NYS Music 20​14

Category: Show Reviews

  • Equifunk Leprechaun’s Ball Brings a Pot of Gold to New York City

    On St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Equifunk threw a Leprechaun’s Ball during the day at (Le) Poisson Rouge to celebrate the holiday. There was a lot of green throughout the crowd and even more smiles on stage as three bands tore through their sets and wowed the crowd with each song they played.

    Starting the afternoon was Dorsia, a four piece band that brought loads of power to the stage. With two guitars trading off solos and tight jams that effortlessly extended into the beyond, Dorsia was just the music to start the day off. Bobby Paltauf Band was next and the 14 year old and his band kept the energy up in the venue. Playing many tracks off his first album, Lost + Found, the band was comfortable and played a great set. Stand outs were “Flood Franklin Park”, “Guitar”, and “Lost + Found,” with the last track bringing the audience into an uproar with a rocked out nonstop jam. Nigel Hall joined the band during a flawless rendition of the ‘Soulive version’ of “Eleanor Rigby ” earlier in the set as well.

    The main event was Eddie Roberts & The Funky Charms who sauntered onto the stage and began to deliver a more than two hour set of covers with jams that just continuously went to beautiful and unexpected places. The all-star band included Nigel Hall, Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, James Casey, Ron Johnson, and John Staten. All of these incredible musicians have played together in various projects before but never together, and hopefully it will happen again soon as the whole show was a highlight. Eddie stated early in the set that they were planning on doing many 80’s covers, and the crowd ate up every song. Two highlights were a great “Sweet Dreams” and an awesome “All Night Long.” Ending the night with “Let the Music Take Your Mind” the band took a bow and Equifunk successfully threw another great event. Look for the 3rd Annual Leprechaun’s Ball next year and make sure you get down to it.

    Dorsia and Bobby Paltauf Band photos courtesy of Jessica Giovannetti

  • Melvin Seals and JGB Bring Smiles to All

    The smell of patchouli oil filled the air as dreadlocked, middle-aged folks wore their patchwork pants while sipping on Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The vibe was set for a grateful night, as Melvin Seals and JGB were set to play Putnam Den on Sunday, March 2nd.

    Opening the night from Hartford, Connecticut were the Balkun Brothers. Their unique style of powerful blues, fronted by lead guitarist Steve Balkun, mixed sounds of Joe Satriani and Jimi Hendrix, an ability shown by few guitarists today. The shredding that came from every song left the crowd wanting more, and more is what they got. Showing their diversity the band also delved into a few funky songs, further proving they weren’t a one trick pony. This was even more evident in their closing number, “Fire”, by the aforementioned Jimi Hendrix, leaving the crowd in good spirits and ready for Melvin Seals and JGB.

    When Melvin and crew took the stage, everyone, including the band, was more than ready to get things rolling. They opened with the Rolling Stones classic, “Lets Spend the Night Together.” Dave Herbert’s guitar emulated the sweet harp-like harmony of Jerry Garcia perfectly. Herbert’s high pitched, fast-paced playing was a new twist that brought his unique style to JGB. The backing vocals of Shirley Starks and Cheryl Rucker were in perfect harmony with Herbert throughout the night. This rang true on the Van Morrison classic “Crazy Love,” serving as a perfect addition to an already flawless song. At this point, it seemed as if the man of the hour, Melvin Seals, was holding back; that all changed on “Get Out My Life.” Seals took the first solo and he meant business. The whining from his organ sent the crowd into a frenzy, dancing harder than they had all night. Everyone was ecstatic, but no one more than Melvin, as he sat up on the stage smiling and laughing along with everyone. The key to the whole band was the patience and steadiness of bassist John-Paul McLean and drummer Pete Lavezzoli; these two always held the jams together even when the music seemed to be heading nowhere at times; this was pure brilliance. The rest of the night followed suit as the band went through JGB favorites, “Run for the Roses,” “Cats Found Under Stars,” and “Ain’t no Bread in the Breadbox,” all played note for note and as brilliant as the originals.

