Rubblebucket came to downtown Albany’s The Hollow Sunday night, infusing a typically low-key evening with high energy and a whole lot of funk. Accompanied by Brooklyn-based dance quartet Body Language, both bands had a hand in making sure that those who attended came out of their Sunday night football food comas.
Body Language kicked off the night at around 9pm and there were more people than one would expect for a Sunday. The front dance floor was packed pretty tightly, with people spilling out into the back portions of the bar. From the beginning, lead singer Angelica Bess emanated a really interesting stage presence. Sporting tie-dye leggings and a black crop top, her hair braided into long cables cascading to her waist, she pantomimed a lot of the lyrics as she sang. Bess, who also plays the glockenspiel (an instrument similar to a xylophone, but with higher pitched sounds) has a voice that ranges in style and possesses an ethereal quality. Body Language played an eclectic mix of instruments, including the tambourine and cowbell, and their musical style ranged from soul to pop. They also had a disco dance flare that had the crowd contorting themselves into dance moves that were as different as the instruments the band played. With Bess’ sultry voice and that R&B sound, if their music was truly translated into body language, they would be saying “come hither.” Body Language kept the mood light and upbeat and had everyone on their feet. They definitely set the stage for what was to come.
Rubblebucket who is on tour promoting their new album, Survival Sounds, played a slew of new songs including “My Life”, “On the Ground”, “Carousel Ride”, “Major Roxy”, and “Origami”. The new songs drift from the fun and fanciful aspect of Rubblebucket and delve a little deeper into real life and have a bit of a harder sound. They’re a little more hard rock and possess more electronic undertones with “Origami” being the most upbeat. Rubblebucket, whose shows are half concert half performance art, can sometimes border on gimmicky, but are ultimately fun and whimsical. While introducing “Origami”, the adoration of the fans was apparent as a fan yelled out “I love you Kal!” and she yelled back “I love you too!” The level of interactivity between the band and the crowd is interesting and something you don’t see at a lot of shows. During “Origami”, Traver requested that the crowd yell out the chorus, with her belting out the question “Why can’t it always be fun?” and the crowd yelling back, “always, always, always!” It definitely got people moving their feet, with Traver coming off stage and starting a soul train with the audience.
Although they are promoting their new album, they didn’t just stick to new songs. They played old favorite “Came Out of a Lady” off of Omega La La that saw the entire horn section coming down to play in the crowd, including Traver who was playing saxophone. That was definitely one of the highlights and had the audience jumping up and down with their hands in the air. They also played “Patriotic”, which is off their Save Charlie EP, and upon introducing it, Traver proclaimed that “it’s a song about being yourself.” From there, they played “Carousel Ride”, and with lyrics like “when all the strongest winds are blowing my way/and the reaper comes to take my breath away…I’ll dance in the fire and I’ll do it again,” it perfectly matched Traver’s hauntingly beautiful voice. “Carousel Ride” definitively showcased Rubblebucket’s penchant for art by having someone walk around in a faceless furry creature costume whose head was made out of pink fabric roses that had leaves and ivy running through it. This creature is featured on their album cover, as well as in the music video for the song, bringing a different aspect of their art to their concert.
Rubblebucket played straight through without a set break, ending in a superjam with Angela Bess from Body Language playing the glockenspiel. The entire band came onto the floor parading around the bar like a marching band gone rogue. The last couple of minutes of their set found trumpet player Alex Toth playing on tables by the merch booth along with Traver on saxophone. When it comes down to it, Rubblebucket is full of incredibly talented musicians whose sound works well together for being a larger band. Seeing them play is an experience in and of itself aside from the music. It can definitely get weird, but if you haven’t seen them before, they come highly recommended.
No stranger to bringing quality music to the area, Bogies in Albany is at it again on Sunday, September 21st. A co-headlining onslaught of heavy music in Rivers of Nihil and Black Crown Initiate, with some great local openers to round out the bill.
Rivers of Nihil and Black Crown Initiate at Bogies Albany
Forest of Remorse is a newly reformed project from Lyme, NY. Promising heavy riffs and brutal slam beats, it will be one of those rare times to see a show with a budding band, that could surprise you and blow up in the near future. King Pariah from Argyle, NY is another up and coming metal band, who have already shared the stage with some big names. They helped open the Summer Slaughter tour at The Palladium in Worcester, MA with Morbid Angel and Dying Fetus.
Troy locals The Final Sleep are playing just in their backyard and bring a progressive metal edge to the stage, and have just welcomed their new drummer, Mike VanDyne of Arsis. With a technical barrage of three guitars, this is an act not to be missed. Black Crown Initiate is just about to release their brand new record, The Wreckage of Stars, dropping September 30th. So you can expect them to bring all of their intricate epic metal to this show in support of that record. Making waves in the metal scene as of late, these guys might not be playing small clubs like Bogies for too much longer. Check out my review of their new album here.
Rivers of Nihil also comes from Reading, PA like Black Crown Initiate, and they also have a new record, The Conscious Seed of Light. After signing with Metal Blade Records in 2013, this is their debut album on that label, after a few years of hard work and relentless touring. The double bill of these two bands will be an incredible sight to see and an awesome show to hear. For any fan of death metal, hard, fast and heavy metal, this show is one of the few that has it all and is making it’s stop in Upstate NY.
On Thursday Sept. 11, Oneonta received a hefty dose of folk with Slaid Cleaves’ performance at the B Side Ballroom and Supper Club, the city’s classiest joint. With one of the most extensive bars in town, along with a delectable menu consisting of fresh seasonal foods and exotic nightly specials, those lucky enough to have made reservations or arrived early to B Side were greeted with pleasant aromas and tasty meals coming from the kitchen. By the time show time rolled around, the place had filled up quite nicely with lots of fans, as well as newcomers to the classic folk sounds and storytelling they were about to be treated to over the course of the evening. Slaid Cleaves surely did not disappoint in that department.
