NYS Music 20​14

Category: Show Reviews

  • Rock On the Range 2014: Day One

    Rock on the Range promised to bring Columbus, Ohio the biggest and best lineup to date for this years festival, and on day one, they certainly delivered. This year’s festival marked the first featuring a full 3-day lineup, and Rangers were eagerly waiting outside the stadium early on Friday morning to get their weekend started. Cold weather and rain tried to put a damper on the sold out crowd, but the bands and tens of thousands of fans energized one another and made sure the weekend was unforgettable.

    Featuring former members of Egypt Central, Devour The Day were given the task of warming up the Ernie Ball Stage early on Friday afternoon. Mixed in with the new material was an unexpected surprise, Egypt Central’s hit “White Rabbit”. The Monster Main Stage was christened by Redlight King. The instantly recognizable opening notes of “Comeback” got the crowd going immediately. The band steered clear of their more relaxed rap-rock tracks, keeping it heavy for the festival crowd.

    Intro music could be heard at the Ernie Ball stage the moment the main stage wrapped up, allowing a few seconds to rush over in time for Thousand Foot Krutch. Playing mostly newer material, the band was sure to bring it back for the old fans on “Move”, which had the entire field doing just that. Black Stone Cherry had just the right balance of entertaining lyrics, southern charm, and high energy rock to convert just about any ranger into a fan, taking the main stage to deliver a set that was nearly impossible to not sing along to.

    While We Came As Romans played the Ernie Ball Stage, Japanese four piece ONE OK ROCK took the Jägermeister stage for their first US festival performance, a not so modest transition into their upcoming Warped Tour appearances. Killswitch Engage seem to never disappoint, and that certainly held true for the band’s main stage set. The fun and eccentric playing style of guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was contrasted by the growl of vocalist Jesse Leach, who held his own on the final track, a cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver”.

    Black Label Society were next up on the main stage to ensure that the lucky few not exhausted following Killswitch Engage were completely worn out by the end of their 50 minute set. While the band may cater to the middle aged biker crowd, it’s safe to say that everyone that caught the set appreciated the undeniable talent of Zakk Wylde as he effortlessly shredded through guitar solos that lasted as long as some band’s songs.

    (Interview with Seether from Upstate Rock Station Q103’s Wes Styles)

    The anxiously awaited return of Seether to the festival scene was well received next at the Monster Stage. Following the addition of a touring guitarist, the former trio sounded better than ever. Not even the slightest split second of silence occurred throughout the entire set, with improvised transitions from song. On top of the old favourites the band included their brand new single “Words As Weapons”, which many devoted fans had already memorized word for word.

    Also having laid low for the last few years, Staind took the stage next to show Columbus that they are far from finished. Despite the fact that each of the members have been working on various side projects in recent years, the band proved to be as in sync as ever. Flames lit up Crew Stadium on rock ballads like “Outside”, with Seether’s Shaun Morgan accompanied Aaron Lewis on vocals. Time for rest on the lighter tracks allowed fans some much needed time to catch their breaths and rest up for heavier tracks like “Mudshovel”, during which bodies flew in every imaginable direction amongst the crowd.

    Guns N’ Roses may have been a surprising choice to close out day one of Rock on the Range, but the rest of the day’s killer lineup left little room for complaints. Whether it was out of mere curiosity or genuine excitement, the majority of the sold out audience stayed for the final show of the night. After starting out slow with a newer track, the famous guitar intro of “Welcome to the Jungle” caused every single face in the stadium to light up. Backed by a theatrical stage set up and scorching pyro, Axl Rose wowed with powerful vocals that haven’t wavered since day one. After teasing everyone with a taste of the GNR classics, he number of newer songs included in the band’s set list left many disappointed and rushing for the exit to beat lines of traffic on the way out. While the set list wasn’t spectacular, Guns N’ Roses put on a solid performance worthy of closing out an incredible day of rock.