    This group has dedicated their careers to honing in the JGB sound and they do not disappoint. Although Jerry may be gone, his memory and music will live as long as Melvin Seals and JGB are playing shows like this!

  • Deer Tick Pack The Hollow to the Brim

    On the first Friday of March, Deer Tick played to a rabid sold out crowd at The Hollow in Albany. Opening the show was Toy Soldiers, a fantastic band hailing from Philadelphia, who mixed rock, blues and funk into a great sound. By the end of the set the crowd was in the palm of their hands as they jammed out the last song in extended solos for each member of the band. They will be back at The Hollow on May 28th and you should make sure you see them.

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    Taking the stage after a short break was Deer Tick, who was welcomed by one of the most enthusiastic crowds ever seen at The Hollow. From the moment they came on stage, people were jumping and dancing around in the small space that each person occupied. The band split the show up into thirds, with the first and third part being straight up in-your-face rock and roll, and the middle portion being a beautiful acoustic section. Deer Tick showed that they can master either one with ease. Hopefully it won’t be a long time before they come back to the area.

  • Ratdog Sells Out Shea’s After 18 year Absence

    Not a ticket was left to be had on this cold wintry Tuesday evening in Buffalo.  Legendary Shea’s Performing Arts Center was sold out for the return of Ratdog, the first since Bob Weir’s emotionally charged performance on August 20, 1995 just 11 days after the death of Jerry Garcia.  Sure Bob has returned with Furthur in that time, but this is Ratdog, a group loaded with the Grateful Dead influence from the vantage point of Weir and his interpretation on the music.

    ratdog shea's

    With Furthur on hiatus, anticipation was high for this new Ratdog lineup.  After all this is Bobby’s first love (post-Grateful Dead) that has seen a few lineup changes over the years.  This time no Kenny, no Karan, but enter the duel bass format with Rob Wasserman on stand-up and add guitar virtuoso Mr. Steve Kimock himself on lead.  Seemingly everyone was high in anticipation of how this lineup would mold and how the tour would unfold.

    A couple weeks into the tour the band showed signs of being warmed up early on. The loose opening jam segment kicked off by Jay Lane’s free form drumming launched into a really electrifying “Jack Straw”. Bob’s vocals came right through in this wonderfully sounding room and also offered immediate hint that the front man may be fighting a cold.  Lane traded on vocals and helped build the jam segment to a feverish pitch featuring Robin Sylvester’s Lesh-like bomb drops before yielding to the first of many Dylan tunes of the night, “All Along the Watchtower”.  As a taper, we have the benefit of measuring a bit of the sound pressure in the room which is often fun.  Every front of house sound engineer has a different style.  Some like Dan Healy liked to take their time dialing in the room just right.  On this night the Ratdog crew took care of business promptly and had us feeling it as early as “Watchtower”.   The wonderful sound in a room like this not only makes for a great recording, but the increased volume also helps drown out the conversationalists in the room.  Ear plugs highly advised!

    The first set moved right along with a punchy version of “Wrong Way Feelin > Maggie’s Farm”.  Very little time for a breather in this set as Weir opts to play to the Buffalo crowd in keeping the pace with a flawless “Mama Tried”, a personal favorite among Bob Weir vocals for me.  I have often said the only real thing left of the Grateful Dead after all these years are the Bob Weir vocals.  So much else is gone or changed greatly, this however can still be counted upon.  Due for a slow down at this point with a very upbeat first set, the first of only three true Garcia tunes of the night came next in “Loser”.  Of any first set Garcia songs I lean towards “Loser” as one of the better fits for Ratdog.  The duel bass lineup and Kimock’s precise guitar licks played very well into this version.  “Two Djinn” came off the heels in a nice segue to close out the first set on a real high note.  Kimock and Weir traded off admirably, the chemistry was evident as if they hadn’t taken a break from touring with each other.

