NYS Music 20​13

Tag: Marco Benevento

  • Mind was D’Melted thanks to Club D’Elf and Marco Benevento at Red Square

    One of the best ways to cool down after a disgustingly humid Saturday is with cold drinks at Albany’s Red Square, and on June 1st, it was even cooler with Boston’s Club D’Elf and the infamous Marco Benevento. Club D’Elf is notorious for having a jazz –infused, progressive rock, Moroccan sound which was enough to sell me on seeing their show for the first time while Marco Benevento is no stranger to me or Red Square.

    The evening got off with a mellow and slow start with “Bass Beatbox”, gentle bells, easy beats from Dean Johnston and echoing riffs with each musician getting a feel for the crowd and space.  I lingered in the back of the crowd to take in the sound of the music clashing beautifully together. I could hear Marco pounding on his keys while Club D’Elf sent out waves of creepy Middle Eastern flair. I was pulled closer to the stage by the hypnotizing electric guitar riffs in “13/Gijro” and strong rhythm of the drum set plus ever growing bongos in “Hegue”.

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    Being closer to the action gave me a deeper appreciation for the artists who kept a constant exchange of smiles between themselves and the audience, plus a better look at instruments, some of which I have never seen before. Danny Blume takes credit for playing the biggest guitar I have ever seen and shredded the life out of it. While Mike Rivard handled the skinniest stand-up bass, switching back and forth to an electric blue guitar, giving the music a heavy dub/reggae sound. Benevento played what must have been every note on his piano and keyboard, all with great fire and recklessness throughout the night. “I Wish I Was in Heaven” and “Sidi Rabi” as the encore, brought out intense vocals from Brahim Fribgane and exotic sounds from his stringed Lutar.

    The sound of the evening could be summed up as a “Bob Marley meets crooked Arabian Nights meets downtown Jazz club” mixture. With everyone playing together, it was true Frankenstein of a band, complete with bizarre instruments and monstrous songs that left me with confused, delighted terror and amazement.

    The show is available for a free listen and/or free download, thanks to Ed Guidry. Remember to tip your tapers folks and to catch Club D’Elf at the Disc Jam music festival and The Lizard Lounge in MA on July 12th and 26th. Marco Benevento can be seen at Equifunk festival on August 17th Upstate New York.

    Setlist: Bass Beatbox, 13/Gojiro, Hegue, As Above, Mogador, Zeed Al Maal, I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down, Instar,

    Encore: Sidi Rabi

  • The Festy Experience Announces Initial Lineup

    The Infamous Stringdusters have announced the first set of artists who will perform at this year’s Fall time bluegrass extravaganza, The Festy Experience. Taking place between October 10-13th 2013 in Nelson County, VA. Returning to the star studded lineup this year is Rochester’s own Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad.

    Hailed for being a truly unique celebration of music and outdoor living, The Festy continues to carve a unique and growing niche for itself. Hosted each year on the Concert Ground at Devils Backbone Brewing Company (a locally renowned brewery and full service restaurant), The Festy’s vision as an earthy fall-flavored Experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains comes to fruition in this idyllic, intimate natural setting near the band’s home base of Charlottesville, VA.

    The Festy Lineup 2013:

    The Infamous Stringdusters, JJ Grey & Mofro, The John Scofield Uberjam Band, Chris Thile & Michael Daves, Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Lake Street Dive, Aiofe O’Donovan, Marco Benevento, David Wax Museum, Nathan Moore & Bryan Elijah Smith, Della Mae, Cabinet, Chris Jones Band, Joy Kills Sorrow, New Country Rehab, Jon Stickley Trio, The Hill & Wood, The Fire Tapes, SoundRabbit, Dante Bucci, Grits-n-Gravy.

    Plus Founding Fathers, Sunliner (Sarah Siskind & Travis Book), MAN MOUNTAiN, Opening Ceremonies with Andy Hall, and Garrett Grass Grass Gospel Hour…

    We still have ONE MORE HEADLINER to be announced later this summer along with further information about local artists and Stringdusters projects.

