NYS Music 20​15

Author: Darren Kemp

  • Rochester’s 2015 Lilac Festival, Best Ever?

    The 117th annual edition of Rochester’s Lilac Festival was nothing short of a resounding success. Blessed by near perfect weather, a killer musical lineup, and actual flowers in bloom for once – it was a far cry from the past few years that were plagued by rain and unseasonably cold temperatures.

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    The Lilac Festival always has all the typical amenities one would expect in a festival atmosphere – beer tents, kid activities, face painting, fake tatts, deep fried freaking everything, and of course, the ubiquitous barricaded off 100 person deep line for kettle corn. Seriously, do they sprinkle crack on that stuff or what?

    However, what makes Lilac Fest truly special are the little extras. The giant food tent filled with local vendors offering everything from “Bacon Bomb” sandwiches to Rochester’s own heartburn special – The Garbage Plate. The brand new “big top” tent that offered a string of activities throughout the week including a wine and chocolate tasting and a brew fest. The weekend based arts and crafts exhibit that moved a block over to Reservoir Drive this year – a great idea that truly helped the traffic patterns. And of course, lots of lilacs!

    This years music lineup, brought to you by the Springut Group, had a little bit of everything from country to reggae to bluegrass to good old shreddy rock and roll. Monday brought in a (too) rare appearance from Pennsylvania’s Dr Dog. Wednesday’s headliner, Blues Traveler, seemingly had the biggest crowd in Lilac Fest history with a virtual sea of people watching harmonica master Jon Popper giving them the “Run Around.”

    Friday brought Austin’s Mingo Fishtrap back to town for their third visit in the past year. The last day featured one of Rochester’s hottest up and coming bands – Danielle Ponder & The Tomorrow People. Like a musical super hero, Danielle is a lawyer by day and a stunning soul singer by night. Surrounding herself with some of the areas best musicians, The Tomorrow People are started to grab some huge crowds and will continue to grow.

    Sunday’s festival closer, Ana Popavic, seemed to be unknown to most I spoke to that day, but will now be implanted in their brains as the sexy lady in the red dress who also happens to be a female master of the blues. This girl simply melted every face on the lawn ending a close to perfect week with mouths agape.

    Props to this years organizers and all who put together such an amazing free time for the good people of Rochester. NYSMusic will be back next year – check out several photo galleries from the week below.

    Adam Ezra, Dr Dog and Lilacs

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    Davina and the Vagabonds, Blues Traveler

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    Mingo Fishtrap

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    Danielle Ponder & The Tomorrow People, Ana Popavic

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  • Show Number One: The Legendary Fishbone at Westcott

    The best moments in life are often those that come with little planning – so when my buddy hit me up last Wednesday about making a last-minute trip to see ska/punk/funk legends Fishbone at Syracuse’s Westcott Theater  – I said “Funk ya!” California’s Fishbone has been touring since 1979 and still features three original members – lead vocalist Angelo Moore, bassist John Norwood Fisher and “Dirty” Walter A Kibby II on trumpet. Add in Rocky George of Suicidal Tendencies fame on guitar, John Steward on drums, Jay Armant on trombone, and Paul Hampton on the keys and they become a force to be reckoned with. This is no watered down state fair nostalgia act, this is the real deal.

    Street Rock Mafia – a rap/funk/rock group from Utica. The Mafia’s genre is well stated as their sound lay somewhere in between Limp Bizkit, Ludacris and Syracuse’s own Sophistafunk. With ample guitar to go with the eloquent hip hop and subtle funk undertones – this band should have no trouble finding a varied audience as they continue to grow.

    Finally it was time to grab one of the Westcott’s micro brews and get a spot up front for Fishbone. The audience was a bit sparse considering the history of this band, but that took little from the experience. The band came out to play one of their most well-known tunes “Party at Ground Zero” and immediately set the dance floor on fire. Showing no signs of age – vocalist/multi instrumentalist Moore was bouncing around the stage like an eighteen year old – and the rest of the band followed suit. The set featured a mix of old and new material and a spot on cover of the Sublime classic “Date Rape.” The band even managed to give a shout out to guitarist George’s old band – Suicidal Tendencies – with an extended head bang worthy jam around the tune “Institutionalized”. I, of course, immediately asked the bartender for a Pepsi, but he wouldn’t give me one.

