NYS Music 20​13

Tag: chicago

  • Chicago Plays the Hits and More for Fans at Proctors

    The legendary rock and roll band with horns, Chicago, paid a visit to the Capital Region at Proctors in Schenectady on Wednesday, November 6th. Chicago has toured every year since they started back in the late ’60s and don’t show any signs of slowing down. They have achieved record breaking album sales, countless awards, their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and have been voted one of the top 100 artists of all time.

    Proctors Main Stage Theater holds 2,700 seats and almost each one filled with new and old fans alike ranging in age, but predominantly middle aged. There was a giant, easily recognized Chicago logo on the backdrop of the stage upon stage setup, in front of the majestic marble columns and rich vintage colors. The crowd was surprised with opening act, acoustic guitar duo Austin Charles and Tim Stop who swooned with their soft melodies and charming harmony. One of the highlights was their rendition of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” a delightful and rebellious serenade.

    Chicago wasted no time jumping right into the music with a high energetic blast of new songs and their classic hits. The wide open and double leveled stage gave the musicians plenty of room to stretch the sound. Trumpeter Lee Loughnane expressed how excited they were to be back in Upstate New York and touched base on how they were going to have a whole spread of genres to cover tonight as well as new music. He screamed, “Don’t be afraid to like it! We’re gonna rock!” Chicago has a hard hitting rock sound with their electric guitars and steady percussion plus a heavy touch of jazz that they city of Chicago is known for itself. Jason Scheff laid down a heavy disco bass groove mixing with the boogie of the bongo drums from Wally Reyes. James Pankow was very spunky with his trombone and at one point, dove into a wailing session on the snare drums.

    chicago1. The evening indeed was filled with a wide genre as Chicago played everything from the upbeat rockin’ funk of “Saturday In The Park” to smooth jazzy ballads ala “You’re the Inspiration” and “If You Leave Me Now”. One of the highlights of the night was the sequence of “Make Me Smile” right into “Colour My World” and then very surprisingly back into “Make Me Smile.” This arrangement ended the set and energized the crowd for another hour still to come of Chicago. After the 20 minute intermission, Chicago started with their newest single “America”, a groovy song with political lyrics in great harmony. New music can be unsettling for long time fans of any band but Chicago fans greeted the new music with a respectful applause and relieved that the guys still have more music to share with them for years to come. The band took a moment at the end of the show to celebrate the fact that it was their next to last show of the year and already excited to tour next year. It was unanimous for musicians and patrons that Proctors was a beautiful venue, meant for music.

  • Chicago Joins Forces with Utica Symphony Orchestra and Raises The Roof In Utica

    Few bands can maintain the longevity that Chicago has over the last 44 years and can still pack the house as they did November 5th at The Stanley Center for the Performing Arts in Utica along with the Utica Symphony Orchestra.  It’s amazing how this band has stood the test of time and persevered in the beginning through tumultuous times that revolved around war, peace, equal rights, and continued throughout the next few decades evolving as artists and still connecting with audiences through generations to come.  It is their innate ability to transcend us to a specific time and place the moment we hear them.  Few bands have the ability to say they accomplished this throughout several generations.

     ChicagoCoverweb

    This comes as no surprise though as their background outlines how cutting edge and unique that have always been. In 1969 a group of talented young men had a vision for music to combine rock and roll, swing, and jazz in a way that showcased these genres in a new edgy way.  Radio did not know how to market them as their sound was so unique and different,  It didn’t fit into any one genre; so airtime was limited.  Still this didn’t hinder the group in continuing to write, record, and perform and soon an underground college scene had embraced them as the next best thing on the music scene.  Even more unique was their first album debuted as a double album, due to the abundance of music they had to share. Even the graphics on each album indicate their continuance for quality and uniqueness, featuring their logo in new and different ways.

    For Chicago is was always the music that was the focus. In the years following, Chicago continued to tour and record more than 34 award willing albums.  Their sound as distinct as it is, evolved with the times and their flexibility and ability to remain creative has endured like few other bands have.  Even through difficult times and loss of bandmates, this band continues forward, and to this date records and performs like no other.  It is the individual talent that each member brings to the table, that makes this band work. They are truly great as a “whole” because of the sum of their talented parts.

