owners of the farm, Ian Ater and Lucas Christenson were busy all day greeting guests, keeping food and drinks flowing and soaking up the sights and sounds that were filling their quiet countryside farm. Crow Fest creates the backdrop for people to come together sharing their homegrown works of art, whether it be food, music, conversation, or any other organic creation. What a fine mix of dreams coming together, supporting your local neighbors in their endeavors to bring the power back to the land, and back to the people.
As the dog days of summer are coming to an end, there’s still time for one last big bash to complete the 2013 festival season. The 4th annual Catskill Chill Festival is set to kick off next week, September 6th-8th, at the scenic Camp Minglewood in Hancock and we’ve got a preview for you!
This camp was made for a music festival, given its secluded location with beautiful views of the Catskill Mountains overlooking a crisp blue lake with plenty of tent space and cabin rentals. One of the many ways the Chill manages to keep a cool and relaxed vibe is keeping the capacity under 5,000, creating an intimate festival experience for fans as well as the musicians.
One of the newest additions to the Chill after last year’s positive feedback includes a bigger Acoustic Junction stage featuring returning acts Consider the Source, Brock Butler, The Brummy Brothers , Dan Collins, and new comers Tom Hamilton & Friends, Primate Fiasco and MUN. There will also be a new campsite DJ stage playing host to such acts as Outlet, Horizon Wireless, and Speakerbot. Club Chill has an extended schedule this year giving fans longer sets and dance sessions with artists such as Solaris, Fikus, Shwizz, Aqueous, Spiritual Rez, and Lucid.
There will also be additional yoga sessions with expanded classes, some of which will be accompanied by live music from Cosmal and a Local Farmer’s market serving fresh and local produce in Vendor Village. Returning guests, known as The Chill Fam, can look forward to the free parking and camping, the 3 covered main stages and 2 outdoor stages, live art, and on stage-open mic sessions.
The Catskill Chill recently announced the festival closing act will be “Dopadosio” a collaboration featuring all members of Papadosio and Dopadod together, performing Sunday night at 2am. Guests have until Monday September 9th at 3pm to leave the campgrounds. Tickets are still available for $150 but will go up to $175 at the gate with VIP prices set at $235 which includes private viewing sections, commemorative gear, VIP Mimosa Brunches plus much more.
It’s hard to believe that with a jam packed weekend schedule featuring a variety of talented musical acts and a limitless activities list, the last thing concert goers will be able to do is chill. However, the festival is going strong with a dedicated Chill Fam that continues to spread peace and love, knowing that when there is a will to Chill, there’s a way.
Experimental Funk Rock Band Dopapod is coming to The Westcott Theater in October, featuring opening acts – Auburn, NY natives Minority Report (Funk, Reggae, Groove and Rock) and whiskey jam rock band, Sassafras Jenkins from Utica, NY. This is a pretty impressive line up for local area musicians and should not be missed.
Auburn local musical group Minority Report will be opening for the amazing Dopapod on October 4th at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY. This is an all- ages show doors open at 8pm show starts at 9pm, tickets are $12-$15. Also on the bill for the night is Sassafras Jenkins.
Minority Report has been featured on the front page of Auburn NY Citizen Entertainment section and also will be playing at the Utica Music and Arts Festival(taking place September 13th & 14th). Influences of Minority Report include artists such as Bob Marley, Greg Howe, Marcus Miller, In Living Color, Ben Harper, The Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers and Stevie Wonder. Their song selection gives a little something for everyone of all different musical tastes. They really know how to make the audience move around and dance. Comprised mainly of Old Skool Funk, Reggae, Groove and Rock, and representing the city of Auburn,NY – this should be an awesome show that won’t disappoint.
Tickets for this show are available from band members or online at www.thewestcotttheater.com and www.upstateshows.com. You can grab tickets at The Sound Garden in Syracuse, NY. Come out and support your local musicians at The Wescott Theater!!!!
A six and a half-acre labyrinth, hand crafted from millions of pieces of bluestone known as Opus 40 is an attraction on its own. However, on Saturday, August 31, Radio Woodstock Presents the Felice County Fair, an event drawing upon the finest Hudson Valley musicians and food vendors.
