Category: Genres

Turkuaz and Jimkata Ready with Tricks for a Halloween in Buffalo

The leaves are changing, the temperatures are just starting to fall, and if the color of the foliage is any indicator, Halloween is upon us. As any music fan will tell you, the holiday seems to bring out the weird in bands as antics around the industry are aplenty. This year, Halloween in Buffalo is shaping up nicely with no snow (always a plus here) and two incredible bands coming to town to share a bill at Waiting Room downtown, Turkuaz and Jimkata.

Kicking the night off is none other than Turkuaz, the funk army who call New York City home. The nine-piece band was last in the area for Night Lights Music Festival back in September and they tore the place up with their catchy melodies and powerful sound. The band has a Buffalo tie-in as their drummer Michelangelo Carubba is a fellow graduate of St. Joe’s High School and grew up in the area. Turkuaz also just wrapped up recording a new album that is due out sometime next year which has fans excited for new material. I got a chance to catch up with the band at Night Lights for an interview and they hinted at what types of shenanigans they might be pulling for the show this week. Check out the video by our friends at Buffalo.fm

Co-headlining the night will be Ithaca’s Jimkata who bring an indie spin to electronic rock. The band is a favorite all over Upstate New York and should draw a solid crowd on Friday. The band was also at Night Lights and their headlining set there was one of the favorites from the weekend. Their latest album, Feel in Light, came out earlier this year and the band is currently touring throughout the fall season in support of it. Upon reaching out to Evan Friedell, the lead singer of the band, in regards to what to expect, the frontman didn’t tip his hand, but he did mention that they always plan surprises and try to make the Halloween show something special.

Between these two heavy hitters and all of the antics we’re sure to see, there’s only one thing you have to make sure you grab for an incredible Halloween night and it’s right here.

October 29, 2014
Cabinet Carves Through Rochester

Bluegrass has been taking on different personas these last few years and a genre that encompasses all that is bluegrass has grown to include the old-timey tunes of Bill Monroe and Del McCoury to the jamgrass of YMSB and Greensky Bluegrass, Cabinet‘s show on October 10 in Rochester at Montage Music Hall proved to fans that they are fully capable of existing in both suits. Cabinet has their roots planted in the old-timey music of the past while existing in the present and fans of the bluegrass genre are pumped to have this band in the mix.

“I was determined to carve out a music of my own, I didn’t want to copy anybody” – Bill Monroe

The night began with a solid jam with high energy, Todd Kopec played his soul out on the fiddle with style and ease. In fact the entire set seemed to have a strong jamgrass tone to it; the dance floor was full of fans whom enjoyed the slight change in pace from previous Rochester appearances. “Oxygen” was strong, the energy was not that of their DelFest appearance but a much jammier session with moments of instrumental ecstasy from each band member. Also notable was the energy that came from mandolin player, JP Biondo on “Doors” was unmatchable and resonated throughout the venue with fans singing out loud to the inspiring lyrics of a song that represents the paths we take in life and how we view our place in this universe.

Without a doubt this show was one of the best Rochester has seen from Cabinet. The band continues to climb higher and higher on the pecking order of bluegrass bands. Cabinet’s last New York appearance on this tour will be at the Highline Ballroom in NYC Oct. 30 for a two-night Halloween event, Night of the Living Dead, featuring the Infamous String Dusters featuring Keller Williams and special guests Cabinet; whom will be showcasing the music of the Grateful Dead for this special event. The show is sold out at this time, please contact the venue for further information on tickets.

Cabinet shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon, their continuous touring, their depth of talent and their excellent stage presence are carving a path through the bluegrass genre, and rightfully so by the caliber of this show. Expect to see more and more of this band as time goes forward.

October 28, 2014
Hulaween is here, Freaks forge south to Florida for Halloween Weekend Festivities! Oct 31-Nov 2

In the Northeast the festival scene has wound down. With the harvest festivals come and gone, concerts have moved indoors and pumpkin is in everything. However, a different breed of festival goer and live music freak is gearing up for one of the most anticipated Halloween festivals of the year, Hulaween!