    James Pankow
    James Pankow

    It is under this umbrella that Munson Williams Proctor qualifies Chicago as “Great Artists”. For over 70 years, Proctor has brought the Central New York region the most talented artists in their Great Artist Series.  Chicago exemplifies this designation. Founding band members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow,, and Ray Hermann still see the vision of what they began, and new members Tris Imboden, Lou Pardini, Keith Howland, and Walfredo Reyes, Jr. continue to follow suit and bring audiences to their feet with favorites such “Saturday In the Park”, “25 or 6 to 4”, “Beginnings”, and/or “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is”.  The magic however is their ability to reach audiences of multi-generations with both favorites and new music.  In the studio recording, even while touring is not out of the norm for these talented musicians.  However, pairing them with the Utica Symphony Orchestra definitely put an already amazing performance over the top and raised the bar for all over venues to follow during their 2013 tour.

    Lee Loughnane, Walt Parazaider, James Pankow
    Lee Loughnane, Walt Parazaider, James Pankow

    Forty Four years is a long time to continue in any field of work.  However, you can tell while experiencing their live show that to them this is not work.  Their energy and love of what they do is apparent and infectious.  Audiences worldwide thank you for sharing this love and your uniqueness for generations past and future.  Central New York thanks you for joining forces with our very own Utica Symphony Orchestra to provide the most memorable performance ever.

  • Review: Pitchfork Music Festival 2013

    If Lollapalooza is the Rolling Stone of Chicago’s music festivals, Pitchfork is certainly the Pitchfork. While Lollapalooza takes place in the Windy City’s best-known park, draws hundreds of thousands of fans and showcases a massive lineup of big-name acts, Pitchfork finds itself in one of Chicago’s west-side neighborhoods, in a park that fits three intimate stages amongst its baseball field and oak-enclosed lawn.

    pitchfork 2013
    Pitchfork crowd gathering Firday night in anticipation of Björk.

    Pitchfork appeals to a more niche crowd than Lollapalooza, a musically knowledgeable crowd interested in artists that receive praise from well-respected blogs rather than popular radio stations. There is a crowd whose Midwestern kindness makes it easy to stand shoulder to shoulder with a cluster of strangers while waiting an hour for one of the festival’s headlining acts. Youngsters sporting tattoos of narwhals and wearing particularly fashionable glasses largely define the Pitchfork crowd, but certain shows do draw noticeably older audiences.

    As I waited for Björk to make her headlining appearance on Pitchfork 2013’s opening evening, a prominently senior audience holding $8 cups of Heineken surrounded my friends and I with our smuggled-in Old Style cans. By the time the 40-something Icelander took the stage, however, the entirety of Union Park tuned into the same wavelength, witnessing a performance that commanded appreciation regardless of age. With a show as captivating as Björk’s, it became clear that Pitchfork offers more than just live music; it allows groups of people, even groups of complete strangers, to connect through a shared experience, an experience that few things in life can provide.

    pitchfork 2013
    Phosphorescent performing at Pitchfork Music Festival’s Green Stage.

    R. Kelly’s headlining performance demonstrated the idea of shared experience as well as any facet of this year’s festival. Playing music that was most relevant when the average Pitchforker was still in middle school and listening to Top 40 radio while  generally unaware of any alternative form of music, R. Kelly acted as a nostalgic ending to a weekend of new memories. As I stood listening to “Ignition” for the first time in probably five years, I couldn’t help but being reminded of Junior High dances, laughing with my buddies for dancing to such nonsensical music with such unabashed joy.

    pitchfork 2013
    Waxahatchee playing Pitchfork’s Blue Stage on Sunday (left) and Woods playing the Red Stage on Friday.

    While Björk and R. Kelly, along with a Saturday performance from Belle and Sebastian, represented the festival’s best-known talent playing the weekend’s most-coveted set times, it was several early afternoon shows that stood out in my mind as the weekend’s best performances. Artists like Woods and Toro Y Moi played some of the most groovin’ sets of the weekend, extending their songs into jams involving folk-rock guitar solos and indie-pop synthesizer interludes. Waxahatchee and Angel Olsen offered a singer/songwriter component to the festival, playing with backing bands and displaying their signature lyricism and vocal range.