According to the Felice Brothers website, they have “always wanted to put on a festival in [their] backyard.” They will close out the day with a set ending just before dusk. The Felice Brothers are a folk rock outfit that began their career playing New York City Subways with roots in Upstate NY. Amy Helm’s soulful vocals are a breathtaking match for the artistry of the landscape for a late afternoon set. Jazz pianist extraordinaire, Marco Benevento will transcend the physical and create a soundscape that flows through his fingertips. Connor Kennedy has laid out the groundwork for his songwriting ability and is set to perform mid afternoon. His first disc, Nothing Lasts: Nothing’s Over, was released this summer. The daylong event will begin with Paul Green’s Rock Academy All-stars – the performance based interactive music school provides students with genuine opportunities to study and perform music.
The Felice County Fair not only offers food vending and libations by Keegan Ales, but patrons of the event will be giving back to the community as partial proceeds benefit Catskill Mountain Keeper. The not-for-profit organization promotes sustainable growth and protects natural resources essential to healthy communities: an advocate preserving the beauty of the Catskill Mountains.
The music will pause at dusk and resume Sunday, September 1. The married Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn will perform together showcasing their clawhammer style banjo playing aptitudes. Another husband-wife duo, Mike + Ruthy will bring their grit to the Opus property weaving storytelling and acoustic music through the stone and trees. Elijah and the Moon will kick off the day, greeting the sunshine (hopefully) with their intrinsic blend of roots music.
What is it that mother nature has against music this year? Between the floods at All Good and Summer Camp, multiple Statewide Festivals, and even Phish having major issues with rain, you’d think that old lady has a severe case of PMS. (In this case, being Prevent Music Syndrome). That being said, even six inches of mud and dozens of stuck cars could not extinguish the musical fire and heated good times that encapsulated the 31st annual Gathering at Chaffee‘s.
Held just west of Erie Pennsylvania, this for-charity festival is held on the grounds of the Chaffee family. The family has a huge land, filled with wooded and clear areas giving everyone their ideal shot at a nice place to pop a tent. The weather started out nice enough on Friday, with a stellar crowd that left many old timers murmuring that it was the biggest year ever. Given the promotional team of Ryan Bartosek and Tracy Evans from Erie’s premier music venue the crooked iand the perfect mid-sized festival lineup, this reporter was not surprised at the turnout. Friday featured headliners Aqueous and Funktapuss, who both fail to disappoint pretty much every time they take the stage. Many local and out of state bands preceded them, including Michigan’s Dragon Wagon, whose self-described “Bluegrass Folk Rock with a shot of Irish whiskey” music started a virtual hootenanny throughout their well-attended mid afternoon set.
And then the rains came. Saturday started off foreboding with weather forecasts indicating their might be as much as 24 hours of straight downpours. This did not dissuade the weekend citizens though, as many walked by shouting things like “It wouldn’t be Chaffee’s without rain!” Luckily the forecasters were off a bit and the rain cleared up in the afternoon just as the sound of Phish’s “The Lizards” as covered by Eric Brewer and Friends permeated the air. Ohio’s Stagecoach Robbery then performed a simply shredtastic set with a sound somewhere in between high octane Umphrey’s and filthy blues. This band will be missed as this was unfortunately one of their last performances.
Upstate’sConehead Buddhaand Florida’s Copefilled out the the Saturday headlining spots. Conehead, now in their 20th year, had the mud flying as people stomped and hollered through a set filled with a myriad of influences and spot on improvisational moments. Continuing the trend, Cope, yet another hard to define genre mystifying band, played a frenzied set filled with high points, including a bluegrass version of everybody’s hard rock favorite Tool’s “Sober” which its doubtful many humans would imagine could ever work. It worked spectacularly. Don’t miss the fun next year, as the gathering will be back. Bring your boots and hoots!
Equifunk: The All-Inclusive Music Festival, by all accounts, was the greatest weekend of the year. From the music to the Saturday Pool Party to an epic late night campfire set by Marco Benevento to the incredible weather, everything worked out perfectly all weekend long. Set in the beautiful Pocono Mountains at a functional summer camp, Equifunk gave a weekend to festival attendees that drew smiles for all three days of music from every face that could be seen.