    The table was set for what was to come in set two. Weir’s standard solo acoustic start to set two kicked off with the Dylan (and Grateful Dead) favorite “Desolation Row”.  Weir started out solo and was quickly joined by Lane.  Sylvester was next to come out, followed closely by Wasserman and Jeff Chimenti.  It wasn’t until about halfway through the song’s many verses that Kimock appeared to take his lead guitar role trading magnificent solos with Chimenti.  This was truly one of the highlights of the night for me from an emotional standpoint: perfect song selection continuing on with the Dylan theme.  Not only was “Desolation” performed flawlessly, it really cemented this lineup as possibly my favorite Ratdog lineup over all these years.  Wasserman’s bass playing particularly with the wand was organ-like.  And while Sylvester often draws criticism for being low in the mix and not pushing the music, you can see this wasn’t the case on this evening.  Sylvester more than surprised many of us by his forward style of playing not only in the extended jams, but during the composed sections as well.

    “On The Road Again” served as the big bust out of the evening having not been playing in 148 shows.  This number also featured Bobby on an orange juice jug!  In Jon Fishman fashion (drummer of Phish, known for playing a vacuum cleaner into the microphone), Bobby blew into the jug as a solo in tune with the song.  Perhaps previously serving as a source of Vitamin C for the ailing front man now turned instrument?  Ugly winter cold or not, Weir wouldn’t be slowed on this night.  “Deep Elem Blues” would wrap up the acoustic segment of the show in style with lots of giddy up and spunk.  Hard to beat that 1-2-3 acoustic punch to begin set two.

    A very interesting jam was born right off the back end of “Deep Elem Blues”, similar to the one that kicked off the show.  Out launched the first big song of the night, the highly predictable “Truckin”.  As always in Buffalo, the biggest sing along of any Grateful Dead night and the first real big open jam with “Two Djinn” coming in second.  16 minutes of “Truckin” lead us into another pure Jerry song in the Deadhead favorite “Bird Song”.  Really nice song selection continued, keeping the crowd’s attention and giving the audience varied speed shifts to keep up with.  “Bird Song” finally gave way to a glorious “Iko Iko” in honor of Fat Tuesday.  The place was really cooking by now with over 14 minutes of danceable sing-along celebratory music in a good ol’ Grateful Dead kind of way.  The ballad spot was delivered perfectly with “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”.  Continuing the Dylan themed night with the only repeat from the August 20, 1995 show that had the “Knockin” encore bring Bobby to tears 18 years prior.  This version was spectacular.  Flawless, emotional, soulful and delivered with so much meaning.  Bob doing Bob never disappoints and this choice was truly perfect for the moment.

    A fun set-closing “Goin Down the Road Feeling Bad” closed out a very surprisingly good and promising night spent with the new Ratdog.  Nothing really mattered at this point as smiles were abound and the feeling was quite good regardless of the encore. The boys wrapped up the evening with a quick “Touch of Grey” sing along in the most fun way imaginable.

    On this night, a capacity crowd of some 3,700 Deadheads walked out happily satisfied spending an evening with their old friend.  Thank you Bobby!

    Download Lenny Stubbe’s recording of the show from archive.org
    Set 1: Jam > Jack Straw > All Along the Watchtower > Wrong Way Feelin > Maggie’s Farm, Mama Tried, Loser > Two Djinn
    Set 2: Desolation Row, On the Road Again, Deep Elem Blues, Jam > Truckin > Bird Song > Iko Iko > Knockin on Heaven’s Door > Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad
    Encore: Touch of Grey

  • Protest the Hero Kicks Off Tour in a Long-Awaited Return to Buffalo

    It might only be a short drive separating Buffalo from its northern neighbor Toronto, but that has proven to be a great enough divide for Protest the Hero.  The Canadian metal act’s last visit was back in 2009, but thankfully that all changed with the kickoff  to their 2014 North American tour happening right in the Queen City.

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    The night started out as any night in Buffalo would during our long winter stretch: discouragingly cold.  And just as that’s an expectation, so too is the community’s passion for music.  Without disappointment, The Waiting Room was packed with metal enthusiasts who were eager to see the eclectic mix of bands.  Opening the night were up-and-comers Intervals and Night Verses.  Both bands are relatively new to the scene and have only been around for a few years now, but neither disappointed.