    pitchfork 2013
    Waxahatchee

    Matthew Houck’s latest musical project, Phosphorescent put on a performance Saturday afternoon that perfectly represented his relocation from southern folk’s roots in Huntsville, Alabama to indie-rock’s epicenter in Brooklyn, New York. Drawing influence from classic country music and merging such sounds with contemporary indie-rock, Phosphorescent played a show with boot stompin’ fit a southern bar and hip-twistin’ suitable for Brooklyn’s trendiest venues.

    pitchfork 2013After releasing one of my favorite albums of the year so far, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, Foxygen succeeded in living up to the high expectations I’d had for their early Sunday set. Co-frontman Jonathan Rado provided psych-rock instrumentation that perfectly complimented the antics exhibited by his bandmate Sam France; the vocalist climbed the stage’s rafters, jumped off of every amplifier in sight, and sang atop equipment bridging the crowd and the stage. Midway through their set, France mockingly gave thanks to a long list of corporate sponsors. Although the statement was humorous and well delivered, such a quip would have made more sense at a festival like Lollapalooza where stages are named after beer companies and sold-out tickets are available on Stubhub for three times face value.

    Pitchfork reserved a limited number of tickets at its gates to prevent higher-priced re-sales, and promotional aspects were handled tastefully, generally involving local businesses. With food options provided by Chicagoan restaurants and alternatives to the live music including the Columbia College Book Fort, a record fair presented by Chicago’s independent Chirp Radio and the Flatstock Poster Show put on by various artists, the advertising at Pitchfork served as a platform for local entrepreneurs, students, and artists to reach an audience that could appreciate their work.

    Foxygen’s vocalist, Sam France (top) along with the bands instrumentalist, Jonnathan Rado (bottom).

    Each individual’s experience at Pitchfork is influenced by much more than the festival’s three stages of music. It’s not just great concerts that Pitchfork provides every year in Union Park, but an environment that allows fans to share their experiences, allows local businesses to develop, and allows musicians to connect with their audience. Pitchfork may not draw the biggest audience or book the most stadium acts, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

    Pitchfork Music Festival on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Website

  • Pitchfork Music Festival 2013 Starts Tomorrow

    pitchforkPitchfork Media will hold it’s eighth annual music festival this weekend, July 19-21, 2013 in Chicago’s Union Park. While 3-day passes for the festival sold out in early June and single-day tickets for Sunday are no longer available as of Wednesday, some Sunday tickets will be up for purchase at the festival’s gates to prevent higher-priced re-sales, and tickets for Friday and Saturday are still available online for a limited time.

    Along with a lineup consisting of headliners Björk, Belle and Sebastian, and R. Kelly, Pitchfork will feature a record fair sponsored by  Chirp Radio, the Flatstock Poster Show presented by the American Poster Institute, the Coterie Craft Fair, and the second annual Book Fort featuring various vendors and panels of authors and journalists.

    ’s full Pitchfrok 2013 preview coverage can be found here. Follow @ and @QuinnDonnell on Twitter for live coverage of the festival.


    Set times and stage locations are provided below.

    Friday, July 19

    8:30 Björk (Green Stage)

    7:20 Joanna Newsom (Red Stage)

    6:25 Wire (Green Stage)

    6:15 Mikal Cronin (Blue Stage)

    5:30 Woods (Red)

    5:15 Angel Olsen (Blue)

    4:35 Mac Demarco (Green)

    4:15 Trash Talk (Blue)

    3:30 Daughn Gibson (Red)

    3:20 Frankie Rose (Blue)

    Saturday, July 20

    8:45 Rustie (Blue)

    8:30 Belle & Sebastian (Green)

    7:45 Andy Scott (Blue)

    7:25 Solange (Red)

    6:45 Low (Blue)

    6:15 The Breeders play Last Splash (Green)

    5:45 Ryan Hemsworth (Blue)

    5:15 Swans (Red)

    4:45 Metz (Blue)

    4:15 Savages (Green)

    3:45 Merchandise (Blue)

    3:20 …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (Red)

    2:50 Parquet Courts (Blue)

    2:30 Phosphorescent (Green)

    1:55 Julia Holter (Blue)

    1:45 Pissed Jeans (Red)

    1:00 KEN mode (Blue)

    1:00 White Lung (Green)

    Sunday, July 21

    8:45 TNGHT (Blue)

    8:30 R. Kelly (Green)

    7:45 Glass Candy (Glass Candy)

    7:25 M.I.A. (Red)

    6:45 Evian Christ (Blue)

