NYS Music 20​14

Category: Genres

  • Lacuna Coil, Kyng, Eve to Adam, and Cilver Rocked the Westcott Theater in Syracuse

    Approximately 300 people swarmed to see Lacuna Coil headline the Westcott Theater in Syracuse on Tuesday night. It marked the first time in five years since Lacuna Coil was in town, and the sound and overall production was fantastic at the Westcott Theater.

    The doors opened at 6PM and alternative rockers Cilver started right at 7PM. The band rocked a 30 minute set that consisted of their upcoming EP, In My Head. Frontwoman Uliana Preotu is a talented singer who could really wail on the mic. Lead guitarist Gerry Soman also stood out as he could really shred through their material, similar to Zakk Wylde. This band has a bright future and I would expect them to be touring with bigger names in the very near future.

    Eve to Adam began their chaotic set at 7:40PM and really set a high tempo. They opened with “Bender” and stormed into the song “Fortune Teller” before playing the title track to their new release, Locked & Loaded. One thing I think that makes the band stand out is their high energy and use of vocal harmonies. In an attempt to really get the crowd active, they played a cover of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” before closing their set with “Straight Jacket Supermodel.” Eve to Adam continues to tour relentlessly and is really making a name for themselves.

    Lacuna Westcott

    Kyng came into their set as the most metal band of the night, and for a three-piece band, they really make it look easy. The band had a few intimate and hilarious moments with the crowd throughout their set. It all started with a few good-natured hecklers screaming out “Slayer!” to bassist Tony Castaneda, who does, in fact, resemble Tom Araya of Slayer. On top of that, guitarist/vocalist Eddie Veliz kept picking on this one bearded gentleman (who was standing right next to me) in an Iced Earth shirt, telling him to lighten up throughout the entire set. The band’s humor was a much-needed element for the night. Two highlights from Kyng’s set was their cover of Van Halen’s “Hot for the Teacher” and their closer “Falling Down.” For anyone who missed Kyng, they will be back in Upstate New York in Rochester on May 8th with Fozzy and Buckcherry and in Poughkeepsie on May 9th with Fozzy and Jamie Jasta.

    Lacuna Coil finally graced the stage at 9:20PM by opening with “Trip The Darkness.” The band still sounds as terrific as they always did, even with Guitarist Cris “Pizza” Migliore and drummer Christiano “Criz” Mozzati no longer in the lineup. Singers Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro pack an awesome one-two punch and have such a great and unique stage presence. Lacuna Coil played classic songs like “Swamped,” “Heaven’s a Lie,” and “Fragments of Faith,” as well as new songs from their latest release, Broken Crown Halo, which they are currently promoting. The main highlight of their set would have to be “My Spirit,” which they dedicated to late and great Peter Steele of Type O Negative before diving into their trademark song “Spellbound.” For the very last song, they closed with (my personal favorite) “Our Truth,” which is a really high tempo, energetic song. Lacuna Coil was well received by their performance, and although they didn’t do an encore, they came and signed merchandise after the show.

    Overall, it was a fantastic night with every band coming through in the clutch.  Lacuna Coil wraps up their U.S. tour in early May before heading out to tour the rest of world. Even though there aren’t any additional Upstate NY stops, I would imagine that after a night like that, it won’t be too long before they make another run this way.

  • Hearing Aide: Perfect Pussy Debut ‘Say Yes to Love’

    FolderPerfect Pussy’s full length debut Say Yes to Love is the core definition of hardcore punk.  An album that is very loud, fast, noisy, and with a much-needed raw attitude that most punk bands are lacking nowadays.

    My initial reaction when I start playing the album was “WTF?” because I didn’t see it coming.  Once the opening track “Driver” started, I knew I was in for a punch in the nose.  My favorite track is easily “Work” because of the eerie opening guitar riff from Ray McAndrew mixed with the quick trippy bass line from Greg Ambler.  Vocalist Meredith Graves spits out punk-like poetry throughout the entire album over muffled noise that adds a very unorthodox flavor to their sound.

    Another fun track is “Advance Upon the Real,” which is very muffled and very fast.  The drums from Garrett Koloski really stand out on this one.   Keyboardist Shaun Sutkus’ talent is on full display with the closing track “VII” which seems to be slightly subliminal.

    Overall, Say Yes to Love is a very fast-paced and trippy punk record that can be played from front to back in less than a half hour.  It’s definitely a fun listen and a breath of fresh air, but, most important, the element that stands out the most is the attitude.  Perfect Pussy has a bright future and Say Yes to Love is a must own for any hardcore punk fan.  The album can be purchased here.

  • Jeff Austin Departs Yonder Mountain String Band

    Delfest 2013-204Jeff Austin and Yonder Mountain String Band announced today on their Facebook page, that Austin has decided to leave the band.

