Author: Bryan Lasky

Elise Testone and Brian LaPoint and the Joints at The Hollow

Elise Testone has a voice to be reckoned with and she showed it off beautifully at The Hollow in Albany on the 17th of December. Her all-star band consisting of Todd Stoops, Eric Kalb, Jed Lingat, and Brad Williams played great funk, soul, and rock and roll behind her booming voice.

Unlike other recent shows they have done, Elise Testone stuck to playing mostly all original material. The songs were great and show that she has the “it” factor that is needed to succeed in the music industry. Only bigger and better things can be coming for her as we roll into 2016.

Opening the evening was Brian LaPoint & the Joints with set that mixed covers and originals. The Joints are always a rotating cast of Albany musicians and on this night included members of School Bus Yellow, and MONK. Brian is a great band leader and made sure each member got their moment to shine brightly in the various jams that occurred throughout the set.

December 24, 2015
Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne Bring Solid Soul Through Schenectady

The Solid Soul Tour pulled through Proctors in Schenectady this past week and it was surprising to see the show not as highly attended as one would hope. Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne were both in fine form though and played as if the Solid Soul show was a complete sellout. Both artists of course are no stranger to the stage, as Mavis has been going since the 50’s and Joan the early 90’s, but this is the first time these wonderful leading women have gone out together. The pairing is perfect as both of them at heart are blues based artists and share a love for the genre.

The Solid Soul show was about two hours long and had no set break as Joan used Mavis’s band for her set. Rick Holmstrom played some impressive guitar during both sets and was clearly in control of where the music went. He shined bright during Joan’s set on the Bill Withers song “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh” and during Mavis’s set on “Can You Get to That.” Stephen Hodges, who has toured with so many amazing artists, held down the drums with such ease all night and was complimented by Jeff Turmes on the bass, who also has an impressive resume of artists he has toured with.

Both sets were short, but Mavis and Joan included many funny stories and put their great voice on full display. Joan noted how happy she was to be back in the area, as she used to play The Capital District when she was a nobody playing in tiny little clubs. Before Bonnie Raitt’s “Angel of Montgomery,” Joan talked about how she was nervous to do one of her songs, but after seeing her friend Susan Tedeschi do it at Jones Beach this past summer, she thought to herself “Why not give it a shot?” She also couldn’t hold in how happy she was to be sharing the stage with Mavis, as she was a major influence when she was younger and a major part of music history. During “One of Us” you could hear a pin drop in the theater and after that a rousing set ending “I Can’t Let It Get Me Down” with a “Rolling on the River” tease brought the crowd to their feet.

Mavis soon strode onto the stage with a smile on her face, after being introduced by backup singers Donny Gerrard and Vicki Randle, and gave the crowd a one two punch of “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)” and “Slippery People.” Mavis welcomed the crowd and talked about her love of The Talking Heads and David Byrne in general. Mavis seemed to be battling a cold all night, but her voice was still just as strong as ever. She was happy to be in Schenectady, though she had trouble saying the city’s name all night, and told the crowd as much many times. The band turned Proctors into a church for the gospel ending of “We’re Gonna Make It” and had people finally get out of their seats and dancing. She also noted that though she continues to get older and can’t do the moves Joan does on stage, while proceeding to try, she will never “be old.”

As the show was winding down, Mavis brought Joan back out for a great roll through “Down By the Riverside” that had the two singers trading verses, smiles, and hugs. A short break before everyone came out for the encore let the audience get up out of their seats and applaud in utter appreciation for the legendary member of The Staples Singers. After everyone came back out she made sure the band got their appreciation and introduced each member before going into “I’ll Take You There.” The entire audience sang right back to Mavis throughout the extended version that ended the evening. With smiles on the faces of each person in the building, Mavis, Joan and the band left the stage to a thunderous applause.

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November 8, 2015
An Evening With The Lone Bellow

On a warm Friday night in June, a fairly packed house at The Egg‘s smaller room, The Swyer Theatre, The Lone Bellow were just as excited to be in Albany as Albany was excited to see them.

