Pink Floyd – Talking Heads – Phish: they’re all great bands as we already know. How about a band that weaves the sounds of all three in an out of their setlist, creating a sound well beyond a typical cover band? Pink Talking Fish does just that, and the hybrid tribute fusion band has today announced winter tour dates spanning December through March. They have plenty of chances to escape the Northeast winter in 2015 with a handful of dates in Florida before returning to the Northeast with shows in Saratoga Springs, NY, New York City, Stowe, VT and more.
Buffalo’s Aqueous will be appearing with Pink Talking Fish for a performance of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in Philadelphia on February 6. Their other two ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ performances will feature The Recovery Act performing the music of Stevie Wonder (Boulder, CO) and The Z3 featuring Ed Mann – Funky Takes on Frank Zappa (Boston, MA).
Pink Talking Fish will also be adding an event, PHUNK THE WINTER! during their NYC performance at the Gramercy Theatre on February 7. Joining the band will be special guest ShwiKus Plays P-Funk, adding some Parliament Funkadelic into the mix.
December 10th – Live From AURA Studios in Boca Raton, FL (Free Video Webcast)*
December 11th – Guanabanas Island Restaurant and Bar in Jupiter, FL*
December 12th – The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton, FL*
December 13th – Dunedin Brewery in Dunedin, FL*
2015:
January 3rd – The Rusty Nail in Stowe, VT
January 16th – The Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO (Dark Side Of The Moon Performance)**
January 17th & 18th – Quixotes True Blue in Denver, CO (The Music Never Stops Making Sense – Intertwining sets with very special guest act TBA)
February 6th – The Ardmore Theatre in Philadelphia, PA (Dark Side Of The Moon Performance)$
February 7th – The Gramercy Theatre in New York, NY (PHUNK THE WINTER! w/ special guests ShwiKus Plays P-Funk) February 20th – Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs, NY February 21st – The Spot Underground in Providence, RI March 28th – The Middle East in Boston, MA (Dark Side Of The Moon Performance)$$
* w/ Members of The Heavy Pets
** w/ The Recovery Act performing The Music of Stevie Wonder
$ w/ Aqueous
$$ w/ The Z3 performing Funky Takes on The Music of Frank Zappa
The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey made a stop at the base of the Rockies in Denver, CO on October 14. We were honored to have them for two nights and four sets at Dazzle Jazz, the venue of their last live release Millions: Live in Denver.
It was a seated show at Dazzle jazz except for the eccentric JFJO fanatics grooving in the corner. The audience watched intently and quietly which was refreshing. The band opened with a song off their new album, Worker, titled “Bounce”. This was our first taste of Brian Haas’ wild yet refined playing on a beautiful baby grand piano featuring melodica solos. We were treated to many premiers of songs off of Worker such as “New Bird”, a heavy but dreamy song featuring the unique guitar stylings of Chris Combs.
My favorite song on the night and also a new song was “Let Yourself Out”, which really showcased the trio’s chemistry and versatility. This was one of the few songs Combs played the lap steel on and it was beautifully placed. They soared so energetically through much more new material with a few old classics from the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey lineage of players and improvisational music. They really proved that their are the perfect trio, allowing the guitarist and keys player appropriate leads while somehow managing to improvise in a jazz style through what seemed to be quite emotional songs.
The band made themselves available at the merchandise table at the end of the show chatting with fans, old and new alike with the promise of returning to a beloved city of theirs. We were able to meet with them and hear a couple first hand stories about the making of Worker which was really special.
Pearl Jam has been around for nearly a quarter of a century, or to be incredibly precise, existed as a live band for exactly twenty four years. On October 22nd, 1990 Pearl Jam played their first show in Seattle. Exactly twenty four years later that story added a colorful page with a tour-ending, instant classic performance delivered to fans in the Mile High City of Denver.
One could reasonably assume someone in the band’s camp to be responsible with the keeping of such dates, but that would appear to be an incorrect assumption. Vedder explained the band learned about the anniversary the day before through, (from what I could gather) a fan-driven movement to commemorate the date in Denver. Known quantity or not, the weight of twenty four years was clearly on the band’s mind.