  • Modest Mouse Hits the Stage for Brewery Ommegang’s Opening Show of the Season

    This year, the Friday night that traditionally marks the unofficial first day of summer, the Friday night of Memorial Day Weekend, also marked the first show of the season at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, with Modest Mouse’s first of two sold out shows. The promoter of the event, Dan Smalls, came out on stage just before the opening band to offer up a toast to the crowd for the new season, and took the opportunity to announce several performers who will be making appearances at Ommegang later in the summer, including Conor Oberst with special guests Dawes and The Baseball Project, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Neutral Milk Hotel!

    Brewery Ommegang

    The opening band for the Friday night Modest Mouse show was Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, a band from England who seemed to have a fair share of fans in the crowd. The band members all walked out on stage to what sounded like an Irish sea shanty that was being played as music over the speakers, which was a cool introduction. The first song had a nice acoustic start, and then went right into a more gruff (in a good way) British punk style. After introducing the band, Frank Turner had the chance to demonstrate his leadership of the band a bit, and it became clear that he would be the storyteller of the bunch. One of the first memorable ones was about a time when they had a bit too much to drink after they were on the Ellen Degeneres Show and woke up the next morning wearing the underwear that had been given to them in their goodie bags from being on the show, inspiring Turner to write a song called “Wet Underwear!” After that story, Turner invited an audience member to join him on stage to help him out during a song. A security guard actually came from the side of the stage to help a fan by the name of Sean up from near the front of the crowd; he was asked to play a harmonica solo during “Dan’s Song.” Turner mentioned that, thankfully, Sean could actually play the harmonica because he’d heard a lot worse at some of his other shows and felt bad for having put those people on the spot!

    The next song up was called “Wherefore Art Thou Gene Simmons,” which was inspired by Turner having read Simmons’ autobiography. Despite the kind of out there title, the song really showed off Turner’s amazing talent on the acoustic guitar; he was playing such nice harmonies with himself that it was hard to believe he was the only guitarist on the stage! This song was in stark contrast to some of the band’s other, more hardcore, tunes, but that just demonstrated the versatility of this group, who were able to move seamlessly from pop to folk to punk, and back again. In fact, the last song of the set had an almost “Lawn Boy”-esque quality, featuring Turner, joined only by the piano at first, crooning to the audience. Striving to keep the audience involved throughout the show, the band employed multiple singalongs and clapping sections (Turner actually had the crowd doing jumping jacks along with one of their tunes after complimenting them on their participation earlier on in the show).  This band is definitely going places. Featuring Frank Turner on acoustic guitar and vocals, Ben Lloyd on electric guitar, Nigel Powell on drums, Matt Nasir on electric mandolin/ keys, and Tarrant Anderson on bass, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls are not to be missed.

     Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls

    The time between when the opening band left the stage and when Modest Mouse came on was the perfect time to check out the food vendors who were lined up along the back of the concert field. From burgers and sausages, to pizza, to meals from the Cooperstown-based Origins Café food truck, which uses only ingredients grown locally (tonight’s selections included macaroni and cheese, black bean enchiladas, and a spicy green Thai curry), there were plenty of delicious choices. As far as beverages go, Brewery Ommegang’s rich, Belgian-style beer was on tap throughout the night. Judging from the antics of the crowd, it became evident that not everyone was aware that their beers have a higher alcohol content than most; there were definitely some folks out there who were having trouble standing up even before Frank Turner came on to play!

    The headliner of the night was Modest Mouse, a Washington State-based indie rock band who got their start in the mid-90s. Having seen them several times in years past when living elsewhere, it was exciting to have such a well-respected band sell out two shows right here in our neck of the woods. There were several die-hard fans out there who seemed to know every lyric to Modest Mouse’s lyrically-complicated songs, as well as people who were there mainly because they knew some of their more popular tunes like “Dashboard,” which they played as the second song in the set.