Getting off to an abrupt start, Slaid was joined on stage by Chojo Jacques on alternating fiddle and mandolin. While Slaid is traditionally a solo performer, Chojo truly rounded out the sound, adding nice touches of sometimes Appalachian-style sometimes haunting-sounding fiddle and mandolin accompaniments. Opening with one of his more popular tunes, “Horseshoe Lounge” Slaid effectively warmed up the crowd with this mellow tune. One element that you must make note of when listening to Slaid is that it is extremely important to pay attention to his lyrics, as each song has a story to tell. Following his next tune “Drinkin’ Days” with a chorus of “My drinking days are over, but I’m still troublebound,” Slaid took the opportunity to compliment Oneonta for the hotel he is staying at that he can walk to from the venue, having a liquor store that he can also walk to that stays open until 10:00PM, the music store across the parking lot where he was able to procure a new capo for this evening’s performance, and its residents being so friendly and welcoming.
After spouting all these positive accounts, Slaid explained that he was going to move on to some sad tunes that will still make the audience feel good and threw in a Woody Guthrie quote to further emphasize his point: “A folk musician’s job is to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.” That sentiment definitely seemed to resonate throughout the rest of his set. Intermixing stories in between his tunes had the effect of making the audience feel like they were sitting around the campfire devotedly listening to the wonderful stories Slaid had to tell and the songs he wanted to share. Touring in support of his new album Still Fighting the War, Slaid jokingly warned everyone not to listen to the album more than once a week since it will be at least another year until he puts out his next album. Yet of course he shared some material off that new album with the audience including “Whim of Iron” about his Aunt Prudence who had married his 92-year-old uncle, a strong lady ahead of her time living in New York City in the 1960’s; and “Texas Love Song” about how much pride Texans have in their own state. He also threw in some classics, including “Broke Down” which he wrote along with his buddy with whom he used to play in a garage band (the band was called The Magic Rats) and “Wishbones” which was actually a request from a group who had traveled three hours to see this show, so in an effort to not send the group back home feeling disappointed, Slaid obliged. Ending with his signature yodel, Slaid took a break before settling in to the second set.
Again starting kind of nonchalantly without any announcement or fanfare, the audience quickly stopped their conversations when he started with “No Angel Knows”. Segueing from one relatively melancholy tune to another, the next song entitled “Cry” really hit a nerve. With a chorus of “Cry for your mama, Cry for your dad, Cry for everything you know they never had,” tears actually came to my eyes, as I used to see Slaid Cleaves with my mom every time he came into town, as my mom absolutely adored him. She has since passed away, so I took a hiatus from seeing Slaid for a bit myself, not wanting to deal with getting all choked up and emotional at his shows, but this song made me realize it’s OK to listen to his music and feel these emotions.
Honoring an audience request he got for “Everette” during the break, Slaid asked for complete silence before he began, and prayed that he would remember all the words, as this song is extremely lyric-intensive, written by his friend Steve Brooks, about “what poets do”. At one point during this song, someone must have ordered a mixed drink that required shaking, which might have otherwise been distracting to a musician, but thankfully the bartender/owner of B Side, Wayne Carrington, happens to be a drummer, so he just started shaking along to the rhythm of the song. Soliciting any last-minute requests before he began the final portion of his show one fan asked him to play “Sinner’s Prayer” for which he said he might need help with the lyrics, so the fan ended up shouting out the lines that Slaid couldn’t remember.
The last several songs of the second set consisted of songs taking us from Slaid’s humble beginnings in Maine to his instant rise to stardom in Texas. Singing about his childhood neighbor Willie in “Horses” letting us know that “If it weren’t for horses and divorces, I’d be a lot better off today,” the audience was treated to a much-needed chuckle, as this song followed the much sadder number “Green Mountains and Me” about a soldier’s wife missing her husband. Paying tribute to the Texas family who had taken him and his wife under their wings when they first moved to Texas, Slaid sang his well-known tune “New Years Day” which he had written about and dedicated to one of the members of his Texas family. Finishing off the set with his popular “One Good Year” Slaid graciously thanked the audience for coming out on a school night, but rather than bothering to leave the stage before the encore, he made the choice to bypass that process and went right into it. This encore was quite special though, as he and Chojo decided to play acoustically and actually walked through the audience while playing a gospel tune off his new album called “Go for the Gold”. Being a small and intimate venue they were able to walk through the entire place and give everyone a good view and opportunity to hear what they were preaching.
It is rare to see a musician and an audience have such an intimate connection, but it was very enjoyable to see that happening. It was almost as if the boundary between the band and the crowd was nonexistent. From the woman in the front of the venue singing along to every lyric, to the man at the next table over who had never before seen Slaid but kept smiling and saying “Sweet!” Slaid more than satisfied his loyal fans, and gained new ones at the same time. Be sure not to miss Slaid Cleaves the next time he comes to your town.
Good bands and fun times seem to come out of Texas a lot these days. American Sharks are a prime example of the type of music and tour ethos that can be attributed to bands like The Sword and The Black Angels.
After their head-turning set at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, NY opening up for Clutch, I got to sit down with Mike Hardin (bass/vocals) and Will Ellis (guitar) to talk about touring, the fast pace the band has been coming up in the music scene, and what it means to have a good time. This was also the second interview I got to do with local musician Dustin Alexander from Jesus Christ and the Hallucinogenic Allstars(JCHA), bringing a “in the trenches” point of view to this article. We hope to include more local musicians talking to touring musicians in subsequent articles at .
