Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes played a rocking two hour set at The Egg on October 18. Although the venue wasn’t sold-out, everyone who was in attendance was either dancing in the aisles or dancing in their chairs. Southside played songs spanning his whole career and even took requests from the crowd. He was in a joking mood, mentioning how Buffalo has the worst snow in the world, New Jersey will transform Ebola into lobster like creatures because of their pollution, and how it’s impossible to find your way into The Egg itself. With more than 40 years under their belt, Southside and The Jukes show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Set 1: Angel Eyes, Forever, This Time Baby’s Gone for Good, Walk Away Renee, Harder Than it Looks, Key to the Highway, Strange Strange Feeling, Take it Inside, Rhumba & Coke, Got Me Where She Wants, This Time It’s For Real, Without Love, Some Things Just Don’t Change, On The Beach, Talk to Me, Working Too Hard, Passion Street, Fever, Trapped Again, Havin’ A Party
Encore: Ooh Poo Pah Doo, I Don’t Want To Go Home, Hearts of Stone
It’s been eight years or so since I last saw Drive by Truckers, the Athens, Georgia rockers led by Patterson Hood, and while they stood out at my last experience seeing them, Sunday Oct. 19 at The Egg Performing Arts Center was a different case. While the band was louder than expected, the vocals kept the focus on the instruments.
Drive by Truckers play both kinds of southern rock – ballads and straight fire rockers. They flip-flopped between the two throughout the night, notably played a Franz Ferdinand-esque “Where the Devil Don’t Stay” followed by “The Opening Act” a slow number that found Hood channeling Van Morrison’s vocals. The at times feisty crowd cheered for “The Opening Act” which Hood previewed as a ‘different kind of song for a different kind of room,’ this being their first time at The Egg.
Keyboardist Jay Gonzalez shone throughout the night, a steady highlight in every way, especially on a song that could have been pulled from Tom Waits’ catalog. A honky-tonk song became story time/spoken word with Hood carrying on a ramble like Jerry Joseph or Arlo Guthrie on an extended “Alice’s Restaurant”.
The encore break resulted in four additional songs – Hood channeling Janis Joplin followed by “Bulldozers and Dirt” the song that garnered the most approval from fans and the most recognizable song of the evening. A ballad/rocker followed, then a fair amount of extended jamming ensued on the finale; each band member looping their instrument as they walked off stage, one at a time. By the time the house lights came up, a lackluster performance was the main takeaway this evening
Every rocker/ninja’s favorite band, Kung Fu, kicks off its fall tour this weekend and Upstate New York gets two of the first three shows.
The Fu will provide musical therapy to Baltimore, whose Orioles just fell a step short of the World Series, on Thursday night. Friday, Kung Fu brings their high-octane funk fusion to Syracuse’s Westcott Theater before wrapping up the weekend at The Hollow in Albany on Saturday.
Like every great funk outfit, the band has a bassist, Chris DeAngelis, who will send vibrations through your bones and shake up your soul. Each show gets more than slightly Stoop-ed as Todd Stoops handles the keys and Robert Somerville will be center stage crushing the tenor sax. Adrian Tramontano is absurdly relentless on the drums and Tim Palmieri, who just added a newborn ninja to his family last week, rounds out the band on guitar.
If you’re not following Kung Fu on Facebook yet, you’re missing out. Earlier this week, the band offered free tickets and 10% commission to volunteers for manning its merch booth all weekend. Wednesday, Stoops took to the social media site to give away free tickets to anyone who asked — no contest or duties involved.
For more information or to check out Kung Fu’s new album, Tsar Bomba, visit the band’s website.
Tickets to Syracuse’s show can be purchased here. Click here to purchase Albany tickets.
And in case you can’t catch them this weekend in Syracuse or Albany, the band is heading to Western New York later in the tour for a stop in Buffalo on Nov. 13. Click here for tickets to their show at The Waiting Room.
Southern rockers Drive By Truckers will perform at The Egg Performing Arts Center on Sunday, October 19th at 7:30 PM as part of the American Roots & Branches concert series.
Drive by Truckers boast a mix of Southern pride, history, folklore, politics, and character studies and have quickly risen to become one of today foremost alternative country-rock bands. This will be their debut performance at The Egg in support of their new, critically acclaimed recording English Oceans. Read a review of Drive by Truckers’ latest album English Oceans by Garrett K. Woodward.