    Modest Mouse

    In similar fashion to Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Modest Mouse entered the stage as a segue out of the heavy techno-trance beats that were being played between sets over the speakers, which seemed to mellow out the crowd, before switching over to an almost “Rock and Roll High School” sounding melody, getting the crowd revved up all over again just in time for their opening number “Invisible.” Heading straight into “Dashboard,” on which the band was joined by an amazing female fiddle player, Modest Mouse never ceased to amaze the crowd with their versatility. At first glance, one may think of Modest Mouse as sounding kind of poppy, but once you experience them live, it’s a different story. During one song they played, “This Devil’s Workday,” several people in the crowd practically started waltzing! It was the closest Modest Mouse’s music will ever come to the music you hear when you open up one of those jewelry boxes with a ballerina inside, but then they came back to their more echo-y, darker sounding material.

    At this point in the set, it was raining pretty heavily and band leader Isaac Brock announced that at some point during the evening, either all his equipment was going to stop working because it was not designed for rain, or he would get electrocuted, which would only be fun for him if he survived the ordeal, and then he proceeded to light up a cigarette. Luckily, no electrical issues ensued, and instead, Brock brought out a banjo and guitarist Jim Fairchild and the fiddler brought out a tuba and trumpet, respectively, for the song “Bukowski,” which sounded a bit like a cross between the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Primus. Later on in the set, the band’s song “Dark Center of the Universe,” evolved into a more head bang-y section and even inspired some crowd-surfing. For their next song “Sugar Boats,” the band chose to use the unique combination of trumpet and electric fiddle, the fiddle sounding almost like a clarinet, giving it an almost klezmer feel.

    tuba and trumpet

    Putting in a plug for the Hall of Fame Classic baseball game happening in Cooperstown on Saturday, May 24 (leading me to think that they might make an appearance at the game?), Modest Mouse moved on to one of their most popular songs, “Float On,” which definitely got a rouse out of the crowd. Feeling a bit beat up from all the rain, the band closed out their set with three more tunes, all of which were more of their harder sound, and ended quite abruptly with “Sh-t Luck”. After a fairly long break backstage, leaving the audience uncertain as to whether the band was going to be coming back for an encore, they surprised us with another five numbers, which again showed off the band’s versatility. The night ended with an extended version of “The View” to coincide with Brewery Ommegang’s signature fireworks display, which they typically have at the end of each of their shows.

    fireworks

    After such a high energy show, it was hard to believe that Modest Mouse was going to be doing it all over again the next night (on Saturday night, the band Brand New opened up for them), but they have such a vast repertoire of music that the crowd was sure to be pleased all over again. And as an added bonus, for those lucky enough to have checked out the Hall of Fame Classic baseball game on Saturday, Modest Mouse made an appearance during the “seventh inning stretch” to lead the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!” What an treat after having left Friday night’s concert having felt totally satisfied! Be sure to check them out when they come back to our area again in July for The Hudson Project in Saugerties, where they will be joined by none other than The Flaming Lips, Conspirator, Lettuce, Bassnectar, and many others.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Lb4xjIv1Q]

    Setlist: Invisible, Dashboard, Satellite Skin, Black Cadillacs, Be Brave, Dramamine/Life Like Weeds, This Devil’s Workday, Bukowski, Broke, The World At Large, Spitting Venom, Dark Center of the Universe, Sugar Boats, Float On, Tiny Cities Made of Ashes, Sh-t In Your Cut, Sh-t Luck

    Encore: Cowboy Dan, Paper Thin Walls, Gravity Rides Everything, Heart Cooks Brain, The View

  • Trey Anastasio Band at House of Blues Cleveland, Friday May 23rd

    On Friday May 23rd, Trey Anastasio Band rolled through Cleveland for the first of two Ohio shows leading up to headlining Summer Camp Music Festival on Sunday. Taking the stage shortly before 8pm, the septet certainly didn’t waste any time, jumping right into the reggae flavored ” The Land of Nod”.

    trey anastasio clevelandFresh and tight from the get-go, the band showed absolutely no signs of rust from the three month break. If there’s one thing that’s clear, TAB brings the heat on a nighty basis. Trey certainly wasn’t hesitant in reintroducing the midwestern crowd to the slew of new material debuted back in February. Anastasio also premiered two new originals – “Flying Machine” and “The Song”, while later confirming the band is working on a new album. Master of harnessing energy, Trey and company delivered two high octane sets complied by a mix of new and old school staples. “Magilla”, “Drifting” and “First Tube” provided the closing credits to an incredible night of music on the shores of Lake Erie.

