Several weeks ago I had the chance to review six songs off Amanda Rogers’ newest album WILD. The EP was a solid set that previewed the direction Rogers is taking with the album, which dips its toes in all sorts of musical genres. Rogers draws on some widespread influences from country to pop to piano ballads, all of which help keep her work undefined in any broader musical classification. The first half features singles that stand well on their own, while the second half really settles in, flowing agreeably between tunes.
One of the best songs off the album is a piano pop gem “Welcome To The Show.” With a really distinct and pleasing tone, the piano plays an upbeat rhythm that will have you hooked—a great way to start off. The drums pick the song up into a groove when they come in on the chorus and the carefree piano solo following after creates an open and unencumbered space of some feel-good music. Free and easy whistling throughout brings you back to an outdoor summertime atmosphere, something almost all of us in the New York area are longing for right about now when spring hits. With “Welcome To The Show” leading off, Amanda Rogers anticipates a sort of driving in your car with the windows down/living in America vibe to the rest of the album.
“The American Dream” presents this American feel throughout Rogers’ music, however not in an idealized or glorified way as she addresses some national issues with lines like, “We’re overworked and we’re underpaid” and “This American dream right in front of your TV screen,” as a possible call out to those who forgot about their dreams, contented by TV. “More, More, More” adds to Rogers’ exposing of the United States corporate structure by putting down certain CEOs who make an unnecessary amount of money at the expense of others.
“Sweet Sleep” is a soft lullaby tune that’s definitely meant to be listened to under the covers at night. There’s an airy freshness in songs like “Someone Waits” and “Genes I’m Always Wearing,” both of which have a similar feel to what’s heard in “Welcome To The Show.” With “10 Years Closer” Rogers offers a gloomy side to the album with some darker style singing. Altogether WILD is a long 19-song album with Amanda Rogers’ unique voice and piano style traveling through various styles of music.
Art Garfunkel, legendary folk singer known for his part in Simon and Garfunkel, has recently returned to the stage with a select number of acoustic performances across NY.
Starting his tour this past December Garfunkel has just announced more performance dates for late spring and early summer, with three of those stops in downstate NY and the not-too distant reaches of the Capital District. Garfunkel recently performed several shows in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut between the months of March and April.
Be a part of “An intimate Evening with Art Garfunkel,” an acoustic performance with songs, anecdotes and prose at these nearby tour stops:
Coming hot off of the heals of eight great performances at The Capitol Theatre and two at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Phil Lesh and Friends have added a new show at New York City’s Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on Wednesday May 28.
For this performance Phil’s friends will be Warren Haynes, Joe Russo, John Medeski, and John Scofield. All of these amazing musicians have played with Phil in prior incarnations of the friends band over the years. This show is part of the deal that Phil Lesh made with Peter Shapiro at the beginning of the year that is letting New York City Deadheads reap the benefits with plenty of music from the 74-year-old bassist. Tickets go on sale on The Capitol Theatre’s website on Friday April 25th and Noon.
Photo Credit: Scott Harris at the Central Park Jazz and Colors Festival 2013
Based out of the extended Capital District, Formula 5 has been gaining fans from over the Upstate region and beyond with their improvisational funky jams. Familiarize yourself with Formula 5 consists of Joe Davis on guitar, Mike McDonald on keys and Bill Shattuck on bass.
Their live performances are nonstop dance parties as they combine elements of funk, jazz, rock and more to their own original music. Besides their unique sound, each show sends the crowd soaring with covers and teases from a never ending list of musicians such as Phish, Herbie Hancock, Elton John, Steve Miller Band, and Was Not Was.
Ever-changing melodies with familiar sound and catchy lyrics are enough to turn anyone into a lifelong fan. Formula 5 has performed at Upstate festivals such as Strange Creek, Backwoods Pondfest, Green Mountain Getdown, Autamation Indoor Music Festival plus many others. Don’t miss their new album Edging on Catastrophe release party Friday the 18th at Red Square in Albany with The Hornitz and Suitable Groove or Saturday the 19th at Monopole Bar in Plattsburgh with North Funktree. The boys will always be a part of this year’s Spring Revival festival May 8th-11th in Macedon, NY.
Susan Rice: You are parting ways with your bassist, Bill Shattuck. What is one of his strengths as a musician that you will miss most?