    6:15 Toro Y Moi (Green)

    5:45 Chairlift (Blue)

    5:15 Lil B (Red)

    4:45 Sky Ferreira (Blue)

    4:15 Yo La Tengo (Green)

    3:45 Waxahatchee (Blue)

    3:20 El-P (Red)

    2:50 Blood Orange (Blue)

    2:30 Killer Mike (Green)

    1:55 Autre Ne Veut (Blue)

    1:45 Foxygen (Red)

    1:00 DJ Rashad (Blue)

    1:00 Tree (Green)

    Pitchfork Music Festival on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Website

  • NYS Music Heads West to Pitchfork Music Festival

    As a student in Upstate New York and a Midwestern native, I know a thing or two about catching a ride, hopping on a train, or—when it’s financially possible for my tuition-dominated budget—buying a plane ticket and heading to Chicago. While these trips usually take place over holidays, the ends of semesters, or any other event dictated by university scheduling, Pitchfork Music Festival is as good a reason as any to travel to the Windy City for a mid-July weekend.

    PitchFork

    Taking place in the west side’s Union Park July 19-21; this year’s festival will feature headlining acts from Björk, Belle & Sebastian, and R. Kelly. While the opportunity to see one of Iceland’s most iconic musicians, a group of indie-folk legends, and Chicago’s king of R&B is reason enough to make the trip west, it’s the entirety of Pitchfork’s 2013 lineup that makes it one of this summer’s most appealing festivals.

    Here’s a day-by-day overview of the acts I hope to see between stocking up on as many free Kind bars as possible and digging through the Chirp Record Fair:

    On Friday, gates will open several hours later than the festival’s two succeeding days. Although a delayed start time brings about a smaller number of performances on Pitchfork’s opening day, I’m certainly not worried about a shortage of exciting acts. My first stop will be the green stage, where Mac DeMarco will probably be wearing his backwards baseball cap and his faded, appropriately too-big button-up that compliments his jangly Canadian surf rock so perfectly. Shortly thereafter, I’ll catch some of Angel Olsen’s set, where the longing and the range in her vocals will remind me of Roy Orbison, and I’ll feel conflicted when I decide to leave early for Woods at the red stage. For a moment I’ll feel like I’m in California as Woods plays their west coast folk rock and I appreciate Union Park’s distance from the Chicago Loop, but a set from Mikal Cronin will remind me that I’m at my fourth fantastic performance of the day and there’s no where I could possibly be other than Pitchfork Music Festival.

    Phosphorescent is the act I’m most looking forward to on Saturday; with a 2:30PM set time, it’s also one of the first acts I’ll see on day 2. I recently became a fan of Phosphorescent after Matthew Houck released his 6th album, Muchacho, under the luminous moniker. Houck’s laid-back alt-country will be a suitably contrastive introduction to an afternoon/evening of punk rock (Pissed Jeans, Parquet Courts, Metz) and electronic instrumental music (Ryan Hemsworth, Andy Scott, Rustie). I haven’t yet figured out how I’m going to make it to all of these shows while finding time for The Breeders, who will be playing the entirety of Last Splash and Solange, who performs soul-infused, hip hop-influenced R&B much like her sister with a similarly mononymous name, Beyoncé.

    Chicagoans Tree and DJ Rashad will play opening sets on Sunday, representing the city’s underground hip hop scene and the recently evolved footwork genre. Foxygen takes the red stage at 1:45, playing a show I’ve been waiting for since the release of We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic in January. The psych-rock duo, whose music takes cues from 70’s acts like the Rolling Stones and Velvet Underground, are known to put on a wild performance, complimenting their energetic, occasionally frantic music. At 3:45 Waxahatchee will play the blue stage; whether it’s just Katie Crutchfield and her guitar—much like the majority of her debut album, American Weekend—or she plays with the full band featured on this year’s Cerulean Salt, doesn’t particularly matter to me, as both styles display the candid songwriting and the  wistful melodies that make her set one of my most anticipated of the weekend.

    With tickets still available at $50 per day, it’s not too late to plan a weekend trip to Chicago and be a part of Pitchfork Music Festival 2013. If such a plan isn’t necessarily feasible until next year, however, I’ll be back next week with a recap of the festival’s best shows, photos from all three days, and an approximate number of personally consumed Kind bars.