    The post explained that it was a group decision and made with heartfelt conversations over the past few months. The decision follows the birth of Austin’s new baby daughter and a winter tour that did not include the founding member.

    Austin has also been focusing on his solo career and it seems they are all in agreement that this is a positive move for them all.

    All future tour dates will feature special guests in place of Austin, with a new permanent line-up in 2015.

    The official statement:
    Yonder Mountain String Band is all about family, and through the support of our family of fans, we have been able to play music for you for the past 15 years. We couldn’t be more proud about our successes and experiences performing at the best venues and festivals in the country, and for the most dedicated fans any band could ever wish to have. With this said, YMSB would like to share some news about the future of the band. Collectively, after long, heartfelt discussions, we’ve all decided to move forth with a newly formed line-up due to varying career goals and creative pursuits. As of today, all future YMSB shows will be performed with Adam Aijala (guitar, vocals), Ben Kaufmann (bass, vocals), and David Johnston (banjo, vocals). We will welcome exciting special guests throughout the rest of the year and we look forward to a new permanent line-up in 2015. YMSB fully supports Jeff Austin and his emerging solo career.

    Yonder Mountain String Band will perform all scheduled dates throughout 2014 with the new line up and special guests. Jeff Austin will be announcing more dates for his solo endeavors in the coming months. The band wants the fans to know that this decision did not come easily, and we’ll certainly keep all of our fans up to date with the new Yonder band- member line-up information.

    We greatly look forward to seeing everyone out on the road this Summer and Fall!

    With Gratitude & Respect,
    Ben, Jeff, Dave & Adam

  • Lacuna Coil, Kyng, Eve To Adam, and Cilver to play Westcott Theater this Tuesday, April 22

    Italian prog-metallers Lacuna Coil return to Syracuse for the first time in five years by playing at the Westcott Theater this coming Tuesday, April 22 at 7PM with Kyng. Lacuna Coil is touring to promote their latest album Broken Crown Halo, which came out April 1 and debuted with 13,000 copies sold its first week of release to land on No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart.  lacuna

    Los Angeles based hard-rockers Kyng are co-headlining to promote their album “Burn The Serum” which came out on April 15, while New York City based alternative outfit Eve To Adam join the tour to promote their latest release Locked And Loaded which came out last November.  New comers Cilver from New York City is slated to open the show.

    Tickets can be purchased here.

  • Aqueous Announces 2014 Summer Tour Dates

    Buffalo, New York’s groove rock champions Aqueous, are announcing an extensive 2014 late spring and summer tour. The band will visit over a dozen festivals and make their first trips into Indiana and Georgia. Late spring includes a 4 show run with Dopapod, a 2 night headlining weekend at Rochester NY’s Spring Revival festival, and a second visit to Summer Camp. June and July feature an extended run down the coast with multiple dates in Virginia and North Carolina.

    More festival announcements are coming soon!
    AQUEOUS SUMMER TOUR 2014 Poster

    Tour Dates

    4/24 – Putnam Den :: Saratoga Springs, NY **

    4/25 – Westcott Theater :: Syracuse, NY **

    4/26 – The Waiting Room :: Buffalo, NY **

    5/3 – Music Hall of Williamsburg :: Brooklyn, NY **

    5/4 – Tyrone Farm :: Pomfret Center, CT ^

    5/9 & 5/10 – Spring Revival festival :: Macedon, NY

    5/14 – Thunderbird Cafe :: Pittsburgh, PA ^

    5/15 – Tribal Connection Festival :: Bellefontaine, OH

    5/16 – Cosmo’s :: Covington, KY ^

    5/17 – The Mousetrap :: Indianapolis, IN ^

    5/22 – Beachland Tavern :: Cleveland, OH “

    5/25 & 5/26 – Summer Camp Music Festival :: Chillicothe, IL

    5/28 – 8×10 :: Baltimore, MD *

    5/29 – The Hot Spot :: Waynesboro, VA

    5/30 – Domefest :: Tera Alta, WV

    6/1 – Fam Jamily Music Festival :: Vernon, NJ

    6/14 – Disc Jam Music Festival :: Brimfield, MA

    6/21 – Buffalove Festival ::Silver Creek, NY

    6/24 – The Camel :: Richmond, VA

    6/25 – One Stop :: Asheville, NC

    6/26 – Nowhere Bar :: Athens, GA

    6/27 – Peasants Pub :: Greenville, NC

    6/28 – The Big What? :: Mebane, NC

    7/1 – Elmwood Village :: Buffalo, NY

    7/4 – Under the Stars Festival :: Terra Alta, WV

    7/5 – Bungalow Live :: Chantilly, VA ^^

    7/8 – The Blind Tiger :: Greensboro, NC

    7/9 – Martins :: Roanoke, VA

    7/10 – Doc Taylor’s :: Virginia Beach, VA

    7/11 – Pasture Palooza :: Berryville, VA

    7/12 – Paradise Music Festival :: Hustonville, KY

    7/13 – Luna Lights Music Festival :: Barto, PA

    7/15 – V Pub :: Canandaigua, NY (Phish after party)

