NYS Music 20​13

Tag: Dubstep

  • Review: Conspirator “Unleashed”

    The term ‘supergroup’ is thrown around pretty loosely these days, but there’s a certifiable one slowly rising up the ranks in the world of electronica.  Conspirator, originally a low profile side project of The Disco Biscuits has continued to grow and evolve its sound over the years into something that both pays homage to its EDM roots while exploring new sounds and redefining the way this genre of music is produced.  Conspirator recently released its latest EP Unleashed and it’s been met with serious acclaim, if iTunes and download totals are any indication.  The title of this EP is all too fitting as the band comprised of half of The Disco Biscuits (Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner), the guitarist from Raq (Chris Michetti) and arguably, the best drum and bass drummer on the planet, KJ Sawka, unleash a magnificent fusion of hard hitting dubstep and inspired instrumental work that leaves you wanting more and more of the same, once all six tracks have been heard.

    Unleashed gets in your face right away with the opening track ‘Pow Wow’, which features a tight dubstep beat underlying  some intense and jagged synth sounds that almost sound like an electronic Indian eliciting a war cry of sorts.  After the second ‘drop’, there’s some absolutely brilliant guitar work courtesy of Chris Michetti who has several well placed and inspiring guitar solos on this release.  “The Commish” is another fun track that has even more catchy synth sounds that has the effect of an electronic horn section of sorts. KJ Sawka really shows off his chops here and shows why he’s one of the best in the business by nailing the furious tempo changes and giving a veritable human touch to electronically programmed drum beats. “Right Wrong” is a Conspirator remix and one of the more mellow tracks on the EP; the take on this gives Mark Brownstein a chance to put his melodic bass playing on full display alongside some vocal samplings which makes for an incredibly fun and engaging listen.  Not to be outdone, “Accent” features a synth melody that sounds like something found on an intense level in a Nintendo game.  Combined with more stellar dubstep fury and another sparkling guitar solo, it caps everything off in fine fashion.

    Simply put, this is not your older brother’s dubstep, but rather a new and fun take, with an added emphasis of real instrumentation to go along with tight and precise programmable magic.  It would seem to lend itself towards decent mass appeal since there are really enjoyable parts for both the ‘jam’ fan and the dubstep fiend to latch onto. Time will tell, and until then, we’ll just have to wait and see what this supergroup unleashes next.

  • Big D and the Kids Table at Putnam Den, January 5th

    Going backstage to hang out with a band is always interesting.  You are never quite sure what you are going to get.  With Big D and the Kids Table it was a bunch of guys on couches and chairs around a table of fried chicken and Jameson Irish Whiskey.  That part was actually pretty normal.  What was strange was the conversation involving a viral video of Sonseed’s “Jesus is a Friend of Mine.”  Between watching the video on the iPad that was being passed around, to plans on redoing it as a ska or punk number, or finding a remake that another band did to mock the original.  Now the mystery of what happens back in the green room is gone forever.

    On the stage was completely different from a laid back, tongue in cheek conversation about a cheesy song.  What happened on stage was energetic, chasmatic, enthusiantic, and down-right fantastic.  The doors opened to the Putnam Den at 8pm and by 9pm the first of two opening bands, Sugar Eater, was met by over 100 fans. Sugar Eater is a Saratoga-based punk trio that have been playing together for 10 years.  They sounded great and to see an opening band surrounded by dozens of dancing, frantic lunatics by the stage as early as 9pm was an encouraging sign of what was ahead.  The most refreshing thing about Sugar Eater is that they have no sub-genre. They are PUNK. Simple, kick ass, grind it out, explosive, PUNK.  They will unfortunately be losing their bassist to the west coast, but I am hoping that they come back later this year with the same attitude and sound.  It will be a show that should not be missed.

    Next up was Rhodeachusetts-based Brunt of It, to say they were a traditional ska band would do them a great disservice.  Brunt of It could have been the headliner of any show in the capital region Saturday night and the cover charge would have been justified.  They are a big sounding ska band with an in-your-face punk attitude.  When the promoter thought of the line-up of how to get from Sugar Eater to Big D – Brunt of It was the perfect connecting piece.  Brunt of It’s vocals were what every band wants but few have – fast, furious and concise.  The horns section was outrageous and the bass and drums did not give you the choice -if you had a pulse you were dancing.  As to the dozens of people at the stage for Sugar Eater, add a couple more dozen lunatics to the bunch to imagine the dance floor at the Den.

    Big D and the Kids Table have been around for 17 years playing live nearly 200 times a year and supporting bands such as as Less Than Jake, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dropkick Murphys, Mustard Plug, Rancid, Reel Big Fish, and Anti-Flag.  They had a headlining national tour in 2007.  They know their way around a stage and Saturday night at the Putnam Den was absolutely no different.  David McWane’s Boston bad boy charm combined with Ryan O’Connor’s deadly sax invaded Saratoga Springs.  While I was suspected the ska/punk feel that Big D has been known for overly the past decade and a half I was not entirely disappointed to find it replaced with a new twist to Dub Step.  The kids in the audience stomped and strutted and twirled with delight at the never-ending barrage of upbeat tempo with enough brass to tie the songs together. The show had seemingly everything.  There was even a break in the middle of the long set for a young concert goer to ask his girlfriend to marry him.  According to the band this is the third time that someone proposed at the Big D show.

    For the first weekend of the year, Putnam Den started out with a bang.  Would there have been more people there when Skidmore was in session? Or a little more after the New Year recovery?  We will never know.  We do know that live music is alive and well in Saratoga Springs and can be found every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  No matter what your taste, keep an eye out for upcoming shows on the NYS Music site.

    Big D and the Kids Table – http://bigdandthekidstable.com/
    Brunt of It –      http://www.facebook.com/bruntofit
    Sugar Eater –     http://www.facebook.com/Sugar-Eater
    Putnam Den –     http://putnamden.com/