For the past several years the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District, in conjunction with the City of Troy, has presented the “Rockin’ on the River” concert series, and they recently announced the list of acts for 2014.
2014 “Rockin’ on the River” Schedule
June 18: Aquanett (With: Jet Crash Bill)
June 25: Blues for Breakfast
July 2: Super 400 (With: Wild Adriatic)
July 9: Adrenalize (With: Second Heat)
July 16: HmfO (With: Start Making Sense)
July 23: ZBTB (With: Molly Durnin)
July 30: Eastbound Jesus (With: The Blind Owl Band)
August 6: Fleetwood Macked (With: Brian & Kevin Tiernan)
August 13: Who’s Bad (With: GoodSir)
August 20: Almost Queen (With: Vito 3)
August 27: ZOSO (With: The Troy Music Academy All-Stars)
Each night headlines a popular tribute band, starting with Aquanett, who pays homage to the hair metal scene most popular in the ‘80s. The Grateful Dead (Blues for Breakfast), Def Leppard (Adrenalize), Michael Jackson (Who’s Bad) and other greats are immortalized.
Concerts are scheduled for Wednesday nights, and are free to the public.
Each show takes place downtown, in the Green Island Bridge Parking lot, north of the bridge. August shows, however, will be moved to Riverfront Park.
For more information, please visit the Business Improvement District’s website.
You know summer has arrived when the Naked Turtle in Plattsburgh opens its doors.
The downtown restaurant has booked Glass Onion for two nights, Friday, May 23rd and Saturday, May 24th at 10 pm. The jam band is a local favorite that frequents the Naked Turtle. Below is a video of one of their shows, covering Phish’s Sample in a Jar back in 2008.
The Naked Turtle will also host “Turtle Thursdays” with broadcasts from FM 95 Triple-X, Burlington, Vermont’s Top-40 radio station.
The live entertainment continues to play out at the Monopole, where Doom & Friends take the stage Friday, May 23rd at 10 pm. It marks the first of two nights of live music, where Doom & Friends will be followed by Annie in the Water on Saturday.
Next week, The ROTA Studio and Gallery, at 50 Margaret Street, is promoting a show on their Facebook Page for Sorry Mom, Irradiated Beef, and Ground Zero, to play at the gallery on Friday, May 30th.
Buffalo’s annual Canalside summer music venue announced their concert line-up for the 2014 summer this week.
Local favorites (moe., BPO and Conehead Buddha) are sprinkled in along the names of headliners from the past (Shaggy, George Thorogood and Extreme) and more.
The final date, August 14th, is left to be announced at a later time.
This will be the first Canalside since The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation Board of Directors voted in January to enter into a contract with Global Spectrum.
Global Spectrum is one of the world’s largest and most respected venue management companies, and is now responsible for public space management at Canalside in Buffalo.
June 12: Shaggy with DJ Milk and Soul Rebels
June 19: Moe. with Conehead Buddhs
June 21: Tedeschi Trucks Band
June 26: Sam Roberts Band with July Talk
June 27: George Thorogood and the Destroyers
July 3: Gord Downie and the Sadies with Hey Rosetta! and Boy & Bear
July 10: Fitz and the Tantrums
July 17: Lake Street Dive and the Oh Hellos
July 24: Extreme
July 31: Sheila E.
August 7: BPO Rock Show: Earth Wind & Fire and Michael Jackson
August 8: Girl Talk
August 14: TBA
Thursday events are free, otherwise presale prices run at $15 and Day of Show at $25.
Another weekend for live music revelers is at hand for those who will be in Plattsburgh this weekend.
The Monopole
The Monopole will play host to two live acts this weekend, starting with Capital Zen tonight at 10 pm.
Zen has developed a reputation as a hard-working group, having performed more than 100 shows last year. The jam band out of Glens Falls weaves nearly every assortment of genre into their playlist – everything from Jazz to Punk, Prog to Classical, Metal to Blues. As they state on their Facebook Page, “Zen creates a feel and tone unlike any other.”
They are to appear at the Backwoods Pondfest in Peru this August, an event they have not missed since their first appearance in 2009.
Tomorrow, the music will start up again with a little R&B funk flair introduced by Burlington’s Funkwagon at 10 pm.
The nine-piece band formed in 2005, and describes their funk sound as atypical. For one, they introduce themselves as a “gospel infused funk band.”
“Well for one thing it’s very vocal oriented,” band founder Aaron Burroughs is quoted on the band’s Facebook Page. “We pay attention to our lyrics… so it really does feel kind of like a choir.”
Next Thursday, May 15, Lowell & Sabo of Lucid will take to the bar’s stage.
The Monopole is located on 7 Protection Ave, in downtown Plattsburgh. For more information, call 518-563-2222.
Olive Ridley’s
Olive Ridley’s is advertising the arrival of Catfish and Bodega to their stage tonight at 6 pm (The Facebook Event advertises a time of 6:30 pm)
They promise a smooth blend of jazz and funk for all their music loving friends.
