After performing at the inaugural Interlockin Festival Sept. 7th and 8th, Panic will embark on a 2 part tour, the first through the Southeast and Midwest Sept. 20th – Oct. 5th, and then another 3 week run starting in Texas Oct. 25th that will bring them through the Southeast and up the East Coast ending at the Theater at MSG on Nov. 16th.
They will perform their only Upstate NY show of the tour on Thursday Nov. 14th at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse. The on sale date is Sept. 13th at 10am, $40.00 Reserved, available online at www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone 800.745.3000.
Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9) is playing the Landmark Theater in Syracuse on April 18th at 7pm. Having seen STS9 for the first time last year, I can attest that you can become instantly hooked from more than just seeing the band but rather the whole experience. The light show along with their grooves will get even the stiffest person dancing. STS9 has deep rooted tribal beats mixed with modern electronica, added with a twist of drum and bass psychedelia. The visuals are intense and paired up with their beats to make you feel like you are about to take a cosmic voyage.
Tickets for the show go on sale on February 23rd at upstateshows.com, Ticketmaster locations and The Landmark Theater Box office. Tickets are $25 and this is an all ages show.
I won’t lie — I went into Umphrey’s McGee’s show at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse on January 17, 2013, with almost no high expectations. I had seen them nine times and not once was I blown away. It always seemed stale, like the music was a moldy piece of bread. Just guitar solos and crazy lights, which always made for a fun show, but UM never made the cut to my iPod. That has since changed.
So it came as a huge surprise to me when I walked out of the venue with a smile on my face, slapping hands and chatting about how great of a show it was. And it was! Not being familiar with a band’s full catalog can have serious consequences if you are reviewing a show. Luckily for me, I knew every song and had just enough UM experience to understand what was going on.
First, let’s talk lights. Jeff Waful, the band’s lighting director, is insane. Not the committed-to-asylum insane, but lights-in-your-face crazy. I am so used to Chris Kuroda of Phish that I never really thought lights for any music could be as powerful as they are for Trey and Co. Waful puts on more of a psychedelic feeling show, with lasers and rotating bulbs. The Landmark is a small theater and to fit a rig in there has to be difficult and cannot compare to playing a large festival or outdoor arena. Waful manages to weave in perfect diversions from Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss’ wicked guitar mania. Those two guys, who just so happen to put on a real guitar clinic every summer, are two of the most talented players going today. My only gripe is that the lights were so blinding that I couldn’t hone in on watching their fingers. As a guitarist, I try to take something from every guitarist I see play. I need to see them again, standing on the stage again, listening to them shred again.
“Cummins Lies” bled ever so thrashingly into “Miss Tinkle’s Overture” before a brief breath. “Walletsworth”, “Der Bluten Kat” segued into an instrumental of Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” back into “Der Bluten Kat”, “Through the Cracks”, “Smell the Mitten” and “The Floor” made for a rocking set. The second set was where I got “it”, as in understanding the band. “Prowler” > “In The Kitchen” > “Deeper” > “#5” > “In The Kitchen” was a full-on dance-a-thon, It just kept heating up with “Let’s Dance”, “Utopian Fir” > “Cemetery Walk” lit the rafters ablaze with fiery soloing. An encore of “Miami Virtue” > “Glory” sent the almost-full theater home with a happy ending.
Setlist
Set 1: Cummins Lies > Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Walletsworth, Der Bluten Kat > I’m On Fire > Der Bluten Kat, Through the Cracks, Smell the Mitten, The Floor
Set 2: Prowler > In The Kitchen > Deeper > #5 > In The Kitchen, Let’s Dance, Utopian Fir > Cemetery Walk
Widespread Panic has announced their Fall Tour plans for 2013.
