Tag: New York City

Best of NYS Music 2015: Staff Pick for Best Music Town in New York State

With an expansive state such as NY, there’s a multitude of large cities and small towns that are home to some widely diverse music venues and scenes abroad. Teetering as the fourth most populated state in the country, New York houses just under 20 million people with the majority of the larger cities snuggled along interstate 90. It’s a seamless route for bands to travel and schedule shows as they pass through the Empire State. However, our team of merry music lovers here at NYS Music voted upon one town to be the best scene for live music. I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that this 5-borough concrete jungle was the top pick for best music town in New York State. That’s right, New York City indeed. Coming in hot at #1 is the largest city in the United States and has been declared as the Best Music Town for many years now. It’s probably not going to be topped anytime soon either.

To a surprising degree, Albany and Buffalo were not so distant behind the Big Apple in the standings. The Capital District has much to offer with many venues of all capacities spread throughout the city. A brief list starts with The Hollow Bar & Kitchen, The Palace Theatre, The EGG, The Fuze Box, and The Times Union Center. Buffalo also has an impressive list of stages and events such as the Town Ballroom, The Tralf, The Waiting Room, Buffalo Iron Works, Nietzsche’s, and the First Niagara Center.

Oh, but the city that never sleeps has far more venues than anyone can imagine. Clubs, bars, city parks, warehouses, basements, rooftops, to numerous theatres and stadiums are abundant in the melting pot. It’s glorious! The most regarded venue in NYC would have to be Madison Square Garden. It’s beautiful, accommodating, spacious, acoustically dynamic, and it is just historically pleasing to be in and around. MSG holds only the world’s largest acts and will be home to Phish for four consecutive nights at the end of 2015.

The Barclays Center is home to the Brooklyn Nets, seats about 19,000 people, and opened in 2012 with a major list of performers, including Jay-Z and Pearl Jam. Its rivals in size would be MSG, Nassau Coliseum, Nikon at Jones Beach Amphitheater, and the IZOD Center (located in NJ).

Radio City Music Hall is the queen of all theaters in NYC with its 5,933 seat capacity, historical Art Deco interior, prestigious location, and Grand Stage. The elevator system in the theater is so advanced, that the U.S. Navy had incorporated identical hydraulics into WWII aircraft carriers and had security personnel guarding the theater during wartime. The Hall is sprinkled with depression-era artwork in the lobby, hallways, and the mezzanine. It’s deserving of the nickname, Showplace of the Nation.

Though, just because NYC is ample in size, poses home to the largest/most popular arenas and theaters in the country, doesn’t mean that’s where the real glory is. People tend to have more fun in the intimate venue, smaller capacity rooms where you can practically reach out and touch the artists from any angle of the room. The venues that sell tickets at reasonable prices, have great selection of beverages, are decorated with passion, and cater to the individual concert go-er rather than consumers in bulk, are what makes the experience favorable. The Empire City has all of that and more. Some other venues that hold NYC so high are: The Beacon Theatre, The Hammerstein Ballroom, Carnegie Hall, Playstation Theater, City Winery, Terminal 5, Brooklyn Bowl, Governors Island, Central Park, Bowery Ballroom, Village Vanguard, Cake Shop, and Saint Vitus are just a sliver of the pie.

New Years Eve in New York City, well really, the whole week around New Years, is chock full of music. Just check out this list put together by Catskill Chill Music Festival!

Aside from being the music mecca of the world, it’s almost in a class of its own. Until that changes, go visit the Big Apple and enjoy some live music!

December 26, 2015
Darlingside Releases Additional Northeast Dates

Rising folk quartet Darlingside will head to the Northeast this winter, with several dates in New York state.

The indie four-piece is scheduled to play at Daryl’s House in Pawling Jan. 13, Club Helsinki in Hudson Jan. 14, Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs Jan. 15 and two nights at Rockwood Music Hall’s Stage 2 in New York City on Jan. 16 and 17 before dates in the Midwestern states and West Coast.

The Massachusetts-based band — Don Mitchell (guitar, banjo), Auyon Mukharji (violin, mandolin), Harris Paseltiner (cello, guitar) and David Senft (bass) — met as students at Williams College and have been playing together for six years. Their textured, collective sound is being hailed as unique and genre-fresh by music critics and the like, with much praise being given to the group’s method of performing around a single microphone.

Paseltiner said in a release announcing the dates:

Each song and set of lyrics are created by all of us together, a sort of ‘group stream-of-consciousness.’ So we moved away from a single lead vocalist and started gravitating towards singing in unison, passing the melody around, or harmonizing in four parts through an entire song.”