With lots of smiles, jokes, and music, the five piece band based out of Brooklyn wowed the crowd for close to two hours. Starting the evening off Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, and Brian Elmquist came to the stage and surrounded a mic to deliver three songs with just acoustic guitars and beautiful harmonies. This would happen again near the end of the show in the crowd and for the encore. The way the three of their voices blend together is gorgeous and needs to be heard by people who love music.

After Jason Pipkin and Justin Glasco, Bass and drums respectively came out, the evening turned from a folk vibe to full on rock and roll. The band played much of the material from the two albums they have released so far and many in the audience knew every word. Zach has a lot of energy and engages the crowd at all times, almost like a preacher making sure his sermon is heard while Brian plays the guitar like there is nothing else in the world for him to do. Kanene, when she was not switching instruments be it keys, mandolin, or bass, soothed the souls of the crowd with her fantastic voice.

The band had to restart parts of songs a couple of times, but they took it in stride and joked with the crowd about it, giving the evening a relaxed feeling and that it’s all part of the show. The Lone Bellow was on fire all evening and when they come back to Albany, which hopefully will be sooner than later, it would not be surprising to see them playing to bigger audiences once word gets out about what people missed out on.

July 15, 2015
Yonder Mountain String Band Performs at Albany’s Alive at 5

The Blind Owl Band played a great opening set, highlighted by a bluegrass take on The Allman Brothers Band classic “Whipping Post.” The Saranac Lake based band had a small contingent of devotees in the front at the beginning of the set, but by set’s end the whole crowd was won over. Yonder Mountain took the stage to a packed Alive at 5 house under the overpass of I-787 and presented classic YMSB numbers, covers and tracks off their new album Black Sheep.

“On the Run” opened the night, part of the celebrated ‘Bolton Stretch’ saga that weaves in and out of Yonder’s setlists. A pair of tracks from Black Sheep, “Insult and an Elbow,” and the Colorado inspired “Drawing a Melody.” The highlight of the high energy 90 minute set was a pair of sandwiches. The first combined Springsteen and Dylan with “Saint in the City” > “Spanish Harlem Incident” > “Saint in the City,” perking the ears of many Bruce fans in the audience, as Albany has more than a fair share. The second appeared in the encore, taking Yonder’s “Troubled Mind” and seguing into the punk number “20 Eyes” by The Misfits, making the tune seemingly inocuous in the process, before moving back into the end of “Troubled Mind,” capping another successful Alive at Five in Albany.

A photo posted by NYS Music (@nystatemusic) on Jul 9, 2015 at 4:18pm PDT

Next week, stay tuned for Rival Galaxies and Atlas Genius as Albany’s Alive at Five summer concert series continues.

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July 13, 2015
Photo Gallery: J. Roddy Walston and The Business, Avers at Alive at 5

J. Roddy Walston & The Business brought its spectacular brand of rock and roll to Albany’s Alive at 5 summer concert series.

The last time the band came through the Capitol Region, it played a sold out, hot and sweaty show at The Hollow in January, 2014, and expectations were high for their return. The four-piece band out of Baltimore didn’t disappoint and showed the crowd for almost an hour-and-a-half that rock and roll is still alive and well in today’s world of music.

“Sweat Shock,” “Take It As It Comes” and “Marigold” had the crowd fully engaged, dancing and jumping all over Jennings Landing. J. Roddy constantly swung his long hair violently as he played some old boogie-woogie style piano. With a quick wave of the hand to the crowd, the band exited the stage while the crowd chanted for more. Opening the evening was Avers, a six-piece band who shared singing duties among their members and jumped around the stage as if they were playing in front of thousands of people, instead of the couple of hundred that were there. The band tore through their dreamy indie rock sound for a quick 45-minute set that felt over far quicker. Both bands were absolutely fantastic and the free show was just mind blowing. The Alive at 5 concert series continues this week with Yonder Mountain String Band.

