There is nothing more delightful or more comforting than hearing from an old friend. The Bear Bones Project Live at the Rustic Barn brings that same sense of nostalgia and peaceful joy as if they’re old friends picking up where they left off – an impressive feat considering this is their first album release.
Although, The Bear Bones Project have been cultivating a close network of friends and fans at small town shows and parlor romps which has kept them virtually a hidden little secret, to the public, they have been largely unavailable – until now. The jam friendly soundscapes created in Live at the Rustic Barn are welcoming to all who have an ear; and even to a stranger, listening is as though an old friend is beckoning.
Rustic Barn taps into the roots Americana and acoustic realm of folk lyrics but a euphonic blend of electric bass and guitar driven by a gentle beat of the drums will, at times, incite a feeling of familiarity. A nostalgic nod to an era long past, “Into the Air” lovingly pays tribute to Mr. George Harrison. Keeping with the inviting and classy rollicking upbeat tune, “Grandma Moses” is an ode to a sensible yet free spirited philosophy of life. “Lonestar” gives us a casual little pause with a vocal change up and an accordion. But it’s not until “Big Sister” we get the feeling something dreadful is looming yet the omnipresent flute captures a touch of a playful sentiment and creates a song that makes The Bear Bones uniquely them. Tucked in between Carey Ahner (guitar, lead vocals) originals are obscure covers. The Bear Bones Project breathes new life into Jorma Kaukonen, Lee Alaxander, and Paul Barrere. Randy Newman’s “Sail Away” is arranged in such a way that it is completely different, but only recognizable in the lyrics.
The Bear Bones Project is Carey Ahner (guitar, vocals), Pete O’Hearn (electric guitar, vocals), Sandy Decker (flute, accordion, vocals), Bill Decker (bass) and Eric Johnson (drums). Together they create an organic blend of complicated arrangements from various backgrounds in musical training. Pushing the envelop by releasing a live album first speaks to their sense of musicality, successfully conveying the spontaneous and intimate nature of their performances. The Bear Bones Project will be at Pauly’s Hotel on February 22.
Key Tracks: Into the Air,Grandma Moses, Big Sister
Despite several non-heady forces: A red hot Syracuse basketball team playing, sub-zero wind chills, and a liquor license-less venue; Rochesterians turned out en masse for the electro-jam instrumentals of Philly based Lotus. Touring heavily behind their latest critically acclaimed release Monks, fans came from far and near to catch this rare Upstate performance of Lotus at Water Street Music Hall. Local DJ favorite Papi Chulo opened the night with his skillful genre hopping house infused DJ set that got everyone limbered up for the headliner.
Water Street, as many know, has been struggling to get their new liquor license for many months, and many shows have been canceled, rescheduled or moved. Despite the lack of delicious hops, this show was expertly staffed and it was a relief to see a packed show again in Rochester’s most history filled venue. Note to New York State: These unbelievably long, senseless bureaucratic delays for a simple license continue to cripple small businesses struggling to profit and stay open. Reboot this system and let’s get New York’s small entrepreneurs back on top!
By the time Lotus took the stage Water Street was elbow to hoop girl from front to back with a large contingency spilling upward into the balcony for some dancing room. Their sound, while definitely in the EDM genre, sticks mostly to old school influences with healthy doses of funk and hip-hoppy beats mixed within melodic keyboard battles and a dual-ax core. Beyond some occasional voice effects by guitarist Luke Miller, the songs are all instrumental, yet hold a distinct memorable vocal character to them that transcends many similar bands in the genre. No UntzUntzUntzDROP here, this is hypnotic organic dance music filled with timeless melodies. Unfortunately Lotus has no more shows scheduled in NY currently, but keep an eye on their tour page, as they’ll be back and you won’t want to miss it.
With three weeks under their belts, The Chronicles finished up their residency at Red Square on January 30th with a great set of music honoring the late J Dilla as well as some of their own music. Starting the evening off was Ithaca’s Big Mean Sound Machine.
The band stays true to their name, with everyone barely fitting on Red Square’s stage and blowing the audience away with music power that is seen so rarely. The funky numbers they played showcased each member’s talents flawlessly. The three person horn section was strong throughout the performance, leading most tunes along with the drums, bass, and congas. Both the guitars and the keyboards are used more as filler than as leads like they are in most bands. It gives the band a unique sound that should be enjoyable to everyone, and with a new album coming out in June, it is looking like a big year is coming for Big Mean Sound Machine.
