Category: Jam/Progressive

EXCLUSIVE: Ocular Panther Premiere Obtuse Snoot and Add Drummer

A few months back the band nicknamed as Ocupanther reverted to their full name Ocular Panther and started touring as a three piece with multi-instrumentalist Collin Jones handling guitar and keys. The all instrumental electro-prog-space-funk band has been gathering larger and larger crowds regionally and writing tons of new material. NYSMusic is elated to offer fans the first look at “Obtuse Snoot” from Ocu’s 2014 release Data Stretching. Ocupanther is the aforementioned Jones, Jason Gilly on Bass, and Mikey Pantano on guitar.

Ocu fans will also be psyched to know the band has expanded their lineup to include the mega-talented Jimmy Grillo on the skins. Grillo played for years on the NY scene in the now defunct Roots Collider and will debut as drummer March 26 at Flour City Station in Rochester with NYC’s hottest also-instrumental trio – Consider the Source. Grillo is also currently in The Younger Gang. Obtuse Snoot.

March 5, 2015
The Jauntee Hit New York Before West Coast Run

The Jauntee will play a New York City show – plus one in Boston -before heading out for a West Coast run.

The hard-touring jam band from Boston will hit Church in Boston before a show at Pianos on March 15 in New York City.

Then they’re set to play play a number of concerts throughout Colorado, plus stops in Ohio and Kentucky before returning to the Northeast with a New Hampshire show on April 11.

The band, which bills itself as “Psychedelic-JazzBluesFunk with a touch of Latin based Reggae” consists of Caton Sollenberger on guitar, Tony Cerullo playing keys, John Loland on bass, and drummer Scott Ferber.

Full tour schedule:

3/14 – Church – Boston, MA
3/15 – Pianos – New York, NY
3/17 – Stanley’s Pub – Cincinnati, OH
3/18 – Hideaway Saloon – Louisville, KY
3/20 – Old Town Pub – Steamboat Springs, CO
3/21 – Currents Restaurant – Salida, CO
3/22 – Mountain Sun Brewery – Boulder, CO
3/23 – Sanchos Broken Arrow – Denver, CO
3/25 – Cervantes Other Side – Denver, CO
3/26 – The Little Bear – Evergreen, CO
3/27 – Hodi’s Half Note – Fort Collins CO
3/28 – Black Nugget Saloon – Carbondale, CO
4/01 – Fly Me to the Moon Saloon – Telluride, CO
4/02 – Fly Me to the Moon Saloon – Telluride, CO
4/03 – The Barkley Ballroom – Frisco, CO
4/04 – Quixote’s True Blue – Denver, CO
4/08 – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH
4/11 – Stone Church – Newmarket, NH

February 26, 2015
Umphrey’s McGee Rocks Landmark Theatre, Syracuse

Three months from now, Umphrey’s McGee is going to be playing at a festival, outdoors, for a couple thousand fans wearing t-shirts and hula hooping. When the Midwestern six-piece came through Syracuse on Friday night, they packed the lavish Landmark Theatre in a manner that paid no attention to the swankiness of their position. Rather, they embraced the venue’s beautiful architecture and seated floor with a level of welcomed informality.

While Umphrey’s is a regular on the summer festival circuit, it’s not uncommon to see the band play a venue like The Landmark. All six members are incredibly talented musicians, which is an obvious fact to anyone who has the chance to witness their several-hour set.

Upon taking the stage on Friday, Umphrey’s played for over seventy minutes straight, continuously jamming without pause. The set came in waves, ebbing and flowing in a pattern dictated by the band’s instinctive energy. At times the music would gradually build, then crash in an upheaval of guitar solos and layered percussion. Other times the music would transition without warning, timed by seemingly telepathic communication amongst the musicians on stage.

Umphrey’s played like a band that had been jamming together for almost twenty years, and they have. Since their formation at the University of Notre Dame in 1997, Umphrey’s have perfected their live performance. Guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger each took turns playing lead, oftentimes matching each other in brisk, intricate riffs. The two would go between simultaneous playing and a call & response pattern, constantly producing melodies for the band’s remaining members to sustain.

While bassist Ryan Stasik and keyboardist Joel Cummins laid the groundwork for Bayliss and Cinninger to harmonize on guitar, Andy Farag and Kris Myers made up a percussion section with full, driving instrumentation. Farag’s use of auxiliary pieces – ranging from bongos to rototoms and everything in between – created an almost worldly style of rhythm.

