I first encountered Beirut midway through a listening session of a good friends of mine’s playlist entitled “When I’m Thinking About The World.” It was the title track of their new album No No No. Immediately I was engulfed in a wave of auditory euphoria. It had everything I wanted in a tune: catchy, yet unique, drums, light chords, and a horn section— a seemingly essential ingredient for a hit in the indie music game. The short and sweet LP is easy on the ears but heavy on the heart.
Zach Condon, the project’s front man, has admitted in numerous interviews that this album is the result of a lot trials and tribulations. Having went through marital and mental troubles, Condon retreated to a simple sound of Full-bodied piano chords paired with quiet vocals. Its low budget style must have made it easy to record as the band was in and out of the studio quickly.
Lyrically, the album is quite spacey, yet it played to my emotion side with ease. I really enjoy the lack of hook-based songs. On my first listen, Condon really kept me guessing on the direction the tracks were taking. That feeling was epitomized in the albums final track “So Allowed”. It was the lovely bow by which Condon packaged No No No.
Although Condon has been taking flack for a so-called “Bland Album”, I think it was anything but. This album is the end result of an emotional journey. So to the fans who expected another album like “The Rip Tide”, the last album from Beirut, I suggest that you take a look at the man behind the music. This is No No No’s Zach Condon, a man who has been in the pits and is ready for a new day.
At its core, Blitzen Trapper is, and always has been, a rock band. All Across This Land, released last Friday, is first and foremost a rock record, and probably their most focused effort yet. As has been the case for most of their career, the music on this latest album is heavy on the influences, some more apparent than others.
Blitzen Trapper is able to combine these and morph them into something unique. They’re like the Frankenstein’s monster of rock bands. Taking bits and pieces from music’s past and stitching it all together to create a new whole. It is possible to pick it apart and figure out where each piece originated from, but it would be futile, and in the end would ruin the result. It’s best to accept it for what it is, and not try to attack with pitchforks and torches.
Speaking of torches, the album swings open the gates with the bombastic barn burning title track. From there, the music slowly fades from classic rock to classic country over the tight 40-minute set. Over the course of the 10 tracks, each one slowly picks up some twang and loses a little of the rock attitude. Acoustic guitars replaces electrics, pedal steel and banjo appear, the drums mellow and soften until they eventually disappear completely in the album-closing “Across the River.” With autobiographical songs, tales of loss, and rock songs about rock music, the album hits it’s sweet spot in the gooey center. It is here that the rock and folk blend beautifully, and that is where Blitzen Trapper has always shined brightest.
While they capture their sound very well in the studio, Blitzen Trapper is still a band best enjoyed on the stage, where their energy comes unharnessed and pushes the music to greater heights. Currently touring in support of All Across This Land, they’ll make two stops in New York State this weekend. Saturday night they’ll be at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo. Jesse Malin, who was slated to appear at the Waiting Room was just moved to this bill along with the support from that show. So it will be a 4-act evening starting around 8pm, with The Domestics and Matthew Ryan getting things started. Then Sunday night they’ll be appearing at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom with the Domestics opening at 9pm.
Oct 9 Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, ON
Oct 10 Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY
Oct 11 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Oct 13 The Sinclair Cambridge, MA
Oct 14 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, PA
Oct 15 Black Cat Washington, DC
Oct 16 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC
Oct 17 The Loft Atlanta, GA
Oct 18 Exit / In Nashville, TN
Oct 19 Saturn Birmingham, AL
Oct 21 The Parish Austin, TX
Oct 22 Club Dada Dallas, TX
Oct 23 The Opolis Norman, OK
Oct 24 Bottleneck Lawrence, KS
Oct 26 The Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
Oct 27 The State Room Salt Lake City, UT
Nov 9 HiFi Music Hall Eugene, OR
Nov 11 SOhO Restaurant and Music Club Santa Barbara, CA
Nov 12 The Observatory San Diego, CA
Nov 13 Teragram Ballroom Los Angeles, CA
Nov 14 Don Quixote’s International Music Felton, CA
Nov 15 The Independent San Francisco, CA
Nov 16 Sweetwater Music Hall Mill Valley, CA
Nov 17 Humboldt Brews Arcata, CA
Nov 19 Neptune Theatre Seattle, WA
Nov 20 The Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC
Nov 28 Revolution Hall Portland, OR
On Oct. 8, Jake Owen, Dan + Shay, and Kelsea Ballerini made their way to the Mann Center in Philadelphia to continue their run on their Days of Gold tour. It was a gorgeous, mild fall night for a concert at unique inside/outside venue, and fans took advantage of nice weather, streaming in for what would be an exciting night of country music.
First to take the stage was newcomer Kelsea Ballerini who has recently burst onto the scene in country music as a talented up-and-coming female artist to watch. The 22-year-old from Tennessee performed a blend of her own songs and several entertaining covers. One of the first songs she played was her current and second single from her debut album The First Time called “Dibs,” an upbeat and catchy track that should do well following her first release.
Ballerini has substantial vocal ability, and sounded great live no matter what she was singing. She proved her vocal and musical diversity with a cover medley of 90’s hits that had fans feeling nostalgic, including portions of Brittany Spears’ “Oops, I Did It Again,” NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” Beyonce’s “Bootylicious”, Christina Agulara’s “Genie In A Bottle,” and TLC’s “No Scrubs”.
Ballerini displayed her vibrant and playful personality, and plenty of charisma while on stage, as well as an ability to connect to fans and get them involved in the show.
Other songs Ballerini performed from her debut album included “Yeah Boy”, an infectious, mid-tempo jam that sounds as though it could be a future single choice; “Peter Pan,” which she dedicated to boys she has known that seem to refuse to grow up, and the edgy; and vivacious “XO.” She closed her set with her debut single and first #1 song at country radio, the irresistible “Love Me Like You Mean It,” thanking fans for helping to make the song so successful for her.
Dan + Shay were up next, providing direct support for headliner Jake Owen. The young duo, capable of gorgeous harmonies and hook-laden, anthemic tracks are also known for being one of the more energetic and upbeat live acts in country. They lived up to their reputation, keeping fans on their feet for the entire set and proving their vocal abilities time and time again.
The duo, comprised of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney began their set with “Somewhere Only We Know,” an album track from their debut record Where It All Began. The song is an infectious one about escaping reality by running away to your favorite secret spot. Next came a performance of their current (and 3rd) single from their debut “Nothin’ Like You,” an incredibly catchy and sweet track that is on its way to becoming the duo’s first top ten hit at country radio.