Formula 5: Well anyone that knew Bill knew that he had quite the presence, whether it be in person, on stage, or when we were writing new material. His stage presence is something that we will surely miss and his ability to completely take over or lead a jam was second to none. Bill was an extremely creative person, our friend, and has been a huge part of what we’ve developed with Formula 5.
SR: With the addition of a new band member, how does this effect your band’s formula for practices and live performances? Does each member find himself adjusting drastically or is this an easy transition?
F5: Any time you bring in a new member and especially because we are a very improvisational “jam”-type band, there will always be a significant difference in the dynamic of the band. James has a very different style and with it a different set of influences that shape his playing A large reason we were so impressed with James was with his ability to just fit into our style so quickly, it was like we had been playing with him for months and this was literally his first time playing music with us. In terms of our live connection as a band, we’ve felt that progress abnormally quickly.
SR: Formula 5 is known for their original improvisational tunes as well as some recognizable covers, especially from Phish. How has their music influenced you? Any specific shows? Do you have plans in the works for any Phish after parties during the summer tour?
F5: Phish is obviously a very big influence on us and they helped pave the way for artists in this broad genre of jam music. Our favorite part of Phish is that they span so many different styles of music and their extensive list of covers helped open our eyes to some amazing artists that came before them. The question about specific shows that have influenced us is a GREAT question, Joe would have to nod to the 12-29-97 MSG show as he felt it was some of their best playing as a group. Mike’s would have to be 6-11-94 (Red Rocks) because it was one of the early SBD bootlegs of Phish (long before the days of Live Phish and torrents) he received on cassette tape and it was some of their most polished, energetic playing or go with the Colonial Theater show from 7-12-91 with the awesome addition of the Giant Country horns. James’ favorite would be the infamous 10-31-94 Glens Falls show because he remembers his friend burning him a copy and recalls it as an “eye opener” musically. As for after parties, we will have to see…..
SR: With the release of your new album, ‘Edging on Catastrophe’ what are you hoping to achieve with new and old fans? Why that album name? I would think that you are on the edge of a great explosion of success.
F5: The album is definitely a step in the right direction, we were trying to illustrate how our songwriting has developed but we are also trying to push our music in different directions. And yes, that means there will still be a healthy amount of “jamming”, or improvisation, on the album but we have a few shorter ballad type songs that show another side of us as well.
The title “Edging on Catastrophe” specifically comes from a lyric on the second track on the album “Earthbound Tim”, to us it represents a sort of fearlessness and freedom that comes from living in the moment. This theme is represented lyrically throughout most of the album and in the overall musical layout of the album as well. We like to push the energy live and improvise as a group in the moment, which adds a lot of risk for “catastrophe” but can also create special moments of musical connection that otherwise won’t be attained.
SR: It’s almost festival season, if you had the choice to play at any festival in the United States, which
one would it be and why?
F5: Right now, I think it would have to be gathering of the vibes. It’s such an amazing festival and has been the ultimate festival in the northeast for years now. This year’s lineup is ridiculous.
SR: In efforts to help fund your latest album, you went thru Indiegogo to request contributions from fans. What was the easiest part of the process? What was the hardest?
F5: The easiest part I suppose was the setup of the actual campaign. The indiegogo service is great and they help bring some amazing independent art and music projects to life. Honestly the hardest part was “panhandling” to people who love original music. Fans may think we are just being lazy with it and asking for additional handouts to be able to play music, but when it comes down to it, there is a lot more time and money that goes into being in an original band than most people know. We know these are not the best of times economically but through our fans, friends, and family we were able to help pay for this album which has been our focus for the last 4-5 months and we can’t wait for everyone to hear the final product.
The Massry Center for the Arts played host to yet another legend of American music, bringing Chick Corea to the stage of the Picotte Recital Hall on April 11th. The venue has played host to Soulive, Chris Thile, John Medeski, B.B. King and numerous classical performances in its brief six-year history, putting the yearly calendar on par with The Egg when it comes to spectacular music in a state of the art performance space. Speaking with a Boston brogue meets Manhattan accent, Chick sounded a bit like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, passionate and thorough in his insight into the music of the evening.