Sunset
This festival originally was just a bachelor party for about 50 friends with a couple of bands, but has swelled to three days of music, with multiple stages, and about 1500 attendees. One aspect of the weekend was how small everything felt. Multiple people over the weekend said they felt like they crashed a private party. Artists could be seen walking around the grounds, dancing with the crowds to the music, and chatting up music lovers. Everything seemed very accessible to all attendees and gave the festival a leg-up on all other festivals in the Northeast Region.
Basketball Tournament Winners
The music kicked off Friday with The Woody Brown Project at The Tee Pee Stage and their disco-laced funk. Having two percussionists and two horns solidified this sound and had those who arrived early enough to catch the first act of the festival dancing under the trees. A great cover of “Billie Jean” finished their set just as The Weeks were getting started on The Equifunk Pool Stage. The Weeks play southern rock with a bit of soul mixed in for good measure. The band has a lot of energy on stage and the small crowd that saw them appreciated it and got up and danced. Next was the first major highlight of the festival, 13 year old Bobby Paltauf and his band. Bobby has such amazing control over the guitar. Covering Jimi Hendrix, Warren Haynes and The Grateful Dead, he and the band showed off how much talent they have. Bobby directs the band with ease as to where he wants the music to go. This kid is not to be missed if he comes around to your area. He finished his set with “Tweezer Reprise,” much to the crowd’s delight.
Marco Benevento
King Lincoln brought their brand of rock to the stage and it was perfect music to have the daytime wind down prior to the first night of the festival starting up. Festival goers got their first free meal of the weekend as the beer started flowing while the sun went down. The all-inclusive model is really a great thing and makes Equifunk very unique. To start off The E-Rena, The Main Squeeze came on and brought the funk to the festival. These guys have a great chemistry after only being a five piece for about a year and they owned every second they had on the stage. The crowd was electric throughout their set. Their cover of “No Quarter” had lead singer Corey Frye and guitarist Max Newman showing off their skills, much to the crowd’s excitement. Artist in Residence for the weekend, Sister Sparrow came out to join the band on Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” and blew the roof off of the E-Rena.
The Equifunk All-Stars
JJ Grey and Mofro were out to keep the energy level high. JJ is a great front man and engaged the crowd during the entire set that felt like a rock, funk, and soul revue. “99 Shades of Crazy” as well as “Slow Hot Sweaty” were standouts of the set. The New Mastersounds were the headliners for night one and for this set they had James Casey, another Artist in Residence for the weekend, joined them for a good part of the set. These Englishmen know their funk and from the moment they hit the stage they showed the crowd a good time. Their non-stop hour and a half set oozed with energy that the crowd gave back to them just as hard. Each member of the band is so skilled at their respective instrument, it lets them take each song in any direction they want. When James came out, the addition of the saxophone increased the funk levels exponentially. The set was excellent and afterwards many people went to their cabins or tents, while some faithful stayed up for Boombox and their looping beats with beautiful guitar licks mixed in over them.
The Equifunk All-Stars
Day two of Equifunk started with breakfast and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The food was good and the games were competitive. The Main Squeeze had three of their five members involved in the tournament as well, which was fun to watch. I’ll Be John Brown started the music and their country rock was a perfect way to start the all-day pool party that went down, especially their cover of “Ophelia”. People could be seen rocking out in the pool throughout the day, as well as going down a water slide, while all the bands threw down great music. Superhuman Happiness and their funky disco rock took turns towards spacey jams at times, and it was very noticeable that some of their influences include LCD Soundsytem, The Talking Head and TV on the Radio, and Stuart Bogie confirmed this after their set saying that all three of those were among his favorite bands. Their songs are very complex with two keyboards and two guitars going all at once, and all of it being heavily distorted from song to song, yet the grooves are easy to dance to. These guys are very talented and are a group not to miss. The Monophonics made use of a great horn section to showcase their version of funk and soul. Their set was heavy on the covers but it was the back to back of “Gimme Shelter” and “Bang, Bang” that really made an impression on everyone. With a sound deeply rooted in the ’70s, these guys did a great job of honoring the classic Motown and Stax funk sound in their set.