The pair also incorporated a surprising number of well-known covers of varying genre into their set, including classic rock gems like Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name,” and Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” that had the crowd engaged and singing along. Other notable covers included Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” “I’ll Make Love To You” by Boys To Men, Tyo Cruise’s “Dynamite,” and Maroon 5’s “Move Like Jagger”. While the classic rock covers had the older audience members on their feet, the pop ones helped the duo connect even further with the younger members in the crowd who are familiar with an abundance of mainstream music.
Also from their debut, Dan + Shay performed the hook driven “Stop Drop and Roll,” perfect for blasting in your car on a long drive with the windows down, and romantic, heavily pop leaning second single “Show You Off” which was a top 25 hit at country radio for the pair. They closed their set with their first ever single, “Summer of 19 You + Me,” the track that truly put them on the map in the country music world. With slick melodies and pop influenced production, paired with honey smooth vocal harmonies and an undeniably catchy singalong chorus, it is no surprise that this was the song that helped to launch Dan + Say’s career. The crowd knew all the words and sang along until the last-minute. By the end of their set it was apparent why the duo is viewed as one of the most exciting young acts in country music.
Headliner and country heart-throb Jake Owen finally took the stage to a frenzied crowd who were undoubtedly ready for a party. Since 2011 his album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night, has garnered four consecutive number one hits, making Owen one of country music’s biggest stars. Known for his laid back personality, easygoing charm, and overflowing abundance of charisma, the 34-year-old from Florida is the ultimate performer. Thursday, he brought his stylish new haircut along with a plethora of hits and beach themed stage setup to Philadelphia with every intention of providing fans with an incredible night of music. His set this night was appropriately decked out with a beachy style, complete with stage decorations featuring Christmas lights encircling Palm trees, a wood and rope boardwalk , hula skirts for much of his band equipment, and fully stocked beach bars on each side of the stage. The production and lighting used during his set was also top-notch, with five enormous HD flat-screens bedecking the stage behind Owen, and dozens of multi-colored strobe lights bathing the performers with bright blues, reds, purples, and oranges.
Owen opened his set with his most recent #1 hit from his 2013 album Days Of Gold, the sun drenched, reggae influenced “Beachin.’” The feel-good, romantic “Anywhere With You,” the fourth and final #1 single from Barefoot Blue Jean Night had fans singing along enthusiastically, while fellow #1 smash hit from the same album “Alone With You” soon followed. The latter featured Owen sporting a guitar strung liberally with bright blue Christmas lights and the fans chanting the chorus out loudly and in-synch on their own when prompted. Towards the end of his set, he played yet another #1 single from Barefoot Blue Jean Night, the nostalgic “The One That Got Away,” a fan favorite with a rocking guitar solo, and impromptu freestyle lyrics during the bridge.
The laid back vocalist threw it back to 2006 and 2009 respectively with performances of debut top 20 single “Yee Haw,” off his first album Startin’ With Me, and the hard rocking, fast paced “8 Second Ride,” a top 15 single from his album Easy Does It. He also included the heartfelt “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You,” a song that supports the sentiment that love is more important in life than money or possessions. From old right back to new, Owen broke out his current single “Real Life” with a cameo from David from the viral YouTube “David After the Dentist.” The song is a definite departure from both Owen’s usual sound and the sounds prevalent in modern, mainstream country music, making it a polarizing one within the genre. From his 2012 Endless Summer EP, Owen performed the spirited, rock leaning track “Surefire Feeling.” The song features thrashing electric guitars and an uptempo pace that makes it perfect for a live setting.
Days Of Gold featured prominently in his set, with performances of album tracks “Tall Glass of Something” and “1972,” in addition to singles “What We Aint Got” and “Days Of Gold.” The two aforementioned singles happen to be polar opposites, with the former allowing Owen to slow it down a bit and allow the focus to shift to his vocals and the profoundness of the lyrics, while the former is loud and intense, hurtling along at a frenetic, breakneck pace from beginning to end. Owen also covered Garth Brooks song “Unanswered Prayers” in celebration of Brooks’ recent signing with Owen’s longtime label RCA.
Throughout the night, he also made a concerted effort to include all the fans in the venue, even those way in the back. The best way he made this happen was intermittently inviting fans from the back to come up and watch from side stage, as he did mid-way through his set with fans who he saw holding up a sign saying “Is this real life?”. Owen also took time out of his set to thank the American troops for their service, and express gratitude to his fans for always lifting him up. He ended the night with the biggest song of his career to date, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” the first #1 single off of his album of the same name. Kelsea Ballerini rejoined Owen on stage for the song. With laid back vibe and an atmospheric, sing-a-long chorus, mixed with a little bit of banjo and a touch of Owen’s twangy vocals “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” had the crowd bellowing the lyrics into the stadium. In the middle of the song, they cut seamlessly into a “Fresh Prince of Bellaire” cover, playing on the fact that they were performing for a Philly crowd before jumping back to BBJN and finishing out the show on a high note.
Jake Owen, Dan + Shay and Kelsea Ballerini successfully brought a night of county music fun to Philadelphia on a Thursday night. They provided fans with a lineup that highlighted an inclusive blend of several prominent styles of country music and put on a show that the crowd won’t soon forget.
Rather than shaking things off through catchy choruses and lip-gloss beats, Lilly Hiatt heals old wounds with poetic confession and shadowy synths on her second record, Royal Blue, released in March.
Photography by Gregg Roth
Hiatt, as the sole writer on the album, conjures grim daydreams of soured love and self discovery that float through 12 tracks rooted in traditional folk and alt-country, but draw on Hiatt’s favorite 80s and 90s influences (think The Pixies, the Breeders, Dinosaur Jr.). Hiatt’s sweet, soft voice sings of a starry-eyed woman scorned and she slays through the wreckage with clever lyrics, because that’s what any good woman with her musical lineage would do—she’d move on and write a song or two, as she proclaims in the title track.
It’s Wednesday afternoon and Hiatt dials in from East Nashville; she’s down-to-earth and speaks with the same girlish honesty that’s reflected in her songs. At the moment, she and band mates—Beth Finney on lead guitar, Jake Bradley on bass, Luke Schneider on pedal steel guitar, and Jon Radford on drums—are rehearsing for a 10-date tour. Several of her east coast shows, including an October 8 stop at the Bell House in Brooklyn, are in support of Austin musician Bob Schneider who Hiatt has never shared the bill with but admires for his similar sense of songwriting humor. “Although, I’m getting tired of writing about my struggles,” she quips. But capturing a perfect Polaroid of real life just comes natural to the rising singer-songwriter whose father is iconic musician John Hiatt. “The biggest thrill of all is the initial coming up with the words; it’s some sort of relief for me,” she says. Hiatt confesses that she’s actually staring at her acoustic guitar, a hand-me-down Martin from her father that is her songwriting muse and never leaves home. “I’ll pick up my guitar and start strumming, or I’ll think about something I want to write about or think of a line that I want to put somewhere,” she says of her method. “I’ll sing something that I don’t know where it comes from; it’s decided, well, OK this is how you’re starting it clearly because I can’t stop singing that one thing, and then this helps me navigate where the rest of it goes.”