July 7, 2015
Ginger Baker Sets Albany Ablaze, a Night of Improvised Jazz

Ginger Baker brought his new band Jazz Confusion to The Egg for a grand evening of music for a packed audience. Playing two sets, though the second was a little shorter, and an encore, Ginger and his band had the crowd sitting on the edge of their seats to see what they would perform next. Ginger Baker is of course known most famously for being in the super groups Cream and Blind Faith, but at the heart of his playing has always been jazz. He was just getting over a bout with pneumonia, but the only time you would have know he had been sick was when he talked to the audience or stood up from his drum kit. When he was sitting behind the kit, his hands still flew all over the kit with ease. After all these years and problems he has gone through in life, it is a joy to be able to see him still be able to play the drums so effortlessly.

The band that Ginger put together displayed their power during the show, seamlessly weaving in and out of one anothe. Pee Wee Ellis, formerly James Brown’s band leader, played beautiful solos and dotted the songs with intricate melodies on his saxophone, while Alec Dankworth’s bass playing kept the music steamrolling forward. Abass Dodoo, a tremendous percussionist from Ghana, added a flair of Afrobeat to the music of the others and complimented Ginger’s playing perfectly. Anytime one of the members had the chance to take a solo, it was great to see the other three members of the band watch as if they were in the audience and seeing the other member play for the only time on the short tour the band is on. Though there may not have been any “famous songs” played by the group, the crowd at The Egg got their moneys worth and then some from the four virtuoso musicians.

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June 18, 2015
Jason Bonham Serves The Capital Region Some ‘Rock And Roll’

Tribute and legacy acts are big business for concerts in today’s industry. The baby boomer generation has gotten older and wants that feeling they had growing up listening to the music that was the soundtrack to their lives.

You also have the newer generation who may not have had the chance to experience the great music, and are interested in seeing what their parents got to see.

In the case of Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience you get the best of both worlds. Jason, son of Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham, celebrates the music that he did not have much of an opportunity to see. Performing to audiences who are starving to see it in person.

“The Song Remains The Same” starts the concert with a bang, and the energy never left the Palace Theatre for the next two hours. Stringing together both hits and rarities, Jason and his band kept the crowd in their palms with ease. Jason told funny stories about his father and the feeling he got playing in London with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin in 2007.

He also spoke about how the band is never trying to act as if they are Led Zeppelin. For most of the evening that last part was true, but about three-quarters of the way through the show the audience was invited to crowd the aisles and to have a “fucking good time.” After this request and for most of the rest of the evening lead singer James Dylan began to channel more than just Robert Plant’s vocals. Lead guitarist Tony Catania similarly did more than evoke Jimmy Page’s guitar work. Moving about the stage like two legends for the rest of the evening. James and Tony had been doing just fine with their great vocal and guitar playing respectively and did not need to change what they had been doing.

During “Thank You” video screens showed videos of John, receiving some of the loudest cheers of the night. An acoustic “Going to California” had the loudest sing along. “Kashmir” ended the set to a standing ovation and the band came out for a one-two punch of “Rock And Roll” and “Black Dog” to end the evening.

There is a fine line for a tribute or legacy act to walk on, so as not to become a caricature of the band they are paying their respect to.

For most of the night the musicianship on stage during Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience spoke for itself, but for a small part of the show the line became a little too blurred.

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May 21, 2015
Robby Krieger Celebrates 50 Years of The Doors at The Egg

The Doors were one of the biggest acts all over the world from 1967 to 1971, but the tragic death of Jim Morrison put a halt to that. The music still resonates with a lot of people and Robby Krieger is making sure fans can celebrate the band’s music this year, since it is the 50th anniversary of them first getting together. Wrapping up this leg of the tour at The Egg, Robby Krieger celebrates with his band. They tore through two hours of Doors hits and rarities to the delight of the crowd.

Robby let loose on his guitar throughout the evening whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his great solos on songs such as “Moonlight Drive”, “When the Music’s Over” and “Maggie M’Gill”. About half way through the concert he played an extended stunning version of “Spanish Caravan.” His band were spot on with the music all night, while his son Waylon honored the lyrics with his best take on Jim Morrison. Near the end of the show, a good portion of the crowd flocked to the front of the stage to get an up close look at the band while they played their last few songs. Ending the night with “Light My Fire,” Robby, with a smile from ear to ear, thanked the crowd for coming and celebrating the great music.