    Setlist – Trey Anastasio Band, House of Blues, Cleveland, OH 5/23/16

    Set One: Land Of Nod, Bounce, Cayman Review, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Flying Machine*, Pigtail, Money Love and Change, Frost, Dark And Down, Valentine, Gotta Jibboo

    Set Two: Sometime After Sunset, The Song**, Night Speaks To A Woman, Shine, Plasma, Architect, Sand, Clint Eastwood, Push On Til The Day

    Encore: Magilla, Drifting, First Tube * – First Time Played (Anastasio) ** – First Time Played (Anastasio/Pollak)

    Download the show from Etree

  • Al Kooper Celebrates Belated 70th Birthday with Friends at The Egg

    Al Kooper, one of Rock n Roll’s most historic musicians, performed at The Lewis A. Swyer Theatre inside The Egg in Albany on May 17th in celebration of his 70th birthday. The small theatre held less than 400 people who greeted Kooper with a standing ovation. Al Kooper has quite the resume, recording with such musicians as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd, B.B. King, and dozens more. Kooper thanked the audience for attending his belated birthday party since he had to reschedule due to his age and New York’s harsh winters. It was just Kooper on stage for the first few songs as he went back and forth between the electronic keyboard atop his vintage Hammond organ. His vocals were tender and worn, but sincere. He was then joined onstage by a bassist and his drummer “The Sheriff” as Kooper himself switched to electric guitar to play a slightly off-key version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”.

    Kooper has classic “Dad Humor” that anyone can relate to with corny puns and jokes about being clueless as to what all the buttons are for on his electric keyboard. Keeping the atmosphere light and funky with his Funky Faculty band, Kooper led the way into Booker T’s classic “Green Onions”, a laid back summer time groove. One of the highlights of the show was to hear his version of “Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones where you can hear Kooper’s organ playing on their original album. He has a smoother jazz vibe to him but can pack a big punch like The Stones. The Funky Faculty built up repetitive peaks with vintage guitar riffs, funky bass rhythm and blaring horns to make a solid, modern day groove.

    For the second portion of the show, Kooper was joined by longtime friend and guitarist Jimmy Vivino, known to today’s youth as a member of the house band for Conan O’Brian. The Sheriff jumped on the cymbals and was joined with a quick bass as Vivino lets out the long echoes of his guitar strings. The whole crowd felt it and began to sway from the pressure of the heavy blues being played out. Vivino sounded like he was revving an engine, a lot of built up energy waiting to zoom by and sent hearts racing to keep up. Given the Upstate NY location, they were eager to pay tribute to both the late Levon Helms, performing The Band’s “The Weight” which sparked an endearing sing-along, and Bob Dylan on their rendition of “Highway 61” which caused the band members to pause and join in on the rhythmic clapping. Kooper ended the night by introducing the last song by saying, “This was the word to me” as he went into Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” another album you can hear his gospel organ playing. After all these years, Kooper still performs the classic hits with a youthful kick that is easily recognized and cherished.

  • Look Under Your Couch, You May Be Lucky to Find some Cosmic Dust Bunnies

    The streets of Saratoga Springs were jammed packed on Saturday, May 17th  night and there was little doubt that the Putnam Den would be receiving much of this overflow, especially considering the first beer was on the house, and two of the best progressive bands around, The Cosmic Dust Bunnies and the Squid Parade, were about to tear the place down. Yet somehow, the room was sparse, as fans of these bands looked around in befuddlement wondering if they were in the right place. They were, and regardless of how many people were there, the band did not mind one bit as they played some of the best sets seen at Putnam Den in quite some time!