And when it comes to laying down tracks and playing them live, Hiatt doesn’t shy away from giving her band the creative rein to guide her songs to places she never imagined, she says. Case in point: “Far Away” had a more folk element before the band’s influence evolved it into a riff-y power-pop piece. “We’re in this singer-songwriter twang-y world and there’s sometimes an unspoken feeling of things you’re not allowed to do for this kind of music, but the band finally felt the green light from me that said screw that,” she says. As for Royal Blue in particular, a progressive follow-up to 2012’s more loosely country-rooted Let Down, Hiatt says the record’s sound is a result of working with analog studio producer Adam Landry (Deer Tick, Diamond Rugs) and a natural gravitation to exploring the darker more dissonant sounds. “We’re a four-piece band of all rockers and we have a similar mentality, but we’re not rough around edges,” she says. “My drummer now totally grew up on punk rock and my guitar player is into psych-rock. When you get the right people together and let them do their own thing you hear that come out a little and I like to encourage that.”
As for her own favorite band, Hiatt says without hesitation, Pearl Jam (she even recently guest hosted on the band’s Sirius XM radio channel). “They have been a band for so long and have been a part of my life for so long. I just have this immense admiration for them and it awakens something in me that I can’t even, it just feels like home when I hear them,” she says. “They have such a base of hardcore fans, and I know because I text with some of them; we’re giggly texting about Pearl Jam and it’s so funny because I think they’re really good to their fans and they make you feel like you’re part of something.” Hiatt is also influenced by other modern-day front women taking risks in their music like Bully’s Alicia Bognanno and Jenny Lewis. “I really look up to Jenny [Lewis]; she always takes chances and she’s so honest in her writing,” she says. “I just love her, and I freaked out for her album [Voyager]; it just brought out something different, and it was awesome.” And Hiatt plans to continue forging her way and not feeling limited in her work. “Records are records. For me, an album isn’t so much a massive representation of this is me the artist, but more of a snapshot of a period of time of what I’m doing right now because there are so many components of being a creative person. It’s hard to hone in on what you do best no matter what profession, but if you’re genuine about things and you work hard it’s going to pay off, or maybe I’m just naive,” she laughs.
Photography by Gregg Roth
Although she’s only three years into her professional career under Athens, Georgia-based label Normaltown records (and still held her supermarket chain day job until last year), Hiatt says she always had this “weird understanding” that she’d end up in music. “In the back of my head I knew this is what I’m going to do, but I didn’t know how because I’m shy,” she says. “I would write in my room and sing and record, but I never performed until toward the end of college… Some people can shake a tambourine and work it and that just doesn’t come natural to me; I’d literally crawl out of my skin before every show and it was excruciating, but I knew I was going to go through with it and that’s now dissipated into a more OK-let’s-go energy that is fun to channel into the show… I think it’s important to be humble.” After graduating from Denver, Hiatt returned to her Music City roots and admits she is still “building my thing” and searching for ways to tap into her creative rhythm. “Writing, or just growing as a human, is an ever-evolving thing, so the goal is to find a spot where the process is effortless,” she says, noting that she admires writers like John Prine and Guy Clark. “When I’m in vulnerable open thought is when the best stuff happens, but I’m trying to write new stuff right now, and I feel like Royal Blue went in a specific territory, a little self indulgent, which is fine, but I’ve gotten so accustomed to writing about painful things and changes and now I’m not so much in that spot. I used to wait until I’m feeling it, but you have to generate that for yourself sometimes; there’s a discipline involved, and I’m trying to look out a little more and figure out how to find the inspiration from all the positive things.” While Hiatt may ponder about getting things right, it’s clear she’s going to be just fine in this “mean machine, this lonely world,” regardless that she’s somebody’s daughter.
Lilly Hiatt Tour Dates 10/8 The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY* 10/9 Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA* 10/10 Mr. Small’s Theatre, Millvale, PA* 10/11 Culture Center Theater, Charleston, WV 10/17 Hill Country DC, Washington, DC 10/22 Southgate House, Newport, KY** 10/23 Rumba Cafe, Columbus, GA** 10/24 Musica, Akron, OH** 11/11 Old Town School of Music, Chicago, IL*** *Bob Schneider Music **Patrick Sweany ***Del Barber
The fourth annual Peach Festival will forever be a prolific memory for those who attended the 2015 installment of the festival. Some might even say they’ve been “changed” and have no idea how to explain their experience to friends post festival. All they can say is, “I can’t wait till next year. I can’t wait to go back to The Peach.” The festival began as a celebration of The Allman Brother’s Band and The Grateful Dead. Festival attendees were pleased to see that two former drummers of the Allman Brothers Band would be included on the line up. Those two being Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. If that’s not exciting enough former ABB member Warren Haynes was also a brilliant addition to the weekend’s lineup. There were also three surviving members of The Grateful Dead on the bill. Those being Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Bruce Hornsby. Last year was the final year the complete Allman Brothers Band headlined Peach Festival. However, one of this year’s headliners was of course the great Gregg Allman. Others included Willie Nelson and Family and a closing by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana.
Montage Mountain has been the home of the Peach for the past four years. It boasts a summit of 1,960 feet. The tree line is made up evergreen trees and pines. Remember, this festival is held on a mountain. Packing light and wearing proper foot attire will make for a delightful camping experience. The general admission campgrounds are predominantly on the ski slopes so getting back to camp literally means “hiking” I was constantly telling myself, “Think of how strong your calves will be after the festival!” There are two tractor loops for those who don’t wish to muscle it up the slopes. There are three kinds of camping. General admission camping, family camping, and CID’s “Glamping.” Glamping provides much larger tents with much more amenities and style than a bare bones campsite and are also assembled for guests in advance.
The park in the summer time is permanent home to a water park! It features an array of slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river. There are lockers to store your belongings, and also indoor and outdoor showers. The lodge included a food court, indoor restrooms and CID’s VIP lounge. The VIP lounge had to have been the most cushy place in the park. There were plenty of comfortable couches, a bar, and even a free photo booth!
