NYS Music 20​15

Category: Rochester

  • New Year’s Eve Across New York State

    Don’t have plans yet for New Year’s Eve? Music fans across New York State have got plenty of choices this Thursday. NYS Music helps you get there with the short list of NYE activities.

    Albany

    Moe. at the Palace Theatre. Tickets start at $42 in advance/$50 day of show

    Rustic Overtones at the Hollow with Special Guests Mirk. $10.27 in advance/$15 at the door

    Buffalo

    Funktional Flow at Buffalo Iron Works with special guests Adam Bronstein’s Freehand Band. Tickets are $10 in advance/$15 day of show.

    Lazlo Hollyfeld, Rhubarb, Intrepid Travelers, and Folkfaces at Nietzsche’s. $5 at the door only.

    Ithaca

    Big Mean Sound Machine and Grey Gary at Upstairs at Lot 10, DJ ha-MEEN and Weazildust Downstairs at Lot 10. $20 in advance

    New York City

    DIIV at the Bowery Ballroom with special guest Tamaryn. $40

    Macy Gray at the Iridium Jazz Club. Tiered pricing tickets are currently available.

    Snarky Puppy at the Irving Plaza with special guests Breastfist. Tickets start at $50

    The Disco Biscuits and Consider the Source at the Playstation Theatre. Tickets starting at $69.50

    Port Chester

    Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at the Capitol Theatre with Soulive. Tickets range between $59.50 to $160

    Rochester

    Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad at the Historic German House with special guests Danielle Ponder & Tomorrow People and Funknut. Three Heads Brewing Tasting Party start at 7pm with an acoustic jam featuring members of GPGDS and Extended Family. Late night the party continues with Subsoil and Level 7 Hip Hop DJ Set. $20 in advance/$30 day of show.

    Mikaela Davis at the Bug Jar with Harmonica Lewinski and The Temptators. $10 in advance/$12 day of show

    Saratoga Springs

    Eastbound Jesus and Lucid at the Putnam Den. $15 in advance/$20 day of show.

    Turning Stone Casino in Verona

    Showtime, Gridley Paige, and Last Left at The Gig

    Ryan Brooks Kelly, The Beadle Brothers, and DVDJ Biggie at the Tin Rooster

    DJ Dread, Caroline D’Amore, and Joe Maz at Lava

    Isreal Hagan and Stroke and The Swooners at the Turquoise Tiger

    Syracuse

    Sophistafunk & Root Shock at Funk ‘n Waffles – Downtown.  $20 in advance/$25 day of show.

     Erie

    Aqueous at the Kings Rook Club. Two sets. $10 at the door only.

    Burlington

    Gang of Thieves at Nectar’s with The Tenderbellies. Gang of Thieves will be performing Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in its entirety. $10 in advance/day of show

  • All Them Witches Fire Up the Cauldron in Rochester

    Nashville’s All Them Witches played an hour-long set at The Bug Jar in Rochester that got started with a couple songs off their latest release, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker. Lead vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr. played the opening pair on the guitar, giving the band a heady two-guitar assault and leaving the low-end duties mostly to keys player Allan Van Cleave.

    all them witchesThe band’s full force though came forth once Parks picked up his bass. His hair-raising blasts to open “The Death of Coyote Woman” powerfully proclaimed the band’s intention to beat the audience down to a pulp. Shirtless, dreadlocked, and bearded, drummer Robby Staebler pounded the music onward through its peaks and valleys. With Parks committed to the bass the rest of the set, Ben McLeod’s guitar stood stronger and Van Cleave’s work on the electric piano shone through more brightly. After a superb slide guitar solo and keys-led jam section, “Death of Coyote Woman” evcntually calmed to a standstill before rising again for a glorious finish. When the dust had settled, the song’s companion “The Marriage of Coyote Woman” rose from the ashes. Both songs appear on their 2014 release Lightning at the Door which they sampled from amply throughout the evening. “Marriage” showed off the bands blues leanings, and resulted in another quality improv session.

    all them witchesThe heavy fuzzed-out “When God Comes Back” was a huge crowd pleaser, and played like the Devil’s rendition of “Young Man Blues.” Spoken word lyrics over a psychedelic guitar and keys accompaniment had the band channeling the Doors, but again, darker and eviler, on “Blood and Sand / Milk and Endless Waters.” The set came to a close with more bluesy rock and slide guitar on “Charles William.”