    Squid Parade, formed at SUNY Oneonta, opened the evening with their own variety of jamtronica and a steady groove, setting the evening’s vibe. All the supporters of the bands knew they were in the right place: this was going to be a party! Guitarist Zac Westbrook had a very similar style to that of Chris Michetti, yet with his own soaring flow, showing his influences but also proving he is his own musician. The drums, played by Emmett Rozelle, and bass, played by Pete Piscitelli, played perfectly in sync with each other, leaving Westbrook to do his thing. Although many bands play to this formula, Squid Parade did it in a manner that exemplified practice and experimentation leading towards a new twist on what is becoming a tedious sound in a fantastic genre. The stand out track was a brand new song, among a set that showed extreme diversity, from speed metal, to classic rock, to electronica poppy choruses, yet never losing groove or the attention of the fans. This is a band that some may say are trying to find themselves, due to all the different sounds but they have already found themselves, in creating a new sound.

    Setlist: The Hammer, Out of Phase, Mutation Engine, Leave that Thing Alone,Never Odd Or Even, Frog Legs, S.S.R.A.S.B., Dualit

    New Haven, Connecticut natives The Cosmic Dust Bunnies then took the stage and hit the crowd with another type of a daring musical adventure. Their sound of new wavetronica seems like an anomaly in itself, but it wasn’t long before the crowd understood what this meant. With Chris Sellas spouting a synthesizer over the other instruments, it felt like 1984 all over again. Bassist Matt Beckett constructed the perfect bridge between Sellas and guitarist Matt Dempsey. A very fulfilling sound, giving both soloists time to slowly make their way to the spotlight. This concept is not used as precisely as the Dust Bunnies did it; they showed patience in that they were willing to solo at the right time, with no rush. This made the blissful compositions that much more significant. “Flood the Streets” was a very high point, starting out with a Talking Heads groove. It wasn’t until Sellas used the vocorder, that new wavetronica made complete sense. Erik Hyland’s drums were wailing away, as Demspey’s guitar screamed, and Sellas was just having a blast, along with everyone else.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2folv1H9Hs&w=420&h=315]

    When the band played “Mission: Possible”, they threw in a bit of dub, although it wasn’t clear if the dub sound was going to take away from the sound that was already a staple that evening. This seemed a tad disheartening, as it appeared there was no room for the darkness that dub brings to the happy bouncy feeling that had already been established. As with everything else, however, CDB knew what they were doing and used just enough to make it interesting. This tactic was used for the next few numbers, with a little more of the electronica then the new wave, but there were no complaints, as everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. The group continued to show their uniqueness by playing“Down”, a poppy radio friendly song. Sung by Beckett with passion, this song seemed like it meant more than words to him, as he sang from the heart. This would be the perfect song to hear on the radio, with a little guitar and key solos thrown in bit, but it wasn’t the focus of the song: the vocals and lyrics were. The Cosmic Dust Bunnies have started a new style of genre blending. This doesn’t seem to be a flash in the pan. New wavetronica could be the sound of the future.

    Setlist: Gotcha>Moleculo>Gotcha, Emerald Zone, Flood The Streets, Mission: Possible, Cosmonauts, Down, Jay in My Life, Hipster Champagne

  • Consider Spring Revived: Spring Revival 2 at Carey Lake

    DSC_0009After what can only be called a “trying” Winter and early Spring, Upstate NY was more then ready for a weekend that didn’t suck monkey balls. Enter Statewide Music’s Spring Revival 2. With forecasts only showing a few storms and weather ranging into the 80’s, the timing couldn’t have been better for a revival of the Spring we had yet to receive. This three day fest entered it’s second year in a brand new venue: Macedon, NY’s Carey Lake. Situated perfectly between Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Ithaca, the venue was easy to find and flat, with plenty of space for car camping, surrounded with enough trees, streams, gardens, and woodland creatures  to satisfy the even the most Ranger Rick loving hippies. A bar and restaurant fronted the head of the property and also held the late night bands with a heaping dose of small town hospitality (Not to mention a pretty kick ass brunch!).

    Thursday night kicked kicked the festival off with a nice group of early arrivals with the new improv-heavy Rochester trio, Underground Funk. Headliner and ‘s March Madness Winner, Lucid, (who also have the coolest tour bus ever) held the main stage expertly, and Rochester’s Haewa, whom would play two blistering sets over the weekend, kept things going until 1AM. It’s often when the music is done at small festivals when you really get to wander and meet new and interesting people and many were up til the sun rose. The night time revealed travelers from at least four different states had come to share in the groove, some who lived life from festival to festival, and many others that came to see the specific acts. Acoustic guitars, joyful conversations,  and a small drum circle carried the festival until the morning.