The festival began Thursday evening on the Peach Stage also known as The Pavilion . To kick off the festival was Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra . Their set showcased tunes from a Grateful Dead show at the capitol theater in Passaic New Jersey in April 1977. The set included staples like “Sugaree,” “Scarlet Begonias,” “Mississippi Half-Step” and Terrapin Station.” I have to say, it was an overwhelmingly beautiful yet haunting experience. Thousands of Dead fans sang along as if they were a giant choir and these were their hymns. The voices reverberated against the pavilion’s high interior and echoed into the distant hills. The lights dazzled the crowd everyone swayed in joyous harmony. After the show ended one thing was apparent. Everyone wants Dark Star Orchestra to be the traditional festival opener.
Later in the evening we were wow’d by our first Deep Banana BlackOut show on the Mushroom stage. I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard more inventive trombone solos. The level of energy and improvisation this band spits out is a force to be reckoned with. Lead vocalist Jen Durkin’s voice is so powerful you need to prepare yourself to be ripped in half! Between the improvisation and funky rhythms, you’re sure to feel like you’ve been transported to New Orleans.
The next day Scranton’s own Cabinet opened the Peach stage. Followed by the Hard Working Americans, Trombone Shorty and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Many rushed the Mushroom stage eager to catch Blues Traveler. Perhaps the most memorable experience was watching the people in the wave pool. Which is a few feet away from the Mushroom stage. They cheered and sang along to BT’s hits like “Hook.” John Popper’s harmonica solos are melodic feats that would make any instrumentalist blush. They were also pleased to have a guest appearance by none other than Warren Haynes himself. Which lead to a nice rendition of the “The Mountains Win Again.”
Warren Haynes and Railroad Earth set the tone for Friday night with their soulful yet raw set in the pavilion. It was interesting to see RRE’s lead vocalist Todd Sheaffer step aside for a while and let Warren Haynes take the wheel. The ensemble played selections from their new album Ashes and Dust which was released in July of this year. Tim Carbone’s violin solo’s descended upon the crowd like a feather gently floating to the ground. A perpetual stream of melodic call and response between Carbone and Goessling carried on through the set and added a fine degree of polyphonic texture.
The pinnacle of Friday evening was the iconic Gregg Allman. He opened his set with “Statesboro Blues.” Many were easily impressed on his transition from organ to guitar. The legendary vocals, solos and overall spirit of the Allman Brothers was definitely experienced. The warmness of Allman’s organ is a sound that will never be forgotten. The crowd became downright emotional when Allman played his signature tune, “Melissa.” I looked around to see fans weeping and smiling simultaneously. The set ended with “Midnight Rider,” “Love Like Kerosene,” “Whipping Post.” With no surprise the show encored with “One Way Out.”
The temperature definitely rose on Saturday. Most festival attendees made themselves ready for a dip in the wave pool or a drift down the lazy river. Or for those feeling extra adventurous the ultra fast water slides. Watching Dumpstaphunk while jumping waves in the wave pool was so much fun! The Mushroom stage also featured Rusted Root which performed their hit “Send Me on My Way.” With GD50 in the not so distant past it was a real treat to see Bruce Hornsby and The Noise Makers once again paying tribute. His set was laid back and serene. Back at The Peach stage Old Crow Medicine show kicked the vibe up a notch with their own “Alabama High Test.”
Finally, it was time for the one and only Willie Nelson and family. Nelson’s signature vocals were spot on and everyone was thrilled to see Trigger (his beloved guitar) once again by his side. His sister Bobbie Nelson has been playing piano in his band since the 1970’s. She of course played my favorite piano interlude “Down Yonder.” Towards the end of the set Nelson included selections of “I’ll Fly Away, You were always on my mind” and of course, “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.” He even paid tribute to the great Hank Williams Sr. with songs like “Hey Good Lookin” and “I saw the Light.”
Billy and the Kids killed it shortly after and were later joined by The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir. The entire second set featured Weir on lead guitar and vocals, which included takes on “Cassidy,” “Stella Blue” and “Sugar Magnolia.” Weir’s guitar raged through the crowd and the lights penetrated the thousands of loyal fans.
Saturday night was closed out on the Grove Stage by Scranton’s local band Cabinet. We’re sure to see and hear more from this band in the future. The musicianship and camaraderie are the aspects that make this band so solid. With every instrumental break you can feel the virtuosity leaking from their hands to the strings. I learned quickly not to underestimate the Grove Stage. Although smaller than both the Mushroom and Peach Stage and also further away it is never the less the place for a great show.
On Sunday a congregation formed at the Peach Stage for Keller Williams and Grateful Gospel. The band features members of More Than a Little and Further’s guitarist John Kadlecik. The set started off with “Feel Like a Stranger.” The vocal harmonies were absolutely stellar. The positive vibes could surely be felt throughout the entire audience. Other selections were “My Sister and Brothers,” “St Stephen” and “Ripple.” Towards the end Keller excitedly proclaimed, “Hey look everyone! Its Bob Weir!” Weir sat in for “Eyes of the World” and closed with “Samson and Delilah.”
Over at the Grove stage Indianapolis’ Turbo Suit delivered a powerful and funky set with remixes of up beat tunes new and old. One memorable selection was a mashup of Uptown Funk which led to an ensemble of happy dancers.
Santana made for a memorable grand finally. Latin rhythms flooded the amphitheater and not one foot remained still. Santana proudly introduced his son Salvador who is a much accomplished vocalist and a master of the keyboards. The crowd was pleased to shake it to hits like “Evil Ways,” “Black Magic Woman” and “Smooth.” One thing’s for certain, Carlos Santana bleeds positive mantras. The long instrumental jams were definitely used as a platform to inspire and uplift the community with his kind words.
One of the kindest actions I saw all weekend was the attendees voluntarily cleaning up the grounds. Once a few began picking up the garbage a chain reaction ensued. It was really heartwarming to see essential strangers coming together for the betterment of the festival and respect of the mountain. The festival overall had a great sense of community. People genuinely showed love for each other. It was a kind of harmonious bond that is a rare occurrence in humanity. Peach Fest was a sure fire success and we can’t wait for next year.
Widespread Panic and their latest studio album, Street Dogs, combines the best of Panic’s southern sound – straight rockers, New Orleans-inspired funk, and choice covers – honed over nearly 30 years on the road. Recorded at Echo Mountain studios in Asheville, N.C. by longtime producer/collaborator John Keane, Street Dogs finds the band recording together for the first time, leading to a refined yet not polished album, one that commands repeat listens.
Alan Price’s “Sell Sell” opens the album, a driving version of the original with John Bell following the varying cadences of the tongue-tying lyrics. “Steven’s Cat,” an ode to the influential Cat Stevens, is the first Panic song written in the studio by the band and stands out as one of the strongest songs of the album, both for the thought-provoking lyrics and the blend of all six band members sound – no one outshines another.