    Pitchfork Music Festival on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Website

  • Lollapalooza 2013 Announces Full Lineup

    Although parts of the 2013 Lollapalooza lineup have been leaking throughout the past several weeks, the festival has officially announced its full lineup. Headliners will include The Cure, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Phoenix, and Vampire Weekend, among others. Taking place in Chicago’s Grant Park on August 2-4, Lollapalooza will return for its eighth summer in the Windy City. After going on sale on March 26, 3-day passes, which were priced at $235, sold out in a manner of hours. On April 3, however, 1-day passes, priced at $95 each will be available.

    lollapalooza-logo-2012

    Take a look at the full lineup by day:

    Friday

    The Killers, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, Queens of the Stone Age, Steve Aoki, Thievery Corporation, Imagine Dragons, Lana Del Rey, Flux Pavilion, Band of Horses, Hot Chip, Crystal Castles, Frightened Rabbit, Dillon Francis, Smith Westerns, Disclosure, Father John Misty, Ghost B.C., Modestep, Emeli Sande, Jessie Ware, Atlas Genius, Timeflies, Theophilus London, Monsta, IO Echo, Icona Pop, Chance the Rapper, Lance Herbstrong, Robert DeLong, Deap Vally, Twenty One Pilots, San Cisco, Hey Marseilles, Keys N Krates, The Neighbourhood, Pacific Air, American Authors, Houndmouth, Brick & Mortar, D-Pryde, Brite Lite Brite

    Saturday

    Mumford & Sons, The Postal Service, The National, The Lumineers, Kendrick Lamar, Eric Church, Steve Angello, Ellie Goulding, Azealia Banks, Local Natives, Dad Life, Matt & Kim, Foals, Death Grips, Court Yard Hounds, Adventure Club, Ben Howard, GriZ, Charles Bradley, Heartless Bastards, Baauer, HAIM, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, St. Lucia, Shovels & Rope, Little Green Cars, Family of the Year, 360, The Bright Light Social Hour, Reignwolf, Pujol, Planet Hemp, Cole Plante, Lukas Nelson & P.O.T.R., Blondfire, Frontier Ruckus, Wheeler Brothers, The Dunwells, Supreme Cuts, Cherub, Wild Cub, Brooke Waggoner, Beast Patrol

    Sunday

    The Cure, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Knife Party, Grizzly Bear, Major Lazer, Dog Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, Tegan and Sara, Beach House, Cat Power, 2 Chainz, Alt-J, The Vaccines, DIIV, Alex Clare, Baroness, Lianne La Havas, Wild Nothing, Angel Haze, Wavves, Alvin Risk, Jake Bugg, Wild Belle, Art Department, MS MR, Guards, Kill the Noise, Skaters, The Orwells, Palma Violets, Astro, Machines are People Too, Yawn, Half Moon Run, The Mowgil’s, Wake Owl, Bear Mountain, O’Brother, Makeshift Prodigy

    Lollapalooza Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Forum

  • Pitchfork 2013 Announces Full Lineup

    Pitchfork Music Festival returns for its 9th year and has announced its full lineup, taking place in Chicago’s Union Park on July 19-21, 2013. Three-day passes are currently on sale for $120 and single-day tickets are available for $50 each. Judging by previous years, three-day passes won’t last long. Although the full schedule with times will be revealed in the coming weeks, here is the breakdown of each act by day:

    tumblr_mkaabyhiYu1qb4lmho1_r1_500

    Friday, July 19
    Björk, Joanna Newsom, Wire, Woods, Mikal Cronin, Angel Olsen, Pissed Jeans, Daughn Gibson, Trash Talk, Frankie Rose

    Saturday, July 20
    Belle & Sebastian, Solange, The Breeders play Last Splash, Savages, Swans, Rustie, Low, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Phosphorescent, Andy Scott, Mac DeMarco, Ryan Hemsworth, Julia Holter, Parquet Courts, Merchandise, Metz, White Lung, KEM Mode

    Sunday, July 21
    R. Kelly, MIA, Yo La Tengo, Lil B, Toro Y Moi, TNGHT, El-P, Killer Mike, Chairlift, Foxygen, Sky Ferreira, Glass Candy, Autre Ne Veut, Evian Christ, Waxahatchee, Blood Orange, DJ Rashad, Tree

    Pitchfork 2013 lineup Website, Facebook, Twitter