    7/23 – Larkin Square :: Buffalo, NY

    7/24 – The Montage :: Rochester, NY

    7/25 – Gathering at Chaffee Festival :: Girard, PA

    8/31 – Moe.Down :: Turin, NY

    ** with Dopapod

    ^ with TAUK

    “ with Jahman Brahman

    * with Big Something

    ^^ with Arpetrio

  • Rockstar Mayhem Festival 2014 Coming to Upstate, NY

    Rockster Mayhem Festival 2014 Tour Poster
    Rockster Mayhem Festival 2014 Tour Poster

    Finally, it’s that time of the year again. The official line-up for this years Rockstar Energy Drink’s Mayhem Festival has been officially announced.  Time to put all the rumors to bed and see which ones were true and which ones were just actually rumors.

    Founded by Kevin Lyman and John Reese in 2008, Mayhem has now become an annual event to kick off every summer.

    Mayhem will run ramped across New York State on Wednesday, July 23rd at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y, Tuesday, July 29th at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Darien, N.Y and Wednesday, July 30th at Nikon at Jones Beach in Wantagh, N.Y.

    This years festival will mark the seventh annual event for this summers tour and will hit over 20 different cities. The tour will be headlined by Avenged Sevenfold and Korn and will round out to 19 bands in all. Korn headlined the festival in 2010 and Avenged Sevenfold appeared on the same tour for only 2 dates in July.

    James “Munkey” Schaeffer, guitarist from Korn enlightened us to this information in a video interview at NAMM.

    Munkey’s Interview Mayhem Announcement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xx-Lb9B8YY

    The 2014 lineup will also include the likes of Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Suicide Silence, Miss May I, Mushroomhead, Emmure, Texas Hippie Coalition, Veil of Maya, Upon a Burning Body, Darkest Hour, Body Count, Ill Nino, Wretched, King 810, Erihma and Islander.

    Rockstar’s Mayhem Festival usually consist of bands in the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal genre style of music. There are also a lot of sub-genre band styles like nu-metal, metalcore, thrash metal, groove metal and industrial metal to name a few.

    The Festival was a three stage event until 2013 when a fourth stage was added. The Main stage, the Jagermeister stage and a third has been rotated by sponsors’ like Hot Topic in 2008 and 2009, Silver Star in 2010, Revolver in 2011, Sumerian Records in 2012 and 2013 and last years third stage was sponsored by the Musicians Institute.

    The festival is a must for all rock fans. Not only is there kick @$$ live music, but you have the Metal Mulisha as a side attraction.

    Most of the bands that participate on the tour have meet-and-greets at various locations throughout each venue and how can you beat all the free samples of new Rockstar flavors you can handle under the Rockstar Tent.

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  • The Oncoming Tour: Unearth to Play Entire Album for its 10th Year Anniversary

    Unearth Oncoming 3Unearth may not be as widely known outside of metal’s circle pits, but their impact on the scene and genre as a whole can be seen throughout.  Originally debuting back in 1998, the band rose to prominence with other New Wave of American Heavy Metal acts such as Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, and Shadows Fall, re-energizing the genre and grabbing the bar from previous nu-metalites and setting it much higher than it’s been since the early 90’s.

    Their style, along with the others mentioned, mixed the speed and chops of metal with the heaviness of hardcore into a brand new genre known as metalcore.  Their most prominent album, The Oncoming Storm, was released in 2004 and is one of the best of the era with well-written, beautiful melodies giving way to the most brutal breakdowns of the time; you couldn’t help but feed off of their energy.  They are one of the few bands whose onstage presence somehow carries over to the studio.  With the album reaching its 10 year anniversary, the band has decided to put a tour together and play it in its entirety for the first time ever, start to finish.

    Announced yesterday, the band will be hitting the road for over 20 dates including a stop in Rochester on May 31st at Montage Music Hall.  In direct support will be Texas in July, Cruel Hand, and Armed for Apocalypse.  If you’re unfamiliar with Unearth’s body of work, here are two of their official videos from The Oncoming Storm.  Crank it up and enjoy! m/


  • Yonder Mountain String Band Announce 2014 Summer Tour Dates

    YMSB Spring 2014

    The boys from Yonder Mountain String Band will be bringing that thumpin noise back through Upstate NY in 2014 with their brothers in bluegrass arms, Railroad Earth, with their respective signature bluegrass sounds. Their summer tour will have stops throughout the East and West Coasts, with a much-needed stop in Syracuse, NY on July 11th at the F Shed.