“Cease Fire,” a JB rap that dates back to 1999 is reborn as one of the strongest new jam vehicles of 2015, which, along with “Honky Red,” (Murray McLauchlan) is Exhibit A in the musical relationship between Father-in-Law/Son-in-Law Duane Trucks and Jimmy Herring, showcasing a guitar/drums combo rarely found with such polish. “The Poorhouse of Positive Thinking,” a classic JoJo Hermann number, uses colorful lyrics and a Professor Longhair-style yarn to frame a mild piano ride. Willie Dixon’s “Taildragger,” the third cover on Street Dogs, is tailor made for Herring’s guitar and JB’s guttural vocals, while the album wraps up with the title track, a sing along that vivdly returns the listener to the streets of New Orleans.
Key Tracks: Steven’s Cat, Cease Fire, The Poorhouse of Positive Thinking, Honky Red
DrFameus proved himself a chameleon of sound, opening for Particle at the Westcott Theater Sept. 23. Allen Aucoin’s one-manned music machine fluctuated from synth and high hat driven 80’s dance to more lazy and free-flowing experimental jazz, pulling samples from Fergie’s “London Bridge” among other unexpected sources. Producing a beat reminiscent of the bass heavy pulsations in Die Antwoord’s “I Fink U Freeky” kept the crowd alert, as they made efforts to sift out other familiar rhythms and samples.
Aucoin’s laptop acted as an instrument as much as the drum kit set up before him. Frequently looking over at the small screen to his left, pressing buttons perfectly in time with the music, he was effectively conducting a mini techno orchestra. “Cold Step” commenced with haunting piano effects, showcasing the DJ-drummer hybrid in a swarm of heavy energetic percussive and techno sounds. At the end of Aucoin’s set, a gentleman brandishing a solid black guitar case sauntered across the room, having plenty of space to breakdown and boogie with the crowd not exceeding thirty spectators.
The Particle crew followed on stage, delivering a slew of zippy electro grooves. Guitarist Ben Combe, with body pivoted forward, scrunched facial expressions and fingers scrambling across the fretboard, plainly indicated his full mental immersion. Keyboardist Steve Molitz demonstrated his own enthusiasm, purposefully pressing specific keys while giving raised eyebrows to the crowd as if to say, “How do you like this?” His effects often produced sounds synonymous to the grand majesty of Manheim Steamroller’s epic instrumental holiday ballads.
Clay Parnell (bass/vocals) and drummer Allen Aucoin rounded out the four-man crew. With their powers combined, the band performed a collection of songs that were as distinctive as a litter of Dalmatian puppies. Their music activated the perfect environment for listeners to zone out but still manage to feel stimulated with high-speed instrumentals and enthusiasm exuding from the musicians.
When you take some of the best hardcore, metal, and hip hop and throw them into Reading, PA over a course of two days? You get The East Coast Tsunami Festival. It was beautiful and chaotic that packs a punch to the mouth and ears that gets stuck in your system for days. That occurred to me when Wu-Tang Clan headlined the Santander Arena on Friday, September 25 and Life Of Agony finished everything off the next night over at The Reverb.
Let me take an opportunity to get the negative out of the way first. And it occurred on day one: sound issues. Never in all my years of attending concerts did I see so many sound issues that kept recurring for EVERY act that played on stage. People paid good, hard earned money to see their idols perform, and for the sound staff over at the Santander Arena should be ashamed of themselves. Countless times, microphones were either turned off or not working, ruining every performance. I give props to all the performers that just continued and not let it get to them. When Body Count was on stage, frontman Ice T was not having it and had to start one of their songs over. It was just obnoxious.
Day 1:
The main headliners were Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, and Body Count. The beautiful thing about day one was the variety of fans of every ethnicity, age, and culture gathered for the same purpose. There was mainly hip hop acts, but there was a few hardcore bands and of course Body Count is a mixture of both. Overall a brilliant bill for that night and the floor / pit area was packed.
Early in the night….the two bands whom I never seen who really stood out to me was Strength For A Reason, because they had the most sound issues than any other band but they handled themselves so well and Wisdom In Chains really made the crowd go bananas. Never seen a band have so much fun on stage yet they kept the atmosphere so brutal. They definitely made a fan out of me that night.I was also really impressed with Gillie The Kid. It was hip hop in it’s finest form. He really knew how to connect with the people on the floor during his performance and his hooks, freestyle, and rhymes were just a blast to behold.
I was absolute ecstatic to finally see Body Count, I felt awful that I missed them during their run last year at Mayhem Festival, so to me, they were the main attraction. I was also fortunate enough to meet lead guitarist Ernie C before the show, who was such a nice person and a pleasure to meet. The thing that’s so fascinating about Body Count is the chemistry and timing they share on stage, now I was not old enough or lucky enough to have seen the original lineup over twenty years ago, but the current lineup of Body Count still give the old songs justice. They kept their setlist faithful by opening with “Necessary Evil” and “Bowels Of The Devil.” Ice T, who isn’t afraid to speak his mind or show his sense of humor really ripped into masculinity and society before going into “Manslaughter.” But the song that stood out the most was the classic and iconic “There Goes The Neighborhood.” Drummer Ill Will was just insane behind the kit. The spirit of Beat Master V lives on through Ill Will because his timing and speed was just off the chain and that song really showcased that. And what better way to end their ten song set with the controversial anthem “Cop Killer.” If Ice T can manage to find more time for Body Count, a headlining tour must happen.
Mobb Deep took the stage after Body Count and delivered a knockout punch to the crowd. Now I am not familiar with Mobb Deep’s catalogue, so I can’t honestly tell you much about their setlist, but I can tell you that it was a stellar performance, and even though it was already past midnight, the crowd was at their peak and Mobb Deep owned the crowd.
Wu-Tang Clan closed out the night and it was one of their better performances that I have seen with them. Each member got their moment on stage, they played a massive set that included not only from the early Wu Tang catalogue like “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Bring The Ruckus” but even some solo material such as Raekwon’s “Criminology”, Ghostface Killah’s “Black Jesus”, and GZA’s “Liquid Swords.” And of course there was plenty of Ol’ Dirty Bastard tributes and highlights during their set. But hands down, the member that stood out the most was Method Man. Meth is clearly a born performer, entertainer, and is one hell of a lyricist. And the crowd was also treated to some freestyles from Masta Killa and GZA. Another big highlight was the group even had a showcase from DJ Mathematics who went bezerk on the turn tables and really wowed the crowd. In conclusion, Wu-Tang clearly is still bringing their A-game and showing no signs of aging. I would expect great things in the near future from the Wu.