    The Safety Fire was the third band on and, at this point, the crowd was dialed in and beginning to get into the show.  The band started their set with an audio clip of the Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic 2 which drew a resounding response from the crowd.  As the clip finished, they dove right into their first song “Red Hatchet” off of their most recent release Mouth of Swords.  The song had an underlying similarity in tone to the Sonic intro which made for a seamless transition into their set.  The UK-based band has only been across the pond a few times to tour, with their first actually being in support of Protest the Hero back in 2012.  With their understandably low exposure to U.S. audiences, the five-piece squeezed everything out of their set and really left everything out on the stage.  Their guitarists Derya ‘Dez’ Nagle and Joaquin Ardiles employ custom, Telecaster-esque Wirebird guitars which gives their harmonized runs a sharp and unique tone.  The third song “Huge Hammers” got the biggest crowd response and is one of the band’s most popular songs.  With hands raised, the crowd echoed the beat and created a unified feeling with the music.  As their set wrapped up, the band put their remaining energy into the last song, running circles around the stage on the anthemic “Glass Crush.”

    Up next was Battlecross whose raw, thrash metal sound gave the crowd even more reason to move.  Their modern take on a classic metal genre was energized by the thunderous double bass attack of Shannon Lucas who’s their temporary drummer on this tour.  Lucas has played with the likes of The Black Dahlia Murder and All That Remains to name a few and is their current fill-in while they look to permanently fill the void left by the departure of longtime drummer Michael Keger last year.  You wouldn’t have known the difference though as the band literally didn’t miss a beat all night.

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    Battlecross guitarist Tony Asta (left) and bassist Don Slater (right)

    Battlecross ripped through their set, focusing on their new album War of Will for the majority of the content for show.  Their speed an aggression was balanced out by runs of beautiful melody via guitarists Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala.  Calling Detroit home, the band fully embodies the Motor City’s drive and blue-collar mentality.  With their set coming to a close, the band pulled from their 2011 release Pursuit of Honor in “Kaleb” and “Push Pull Destroy.”  The throwback sent the crowd into a frenzy and lead singer Kyle “Gumby” Gunther only antagonized them more with his in-your-face attitude.  These guys will be back in Buffalo in May in support of Killswitch Engage, so don’t miss another chance to catch their incredible live show.

    The long-awaited return of Protest the Hero was finally over as the buzz in the crowd began to build for the imminent start to their show.  Although it had been five years and two album releases since their last visit, the crowd was more than willing to forgive and forget as that was all about to change.  The band took to the stage to a loud and warm welcoming.  Since their last visit, the band lost longtime drummer Moe Carlson who has now been permanently replaced by the still unrecognized Mike Ieradi.  Also new to the group was temporary bassist, Cameron McLellan.  Arif Mirabdolbaghi is still with the band, but was forced to skip the tour due to scheduling issues with another endeavor.

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    Protest the Hero guitarist Luke Hoskin

    The band kicked off their set with “Hair-Trigger” from 2011’s Scurrilous.  The crowd was already amped up for this performance, but the song’s bridge was an early highlight in the show with a heavy push to get closer to the band.  Protest the Hero seemed to be in mid-tour form with a rhythmically-tight execution of their difficult, math metal sound.  The soaring melodies of Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin were met throughout the night by Rody’s equally expansive vocals.

    The band took on the new album in a few instances, but none more effectively than the combination of “Clarity” and “A Life Embossed,” played back to back early on in the set.  It was admittedly the band’s first performance of “Clarity” which went off without a hitch.  The energy throughout the set continuously built as they progressed and touched upon each of their four releases.  As expected, the band displayed their impeccable proficiency on their instruments on each and every song, rarely taking the instrumental easy road.