Set: Break On Through (to the Other Side), People are Strange, Not to Touch the Earth, Moonlight Drive, Horse Latitudes, Wild Child, Peace Frog, When the Music’s Over, Spanish Caravan, Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar), Five to One, Riders on the Storm, Touch Me, Wishful Sinful, The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat), LA Woman

Encore: Maggic M’Gill, Light My Fire

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April 13, 2015
Zappa Plays Zappa Celebrates 40 Years of Frank Zappa at The Egg

It was a calm, cool, April evening in Albany when Zappa Plays Zappa descended on The Egg in Albany. The show was completely sold out and the crowd was tame but one could tell it was full of die-hard Frank Zappa fans who remained seated all show and absorbed every single note.

The band featured Dweezil Zappa (guitar), Scheila Gonzalez (saxophone, flute, keyboards, vocals), Ben Thomas (vocals, trumpet, trombone, guitar), Chris Norton (keyboards), Kurt Morgan (bass guitar), and Ryan Brown (drums). The show was one long set with no breaks, which found the band play the landmark 1975 LP “One Size Fits All” in its entirety along with other Zappa and Mothers of Invention classics.

The show started with a small speech from Dweezil who explained how they were honoring the 40th anniversary of his father’s iconic album “One Size Fits All”. The band then wasted no time before diving into opener “Inca Roads”, which features very unusual lyrics and tempo, but a soaring guitar solo by Dweezil. Next up was the prog rocker “Can’t Afford No Shoes” and the instrumental “Sofa”. The always weird “Po-Jama People” followed, with its lyrical satire and jazzy feels. Next up was the complex “Florentine Pogen” and the short, quirky, “Evelyn, a Modified Dog”. “San Ber’dino” was next on the album, a tune about the recollection of staying in jail and true love. The band was firing on all cylinders during a nice jam of “Andy” before finishing up the album with “Sofa#2”.

Dweezil gave a brief explanation of the next song “Status Back Baby” (Mothers of Invention), before leading the band through a slew of other Frank Zappa and Mothers of Invention songs. The band cruised through classic Zappa tunes “The Grand Wazoo”, “Baby Snakes”, and “Society Pages”. With no setbreak and the show almost 1.5 hours in, some people were taking off already since the band had already covered the album. Those who stuck around were treated to a “Who Needs the Peace Corps?” and the rocker “My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama” which featured furious guitar work by Dweezil. The band finished off the night with a classic off the 1974 album “Apostrophe (‘)”, “Cosmic Debris”. The band also closed the night with the well-known “Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy” and “Muffin Man.” The room acoustics are absolutely amazing, and no matter where you were in the room, every band member was loud and crystal clear. This added to the experience making it a truly intimate evening for the many Zappa fans in attendance,

April 11, 2015
Wild Adriatic to Play Bonnaroo

It’s not everyday that an Upstate New York band has a chance to play Bonnaroo, but Wild Adriatic are getting just that opportunity.

Over the past few weeks the band has been apart of a “March Madness” style tournament through Sonic Bids to get the most votes for the opportunity to play the festival. Winning in the first four rounds against bands throughout the country by 74%, 65%, 66%, and 64% respectively they were onto the final round of voting to decide which bands would be playing Bonnaroo. Winning with 55% of the vote in the semi-finals, Mateo, Travis, and Rich pulled out the victory and were officially awarded a slot at the prestigious festival. Happening from June 11 to 14, Bonnaroo will include Billy Joel, Mumford and Sons, Kendrick Lamar, Robert Plant, and many others. Wild Adriatic is psyched to be able to play the festival and represent Upstate New York. Their next area show will be taking place at Vapor in Saratoga Springs on April 18 celebrating their new EP Never Enough.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_R6VZny1kE]

Update:

In the final round of voting to see who would be crowned number 1 overall, Wild Adriatic took it with 69% of the votes to win the entire tournament. Congratulations are sent out to Mateo, Rich, and Travis on a job well done!

April 7, 2015