Umphrey’s ability to diversify their sound is a main component in what differentiates the band from its counterparts. With progressive rock influences fused into traditional world music stylings, Umphrey’s is able to take their performances in a uniquely exciting direction.

The band has begun to take advantage of this particularly impressive sound, offering fans a product called Headphones & Snowcones. For $40, audience members at the Landmark wore Audio-Technica headphones with a live feed from the soundboard piped directly into their ears. In an attempt to give people the clearest, most pristine sound, Umphrey’s has added this component to almost all of their current tour dates. While only a small handful of fans took advantage of the opportunity in Syracuse, the idea of it certainly says something about the importance Umphrey’s places on their sound.

Headphones or no headphones, everyone at the concert found a way to tune into the performance. The chance to see Umphrey’s play at the historic Landmark was well worth braving Friday’s winter conditions, and for a couple of hours, it felt just as good as it will in the sun three months from now.

Set 1: Gurgle > Out Of Order > Mail Package, Miami Virtue > Mad Love, 2X2 > 1348

Set 2: In The Kitchen > Similar Skin, Puppet String > Believe The Lie, Immigrant Song, Tribute To The Spinal Shaft -> In The Kitchen, Wizard Burial Ground

Encore: Young Lust -> Puppet String

February 24, 2015
Aqueous is My New Jam

Aqueous – a four-piece out of Buffalo – has been making waves recently in the ever crowded and continually diversifying jam band circuit. Those waves hit my ears finally on a frigid night at the Flour City Station in Rochester.

Flying out of the gates with a beautifully soaring slide guitar, and some heavy driving beats on Don’t Do It, Aqueous grabbed hold of the waiting audience and buckled them in for rocking ride late into the night. The rock assault was fairly relentless, each song flowed seamlessly together with hardly a let-up. But even for the uninitiated like myself, the switches were well-marked and never left you lost or disoriented. This speaks both to the quality of the songwriting, and the pointed-ness of the jamming. It didn’t veer off into aimless noodling, chugging always ahead.

My internal running commentary was devoid of the usual thoughts on the talents of the individual musicians – not that there wasn’t plenty of it to notice. It was also devoid of the usual they-sound-like-this-band comparisons. Aqueous is that rare band that blends it’s myriad influences into a wholly unique sound, while also blending its individual components into a singular force.

They seem to be caught squarely at a juncture of heavy groove and heavy rock. Perhaps best exemplified in their exploratory vehicle Origami, which lulls you with a quasi-reggae groove, before blasting you away with a heavy rocking assault, and back and forth it went from there. And the heaviness kept rearing its head throughout the set, culminating in a climactic set closing cover of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” that had the band and crowd alike banging heads and saluting the altar of rock with devil’s fingers. Impressive through and through.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – another band quickly on the rise – was also on the evening’s jam-heavy bill. On the surface, a pretty standard funk outfit, they cracked open each song to reveal a glowing improvisational interior featuring the phenomenal guitar work of Jeremy Schon. I never knew that’s what funk looked like from the inside! While mostly funky and jammy, songs later in their set like Horizon and Julia showcased a poppier side, with instantly likeable hooks and melodies. As their name might imply, this is a band that brings a playful energy to the stage that can’t be contained, seeping generously into the crowd.

Ocular Panther, a two guitar and bass trio out of Rochester, got the evening started with some long instrumental prog rock explorations. They recently found themselves without a drummer and made effective use of electronic beats managed by one of the guitarists. Though with the complex improvisational nature of their music, a live drummer almost seems a necessity to bring their incredible visions fully to fruition.

Setlists

Aqueous:

Don’t Do It > What’s the Connection, Complex > Fame* > Origami, Underlyer > Dave’s Song > Master of Puppets**

ENCORE: Mosquito Valley Pt 1 > Gordon’s Mule

* David Bowie

** Metallica

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong:

Upfunk, Time To Ride, Whoopie, Pop Off, Horizon, Burning Up My Time> The Liquid, Julia>Rugrats>Julia

Ocular Panther:

Marking Houses, Compartmentalizations, III E III, Protactinium, Insistences, I Feel Love * , Stairs

* Donna Summer

Review by Eli Stein

Photos by Darren Kemp

February 24, 2015
Update: Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Mail Order

Dead fans across the world have been desperate to hear back from the Fare Thee Well Mail Order room about their tickets to the bands 50th anniversary shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field. With the public on-sale date of Feb. 28 rapidly approaching – unfortunately – it doesn’t look good. With over 60,000 requests for 350,000+ tickets it’s estimated that only one in ten fans will be singing “Truckin’” instead of “Brokedown Palace”. Team Dead encourages fans who do not hear back on mail order by the public date of Feb. 28 to try and get tickets that day.