Interview with American Sharks. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert.
Jeff Ayers: So when did the band start? Where did the band come from?
Mike Hardin: Will and I started the band a while back in Houston, Texas.
JA: Are you originally from Houston?
MH: Sort of. We are kind of from a mish-mash of place, but we are all from Texas. The band kinda started when we were living in downtown Houston. Then we moved to Austin and that’s where we met Nick [Cornetti] our drummer. After that we went through a change and became a three piece, and that would be the actual beginning of the band. From then on we changed a lot.
JA: When was this?
Will Ellis: 2009
JA: How about musical influences? What influenced you to start this project?
MH: I listen to David Bowie. Only David Bowie. [laughs]. But, I’d say Roky Erickson was a huge influence. Roky Erickson and the Aliens, specifically, was a big influence on this band.
JA: Cool. First time I heard you guys, I thought I was listening to Motorhead and Red Fang fighting. I was instantly hooked.
WE: Awesome!
JA: You guys are already making waves. Speaking of Red Fang, you have done some tours with them, and you’ve played with The Sword, and now Clutch. How has the response for you on these tours been?
WE: Yeah, very positive. It’s been really awesome man. It’s slowly getting better and better, where we show up in cities we have never played before and people are there wearing out shirts and stuff.
MH: We were touring for a few years by ourselves, and you go to cities and no one knows who you are. Now we can come to cities and there are people coming out to see us play.
JA: Well that is the name of the game right? Specifically with this tour with Clutch, I think you guys are a great fit. How did that come about, for you guys to get on this tour?
MH: We toured with Clutch and The Sword last year. Basically, we are friends with The Sword, and Kyle[Shutt] is our manager, and he was trying for us.
WE: We asked him to nudge [Clutch] a bit, asked him to give them our music. He told them they needed to see us play, so when they came through Houston, they had us play one show with them. Next thing we knew we were going out on tour with them.
Jim Gilbert: Actually, the room we are in, The Sword once set off all the fire alarms and they claimed they were only using a vaporizer.
MH: [laughs] This has happened a couple of times being on tour with The Sword actually. Once, on tour with Clutch and The Sword, Clutch was playing and the fire alarms started going off–
WE: Yeah, that place was in Athens, Georgia (The Georgia Theatre), and it had burned down years before, so everyone in the place was freaking out thinking it was burning down again
JA: Thats hilarious, I’ve met those guys and they seem like fun dudes. Speaking of the future, you guys are coming back to Upstate Concert Hall opening up for GWAR. It’s the first tour without Dave [Brockie] too. How did that tour come about?
WE: I don’t really know! Our booking agent submitted us, and it just happened.
JA: Well that is going to be an awesome tour, and I’ll be back to see you guys then.
MH: Yeah, we can’t wait.
JA: So, right before this, you wrapped up a tour with The Whores, and now Clutch, and then GWAR. How many shows a year do you think you play?
WE: Probably over 200.
JA: That is living the dream. Are you predominantly touring the U.S.?
WE: Yes, just U.S. so far.
JA: Is there anything on the horizon for other countries?
MH: Nothing set in stone. We have things we are working on, but nothing we can talk about yet.
JA: What’s next for you guys after the GWAR tour?
WE: Take a nap. [laughs] We are going to start working on our next record. It’s tough touring in the winter, so we want to hunker down and start pushing through our second record.
American Sharks. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
JG: [speaking of Nick the drummer] I got to ask, what is like being onstage with Animal from The Muppets?
MH: Ha! No one has ever called him that before! Animal! [laughs] He does do the drums like that. That is so hilarious. I’m going to tell him that for sure.
JG: I had to look quick a couple times to see if he was using a stick or a hammer.
JA: You guys have a great stage presence.
WE: I think Animal might be his favorite drummer actually.
MH: Oh dude! I didn’t know that!
JA: Well it shows [laughs] I ask this of a lot of bands, are there any bands you just can’t stop listening to at this moment?
WE: I’ve been listening to a lot of Roedelius, Arthur Verocai, and a lot of different chill stuff. Helps keep everything nice and calm.
JA: So when you get on stage you can rage it!
MH: I almost exclusively listen to David Bowie all the time
JA: I have to ask the obligatory question: pre-Ziggy [Stardust], Ziggy, or post Ziggy?
MH: All of it. Well like late 80’s through the 90’s, there is some really terrible shit in there [laughs]. But also, there is this band called Midnight, which is a newish band and they shred. If you like Motorhead, they are like an even crazier Motorhead. They played in Austin the day we left for this tour and I was so pissed I had to miss them.
JG: Be honest, have you[Will] ever walked in on Mike in the bathroom painting a Bowie lightning bolt on his face?
MH: [laughs] Yea and we lock eyes in the mirror
WE: [laughs] No I haven’t!
JA: I am now going to throw the questions to Dusitn, a local musician from this area
Dustin Alexander: The first thing that always comes to mind is how do you toe the line between partying and having fun on tour, and feeling better the next day? Having to play night after night, how do you maintain that?
WE: I just smoke weed most of the time.
MH: Yeah. But also, to be honest, partying and playing can spiral out of control really fucking fast. People say that, and you go “Haha, VH1 Behind the Music”. It doesn’t seem real to you until you are in it, and you can see the effects [this lifestyle] can have on you. Personally, I had some very negative experiences with alcohol. Be responsible. All of the sudden you can realize that you haven’t been sober in a year, and that is not good. I feel like I’m going to die. Not in a “I’m tired” way, but in a real, I am dependent on getting drunk when I wake up until I fall asleep. That is now O.K. That happens and that’s real, and you don’t think about that [when you are starting out].