Tickets are $29.50 and are available at The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza, by telephone – 518-473-1845 – or online.
Drive by Truckers start things off in NYC at the famous Beacon Theater on Friday, then head to the Electric Factory in Philadelphia this Saturday before making their way north to the Capital Region. For the full tour schedule, check out the bands website.
On a night celebrating 20 years of a free South Africa, The Swyer Theater at The Egg played host to a once in a lifetime show – Hugh Masakela and Vusi Mahlasela performing South African selections in an intimate setting.
To start the night, Vusi Mahlasela took the stage alone, playing “Ubuhle”, a speedy bike ride after a slow climb on a guitar that sounded like a harpsichord with a hint of sitar. Joined after by Francis Fuster (percussion), Ian Herman (drums), Bakithi Kumalo (bass, who, along with Herman and Fuster kept a consistent beat throughout the night), Mongezi Ntaka (guitar) and finally, Hugh Masakela, the audience rose up to thunderous applause and welcomed the sound of South Africa to the stage.
Ubuntu, translated as ‘humanity towards others’, was mentioned for the first time this evening, prior to the song “Meadowlands”, featuring a jazz groove, Vusi’s vocals and Hugh’s trumpet. Hugh then spoke about how much of a privilege it was to play in Albany, and thanked Albany for their role in the anti-apartheid movement, likely referencing the 1981 protests against the South African rugby football team who came to Bleeker Stadium to play against a local club. Nods and rumbles of agreement echoed through the theater, as Hugh told us that tonight we would hear songs of love, protest, tradition, and revolution
The legendary Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba, had her name invoked prior to “Thanayi”, pointing out that some form of beauty was to be found within all of us. Hugh performed in Troy, NY in the mid-90s with Makeba, a memorable experience that more than a few audience members chatted happily about in the theater lobby before and after the show. The cowbell intro to “Grazing in the Grass”, the most easily recognizable of the night’s songs, highlighted the trumpet once again as Masakela performed double-duty between the two instruments. “Weeping”, containing the melody from “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (the South African national anthem at a time when South Africans could not sing their own anthem under apartheid), was one of the more passionate and emotional songs of the evening. The lyrics reference moving past the anger over apartheid, rather than seek revenge after years of injustice:
It doesn’t matter now / It’s over anyhow / He tells the world that it’s sleeping / But as the night came round / I heard it’s lonely sound / It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping
As Masakela said early in the evening, “Forgiveness – all men should wear it like a crown.”
The show continued with “Say Africa”, an active crowd sing-along; Johnny Clegg’s ode to Nelson Mandela, “Asimbonanga”, clearly a more emotional and life affirming song for Hugh and Vusi, followed by “When You Come Back”, which told the story of the gold trains that traveled from countries in south and central Africa to Johannesburg, bringing miners to work 16 hour days. Hugh imitated the train whistle and screech eerily well, the tone of his voice and the threatening pace of the beat conveying the passions towards the exploitation of labor.
Naturally, the final songs of the evening would be more upbeat, and with Masakela saying to the crowd “Shake your bootie for all those old geezers” (a reference to Mandela and those he was sentenced to life in prison with), the crowd rose up and danced, waved their arms and sang “Bring him back home to Soweto”. For the final ten minutes, there was nonstop music, dancing and band introductions. An encore of “Pata Pata” was prefaced with an apology from Hugh, “Sorry, but you have to stand up and boogie harder”, the band singing “Dance, dance, dance, what a party!” and sending the crowd out with broad smiles and beaming with energy.
Professing the philosophy of Ubuntu throughout the night, Mahlasela and Masekela mentioned its many elements – love, helpfulness, neutrality, variety, and the redistribution of morals, knowledge and skills – throughout their music, a common theme that tied the night, audience and band together.