The Chronicles came out after a short break and tore through a set that included guest JB for the J Dilla portion of the set. J Dilla is of course best known for the producing he did on many amazing hip hop tunes throughout the 90s until his death in 2006. JB flawlessly rapped over the music and clearly enjoyed helping The Chronicles out with this special show. “E=MC2”, “Stakes is High”, and “Fall in Love” were great highlights of the set. Jeff Nania, who mainly plays various saxophones, even took a turn at the mic during the evening. The Chronicles closed the night, and ran out in style with a one two punch of “Village Livin’” and “Mr. Clean.” This run let the band stretch their musical chops out to all regions of the music landscape and it suited the band well. Hopefully Albany will see another residency down the line.
Setlist: Time, Gobstopper, E=MC2, Move, Won’t Do, Stakes is High, Fall in Love>Think Twice>Fall in Love, Interzone, Just Knew, Strasbourg/St. Denis, Village Livin, Mr. Clean
Donna The Buffalo will be taking their herd across New York state with their winter tour with stops in Saratoga Springs at Putnam Den on Thursday February 6th, Beacon at The Towne Crier on Friday, February 7th and Buffalo at The Tralf Music Hall on Saturday, February 8th. Donna The Buffalo, coming off their latest album release, Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday will be bringing their jamboree-styled bluegrass party to a venue close to you and surely will not be one to miss as they never fail to produce a great night out. Donna The Buffalo, founded in Trumansburg, NY consists of Tara Nevins (Vocals, Guitar) with her bag full of instruments, Jeb Puryear (vocal, guitar), Kyle Spark (bass), Mark Raudabaugh (drums) and David Mccracken (keys).
Tickets for Donna The Buffalo across New York can be purchased on each venues respective websites or at the door day of show, so head out and enjoy what will be a great show.
February 6th- Putnam Den– Saratoga Springs, NY $17/ Day of Show $20
February 7th- The Towne Crier– Beacon, NY $25/Day of Show $30
This weekend, Albany, NY is going to get hit with a massive storm and there will be no snow involved. The tropical reggae sensation, Spiritual Rez, from Boston, will be unleashing their unrelenting dance party at Red Square on Saturday February 8th. The seven-piece ska funk band is the best thing to come out of Boston since baseball and chowder. They have played some of ’s top festivals last year such as The Catskill Chill and Backwoods Pondfest. Spiritual Rez’s music is unpredictable as they segue from a chill reggae groove into a heavy metal scream fest and then a full on ska free for all. As explosive as their instrumental music is, they have lyrics that everyone can relate to about everything from falling in love to fighting for their right to party.
Lead singer Toft Willingham is a pro at revving up the crowd as he thrashes all over the stage and loves to compete with the audience on who can be louder. This is a band that you want to party with, from beginning to end and still want to hang out with the morning after. Spiritual Rez has a new album being released on Saturday February 15th, Apocalypse Whenever. The album has already been voted as one of the Top 30 on the radio chart on Jambands.com. They are hitting the road hard this spring and its only part one, as they travel all over the Northeast and make their way down the coast. Check their website for a list of their tour dates. Below is their official music video for “Don’t Be Afraid” off of Apocalypse Whenever and if you like what you hear, you can pre-purchase their new album on iTunes.
Tickets are $7 online and $10 at the door to this 21+ event at 8pm with Suitable Groove starting the night at 9pm. Albany’s own, Suitable Groove, is a four-piece hard hitting funk rock band that you won’t want to miss as this band is sure to be no stranger to the growing music scene in the Capital District. This Saturday night will be the best way to shake the snow from your soul and breathe in the summer sound of Spiritual Rez.
Ithacans and Man Man fans alike came to The Haunt on Wednesday, January 29th, for what was no less than a spectacular show of music new and old. Though it may have been -5 degrees out, that did not stop people, including many local college kids, from coming down for a night of dancing, fun, and maybe even a little crowd surfing.
Xenia Rubinos of Brooklyn, kicked off the night with her very own creation of electronic rock fusion that served as a perfect set up for Man Man’s unique sound. Rubinos and drummer Marco Buccelli are unlike anything many have ever heard before. Their music is filled with constantly varying time signatures, contrasting chords, and vocals that can only be described as soulfullypunk. The set consisted of many songs from their 2013 album Magic Trix, including “When You Come” and “Help.” With the house completely full, the band ended with two unreleased songs, “Black Stars” and “Motorcycle Song”, and finally a crowd favorite, “Hair Receding.” Xenia Rubinos is quickly making a name for herself as she continues her countrywide tour with Man Man.