WE: You get on each other’s nerves and stuff, you are on edge because you are hungover, and you are cooped up with everyone. It’s best to choose your party nights wisely, and I mostly drink maybe a couple beers a night, and just smoke a lot of weed.
DA: I feel marijuana is almost a performance enhancing drug for touring anyways. I mean sore muscles, can’t get sleep, a little nervous? That will take care of it!
MH: [laughs] Yeah, yeah.
DA: You have pretty aggressive vocals, and to do that night after night, is there something you do to prep, or cool down?
MH: I try to drink at least a gallon of water a day. More if I can, but I am a notorious voice loser. Also, I need to get sleep. If I don’t get enough sleep, I’ll lose my voice, and that sucks. Sleep is probably the most important thing in my opinion.
DA: How do you deal with that, when your voice kicks out and you are on tour?
MH: You get pissed off. It can be pretty embarrassing when you are playing in front of a packed house and you can’t sing. It can be a little frustrating.
WE: Usually whenever his voice does give out, we get to a place so he can get some sleep, and then it can come right back.
MH: I think people don’t put enough thought behind getting sleep. If I get a full night’s rest, I’m great. I normally do, I try for a full eight hours a night. I think it works wonders, because I rarely get sick.
JG: Where do you guys get sleep on tour? Do you get hotels, or the van?
WE: It depends on the tour usually. We try to get hotels, because when we crash at people’s houses, a lot of people want to hang out and talk to you all night. We might have an eight hour drive the next morning and we won’t get enough sleep. So we have to drop a little money [for a hotel] to make sure we get our rest.
MH: When you are on tour with a band like Clutch, they have a bus. So they route the tour based on that. All of us would rather spend money on a hotel than laying in a ditch because we flipped our van because we were so tired. It’s not worth it.
DA: A question about your bass rig. Are you running through and overdrive pedal or anything?
MH: Oh yeah! I use a pedal called the assmaster. [laughs]. It’s like B: assmaster. It’s made by Malekko. It’s 250 dollars, so it’s a little pricey, but it’s totally worth it. It’s the best thing I’ve found.
DA: Yeah it sounds thick, and you weren’t losing anything in the mix. It sounded gnarly.
MH: It has a really great bass boost on it, and you can make a lot of adjustments on it too.
DA: I play bass and sing at the same time like yourself. Do you find that singing sometimes gets in your way, because you might want to play a heavier bass line, but you have to worry about singing too?
MH: Oh for sure. But most of the time, the way we try and write music, it by simplifying and making it a little more accessible. Especially being a three piece, I don’t have to be [so busy]. As long as the bass is driving and thick, I can leave the other stuff to Will, because he has magic fingers. But I know what you mean, because sometimes there is a part in my head that I want to play, but I can’t because I’m doing a lot of singing there as well.
JG: Where did the idea for short songs come about, most of your songs top out around two or three minutes.
MH: The thoughts complete at that point. We don’t have to keep dragging on.
WE: We try to cut all the bullshit out of the writing.
MH: The Beatles, they were writing two minute songs, and they were great. The Ramones as well. Why should we try for more if we can get out what we want in that timeframe.
American Sharks at Upstate Concert Hall. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
JG: You guys are on tour 200+ days a year, can you give us one hilarious story from the road?
MH: We were on tour with The Sword one time, and we were going through Albuquerque, but we weren’t playing there, so we all stayed there for the night. I don’t know if you have ever been there, but it is a crazy kind of city, there is definitely something in the air or the water. We get a hotel and all get rooms on the same floor right next to each other, and we are going to party all night. So we go to this strip club, and get kicked out. [laughs]. Well first Kyle from The Sword gets kicked out of a bar, in the beginning of the night. We were already loaded and they wouldn’t serve him and they are like “Get out of here!” So we show up and Kyle is in the streets so mad, screaming “Let me back in” and another dude from the bar is apologizing profusely because he knows he is in The Sword. So we go down to this strip club, and we are hanging out, doing strip club stuff, you know, and how does the rest of this go?
WE: We had a guy on tour, our camera guy, and I was gone at another bar when they first got to the strip club. When I showed up, there was this woman trying to stab our camera guy with her stiletto, and everybody’s holding her back and she’s screaming about money. Apparently he got one dance, and she said it was like five dance, and the bouncers are telling everyone to get out. So I acted like I wasn’t friends with any of them, and sat down at this other chair and finished my drink.
MH: So we were pretty wasted and we met all these people from Albuquerque and we all went back to our rooms on the top floor and had a raging party. All the classics that you would do if you were, say Van Halen, we did all of those things. I literally fell to the carpet at one point and passed out.
Not that anyone needs a reason to visit the great Upstate, NY in the Fall but in case you need one, The American Music Festival for the Lake takes place this weekend, Sept. 20 and 21, 2014 at Lake George. The two-day event will offer plenty of crafts, activities, food and live music from both regional and national acts.
Tickets are still available online at their site or at the gate with prices set at $ 15 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday with children under 14 free each day with an adult. There are VIP tickets available for $25 on Saturday and $20 on Sunday that offers guaranteed seats with a special viewing section. Ticket admission includes the music, block party and the arts and crafts fair.
The festival will take place at the new Charles R Wood Park in the West Brook enviro-park project on Beach Road in Lake George. The park offers 2.5 acres of festival space out of the 12.5 acre park with big plans for the rest of the area such as a playground, skate park, water feature and environmental interpretive area. The event will raise funds and awareness for S.A.V.E. (Stop Aquatic inVasives from Entering) LAKE GEORGE- a partnership which was created in hopes of removing an invasive species that is currently threatening the lake.