    Setlist: Call Me Star, Open Passageways, Death of Coyote Woman, Marriage of Coyote Woman, Mountain, When God Comes Back, Dirt Preachers, Blood and Sand / Milk and Endless Waters, Charles William

    New Madrid, out of Athens, GA, played an opening set of diverse indie-rock songs. Led by vocalist/guitarist Phil McGill, the band made the best use of their time, leaving little dead air and taking almost no time to address the audience. The music spoke plenty though. A mellow laid back rocker hinted at Mac DeMarco, a beautiful down-tempo instrumental was reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky, while an 80s style pop-rock tune saw McGill engaging in a whammy bar solo and exhibiting some freak-out dance moves. The quartet finished with a pair of major key fist-pumpers, the first featuring some inventive vocal looping while the closer played bright and bouncy.

    From Athens to Nashville, it was a night of Southern rock of a different sort, on this Saturday night at the Bug Jar in Rochester, NY.

  • Borg Party Heads to Buffalo and Rochester

    Buffalo and Rochester won’t be short of something amazing to see this holiday season as Borg Party invades both cities just days before the Christmas Holiday. The super group spearheaded by Dopapod’s Rob Compa (guitar) also features Mike Gantzer (Aqueous– guitar), Mikey Carruba (Turkuaz – drums), James Searl (Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad – bass) and Willy O’Riley (The Niche – keys). Borg Party will take over Buffalo Iron Works in Buffalo on Dec. 22 before moving to Flour City Station in Rochester on Dec. 23.

    The music looks to take on a festive atmosphere with a mix of covers and improvisational rifting. Compa, who grew up in Rochester, told NYS Music that he wanted to create a project that was less about creating something new and more about playing music that is enjoyable. “I was planning on coming home for the week of Christmas to visit my parents, so I figured I would call up some people who’s playing I really love who are from western New York and put together a couple shows just to have some fun and blow off some steam. That is really pretty much the whole point. Every one of the guys doing this with me is one of my favorites on their respective instruments, so I really wanted a chance to play with all of them.”

    It’s not the first time that Compa has played with several of the musicians in various incarnations. This summer Dopapod and Aqueous highlighted the Buffalove Music Festival as Aquapod. At Catskill Chill, Dopapod and Turkauz joined forces for the Dopakuaz featuring the music of Studio 54. Gantzer has also made appearances on stage with both Dopapod and Turkauz at various shows in Buffalo.

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    But for Compa, it’s also another opportunity to play with a musician that was an enormous influence on him as a teenager. “I used to go see Willy O’Riley play with his band the Niche when that venue [Flour City Station] was called Milestones,” he noted. “I was young and hungry to play, and was a huge fan of that band. They were incredibly cool to me and would let me sit in with them from time to time at that club. Willy in particular is a huge influence over who I became as a musician, and this will be our first time playing together in that room in almost ten years. I’m really excited to play with him again.”

    Borg Party is currently only planned as a two night engagement. Tickets for both shows at Buffalo Iron Works and Flour City Station are currently still available.

  • Tom Hamilton’s American Babies Wail in Rochester

    Tom Hamilton’s American Babies closed out a lengthy fall tour at Rochester’s Flour City Station. The 31-date tour lasted seven weeks and visited 29 cities spanning 17 states. That’s a lot of miles logged and a lot of notes played. They could have either come out tired and road weary with a just-get-it-done attitude or tighter than ever, ready to finish off 2015 strong. Luckily for us it was the latter.American.Babies.Roch.16

    The band, currently consisting of Hamilton’s long-time partner Clay Parnell on bass, Justin Mazer on guitar, Al Smith on drums, and young singer-songwriter Raina Mullen on guitar and backing vocals, played a set spanning their entire existence and beyond.

    Late in the 80 minute set, Hamilton pulled out “Boy,” one of the first songs he ever wrote, originally for Brothers Past. Earlier in the evening though they introduced the audience to a couple of new songs that will likely find their way on their next recording. Each expanded on their unique universe of Americana-based rock. “What Does It Mean To Be” added in an interesting blend of reggae and grunge rock that developed into a long improvisation where some of Hamilton’s electronic history shined through. Eventually the jam wound around to a funked up cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue” that was more a cover of Jerry Garcia Band’s cover of the tune. A long and rocking two guitar assault petered into a beautifully mellow segment that picked up steam again only to find its way back into “What Does It Mean To Be” to complete a delicious sandwich.

