In our 2014 Best of Upstate series, we have so far looked at the Best Albums and Best Festivals of 2014. Today we look at the music venues throughout Upstate NY. The region is blessed with incredible clubs, theatres and arena throughout the state, all bringing in a wide range of musical acts for the population living in Upstate New York, and drawing in music fans from outside our region.
Best Club
Honorable Mentions
Best Theatre
Honorable Mentions
Best Arena/Amphitheater
Honorable Mentions
According to Relix, The Trey Anastasio Band will be taking the stage at The Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday, August 17 for a the taping of a special PBS broadcasting of the series Front & Center.
This is a very small venue for the band to be playing and should be quite the show. The Brooklyn Bowl has been used as the setting for this show before. Aaron Neville was recorded there in the fall of 2012.
Tickets go on sale Friday, August 8 at 10 a.m. with a two-ticket limit per customer.
No tickets will be available at The Brooklyn Bowl box office.
This is sure to sell out in moments notice, so if you want to be at the taping, make sure to act quickly.
On Friday March 22nd and Saturday March 23rd, Soulive took to the Brooklyn Bowl stage to finish off their eight night “Bowlive” residency. The coveted residency is in its fifth year, and always brings out special guests from all over the musical spectrum. Each night features The Shady Horns, which currently consists of Ryan Zoidis (alto and tenor saxophone), James Casey (tenor saxophone) and Eric Bloom (trumpet). In addition, each night has its own special guests. Friday night featured Marco Benevento (keyboards) and Sonya Kitchell (vocals), and Saturday featured Bill Evans (saxophone) and Scott Metzger (guitar). This was just what was on the bill, but Soulive brought plenty of unannounced guests of their own.
Friday night’s show started off with Soulive sans The Shady Horns for a few burning classics, “Shaheed” and “Aladdin.” “Aladdin” is a track in which Neal Evans’ precision becomes obvious. He uses a gritty, distorted tone for this one that causes just about everybody in the audience to display their own version of the “wince-y funk face.” Soulive then brought The Shady Horns to the stage, dropped a Lettuce cover called “The Dump” and proceeded into a sultry cover of “Lenny” by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It’s always a treat when you get to hear Soulive play this cover, because it always brings out the best of Eric Krasno’s improvisation, with bends and licks that you can feel touch your soul. After this relaxed “Lenny”, Soulive brought it way up with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression.”
Marco Benevento came out for this one, and didn’t leave the stage the rest of the night. This wasn’t just any version, but a version that included the first unannounced sit-in of the night, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer. The 11 year-old guitar prodigy shredded through solos and didn’t slow the band down one bit. Krasno got the sound guy to boost him up in the mix and the kid completely stole the show. As the song came to a close, the crowd went wild and as he left the stage Alan said, “See this is why we need more instruments in schools, y’all.” Building on the high energy, Soulive brought out Felix Pastorius (son of the legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius) for a jazz standard. This version of Billy Cobham’s “Stratus” was the highlight of the night and included solos by Pastorius and Benevento.
Friday night’s second set included an all-star lineup of guests that played an all-star lineup of covers. The additional unannounced guests included Roosevelt Collier on pedal steel guitar, Oteil Burbridge on bass and Kofi Burdbridge on flute. The covers in this set were all over the genre map. The set opened with a medley of Stevie Wonder’s “Jesus Children of America” and “If You Want Me to Stay” by Sly Stone, and progressed to “Revolution” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by The Beatles. The set came to a close with “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin and then onto an encore of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by The Beatles. Friday night’s penultimate show was an amazing show full of special guests, Soulive classics, and fan-favorite covers.
Going along with the previous nights’ trend, Soulive came out alone to do a few classics, “Uncle Junior”, “Bubble” and “Brother Soul” before welcoming their guests. “Uncle Junior” is one of those fast-paced grooving songs that is perfect for getting the crowd dancing and interested in what’s to come next. Bill Evans was the first to take the stage for another Soulive original, “Cannonball”. Evans brought a heavy jazz-fusion influence to the mix with solos that were a bit more adventurous, even a bit dissonant at times. The perfect song to fit Evans’ style was the next one they played, “Nubian Lady” by Yusef Lateef. Soulive did quite a few off of their Melvin Spark’s tribute album Spark! on this magical night. Soulive brought out Maurice “Mobetta” Brown (trumpet) of Tedeschi Trucks Band to play another track from the Sparks cover album called “Povo.”
As expected, the second set brought special guests and covers galore. Sonya Kitchell came out for a sweet version of “Grandma’s Hands” which then segued into Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” with Mark Rivers on vocals. Next, Saunders Sermons (trombone) of Tedeschi Trucks Band graced the stage for “When I’m Kissin’ My Love.” The night ended in an unbelievable encore that included all the guests of the night and The London Souls. Neil Young’s “Down By The River” and “Feelin’ Alright” by Dave Mason were the last two songs played on this magnificent eight-show run.