With the crowd primed and ready to go, Man Man took the stage for an epic journey through sound. As Honus Honus made his way to the microphone, wearing a glittered cape with the rest of the band in skeleton consumes, you could feel the crowd’s excitement brewing. Starting with a 2006 tune, “Feather”, Man Man got right to work. The band played a broad selection of their songs, from nearly all of their six albums, which allowed one to see the transformations Man Man has made over the past 10 years. Featuring many songs from their most recent album, On Oni Pond, the wild cast of musicians performed on instruments ranging from hubcaps to the flugelhorn. Xenia Rubinos added supporting vocals, joining the band for “Zebra” and “Pink Wonton”, which also included a fan onstage for a brief moment before he dove into a sea of hands. Man Man’s performance was a one of a kind event that should be a must see for everyone. Their outstanding musicianship, unpredictability, and Honus Honus’ extravagant costumes made it a party that will not soon be forgot. “El Azteca,” a number best described as a fight song, gave the crowd one last opportunity to dance their hearts out as Man Man’s stellar return to Ithaca concluded.
Lettuce will be playing at The Westcott Theater this Sunday, February 9 at 8pm. Lettuce, a Brooklyn-based, seven-piece funk band will bring their powerful modern take on old-school funk to the Westcott on their Winter Tour. The band consists of two members from the acclaimed jazz trio Soulive, Eric Krasno (electric guitar) and Neal Evans (keyboards). In addition the band boasts another 5 funk super-stars; Erick Coomes on bass, Ryan Zoidis on saxophone, Adam Deitch on drums, Adam Smirnoff on guitar and Rashawn Ross on trumpet. Lettuce has graced the the stage with funk legends The Meters, Galactic and Maceo Parker in recent years.
The Monk, a Syracuse-based funk/rock band will be opening for Lettuce. The Monk was spawned out of a fusion of genres found all over the world, and all across the musical spectrum. It promises to bring infectious rhythms to make you move, blazing guitar and sax to make you scream, and monster melodies to make you sing. The Monk has previously opened for Turkuaz and Alan Evans Trio on The Westcott stage.
Tickets for Lettuce are available for $25 on The Westcott Theater website. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get down to some tight and groovy funk music.
There’s something exciting about looking at equipment on an otherwise empty stage, waiting to be used. As soon as audience members rounded the corner into the backroom at Bug Jar on Friday, January 17th, they were greeted with BabaYaga’s tasteful, bare-bones set up: a Marshall head atop two 12 inch speakers on the left, Orange amp and Gibson Les Paul to the right, drum kit front and center.
The sound BabaYaga gets out of this set up is my favorite part about the band: warm vintage tones, cranked to the max. Todd Dentico threw down huge bass energy with sturdy notes that popped every time. Dave Fein’s guitar licks were steady and tastefully distorted, and his solos were like climbing a ladder, occasionally breaking a rung just to mix things up. As for Adam Banachi’s vocals, the screaming wasn’t muddy or jarring, but instead blended nicely with instruments for a tight, powerful sound. Adam’s vocals and stage presence could be the perfect metaphor for BabaYaga: a grimace, not a front.
BML took the stage next, just before midnight, to a diverse audience of old timers, college kids from the bar, metal die-hards and even a few cops. Cutting right to the chase: as soon these three guys take the stage they transform into a well-oiled rock-and-roll machine. Tight, on point, and unassuming, BML lets their sound speak for itself. Transitions are subtle but happen quickly; in a matter of seconds BML can discretely move into a new phrase and have audiences getting down to a new lick or tempo, without knowing how they got there. Since Friday’s show was a release party for the band’s new album, That There Dog’s A Chicken, the set featured a bunch of new songs with a few classics sprinkled in for flavor. Coincidentally, two of my favorite tunes came after the following phrases: “We’re gonna play an old one…” and, “This song should be interesting…we haven’t played it in a while”. This preference by no means discredits BML’s new stuff—which is detailed, contrasting and well executed—but is instead a testament to their history. These guys have been around for just under ten years now, and they command respect on stage without relying on gimmicks or familiarity. From start to finish, BML challenges themselves and the audience through complex scales and transitions at a super-fast space, hitting and fleeing high points and drops in the blink of an eye.
Two things are for sure after Friday Night: Genesee Bock is back with a vengeance, and, in the hands of BabaYaga and BML, heavy rock-and-roll is alive and well in Rochester, New York.