    They followed with another new tune called “Synth Driver,” with hints of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan fell into more of a 70s rock vibe. Things darkened up quickly with some heavy guitar effects through the middle section.

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    Jerry Garcia’s influence came back in a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come,” again a cover that was more influenced by Garcia’s version than the original. Some very Dead-like sounds emerged in some of the bands older tunes, particularly on takes of “They Sing ‘Old Time Religion’” and in a beautiful intro to “Invite Your Friends.” Perhaps a carry over from Hamilton’s involvement in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, or perhaps exactly the opposite? Either way it sounded great, and the American Babies maintained an original and enjoyable take on rock music.

    In only their second show ever, Buffalo’s Band of Peace, fronted by Big Leg Emma’s Steve Johnson, opened the show. Guitarist Joe Muffoletto channeled Dickey Betts to great effect, while the band romped through a rousing set of country and jazz infused rock.

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  • Blinded By The Price: New York Questions Springsteen Ticket Reselling

    Every music fan has endured the online ticketing rush; when the clock strikes on-sale time, it’s a frustrating game of repeatedly hitting refresh, chancing each click until that next one successfully  unfreezes the screen to show items in your cart. But in truth, most concertgoers stick it out to avoid being forced to pay for high-priced resale tickets, or missing out on the show entirely.

    While the secondary market has improved with the creation of fan-based campaigns and startups on a mission to embrace the face value, professional ticket brokering is still finding a way to flood the resale market. And New Jersey’s blue-jean boss Bruce Springsteen is the latest artist to fall victim (again) in the never-ending battle against ticket scalping.

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    Tickets for Springsteen‘s 2016 tour will be released at 10 a.m. today through Ticketmaster and Live Nation, but the New York Times reported Tuesday that hundreds of seats were already listed by resellers online with single-ticket prices beginning at $5,000.

    Thankfully, these eyebrow-raising listings led New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to send the involved sites letters that questioned the act of false advertising under state general business law, since sellers could not yet have the tickets in possession.

    The NYT also said that the sites in question — StubHub, TicketNetwork, Vivid Seats — either remained confident in their refund policy for invalid tickets or removed listings for concerts in New York until the public on-sale date. Schneiderman’s office called the removal of listings a victory for consumers and pledged to continue to work on the issue.

    Springsteen and the E Street Band are set to tour the country, making stops for two nights in New York City (Jan. 24 and 27), Albany (Feb. 8), Buffalo (Feb. 25) and Rochester (Feb. 27). Springsteen is touring in support of the box-set release of “The Ties That Bind: The River Collection,” and this run is a nod to the Boss’ career-making 1980 “The River” tour.

  • See All Them Witches at the Bug Jar On Saturday

    Amidst a seemingly non-stop tour, Nashville 4-piece psych rockers All Them Witches make a stop at Rochester’s Bug Jar on Saturday night. The band is touring in support of Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, released somewhat appropriately the day before Halloween, and it’s scary good. Dig this video they released for “Dirt Preachers” that looks something from a far dark corner of the Adventure Time universe. Then come dig them live on Saturday night.

    All Them Witches Bug JarIt’s a full bill of quality rock jams, with Rochester’s own King Buffalo getting the night started at 9pm, followed by New Madrid out of Athens, GA. As if that weren’t enough to sate your heavy riff fix, DJ Professor will be spinning more stoner rock before, after and in between sets.

    It’s all going down this Saturday, December 12 at the Bug Jar. Tickets are available now at their site for $10, with prices increasing at the door to $12 for the over crowd and $14 for the younger set.

  • Catch Assembly of Dust on a Pre-Thanksgiving Run

    Assembly of Dust heads out on a four show trek from Connecticut to Western New York shortly before Thanksgiving and have a new live release in the works.

    The unique sound of Assembly of Dust draws on influences including Neil Young, The Band, Traffic and other 70s rock acts, forming an acoustic panoply with deep lyrics, catchy hooks with a groove to the sound. USA Today has said Assembly of Dust has what it takes to “dazzle the Alt-Country universe,” but seeing the live performance is what makes AOD stand out among the folk/Americana acts of today.