In our strange commemorative-heavy, hyper-consumerized culture, one of elongated player farewells, repackaged nostalgia (in premium, limited edition versions, natch), and manufactured celebrations of things that weren’t all that good in the first place, there is a simple and romantic beauty with backing into such a tribute. Having been long-removed from the day to day operations of PJ Internet fandom, I for one had no idea about any of this. It certainly explained #PJ24 and the many ‘Happy Birthday’ themed wares dotting the sold out arena.
“Welcome to the last night of the tour” – Eddie Vedder
This one was going to be special. Right from the onset there were hints. The first indication came even before the first notes of show opener, “Release”. The slow burning classic would soon unleash cathartic howls from thousands, but first a chipper Vedder welcomed and immediately starting leading everyone on. Pro tip: if Eddie Vedder makes a point of something – anything – odds are pretty good the guy will try to will it into being. If Eddie Vedder says that tonight might be a good show, one of the band’s best ever even, one best buckle up and prepare for the ride. He’s a masterful front man, able to froth excitement from eager crowds hanging on his every word.
Official poster by Nychos
For a band known for epic live shows, simply tempting to hold a candle to ‘best ever’ status is a dangerous expectation. Hardcore fans are well versed on the shortlist of heralded dates that form Pearl Jam’s live canon. To tease such things, said candle better be a hot one, and without doubt, this was a Wednesday night in Denver when things got hot. Fire-breathing dragon spewing relentless inferno hot, who chews lava to keep cool kind of hot, and for three and a half hours Pearl Jam delivered the heat without question.
A spirited “Why Go” seemed like a clinic for how well Eddie Vedder can still do Eddie Vedder. He sounds better than ever. The last album’s title track, “Lightning Bolt” could be described as a “breather”. When you need a breather only five songs in, it was that kind of night. Not that it lasted. The hard driving machine gun guitars of “Mind Your Manners” followed, the latest Ed as punk rocker track.
Playlist craftsmanship was displayed nicely by linking thematic songs together. Exploring the individualist streaks of Christopher McCandless,Into the Wild’s “Setting Forth” was introduced after a soliloquy about “best friends you never met.” Ed welcomed the sister of the late McCandless who was in the room. An old B-side about outdoorsman survivalists, “Leatherman” followed. Later in the show covers “Mother” (Pink Floyd) and “Imagine” (Lennon) were paired in a tragic symmetry of ingrained despair vs pure idealistic hope. Trio of “Breath”, “Leash” and “Rearviewmirror” spoke to freedom, breaking out, encouraging the seekers to seek. These were songs that used to direct my teen angst, and they still deliver as aspirational escape.
I could go on about the songs. “Alive”, “Baba O’Riley” and “Yellow Ledbetter” closed out the night. Mike McCready then really closed out the night all alone on electric guitar playing the “Star Spangled Banner”. But the real story was the energy. For three and half hours everyone was on their feet. The band fed off the crowd and vice versa. Hard to imagine anyone who didn’t have a great time last night, but nobody less than the band themselves. It seemed the totality of the moment coming at tour’s end was well appreciated. This is as healthy a band as you’ll ever see, which shouldn’t really be a surprise given one of longevity’s enemies is dysfunction.
Over the last 18 years, I’ve seen my share of Pearl Jam. Many of those were truly epic performances that inarguably exist in the conversation of ‘best evers’: An insane, storm-soaked 1996 Randall’s Island show during the peak of the moshing era; The 1998 MSG show where “Breath” was taken off the shelf after intense fan lobbying. I feel confidently that Denver 10/22/2014 deserves a place on this list.
Twenty four years together and Pearl Jam remains a compelling group performing at an incredibly high level, but also a group playing with intensity as if they had something to prove. Should we be surprised at this point? Like a playoff team clawing and fighting for a win, leaving it all out on the field and using the energy of fans to propel toward victory. Especially near the end when there’s barely anything left, they’ll fight for everyone in the room. And the crowd knows it and encourages loudly to support. Even the people at the end, at the top of the arena, in the very last row get a taste, quite literally: Eddie sent them wine.