    Speaking of sun, Friday came with a ton of it. Temps soared into the 80’s by the time Personal Blend kicked off and no one was complaining. The first truly glorious day of 2014 also inspired all the bands that day as everyone was delivering their A-game sets. Albany’s Formula 5 won the afternoon crowd over with an inspired set and their brand new bassist (not to be confused with movie and television star) James Woods. The fun was given an exhilarating short break late in the afternoon as a short but fierce storm, henceforth named Hurricane EZ-Down, gave everything a nice soak and showed whose tents were truly “wind-friendly.” After a short break and a slight schedule change, Ithaca’s Solaris and Vermont’s Flabberghaster paved the way for the first of two headlining nights for Buffalo’s hottest export, Aqueous. The foursome whose genre, dubbed “groove rock”, but was more like “everything is awesome rock”, played an energy filled set anchored by a spot on first time cover debut of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Funky Monk”. Closing down the evening, Rochester’s nocturnal psych-rock-animal Ocupanther, kept the night owls going ’til last call.

    DSC_0125

    Revival’s Saturday schedule was loaded with bands straight through from 11AM until 2AM. Many bounced between the two stages with a seemingly endless supply of dancing fuel, while others played Frisbee or explored the grounds. This was a great time to check out many of the great vendors on site as well, and I picked myself up some organic homemade deodorant and a brisket taco that can only be described as freakin’ delicious.  Straying from the music didn’t last long though as Albany’s Mister F blew up a cover of Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat”, made famous in Napoleon Dynamite. Warming up the stage for Aqueous’s second night, a full two set show, were Rochester’s Roots Collider and Haewa’s second set of the weekend.

    Aqueous wasted no time getting into two blistering energy filled sets with the pairing of fan favorite originals, “Complex Part II” and “Origami”, with Solare Flare’s Hank and Margo spinning fire stage left. Concluding the set with a debut of The Cars “Just What I Needed”, the band took a short break while the audience refilled their beers. Never short on surprises, the band re-entered with bassist Evan McPhaden dressed in a full Tigger costume and a set of music that truly defined the amazing weekend as a champion. The newly re-finagled Universe Shark closed the festival down in style in the Carey Lake bar.

    DSC_0462

    Carey Lake will hold three more Statewide Music events this year with the next being the bluegrass/Americana/folk based Fiddler’s Picnic (June 12-15). Wish you had made it? No worries. Spring Revival 3 has already been announced for May 14-17th 2015.

  • Staind Sells Out Turning Stone Showroom Two Nights In a Row

    Under the cloak of darkness, the band takes the stage and begins to rock the audience on not just one night, but two, packing the house on both occasions. Best known for their seven hit albums and more than 25 hit singles, Staind has remained one of the most popular hard rock bands over the past two decades and sold out two nights at Turning Stone Showroom.

    Staind
    Staind

    With Aaron Lewis on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Johnny April on bass and backing vocals, Mike Mushok on lead guitar, and Sal Giancarelli on drums and percussion, how can you not love the electricity felt in the air and vibrations throughout the room with the amps blasting some of their best known hits from over the years.

    What many don’t know about these rock stars is their dedication to giving back to communities throughout New England through a charity called It Takes A Community Foundation.   The foundation was founded in 2010 by Aaron Lewis and his wife, Vanessa, when the small rural school in their hometown was closed due to budgetary constraints.  Instead of seeing their children and the others in the town bused to schools outside their community, they came together to establish the foundation to combat this problem.  Through a benefit concert that year, they were able to raise enough money to reopen the school as a private local school available to all the children in the community.   Now in their 4th year of raising money through benefit concerts and an annual golf tournament,  the foundation focuses on reviving rural communities throughout all of New England by working together with the leaders in the communities to identify and address their individual needs and crises at hand.  For more information on the charity and the concert and golf tournament for 2014, please visit It Takes A Community Foundation at http://itacf.org/index.php/about.html .