    Featuring Reid Genauer (vocals, guitar), Adam Terrell (lead guitar, vocals), John Leccese (bass, vocals), Jason Crosby (keys, violin, vocals) and Dave Diamond (drums, vocals), the short tour begins on Thursday, November 19 at Fairfield Theatre Company in Fairfield, CT and continues on Friday November 20 at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY, Saturday November 21 at Flour City Station in Rochester, NY and wraps up Sunday November 22 at The Waiting Room in Buffalo, NY. For more info, visit AODust.com.

    Assembly of Dust is also in the process of releasing a digital download of their December 12, 2014 Portland, OR show at Mississippi Studios. The show features special guest, Mark Karan of RatDog, adding a great dynamic to the AOD sound.

    In January, forces collide when members of Assembly of Dust, Strangefolk and God Street Wine unite for Assembly of Strange Wine at The Capitol Theatre in Portchester, NY on January 15 and on January 16 at The Paradise in Boston. Each show will feature separate sets from each band with a mash up set at the end of the show. Tickets are on sale now.

  • Stephane Wrembel Records Live Album in Rochester

    Guitarist Stephane Wrembel reached some level of notoriety when he was the man behind Woody Allen’s Gypsy-jazz-inspired film Sweet and Lowdown. He has gone on to do a few more soundtracks for Allen, as well as others. It is easy to see why he makes such a good choice for matching music to movies. His compositions, though completely instrumental, tell vivid stories all on their own.Stephane Wrembel - Loving Cup 2

    Some artists write lyrics to tell their stories. Some leave their song’s meanings up to the interpretation of the listener. But for Wrembel, each of his compositions had a specific inspiration that he communicated in detail to the audience. The evening started, however, with a meditation on the Universe. Before the band got started, Wrembel wanted everyone to have a clear mind. To arrive at that point we followed his train of thought, pondering how the Universe came to be, and what was there before. ‘Nothing’ is just a concept, so there must have been something. We are a part of the everything forever. With that out of the way, the dining and drinking crowd was primed for Wrembel and his band: Kells Nollenberger on double bass, Thor Jensen on guitar, and drummer Nick Anderson.

    Since they were recording the evening (and the evening prior) for a possible future live release, he warned, “Everything can be held against you.” This night they concentrated on material from his two most recent albums Origins and Dreamers of Dreams. The band took the crowd on a journey. A journey around the world, and beyond, through the eyes, mind and sounds of Stephane Wrembel. They started in the desert of the American Southwest with “Devices from the Desert,” a place they would return to later on with “Minuit Aux Batignolles” and second set opener “Let There Be Light.” Wrembel “loves the desert.”

    But every destination wasn’t a sun-drenched sand dune. “Tsunami” brought us to a Wrembel-envisioned version of Japan inspired by the movies of Kurosawa. A pleasant airy tune, that was disrupted by a violent second half, representing the tsunami that hit the area of more recent times. “Road to Jos” told of the time the band traveled to Nigeria and had a military transport across the beautiful but war-ridden countryside between gigs. “Lasco” took a trip to one of the oldest caves in France, in which Wrembel pondered if people didn’t actually live there, but in fact just entered for ritual singing. “Orion” finally lifted us from our world and into the cosmos, back where the evening began. He started with the explanations, and the music then captured the scene perfectly. Musically, the band was top-notch. Wrembel’s solos were mystifying. In the moments when the band, Anderson on drums in particular, clicked together with him, the peaks were astounding.

    Later in the evening, they played “Big Brother” and “Bistro Fava” from Woody Allen’s Vikki Cristina Barcelona and Midnight in Paris, respectively. Wrembel told a story of how he was cast in a small role for one of the films, but that the one scene he was in got cut. So he joked, if Woody played a song while they were recording this album tonight, maybe he would cut it.

  • Borg Supergroup Poised to Assimilate Western New York this Christmas

    BORGChristmas just got a whole lot more interesting in Western New York. A brand-new supergroup of New York-based musicians coined Borg Party will be playing a two-night stint this December at Buffalo Iron Works (Dec. 22) and Flour City Station in Rochester (Dec. 23).

    Consisting of Rob Compa (guitar/Dopapod), Mike Gantzer (guitar/Aqueous), Mikey Carruba (drums/Turkuaz), James Searl (bass/Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad), and Wiley O’Riley (keys/The Niche), the Borg Party should attract a star cruiser full of assimilated dancing fans.

    With all of these musicians have collaborated multiple times in the past, attendees should expect far more than a simple night of improvisation and covers. In the past year alone, Compa’s Dopapod has played entire mash-up sets with Aqueous and Turkuaz.