    Fishbone is touring heavily this year and was just announced as a headliner for September’s Last Daze of Summer festival at Sterling Stage in Sterling, NY. Put this band on your bucket list and find a way to see them. The last-minute journey to funkytown was well worth the five hours of sleep and the groggy morning after. And I finally got my Pepsi.

  • Rochester’s Party in the Park 2015 Full Lineup and Information

    One of the most popular musical events in Western New York is the annual Windstream Party in the Park 2015 series in Rochester. The concerts moved back to the picturesque Manhattan Square Park last year – saving people from the infamous “Party in the Parking Lot” downtown.

    Tickets are a wallet friendly $5. Party Packs (for the general public) are available for $35 for tickets to all 9 shows and access to an express entry line – available at the Blue Cross Arena box office. Food trucks, local beer selections, and vendors will be on site every week. Regional bands will be featured on the lower Genesee Brewery “bowl” stage while the headlining acts will play on the ESL main stage in the field next to the skating rink.

    party in the park 2015Things kick off this year with Buffalo’s own moe. coming to town June 18. Jazz legend Taj Mahal comes in on June 25 George Clinton will funk up the place on July 9. Another Buffalo act – Aqueous – will open for the legendary Victor Wooten on July 30. Hometown heroes Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad will close things out on Aug 13. Some top notch regional acts such as Subsoil and Uptown Groove will debut on the big stage as well.

    The Genesee Brewery stage in the lower bowl area will feature some of Rochester’s best up and coming acts such as Danielle Ponder, Mochester, and Personal Blend.

    PITP is held every Thursday from June 18 to Aug. 13 5-10PM. All ages. Parking available at several nearby garages and the Strong National Museum of Play. Check the website for more info.

    UPDATE: Due to health reasons Taj Mahal had to bow out of this years festivities, replacing him will be Boston’s funkiest band Lettuce! 

    PARTY IN THE PARK MAIN STAGE 2015

    June 18
    ESL Main Stage: moe. w/ Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Violet Mary

    June 25
    ESL Main Stage: Lettuce w/ Spirit Family Reunion & Uptown Groove
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Dang! wsg/ Stay the Plow

    July 2
    ESL Main Stage: Fastball w/ Zac Brown Tribute Band & Jumbo Shrimp
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Something Else

    July 9
    ESL Main Stage: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic w/ Subsoil
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Danielle Ponder & the Tomorrow People

    July 16
    ESL Main Stage: Get the Led Out – The Led Zeppelin Experience w/ Cosco Gladstone and Cosco
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Personal Blend

    July 23
    ESL Main Stage: Jonny Lang w/ The Coup DeVilles & Matthew Correy
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Anonymous Willpower

    July 30
    ESL Main Stage: Victor Wooten w/ Aqueous & Amanda Lee Peers
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Tre Son

    Aug 6
    ESL Main Stage: Dylan Scott w/ The Lacs & Flint Creek
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Kid Kurry

    Aug 13
    ESL Main Stage: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad w/ Driftwood & Noble Vibes
    Genesee Brewery Stage: Mochester

  • Sittin’ In: Trey Chills with Phil

    Last night Californians got a real treat when Trey Anastasio popped into Terrapin Crossroads and sat in with Phil Lesh, and son Grahame for a surprise performance. Dead classics “Bertha” and “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad” were both played – and proved Trey is definitely ready for his ‘Fare Thee Well’ role this summer. MarkoVision Films caught a nice video of this special moment. Enjoy!

  • Phish to Trademark ‘Donut’ Pattern of Drummer’s Dress

    As reported by PhanArt, Phish has filed paperwork to trademark Jon Fishman’s iconic donut dress pattern.

    From PhanArt: “While the dress Fishman wears has been a staple of quite literally every performance in the past 30 years, the filing of the trademark is interesting. This is being done either to protect current interests in use of the red circles on a blue background, or to prevent the pattern from being used by anyone other than Phish for commercial use, comparable to the Phish logo and words Gamehendge, among others.”

    phish dinner and a movie Phish Donuts“The description of the pattern in the filing states, “The mark consists of a series of red circles with holes in the center, placed in pattern against a blue background, where each circle is equidistant from the other.” What that means is up to interpretation, should the Trademark be approved, a process that can take many months.”