On this evening, Chick Corea used but did not need the microphone to address the sold out crowd, for the venue’s acoustics allowed for his voice to echo throughout the entirety of the Hall. Coming out unannounced, Corea spoke of attending Saint Rose church while growing up in Chelsea, Massachusetts, referencing the collegiate campus of The Massry. He spoke of leaving Massachusetts for New York City, so he could be with his musical heroes, many of whom he performed the work of this evening. Opening with “It Could Happen to You”, recorded by Miles Davis, his fingers glided across the Steinway & Sons piano, followed by an introducing the crowd to Stan Getz “Desafinado” and played bossa nova on the piano.
Corea then asked the crowd, “Would you like to hear something by John Coltrane?”, and he then proceeded to play a track from Village Vanguard, off his phone, into the mic, for a solid 30 seconds, with laughs and applause from all. No one complained about this, and it lightened up the evening even more. Chick Corea was not looking for a night of serious, focused performance, but one where he interacted with the audience and kept things light. Two Bill Evans numbers followed, “Song #1” and “Very Early”, the latter a serenading waltz.
Remarking that Thelonius Monk was the “most profound jazz composer,” he treated the audience to “Pannonica,” elegant and melodic, and “Work,” plucking the internal strings for an added, deep bass sound and a highlight of the evening. Continuing with tributes to those he admired and called friends, he spoke of Stevie Wonder, who he first met in 1972/1973 at The Bitter End in New York City. Having recently discussed American standard songs, such as “My Funny Valentine,” Stevie said to him “What about new standards, like my music?” Donning a flannel shirt, Chick played “Overjoyed” and “Pastime Paradise,” which found audience members mouthing the lyrics to two classic Wonder songs.
A break from 20th century musicians brought Corea back to 19th century composer Frédéric Chopin, performing the Polish composer’s “Matzurka in A Minor, Op 17 No 4”; regardless of familiarity with the piece, all took great pleasure in this beautiful classical selection. Corea then took a step back, raised his hands to the piano in thanks and took a short break to allow the piano to be briefly tuned. He strolled back out to the stage 15 minutes later, unannounced, and casually waited for the audience, even taking a moment to answer a pronunciation question on Monk’s “Epistrophy”. The final cover of the night was the late Paco de Lucia’s “The Yellow Numbus”, with each hand playing two distinct melodies, intertwining the Spanish influence of the late de Lucia along the journey.
“I have an idea,” said Corea. He wanted to create portraits, also the title of his latest double album, chock full of solo performances. He invited audience members who were interested to come down and have a seat next to the piano while he improvised their ‘portrait’, much as a visual artist might do, but in this case, his medium was the piano. Four audience members were given a rare treat – a personal composition based on nothing more than their name and appearance.
Portrait #1 was for Nancy, a Kindergarten teacher, a lovely number that seemed to combine the theme to ‘Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” and springtime. Portrait #2 for Richard in his off-white suit had a Billy Joel mid-70s vibe. Portrait #3 for Lorena ‘from the mountains’ (Inlet, NY), sounded like Glassworks #4 and was truly gorgeous. The fourth and final portrait was for an audience member most were familiar with, Jim Kambrich from WNYT, whose Portrait started out in the vein of Walt Disney’s The Old Mill(1937), with a fresh, light and airy ending.
Chick Corea then spent the last 10-15 minutes performing a variety of his “Children’s Songs”, musical portraits of the spirit of children. Playful, energetic, and brief – these too can be found on his double album Portraits. His hands jumped over one another, a game of leapfrog on the piano, and when they weren’t doing that, they were once again playing inside the piano, creating at times a harp sound, at others that of a harpsichord, with different plucks along the inner body of the piano.
Some of Corea’s “Children’s Songs” could compared to The Grateful Dead’s “Space”, with added piano accompaniment. Ending with a flourish and an audience cheering for more, Chick quietly left the stage, the audience left to catch their collective breathes and reflect on the masterful performance they had just witnessed.
Setlist: It Could Happen to You, Desafinado, Song #1, Very Early, Pannonica, Work, Overjoyed, Pastime Paradise, Matzurka in A Minor, Op 17 No 4^, The Yellow Nimbus, Portrait #1, Portrait #2, Portrait #3, Portrait #4, Children’s Songs (multiple)
Rock N Roll Resort v4 was a dream come true for those looking to start the festival season of 2014 on the right note. Wicked Cool Productions and Magic Hat presented the fourth annual music and arts festival hosted at the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa in the heart of the Catskills in Kerhonkson, NY on April 4th-6th. Given the history of the resort, it was the ideal location to host such a grand weekend party after the long winter and cabin fever that Upstate had endured. With over 60 musical acts, 4 stages, an indoor shakedown scene, the Overlook Art Gallery, themed costume nights, plus all the extra activities, dreams came true for guests at Rock N Roll Resort v4: The Dream Machine.