Day 2:
The Reverb did an excellent job hosting day two of East Coast Tsunami. It was a really long day and all the bands were clutch, but there was one band that dared to be different. Murphy’s Law totally changed the entire atmosphere of the night. They were bold enough to use humor, go into the crowd, share a few drinks and just be goofy. It was totally refreshing, because all day it was all hardcore bands. Serious hardcore. And as soon as Murphy’s Law hit the stage everything changed. It was also cool to see a saxophonist in a hardcore band. That’s not something you see everyday. Later into the night Doyle hit the stage bringing his spookfest into the club. Also…seeing Doyle made me want to hit the gym. That man is in ridiculous good shape for a man his age. And it was also amusing to see him blowing bubbles from his chewing gum as he is playing his guitar.
After an amazing set from Walls Of Jericho,Madball put on the performance of a lifetime by wiping the floor with everyone. The pits were fierce and the bodies were continuously flying off the stage and into the crowd. Opening with “Demonstrating My Style” they played all the songs you would expect such as “Set It Off” and “Black And Blue.” Freddy Cricien is one hell of a frontman…I honestly don’t know where he gets the energy to perform at such a high level throughout the whole set. As for the band, you can tell they were having fun with each other and with the crowd as well. Madball is living proof that hardcore still lives.
The night closed with a special performance with Life Of Agony, who was the ultimate cherry on the brutal sundae that was East Coast Tsunami Fest. Not disappointing what so ever, most of their set consisted of River Runs Red. Opening with the title track off that album, along with “This Time”, and the always catchy “Method Of Groove.” Mina Caputo proves she’s the ultimate frontwoman for the band, and still sings the songs the way they were meant to be heard. Joey Z was an absolute fiend on the guitar and where ever he and the band went, the crowd responded. This was such a treat to behold to see all four original members tearing it up. It would be crime of the century if don’t play more shows around the east coast. The highlight of the show would have to be “Bad Seed.” Never have I seen so much stage diving going on during a show. I was almost worried for the bands safety, but clearly they loved it. Appropriately, they ended the night with ”Underground.” There is nowhere to go but up for this band. This is why they closed the entire two day festival, Life Of Agony is in a class of their own right now.
To sum this all up, East Coast Tsunami was a wave of brutality that every music lover should experience. What could make it better? Perhaps, a three day festival in the future? Only time will tell.
Frankie Ballard recently celebrated his third #1 hit with his latest single “Young & Crazy.” He may be one of country music’s brightest up and coming stars, but that didn’t keep him from traveling deep into the NEPA back roads to Meshoppen, PA to the Kiwanis Wyoming County Fair.
Ballard was The Fair’s main stage act and many of his die-hard fans traveled hours to catch his performance because it was one of his last headlining shows of the year.
The crowd may have been smaller than anticipated but their energy made it feel like there were 10 times the amount there. Ballard started his set with a cover of the song he wrote with Big & Rich called “I Came To Git Down.” He kept the momentum going with fan favorite “Drinky Drink” which flowed well into the title track of his latest album “Sunshine & Whiskey.”
Ballard changed the pace of the set when he gave his drummer, Ross Webb a break and hopped onto the drum kit and let his guitarist Eddie Robinson take the lead vocals with a cover of The Wallflowers’ “One Headlight”. He kept the covers coming with an incredible rendition of Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.” This had both Ballard and the crowd jumping up and down.
Ballard told the audience that even though he has been touring non-stop he still has managed to work on his next album. He was so excited about the new record he decided to share a new song called “Sweet Time”. The crowd may not of known the lyrics but they all seemed to agree that they liked the new track.
Ballard rounded out his set with “Tell Me You Get Lonely” and with his first #1 song “Helluva Life”.
But the crowd wasn’t done with him so he came back out to close his set with another new song called “L.A. Woman”.
Frankie Ballard will continue to tour with Florida Georgia Line throughout the fall then he will head out on the road with Randy Houser’s first arena headlining tour in November.
Jubilee Riots (formerly known as Enter the Haggis) made a return trip to Saranac as part of the brewery’s Saranac Thursday Concert Series on July 23. Hailing from the greater Toronto area, Jubilee Riots have made it a tradition to perform at Saranac the Thursday prior to the Great American Irish Festival in nearby Frankfort. While the band wasn’t performing this year’s Irish Fest, its traditional set on the brewery stage attracted many Enter the Haggis/Jubilee Riots faithful.
Jubilee Riots is a band that is constantly working, constantly thinking, always thinking of its fans. The last three albums recorded have all been funded through crowd sourcing. There aren’t many working bands today that can say they’ve been able to produce three straight albums funded exclusively by their fan base. The band’s most recent release, Penny Black, is the first under its new moniker, Jubilee Riots. The first video from this release is an entertaining gospel-like animated take on the song “Trying Times”.
The band began as Enter the Haggis in Toronto in 1996, playing a mix of Celtic and modern rock music. It toured the Celtic festival circuit extensively, building a sizable and loyal fan base along the way. Over the course of seven studio albums, two live albums, a performance on Regis and Kathie Lee and a live DVD filmed for PBS, the band’s sound transitioned to where the Celtic sound was becoming less prominent. The Celtic core was still there but listening to each successive album revealed an evolution to a more mainstream northern roots rock sound. To get a true feel for this transformation, one must listen to the catalog from its beginning to the present release. Doing so reveals a band that has matured in songwriting style and musicianship while still maintaining the feel good presence of the original Haggis sound.
Eventually, a change in the style of music, prompted the band to consider a name change. This was something that didn’t come easily to a band with an already established and enthusiastic fan base. However, as piper/trumpeter Craig Downie, the only original member of the Enter the Haggis, mentioned in the press release announcing the name change, “We toured and recorded as Enter The Haggis for a long time, but that name no longer represents the music that we’re making.”
On Sept. 8, 2014, it became official. Going forward, Enter the Haggis would now be known as Jubilee Riots. The final show as Enter the Haggis occurred at the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse on Oct. 11, 2014. A show that was billed as Exit the Haggis. To celebrate the one year anniversary of that show, the band is returning to the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse for a show on Oct. 9.
Prior to the recent Saranac show, NYSMusic sat down in the 1888 Tavern with lead singer/violinist/man of many hats, Brian Buchanan, bassist/vocalist Mark Abraham and drummer/percussionist Bruce McCarthy to discuss the band’s direction, crowd funding, technology, the writing process, a little hockey and what thought goes into changing a band’s name midstream. Original member Craig Downie and guitarist Trevor Lewington round out the band’s lineup.