These two nights of music contained some of the best performances I have ever seen. I will most certainly be back next year and would recommend any night of “Bowlive” residency to anybody looking to go out and see live music done right.
Last Friday, one of the most iconic music venues in Brooklyn played host to a musical homecoming of sorts. Hometown heroes Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds put their unique blend of soul, funk and rock on full display to a sold out Brooklyn Bowl. As an added bonus for their loyal and local fans, the group announced they would cover one of ten legendary rock albums in its entirety for this special show and would allow the final selection to be voted on by the public. With Led Zeppelin IV emerging as the winner after all votes were tabulated, this was guaranteed to be a noteworthy affair.
Another local product of the thriving Brooklyn music scene started things off shortly after 8 p.m. Zongo Junction, an up and coming eight-piece Afrobeat band, delivered several smooth flowing instrumental songs highlighted by some impressive percussion work and a mustachioed bassist who resembled a young and spry Frank Zappa. The opening act later brought on a female vocalist to add another element to their steady groove based music.
Then it was time for the main course in the form of Arleigh Kincheloe (Sister Sparrow) and her seven Dirty Birds which includes her brother Jackson on harmonica who complemented the group’s blaring brass section all night with a string of rousing harmonica solos. Amidst the sounds of nearby 7-10 splits and a hungry Brooklyn Bowl crowd, the group first went through a number of originals that served as a showcase for Kincheloe’s powerful singing voice that rested on top of a bed of aggressive and cohesive funk rock.
Once the originals were out of the way, a certain distinctive “Hey, Hey Momma” followed and The Birds were off and running with their ‘dirty’ take on Led Zeppelin IV. The rest of ‘Black Dog’ was played to perfection and ‘Rock and Roll’, which followed, gave the three piece horn section another chance to shine in this uptempo rocker. One of the true highlights of the show was the justice that the band did to perhaps the most well known song on the album, ‘Stairway to Heaven’. The group moved deftly though the slow, emotional beginning sections and seamlessly progressed to the frenetic finish that’s the signature of this classic number. In doing so, the group managed to mold the song into something different by spinning it with their version of soulful and heartfelt rock.
Sister Sparrow and her Dirty Birds continued to go through each track on the album and give the increasingly rabid Brooklyn Bowl crowd a new taste on some old classics. The group continued to show off their musical chops with a fun take on the ending of Paul Simon’s ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’ that was placed right in the middle of a memorable ‘Misty Mountain Hop’. With a legendary full album cover now in the books, the Zeppelin tribute carried on with ‘D’yer Mak’er’ serving as an encore of sorts before the group left the stage to a hearty standing room only ovation.
With a total set time of just over 80 minutes, there were hopes that another set of music would follow but it was not to be this night. An informal dance party of sorts soon began on the dance floor and once Sister Sparrow herself joined in, it was clear that the rock and roll portion of this evening was now done. Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds had accomplished their goal of delivering a memorable night of music that served as both a showcase of the group’s infectious big band sound and a tribute to one of the most collectively revered rock albums of all time.
One of the true up and coming bands in America is taking its act back to where it all began for them. Brooklyn’s own Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds play Friday night at the venerable Brooklyn Bowl and they have a special treat in store for those in attendance in the form of a musical cover. The powerful eight-piece, brass infused musical outfit will present their take on one of the more iconic rock albums of all time: Led Zeppelin IV. In a “thank you” of sorts, the band gave their fans the opportunity to pick their choice of the musical cover with an online poll that offered 10 different album selections.
This performance is bound to be memorable not only because of the musical content, but also due to the deep ties Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds has with Brooklyn. The group, which is the brainchild of Arleigh Kincheloe (Sister Sparrow) and her brother Jackson, honed its craft with gigs at small bars and musical residencies throughout Brooklyn. Their unique hybrid of soulful rock and infectious funk is now being met with critical acclaim nationwide. Throw in cover songs of one of the most revered groups in rock history and Friday’s performance has the potential for greatness.
Zongo Junction will be opening and doors will be open at 6 p.m. with a start time slated for 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.
In surprising news this week, it was announced that The Word will be reuniting for the first time since 2012 for a two night run in February. The Word is of course made up of John Medeski, Robert Randolph, Chris Chew, and Luther and Cody Dickinson. Unfortunately Chris will not be appearing at these two shows.
The Word’s music melds together gospel, blues, funk, and rock flawlessly together for a special evening of music you can only hear when these guys play. On February 11 the band will play at The Brooklyn Bowl and follow it up the next night at The Capitol Theatre. The Capitol Theatre show has an extra treat for everyone, as Soulive/Lettuce guitarist Eric Krasno will be joining the festivities. Tickets go on sale for The Brooklyn Bowl show on Saturday January 18 at noon, while The Capitol Theatre show will go on sale on Friday January 17 at noon. Both of these shows are the only announced dates for the supergroup and are sure to sell out quickly, so make sure to grab your tickets.
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