The hype from all of the New Year’s runs has finally died down and right on its heels come the first announcements of the festival season. Sandwiched right in between though, and largely overlooked, is the winter tour where bands often times debut new material and dig deep for old fan favorites. Umphrey’s McGee tour has begun and the band is set to blaze a trail right through the heart of Upstate New York, all within the first week of February. The band will make stops in Clifton Park, Syracuse, and Rochester among many other dates across the U.S. The Chicago-natives recently finished a two-night standalone set at the famous Beacon Theater in New York City which has only led to more anticipation for these upcoming dates.
Writer Jeremiah Shea had a chance to interview with keyboardist Joel Cummins about the upcoming tour and their new album that is due to come out in the coming months.
Jeremiah Shea: What are your thoughts on the recent two-night run at The Beacon Theater? Joel Cummins: It was a pretty awesome weekend. Being able to play the Beacon last year and then doing two nights this year really let us soak it in a little more. The Beacon is one of the greatest venues in the country, if not the world. There’s been so many great shows there and amazing performances that when you play there, you really feel like you have to step up and not just bring your A game, but your A+ game. You have to wow people in New York.
JS: Last year in January you guys played Buffalo and Syracuse on back to back nights before making a stop at The Beacon Theater; this year you’re hitting Clifton Park, Syracuse, and Rochester. Is there a reason you show Upstate New York so much love? JC: A lot of it has to do with two things: where people are and how far you can travel between cities. Logistically, our typical limit is about 450 miles before you make touring increasingly more expensive. Coincidentally, there are a lot of good places in New York to play between Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany. There are a lot of good mid-size cities that we’ve been trying to build over the years. Since we played Buffalo in the Fall, it made sense for us to come to Rochester this time. We played the Harro East Ballroom one other time and had a great time there, so we’re psyched to come back. We haven’t played the F Shed in Syracuse before, so that’ll be a really fun night and we’re pumped to have Kung Fu out with us on that one.
JS: Are you guys doing anything special on this run of shows to celebrate the band’s 16th birthday? JC: Every show is a special night to be honest; you know how we do it. We try to mix it up and play as many different things as possible. We have this website called All Things Umphrey’s where everything is in a database that we’ve played in the past. We can use that to go back and see what we’ve played and haven’t played in an area and continue to shred as much of the catalog as we can to keep it fresh for people. Once somebody has seen 8-10 shows, they start to hone in on what they haven’t seen yet; every city is different. We’ll go in and see that we haven’t played “Booth Love” or “Hurt Bird Bath” at a particular place in four years. It’s a really helpful tool for us to keep mixing things up. This is our typical biggest tour of the year between January and April and we try to hit every corner of the US. Our new album will be coming out in the first half of 2014, probably sometime in May, so this will kind of be the warm-up for that. My guess is that one or two of the songs that didn’t make the new album will probably get played on this winter tour.
JS: You made some mentions of the new album on your Twitter account. What’s on tap and is there anything you can share? JC: Ya know, not too much at this point as we’re trying to keep it under wraps right now. I can tell you that we started by recording 16 tunes, 7 of which were brand new and 9 of which we’ve played live before. I think we’re going to end up with probably 10 or 11 tunes on the new album with some bonus material. There’s at least 5 new tracks on the album, I’d say, that we haven’t played live previously. I think that’s always exciting for the fans when you can kind of inject the set list with some brand new stuff for people. We also have a couple of newer ones that we’ve been playing pretty consistently for the past couple of years and a couple of classic Umphrey’s McGee tunes that we previously haven’t been able to hit perfectly with the studio takes. We finally got a couple of these where we really feel like we nailed the essence of the song and they fit the overall vibe of the new album which is definitely heading in a more hard rock direction; there are tons of great guitar riffs on this album.
JS: Does the band’s approach vary nightly depending on the venue or city? If so, how? JC: It’s different every night and we mix up who writes the set list. On a typical day, we make a list of songs in the morning and people can add or subtract things depending on what they’re feeling. By the afternoon, somebody will pick it up and try to make a set list out of everything that’s been suggested. I think that really keeps it fresh, especially when you have different people writing the set list who think about it and approach it differently. We’ll typically try to always do a mix of newer and older material so that it’s fresh for everyone.
JS: How do you guys interject teasers into your songs live? Are they planned or discovered during your set? JC: Most of the time if we’re teasing something, it’s happening in the moment. It’s very rare that it’s something that’s planned. I think one of the things that we all thrive on is that stuff in the moment where nobody’s really sure what’s going to happen, but you kind of try to pick up a song. That actually happened at The Beacon. We started teasing the Eminem song “Lose Yourself” and then it ended up kind of morphing into “Kashmir”. That was an example from this weekend where we ended up hitting a cool little patch of teases there, but it was certainly not planned.