Check out the whole statement below and good luck!

We’ve been submerged in a sea of mail and are coming up for a breath of air to give you an update on where we stand right now. We are 75% of the way processing all of the orders, working 24/7 to get your money orders back to you. There were many, many times more order requests than anyone imagined, thousands and thousands with beautiful art. We are trying to let as many folks as possible know their status before the onsale date. Emails will go out to the winners starting in the next two days. Your chances of receiving tickets from us are 1 in 10, so if you have not received a winner’s email from us by the on-sale date, you may want to consider on line ticket sales to increase your chances.

Tickets will be mailed out in June.

Please do not email us at this time as we will not be able to answer your inquiry.

Okay, we are taking a deep breath and going back under.
The crew of GDTS TOO
2.23.15

February 24, 2015
Winter Carnival 2015: Formula 5 at the Waterhole

It was a flying groove rather than a race, with Formula 5 performing at the Waterhole for Winter Carnival in Saranac Lake. The music flowed, the jams extended, the people danced. This band is composed of four talented young musicians from the Albany Area; Joe Davis on Guitar, Mike McDonald on Keyboard, James Woods on Bass and Greg Mark on Drums.

They have funk, improvisation jams and sound larger with a higher level of groove reminiscent of bands like Phish. Their songs are original with instrumental breaks and an underlying trance/dance rhythm. Nominated for ’s 2014 Bands on the Rise as well as Upstate Album of the year with“Edging on Catastrophe.” Formula 5 is a band that is accelerating fast, sure to be on the festival stages this summer and definitely not to be missed.

February 23, 2015
Rock n Roll Resort v5: ‘Electric Avenue’, First Wave Lineup

Wicked Cool Productions is proud to present Rock n Roll Resort v5: Electric Avenue welcoming in its first wave lineup: Fishbone, Easy Star All-Stars, Twiddle x2, Consider the Source, The Werks x2, Organically Good Trio (featuring Paul from Slightly Stoopid), The Skints (UK), Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan, Adam Ezra Group, Dangermuffin, The Kind Buds, Frank Viele, Formula 5, Gaslight Tinkers, Relative Souls, Strange Machines, Sprocket, People with Instruments, Demise vs Cheatcode & DJ N.E.B., Digital Storm, Political Animals, and The Mary Jane Jones. The Rock n Roll Resort v5 takeover happens April 30 – May 3, 2015 at the newly renovated Hudson Valley Resort & Spa, Kerhonkson, New York, in the heart of the Shawangunk Mountains in the gorgeous Catskills.

Tickets are on sale Monday, February 23 at NOON at rocknrollresort.com

The v5: Electric Avenue installment of Rock n Roll Resort will showcase an inspired mix of super talent with over 60 hours of musical entertainment, collaborative live art, activities including a disc-golf tournament and mini-golf tournament, workshops and theme nights, cyberistic euphoria, delicious catering and even a festival vendor row; all at an affordable price and within the conveniences of the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa. Many artists will take the stage multiple times throughout the weekend, and many more artists will be announced for the second wave lineup.

“For Electric Avenue, I wanted to blend a few concepts together. There’s The ‘Road to The Resort’ competition for up and coming bands, there’s the indoor vending that will be fashioned as an electric avenue, and there’s our continued relationship with the creative folks at Magic Hat Brewing,” says Shannon Plaquet, producer of Rock n Roll Resort. “It’s going to be one of the most diversified lineups of old school meets new school that we’ve ever had. We’ve dialed in pretty much everything in previous events and this one should be the best event yet.”

The full immersion Rock n Roll Resort experience is inviting and intriguing, expansive yet intimate, as fans, artists and craft vendors take over the grand resort. With music running from the afternoons until well past sunrise each day, super fans can dance into a frenzy, then walk back to their hotel rooms to re-energize or head to the dining hall for catered lunch or dinner. Rock n Roll Resort fans leave their tents at home and kick off the festival season in style!

Rock n Roll Resort Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Check out our past coverage of Rock n Roll Resort here.