    What does this mean for Phish fans making shirts, posters and more with the ‘Fishman Donut’? Stay tuned for more on this breaking story.

    Phish would of course go on to perform the ‘Baker’s Dozen’ in 2017, a run of 13 shows, with not a single song repeated, each with a donut theme for the night. Read more on the entire run here.

  • Canalside Buffalo Announces Free Summer Concert Series 2015

    Canalside Buffalo has announced their summer Thursday free concert lineup for 2015. The outdoor harbor series is nestled on a gorgeous plot of land nestled up against Lake Erie. Beers a plenty will be on hand as well as some of Buffalo’s excellent food trucks and vendors. The lineup is diverse as usual bringing Buffalonians a mix of genre’s with big headliners and top notch locally based talent.

    Indie darlings Matt & Kim kick things off June 6. Other acts include Spoon, Everclear, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Yonder Mountain String Band, Iron & Wine and THE En Vogue.

    One of the biggest highlights here – Aug 6 Umphrey’s Mcgee will traverse the skyway to Buffalo’s Harbor Series for a free show. Touring behind their latest release – Similar Skin – UM will bring their complex compositions to Buffalo’s exploding harbor district. Joining them will be Buffalo’s fastest growing band – Aqueous. Hot off a way sold out show featuring a Cake themed set at Buffalo’s Iron Works and critical acclaim for their progressive groove rock sound, the combined draw here guarantees to pack the joint. Show up early to get a good spot – these two bands are gonna tear the place up.

    Canalside Lineup 2015 

    June 4 Matt & Kim w/ Made Violent and Bearstronaut
    June 11 Arkells w/ Robert Delong and Milo Greene
    June 18 Everclear w/ Fuel and American Hi-Fi
    June 25 Spoon w/ July Talk
    July 2 The Sheepdogs w/ Yonder Mountain String Band
    July 9 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
    July 16 Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra performs Stevie Wonder
    7/23 Badfish w/ Reel Big Fish
    7/30 Iron & Wine w/ Ben Bridwell
    8/6 Umphrey’s McGeew/ Aqueous
    8/13 Get the Led Out
    8/20 En Vogue

  • FESTY NEWS: Purple Pig 2015 Announces Final Lineup

    Get ready to take flight! The Purple Pig Music Festival 2015 has added a number of bands to its lineup, and it promises a weekend full of fun with a variety of musical styles to indulge in.

    Final lineup for Purple Pig 2015:

    Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
    Driftwood
    Sophistafunk
    Hypnotic Clambake
    The Rigs
    ThunderBody
    Subsoil
    Horizon Wireless
    Blind Owl Band
    Danielle Ponder & the Tomorrow People
    Mikaela Davis
    Richie and Rosie
    Kevin Kinsella
    Mosaic Foundation
    The Prickers
    The Buddhahood
    The Moho Collective
    White Woods
    Mulberry Soul
    The Big Mean Sound Machine
    The Chris English Project
    Beat the Grid
    Solaris
    Seth Faergolzia
    Blindspots
    Maybird
    Folkfaces
    Slyboots
    The Younger Gang
    Personal Blend
    Thoroughbred
    Tryptic Soy
    3 Mountain Hollow
    Ryan Johnson
    Milkweed
    Dead Metaphor Cabaret
    Eastern Boys with Western Shirts
    Bob Bunce’s Rural Delivery
    Irshad Chan
    Squaw Island
    The Reckoning Project

    The Purple Pig Festival has grown exponentially in its four years of existence into one of upstate’s best. Held on a picturesque blueberry farm just outside of Naples, N.Y., the Pig offers multiple amenities and free on-site camping for the three-day extravaganza this Aug. 28-30. Three stages will host a bevy of bands with New York-based talent spotlighted. Purple Pig is brought to you by Roots Collider Presents.

    The festival was founded by a group of friends who want to celebrate the amazing artistic talent they have found amongst New York’s musicians, artists, dancers, poets, writers and actors. “As hosts of the Purple Pig we are nothing short of blessed to have these such acts for you on one of the most beautiful pieces of land that you’ll ever live on for 3 days,” they write on the homepage of the festival’s website.