The Pool Party
Keller Williams & More Than A Little took over The Pool Stage and saw the biggest crowd gathered yet. A set mixed of covers and originals from their forthcoming album made for a very enjoyable set. Keller controlled the audience with ease, not only during the songs, but also during his in between song banter that was very funny. “Samson and Delilah” as well as “Once in a Lifetime” were two great highlights from his set. Keller is never one to be missed and this goes double if he has this band with him. The Heavy Pets had James Casey out to assist them on a fantastic “Help Me Help You”; having James up there pushed the band to a new level and they kept the energy of the sit-in for the rest of their set. They are no strangers to us here at and their set was, as expected, another great one. Marco Benevento closed The Pool Stage down and did it in grand fashion. Wearing American flag jeans and his trademark tiger mask for “Limbs of a Pine,” Marco brought the sun down and got us ready for the nighttime. His high energy set was a definite highlight of the weekend and everyone started to move to the main stage with nothing but smiles after he was done.
The M&M’s
Nigel Hall Band was tasked with opening the evening. James Casey was there to help out as well as Eric Krasno on bass for the whole set. Nigel is a great front man and the smooth funky soul that the band produced was a wonderful start to the evening. Anders Osborne with John Medeski thenwowed the crowd from the moment they all hit the stage. Anders is an amazing guitarist with tons of energy, obvious in every ripping solo that he took. Medeski was laying down beautiful key work throughout the set. The highlight was a very long and absolutely rocking “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” early in the set that had the E-Rena yelling in approval. Near the end of the set there was also a “Wilson” tease that got the crowd going as well.
Pork Tornado
Soulivewith The Shady Horns and Maceo Parker were the headliners for night two and the set was as outstanding as one would expect. Everyone on stage was a virtuoso at their instrument and the music coming from the stage was jaw dropping. Once Maceo hit the stage a few songs into the set, the crowd ate up every second. Sister Sparrow and Nigel Hall came out to help with Ray Charles’s “Night Time is the Right Time” that had the crowd in a frenzy. Maceo was perfect throughout the set both on saxophone and on vocals. Marco Benevento then had a campfire set, in what hopefully will be a yearly tradition. Playing in the round and having audience participation throughout, Marco ran through originals and covers in what many people thought was the moment of the festival. From “Bennie and the Jets” to “The Real Morning Party” to “9 to 5,” Marco had the crowd in his hand the whole time. The New Mastersounds second set of the weekend started around 3 AM and they had many guests throughout the set, including Maceo. They rolled through rock, funk, and soul, just as they had the previous night and again showed their brilliant work on their instruments. The music coming from the stage was beautiful and no one watching could help but dance. As their set ended around 5 AM many people packed it in, but Marco started up an unannounced second campfire set and played until 9 AM. (Author note: I did not see this as I was calling it a day, but I was told from everyone who saw it that it was amazing and guest filled and the highlight of the festival.)
The New Mastersounds with Maceo Parker
This year the festival decided to add Sunday music to the festival and it made for an incredible day. The FrankStalloners started the day with tons of energy and covers that set the tone for the day. Frank has a Joe Cocker vibe to him and rocked the stage hard. “Turn on Your Lovelight” and “Crosstown Traffic” were played great by him and the band. Following his set Papa Mali came out and had Bobby Paltauf as well as Joe Tatton from The New Mastersounds on guitar and keys respectively. Lots of blues came from the stage throughout the set and it was wonderful watching Papa and Bobby trade guitar licks. Mike Dillon Band was next and brought a wild energy that had not been seen the rest of the weekend. Mike’s instrument was so different than most percussionists’ instruments: a mix of a xylophone and a drum kit. Carly Meyers, who plays the whistle, trombone, and vocals in the band, was a ball of energy not only on stage, but in the crowd as well. The whole band had an energy to them that set them apart from every other band at the festival. After the set I asked Dillon where the music comes from, as it is different from anything I had ever seen, saying “It comes from the head and the heart, what can I say”, with a smile. Carly also said “We usually play until we get kicked off the stage, which is three hours sometimes.” This is a band not to miss.