Friday night’s festivities began with a set from Scooter Dude in one of the more ornate and lavish rooms that Hudson Valley Hotel and Spa offered, the Grand Ballroom. Located right off the main lobby and in the heart of all the action, so to speak, this carpeted dance room saw luxurious couches lining the outside of it for comfort and an incredible chandelier that aided everyone’s visual enjoyment. Every band and/or lighting director took turns all weekend using this crystal centerpiece to their benefit by bouncing and reflecting lights off of it, much to the delight of all in attendance. This was definitely one of the more aesthetically pleasing constants of the weekend which never failed to disappoint. Space Carnival took over the Grand Ballroom for a set filled with their spacey disco jams that included a killer Talking Heads’ “Cities” that sent the crowd shooting through the room almost as fast as the laser beams. The Oneonta quartet took their performance with serious precision as they lopped melodies and held a fast consistent dance tempo that was hard to orbit out of.
Guitar phenom Bobby Paltauf was joined by Jen Durkin on the Acoustic Stage which was located literally right in the center of the lobby, so it was by far the most accessible of all the stages. Their hour long set gave the young guitarist a chance to make his name known and featured a fun take on the Keller Williams classic hit “Best Feeling”. This was a pleasant intro for one of the more pure rock n roll acts of the weekend, The Broadcast. The played in one of the two larger rooms of the weekend, the Empire Lounge, which had all the look and feel of a swank cocktail lounge from the 70s. While the room may have been a little sparse due to late arriving festival goers, the Asheville, North Carolina rock outfit delighted those who had checked in already with their energetic set of primal rock. The icing on the cake was a phenomenal version of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” which could have easily served as the motto for what this group delivered all weekend. With a lot of electronica and funk outfits on the bill, their brand of pure rock, with an impressive female lead singer named Caitlin Krisko, was quite the breath of fresh air.
It was a short walk from the Empire Lounge to the adjacent Manhattan Theater that housed many of the larger acts of the weekend. The first of these was Upstate New York’s own Conehead Buddha. The resurgent rock, funk, reggae and ska act delivered a little bit of all of this and then some to the patrons that were in attendance early. With a nice mix of uptempo originals and cover songs, Conehead Buddha did a fantastic job of turning a fairly empty and lifeless room into one full of energy and anticipation for the rest of the weekend. The Alchemystics turned the Empire Lounge into a tropical storm of smooth reggae and hip hop that preached fierce words of spreading love and hope. The soulful groove was contagious as the simple and exotic percussion kept bodies moving with lyrics that inspired a revolution on the dance floor. The vocal harmonies were uplifting with echoes of a timeless message but with a modern day aura.
BRYAC Funk Allstars is a collaboration of all things funk from Connecticut with members from Kung Fu and Deep Banana Blackout. A classic big band sound like an Earth, Wind and Fire funk, but with way more edgy rock. The band’s everlasting notes and chords kept the peaks high as the brass section kept in triumphant unison. One of the highlights of the set was the head banging, thrash about jam of “Red Hot Mama” with Jen Durkin wailing on vocals and tambourine. Peter Prince & the Trama Unit was a five-piece, pure rock show mixed with funk and a great female sit in from Shannon Lynch of Conehead Buddha on Saxophone for “Friends” for an added jazzy blast. Peter Prince wailed bluesy vocals as Johnny Trama joined him for continuous guitar shredded. DJ Honeycomb sweetened the night in the Grand Ballroom with sit-ins by Friendship from The Hornitz and fellow beat boxer, Frido Lays, putting a fresh spin on the night with their fast spitting beats.
Dumpstaphunk then took over the reigns of the Manhattan Theater which was now much more full of revelers. This act has become a staple on the festival circuit and their vibrant, energetic blend of rock and funk always seems to draw a crowd. Friday night was no different as the energy and mood of the venue continued to soar with each new number played by this supergroup of sorts. Drummer Nikki Glaspie really stood out in this performance (a feat unto itself) which was punctuated with a spellbinding “Drum solo -> Scat solo -> Immigrant Song” cover. Tauk was the set of the night with their face melting rock jams that took everyone by surprise in the Empire Lounge. The quartet from Brooklyn has a consistent rhythm in their live performances as they fuse progressive rock with experimental improvisation creating a unique genre of their own. Tauk’s instrumental rendition of The Beatle’s “I Want You (She’s so Heavy)” is one for the ages as they break it down to hypnotize audiences with pauses and driving climaxes.