February 20, 2015
Photo Gallery: Moon Hooch and Ampevene at The Hollow

Moon Hooch is an interesting concept – two saxophones (Mike Wilbur and Wenzi McGowen) and one drummer (James Muschler) combine energies to create a fusion of jazz and EDM with intensely high energy. Focused and committed to their craft, Moon Hooch are dialed in when they perform, driven by Muschler’s powerful drumming and phenomenal interplay between Wilbur and McGowan, leading to gyrating crowds pumping fists to the beat. “Number 9”, the first track off their eponymous debut album garnered an intense response from the audience, along with many other choice compositions.

It will be interesting to see how their live performance translates at music festivals this summer. In the meantime, go see Moon Hooch on tour this winter. Opening the night was Ampevene, a new local act from Albany who are slowly gaining ground with their progressive rock with a hint of open ended jamming. The young band are not to be missed and will be back at The Hollow next month.

February 19, 2015
StrangeCreek Campout 2015 Lineup Announced

Wormtown Trading has announced the lineup for the 3-day StrangeCreek Campout Music Festival May 22-25 2015 at Camp Kee-Wanee in Greenfield, Ma.

Get Strange with Max Creek, Zach Deputy, Consider The Source, and Central NY’s own Donna The Buffalo among many others across three stages this coming Memorial Day weekend.

Leading up to the festival, 36 bands will go head-to-head in three weeks of battle at four venues before heading to a week of semifinals and a final showdown on March 28. The winner of the 2015 StrangeCreek Battle of the Bands secures a spot in the festival’s lineup.

Tickets are going for $120 through May 10 (kids 12 and under are free).

Check out NYS Music’s recap of the 2014 StrangeCreek Campout here.

February 18, 2015
Chris Robinson Brotherhood Took Bearsville Higher

Tuesday nights in February are not the ideal time to be venturing outside of your house, but if there is good music to be had that will warm you up, get your boots on and get to your closest venue. Luckily for many people though, they were close to Bearsville Theatre for Chris Robinson Brotherhood making first area appearance since Mountain Jam. The sold out crowd gave a roar as the band took the stage and ripped right into “There’s a Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Roy Brown, setting the scene for the night showing they were here to rock and jam only as bands should when they come to Woodstock.

Touring in support of Phosphorescent Harvest The CRB, as they are known by their fanbase, played a few highlights of the album with “Meanwhile in the Gods…” and “Jump the Turnstiles” in the first set. The band was tight throughout the evening, which was great to see as they are breaking in new drummer Tony Leone. Sometimes when bands change members it takes a while to gel as a group, but The CRB was in fine form. Chris Robinson was in vocally great, as he always is, and even showed off some impressive guitar playing from time to time. Neal Casal handled much of the work on the guitar and it was wonderful to listen to his playing all night. He can solo with the best of them, but can also intricately shape songs without taking over the whole sound. “Tulsa Yesterday” closed the first set out with a thrilling jam that was a preview of what the meat of second set was going to be.

After a short break they came back out and hit the ground running with “Try Rock & Roll”. Everyone in Bearsville was tuned in to what the band was giving them and smiles were seen on everyone’s face, including the band between songs. Adam MacDougall seemed to be steering the jamming ship throughout the second set with some great work on the keys. The psychedelia was strong from his side of the stage and only pushed the others to join in. Chris Robinson is of course no stranger to that sound, so it was easy to see why he recruited Adam into the band. Mark Dutton may have gone unnoticed by many throughout the evening on the bass, but he has mastered being the grounding sound during the intense jams that happened. The biggest jam of the night took place during “Vibration & Light” that bled into “Hard to Handle” with a beautiful transition. The two songs were great, but the middle area where the band got weird and just jammed for a while was the clear highlight of the evening. This was followed by “Rosalee” where they once again went off the rails of the traditional song and let the space around them dictate where the song would go. Coming back with a live debut cover of Van Morrison’s “Call me up in Dreamland” was a fitting end to the evening.

Set 1: Good Rockin’ Tonight, Jump the Turnstile, Shore Power, Roane Country Blues, Star or Stone, Meanwhile in the Gods…, Tulsa Yesterday

Set 2: Try Rock & Roll, Beggar’s Moon, Clear Blue Sky & the Good Doctor, Reflections on a Broken Mirror, Vibration & Light>Hard to Handle, Rosalee, Sunday Sound

Encore: Call Me Up in Dreamland

February 18, 2015