    The wait was worth it in the end as the crowd appreciated the opportunity to catch one of metal’s most talented groups.  All and all, the show was a great kickoff to the tour and I would highly recommend catching them towards the tail end when they make a stop in Rochester on April 4th.

    Protest the Hero Set List:
    Hair-Trigger, Underbite, Sequoia Throne, Clarity, A Life Embossed, Bury the Hatchet, Mist, Sex Tapes, The Dissentience, Blindfolds Aside, Bloodmeat, C’est la Vie

    Editor’s Note: Photo Credit Thomas Sgori/UpstateMetal Staff

  • Scott Ian’s “Speaking Words” turns Family Affair

    Anthrax guitarist and founder Scott Ian stopped at Syracuse’s Lost Horizon for his “Speaking Words” tour and delivered an insightful, intimate, and amusing show in front about 100 people.

    Ian, who is in the tail end of the “Speaking Words” Tour, is also in the middle of working on Anthrax’s 11th studio album (slated for a later 2014 release), and said to be wrapping up his autobiography that’s due out next year.

    There was speculation whether or not Joey Belladonna was going to make an appearance, he did not.

    Doors opened at 7, the show actually started about 8:10,  It was a small-scale production show.   It was just Scott Ian with a projection screen that showed some amusing comic slides, that show cased his stories in amusing manner. Of course as expected, a few drunk and obnoxious people in the crowd, Ian gracefully told them to, “shut the fuck up” more than once.

    Ian opens his set by throwing the crowd off by reading from Red Hot Chilli Pepper‘s frontman, Anthony Keidis’ autobiography.  Then as expected he chatted about his upbringing, to starting the band, to getting signed by Def Jam Records.  Then he shifted gears and spoke about how he first met Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, sharing all the goods of his relationship with Lemmy, and the times he thought he could keep up drinking with him.  The crowd could not stop laughing. Ian is a great story-teller.  The comic slides just made it more amusing.  Then after what was about 45 minutes of sharing crazy Lemmy Stories, the crowd was blessed to hear some funny party and prank stories that Ian shared with the late and great Dimebag Darrell.

    Towards the end of the show Ian did a Q & A session with the crowd. (Yes, I got my question in about Damnocracy from the VH1 show “Supergroup”) This ultimately led to what may be the craziest incident of any concert.

    A man, bald and sporting a goatee, emerged from the crowd and accused Ian of being his biological father.  It was apparent that Ian recognized the man, who claimed to be 30-years-old, as before the mystery man spoke Ian immediately yelled, “Dude, I am not your father.”

    The man continued to tell the story shared to him by his mother that she allegedly had relations with Ian in New York City more than 30 years ago.

    “Dude, your mom’s a fucking liar,” said Ian. “Sorry, man.”

    The man was escorted out by security, apparently crying and Ian swiftly deflected the situation from being a further distraction to the show.  It was, however,  definitely the highlight of the show, or in that case the highlight of the entire “Speaking Words” Tour.   The show almost felt like a metal version of an episode of Maury.   Talk about something that people don’t normally see every day.

    (I did speak to Ian after the show, and he said he had no doubt in his mind that the story behind the man’s claims was fake.)

    Once the theatrics concluded, the Q & A session resumed.  There were some questions apparently inspired by alcohol and foolishness, but there were some great questions from the crowd including too.  One man asked Ian about the times he spent with the late, and great, Ronnie James Dio (who was also receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the SAMMY’s).

    The show finally ended around 10:30.  Ian did do a VIP meet and greet after the show, doing autographs, and sharing more stories.   I chatted with Ian about the Yankees and cool Anthrax experiences, also there is the possibility of doing another Spoken Word Tour that will include Fozzy Frontman/WWE Superstar Chris Jericho.  They did a tour together in Australia last year and it was very successful.

    Overall, it was great show for anyone that is into Anthrax, or Heavy Metal in general.  And, of course, Scott Ian tells great stories that will guarantee you a nice chuckle and some stories to tell all your friends and family.  Hopefully he brings the Speaking Words show back to Syracuse, as well as a full-blown Anthrax show as well.