Hugh Masakela and Vusi MahlaselaSetlist: Ubuhle, Meadowlands, Thanayi, Miyela Afrika, Grazing in the Grass, Weeping, Say Africa, Asimbonanaga, When You Come Back, Stimela, Bring him back home, Unomeva
On a night celebrating 20 years of a free South Africa, The Swyer Theater at The Egg played host to a once in a lifetime show – Hugh Masakela and Vusi Mahlasela performing South African selections in an intimate setting. To start the night, Vusi Mahlasela took the stage alone, playing “Ubuhle”, a speedy bike ride after a slow climb on a guitar that sounded like a harpsichord with a hint of sitar. Joined after by Francis Fuster (percussion), Ian Herman (drums), Bakithi Kumalo (bass, who, along with Herman and Fuster kept a consistent beat throughout the night), Mongezi Ntaka (guitar) and finally, Hugh Masakela, the audience rose up to thunderous applause and welcomed the sound of South Africa to the stage.
Ubuntu, translated as ‘humanity towards others’, was mentioned for the first time this evening, prior to the song “Meadowlands”, featuring a jazz groove, Vusi’s vocals and Hugh’s trumpet. Hugh then spoke about how much of a privilege it was to play in Albany, and thanked Albany for their role in the anti-apartheid movement, likely referencing the 1981 protests against the South African rugby football team who came to Bleeker Stadium to play against a local club. Nods and rumbles of agreement echoed through the theater, as Hugh told us that tonight we would hear songs of love, protest, tradition, and revolution.
The legendary Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba, had her name invoked prior to “Thanayi”, pointing out that some form of beauty was to be found within all of us. Hugh performed in Troy, NY in the mid-90s with Makeba, a memorable experience that more than a few audience members chatted happily about in the theater lobby before and after the show. The cowbell intro to “Grazing in the Grass”, the most easily recognizable of the night’s songs, highlighted the trumpet once again as Masakela performed double-duty between the two instruments. “Weeping”, containing the melody from “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (the South African national anthem at a time when South Africans could not sing their own anthem under apartheid), was one of the more passionate and emotional songs of the evening. The lyrics reference moving past the anger over apartheid, rather than seek revenge after years of injustice:
It doesn’t matter now / It’s over anyhow / He tells the world that it’s sleeping / But as the night came round / I heard it’s lonely sound / It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping
As Masakela said early in the evening, “Forgiveness – all men should wear it like a crown.”
The show continued with “Say Africa”, an active crowd sing-along; Johnny Clegg’s ode to Nelson Mandela, “Asimbonanga”, clearly a more emotional and life affirming song for Hugh and Vusi, followed by “When You Come Back”, which told the story of the gold trains that traveled from countries in south and central Africa to Johannesburg, bringing miners to work 16 hour days. Hugh imitated the train whistle and screech eerily well, the tone of his voice and the threatening pace of the beat conveying the passions towards the exploitation of labor.
Naturally, the final songs of the evening would be more upbeat, and with Masakela saying to the crowd “Shake your bootie for all those old geezers” (a reference to Mandela and those he was sentenced to life in prison with), the crowd rose up and danced, waved their arms and sang “Bring him back home to Soweto”. For the final ten minutes, there was nonstop music, dancing and band introductions. An encore of “Pata Pata” was prefaced with an apology from Hugh, “Sorry, but you have to stand up and boogie harder”, the band singing “Dance, dance, dance, what a party!” and sending the crowd out with broad smiles and beaming with energy.
Professing the philosophy of Ubuntu throughout the night, Mahlasela and Masekela mentioned its many elements – love, helpfulness, neutrality, variety, and the redistribution of morals, knowledge and skills – throughout their music, a common theme that tied the night, audience and band together.
Hugh Masakela and Vusi Mahlasela, The Egg, Albany, NY – October 7, 2014
Setlist: Ubuhle, Meadowlands, Thanayi, Miyela Afrika, Grazing in the Grass, Weeping, Say Africa, Asimbonanaga, When You Come Back, Stimela, Bring Him Back Home, Unomeva
The building once sat as an abandoned Fleet Bank until a vision, the spark of an idea and a push for arts and cultured community events came to fruition through the eye of WAMC President and CEO, Dr. Alan Chartock. The grant funded venture became a reality when it opened its doors in September of 2002 with Branford Marsalis Trio as the very first guests. As an extension of WAMC, a public broadcast radio station, The Linda provides a unique and intimate concert space and performing arts studio.