    This is an all ages show, doors open at 7PM and the show starts at 8PM. Tickets are $29.50-$60 and can be purchased online here, tickets go on sale this Friday at 10AM.

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  • Biohazard, Sworn Enemy Lead Hardcore Clash at The Loft in Poughkeepsie

    bio loftThis past Friday night, April 4th, The Loft in Poughkeepsie turned into a hardcore madhouse as NYC area headliners Biohazard and Sworn Enemy lead the night along with other hardcore and metal acts from the 845 and 518 area.  About 170 people packed the place to unleash their aggression and have a good time.

    The doors opened at 7 and local area metal newcomers Pug Box opened the night around 7:15 with their six song set to set the tone for what was to come. Soon after, 518 hardcore outfit Life Sentence played their six song set adding a lot of attitude to the stage.  Their style and presence felt very similar to Madball.

    The Standard Assault (better known as TSA) then graced their stage with their unique set.  They really stood out due to their metalcore and groove metal style.  Along with that, their songs were far more lengthy than the other bands on the bill.  They were aggressive and thrashy. Guitarist  John Reilly played blazing solo’s that were clearly influenced by Slayer and frontman Pete Stott’s vocals were unique with a Randy Blythe-like flair to it.  Their songs were clearly about past girl friends and betrayal.  It was a nice change of pace for the night.

    Albany’s Brick By Brick then took The Loft into hostile territory as they brought a bloody knuckle atmosphere with their eight song set that caused the floor to erupt with slam dancers and borderline dangerous moshing.  Despite some sound trouble, they never missed a beat and kept the energy high.  Frontman Mike Valente even called out the crowd hanging at the bar to get themselves closer to the stage.  They ended their set with “Bro Hymn” with lots of crowd participation that just made everyone on the floor go crazy.

    Sworn Enemy stormed the stage around 10PM.  They’re out promoting their upcoming album Living On Borrowed Time.  Their set consisted of their classics as well as two new songs fused into their set.  Opening with “One Way Trip,” the already established pit grew even bigger and caused the floor to go completely chaotic.  Luckily, no one was hurt.  There was one person in the crowd that stood much bigger and taller than anyone that was dancing in the pit.  About mid-way through Sworn Enemy’s set, this guy in the crowd just walked over to frontman Sal LoCoco and picked him up off the stage and swung him around.  Luckily the show was not stopped or interrupted and there was no ill-intent.  Sworn Enemy ended their set on a high note with “We Hate” and let everyone in their crowd release their aggression.

    Biohazard finally took the stage at 11:30 with a setlist that contained hits and album cuts from their first three records.  Opening the set with fan favorites “Chamber Spins Three” and “What Makes Us Tick,” Biohazard proved at even their veteran status, they still bring lots of energy on stage and show absolutely no sign of slowing down.  From that moment on, it almost seemed that everyone in the crowd was from Brooklyn. Midway through their set, Biohazard unleashed the iconic “Tales From The Hardside.”  Things in the pit became hostile, and a huge scuffle broke out in the crowd causing the entire security team to stop it, which ultimately caused the band to stop what they were doing.  Even I ran to the corner and hid when this all went down. After a few minutes Biohazard resumed and played a few tracks off their first record.  Then lead guitarist Bobby Hambel addressed the crowd on the corruption of news and politics which lead to “Black And White And Red All Over.”  Finally, Biohazard wrapped their eighteen song set with their breakout hit “Punishment” and their creed motto “Hold My Own.”

    Everyone at The Loft had a blast, and it’s obvious Biohazard still enjoys what they do. I was lucky enough to chat with the band after the show.  They all confirmed they are hard at work on a new album and will be touring through Upstate New York again.  Biohazard currently finished a brief East coast run and is now doing a month-long European tour but come back to the U.S. in May for the annual “Black N Blue Bowl” at The Well in Brooklyn on May 17th and 18th along with Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Sworn Enemy, Brick By Brick, and many more.

  • Jackson Browne Tour Dates to Include Four NY Dates

    Jackson Brown

    Jackson Browne announced his solo acoustic tour today – dates will run throughout July and August. is excited to say that NY will get four dates on that tour.  Advance tickets will go on sale Wednesday April, 9th at 10am. Visit for tickets and tour info.

    Your first opportunity to see the legendary singer/songwriter will be August, 5th at Nikon at Jones Beach with special guest John Fogerty.The August 5th show will also feature Browne with his full band, while the entire tour will feature Browne performing songs from his entire catalog and a varying set list each night.

    August 11th the band will play Buffalo’s summer concert series at Artpark in Lewistown, NY. August 13th – the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, NY and August 14th at the Palace Theatre in Albany, NY.