Tomorrow, DJ Jon is scheduled to make his regular appearance to entertain the masses.
Yo, check this out. Imagine the lifestyle of DJ Armin Van Burren. Young. Talented. Blond-haired pretty-boy. Behind a turntable in the middle of a show, he’s the center of attention. Everyone’s attention. Yes. Including her. eJay was a leader among a handful of games that allowed users to compose professional sounding EMD tracks that could be shared.
Now, you’re him. You’re rocking the set at an outdoor venue somewhere in the French Riviera. The warmth from the early summer sun still bakes off the sandy beach as you step onto the stage. All you smell is the salt of the Mediterranean Sea, and suntan lotion. Lots of it. Like the one she’s wearing. The honey out front, who’s just about to groove to the beat you provide her and thousands of other revellers. Just as you set the needle down, the crowd sparks to life. You throw up your hands as the synth sound starts to rise to a crescendo of electronic bliss. You give a look to that honey with the mocha-latte skin, the ends of her curly chestnut hair gently brushing off her shoulders as she moves with anticipation. But, all you can think about is dropping that dope-nasty bass….
Wait. What? You just described this amazingly hot girl, and you can think of nothing but “dropping a dope-nasty bass?!” Nothing’s been “dope,” let alone, “dope-nasty” since the 20th Century. Not sure anything’s been dope-nasty at that. But, okay. Just, listen. Just, keep reading. Okay?
Generations- technologically speaking – before Activision published DJ Hero (2009) for the gaming console, another game provided would-be Armin Van Burrens a creative outlet for the personal computer.
To describe it as a precursor to DJ Hero may be misleading; but, than again, DJ Hero didn’t quite utilize records and true turntables either.
eJay started off as a Window’s based game for the personal computer back in 1997. To snap things into proper prospective, Nintendo and SEGA were still locked into fierce competition for console sales. SONY and Microsoft were too wet behind the ear to be taken seriously. And, serious, high-end graphic based games were still played on personal computer.
ejay was not a graphic marvel, but provided a lot of punch as an interface for the music lover to start producing music. Users immediately started off on a fresh canvas that consisted of several layers, by which blocks of sound tracks could be placed. The end product would resemble something of a constructed building, so literally, the track was built brick by brick.
Sound clips of one- to five-seconds in length would be organized, first under a handful of different sub-genres of EDM – Techno, Hip-Hop and so on. From there, you could choose from a variety of sounds for percussion, rhythm and vocals. With practice and developed talent, it wasn’t uncommon to wind-up with a professional sounding track worth sharing with the world.
The eJay series enjoyed a successful run before closing shop in 2009. But, before falling victim to the crash of the global economy, according to one UK newspaper, it was the go-to game within a genre that was slowly building into popularity. Keep in mind, EDM was a movement most popular in Europe in the 1990s, and slowly migrated to the United States through metropolitan megalopolises like New York City and Los Angeles. By 2009, console games were more the rage, and DJ Hero was born.
Despite it’s demise more than five years ago, eJay still has a devoted following on the Internet and a Facebook Page that is still relatively active. From the fan page, one can still sample tracks created by gamers or artist. And, if you are such an artist, you can upload your work as well.
Search the web for eJay and see what magic can be captured. If you’re lucky enough to find a program, perhaps then you too can imagine yourself as Armin Van Burren in the French Riviera.
Starting Saturday May 3rd, a Brooklyn art gallery will be displaying art from the late Dave Brockie, also known as Oderus Urungus of the shock group GWAR, died suddenly in March. The cause of death has still gone undetermined.
MF Gallery is having a special memorial art show dedicated Brockie. Part of the proceeds from the show will benefit the Dave Brockie Foundation.
Brockie was a visual artists through different mediums and he collaborated often with MF Gallery; from his solo show / performance in 2004 to GWAR’s Crack-a-Thon in 2010 and 2011, according the a recent press release from Freeman Promotions.
The MF Gallery will open its doors to for the opening party at 7pm. Music by GWAR, Death Piggy and DBX will play throughout the night, and there will be projections of various GWAR / Dave Brockie videos. Admission is free and open to all ages.
Opening night will be a “Cash & Carry” sale, with one third of the proceeds going to The Dave Brockie Foundation. Donations can also be made directly to The Dave Brockie Foundation at: . The art from the show will be available for viewing and purchasing online.
MF Gallery is located at 213 Bond St. in Brooklyn, NY. Contact Martina Secondo Russo at (917) 446-8681 or info@MFgallery.net.
If you haven’t seen Cry to the Blind by the end of this year, you haven’t been trying.
“Shows are coming in like crazy!” said band manager, Tommy “The Don” Casserino. Announcements have been reporting out with a fury over the past few weeks.
Last week it was announced they will be opening for Framing Hanley for one show in Watertown, NY on May 15th at Exhibition Hall. Wednesday, CTTB was named to 95X‘s XFest for Saturday, June 21st in Syracuse, NY. Adelita’s Way heads the playbill. And, yesterday, the East End Music Festival listed them among nine different acts to play on Friday, June 13th in the band’s hometown of Rochester, NY.