The M&M’s
The London Souls brought their music to the stage and showcased their brand of funk via rock throughout their set. Their cover of “Apostrophe” by Frank Zappa was a clear highlight letting each member of the three piece band some air to show their talents. The Equifunk All-Stars made up of Eddie Roberts and Pete Shand of The New Mastersounds, Nigel Hall, and Stanton Moore were up next. Mike Dillon, James Casey, Carly Meyers, Tash Neal of The London Souls, and Joe Tatton helped out as well throughout the set. The talent on stage was amazing. It was an hour of straight improv that saw every person on stage trying to one-up the energy of another member of the band. Each musician could be seen having a great time with smiles all around on stage, but the smiles were also in the crowd as members of the audience were constantly stunned with joy over the music coming to them from all of this talent. To close out the Pool Stage for the weekend, The Main Squeeze were back up for their second set of the festival. Talking with Corey prior to the set, I asked how it felt to not only open up the main stage at the festival, but also close the pool stage and he said, “It’s been nice growing together with the festival and it was important for them (the festival) to have us do both.” This was third year that The Main Squeeze has played the festival and it seems they will be there every year as both they and the festival have been gaining momentum in the past few years. Their second set was just as beautiful as their first set of the weekend. Corey worked the crowd perfectly again, while Bob “Smiley” Silverstein donned a keytar and tore the stage down near the end of the set. Their version of “Papa was a Rolling Stone” was filled with so much funk; the audience couldn’t help but scream their approval.
The Revivalists and their high energy show opened the E-Rena stage. David Shaw can easily command a crowd like few front man know how to anymore. The moment he stepped on the stage he was a magnet for attention. Ed Williams’ pedal steel playing is great and you can see that everyone on stage is enjoying their time up there as they all interact with one another regularly to bring the energy up even higher than it already is. Pork Tornado headlined the evening and brought their country-rock to the stage in glorious fashion. Jon Fishman is the big draw here, but everyone else in the band holds their own. Joe Moore’s saxophone playing and vocals were wonderful as was his interaction with the crowd, especially during the Divinyls cover “I Touch Myself”. The band was all over the place musically going from Frank Zappa to Frank Sinatra, but it all sounded perfect. This was only their second performance in the last ten years yet it seemed as if they had been together constantly over that time. The set drew one of the loudest ovations from the crowd throughout the whole festival, but it was the final set of the weekend that may have had the best music of the weekend. The M&M’s, a super group made specifically for the festival consisted of Maceo Parker, Papa Mali, Rob Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento and John Medeski; this group had enough talent on stage for an army. As an added bonus, Mike Dillon came out a few songs into the set and stayed for the remainder. The set had loads of covers including, “The Harder They Come,” “Walk On,” but it was “Eminence Front” that brought the funk to the stage. Throughout the song every member of the band had a chance to show why they were on stage at that moment. The band could have just jammed on this one song for an hour and everyone in attendance would have been happy, but there was more music to be heard from this great group of musicians. They closed their set, and the festival, with Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times” and then it was all over.
As everyone began to leave it felt very much like summer camp with new friends saying goodbye to one another and people making promises to stay in touch and to see one another again next year. Equifunk was managed great all weekend and the sky is the limit for this festival. This year was the biggest yet and it’s only going to get bigger. Another great aspect of the festival is that they raffled off a poster signed by every artist for The Mockingbird Foundation. Hopefully something like this can be an annual thing and a bonus for festival goers to get involved in a great cause and have the chance to win a cool prize. Being so close to the Upstate Region, this is a festival not to miss for music lovers. Do yourself a favor and go to the Poconos next year to take in the mountains, the people, and the funk at Equifunk.
