NYS Music 20​14

Tag: soulive

  • moe.down 15 Comes Back to the Festival’s Original Time and Place

    moe.down 15 is set for its return Labor Day Weekend  at the Snow Ridge Ski Resort in Turin, N.Y.

    After moving to a different location several years ago, the fest is finally back to the original time and place where it all began. There’s no doubt that moe. fans and live music lovers are pleased by the announcement.md2

    moe.down began at the Snow Ridge Ski Resort in 2000 with around 3,000 people in attendance and has since grown to become home to roughly 10,000 music revelers for Labor Day Weekend. More important than the time and location of the festival, is the band that started it all, moe.. The Rock/Jam quintet has had a revolving cast since their forming at the University of Buffalo in 1989, with Rob Derhak and Chuck Garvey being the only original members remaining. moe. has become a veteran and staple of the festival scene, getting their start at Gathering of the Vibes in 1998.md3

    This year’s line-up will include moe., Gogol Boredello, O.A.R., Lotus, Soulive, Les Claypool’s Due De Twang, Jerry Douglas Band, The Rich Robinson Band, Everyone Orchestra, Twiddle, Floodwood, Aqueous, The Werks, Conehead Buddha, American Babies, and Wild Adriatic. Representing the Upstate New York area is Aqueous of Buffalo, known for their Groove/Rock style, Conehead Buddha with their Latin and funk rhythms hailing from Coxsackie, Floodwood and their unforgettable String Band sound from Utica, Wild Adriatic of Saratoga Springs, and of course moe..

    The festival grounds at the Snow Ridge Ski Resort are a beautiful and well suited are for the event, with the ski slopes for seating. There are two stages on the grounds, with numerous vendors selling many different types of food and other goods. Two support groups for festivalgoers can be found; Yodeladies, a women’s support group and The Happy Hour Heroes, an AA Support group. Both being named after moe. songs. The adjacent hills are used as camping grounds, separated into Family and Sober, Quiet and Regular camping areas. A Kid’s Tent is set up during the day from 12-4pm for parents needing their young ones supervised. Snow Ridge Ski Resort is also right next to the local Steak N’ Brew for anyone wanting an actual meal at the fest.md1

    moe.down has been host to many big name headliners over the last 15 years, besides moe. themselves. Past headlining acts include Stanley Jordan Trio, Umphrey’s McGee, Slightly Stupid, The Black Keys, Cake, Redman and Method Man, Ani DiFranco, Yonder Mountain String Band, Bela Fleck, The Roots, Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood, Ziggy Marley, Keller Williams, Tea Leaf Green, Violent Femmes, Blues Traveler, Mike Gordon, Michael Franti and Spearhead, John Brown’s Body, Donna the Buffalo, Soulive, The Wailers, Dave Grissam Quartet, and Les Claypool.

    moe.down 15 will provide a nice mix of Jam, Rock, Funk, and Bluegrass for live music lovers from the Upstate area and abroad. The beautiful grounds, wholesome environment, and good music can be a perfect end of the summer getaway for any type of person. The fest starts Friday, August 29th and will end Sunday the 31st. Tickets are on sale now for $150 and may also be bought at the gate. Parking for the weekend will be an addition $10. More information can be found at the moe.down website.

    moe.down 15 Festival Playlist

    Warm yourself up for moe.down 15 with a preview playlist of this year’s preforming artists.

    Performers on the playlist include moe., Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang, O.A.R., Soulive, Lotus, Floodwood, Aqueous, Twiddle, and The Werks. Be sure to check out the upcoming moe.down 15 Festival Preview via NYS Music Music Guide.

    moe.down 15 will be held on Labor Day weekend, August 29-31, at the Snow Ridge Ski Resort in Turin, N.Y. For tickets, please visit the band’s website.

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  • Free Soulive Show at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

    SLV_0235Supergroups in music usually consist of members who are individually famous for their prior work with another band. If Soulive were to form today, you could say that they would be a funk supergroup, snatching up members from some of the top bands in the scene. That’s not the case though as this is a band that has been around since the late ’90s and is in the opposite position – they were one of the bands who laid the groundwork for funk’s recent resurgence and the groups leading that push today. The trio consists of Alan Evans on drums, Neal Evans on organ/bass keys, and Eric Krasno on guitar.

    At one point the band had been a touring force, even opening for the Rolling Stones and Dave Matthews. Their instrumental combination of funk, jazz, soul, and rock was enlivening and people were taking notice. With each of these guys though, keeping the pedal to the floor and constantly being involved in the scene has led to other projects and ventures. Neal and Eric are touring to a greater capacity with Lettuce, Eric splits that with contributing in the studio and occasionally touring with Tedeschi Trucks Band, while Alan has Playonbrother who have been making a name for themselves as of late. Alan also owns his own studio and regularly produces records for various bands. The net of it is that Soulive performances are now a rarity and shouldn’t be squandered. Given the fact that their shows don’t happen often, with the talent these guys possess, anytime they do get together, it’s usually a magical performance replete with inspiring moments of musical mastery. This Saturday, Rochester is in for a treat as Soulive is set to perform at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. If my words aren’t a big enough nudge, the show is free and is the only local tour date for the band besides a late August date in Turin when they appear at moe.down. The show kicks off at 9pm at the East Ave. & Alexander St. Stage and is one Jazz Fest act you don’t want to miss.

  • Soulive’s Bowlive V at Brooklyn Bowl

    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.

    Bowlive V

    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.

    Bowlive V

    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.