The rain or shine event begins at 11AM with music themes set – Saturday is rock and Sunday is country; supplying a little something for everyone. Saturday’s headliners include local big shots Wild Adriatic and rock legends Robert Randolph & The Family Band with fireworks to follow. Sunday’s main acts include Boston’s country rock band, Girls Guns and Glory with American jammers, New Riders of the Purple Sage. The schedule below includes the weekend lineup:
Setlist: So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, American Dream Plan B, Into the Great Wide Open, Forgotten Man, I Won’t Back Down, Free Fallin’, A Woman in Love (It’s Not Me), U Get Me High, Rebels, Two Gunslingers, Yer So Bad, Learning to Fly, Shadow People, I Should Have Known It, Refugee, Runnin’ Down a Dream
This fall marks one of the most sought after tours in recent memory. The incredible co-lining onslaught of Five Finger Death Punch and Volbeat has been an idea in the works for some time, with both bands finally hitting the road together after countless scheduling issues, stopping in Albany. The timing could not be better, as both bands are the premier heavy metal bands on mainstream rock radio.
Nothing More. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
Joining them on tour will be Nothing More, the fast rising heavy groove metal project out of San Antonio, Texas. Chipping away at the game with their relentless barrage of work they finally have broken out with their single, “This is the Time(Ballast)” hitting #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart in 2014. As they self proclaim with the inherent question, “Nothing more?”, they immediately answer back, “Accept nothing less.”
Hellyeah have recently dropped their most defining album to date. Blood for Blood allows the average listener to really get the best interpretation of this ‘supergroup’, and gives the die hard fan a new outlook on this incredible band. Made up of seasoned veterans of the stage Chad Gray (Mudvane), Vinnie Paul (Pantera, Damageplan), Tom Maxwell (Nothingface) and Kyle Saunders (Bloodsimple), they are poised to bring the hard hitting heavy rock to this tour.
Volbeat. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
Hailing from Denmark, Volbeat is no stranger to the United States. The three-piece continues to tear up stages all over the world, and are primed and ready to co-headline this tour in support of their most recent album, Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies. Epic riffs and catchy melodies make each show an experience, and with new second guitarist Rob Caggiano (Anthrax) will have the entire crowd banging their heads and singing along.
Five Finger Death Punch (5FDP) has been wanting to do this tour for sometime, and scheduling has always gotten in the way, as is the case with hard working bands that tour constantly. But the planets aligned and this tour can finally be a reality. 5FPD are riding high off their two releases last year, The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous Side of Hell, parts 1 and 2. The combined sales of those records made the band the highest selling rock band in America. Their live show is one of pure intesity and heavy metal chaos, and one not to be missed when it rolls into the OnCenter War Memorial Arena in Syracuse NY on Setptember 23rd. Then, on September 27th, the tour will hit the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. This, like so many other amazing shows in the Albany area, is being brought to this area thanks to the tireless efforts of Step Up Presents.
Five Finger Death Punch. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
The tour kicks off in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 16 and goes until it’s Las Vegas on October 24th. Tickets and tour dates can be found on the bands websites or through TicketMaster.
The second Annual Lockn’ Music Festival was a huge success, drawing approximately 30,000 fans to the massive Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA over September 4-7, 2014. Founders Peter Shapiro and David Frey listened to fan complaints last year to make major changes to the festival grounds, including building new stages, roads, and entrances, as well as hiring better-trained staff to handle parking, security, vending, and logistics. Music started daily around 11 am and continued until 3-4 am each night (except Sunday).
Thursday
The music kicked off promptly at 4 pm with the No BS! Brass Band from Richmond, who treated the first fans to horn-loaded renditions of popular favorites by Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin, including a fiery version of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean” with a “Black Dog” riff at the end, ending with a festive “Thriller”.
The Revivalists, from New Orleans, started on the Oak stage, hosting one of the first sit-ins of the weekend from Lettuce’s guitarist Eric Krasno. They covered the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” with rocking soul that amped up the sweaty crowd, as lead vocalist David Shaw jumped off the stage to sing in the crowd.
New York’s own Lettuce brought their extreme funk to Lockn’ with fast-paced tunes that set the groove for the night. One of the highlights was Alecia Chakour sitting in on vocals for “Do It Like You Do” from their latest album, Fly, with a swanky melody, smooth bass line, and sensual flair thanks to Chakour. She also dedicated “The Sun” to her friend, Brian Farmer, who was Warren Haynes’ guitar tech and recently passed this year. Lettuce broke out fierce classics like “Lettsanity” and “Last Suppit” along with one of their newer songs, “Phyllis”, and closed the set with “By Any Shmeeans Necessary”, joined by the No BS! Brass band.
Just as the sun began to set and cool off festivalgoers, back-to-back sets by Umphrey’s McGee andThe String Cheese Incidentheated things up. Umphrey’s McGee executed their first set with precision and purpose as the 6 piece band rocked the stage with triumphant sound. String Cheese immediately followed Umphrey’s on the adjacent stage with a set of crowd-pleasing originals like “So Far From Home” and “Can’t Stop Now”. Umphrey’s returned with a solid “Wappy Sprayberry”, and a fresh song off their newest album, Similar Skin, “Cut the Cable”. Flexing their jam-band prowess, Umphrey’s tore into a half-hour version of “Puppet String > Higgins”, and closed with a rousing rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”.
SCI ended the night on the main stage with a tribute set to Kool and The Gang, joined by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and JT Taylor (a founding member of Kool and The Gang). There was no fighting the dancing bug when a trio of backup singers joined in, where everyone on stage showed off their dance moves. The old school disco funk had the crowd singing along to “Ladies Night” and “Get Down on it”, with a wild “Celebration” encore.