It’s around 10:30pm at the debut edition of the Buffalove festival and 3/4’s of Aqueous have taken the stage. Skins wizard Nick Sonricker is standing backstage enjoying a beer. Noticing the odd look on this reporters face, he offers “No worries man, they won’t need me for a while.” The rest of the band starts playing the familiar intro to Pink Floyd’s “Shine On (You Crazy Diamond)”. The crowd delivers a deafening roar and Nick finally makes his way to the drum set. What followed was one of the most spot on, goose bump inducing covers one could imagine. Simply perfect. (Check it out here)
This was just one of dozens of unforgettable experiences that this festival delivered over two days in late June at the Willow Creek Winery in Silver Springs, NY. From Aqueous’s top notch Friday night headlining set, to the sick Buffalove jam featuring musicians from multiple bands, to the one two punch of Funktional Flow’s “Wappy Spayberry” (Umphrey’s McGee) into Phish’s “Sand”, there was nary a dull moment to be found. Partners Richard Zanghi and Cody Conway’s Buffalojams festival could not have had a more spectacular introduction. The staff and grounds of the winery were perfect, the sounds of board wizard Ryan Nogle were spot on, and the weather … given the apocalyptic nature of most every festival this year, the beautiful conditions could not have been dreamed of beforehand. But fear not, if you’re feeling some regret having missed this stunner, Buffalove 2 will be back next year!
In This Moment began with the first song from their latest record, “Rise with Me”, the daunting setting intensified as a cool fog rolled across the stage and the two white-masked backup dancers made their way to their posts and waited for Upstate New York’s siren to make her presence known. Maria Brink, clad in a red ringmaster coat and a top hat, stepped onto the platform and grabbed the skull staffs as the band began to play “Adrenalize”. Her dancers then handed her a smoke gun, hinting the next song to play was “Blazin’”, her piercing shriek gave the ever-adoring fans such chills. For the next song, “Whore”, Maria wore a white button down shirt and a plaid mini skirt with a cone hat that read WHORE. At the end of the song, Brink gave the hat to an over-eager fan. In This Moment ended their set with “Burn” and “Blood”. During those two songs, Maria wore a red billowing cape, definitely a fitting outfit for both songs. In This Moment definitely pumped the fans up for Skillet’s heavenly arrival.
To say Skillet‘s introduction was “awesome” is a huge understatement. They started with a heavy electronic remixed version of “Hero”, the anticipation from the fellow concert junkies growing within every booming second. Finally, Skillet made their presence known, immediately starting their set with “Hero”, quickly followed by “Whispers in the Dark”. John introduced the next song from their latest album, Rise, “Sick of It” to which the fans began to chant with Cooper, then the band went straight into the catchy, heavy-beat song. Skillet then brought out their two musicians who played the strings intro for “Comatose”. The next to be performed was “Rise” and the band surprised their fans with their rising platforms during the performance of “Awake and Alive”. Before Skillet proceeded with “The Last Night”, John gave a brief explanation of the song, of a close friend attempted to end her life, and he wrote the song to say that God is more than willing to give second chances, because everyone deserves them. Afterwards, the band played “Not Gonna Die”, “Circus for a Psycho”, ending the set with “Monster” and “Rebirthing”. Skillet sure did put on a very powerful performance, filled with songs that will haunt the back of the music lovers mind for the rest of the night. Oh, but the madness did not end there. It was Papa Roach‘s turn to reveal what they had in store for us.
Shinedown started with a giant black drape set in front of the stage with their symbol in the dead center of it. The lights dimmed, hinting it was time for the madness to continue. Brent Smith’s powerful, melodic voice could be heard from behind the drape as he began to sing “I’m Not Alright”, then the drape dropped and revealed what was really going on behind the curtain. Street performers waving flames around, fire-breathers on the stage, it was the very definition of what is expected of the Carnival of Madness. Shinedown continued their set with “Enemies”, “Devour”, and “Unity”. Through the speedy setlist, they proceeded with “The Crow and the Butterfly”, their fast paced track, “Adrenaline”, and their very moving yet powerful current single, “I’ll Follow You”. The next song to play was “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom)”, the overhead lights spelled out BOOM after each time Shinedown yelled out the word. The thunderstorm outside of the amphitheater began to intensify with every beat of the song and at the last BOOM, a crack of thunder shook the ground, as if God was really rocking out to Shinedown as well. They then continued with “If You Only Knew”, “Amaryllis”, and “45”. But the evening did not end there. Shinedown briefly left the stage, leaving some of the fans chanting their name, begging for more. They then returned to the stage, giving the crowd the encore they’ve all been waiting for: the song that fits their performance perfectly, “Sound of Madness”, “Second Chance”, and their infamous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man”. Shinedown ended the evening with the first single from their latest record, “Bully”. One mind-blowing way to end the evening.