This Halloween weekend marks the sophomore return of Hulaween. With headliner, The String Cheese Incident, playing three sets over the weekend they are joined by Big Gigantic, Thievery Corporation, EOTO, Beats Antique, the New Deal, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Conspirator and many more! There is even a Thursday night pre party with Electron and Particle!! See the schedule here.

Adjacent to the Black River, Spirit of the Suwanee music park in Live Oak, Florida hosts many festivals a year. A magical place it boasts a riverfront beach, canoe rentals, rope swing/cliff jumping, lots of places to put hammocks, as well as cabin rental upgrades. Though sometimes chilly at night in the northern Florida region this time of year, campfires are allowed in the primitive campsites so making lasting memories around the fire is common.

In addition to music, there is a psychedelic Burning Man inspired art installation curated by art director Andy Carroll planned on the festival grounds. Costumes are encouraged and will be judged in a contest for those inclined to dress up! Hulaween is sure to be quite the spectacle!

October 28, 2014
Neil Young’s ‘Storytone’ Hits on November 4

Neil Young’s latest release Storytone (Reprise Records), his thirty-fifth, is scheduled for release early next month. He’s sending it in two drastically different forms: one, his traditional acoustic, the other with full orchestration or an elaborate big band, some even with a choir. Both will be available as a two-disc deluxe edition. While Neil is known to radically head off in an unpredictable direction, this might hold a few surprises for his most ardent fans.

Photo Credit: Pegi Young

Topically it’s all Neil, hard-hitting environmental stances mixed with real-life experiences, channeled in “Who’s Gonna Stand Up”, “I’m Glad I Found You” and “When I Watch You Sleeping”. Either way, there are another ten new Neil tunes here that follow-up his earlier lo-fi offering in 2014, A Letter Home, which he produced with Jack White.

Track List:
1. Plastic Flowers
2. Who’s Gonna Stand Up?
3. I Want To Drive My Car
4. Glimmer
5. Say Hello To Chicago
6. Tumbleweed
7. Like You Used To Do
8. I’m Glad I Found You
9. When I Watch You Sleeping
10. All Those Dreams

Storytone is available to stream in its entirety on NPR ahead of its release on November 4th. A vinyl format will come December 16th. Pre-sales are available at the usual outlets and Neil’s website. Much like the mahogany laminated sound board from a Story & Clark ‘Storytone’ piano, Neil seems guaranteed against manufacturer defects for fifty years.

October 28, 2014
Phish Announces LivePhish+ an all Inclusive Subscription Service

Following the lead of the always innovating Umphrey’s McGee – who announced a similar service earlier this year – Phish today revealed a new upgrade for their LivePhish app called LivePhish+. Fans will be able to sign up for a free ten-day trial which they can continue for $9.99 a month or $99.99 for a full year. Subscribers will get unlimited access to the entire LivePhish catalog including archived shows, new shows, studio albums and side projects.

Along with the subscription offering the app has gotten several upgrades such as playlist creation, gap-less playback and the ability to rewind and fast forward tracks. Phans can sign up now at plus.livephish.com. Those that do not wish to sign up will still be able to stream their own collection the same as before along with the app upgrades.

October 28, 2014
After 20 Years, At The Gates is back with ‘At War With Reality’

It’s hard for some bands to take an extended break and make their comeback with the same fire and passion they had the first time around. They’re fighting against the naysayers who claim they’re just making a quick buck off the name and legacy of the band and the pressure of a fan base salivating for new songs. Enter At The Gates.

Their new record, At War With Reality is the first studio album in 20 years for the Gothenburg metallers. And talk about pressure? They’re known as the chief innovators of an entire sub-genre of metal music. Having inspired an entire generation of bands from Unearth to Lamb of God and pretty much every other early 2000’s metalcore outfit. Their riffs have been long heralded as the defining sound of the Swedish melodic death metal scene. So when a band with this kind of pedigree decides to get back in the studio after a couple of decades away, all eyes are on them.

