NYS Music 20​15

Blog

  • moe. to Play Binghamton’s Forum Theatre

    The jam band titans that comprise moe. will play their first show in Binghamton since 1996 on Wednesday, March 11. A mainstay on the circuit for the past quarter century, moe. celebrates its silver anniversary in 2015. The group formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989 and has not slowed down since

    Wednesday night’s show at the Forum Theatre in Binghamton kicks off a four night New York run. Following the Upstate gig, moe. heads to New York City for three nights, including Friday and Saturday night performances at the Best Buy Theater. The Western New York natives show the Empire State plenty of love; they have hosted fifteen straight moe.downs in Turin, NY and recently rang in 2015 at Albany’s Palace Theater. The Binghamton show on March 11 is moe.’s only scheduled Upstate show on the calendar besides a Thursday night headlining set at Mountain Jam 11.

    Special guests Cabinet kick off the evening of music at 7:30. Tickets can be purchased here.

  • Los Lobos and Alejandro Escovedo at The Capitol Theatre: A Smooth Chicano Sound

    There were seats on the floor of the Capitol Theatre but few were using them during a performance by Los Lobos on March 6. The Chicano-rock band were heavier than expected and tore through classics and covers with equanimity. Early highlights included “Evangeline,” “Run with the Rebel” featuring Alejandro Escovedo and violinist Warren Hood, and “Down on the Riverbed” a heavier ’50s Rock ‘n’ Roll full band sound with Cesar Rojas taking the lead on vocals and guitar. A love song by way of Clapton-style blues, “I Walk Alone” and “Emily” were both nicely jammed out with individual solos from Rojas, David Hidalgo and Louie Perez while the classic “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” gave off chills in the eerie intro.

    Los Lobos Alejandro EscovedoHidalgo referenced Jerry Garcia, saying “We miss him too.” and “We’ll try to do him justice,” as they began the classic Grateful Dead number “Bertha” which an overjoyed crowd cheered loudly for. A four song encore of “Don’t Worry Baby, Mas y Mas, La Bamba > Good Lovin’ > La Bamba” lit a fire under the few who were still seated. On a night like this, Los Lobos were nothing short of fantastic from start to finish.

    Opening the night was singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo along with Warren Hood on violin. Telling stories in between songs from growing up and performing across Texas, Escovedo was an acoustic marvel and kept a staid audience focused intently on his vocals and strings with equal enamor. The duo shone on “Deerhead on the Wall” a song of taxidermy and Buddhism, and a “Chelsea Hotel ’78” that was grittier than the rest of the set in the style of Warren Zevon’s “Ain’t That Pretty at All”. The two acts complemented each other perfectly and made for a memorable night of Tejano and Chicano rock.

    photos by Andrew Blackstein.

  • ON TOUR: Widespread Panic Summer Tour Starts in Lewiston

    Widespread Panic will open its summer tour in Lewiston before a short Northeast run heads south and west. The Georgia-based bluesy jammers are set to play at Artpark Amphitheater in Lewiston — near Niagara Falls — on Tuesday, June 16.

    That’s the band’s only New York stop, but they’ll be nearby when they play Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston on June 17, Jay Peak in Vermont June 19, and Pittsburgh June 21. As an added rage rested treat – special guest Umphrey’s McGee will open the Jay Peak and Philly shows. After that, they head south and west to a variety of locations, with longer runs in Texas and Colorado.

    Widespread Panic lewiston

    Panic is also on the Lockn’ Music Festival bill in September. The band is about to embark on a spring tour that winds throughout the U.S. and includes a two–day Brooklyn run in April.

    Tickets for Widespread Panic in Lewiston will go on sale March 28 online or by phone at 888-223-6000. The other Northeast summer tour dates go on sale March 13 and 14.