JS: What do you like about touring compared to the festival circuit in the summer? JC: I feel like when we do our own shows, we’re playing to our people; everybody who’s there is there for us. That’s always a really special thing when you can do these tours and really feel the excitement from the fan base. That’s the fun thing about the beginning of the year. With the festivals now, it’s such a great time getting to see so many of our friends all around the country. That’s kind of the highlight of the summer festival season whenever we get to do that. That’s also the time when we try to convert some new fans, so we definitely approach the shows a little bit differently. We’ll still try to throw in a few rarities or things that you might not expect to see us play at a festival, but when we play for the hardcore fans, I’d say that these winter tours definitely have the biggest variety of our catalog that you’ll see. I looked on All Things Umphrey’s the other day and in 2013 we played 329 different songs, so there really is a lot of room for variety. It’s really nice at this point to have that catalog selection where we can play so many different things.
JS: Does Jefferson Waful have any new tricks up his sleeve this year? JC: He does! He’s actually in the process of transitioning from the grandMA console, which we’ve been using, to the grandMA2. I’m not totally sure if he’s going to have it up yet for these shows as it’s probably about a month-long process to make that transition and learn everything that needs to be learned. That is definitely new though and in the works for 2014, so it’s only going to promise to make the production and light show that much stronger. We’re always tweaking our light show and playing different things out depending on what the venues allow. This most recent run at The Beacon we definitely had our biggest light rig that we’ve ever brought to New York. We’re definitely trending in that direction of bigger and better, which is a nice way to trend. We’ve been really lucky with Jefferson that he’s such a passionate, driven, and really great artist behind the light console. There are plenty of moments during the night when the fans get excited about the music, but you know you have somebody who has a really great eye for art and a way to connect that to music when the lighting designer can elicit cheers from the crowd.
Albany’s newest Prog-Funk rockers Mister F need your help and have begun a campaign on indiegogo.com to raise funds for their forthcoming debut studio album. Formed in early 2013 from members of Upstate New York-based bands Timbre Coup and Capital Zen, Mister F is an eclectic, high-energy four-piece band that takes a no-holds-barred approach to blending genres while keeping your feet moving. Having performed at festivals such as Mountain Jam, moe.down, Summer Camp, Camp Bisco, and snoe.down with their previous bands, members of Mister F are no strangers to the live music community.
Some music lovers can be hesitant to engage in these sorts of fundraisers, and for those people I’d like you to lend me your ear for a minute. Consider the facts of a small band on the rise trying to make it to a level of success that simply pays the bills. Let’s consider the costs and rewards of one show, say it’s 200 miles away and pays a guarantee of $500 for a band of four. Immediately we have to subtract gas expenses. At roughly the 15 miles per gallon a tour van would get (if one is lucky) that brings the grand total down to $400. Of course most bands, whether they have a sound guy or not will have to pay one roughly $80-120. Now we are down to $320. A smart group will also have street teamers which need promotional material to spread for the show. Subtract another $30 and we are at $290. No one has eaten anything yet so let’s chop another $40 in miscellaneous expenses leaving us at $250 for four people for roughly 10 hours of work and travel. Roughly $60 a piece or $6 per hour. Band’s MUST consider this sort of campaign to stay fed and working. On top of that, you aren’t just handing over money as any amount of donation from $10 and up comes with a reward, at the least you get an excellent brand new album from a hungry band determined to succeed.
Mister F’s debut album pre-sale fundraising campaign starts with the basic level of perk packages – a digital download of the album upon release, or a hard copy of the album on compact disc. Scott Hannay, vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist/bassist for the band and creator of Umphrey’s McNES – a series of 8-bit ‘chiptune’ remakes of Umphrey’s McGee songs – has offered a package where he will create your likeness as an 8-bit Nintendo character and write an original 30-second 8-bit video game theme song for your character. Matt Pickering, drummer/vocalist, is offering a package where he will draw you a personalized picture. You can also get show-used drumsticks, guitar strings and bass strings used during the recording of the album, receive a private lesson from any member in the band – such as a guitar lesson from lead guitarist Andrew Chamberlaine – or have bassist/guitarist/vocalist/band chef Ben Pickering cook a meal for you. There are many other packages available, and more may be added as the campaign progresses. Check out the full list of perks and a pretty damn hilarious video on the indiegogo site here.
We’re all looking forward to autographed hard copies of albums and poster packages to come in the mail very soon. We hope you all will join in supporting one of our favorite bands.
Jeremiah Shea: What are your thoughts on the recent two-night run at The Beacon Theater?