The band picks up where they left off. Not succumbing to the modern trends of metal, At The Gates’ At War With Reality is true Swedish melodic death metal. The big catchy riffs are front and center. It’s almost as if they’ve sent notice to all the students of their sound, letting them now class is back in session. The masters of their genre are back doing what they do best.

Now there comes a downside with that. Unfortunately as good as they are at their craft, the record does sound a bit outdated to modern ears. If you didn’t grow up with this sound, younger fans might just pass them off. And if they’re unfamiliar with their work they might claim they’re ripping off the very bands they inspired. And unfortunately perhaps time has passed them by. You have to give them a ton of credit for making their kind of record but I couldn’t help myself from being bored half way through listening to it. Sure the musicianship is fantastic and some of the riffs stick out more than others but there’s this layer of ‘sameness’ to it all. Songs just kind of blend in to one another and I had to check my music player more than once to see if I was listening to the same song still or not.

It’s a shame because these guys were once kings of the metal scene. And I know a lot of die-hard fans will eat this record up and proclaim it album of the year but it just isn’t doing it for me anymore. I listened to so much of this kind of music that maybe I burned myself out on it. I can’t say it’s a bad record at all. And it’s not as if the time I spent listening to it for review purposes will be the last time I hear these songs, I just can’t give it the universal acclaim that everyone else is giving it right now. Some songs like “Upon Pillars of Dust” and the title track bring the ferocity you expect but they’re surrounded by so much filler that even standout tracks don’t really standout much.

The production is top-notch and everyone is on point technically. Vocalist Thomas Lindberg sounds as good as ever. He has that harsh scream that radiates anger but also has a clarity about him. No pig squeals or death gurgling noises here. The record comes off very much as a guitar player record as most Swedish metal does. These guys worship at the altar of the riff and it shows. Guitar players everywhere will have a ton of fun picking apart these songs as they have with the band’s entire back catalog.

At The Gates are fully back in the fold of the metal roster after spending the years following their reunion as a touring only band with this release. Fans will be pleased with what they hear. The band doesn’t take any weird twists or turns or rely on any gimmicks. This is their sound and that’s it. But At War With Reality is unfortunately at war with blandness. If you love the Swedish sound you will love this. If more modern melodic death metal like Black Dahlia Murder is your speed, approach with caution but for all you know, you might fall in love with a new favorite.

Key Tracks: Upon Pillars of Dust, At War With Reality

At The Gates will be touring the United States next spring as part of the Decibel Magazine Tour with Converge. You can purchase At War With Reality here.

October 28, 2014
Kung Fu and Groovestick: Upstate Funk Doubleheader

NYS Music loves their funk so we wanted to make sure we sent our writers and photographers to both Kung Fu shows in Upstate, NY – Syracuse’s review features words and photos by Kim Richer and the Albany show is highlighted by writer Susan Rice. Keep reading for the details of both funktastic shows!

Syracuse:

Kung Fu had their game face on Friday night, bringing lethal doses of high-powered funk-fusion to the newly remodeled Westcott Theater in Syracuse. Tim Palmieri’s undeniable ability to shred on the guitar, coupled with Todd Stoops skill at traversing the keys of four keyboards simultaneously left the crowd dancing and smiling. Opening with the title track off of their latest release, “Tsar Bomba” Kung Fu graced the audience with a nice sampling of their extensive musical library. They entertained with some newer material and then resorted back to classic fan favorites “Gung Ho” and “Bopcorn”. The real treat of their performance was a funky perfect rendition of the Jimi Hendrix single, “Cross Town Traffic”. Closing the show with encores “Hollywood Kisses” and “Do the Right Thing” Kung Fu left the crowd fully satisfied with a need to replace their worn out dance shoes.