Saturday
Saturday was a fresh start for festival goers to wake up to a catered breakfast, enjoy the spa amenities and partake in the numerous activities being hosted such as the Disc Golf Tournament, The Great American Pin off and the Magnificent Mini-Golf Tournament. The afternoon saw bands like Eggy, a galactic rock band, and The Hornitz, a beatboxing funky dance duo, kicking things off to start the day before 7 Below, an up and coming Phish cover band, did their thing in the first set in the Manhattan Theater of the day. The energy really kicked up with SOLARiS and their set in the Grand Ballroom. Taking full advantage of all the sights and sounds this room had to offer, this rising act that was formed in Binghamton, NY was really one of the jewels of the weekend. Producing way more energy and sound than any normal three piece band, this group has the look and feel of established electronica acts like The New Deal and Conspirator. They had everyone bouncing around the room to their infectious sound, including one guy who was compelled to do multiple back flips on the dance floor. This is truly an Upstate band that should not be missed.
Their set flowed quite nicely into that of another Upstate New York act, Roots of Creation. These guys have been delivering their brand of ska-infused rock for many years now and it was nice to see them get a respectable time slot for their performance which featured a nice take on the Grateful Dead classic “Row Jimmy” among other songs. Following them in the Empire Lounge was another great New York band that’s fairly new to the scene as a band, but with musicians who have been around the block a little. Mister F is composed of members of the now defunct Timbre Coup and Capital Zen and they recently released their first album entitled The F Stands Four. Rock and Roll Resort was an ideal venue for this band to start having their sound heard by the masses. They play a truly infectious brand of electronic-based rock that had the entire room dancing in unison. With stellar performances of songs like “Vocoder” and “This One Goes to 11”, there is no doubt this performance turned some heads and garnered the group a few new fans.
One of the other weekend headliners, Everyone Orchestra, then took center stage for the night. Featuring prominent names like Steve Kimock, Reed Mathis, Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick, this traveling ensemble delighted everyone with a special blend of jams, improv and soaring vocals courtesy of Hartswick and Jen Durkin who resurfaced during their set. EO delivered the soaring jams and quirky improv along with the audience participation for which they’ve become so well known.
Business Casual Disco kept the party going in the Ballroom with their DJ remixes of classic and today’s hits with danceable beats and breakdowns. The crowd pleasers were The Jackson 5’s “ABC ” and Daft Punk’s “Doin it Right.” But for a completely different direction, Cabinet provided a Bluegrass Americana groove that is a classic staple to the historic Catskills and the rest of Upstate New York. The Empire Lounge was filled with string plucking and picking, as bows glided with rising vocal harmonies. Jordan Simms had quite the rowdy crowd singalong in the Acoustic Stage area as he played a late night set with Nephrok, Bobby Paltauf and Jen Durkin for the Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and Joe Cocker’s “Feelin Alright.”
The last major act of the evening was a break from all the other groups that did such an exemplary job of representing both New York and the East Coast. The Motet flew out from Colorado and delivered a true dance party. This most recent incarnation of the band has been touring nationally the last few years and includes elements of funk, afrobeat and disco among others that had the entire Manhattan Theater eating it up. This represented perhaps the peak of the weekend in terms of intensity and crowd population. Seemingly everyone in the hotel was present for both of the band’s sets this evening. The highly anticipated act delivered a rousing performance that surely had some folks hoping they’ll be on other bills later this summer.
Sunday
With the Sunday theme being “Pajama Party”, everyone was dressed with bathrobes and slippers, ready to relax and enjoy the last day of Rock n Roll Resort. The Akashic Record, the five-piece funk machine from Boston woke up the crowd with jazzy, free flowing tunes with solid Hammond organ jams thanks to Beau Sasser and soul charging trombone from Brian Thomas. Sasser stayed on to take the reins for the later set of Beau Sasser Trio who had members of Turkuaz join in for a cover of Frank Zappa’s “Stinkfoot.” The Grand Ballroom was filled with sweet salvation pouring from the vintage organ all day long and out into the glorious sunshine for festival goers to enjoy the fresh air. The Kingsof Belmont returned to the Empire Lounge in the morning after having their raging first set of the weekend at 4:30am on Saturday. Keeping with the easy flow of Sunday, they covered Pink Floyd’s “Time” and “Breath” for a psychedelic groove.