A new stage conveniently situated on the walk back to the campsites, the Relix Shakedown Stage, hosted late-night sets all weekend. Following the funk theme, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk packed the grassy amphitheater for an explosive dance party in a field framed by a colorful line of trees. Playing crowd favorites “Everybody Want Sum” and “Put It In the Dumpsta”, Dumpstaphunk was joined on stage by the Steel Town Horns for “I Know You Know” and “I Wish You Would”, closing the night with “Raise the House”.
Friday morning brought blue skies and a hot sun making most festivalgoers crawl out of their tent just in time for Keller Williams‘s Grateful Grass set on the Acoustic Triangle Stage at 11am. His 5-piece all string band included mandolinist Jeff Austin from Yonder Mountain String Band, fiddler Jason Carter from Del McCoury Band, Keith Moseley the bassist from The String Cheese Incident, Ray Starling, and the man himself, Keller Williams, who altogether drew a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. The foot-tapping, southern swing style set was greatly appreciated by the audience and musicians, as Williams continuously thanked everyone for the chance to perform some of his favorite Dead songs. Walking out of the shaded forest area to the top of the hill, guests had an amazing view of the festival grounds and colorful tents, backed by the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains.
NY’s instrumental progressive rock band, Tauk, opened the main stage with an insane breakdown of The Beatles’ “She’s So Heavy”. Tauk kept fans cool with fluid segues and refreshing grooves, which have appeared on Sirius/XM JamOn. When asked about plans for fall tour, bassist Charles Dolan beamed that they have shows booked until January, with a Halloween gig being announced soon.
Friday began steamy, as the 6 piece bluegrass plucking madness of Cabinet took the stage, followed by Del McCoury Band, who dressed in their finest suits to play harmonious and authentic folk tunes. Drive By Truckers brought a classic rock ‘n’ roll sound with the help from four screaming guitars and simple lyrics. Their “Grand Canyon” set closer sent layers of ringing guitar riffs echoing across the field.
The String Cheese Incident returned to the main stage for a second night of two sets, much to the delight of fans. This Colorado band rarely tours the East Coast, making their appearance at Lockn’ even more special. The set was light and breezy with caribbean vibes that drove the crowd wild. The set took a turn towards electrified bluegrass when Sam Bush joined in on fiddle for one of their more popular new songs, “Colorado Bluebird Sky.”
A last-minute addition to this year’s lineup was Bill Kreutzmann’s Locknstep Allstars, stepping up to fill the gap left when Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir cancelled his appearance. The Allstars included keyboardist Aron Magner from Disco Biscuits, guitarist Tom Hamilton from American Babies & Brothers Past, ace guitarist Steve Kimock and the legendary bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band. The musicians shared intense chemistry, gliding through the set of Dead classics, with sit-ins by Keller Williams for “Bird Song” and Taj Mahal for “Further on Down The Road.” Kreutzmann’s set closed with “Franklin’s Tower”, a Dead cover played later by Phil Lesh and Friends (one of many “cover collisions” throughout the weekend).
The last main stage act wasPhil Lesh, Grateful Dead bassist and founder, along with his Friends, drummer Joe Russo (Furthur), keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield, and guitarist Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, Allman Brothers) for a two hour set of improvisational spacey jams. They kicked off the party with a festive “China Cat Sunflower”. It was refreshing to hear other band’s covers such as Traffic’s “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” and Cream’s “Sunshine of your Love”. Deadheads rejoiced to hear familiar favorites such as “Shakedown Street” and a lengthy “Unbroken Chain”, a dark and mysterious “Mountains of the Moon” and a furious “The Other One”, followed by Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy”. Curiously, Phil Lesh and Friends closed with “Franklin’s Tower”, which was also played earlier by Bill Kreutzmann’s Locknstep Allstars.
The warm summer night was capped off with a beautiful acoustic Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi set on the Triangle Stage, and Chris Robinson Brotherhood on the Relix Shakedown Stage, who performed one Black Crowes cover, “Tornado”, and mostly originals, such as “Shore Power”, from their new album, Phosphorescent Harvest, along with a smokin’ version of “Never Been to Spain” (by Hoyt Axton). Chris Robinson closed the evening with an intense version of Slim Harpo’s “Got Love If You Want It.”
Saturday brought blazing sunshine and high humidity for Lockn’ fans, eager for two more days of incredible music. It was so hot that even the speakers were sweating. The steamy afternoon started on the Oak Stage with the bluegrass expertise of Larry Keel & Sam Bush, joined by Larry’s wife Jenny Keel on upright bass. The music shifted to upbeat rock, as Ween guitarist Aaron Freeman (aka “Gene Ween”) took the Ridge Stage, playing a new song (as of yet untitled), starting off with the crowd scratching their heads. He rocked through “All the Way to China”, and “Covert Discretion”, the latter a song about saving himself from his chemical dependency. He played most of the songs off of his new album, Freeman, which are very philosophical stories of his life and the battles with various influences of fame.
Bluesy guitar virtuoso, Gary Clark, Jr. brought out-of-sight guitar licks and powerful vocals to the Oak Stage in the early afternoon, as the heat took over while fans sought or made any shade possible. Clark opened with “Catfish Blues” (Robert Petway) and “Ain’t Messin’ ‘Round”, and as his guitar playing warmed up, so did the crowd, but the cold local craft beer helped dull the heat. Clark played an hour and a half with mostly originals, including “Don’t Owe You a Thing”, a fuzz-guitar finger-picking blues ballad, B.B.King’s “3 O’Clock Blues” and the sultry “Bright Lights”.