Opening the show, “The Chop Shop” and “Gridline” were very groovy and well fitted to prime the crowd. They each gave a solid stage performance and their music was a perfect fit to prep the audience for Kung Fu, but the real elephant in the room Friday night was The Primate Fiasco. They happened to be passing through Syracuse and stopped by to see Kung Fu. They treated the crowd by playing acoustic ‘brasstronica’ street corner style sets, unplugged and in the middle of the dance floor; the way fans have come to expect it in festival campgrounds. They played in between stage sets, bridging that gap when there is nothing to do except wait for the next act. Before the show started, some fan sentiment outside the venue was less than enthused about The Westcott Theater’s new “No Re-Entry” policy. That didn’t matter though, because once The Primate Fiasco started to play, nobody was leaving anyway. The band was enveloped by a dance party and kept the energy at a high until the next band was ready on stage. This worked so well that the crowd was begging Primate Fiasco to keep playing, even when Kung Fu was ready to begin. A brilliant idea, I hope we see more of this at live shows!

Photos by Kim Richer

Albany:
Saturday night at The Hollow was funktastic thanks to power groups Kung Fu and Albany’s own, Groovestick. The trio turned quintet performed a jazz funk fusion with raw energy and a unique sound. “Sharkbait” gave chilling harmonies and quaking bass line from Dan Gerken. Chris Carballeria is a key smashing jazz wizard, providing waves of organ soul. Guests got a special treat when Kung Fu guitarist Tim Palmieri joined in for chord climbing rockage. “Horde” one of their newest songs and a fast paced jazz jam with impeccable string stretching from Justin Hendricks, ended the set leaving the crowd fully charged up for Kung Fu.

The Capital District got round housed to the face with extreme funk served up by none other than the masters, Kung Fu. Front man, Rob Somerville blasted the venue with his explosive saxophone as Chris DeAngelis stood out with major plucking magnitude before the groove came back around in full band force. But the crowd went wild when Mister F mad man, Scott Hannay joined Todd Stoops went head to head over the keys to create the ultimate electric melody meltdown. The four song encore was the cherry on top, with the light-hearted funk of unstoppable buildups from the likes of “Loose” and a boogie get down of “Hollywood Kisses”. Kung Fu will return to the Upstate area on November 13 at The Waiting Room in Buffalo – which can’t come soon enough.

Photos by Bryan Lasky

October 27, 2014
Hearing Aide: Obituary ‘Inked In Blood’

Tampa, FL based death metal veterans Obituary will release Inked In Blood on October 27 via Relapse Records making it their first album release in over five years. This, next to Cannibal Corpse’s A Skeletal Domain, is one of the biggest death metal releases of 2014. Last year, Obituary successfully crowd funded this album, but does the music deliver back to what the fans invested in?

Right away the album kicks into high gear with “Century Of Lies” The drums and rhythm guitars sound clutch as ever, vocalist John Tardy may not have the pipes he had twenty years ago, but still delivers the haunting and monster-like vocals that still fit with the music and atmosphere. But his best vocals are showcased in the title track in the middle of the album.

By the time we get to “Violent By Nature” and “Pain Inside,” the pace slows down a tad but still brings the traditional Obituary sound that we are still used to with blazing guitar solos in between verses. I will say the studio quality isn’t the greatest, but it adds a charm to the album giving it a more raw, old school sound.

The drumming of Donald Tardy is still blazing fast, giving the band a true back-bone to keep the tunes running. The track “Visions In My Head” really showcase his talent with the all the tempo changes.

When “Violence” starts, the tempo moves fast like it did at the beginning of the album, but the guitar tracks stand out more than they did previously with bone-crushing riffs and solos. That trend continues with the tracks “Deny You” and “Within A Dying Breed.” It’s clear the album’s best tracks are the longer songs that are deeper into the album.

The album ends tastefully with” Paralyzed With Fear” making you want more from this band. Obituary has put out a death metal masterpiece and showing their as vital as ever.

Overall, a fantastic album that really takes the listener back into the nasty swamps of Tampa and showcase what true death metal is all about. Clearly the Kickstarter campaign worked out quite nicely for both the band and the fans.

You can purchase the album here.

Key Tracks: Back On Top, Violence, Inked In Blood, Deny You

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October 27, 2014
Martin Scorese To Produce Grateful Dead Documentary

Hot off of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Martin Scorese, known for his award winning directing, screen writing, and producer, announced he was going to start working on a Grateful Dead documentary as an executive producer.