The goal was to expand the station’s ability to provide on-air performances both live and recorded. The Linda is a performance space, a broadcast studio, and a cultural arts center. Programming includes music, film, workshops, debates, and community events. A focus being on the local exposure to notable filmmakers, actors and musicians with genres such as roots, classical and jazz, The Linda is a perfect listening room. The Linda was affectionately named after long-time supporter of WAMC, Linda Norris, however, let it be known that it is correct only to refer to the space as The Linda – WAMC Performing Arts Studio.
The small space brings the artist and listener together in a way that creates an engaging experience. Often, there are CD signings following a show. Being a 210-seat facility, the experience is intimate and personal. A highlight of The Linda is that shows are scheduled early enough so that folks are out to enjoy the club scene, which is beginning to take shape on Central Ave with Pauly’s Hotel and The Low Beat next door. The Linda is located on a section of Central Ave that is a very diverse part of town with multi-cultural restaurants nearby. Being that a large focus of The Linda is connecting arts and culture with the community, the locale is perfect. There is a small cash bar and The Linda is available to rent.
No matter your own personal intention for visiting The Linda, whether it is a comedy show, a political debate, a music event or a play, you will like what you hear.
In the world of hard rock and heavy metal, there are drummers, and then there is Vinnie Paul. Starting up his first project in 1981, which would soon become the game-changing metal band Pantera, Vinnie has been delivering crushing drum beats for three solid decades. When tragedy struck in 2004 while playing with Damageplan, it was unclear if Vinnie would ever play drums again. But you can’t take the music out of the man, and soon Hellyeah, a veritable metal supergroup, was formed in 2006 with Vinnie once again behind the kit. interview
On the recent Five Finger Death Punch and Volbeat tour, Hellyeah brought their incredible sound and heavy presence in support every night. When the tour came to The Times Union Center in Albany New York, I was lucky and honored to be able to talk with Vinnie about the road, the band’s newest record, and the future. Because of a scheduling error, Jim Gilbert and myself were rushed into a small back room with a broken cooler and a chair, and were warmly welcomed by rock royalty.
Vinnie Paul (Hellyeah, Damageplan, Pantera) and Jeff Ayers (NYSMusic)
Jeff Ayers: So how has this tour been going? I’ve been following you on social media, it looks great.
Vinnie Paul: Absolutely awesome. One of the favorite tours I have ever been a part of. Every band is different from each other, and unique from each other. It’s been sold out, or nearly sold out every night, and it’s a great opportunity for us to play to a lot of people that have never seen us, and to play to people who have seen us before. It’s just been awesome man. Five Finger and Volbeat have been treating us great, and we are all really good friends, everybody gets along, so everybody’s having a great time.
JA: That’s great. Speaking of social media, you really do a lot on the internet.
VP: I try to keep the fans informed as much as I can.
JA: You definitely do, and speaking from people who came up in the music business before all that, was that easy for you to pick up, or did it take some getting used to?
VP: You just have to catch up, you know? Back in the day it was word of mouth. “You gotta check this band out”. This guy went and told this guy, and that guy went and told these girls, and those girls went and told their friends. Five people told ten people, and that is how it spread. Nowadays you can touch so many people with just a touch of the button, it’s incredible.
JA: Recently in the press, Gene Simmons said Rock is Dead. Your band, and this tour, is direct opposition to that statement. In your own opinion, what do you believe is the current state of rock music?
VP: I think Gene was speaking from a different perspective. We are talking about, if you wanna look at the bands that are still headlining huge festivals and stuff, it’s still KISS, it’s still Motley Crue, it’s still Metallica. It’s the same bands that were doing it fifteen or twenty years ago. There hasn’t been any bands that have stepped to the forefront to be as big as those bands. So that’s where his perspective is coming from. But as far as rock and metal being dead, there is no way it will ever die. It is the greatest form of music there ever was, people love it and still support it. Sometimes it goes through phases of more popularity or less popularity, unfortunately with all the downloading that goes on it is harder and harder for artists to tour, especially young bands that are just coming up. But there are still people who are out there fighting, we are here, Five Finger is here, Volbeat is here, there are a lot of great bands out there doing this. I’m not going away from it. It has changed a ton from when you would buy Pantera albums, and not CD’s and all that, but you either get in line with or you fucking fall by the wayside.
Album Cover
JA: Very true. As a drummer, and from maybe a non-metal area, what are some of your lesser known influences? Maybe something that drives you from the beginning of your career, or music that you have found as your career has taken you places?