    For more Metal News, Concert Reviews, and more keep visiting Upstate Metal and be sure to follow me on twitter @SaintGOfficial and feel free to share your thoughts with me.

  • Conspirator Warm up Putnam Den on a Cold Night

    The wind blew a brisk arctic breeze as fans of Conspirator stood outside waiting to see the band. Upon entering Putnam Den and looking over the sea of flat brimmed hats adorned with various pins, the stage was set for a memorable evening of livetronica played by some of the best in the business.

    Albany heroes, Digital Dharma took the stage to open the night. The keys of Eliot Kershner got the crowd hopping and wailing from the start, a glorious way to get the night going with a positive vibe. The beats went on and Aaron Zarabi’s drums combined with Steve Mink’s bass tightly held the groove together as Kershner and guitarist Brian McQuade kept a stunning harmony. This went on for quite some time and allowed the crowd to get loose and have a great time. Then they started to sing. This was just weird and misplaced. Losing the crowd as they looked around in bewilderment, as the goofy sound took away from the sweet groove that was in place. However, this would quickly be overshadowed when the next song, “Better Off Alone”, came raging in with wailing guitar and sweet sampling. The guys were back on track, perfectly setting the night up for Conspirator.

    Setlist: Aeronautics -> Shag Moonstruck -> Better Off Alone -> Mission Control

    After a short break, it was time for Conspirator to take the stage and the crowd was more than ready. The energy was pulsating through the room and the band definitely fed off of this. Coming at the crowd hard right off the bat with a tune “Saw Sir” featuring Aron Magner’s outstanding keys. The mix of Marc Brownstein’s bass and the drums of Torch made the groove completely unstoppable. This led into the fan favorite “Feed the Wolf”, a song featuring a catchy chorus driven by the keyboard that led to high fives and screaming. You could tell the guys enjoyed this one as smiles appeared across all of their faces. Conspirator has been leaning towards more of a jammy-sound as of late and this was most apparent when guitarist extraordinaire Chris Michetti tore up the next few songs. As the main soloist, Magner’s keys were out of this world throughout the entire evening. Torch had many high points as well, keeping all the feet in the audience moving.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfiLg0EJW8s&w=560&h=315]

    There’s the obvious comparison to the Disco Biscuits that the band constantly draws, but if this show was any indicator, they have successfully taken on an entity all their own.

    Set 1: Saw Sir >Feed the Wolf>Brooklyn Bridge>Right Wrong>Special Kind

    Set 2: Park Ave >Up>Retrograde>Pow Wow>Hellsing

    Encore: Hammerdown

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzSjY02AS5k&w=560&h=315]

  • Mister F Celebrates Year One at Red Square

    On March 1st, 2013, Albany was introduced to Mister F, a group comprised of members of Timbre Coup and Capital Zen, with an electronic-meets-progressive rock sound. One year later, after 97 shows at 48 venues across 16 states, Mister F celebrated their first anniversary with a vibrant and excited crowd at Red Square.

    With opener Formula 5 filling in for an ailing Aqueous (feel better Mike!), the Brothers Pickering, Matt and Ben, Scott Hannay and Andrew Chamberlaine played a two hour set, complete with a surprise cover of “This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)”, a rearranged “Vocoder”, where the double-time parts were half-time and the half-time parts were double-time, and an accelerating “Jump the Shark” to close the set. An occasion worth celebrating, Mister F has another big show on April 11th, the release party for their debut album The F Stands Four. 2014 is shaping up quite nicely for one of Albany’s hottest acts.

    Download the entire show from Archive.org

    Mister F at Red Square Setlist: Answer the Dawg, Deal Breaker, Treadmill, Everything You Say, Naive Melody, Vocoder^, Oasis > Eye Level, Get Used to it, Hedgehog, This one goes to 11 > Unisex Collider > This one goes to 11, Shit Catapult%, Jump the Shark.