    Tickets are a mere $80 for the three days and are available online now. Late comers can grab tickets at the gate for $100, provided there are any left. One-day tickets are also available. Join the event.

  • Get Covered: Aqueous Plays Cake Themed Set in Buffalo

    Aqueous is not a band that takes their craft lightly. Over their nine years of existence they have endlessly tried to stretch the boundaries – A Super Mario Brother’s themed set, a career path minded Will Smith set for Halloween with all four members in different era Fresh Prince attire, and of course the four week themed residency at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo – which included Willy Wonka, Love, Decades and a Mystery Artist theme that featured a night of Beatles music mixed with AQ’s arsenal of originals.

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    This past Saturday at Buffalo’s Iron Works would be the latest on the themes from Aqueous – two sets, one original and one set featuring the music of alt-rock heroes Cake. The “Cake-Queous” set featured 12 first time played Cake songs interspersed and quite often interlaced with original music. The sold out crowd could not have been more fulfilled – with many vets expounding (in full Comic Store Guy accent) “Best Show Ever.”

    The good people at Buffalo.FM were on hand with camera’s all over the joint. Buffalo.fm (and wnymedia.net) are huge friends to the New York music scene, releasing tons of audio and video material free for fans and often streaming shows live. Today they released audio of Saturday’s Cake themed set.

  • New LivePhish Release Celebrates The Spectrum in Toronto, December 12, 1992

    Phish has announced an archival release of 12/12/92 – The Spectrum in Toronto, Ontario. This 1000 capacity venue got quite a treat with a set chock full of Phishy goodness. Check out the announcement below for more details:

    On December 12, 1992, Phish crossed the border to play The Spectrum in Toronto – a dance club with a capacity of about 1,000. Anyone with a LivePhish+ subscription can stream the show right now from the LivePhish App or you can purchase from LivePhish.com and stream via the free App (in your Stash). Downloads are also available at http://livephi.sh/ph921212

    In the year surrounding this show, they released four albums on Elektra and their “Hey-Hole” improvisation exercises were yielding increasingly transcendent excursions onstage. This was Phish’s only performance at The Spectrum, their second Canadian gig, and the 20th show on a 21-date tour.

    Set I featured Foam, Reba, Split Open And Melt, and All Things Reconsidered, which was deftly woven into both “Bouncing Around The Room” and “Run Like An Antelope”. Set II highlights included a “Maze” opener, “The Curtain” > “Tweezer”, and the Davy Crockett “You Enjoy Myself”. The Toronto “Tweezer” deserves special mention for its multiple themes – from full shred to soaring melodies and bent dissonance. The encore was a rare “Ride Captain Ride” in its only pairing with “Tweezer Reprise” until 2012.

    12/12/92 was recorded to DAT by Paul Languedoc and mastered by Fred Kevorkian. To download the show or to listen via the LivePhish App, go here.

    Setlist via phish.net

    Saturday, 12/12/1992
    The Spectrum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Soundcheck: Funk Jam, Uncle Pen
    Set 1: Llama, Foam, Sparkle, Cavern > Reba, The Landlady, Split Open and Melt, Poor Heart > All Things Reconsidered, Bouncing Around the Room > Run Like an Antelope[1]
    Set 2: Maze, Glide, The Curtain > Tweezer > Rift, Guelah Papyrus, You Enjoy Myself, Hold Your Head Up > If I Only Had a Brain > Hold Your Head Up, The Squirming Coil > Golgi Apparatus
    Encore: Ride Captain Ride > Tweezer Reprise
    [1] Simpsons, Random Note, and All Fall Down signals.
    Teases:
    · All Things Reconsidered tease in Bouncing Around the Room
    · All Things Reconsidered and Jean Pierre teases in Run Like an Antelope
    · The Ballad of Davy Crockett tease in You Enjoy Myself

  • RIP: Percy Sledge Dead at 73

    Legendary R&B and soul singer Percy Sledge who is best known for the classic “When a Man Loves a Women” passed away today at the age of 73 from natural causes.percy

    Sledge was originally a hospital nurse and toured on weekends before being signed to a recording contract in the late 60’s. NYSMusic sends Percy’s friends and family our condolences.

    https://youtu.be/FOaDgS1RKK0