These additional tour dates are in support of the group’s latest album Birds Say; the 13-track release dropped in September and it is the second album on Nashville company Thirty Tigers, which also manages clients like Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson. Darlingside’s extended string of dates come off the heels of a successful fall run, including sharing the bill with Grammy-nominated Patty Griffin. Tickets for all 2016 dates are on sale now through the band’s website. But if you can’t wait until the New Year, Darlingside is booked at Milkboy in Philadelphia this Wednesday.

December 14, 2015
Update: Battle of the NYC Festivals: Panorama Gains Political Support, Poses Rivalry to Governors Ball, Madison Square Garden Festival Uncertain

In the ongoing development of NYC Festivals news, it was announced recently that key Queens leaders have joined together in support of the proposed Panorama Music Festival, slated to take place a few weeks after Governors Ball. Taking place at the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (site of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs), the festival is promising to be a big boost for the local community.

Congressman Joseph Crowley (Jackson Heights), and City Councilmembers Julissa Ferreras (Corona), Karen Koslowitz (Forest Hills) and Petter Koo (Flushing) have all made statements favoring the Panorama festival, citing its potential for an economic boost. “The Panorama Music Festival will provide a fantastic opportunity for Queens to take its rightful place as a New York City showcase,” Crowley stated in a press release from Goldenvoice, the festival promoter.

The press release issued by Goldenvoice, a plan is outlined for its commitment to being a sustainable partner for the park with Panorama. The festival plans to offer a three-day medical clinic for local residents (with a capacity of 1,500). Portions of ticket sales will be donated to a newly formed Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Alliance, and the local businesses expect to fair well with the influx of festival goers.

No official date for Panorama has been set yet, although rumors point to mid-June, just a few weeks after and only about seven miles from Governors Ball.

UPDATE 11/3/2015

The New York City summer festival situation is starting to look more like the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter. This week the New York Post reported that Madison Square Garden is now seeking permission for a major festival in Queens around the same time as AEG Live has proposed their Panorama festival NYS Music first reported below. Unlike AEG Live’s festival, MSG would keep their festival planning in NY hands. However, this would still pose a risk to the independently-run Governors Ball festival, whose organizers have launched a petition for Mayor DiBlasio to reconsider AEG’s proposal. Founders Entertainment, the NYC-based organizers of Governors Ball and Farmborough on Randall’s Island have not yet commented on MSG’s entry into the festival circuit.

Original posting:

New York City has seen a rise in the music festival scene in recent years, most notably with the Electric Zoo festival and the increasingly popular Governors Ball festival held on Randall’s Island.

Recently the promoters of Coachella, AEG Live, have been eyeing a location for a major festival opposite the East River from Manhattan in Flushing Meadows, Queens – Corona Park to be more specific. It would be one of the borough’s largest events since the 1964 World’s Fair. The organizers of the festival are showing they are ambitious, already in preliminary talks with artists who could be on the lineup.

A second major alternative festival in NYC would be a welcome addition. Governors Ball has been sold out in advance of the festival for the past few years, showing that the interest and demand for a weekend of live music is strong and even growing. As most major events do, the new festival would likely help the local economy out but could come with concerns for short-term headaches arising from festival traffic and other municipal demands.

Governors Ball, which has only been around since 2011, has claimed a stronghold in the festival scene with solid lineups spanning alternative and indie genres. Ticket demand for GovBall show that it shouldn’t be competing with what would be a similar festival taking place not too far away on the western end of Long Island. The only problem: This new festival, tentatively dubbed Panorama, may occur two weeks after Governors Ball (which has taken root to the first weekend in June) and could draw attendance away from the independently-run festival.

Founders Entertainment, which runs Governors Ball and the newer FarmBorough festival, is an independent music and brand promoter based out of NYC. AEG Live is a global sporting and music entertainment promoter based out of Los Angeles, second in scale to Live Nation.

(Some details taken from the New York Daily News.)

October 2, 2015
Ghost Performs a Ritual for a Sold Out Terminal 5

As the darkness rolled across Hell’s Kitchen, thousands of fans poured into Terminal 5 to see Ghost on Sunday, September 27. Touring behind their latest release Meliora, Ghost set out on their ‘Black To The Future’ North American tour last week. Since night 1 in Washington, D.C., Ghost has been packing venues and bringing their live ritual to the masses.

Papa Emeritus III of Ghost

Sunday’s show started off with the doors opening early to get some fans upstairs on the rooftop bar so security could clear space on the crowded New York City streets. Once doors opened to let fans inside the actual venue, space quickly filled up. Before opening band Purson even took the stage, the floor and both balcony levels were jammed packed. Unfortunately for fans who didn’t secure a spot along the rail on the top levels, it would be a tough night for them to see Ghost. Although the line of sight for many fans on the balcony was obstructed, it didn’t stop those fans from dancing and singing along with the bands all night.