Setlist: Release, Low Light, Elderly Woman, Last Exit, Why Go, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Setting Forth, Leatherman, My Father’s Son, Even Flow, Ghost, Present Tense, Do The Evolution, Eruption (Van Halen cover), Of the Earth, Given To Fly, Sirens, Don’t Gimme No Lip, Improv>Lukin, Porch
Encore 1: Future Days, Sleight of Hand, Imagine (Lennon cover), Mother (Pink Floyd cover), Last Kiss, Breath, Leash, Rearviewmirror
Encore 2: Once, Black, State of Love and Trust, Better Man, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter>Star Spangled Banner
Rain couldn’t keep the crowd away at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. The lawn was a sea of umbrellas belonging to dedicated Sheryl Crow fans. The nine-time Grammy winner proved to the Littleton crowd that she was worth every drop. Opening with “Maybe Angels” Crow came ready to rock. A country girl at heart Crow said, “I’ve seen every nook and cranny of Colorado and I love it. I have a soft spot for y’all.” She went on to play a collection of favorites from over the years including the breakthrough hit from her debut album “All I Wanna Do” and still popular, “If It Makes You Happy” and “The First Cut is the Deepest”.
Crow got serious with the crowd for a minute when she acknowledged the recent suicide of beloved actor Robin Williams. “I’ve gotten very sentimental in these last few days,” she said. “I feel like we’ve lost one of our good ones. One of our sensitive ones and good-hearted ones.” After a somber moment Crow played “Redemption Day”, a song about hope, she said. Crow still has what it takes. Songs from her newest album, Feels Like Home are proof that her twenty-year career has been well earned and she’s not done yet.
Setlist: Maybe Angels, A Change Would Do You Good, All I Wanna Do, My Favorite Mistake, Easy, Leaving Las Vegas, Strong Enough, Redemption Day, Best of Times, Nobody’s Business, The First Cut Is the Deepest (Cat Stevens cover), Shotgun, Picture/If It Makes You Happy, Soak up the Sun, Everyday is a Winding Road
Encore: Steve McQueen, Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin Cover)
Joined by opening act, The Bell Brigade, folk rocker Ray LaMontagne settled into a comfortable and soothing show at Red Rocks Amphitheater on August 7th. The house was packed but from the mellow tone you wouldn’t know it. Subdued but satisfied, the sold out crowd sat attentively allowing LaMontagne’s voice to lull them.
With nearly half of the set coming from his most recent album, Supernova, the concert was balanced with old and new. LaMontagne’s unmistakable raspy voice washed over the crowd like water combing over sand. The chill vibe was briefly broken when LaMontagne brought in some energy with “Repo Man”. He mixed in some fan favorites such as, “Jolene”. and “Trouble”, during which he broke into the tune, “Stand By Me”, to the crowds delight.
LaMontagne spoke to the Colorado crowd briefly saying, “Twelve years ago people thought I’d be a flash in the pan. That’s bullshit!”. He continued, “Love me or hate me, I ain’t going anywhere.”
Setlist: Lavender, She’s the One, For the Summer, Pick Up a Gun, Supernova, Airwaves, Ojai, Repo Man, Smashing, Burn, Trouble (with Stand By Me), Jolene, Like Rock & Roll and Radio, Meg White, Julia, God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise
Prog-Rock superstars, dopapod recently announced their Spring 2014 Tour Dates. The band will be playing some Upstate, NY dates – 4/24 at Saratoga’s Putnam Den with Aqueous, 4/25 at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY with Aqueous and then 4/26 at The Waiting Room in Buffalo, NY with a third night with Buffalo’s own Aqueous and favorites and Albany natives, Mister F. For tickets and info please visit www.dopapod.com.
It was a seated show at Dazzle jazz except for the eccentric 