VP: I’m a fan of any kind of music except hip-hop. Hip-hop just doesn’t do anything for me. I grew up listening to a lot of country and western, a lot of David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings, and stuff like that. And, you know, all the bands from Texas; Kings X, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, all that stuff was really influential and good to go watch at an early age. I don’t think there are any big ‘secrets’ as to something in my [music] vault that you don’t know anything about. I love female singers. I like Christina Aguilera, and I like the Heart sisters. Lzzy Hale, from Halestorm is an amazing vocalist, Pat Benetar, so maybe that’s something people didn’t really know.
JA: Lots of great music. Pat Benetar is actually going to be [in Albany] very soon. So this just hit me, because you mentioned David Allan Coe, how did the album that you guys did [Vinnie, his brother Dimebag Darryl and Rex Brown from Pantera] with David Allan Coe come about? What’s the story behind Rebel Meets Rebel?
VP: Well it’s really crazy. Like I said, my brother and I used to hear him [a lot], he was one of my mom’s favorite country artists back in the day. My brother went over in 1999 to see David Allan Coe play at a place called Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas. So, you know, we always would take our Pantera CD’s and DVD’s with us to pass them off to people, and Dime actually stood in line, the meet and greet line, for David Allan, and he stood there with like a hundred people and he was at the end of the line. So when he got up to David he said “Hey man, I know you don’t know who I am or anything, but I play in this band Pantera and I love your music, and I wanna give you a DVD, and maybe we can get together and write some songs sometime.” So Dime gave him his phone number, and the next day about eight o’clock in the morning, Dime said his phone rang, and he said there was this country dude on the phone and [laughs, in his best David Allan impression] “Hey man, this David Allan Coe” and Dime was like David Allan Coe? At eight o’clock in the morning? What’s going on?
Jim Gilbert: I would not think he would be up at eight in the morning.
VP: Yeah, right? [laughs] But he was like, “I just watched this DVD you gave me man, and you guys are like the fucking Beatles of fucking 1999 man! When are we gonna get together and start writing some songs?” That is basically how it happened. So he came into town, and everytime he would come to town after that we would write a few songs with him. This happened like four times and by that point we had enough stuff for a record, and we finished it. At that time, we were doing Damageplan, and the fans were really confused as to what had happened with Pantera, and we didn’t want to confuse them further, so we put it on the shelf. Then, after the horrible thing that happened with my brother, it took me about eight months to get my life together, and the first thing that came to me was man, Dime was really proud of that album, and I gotta get it out for him, you know? It was really important to me, so I started my own label and put it out, and it did really well.
JA: Yea, I love that record.
VP: Thank you. Honestly, it was the first true collaboration between a heavy metal outlaw band and a country outlaw together. Some people had done it with a single or something, but that was the first full length record.
JG: Also, country music influencing metal right now, is so popular, there is such a blend.
VP: Yeah there is a great crossover there, for sure.
JA: So back to Hellyeah. Blood for Blood, marks in my opinion, the best, most coherent version of the band to date.
VP: Thanks man.
JA: Did you guys go into the studio with that mindset, or was that born from the recording process?
VP: Well, we felt like we got back on track with what we wanted to do, and what the fans wanted us to do, being a metal band. The first two records were really experimentally, doing things outside of what we had done with Nothing Face, Mudvayne and Pantera, and songs like “Alcohaulin’ Ass” and “Hell of a Time” were songs that wouldn’t work in those bands. So once we got that out of our system, we got back to doing what are roots are, which is metal, with Band of Brothers. Once we finished the Gigantour last year with Megadeth and Black Label Society, we felt like we pulled the heavy fans back in. We wanted to get in the studio and make the best record of our careers. At that time, that is when we realised that Greg [Tribbett] and Bob[Zilla] didn’t have the same vision or focus, and they both had serious personal issues that were taking away from the band, so we parted company. So myself, Tom [Maxwell] and Chad [Gray] wrote the entire record with a brand new producer [for us] Kevin Churko, and he really understood the vision we had and we made the best record we ever made, so we are really proud of it.
JA: You should be, it is a really great record. You said that the track “Say When” is the first time you have written a drum part that extreme since the Far Beyond Driven days. Do see more parts like that in the future?