Tedeschi Trucks Band proved to be one of the best acts of the weekend, with adoring affection for each other that speaks through their music. The crowd cheered with all the variety from soul, blues, and southern rock that was full of heart. They played blues classics such as “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” (by Hambone Willie Newbern), “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” (Willie Johnson), a rousing version of Derek and the Domino’s “Keep on Growing”, and a beautiful version of “Bound for Glory”, which was dedicated to the late Brian Farmer. In a 10+ minute long “Misunderstood”, Derek showed off his deft slide guitar, moving to “Bound for Glory”, graced by Susan’s angelic vocals and soulful guitar, along with intense Hammond riffing by Kofi Burbridge.
Wilco opened with their 2001 classic, “War on War”, from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. During Wilco’s set, a passing sun shower provided a brief relief from the summer heat, as well as a bright double rainbow across the horizon. Frontman Jeff Tweedy cracked jokes about the weather, quipping “don’t rainbows suck?” during “I’m the Man Who Loves You”, then teased “Let it Go” from the film Frozen. As they dove into some serious jamming, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen smashed his keys with a pillow. Guitar duels ensued between Nels Cline and Pat Sansone, with rhythmic backing by bassist John Stirratt and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco played other favorites, “Handshake Drugs”, “California Stars” and “Kingpin”, closing their set with “A Shot in the Arm”.
Phil Lesh and Friends kicked off Saturday night with a slew of segued songs, starting with a killer “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad” and ending with a beautiful “Bird Song”. Mingled into the line was a somber “Wharf Rat”, along with a picturesque “Eyes of the World” and a psychedelically-tinged “Caution”, augmented with great walking bass lines by Lesh and lovely organ fills by Medeski. “Dark Star” was enhanced by the soulful vocals of Warren Haynes. During the Beatles’ “She Said, She Said”, Phil & Friends’ set was cut short due to a nearby lightning storm, which prompted Lockn’ authorities to order an orderly evacuation of the concert field.
‘You can’t have a Panic show without a little panic’, as a few fans commented while the skies grew dark over the fans rushing to their campsites. The rain delay was lifted after an hour, with Widespread Panic starting on time. Steve Winwood sat in for strong vocals that were as cool as the fresh air after the rain. “Can’t Find My Way Home” went into dark jam territory as Winwood added a touch of the blues. Sax man Randall Bramblett joined alongside Steve and Widespread for “The Ballad of John and Yoko” through nearly the end of the set. Winwood played the best version of “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”, which was also covered by Phil the night before. Winwood’s powerful organ solo brought recognizable delight for the set closer, “Gimme Some Lovin’.”
One of the biggest acts of the weekend was the main stage closer of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The legendary rock group opened with the iconic “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” (The Byrds), blasting through top hits “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Free Fallin’” and “Yer So Bad”, with Petty on acoustic. His set finished with a rocking “Refugee” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream”. Petty encored with “You Wreck Me” and a sizzling “American Girl”. The familiar in-your-face rock had stretched out jams, and was much better live. Tom Petty is like hanging out with old friends, making jokes about music and poor memories of the past.
Late-night Saturday started up the hill on the Triangle Stage, for a rare appearance of Hot Tuna Acoustic, with founders Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady on guitar and bass, and Barry Mitterhoff on mandolin. For his 17th birthday, Jorma’s son Zach joined Hot Tuna on stage to play guitar during their opener, “Been So Long”. Hot Tuna did a number of classic covers by Reverend Gary Davis, such as “I Am the Light of this World”, with Jorma’s incredible fingerpicking and Jack’s virtuoso walking bass thunder, which really took off at the last half of “Hesitation Blues” and the lively “Keep On Truckin’” encore, as well as sprinkled throughout their set, along with Barry’s tasteful mandolin picking and occasional audience support on the choruses.
Late-night closers and the real “break-out” band for Lockn’ was Bustle In Your Hedgerow, who completely burned up the hillside at the Relix Shakedown Stage with passionate instrumental versions of Led Zeppelin songs, bringing a fresh intensity to these classic rock anthems. Led by the multifaceted Marco Benevento (with his army of keyboards and circuit-benders), Dave Dreiwitz of Ween on bass (a modern-day John Paul Jones), Scott Metzger (of Particle & Rana) on guitar (shredding Jimmy Page licks with aplomb), and the ever-limber Joe Russo (Furthur) on drums, pounded out Bonham beats to the responsive crowd. Bustle gained many new fans at Lockn’ with incredible renditions of “For Your Life”, which went into a dark and mysterious “No Quarter”, as Marco unleashed alien sounds from his vast array of keyboards and effects, with stratospheric keyboard solos.
Few people were sleeping, even at the campsites, but everyone said how much they loved listening to Bustle. A Native American tribal dance circle evolved around the sole campfire, and fans slowly soaked in the Bustle set as the three days of music, camping and walking started to sink in.