After the 95X Fest announcement, Casserino said, “Without the 95x Crew there would be no local support for the bands.”
Casserino also revealed that Rock Rage Radio approached the band for a possible tour.
“Cry to the Blind is a band that gives you 110% of what they do,” said Casserino. “My hats off to Radio Contraband for pushing ‘Wrecking Ball,’ and opening doors for the band.”
Last December, the band released a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” taking the No. 1 pop single and making into a hard rock track of their own. The accompanying YouTube video went viral, earning them enough attention to gain play time on Sirius Octane.
Now, the boys will take to the stage with Framing Hanley as one of the concert’s opening acts in Watertown. Framing Hanley is a legitimate Top 10 talent that has been out of the circuit for a few years. This tour is in support of their latest album The Sum of Who We Are, which is their first release since severing ties with Silent Majority and signing with Imagen Records.
The band had filmed a video for a new release “Unbroken” in partnership with Imagen Records back in March. Casserino said the video is to be released soon.
Cry to the Blind is not signed with any record labels as of yet, but the pairing up with Imagen appears to be something worth keeping an eye on for the near future.
Within hours a music festival can turn a small campground into a small village surpassing the population totals of many neighboring town per Cali Law Dawg
For example, the Catskills Chill Music Festival, which boasts a modest capacity of 5,000 people each year, dwarfs the number of residents in the village of Millerton in Dutchess County, which has a population of 938.
Those who go to festivals understand the dynamics that separate these shows from one-night concerts. Virtual neighborhoods are established. Unique social mores are recognized and followed. And, though money still rules the land, a trade and barter system is more commonplace.
The Festival Lawyer, as he is known on Twitter, is a contributing writer on Showbams and regularly dispenses legal advise for festival goers. Wednesday, he released such advise as music lovers start to gear up for the summer season.
— IWasThereWhenItWasWriten (@FestivalLawyer) April 30, 2014
“@festivallawyer [is] a really great guy and resource,” said Editor-in-Chief Pete Mason. On the latest information shared by the music councilor, Mason said, ” It revolves around safety at festivals, knowing what you took, being smart about who you take things from at festivals. I know that doesn’t sound ‘newsworthy’ but for festival goers, it very much is. This dude is smart.”
The advise shared may be of particular interest for those who care to indulge in activities that, if caught and reported in a newspaper, would require us to add “allegedly” in front of the act. With that said, we at don’t condone or recommend such activities.
Summer usually comes much later up North, but don’t you tell that to the people of Plattsburgh, NY. This weekend, you won’t be able to swing a dead cat without hitting a live music performance.
Conehead Buddha
Plattsburgh First Weekends starts off the monolithic musical weekend Friday, at 2 pm from Trinity Park. Street performances and other fun activities are promised, while Mambo Combo is set to perform on City Hall Pl. at 5 pm.
Then, at 7 pm, the ROTA Gallery will host several acts consisting of The Fox & The Feather, Allison Lutz, Theresa Hartford and TPZ.
But, wait, if you really want to take this crazy train you may be forced to a decision between seeing Conehead Buddha at Olive Ridley’s at 9 pm, or Mister F at the Monopole at 10 pm.
Mister F takes to the stage back in January.
Round Two of musical events gives plenty of time for recuperation, as the first show does not start until 7 pm. Here, the ROTA Gallery will again play host to several acts – Cave Needles, Vincent & The Virgins, Jesus & The Psychonauts, and Judee Mango.
If you choose to part ways from the Gallery, it may be because you need a cup of coffee. The Koffee Kat will have Justin Vancour on their intimate stage setting by 8 pm.
And, by 9 pm, the Monopole will play host to Albany jam band Groovestick.
Lucid has a brand new drummer and they want to introduce him to the crowd at Nectar’s in Burlington, VT.
Chris “Hollywood” English is in the fold, and the show this Saturday, May 3rd will mark the band’s first visit since he came on board.
The show kicks off at 9 pm, and is for those 21 and up only. Admission is $5.00. Joining Lucid will be Goosepimp Orchestra and FiKus.
Lucid by Bryan Lasky
Lucid earned the title of New York State’s #1 band in our March Madness voting contest, beating out an initial field of 64 bands.
Hollywood just joined the Popular group out of Plattsburgh. He started his career as the drummer for the legendary Buddy Guy, was most recently with AudioInflux
FiKus, is a jam band out of North Jersey, with an eclectic sound that combines progressive melodies with infectious grooves, electronic beats, and edgy vocals.
FiKus by Bryan Lasky
Goosepimp Orchestra is best described by the press release we just received. Their sound is, “the form of funk that dissolves the barriers between artist and audience. The energy plotted through space race like arrangements, channeled by geeks who became stage freaks, and absorbed into every opened mind via third eyes is a condensed and charismatic force from the center of the Earth and the beginning of time.”
Heavy.
If you have the ability, make haste and get thee there.