VP: Yeah man, especially with the direction we are going, it allows for more drumming, and heavier stuff. Like I said, the other records, the earlier Hellyeah was more rock and roll influenced, so it required me to be more of a back beat on things. Going back in the metal direction, it gives me more freedom as a drummer to tear it up and do more.
JA: Awesome! What’s next for Hellyeah after this tour?
VP: Well we have a long tour to go, this is only the tenth show! [laughs]. So this goes until November, then we will be off until New Years Eve, with a show I can’t talk about yet, and then next year is a whole year of touring. Definitely a tour of the U.S., Europe again in the spring, we will be going to South America, Japan, all that and non-stop touring until probably October next year, then back to the studio and do it all over again!
What happens when music emerges from Pennsyltucky by way of Austin via two lovely ladies with a fire in their hearts? Storied tales told through song in a style reminiscent of old-timey country yet dashed in modern indie folk-rock make up The Hello Strangers, that is what happens!
Currently, The Hello Strangers are on tour in support of their self-titled album. Featuring eleven songs and two originals, country giant and omnipresent, Jim Lauderdale sings “What You Don’t Know”. A slowed version of “Que Sera, Sera” is a hauntingly beautiful nod to the sisters’ lineage as their grandfather, Ronald Chace, sang with Doris Day.
An equally talented trio supports Larrissa Chace Smith and Brechyn Chace: Spencer Pheil, Trent Renshaw, and Tom Hoy. Don’t miss this opportunity to say hello, hear some tunes and perhaps, no longer be strangers. The Hello Strangers are sure to tickle your fancy. Local 518 band, Rebel Darling led by MR Poulopoulos, will open the show. Tickets are available at The Linda.
On a Fall October night in Albany at The Low Beat, two local bands took to the stage to show that the music scene in the area is alive and well. The Sea The Sea, with openers Great Mutations played their first and third live shows of the area, respectively, and made new fans to those who were in attendance. Three piece act Great Mutations, from Troy, started the evening off with some easy-going rock tunes that would sound perfect on the California coast. Their songs were well written, both musically and lyrically. The beginning of their set saw some trepidation from the band, but by the end of the set their confidence oozed through the music. Lead singer and guitarist Matt Thouin said after the set that the band likes to mainly record and haven’t looked into playing live shows, but hopefully this will change as the band showed off a lot of potential in their 40 minute set.
After a short break The Sea The Sea played their first Albany show. Duo Mira Stanley and Chuck E. Costa played a great set of folk-rock that had signs of deep space and jamming thrown in for good measure. The Sea The Sea’s name, which means ‘a cry of joy’, came from a Greek tale of soldiers arriving to see the ocean and exclaiming the words and Mira and Chuck sing their songs with such joy that the name fits perfectly. Their harmonies at times soared over the music with their dreamy lyrics and made everyone in the venue focus on what was being sung instead of the music that was being produced.
With only one album to their credit, The Sea The Sea decided to surprise the crowd and play a set mostly composed of brand new music that no one has heard yet and hopefully will make the second album the band plans on recording will living in the Albany area once again. The one song they played from their first album was the title track “Love We Are We Love” and it gave the group a moment to not worry about the new material and let them go zone in on the music. The rest of the music throughout the night was wonderful as well. The best new track was “Drunken King” near the end of the evening. The haunting track has Pink Floyd vocal wailing from Mira, while Chuck sings straight forward and plays the keys. The minimal music in the song lets the lyrics really be the forefront of what the listener is hearing throughout the song.
With two guitars, a harmonica, a drum set, a keyboard, and two voices, The Sea The Sea put on an hour-long set that seemed to go by too quickly. Though the music is not what one would consider busy, it melds perfectly with their voices to create a beautiful sound-scape that gets caught in your head and doesn’t want to leave. The band is now once again living in the Capital District and should be playing regularly around town. The small crowd at The Low Beat for the show were won over by show’s end. Hopefully as more shows pop up for The Sea The Sea, the crowds for this great duo continue to rise like the tide.
Ubuntu, translated as ‘humanity towards others’, was mentioned for the first time this evening, prior to the song “Meadowlands”, featuring a jazz groove, Vusi’s vocals and Hugh’s trumpet. Hugh then spoke about how much of a privilege it was to play in Albany, and thanked Albany for their role in the anti-apartheid movement, likely referencing the 
The legendary Mama Africa, 