One of the great things about festivals, no matter the type, is a band that’s somewhat off the radar beforehand and then blows the house down and makes one of the biggest impressions of the weekend. Turkuaz filled the role of pleasant surprise this weekend and did it in a most impressive manner. This nine-piece band featured a blaring horn section, two guitarists, backup female singers, along with a sterling rhythm section that all worked in perfect harmony with each other from start to finish. It was loud, it was energetic, and it was in your face rock music that blew the roof off of the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa. A first set cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” was played with precision and was very well received by the crowd, which had dissipated a lot from yesterday as many festival goers chose to leave early on Sunday. Although the numbers may have been fewer, the energy of those still remaining and dancing was palpable. This is all thanks to Turkuaz, a must see act that’s surely coming to festival near you in the future.
To cap off a fun and full weekend of music, the Rock n Roll Resort Superjam featured a constant revolving door of talented artists. From Beau Sasser to Nephrok himself, the Superjam was a fun and spirited way to cap off the festival. The couches in the Grand Ballroom may have gotten a little more use at this part of the weekend due to tired legs and bodies, but there was still a lot of good music to experience before calling it quits. The crowd did eventually thin out even more and as traces of sunlight began to make themselves visible, it was clear to all that this massively successful festival was at its end point and the time to start planning for next year’s bash was now underway.
Buffalo, New York’s groove rock champions Aqueous, are announcing an extensive 2014 late spring and summer tour. The band will visit over a dozen festivals and make their first trips into Indiana and Georgia. Late spring includes a 4 show run with Dopapod, a 2 night headlining weekend at Rochester NY’s Spring Revival festival, and a second visit to Summer Camp. June and July feature an extended run down the coast with multiple dates in Virginia and North Carolina.
More festival announcements are coming soon!
Tour Dates
4/24 – Putnam Den :: Saratoga Springs, NY **
4/25 – Westcott Theater :: Syracuse, NY **
4/26 – The Waiting Room :: Buffalo, NY **
5/3 – Music Hall of Williamsburg :: Brooklyn, NY **
5/4 – Tyrone Farm :: Pomfret Center, CT ^
5/9 & 5/10 – Spring Revival festival :: Macedon, NY
5/14 – Thunderbird Cafe :: Pittsburgh, PA ^
5/15 – Tribal Connection Festival :: Bellefontaine, OH
5/16 – Cosmo’s :: Covington, KY ^
5/17 – The Mousetrap :: Indianapolis, IN ^
5/22 – Beachland Tavern :: Cleveland, OH “
5/25 & 5/26 – Summer Camp Music Festival :: Chillicothe, IL
5/28 – 8×10 :: Baltimore, MD *
5/29 – The Hot Spot :: Waynesboro, VA
5/30 – Domefest :: Tera Alta, WV
6/1 – Fam Jamily Music Festival :: Vernon, NJ
6/14 – Disc Jam Music Festival :: Brimfield, MA
6/21 – Buffalove Festival ::Silver Creek, NY
6/24 – The Camel :: Richmond, VA
6/25 – One Stop :: Asheville, NC
6/26 – Nowhere Bar :: Athens, GA
6/27 – Peasants Pub :: Greenville, NC
6/28 – The Big What? :: Mebane, NC
7/1 – Elmwood Village :: Buffalo, NY
7/4 – Under the Stars Festival :: Terra Alta, WV
7/5 – Bungalow Live :: Chantilly, VA ^^
7/8 – The Blind Tiger :: Greensboro, NC
7/9 – Martins :: Roanoke, VA
7/10 – Doc Taylor’s :: Virginia Beach, VA
7/11 – Pasture Palooza :: Berryville, VA
7/12 – Paradise Music Festival :: Hustonville, KY
7/13 – Luna Lights Music Festival :: Barto, PA
7/15 – V Pub :: Canandaigua, NY (Phish after party)
7/23 – Larkin Square :: Buffalo, NY
7/24 – The Montage :: Rochester, NY
7/25 – Gathering at Chaffee Festival :: Girard, PA
Tesseract will make an appearance at The Chance in Poughkeepsie on Sunday, April 27th. This tour, named after their latest album, Altered State, will Ashe O’Hara on vocals, who delivered a critically acclaimed vocal debut for the album.