    For more information on Staind and their upcoming shows please visit their page at http://www.staind.com .

  • Avenged Sevenfold comes to Syracuse

    Avenged Sevenfold performed at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena in Syracuse on May 15th, touring in support of their album Hail to the King. Joining Avenged one last time on the Shepherd of Fire Tour was Hellyeah.

    Despite some changes this year with the departure of guitarist Greg Tribbett and bassist Bob Kakaha, Hellyeah is better than ever. Vocalist Chad Gray has amazing energy.  He loves what he does and tells the crowd that metal music saved his life. New bassist, Kyle Sanders, is a great addition to the band as well. He is talented and fascinating to watch as he whips his hair around and plays in different directions. Vinnie Paul on the drums is clearly a veteran performer. He interacts with the crowd better than any drummer I have seen. Tom Maxwell is a rock star on the guitar. Also joining the guys on tour is guitarist Christian Brady. He has only been confirmed as a touring guitarist with the band but he has proved to be a great asset. The band keeps the crowd pumped throughout their set, finishing it off with the hit “Drink, Drank, Drunk”.

    Avenged Sevenfold took the stage. and their rapport from performing together for 15 years is immediately obvious. They worked well together, anticipating the moves of one another and just having fun. The band wasted no time in getting the crowd fired up with hits like “Shepherd of Fire” and “Critical Acclaim”. Matt Shadows looks as if he was born to be on this stage. His ability to transition from screaming to singing so flawlessly is remarkable. Synster Gates is fantastic on the guitar and it is clear he loves to be on stage. Johnny Christ takes on the role of entertainer; he is playful and makes you feel like he could be just a neighborhood kid you grew up with. Zacky Vengeance is serious but charismatic. Arrin Illejay is hidden behind the drums, but when you can see him, he is captivating; the newest member of Avenged Sevenfold has definitely won the hearts of fans.

    Halfway through the show the lights dim and all we can see is Matt Shadows. He begins to speak of his best friend, James “The Rev” Sullivan, their drummer who passed away in 2009. He tells the crowd that throughout the show they will hear a voice that isn’t theirs, it’s the Rev. They have devoted themselves to keeping The Revs memory alive.  He sings “Fiction” as photos of The Rev play on the screen behind him. Shadows is emotional but he performs beautifully.  It is an intimate moment between the band and their fans as they grieve together. These guys remind us that the bonds of true friendship can not be broken, even by death. 

    The band brings the energy back with their hit “Nightmare.” The previously solemn crowd erupts as they sing along, ending the night with “Almost Easy.”

    These bands put on an amazing show. People from every generation came to see them play and did not leave disappointed. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for them.

  • Buffalo Packed Nietzsche’s to Catch the Genius that is Marco Benevento

    10376338_10152453143923829_6832205283426323405_nAs the weather breaks and nicer temperatures start to become the norm, the residents of Buffalo begin to come out of their winter slumber and explore the city again.  This past Friday night, Marco Benevento was in town and, with mother nature’s cooperation, Buffalo’s music community came out in droves and ascended upon Nietzsche’s for a night of great music.  As 10pm came and went, the venue began filling up with all walks of life to catch the jazz experimentalist  himself.  Benevento has played Buffalo pretty consistently as of late and it seems as though the scene here is not only appreciative of his visits, but the crowd continues to grow every time he comes back.