    Follow The Festy

    @TheFesty | FaceBook | Youtube

  • Hollerback Productions Celebrates Ten Years of Great Acts with Club D’Elf and Marco Benevento

    Hollerback Productions celebrated ten years of presenting great music, brought about by the vision and hard work of Dan Mastronardi, with a special anniversary show on Friday, May 31st at The Westcott Theater.  The show at Hollerback Productions featured one of the first big bands booked by Dan, the highly esteemed jazz/prog/dance/world music group Club D’Elf, with special guest, indie/jazz innovator Marco Benevento.  Following a genuinely heartwarming, albeit awkwardly delivered speech by Dan Mastronardi, Syracuse music fans whooped with supportive thankfulness for the people that have helped construct the Syracuse scene.

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    Club D’elf then took the stage and fell instantly into a deep, bass-driven, psychedelic groove, laying down a warm and cosmic blanket of ambient sound and tribal rhythm, while masterful solo work was interwoven by the ‘Club’s’ highly gifted musicians.  Each artist brought their own worldly and masterful sound to Club D’Elf’s droning yet complex jam-compositions.  Besides talent, the Club boasted a diverse arsenal of cool toys.  Bass player and Club D’Elf originator Mike Rivard switched between a low profile, futuristic-looking stand-up electric bass and a standard electric bass, while world music master Brahim Fribgane traded off between hand-drums and a stringed Lutar, that poured out exotic and timeless-sounding melodies that could have come straight out of a National Geographic documentary.

    Together with Marco’s soulful, and dare I say “pretty” melodies on keys and Hammond Organ, Club D’Elf entertained, intrigued, and mesmerized listeners.  Unlike many popular improvisational groups and jam bands, Club D’Elf focused on laying down well-crafted, often danceable bass-lines and rhythms, while placing the lead guitar in a chord-dominated supportive role.  This kept the crowd moving and allowed space for lead instruments to develop melodies and themes spontaneously and collaborate on composition in the moment.  Many times throughout the night, I watched as the members of the club traded knowing and joyful glances, as they felt the music come together organically.  This, my fellow fans, is always a beautiful thing.

  • Club D’Elf and Marco Benevento hit Syracuse and Albany this weekend!

    Syracuse’s Westcott Theater and Albany’s Red Square open their doors to a modern experimental supergroup Friday May 31st and Saturday June 1st as Club D’Elf is accompanied by organist and composer Marco Benevento, of the critically acclaimed Benevento/Russo Duo. Club D’Elf defies convention and classification, as they draw on influences from electronica, jazz, dub, progressive rock and traditional and world music.

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    Led by bassist/composer Mike Rivard, the Club D’Elf “club” is designed to be a constantly evolving and revolving musical brotherhood, regularly rotating members, hosting superb artists and incorporating new sounds.  Club guests have included legends John Medeski and Billy Martin of Medeski Martin and Wood, the hip hop/jazz crossover artist DJ Logic, Marc Ribot, Skerik and of course Marco Benevento.  These uniquely gifted talents keep Club D’Elf fresh with new ideas and spontaneity.  This isn’t Mike Rivard’s first rodeo either; Mike brings his experience laying down grooves for big names such as Morphine, Aimee Mann, G Love and Jonathan Brooke among others.  Club D’Elf’s sound grows out of this rhythmic root, past tradition and custom, into the cosmos.  Who knows where listeners may end up when Marco Benevento’s graceful piano melodies dance over Mike Rivard’s deep, thuddy Morroccan trance bass lines?  No matter where you end up, this show is sure to keep your mind fed and your body grooving.

    Tickets are $15.00 at the Westcott Theater and the show starts at 10pm.  At the Red Square the show is $12 and $15 at the door, show starts at 8pm.

  • Equifunk brings a stellar line up to the Pocono Mountains in August

    Equifunk is returning to the beautiful Camp Equinunk in Pennsylvania, August 16-18.  Nestled in the Pocono Mountains, this three day music festival is very different from most musical festivals around today.  People can rent cabins on the campgrounds or can go the more traditional route with tent camping.  There are camp related activities such a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, tennis, and pick up softball games.  A pool is also on the grounds to cool off in throughout the weekend and will also act as a place for a gigantic pool party on Saturday.