The surviving members of The Dead have given Scorese the green light to film this documentary (title TBD) to coincide with the 50^th anniversary of the band’s founding.

Amir Bar-Lev, known for his documentaries such as “Happy Valley” and “The Tillman Story” is slated to direct the movie.

The band has released the following statement via CBSNews.com:

“Millions of stories have been told about the Grateful Dead over the years. With our 50th Anniversary coming up, we thought it might just be time to tell one ourselves and Amir is the perfect guy to help us do it, needless to say, we are humbled to be collaborating with Martin Scorsese.”

Scorese added: “The Grateful Dead were more than just a band. They were their own planet, populated by millions of devoted fans. I’m very happy that this picture is being made and proud to be involved.”

Well known as the “Godfathers of Jam Bands,” The Grateful Dead were also ranked 57^th in The Greatest Artists of all Time by Rolling Stone magazine and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. And in 2011, their Barton Hall Concert at Cornell University from 1977 was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. To date, The Grateful Dead have sold more than 35 million albums worldwide.

October 27, 2014
Banjo Banjo: Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

“You ready Fleck? ‘I hope so’ ” and with that, Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck began their show at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on October 24 each alternating between six banjo throughout the night, the married duo of Fleck and Washburn embarked on a night of beautifully crafted duets, murder ballads and songs from their new album Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn. An Irish meets Appalachia “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” opened the night, the resonance of the banjo head echoing through the room. “Banjo Banjo” jokingly explained to the audience as the one song they wrote all summer, the simplicity of the title a nod to the toils of a married musical duo, the tune sounded as though it could be the soundtrack to one of those ‘traveling down the road’ montages in a movie.

“Ride to You,” a song of longing, off their new album was a true highlight. Washburn’s voice and intonation adding gravity to the composition. Béla then stepped off to the side of the stage and performed a solo, captivating the audience and treating those left of center.

The old-timey murder ballad from Appalachia, “Pretty Polly” was introduced by Washburn, not surprisingly the chattier of the pair, and she told the story of a girl murdered and buried in a shallow grave, only to haunt her murderer – romantic stuff. From deep in the mountains of Western China, thick cloud cover experienced by Washburn over an extended visit spawned “The Sun is Out” a translated title sung in the original tongue, an uplifting antidote to the previous number. A porch song from 1936, “Keys to the Kingdom” had a ‘You give me Fever’ sing along component complete with audience participation on chorus and snapping. The set ended on a high note, a buzz about the show growing steadily as many shuffled to the merchandise table, as 100% of sales would benefit The Clearwater Foundation, a cause near to the hearts of many in the audience.

Fleck came out alone to start the second set, dedicating a medley improv including portions of “Caravan” and “Big Country,” to his teachers who were in the audience; Marc Horowitz and Bill Keith, of whom Fleck added, “Without them, I’d be nothing.” Washburn joined shortly after, the two speaking to their individual banjo playing styles – Washburn, utilizing the clawhammer style with its African roots and Fleck with the three-finger style honed by Earl Scruggs and many others – combining for a truly pleasant binary-banjo sound. “Bring me my Queen” with lyrics “She takes all my love, all my notions, tears them all down to the ground. Oh, bring me my queen,” shared the dual nature of love, the pains and needs that come with territory.

An original by Béla featured simple lyrics “What’cha gonna do when the land goes under the water” at an urgent pace and echoing the sing-along style of Pete Seeger, who Fleck remarked “is why a lot of us are good at singing along.” Another murder ballad/revenge song followed, this one a self-infused, more passionate number from Washburn, the reverberating head of the banjos contributing to the foreboding nature of the tune. An encore of “New South Africa” was preceded with the history of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones performing in South Africa upon Nelson Mandela becoming president of the ‘new’ country. With an encore of “I Sing I’m Happy, I Sing because I’m Free,” recalled by Washburn as her grandmother June’s favorite song, the crowd was enlivened as they set out into the crisp autumn night in Troy.

October 27, 2014