After a quick set by opening band Purson, the house lights went dark and the smell of incense filled the air. The show started with “Spirit” as the Nameless Ghouls took the stage one by one before Papa Emeritus III appeared out of the center. Following the track list off of Meliora, Ghost then went straight into “From The Pinnacle To The Pit”. It was no surprise to see Ghost basically play their entire new album due to the high praise and success it’s had since coming out on August, 21st. Even though the band played most of Meliora, they still played a total of 6 songs of Infestissumam and 4 songs off Opus Eponymous. Fans of Ghost seemed to get everything they could have wished for on Sunday. The Nameless Ghouls who are the backing instrumentalists of Ghost are all fantastic musicians. Without being able to show facial expressions and interact with the crowd verbally, the Nameless Ghouls do a great job of expressing themselves behind the masks. The two guitar players mix perfectly with one another and get filled in with the percussion, bass and keys. Papa Emeritus III took the time to speak to the crowd between almost every song. Papa joked about “Frankie” (Pope Francis) being in town the same time Ghost was there but not coming to the show. Papa also shared with the crowd that his mother was at the show, although she wasn’t seen from the crowd.

Papa Emeritus III of Ghost

Towards the end of the night, the band went acoustic for a version of “Jigolo Har Megiddo” that didn’t slow the night’s performance down one bit. Even with an acoustic song, the wild New York City crowd was still moshing. Ghost may not seem like the band to create mosh pits but Sunday night there was something in the air. From the first song to the very last, giant circles in the crowd could be seen from above as fans threw down in the pit. During some songs a second smaller pit would develop in another area of the floor. Before ending the night with an encore performance, Ghost played their cover of “If You Have Ghosts” which was very fitting. To cap the night off, Papa Emeritus III took a poll of who in the crowd had seen Ghost before. As the majority of the sold-out Terminal 5 crowd raised their hand, Papa responded with, “Okay, everyone here besides you,” talking to a young lady in the crowd. He then told the girl to just mime the words like he does sometimes, which made the crowd laugh. Everyone at that point knew Ghost was ending the show with “Monstrance Clock.” The crowd dominated the song by singing along word by word with Papa. At the end of the song, Ghost left the stage and the night was over. Ghost said their goodbyes and thank yous prior to the encore and the crowd let them know they put on an unforgettable performance with a loud applause.

The ‘Black To The Future Tour’ just started and there’s plenty more dates around the U.S. to catch. For all the dates and other band information, fans can visit Ghost’s Website. Fans can also check the official Facebook and Instagram pages for exclusive content from Papa Emeritus and the Nameless Ghouls.

Ghost Setlist: Spirit, From The Pinnacle To The Pit, Ritual, Con Clavi Con Dio, Per Aspera Ad Inferi, Majesty, Stand By Him, Prime Mover, Body And Blood, Devil Church, Cirice, Year Zero, He Is, Absolution, Mummy Dust, Jigolo Har Megiddo, Ghuleh/Zombie Queen, If You Have Ghosts, Monstrance Clock

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October 1, 2015
Seven Witches Release Video For ‘World Without Man’

New Jersey metallists Seven Witches independently unleashed their sophomore album entitled The Way of the Wicked last week. And now the group has released the second video off the new album “World Without Man” which can be viewed below. Lead by vocalist Anthony Cross, guitarist Jack Frost, bassist Ronnie Parkes, and drummer Johnny Kelly; the band released the following statement:

“When I got the demo version of the music, I knew these were the lyrics I wanted to use for it,” recalls Cross. “The opening line was something that I had jotted down some time ago. ‘How would it be, if one day, man no longer was?’” Cross continued “Think about it….you’ve seen documentaries that show you that if human life ceased to exist, the planet would start to heal. Lyrically, this is where this came from. I’m also a big fan of the Richard Matheson story, ‘I Am Legend,’ so that fed into it as well. So really, if everyone and everything was gone, how would you go on with your life?”

And according to Cross, his songwriting union with Frost is already a career highlight. “Writing with Jack Frost is a treat! He will usually come up with suggestions and ideas that I would never think of. And in the end we are both happy with the result.” And the union is already paying off, as evidenced by the song “World Without Man,” and the full-length ‘The Way of the Wicked.’

The band has not posted any tour dates as of yet, however you can purchase The Way Of The Wicked here.

September 24, 2015
NYC’s Music Row Shops Closing On 48th Street

This week the New York Post reported that famous music shops such as Rudy’s Music Stop, Alex Musical Instruments, and Alex’s Accordions located on 48th Street in NYC, better known as Music Row, will close in the coming months.

It comes as a shock to people familiar with the rich history that Music Row has in New York, and how famous around the world the strip is.

Famous Hall of Fame musicians, such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, used to shop there for all their guitars, amps, pedals, and more.