Metal veterans Intronaut will open the concert with Cloudkicker, which will be a first time experience for fans, as this is the first time Cloudkicker will make an onstage appearance featuring members of Intronaut to fill out their parts.
The lineup for the 2014 and eighth annual Backwoods Pondfest in Peru, NY was announced Sunday night via Facebook.
All, that is, except for the headliner.
The list of acts is heavily laden with Upstate New York talent – Twiddle, Spiritual Rez, Turquaz, Cabinet, Alan Evans Trio, The Garcia Project, Lucid, The Manhattan Project, Hot Day at the Zoo, Sophistafunk, Aqueous, The Blind Owl Band, Conehead Buddha, Capital Zen, Big Daddy Love, Big Mean Sound Machine, The Big Takeover, Mister F, GUBBILIDIS (Twiddle Duo), Formula 5, Doomfxck, and North Funk Tree.
As it has since the beginning, the festival will take place at Twin Lake Campsite on August 8th and 9th, a tossed apple from Plattsburgh; or, roughly 13 miles south of the college town.
Advanced tickets are on sale now for $70, and will continue to be sold online until August 5th. Afterwards, tickets are advertised to be sold at $85 ($5 off with a non-perishable good) at the time of the show.
Staff Photographer Bryan Lasky gives us a look at Rock n Roll Resort v4: The Dream Machine in his extensive photo gallery of the weekend. Stay tuned for a full review on Wednesday and Chris DeCotis’ photo gallery on Thursday.
On this evening, Chick Corea used but did not need the microphone to address the sold out crowd, for the venue’s acoustics allowed for his voice to echo throughout the entirety of the Hall. Coming out unannounced, Corea spoke of attending Saint Rose church while growing up in Chelsea, Massachusetts, referencing the collegiate campus of The Massry. He spoke of leaving Massachusetts for New York City, so he could be with his musical heroes, many of whom he performed the work of this evening. Opening with “It Could Happen to You”, recorded by Miles Davis, his fingers glided across the Steinway & Sons piano, followed by an introducing the crowd to Stan Getz “Desafinado” and played bossa nova on the piano.
Corea then asked the crowd, “Would you like to hear something by John Coltrane?”, and he then proceeded to play a track from Village Vanguard, off his phone, into the mic, for a solid 30 seconds, with laughs and applause from all. No one complained about this, and it lightened up the evening even more. Chick Corea was not looking for a night of serious, focused performance, but one where he interacted with the audience and kept things light. Two Bill Evans numbers followed, “Song #1” and “Very Early”, the latter a serenading waltz.
Remarking that Thelonius Monk was the “most profound jazz composer,” he treated the audience to “Pannonica,” elegant and melodic, and “Work,” plucking the internal strings for an added, deep bass sound and a highlight of the evening. Continuing with tributes to those he admired and called friends, he spoke of Stevie Wonder, who he first met in 1972/1973 at The Bitter End in New York City. Having recently discussed American standard songs, such as “My Funny Valentine,” Stevie said to him “What about new standards, like my music?” Donning a flannel shirt, Chick played “Overjoyed” and “Pastime Paradise,” which found audience members mouthing the lyrics to two classic Wonder songs.
“I have an idea,” said Corea. He wanted to create portraits, also the title of his latest double album, chock full of solo performances. He invited audience members who were interested to come down and have a seat next to the piano while he improvised their ‘portrait’, much as a visual artist might do, but in this case, his medium was the piano. Four audience members were given a rare treat – a personal composition based on nothing more than their name and appearance.
Portrait #1 was for Nancy, a Kindergarten teacher, a lovely number that seemed to combine the theme to ‘Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” and springtime. Portrait #2 for Richard in his off-white suit had a Billy Joel mid-70s vibe. Portrait #3 for Lorena ‘from the mountains’ (Inlet, NY), sounded like 
Some of Corea’s “Children’s Songs” could compared to The Grateful Dead’s “Space”, with added piano accompaniment. Ending with a flourish and an audience cheering for more, Chick quietly left the stage, the audience left to catch their collective breathes and reflect on the masterful performance they had just witnessed.