NYSM (to Brian): You’re a Leafs fan, have you seen the news today that they hired Lou Lamoriello as the new GM?
Brian: I hope you’re joking. ARE YOU SERIOUS? WOW! (gives a background on Lamoriello’s background building the New Jersey Devils franchise)
NYSM: He’s got a Utica tie-in as well. He used to be the GM when the Devils had a team here.
Brian: Wow, what a weird combination of people. You’ve got Brendan Shanahan as President, Babcock as coach and Lamoriello as GM. That’s pretty powerful stuff.
NYSM: Speaking of change, how are you guys doing with the name change? You’re not the first established band to do it. The Who did it. They were The Detours and The High Numbers. The Beatles did it. They were once The Quarrymen. So you’re in good company.
Brian: It’s a challenge. We knew it was gonna be a challenge. We didn’t make the decision because we thought it would be the easiest business decision in the world. But, also our fans have really been supportive and have been behind us. I think some people are still really confused, saying “I’ll call myself a Haggis Head til the day I die,” and that’s absolutely fine with us. So in some ways it was kind of an artistic decision more than anything else and it still feels good and it feels like it was the right decision to make…”
[Interrupted by a fan looking for a selfie with the band, handled very deftly by Brian “Good times. Good times.”]
NYSM: Obviously you have a huge loyal fan base. When you started doing crowd funding for your albums, it took you, what, eleven hours to reach your goal?
Brian: The first one, yeah. This last one was just about as good too. And we raised about the same amount of money. It’s incredible. Over three records, we’ve raised over $150,000 from the fans, financing the records, the promotion of the records.
NYSM: So you’re not beholden to a record company…
Brian: No, and there’s not a lot of bands out there that can say that. The crowd funding thing is getting a lot more mainstream and a lot more popular, but you still need the fan base to step up. And I know lots of bands who are objectively bigger names than we are who can’t get crowd funding campaigns off the ground. Because they just don’t have that kind of personal loyalty.
NYSM: Well you guys kinda did that through the ground roots anyway, traveling around, meeting your fans, engaging them…
Brian: True, every fan we have is one we’ve played for and shaken hands with. It’s definitely been one fan at a time.
NYSM: You guys are an easy band to like anyway. You’re so cordial to deal with, taking selfies with fans in the middle of interviews…
Brian: We’re Canadian…(laughter)
Bruce: That’s what we’re constantly telling one another too, “Man, you’re a really easy guy.”
NYSM: You guys are all kinda separated now? As far as where you live?
Brian: I live in Philly now. Three of the guys are still in Ontario. From where Trevor lives to where Craig lives is like four hours and then Bruce is kind of in the middle and Mark’s in Maine. We’re definitely spreading out further and further as time goes on.
NYSM: Of course it’s a lot easier now with technology for you to collaborate, as we were saying, with Dropbox and Skype and Google Docs, your Patreon thing…
[Patreon is a crowd funding platform that Brian uses to release music and blogs that he otherwise wouldn’t do within the context of the band, with the eventual hopes of putting together his own traditional fiddle album, covers album or “bizarre and overwrought theatre-pop.”]
Brian: There are so many avenues to generating interest and as a nice by-product, generating income, but even as a band, even though we’re spread out as far as we are,when we were getting ready to put together the last album, we set up a Dropbox account. Trevor and I or anyone else, could record a demo and stick it in Dropbox and the rest of the guys could open it up and listen to it and add their comments. We did all the lyrics and artwork through Google Docs and people could add their thank yous and change lyrics and do everything through there and keep everything updated. The tools that are available for free now are mind-blowing. You think back twenty years ago, the things that we take for granted now as a band; tools that we use every day that didn’t exist. Things that would have taken a team of people to do. You’d have to lick 20,000 envelopes. Now I can spend 20 minutes writing an email and get the same reach.
Bruce: We have a WiFi hub in the van that we use to broadcast. It broke and we haven’t had it fixed yet so we had to grab one of those tourism books and that was the beginning of us driving around just trying to find a hotel; which is how the band used to do things once upon a time before Priceline and Hotwire and all that. It was a sobering experience.
Brian: The fact that we have internet accessibility in the van, when you’re on the road for twelve hours in the van, it’s not twelve wasted hours. We can actually get a lot of work done. You can be interacting with the fans. We’ll do live streaming conversations with the fans while we’re on the actual road.
NYSM: So when you do record, you said you just kind of drop things into Dropbox. Do you still get together in an actual studio to do the recording or is it mainly all Dropbox then putting it all together?
Brian: Even if we did use that, it would be the roughest of rough demos. Then, for the last couple of records, we got together at Bruce’s house. He’s got a studio in his basement. So we’ll do comprehensive demos there to nail down a playlist and then book a professional studio for a month to finalize everything. It’s a nice luxury to be able to do that. My girlfriend’s band, they’ve been trying to put together an album for over a year, because they all have jobs. They all go to school. So they try to find a weekend here or there where they can get into a studio. We have a nice luxury to be able to do it this way.
NYSM: On to your latest album, Penny Black; it’s kind of fan-based project where you asked fans to submit letters and the best thing about it, again, going back to the technology thing, you kind of reversed things. The submissions had to be hand-written and sent via snail mail in order to be considered.
Brian: Analog!
Mark: It was probably close to 500 letters. I still used technology to scan them in and put them on Google Docs. It was cool because I got to read all of them.
Bruce: It was sort of very convoluted that way we set it up, just to end up scanning the stuff anyway.
Brian: We did a video and sent out emails telling people to write us letters by hand, which they would mail to us so that we could scan them into Google Docs then use them to write the album. (laughter)
NYSM: So, why mail? Why that way?
Brian: We just liked the idea of seeing people’s stories in their own handwriting.
Bruce: Well it’s also the whole Penny Black idea.
Brian: The Penny Black was the first mass-produced postage stamp, so we just liked the old idea of people taking the time and writing a letter and really thinking about writing a letter and not just instant messenger. Writing it out in your own words and sending it to somebody. I’ve talked to a few people who said they wrote multiple drafts before sending them. When you’re doing it by hand, ya know, that’s a commitment.
Bruce: Some of them were like ten pages long, double-sided, small print…
Brian: Some of them were anonymous, some put their names to them.
NYSM: So when you looked at some of them, could you tell right away who it was writing?
Brian: Oh yeah, sure. Definitely.
Bruce: Some pretty intimate stuff too. A lot of people signed their names. That’s a lot of trust. We know who these people are.