    The night started off with local favorites, Lazlo Hollyfeld.  With a beer in hand, it was actually difficult to try to maneuver to the front of the venue as it was that densely packed for Lazlo.  The group, in my eyes, was a perfect fit to open the night as their instrumental experimentation goes hand in hand with the type of crowd Benevento brings out.  With over ten years under their belts, Lazlo knew exactly how to draw a crowd in and keep them entranced with their choice of songs for the set.  Without any effort, your ears immediately gravitated towards Matt Felski who has the unique role of Vibraphonist in the band.  For those unfamiliar, the instrument is similar to a xylophone and, as you can imagine, stuck out like a sore thumb.  That might sound like a slight, but the way Felski utilized staccato and legato couldn’t have been more perfect.  I can’t say I’ve ever heard this instrument outside of jazz, let alone in a small band, but these guys made it work and have a truly unique sound because of it.  While I would’ve enjoyed seeing some more of them that night, their set was stellar and got the crowd in the perfect mindset for what was to come.  Their jamming was dark and exploratory, having almost a heavy metal feel in terms of both tempo and tone.  Guitarist Sonny Baker was the visual focal piece for the band as his energy swelled with peaks in the music and forced him to frantically pluck away in certain segments and attack his solos with a fierce tenacity.  As they wrapped up their set, the crowd let out an exuberant cheer, letting the band know of their appreciation and enjoyment.

    Marco Benevento took the stage around midnight, which was appropriate for Buffalo as the city is known for its late nights and 4am last call.  Midnight is when things start to get interesting here and that would hold true on this night as well.  Benevento started off the night sprinting out of the gate and showing everyone right away why he’s so talented.  On one song, he held the strings inside of his piano, creating a similar effect to a muted guitar and adding a layer of texture to his deep overall tone.  As he stated in our interview, he doesn’t go on stage with a setlist in mind; he completely plays to the crowd and feels out what they’re hoping to hear from him.  Friday night was no different.  Benevento was locked in from the get-go as every change in tempo and every blistering solo only electrified the crowd even more.  A few songs in, he turned and looked out across the crowd, grinning, to let both the band and audience know he was having a good time.

    As we got deeper into the set, you began to question how much his weathered piano could take.  Even though it looked like it could’ve been lying around in the back of Nietzsche’s, the tone that was culled from its depths was beautiful.  It was definitely an odd juxtaposition of visual ugliness, yet tonal beauty.  The use of effect pedals with his historic rig only make his sound that much more unique.  His tone and approach is literally out of this world.  The_Persistence_of_MemoryIf you closed your eyes, it was almost as if you were strolling through Dalí’s “The Persistence of Memory” and he was playing the soundtrack.

    While only a year has passed since I last saw these guys, they have grown tighter as an overall entity.  Dave Dreiwitz (bass) and Andy Borger (drums) have learned how to compliment what Benevento does and now play much larger roles within the group.  When they would collectively stop, it felt as though the pressure had finally let up.  The three were so good at keeping an incessant pace that you felt the need to gasp for air on the short break in between songs.

    Benevento himself is a madman behind the keys.  You could see it in his face at various points throughout the show that he was really trying to push his musical boundaries.  In and of itself, you can respect him for that, but he balances that seriousness with a jovial side that enjoys the dynamic between the band and crowd. As a clear example of his playful side, a large wolf mask somehow made its was to the stage and Marco was the first to embrace it, playing through the second half of a song while it was on his head.  It was difficult to discern whether the whole thing was planned, but Marco’s eagerness and energized playing said otherwise.

    The show went on until about 2am with Marco covering songs off of every album, including some new tunes off of his upcoming Fall release.  It was an incredible night of music to say the least.  As the crowd filed out, I overheard what I presumed to be a new fan talking about how they couldn’t wait for the next time he’s in town.  Not surprised, I now understand why Marco is always smiling.

  • The Breakdown at Susquehanna

    Susquehanna Breakdown Music Festival was an all day event on Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA on May 10th. Hosted by music sensation Cabinet, whose blues infused rock and roots Americana sound has established them a firm footing in the soils of the East coast, for a second year, the festival was a success.

    Cabinet is from the hills of Pennsylvania making the backdrop of Montage Mountain a perfect fit. A heavy rotation of artists from NY trampled the stages giving high-energy performances leaving the audience tired, yet wanting more. The Brummy Brothers kicked off the day and music alternated without a break all day and into the night. Highlights include a set from Marco Benevento and Sister Sparrow &  The Dirty Birds, as well as artist at large, Ron Holloway. The festival was a big dance party from start to finish for all ages. The family oriented event offered something for everyone whether it was hippy clothes shopping, face art or hula-hoops.

    Check out our photo gallery of the festival.