Sunday
Sunday started out cool and mellow, with a welcome cloud cover to thwart the blazing late summer sun. Keller Williams played his Grateful Gospel set on the Early Triangle Stage at 11 am, with classics like “Ripple” done with a bluegrass feel, assisted by a skilled gospel vocal troupe. Keller then went into a light and airy version of the Dead’s “Eyes of the World”, where fans didn’t mind another ‘cover collision’, as it was fresh and tastily enhanced by soothing vocals and guitar work. Hailing from Charlottesville, Erin and the Wildfire opened the main stage at noon to a few early risers, but more fans arose from their camps to flood the concert grounds for SOJA, who brought a large local following and fired up the crowd.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals kicked the afternoon into overdrive, with straight-ahead power rock anthems like “Ah Mary”, “Low Road”, and “Sweet Hands”. “Nothing but the Water” went into part of Sly’s “I Want to Take You Higher” and ended with an eerie”White Rabbit”. Potter dedicated their encore to the memory of Brian Farmer with a sorrowful “I Shall Be Released”, with Grace taking the helm of the B3 and belting out vocals that echoed off the hills. GP&N ended their set and completed the tribute with The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends”, propelled by Grace’s blasting organ & vocals.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Willie Nelson treated long-time fans to straight-ahead versions of many classics like “Crazy”, “You Were Always On My Mind” and “Georgia”, playing almost 30 songs in an hour and a half. He joked throughout, making fun of the hard road life and introducing songs like “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” with related stories to provide context. Wilco had another memorable set, with “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”, “Hesitating Beauty” and “Hoodoo Voodoo”, finishing with “Outtasite (Outta Mind)”. Widespread Panic also played a great closing set on Sunday, treating fans to Neil Young’s “Vampire Blues”, where Randall Bramblett again joined the band, this time on harmonica. They closed with a funky version of the Bill Withers classic,”Use Me”, with Susan Tedeschi joining on guitar and vocals, and Bramblett on sax.
The Allman Brothers Band performed Live at the Fillmore East, kicking off with “Statesboro Blues” (Blind Willie McTell) and “Done Somebody Wrong” (Elmore James), and a sweet & smooth version of “Stormy Monday” (T-Bone Walker) with soulful vocals by Gregg Allman, sweet slide work by Derek Trucks, and rhythm guitar by Warren Haynes, who took a soaring solo at the end. A few of the standouts were a nearly 15-minute “Whipping Post”, with ridiculous slide and guitar solo trades between Derek and Warren, and a lengthy “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”. The Allmans closed out the set with “Blue Sky” > “Mountain Jam”, ending with “Little Martha” and an encore of “Mountain Jam Reprise” to close the main stage, while group and album cover photos of the Allman Brothers of yore graced the audience, who cheered to thank the Allman Brothers for a lifetime of music, reflecting on the band who will soon retire.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps0K3SFMS-Y]
See You Next Year
Entry into the festival was far smoother this year due to skillful planning, as well as better layout due to the purchase of adjacent land so all the campsites could be closer. The concert fairgrounds and camping areas were completely redesigned, with new stage locations and new roads built to handle more fans. VIP and Super VIP had larger camping and concert field space, more bathrooms and showers than last year.
Moving the late-night Triangle Stage to the nearby ridge made it less than a 20 minute walk from the main stage field (versus a long 45-minute walk last year). VIP facilities were larger and cleaner this year, under constant maintenance until after midnight. Patrons enjoyed more food choices, more fresh water taps, colder beer, and better use of space, as compared to 2013.
There was a temporary shortage of porta-johns, but more were promptly delivered the next day. There were complaints of minor thefts of tapestries, coolers, and other personal items, but in general the fans were well-behaved and all the major areas were kept safe and sound. The crowd was well-behaved, withstanding the blistering sun with umbrellas, wide hats, shade tents, and water mist guns. In spite of a cancellation by one of the major headliners (Bob Weir and Ratdog, which also cancelled a Furthur reunion), other musicians stepped up to the plate to fill the open main stage slots (namely Bill Kreutzman and Phil Lesh with their respective super-groups).
One of the newest additions to this year’s activities was the on-site biking program. Fans were encouraged to bring their bikes, or could rent one, courtesy of Snowshoe Mountain Bike Park. Oak Ridge Farm has over 30 miles of trails to explore with guided tours from the Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club. Because of the beautiful weather, bikers could be seen pedaling at all hours of the weekend. Disc golf, yoga, and swimming hole trips, cultural awareness and crafts were also some of many activities that Lockn’ provided to patrons.
In spite of threats by the ABC to shut down Lockn’s liquor license, county and state police reported only minor incidents, and Lockn’ ran very smoothly, especially considering the amount of fans and crew this year. Thanks to careful planning, and expenditures on key infrastructure like new staging, camping, electricity, and roads, Lockn’ organizers seek to improve the area further, and bring more business into Nelson County next year. Although The Allman Brothers are retiring, we can hope to see many of the headliners return next year.
Grunge bands aren’t the only performers from the ’90s making a comeback. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, a Hip-Hop act made famous in 1996 with their #1 single, “Tha Crossroads” will be at the brand new Charles R Wood Festival Space in Lake George on Friday, Sept. 19.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony has sold over 40 million records worldwide and collaborated with widely popular artists including Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, 2Pac, and the Notorious B.I.G..
With a new album in the works, the group has been gearing up for a resurgence. They recently made appearances at the BET Awards and the Beats Grammy Party with Eminem and Dr. Dre, and have participated in several festivals. Upstate fans can expect to hear the group’s big hits including “Thuggish Ruggish Bone”, “1st of Tha Month”, “Tha Crossroads”, “Notorious Thugs”, and more.
Saratoga’s DAO JONES and local phenom, DJ Playground will also be performing.
Tickets are available online or from 42 Degrees located at 23 Park St. Glens Falls, NY. $25 (advance; $30 gate) for general admission. $40 (advance; $45 gate) gets you VIP access to an “up front” tented area (with a private beer and wine vendor). An additional $80 gets you to the Meet~n~Greet.
The event is rain or shine and those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Brought to you by Improv Records and Kamp David Productions, who remind fans that blankets are welcome, but coolers, animals and bad attitudes are not.
Phish has played for the last four years at Madison Square Garden in New York City for a New Year’s Eve show. But this year, EDM legends Skrillex and Diplo will be taking the stage this time around, both doing their own sets.
More guests will be revealed soon.
Tickets for Skrillex and Diplo’s NYE gala go on sale to the general public this Friday, September 19 at noon ET via Ticketmaster. American Express Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, September 16 at 10 a.m. ET.