Brian: These people are bearing their souls and it was pretty heavy at times. They said they’ve never told their story to anybody so it was kind of therapeutic. Then they’ll come up to us after the show and say, “I was the one who wrote such-and-such letter” and you say to them, “I’ve never met you before but I feel like I know a whole lot about you now.”
NYSM: I think that just speaks volumes about how you feel about your fans. You actually kind of put it back on them. It was an album for them.
Brian: Oh yeah, absolutely. That was the whole idea. We meet so many people from so many different walks of life. The best stories are people stories. Everybody you meet has one story you can write a song about. And if they don’t, you can write a song about that.
NYSM: So you had 500 or so letters, do you have enough for another Penny Black in you?
Brian: We could easily write another album. I don’t know if we will but it’s possible. A lot the songs weren’t inspired by just one letter. There were certain themes that emerged; losing a loved one, meeting the love of your life, some coming-of-age story…
NYSM: The release you guys put out when you announced the name change, I think it was Craig who said, “The name just doesn’t fit what we’re doing now.” Kind of de-categorizing yourself in a way, where you’re not pigeon-holing yourself into being just an Irish-style band. We’re not just doing Irish songs, we’re starting to broaden and become un-categorizable, if that’s a word. Is that an accurate description?
Brian: Yup, definitely. We got to the point where we felt the name Enter the Haggis was a perfectly appropriate and suitable name for about 15-20% of the music that we were playing. And, sort of extension of that was the worry that the name was sort of limiting the audience to about that 15-20% of the people who would like what we do. The name is a great name for a certain style of music but it puts a picture in people’s heads before they even hear a note of what kind of music it’s going to be. And you only have so many opportunities to get people’s attention these days.
Ya know, if I hated metal and I heard the name Cradle of Filth, I would never even put the record on. But maybe years later I’d find out that I was completely wrong about that band and the type of music they were playing. It’s always kind of been in the back of our heads that our name might be limiting our exposure to people who wouldn’t even give us a chance based on the idea that they wouldn’t like it before they even heard it.
You hope that people would be open-minded. We’re competing with so much these days, it’s hard enough to even get people to listen to just thirty seconds of a song and if you’re already having to break through a barrier before you even get to that point, then it’s that much harder.
Bruce: Also, 80 percent of the band is different.
NYSM: Right, Craig’s the only original member of Enter the Haggis left, correct?
Bruce: Right. That original, if you want to call it, that Enter the Haggis sound, we don’t play any of those songs. Not a single one. It just got to the point where we still play plenty of Enter the Haggis songs and they still make up the majority of our set. It just got to the point where that first incarnation of the band, Craig was the only remaining member of that and we don’t play any of those songs. I’ve never even heard most of those songs. So it just got to a point where it kind of didn’t make sense. That duality that didn’t kind of meet anywhere in the middle where it was reconcilable.
Brian: We’ve had the luxury of being able to grow up as a band, learning what kind of band that we want to be and we’ve done it in the public eye. I liken it almost to a child actor who became really popular who became known for a certain thing and as they get older and start getting serious, branching out to different things, it’s difficult for them because if you go on YouTube and search their name, all they see is that sit-com, that catch phrase. It’s really hard for them to break away from that and do different things because everybody likens them to that original thing. That’s kind of what a band name is like.
If you go on YouTube and search “Enter the Haggis,” the way YouTube works, the oldest videos are the ones that have been watched the most times and those are what show up at the top of the search. You’ll find videos of ours that are 9-10 years old and that’s not representative of where we are now. We’re not ashamed of our legacy, but we’re definitely competing against it.
Bruce: You know what’s interesting though? Since changing the name and kind of getting a little distance from it, I think we’ve all gotten more interested in the Celtic stuff. More so than we have been in some time. It’s kind of like when you feel you have to do something, it’s an obligation, whereas if you have a choice to do something. You tend to enjoy it more. It’s two very different things. We’re starting to embrace that Celtic element of the past, even a little bit more than we had in the past five years or so.
Brian: Subconsciously, I think we were feeling the pressure as Enter the Haggis to constantly prove that we weren’t just that type of band. So we were almost pressured to move away from it. Who knows what will come next? Maybe we’ll release a trad album. (laughter)
NYSM: Do you have new venues you’ve been playing that you like, that maybe are attracting new fans?
Mark: There are a lot of people who have discovered us since the name change that didn’t even know of us before. I don’t think it was so much changing venues though.
Brian: We’ve had more radio play from this record than we’ve had before. We hit number nine on the U.S. Billboard Heat Seekers chart when the album was released, which we’ve never done before. We finally got played on the biggest rock radio station in Canada, which has never happened before. It was in a like a next big thing type of contest, which we could only enter because they didn’t know we’ve been around for fifteen years.
Bruce: I think you said it was “like” a next big thing contest. It was literally called “The Next Big Thing.” (laughter)
Following our interview, Jubilee Riots went on to perform before one of the largest Saranac Thursday crowds of the summer to long-time, dedicated fans as well as those who had never heard them before. By the end of its second set, the band had the Utica crowd dancing along. It was a night much like what was discussed in the interview. Many there had never heard the band in their previous incarnation and were won over. Such is the life of this hard-working Canadian band.
Jubilee Riots are kicking off its fall tour at the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse with a recording release show on Oct. 9. The band is releasing the historic “Exit the Haggis” from last fall’s Westcott show that night as well as performing. Julia Weldon is the opening act.
Jubilee Riots fall tour dates:
10/9/15 – The Westcott Theatre – Syracuse, NY
10/10/15 – The Town Crier – Beacon, NY
11/5/15 – Flower City Station – Rochester, NY
11/6/15 – The Putnam Den – Saratoga Springs, NY
11/13/15 – Infinity Hall – Norfolk, CT
11/14/15 – Higher Ground – South Burlington, VT
11/20/15 – The Strand Theatre – Rockland, ME
11/21/15 – Stone Mountain Arts Center – Brownfield, ME
11/27/15 – World Cafe – The Queen – Wilmington, DE
Zach Condon, the project’s front man, has admitted in numerous interviews that this album is the result of a lot trials and tribulations. Having went through marital and mental troubles, Condon retreated to a simple sound of Full-bodied piano chords paired with quiet vocals. Its low budget style must have made it easy to record as the band was in and out of the studio quickly.
Alan Price’s “Sell Sell” opens the album, a driving version of the original with John Bell following the varying cadences of the tongue-tying lyrics. “Steven’s Cat,” an ode to the influential Cat Stevens, is the first Panic song written in the studio by the band and stands out as one of the strongest songs of the album, both for the thought-provoking lyrics and the blend of all six band members sound – no one outshines another.