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    Tickets for either night are $15 pre-sale.

    Also don’t miss catching Dopapod Wed, Nov. 18, at Buffalo’s Tralf Music Hall.

  • Yonder Mountain String Band Celebrates All ‘Strings’ Day at Anthology

    The first day of November, the day after Halloween, All Saints Day. Or, if you’re seeing the Colorado road warriors, Yonder Mountain String Band maybe it’s All ‘Strings’ Day. The night prior, the blocks around Anthology in the East End of Rochester were buzzing with costumed masses in various states of inebriation. On this night, the streets were clear and quiet. But inside the doors of Anthology, a brand new music venue, a hoedown was whipping up. 

    Yonder Mountain String Band RochesterAnthology (16)

    Coming off their special Halloween gig, where they transformed into Yonder Mountain ‘Punk’ Band, littering the set list with fan-requested punk songs, the band took the stage looking a bit road weary. There was a small fear that maybe they were going to go through the motions at the start. Each member got a chance to warm up their fingers in the show opening cover of Danny Barnes’ “Funtime.” Ben Kaufman (bass) took vocal duties, while Jake Joliff (mandolin), Adam Aijala (guitar), Allie Kral (fiddle) and Dave Johnston (banjo) each worked a solo in between the songs’ three verses. The band continued to warm themselves up with runs through songs spanning their entire career. With two new members in Joliff and Kral, and a new album Black Sheep released in June, the band surprisingly went deep into their catalog. In fact, they played more songs from their first album (3), then from their latest (only 2).

    Even after the antics from the night prior, YMSB still had plenty of tricks and surprises left. The band broke through what had been a fairly traditional evening of bluegrass music when Johnston led them in a mid-set rendition of the Rolling Stone’s “Torn and Frayed.” A mellow freeform jam followed and all members of the band crowded together, finally starting to find their footing. Kral and Joliff built the jam up and then the walls came completely crumbling down as the band kicked into Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” The energy level was suddenly doubled and the crowd was matching the band’s excitement, bellowing out the lyrics and pumping their fists.

    Yonder Mountain String Band RochesterAnthology (15)

    The audience was feeling feisty after that ride and started yelling out requests. Kaufman remarked that sometimes they take requests, but don’t let it become a habit. But this time they obliged, with a solid run through of their classic “40 Miles From Denver” featuring even more from newcomers Kral and Joliff. After a gorgeous “Ooh La La” highlighted by a magnificent guitar solo, the band was ready for more requests, opening it up to the floor to decide the next song. After a lot of calls from the crowd and a long on-stage conference, “Deep Pockets” was the choice.

    The second set would build from the first’s strong finish. A couple of cover-song sandwiches would highlight the set as the band felt more comfortable stretching out into full band improvisation. “Sideshow Blues” built from Kaufman’s dark and spacey bass into a solid groove that eventually slid perfectly into “Jack-a-Roe” which made its way back to “Sideshow” the same way it came in. Kaufman then surprisingly swapped his upright for an electric bass and the band kicked into the second most out-of-character cover of the evening with their take on Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” Kral nailed the vocals and Joliff and Aijala found space for some tasty soloing making it a welcome departure.

    A late set “Pass This Way” once again extended into a full band jam. Aijala and Joliff assumed the reins and moved the band into a tight segue into David Grisman’s “EMD” which was really just an excuse to amp up the jam into a rollicking bluegrass breakdown. A more pronounced transition back to “Pass This Way” preceded a high energy “Southern Flavor” to close out the set.

    Kaufman promised to end the show the same way it started, with some “fast bluegrass music,” which in this case meant an amped up cover of “I Know You Rider.” Who says you can’t have fun the night after Halloween?

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UshmcVMPjvQ[/embedyt]

    Set 1: Funtime, High On A Hilltop, I’m Not Saying, Annalee, Mental Breakdown, Long Time, Torn And Frayed, Crazy Train, 40 Miles From Denver, Ooh La La, Deep Pockets, Drawing A Melody

    Set 2: Son Of A Gun, Straight Line, Sideshow Blues> Jack A Roe> Sideshow Blues, Son Of A Preacher Man, This Lonesome Heart, Amie, My Gal, Pass This Way> EMD> Pass This Way, Southern Flavor E: I Know You Rider

    Download the Show

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