    Encore: Oh my Dayum > On and On
    ^ inside-out
    % debut

  • Band of Horses Pack The Egg on their Acoustic Tour

    Band of Horses set free remarkable talent inside The Egg’s acoustic heaven on February 23, leaving a deep mark on the 900+ people inside the Hart Theatre. With only about half of the audience seated, the group’s long time friend, Sera Cahoone, warmed up the room with her soft, sultry, simple sound, along with the steel pedal guitar mastery of Jason Kardong. Sera’s casual stories about ten years of touring were happily received– especially the one of the rat eating her leftover dinner at a dumpy hotel, although  it is not the premise behind the song, “Shitty Hotel”; that tale followed.

    The few hundred fans still milling in the lobby during Cahoone’s performance made their way to their seats just in time to hear three powerful voices backed by a clean piano perform the dramatic ballad, “St. Augustine”. Though classified as Indie, Southern Rock or Alternative Country, seeing and hearing Band of Horses, you can sense the Seattle influence. There is a distinct grunge feel to the look and sound of these guys, but the Southern influence is heavy as well.

    The acoustic tour, promoting their recently released Acoustic at the Ryman album, is a short-lived experience with only 13 performances scheduled and Albany was the eighth stop. The stage setup at The Hart Theater included rugs, a floor lamp spouting a plain living room shade, and an old record player, creating a homey, comfortable experience meant to mimic what is supposed to be a laid-back, toned-down experience. That’s a tough act to achieve when using gigantic equipment such as a baby grand piano, a bass, and whole host of guitar varieties — not to mention the massive vocals.

    The relaxed scene was in direct opposition to the powerfully strong sound that was consistently offered. One thing is for sure — these guys know sound. Whether solo or collaborative, each piece was well balanced, offering the same commanding intensity with one voice as with all the instruments together. The music was very well written for acoustic performance, and the inclusion of the toned-down drums was brilliant.

    Their songs are deep, penetrating and sometimes heart-breaking. The high quality of the group’s talent, performed in a theater designed to perfectly move sound resulted in beautiful, potent and dramatic music. I went to this show to hear “Laredo,” became intrigued by “Ode to LRC” and was seriously moved by “No One’s Gonna Love You.” Crowd favorites included “Is There a Ghost” and “Funeral.”

    Just before wrapping up their set, the band’s founder and lead, Ben Bridwell, announced their “fake last song,” offering a refreshingly humorous perspective on the strangely accepted “encore” ritual that both musicians and fans accept, despite the insincerity of it. But it was worth the two minute wait. Just before the encore, the band members walked through the crowd to pass out little plastic egg-shaker sound-makers to the entire audience. (These instruments had the band’s name printed on them – a brilliant marketing strategy!) The crowd was encouraged to join in the performance – and wow – this was almost as good as having everyone know every word to the song and loudly sing it. Actually, maybe this was better. Again, a testament to this group’s sense of sound, this instrument could not possibly be offensive or off-key. It was soft enough to complement the band’s music, yet still offer crowd participation. So not only do the Band of Horses know sound; they also know how to draw people in!

  • Lucid Lights Up The Hollow

    Lucid swung by The Hollow on February 22nd and turned the venue into a dance floor. Openers Way Down, a local three-piece jazz rock band, started the show with a mix of covers and originals to the crowd’s delight. A fun take on Ween’s “Roses Are Free” had more of a Phish vibe to it than Ween, much to the crowd’s enjoyment. All three members are fantastic on their instruments, showing high skill levels on all of the songs, but vocals could use some improvement. Don’t let that stop you from seeing them though, as their musicianship is fantastic.

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    Lucid barely fit the whole band on the small stage of The Hollow and broke out the funk right away. Jaime Armstrong’s saxophone and Lowell Wurster’s percussion-work continuously pushed the band throughout the night. The songs came at a blazing pace, seamlessly never stopping. They introduced a new drummer in Chris English, and even though it was his first show, he did a fantastic job of keeping things interesting behind the kit.  They played late into the night with nothing but smiles on stage and throughout the crowd. Make sure to catch Lucid out on tour as they regularly play throughout Upstate New York.