  • Mister F Releases Second Anniversary Video

    For the second of a three video set to celebrate the second anniversary of their formation – NYSMusic is elated to give fans a first look at Mister F’s “Answer the Dog.” The Snow Day Sessions will be a three song EP and will be released on the F’s Bandcamp page following the third video release which drops next Sunday. “Answer the Dog” features a special guest sit in from saxophonist Matty Carl of Shwizz. The F’s Scott Hannay provided us with some background:

     “Once upon a time, on the road in Chicago, we had some friends of ours go wait in line for a whole bunch of legendary Hot Doug’s hot dogs. We were all pretty amped. However, Matt fell asleep before they could return with the dogs, phone-in-hand. We went all Indiana Jones on him and carefully switched the phone for his hot dog, and put his phone by his ear. We called the phone to see if he would answer the hot dog. He didn’t ‘answer the dog’, but we suddenly had a title for the brand new untitled song we’d played just the night before.”

    Catch Mister F next in NY on April 4 at Upstate Concert Hall supporting Twiddle and Kung Fu, and now, let’s watch the video for “Answer the Dog.”

  • Meet Your NYS Music Staff: Kevin McCallum

    Kevin McCallum, a Music History and Art History major and Writing minor at Syracuse University, began writing for UpstateLIVE last year as a sophomore, and he has since joined with NYS Music staff to continue covering live music. He was first introduced to music through the painstaking finger exercises his piano teacher made him do as an inattentive nine-year-old but developed a different understanding of all that music could be through the albums his older sisters shared with him as a kid. In high school Kevin played saxophone in the Jazz band and bass in bands with friends in their free time outside of school. During his senior year, he and a friend completed a senior project that consisted of writing and recording an album using their own equipment at their homes.

    kevin mccallumNow Kevin is a Junior at Syracuse University, spending his spring semester studying abroad in London. At SU, Kevin has a radio show on the college station, WERW Real College Radio. He’s also involved with the local music scene by booking bands for shows and playing guitar in a rock n roll Rocket Power style band on the weekends, called Conroy Blanc. Back home in the Boston area Kevin plays in a band called Midriffs. Over the past 2014 summer, they recorded their first album Subtle Luxuries in their steamy hot third floor Boston apartment. The experience is something that shaped Kevin’s appreciation and outlook on a new level of the intense work that goes into DIY music.

    Kevin’s musical bucketlist, both alive and deceased, would consist of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Tame Impala, Ty Segall, and Fidlar.

  • Photo Gallery: Dean Ween Group at Garcia’s in Port Chester

    Dean Ween Group came to Port Chester with a mixed bag of originals and Ween tunes. The energy was palpable as the band and audience interacted as one traversing through a rare cigarette smoke-filled Garcia’s. A Monster Transdermal Celebration opened the nights festivities setting the mood for one of the loudest shows played at this young venue.

  • Dear Jerry Merriweather Show Features Dead Members and More

    Fear not, ye Deadheads who failed to get tickets to Chicago. Another event to celebrate 50 years of the Grateful Dead is in the works, and it’s going to be one hell of a show. Dear Jerry: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia will be held Thursday, May 14, at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Former Dead members and bands that were influenced by the Dead will gather to pay tribute to the legendary frontman.

    Dear Jerry Header

    The bill is currently comprised of the following acts: Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann’s Billy & the Kids, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, Buddy Miller, David Grisman, Eric Church, Greensky Bluegrass, Jimmy Cliff, Jorma Kaukonen, Los Lobos, Moe., O.A.R., Railroad Earth, The Disco Biscuits, Trampled By Turtles, Widespread Panic, Yonder Mountain String Band and Communion featuring Phil Lesh, Stu Allen, Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Alex Koford, and Jason Crosby. And if that’s not enough – even more performers are slated to be added.

    The venue parking lot will open at 3:30 p.m., doors will open at 5:30 p.m, and the show is set to begin at 7 p.m.

    Keith Wortman and Don Was – who are responsible for large-scale concert events to honor other musical greats like Johnny Cash, Levon Helm, Dr. John, Gregg Allman, Mavis Staples and Emmylou Harris – are putting together the concert. Wortman is the executive producer, and Was is the musical director, and he’ll lead an all-star band that will back the performers. The Jerry Garcia family is co-producing.