    Equifunk-2013-DatesThe music will be going all weekend with artists such as Soulive and the Shady Horns with special guest Maceo Parker, The New Mastersounds (performing two sets), JJ Grey & Mofro, Keller Williams with More than a Little, Boombox, Anders Osborne, The Nigel Hall Band, Marco Benevento, Monophonics, The Main Squeeze, Superhuman Happiness, I’ll Be John Brown, James Casey (Artist at Large), and King Lincoln (Featuring Duane Trucks).  For the first time in the history of the festival they will have music all day on Sunday showcasing Pork Tornado with Jon Fishman, The Revivalists, The London Souls, The Heavy Pets, The Main Squeeze, and M&M (A supergroup comprised of Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento, Robert Mercurio, Papa Mali, and Maceo Parker).  Another supergroup performing Sunday, comprised of Eddie Roberts, Pete Shand, Stanton Moore, Nigel Hall, and James Casey, will be named by the fans on their Facebook page.

    Tickets are on sale now and whether you go for cabins or tent-camping your ticket includes all the beer you can drink and all meals from dinner on Friday night through breakfast Sunday morning.

  • Marco Benevento at the BSP Lounge in Kingston, March 30th

    To close out March, the BSP Lounge had a fantastic night of music filled with creativity and improvisation and Marco Benevento.

    The night started with Home Body, the wonderful music of Eric Hnatow and Haley Morgan. Their sound was just as unique as their look.  Eric has a way of looping his keys around Haley’s soaring vocals that fuse the two together into one beautiful wall of sound.  With dance moves that go along with the beat of their songs, Home Body is very entertaining.  Another interesting part of their show is that they have lights arranged around them that meld perfectly with their music.  It is one of the best do-it-yourself lightshows I have ever seen.  Home Body is not to be missed when they come to your area if you are looking for interesting, creative, and experimental music to dance to.

    Marco Benevento came to the stage next and slayed the crowd from the get-go with “Fireworks” that got the room moving immediately.  There is a freedom to how Marco moves up and down the keys that forces the audience to guess what is coming next.  He has become very comfortable leading the band into anything from his repertoire.  The recent addition of vocals has added another layer to his music adding a beautiful new instrument to the mix for him to play with.  The vocals are often manipulated by one of Marco’s toys on top of his piano and this makes it seem as if there is a hidden robot on stage that knows how to sing.  This is just the beginning of a new way for Marco to experiment on stage in broadening his sound.

    The talented Dave Dreiwitz on bass and Andy Borger on drums backed him throughout the evening and made it feel like a nonstop jam.  Since the release of Tigerface, these three have been touring hard and the way they play off one another shows how confident this band is right now.  All three are masters of their instruments and any song is possible for them, as was highlighted by the teases of The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” and LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great,” both of which occurred as tangents in the middle of original music. The night also saw the debut of new music that the three of them have been collaborating on and the direction that Marco’s music is going is great.

    Though the crowd was not large, they were more than ready to show as much love as they could for what was happening on stage.  They helped count off the beginning to “The Real Morning Party” and danced and shouted throughout the songs as though nothing else in the world mattered.  The great “Limbs of a Pine” followed soon after and the jamming went wild as the tiger head Marco has on his piano was passed around for each musician to wear as they got their individual moment to shine.  This is a trio not to miss as they are the top of their game and constantly looking to improve by trying out new ideas.  They push one another to new musical heights that seem to have no limit.  Marco Benevento can be seen at the Brooklyn Bowl on April 20th.

  • Marco Benevento coming to the BSP Lounge in Kingston, March 30th

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    The BSP Lounge in Kingston has been stepping up their talent booking as of late and on March 30th they bring a New York favorite to its stage, Marco Benevento. For those that have seen him before you know what to expect, but if you haven’t seen him before be prepared to be amazed.  Known for his exploratory jamming and expertise on the piano, Marco is sure to leave you in awe.  His latest album, Tigerface, has been getting rave reviews by many critics as has this tour in support.  He has continuously grown as an artist over the years, adding in new elements to his shows and this tour is no different.  This time, it isn’t new gadgets on top of his piano, but words to his songs.  He has decided to open up his voice to expand his sound farther than he ever has before.  This is one of his last scheduled dates in the area, happening after the snoe.down kick off on March 21st and before his April 20th show at the Brooklyn Bowl.  Catch him while you can in these intimate settings and be prepared to get down and dance.  Get tickets now at Eventbee or at The BSP Lounge box office.