Sad farewell to @rudysmusic. The best. Many happy memories here. NYC’s 48th St. “Music Row” is now officially dead. pic.twitter.com/mLLvt7CNsR

— Mark Orwoll (@orwoll) July 31, 2015

Some of the reported factors causing all these legendary shops to close include rising rent costs and a lack of business that this area once generated. Perhaps the rise of Internet shopping contributed to the issue as well.

The owners of Music Row NYC came up with the idea of possibly creating a walk of fame-like sidewalk, and displaying guitar statues on the streets to create a historical district to preserve the happy memories and musical history to welcome the people who walk through Music Row. But unfortunately, with all the hoops to jump through with the city district, it didn’t get done, so the once great Music Row will become a ghost town in the coming months.

August 5, 2015
Steely Dan To Play Eight Shows at NYC’s Beacon Theatre

Steely Dan has announced their latest Beacon Theatre residency which will take place for eight nights. The shows start on Oct. 6 and ends on the 17.

These nights will include Steely Dan performing their whole 1977 album Aja and 1980 album Gaucho with a few select hits. There will also be two nights focusing on their greatest hits such as “Do it Again”, “Reelin In The Years”, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.” Fans will be able to help pick the set list on October 16.

An AMEX pre-sale runs May 28 – June 4 before tickets go on sale to the general public June 5. Multi-night ticket packages will be available.

Steely Dan Beacon Residency 2015

10/6 – Aja – Plus Selected Hits
10/7 – Greatest Hits
10/9 – Gaucho – Plus Selected Hits
10/10 – Royal Scam – Plus Selected Hits
10/13 – Aja – Plus Selected Hits
10/14 – Greatest Hits
10/16 – By Popular Demand
10/17 – “The Most Unforgettable Night of Whatever – Featuring Spectacular Musical Guests, Glorious Tunes and Riffage, and Whatever the Party Calls for! Parking Validated for First Dozen Diehard Fans”

May 27, 2015
Faith No More Leave Long Lasting Impression on Day One at NYC’s Webster Hall

Faith No More has embarked on one of the biggest tours of 2015 and for the first leg of the tour, they played two show’s at New York City’s Webster Hall last week, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a ticket and managed to take a trip down and catch the first show on May 13. The Webster Hall is one of Manhattan’s most premiere night clubs, and a very intimate setting to catch a metal show. It was a real blessing to have attended this show. But things started off with the most unexpected, a punk band from Mexico called Le Butcherettes.

San Francisco – October 28, 2014

You couldn’t ask for a more bizarre, yet appropriate band to open for Faith No More. Le Butcherettes is exactly what rock and roll is missing. And that is the “I don’t give a fuck” attitude packaged with the unexpected. It all starts with frontwoman Teri Gender Bender who is an absolute fiend. I would describe her as the female Mike Patton with a touch of Wendy O’ Williams to her. Not only vocally, she possesses a wide range, she’s playing the keyboard and guitar, but most importantly her performance was so wicked, dirty, and out of this world. Everyone in the audience was in awe from this band. I almost forgot I was at a Faith No More show before their set ended.

When Faith No More took the stage, it was the most surreal and beautiful thing to behold. They had everything in white on stage, and before they started, the stage hands and roadies covered everything in flowers. It almost looked like a wedding.

The same day, Faith No More performed on Jimmy Fallon. They started off with a new song “Mother Fucker” which lit everyone up with excitement. As for me, I haven’t felt such a surreal feeling of witnessing a band play since the first time I saw Soundgarden reunite at Chicago’s Lollapalooza back in 2010. The entire band has such a unique chemistry. Frontman Mike Patton’s outlandish and comical presence is something to behold, and vocally, whether if he’s singing his ass off, rapping, or doing super sonic screams, he proves to this day he’s one of the very best in the business.

The one who anchors the band is keyboardist Roddy Buttom. He has an intimidating presence, but he’s also comical. It’s very rare in a band when the keyboardist is the one that takes charge. I also really liked bassist Billy Gould’s performance, he’s definitely an underrated bass player.

Five songs in, Faith No More performed their well-known hit “Epic” along with another new song “Sunny Side Up”. The real highlight of the set was hearing “Surprise! You’re Dead!” and “Midlife Crisis” back to back. Faith No More did a phenomenal job playing songs off their Mike Patton-era catalog and material off their new album Sol Invictus.

Later in the set we heard “Easy” and “King For A Day” before closing with “Ashes To Ashes” and their new single “Superhero”. But of course the crowd was graced with a three song encore and a one song second encore thus giving New York City 19 songs total.

Overall, an unforgettable night for sure. Faith No More is back with a vengeance and will be returning to New York City at Madison Square Garden on August 5. So if you missed the two shows at Webster Hall, you still have a chance to see them in August, and I highly recommend that you do because you won’t regret it. 2015 is the year of Faith No More.

May 20, 2015