    “It’s exciting to have so many phenomenal artists performing in this special musical tribute to my dad, Jerry Garcia!” Trixie Garcia said in a press release announcing the event. “‘DEAR JERRY: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia’ speaks volumes to Jerry’s lasting influence in the ears and hearts of his fans and fellow musicians. Join us in celebrating the legacy that inspired so many.”

    DearJerry

    The concert will be filmed and recorded for distribution on both traditional and digital media.

    There’s merch available already and the concert organizers are encouraging people to tweet “Jerry moments” using the hashtag #dearjerryconcert.

    Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, March 13, via Ticketfly.com or by calling 877-4FLY-TIX. They can also be purchased in person at the venue box office. Those who have a Citi card will have access to a presale that will run from noon March 10 to 10 pm. March 12.

    A percentage of the proceeds will go to the Rex Foundation, which has a broad mission to help underprivileged and indigenous people as well as promote a healthy environment and the arts. The nonprofit organization was formed in 1983 by members of the band with help from family and friends.

    http://youtu.be/idUIhfmOkfI

  • Asleep at The Wheel Coming to The Egg This Sunday

    Asleep at The Wheel will be bringing their tour celebrating the music of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys to The Egg this Sunday, March 8. Their tribute album, Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys came out this past week and included guest appearances from Willie Nelson, Del McCoury, George Strait, Amos Lee, The Avett Brothers, and many more. Asleep at The Wheel has been going strong for over 40 years and show no signs of slowing down.

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    Bob Wills is of course one of the originators of Western Swing and is considered “The King” of it. Throughout the ’30s and ’40s Wills and his Texas Playboys toured throughout the country becoming early stars of American country music. They were a dance band with a country string section that played pop songs as if they were jazz numbers. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Ray Benson has said that he is still amazed me how well this music, born in the 1920s and ‘30s, thrives in the present day.

    This is the only Upstate New York show before the band heads south and west for the remainder of the spring. Tickets are still available at The Egg’s box office and online. The show has a 7 PM start time, so don’t be late for this great Sunday show to finish up your weekend.

  • Dropkick Murphys Sell Out Upstate Concert Hall

    It was a typical cold night in Clifton Park, NY at the Upstate Concert Hall. The event was completely sold out and packed with people from all over the Northeast. Eager for what was certain to be an entertaining night with the rowdy Irish punk rockers, Dropkick Murphys, the flock of fans gathered around opener Brian McPherson. He kept them calmly charmed with acoustic Irish Folk music. Fast strumming guitar paired with a whaling tenor voice and harmonica solos laced in proved that McPherson is a formidable one man Irish music army.

    Blood or Whiskey came out to a crowd so thick that raising a drink to your mouth without accidentally molesting the strangers around you becomes a task. Angry irish chanting aimed at semi-sober thick blooded upstate New Yorkers did little to budge the people, though undoubtedly entertained. The front man calls for a circle pit but the crowd disobeys for fear that the silverback gorilla sized bouncer standing on the bar may come down atop them.

    The Mahones were proceeded with Celtic jig music and a stuffed terrier atop the bass amp. All dressed in black, the group raged on and the people warmed up. Most intriguing was the accordion player. Heavily tattooed and highly attractive, she pumped her instrument with the intensity of a cage fighter. From time to time she leaned into her microphone to let out a blood-curdling scream that gave power to the lead vocals. With no room to fight or care or breath, the night moved on without a hitch.

    Enter Dropkick Murphys with energy easily matched by the fans that somehow found room to smash against each other amicably enough. Juggling instruments like street performers, the band shuffled through instruments such as: an accordion, a small flute like object, bagpipes, a plethora of guitars, mandolins and other different small flute-like objects. The whole group tactfully traded vocals, or just all yelled together like the were celebrating at a pub. How could the Dropkick Murphys have this much fun every night!? After a few fights were stifled by criticisms from the Murphys and some more top-notch performances, including bringing up opener Brian McPherson for an amazing rendition of an old tune, the band “finished” their set. The entirety of the sold out crowd demanded an encore which was not only appeased but they were invited onstage to close out the night alongside their idols.

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  • 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.

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