A lot of great shows and festivals took place around New York over the course of 2015, from big festivals to small club shows and everything in between. The team at NYS Music loves live music. You can always catch us out and about at live music happenings. Here are what we considered the best concerts of 2015, sorted by region of the state.
Best Show in Western New York: Aqueous Halloween When Aqueous announced they were going to pay tribute to “Dark Side of Oz,” the legendary mashup of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and the cinematic classic The Wizard of Oz, their fans were pumped. However, this was a multi-night run, and it wouldn’t be fun without a theme for the first night. Back to the Future was chosen, and the band covered many of the hits off the soundtrack.
Best Show in Central New York: moe. at Saranac Brewery and K-Rockathon 20 Two anniversaries were celebrated in Central New York, and they brought the crowds and rave reviews. New York’s favorite jamband, moe., celebrated their 25 years in Utica at the FX Matt Brewery, home to Saranac beer. The multi-day celebration had a festival vibe with multiple bands performing each day. New York’s biggest rock radio station, K-Rock, celebrated their 20th annual K-Rockathon with headliners Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown.
Best Show in the Capital District:Dead & Company at Times Union Center 2015 was a big year for the music of the Grateful Dead. The much anticipated Fare Thee Well shows in Santa Clara, California and Chicago celebrated the 50th anniversary of the originators of the jam scene. Following the shows, billed as the last shows the remaining four members would play together, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann announced they would go on tour as Dead & Company with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti. They kicked off their fall tour at Albany’s Times Union Center.
Best Show in the North Country:The Waterhole’s final show with EMEFE The Waterhole, a mainstay in Saranac Lake, shut its doors after over 20 years of providing live music to the residents of the North Country. The venue will be missed by many. EMEFE played on the last night, dedicating the song “Good Future” to the Waterhole staff.
Best Show in the Mid-Hudson:Twiddle at the Rock n Roll Resort The Rock n Roll Resort festival is always a favorite. It takes the best parts of a music festival and brings them to a chic resort hotel. Rising stars from Vermont, Twiddle, took the resort by storm with their headlining set.
Twiddle – Rock N Roll Resort
Best Show in the Finger Lakes:Phish’s Magnaball A lot can be written about Phish’s 10th festival. A lot has already been written about it. Tens of thousands of Phish fans returned to Watkins Glen International, the fabled NASCAR track that was home to 1973’s Summer Jam. Not one fan that attended Magnaball had negative comments. That should say it all.
Best Show in the Southern Tier:Rob Zombie at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena Rob Zombie brought in the Halloween season with his nightmarish heavy metal show. Fans arrived dressed in costume for the show that was opened by Zombie’s drummer, DJ Ginger Fish. Chris Besaw had the opportunity to sit down and speak with guitarist John 5 before the show about his inspiration and favorite horror films.
Best Show in New York City It’s difficult to pick just one or two shows in a city that has several amazing shows on a nightly basis. Here are some of what we thought were the best shows in New York City in 2015.
Best Show on Long Island: Biohazard, Sworn Enemy and Zire’s War at Revolution Music Hall In a night of hardcore music that rocked Revolution Music Hall, Biohazard and Sworn Enemy co-headlined what was practically a homecoming for them. Life of Agony’s guitarist Joey Zampella started a new band, Zire’s War, that kicked things off.
The darkness ascends quietly like a phantom upon the southern NY town of Binghamton, the dead leaves are falling, and there is a slight spine tingling chill in the air. It’s October! Is there a better way to usher in in the Halloween season than with the man who makes all your heavy metal horror dreams come true? Yes folks, that’s right Rob Zombie’s nightmarish heavy metal and mayhem show made a stop at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena (formerly Broome County Arena) last week.
Fans of all ages were lined up at the venue getting into the spirit of the season. Some were dressed as ghouls and other grotesque creatures; there was even a very impressive Captain Spaulding walking amongst the concert goers! If you’re a fan of Rob Zombie, I hope you know who Captain Spaulding is.
The show opened with Rob Zombie’s drummer DJ Ginger Fish donned in a creepy skull mask showing off his DJ skills. DJ Ginger Fish spun some high energy mixes that included Rammstein, Pantera and even a mix of 50s Doo Wop. Even though he was struggling to keep his mask on the entire time, he still spun a very intense set that the crowd was into.
The lights go out, the smoke begins to roll out onto the stage that is adorned with classic Universal horror movie monster backdrops; 1000s of fans are chanting ZOMBIE! One by one the band quietly creeps onto the stage; John 5 looks terrifying in an LED lit gas mask that I can best describe as a robotic human fly; bassist Piggy D is sporting his Dracula look; Ginger Fish looks ready to dominate the drums; Rob Zombie slinks to center stage, his face hidden beneath a pile of hat and hair. The crowd erupts in a massive mosh pit with bodies flying in the air as Zombie and crew tore into their hit “More Human Than Human.”
Without hesitating they ripped right into “Superbeast” and “Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy).” The band delivered a super high energy set and even played a few covers including “Am I Evil” by Diamondhead and in the words of Rob Zombie, “Since we’re in NY, f@ck it let’s do it,” the band caught concert goers by surprise by unleashing a killer version of the Ramones’ anthem “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
The band took their bows, said thanks and left fans crazed and excited from their explosive performance! Overall, Rob Zombie and crew never disappoints!
Also prior to the show I had the honor and privilege to sit down and talk with guitarist extraordinaire John 5. John 5 was very welcoming, funny and sincere. We chatted about what inspires him as a musician, touring and his favorite horror movies. Check out the interview and enjoy!
On Saturday, October 10, metal-heads from all over the Northeast made PPL Park in Chester, Pa., its final destination. PPL Park was host of this year’s Rock Allegiance festival which was sponsored by Monster Energy. Since the festival only lasted one day, it needed to have a lineup that would draw fans from all across the Northeast. The festival promoters couldn’t have done a better job at putting the lineup together because weeks before the event, PPL Park was sold out. With a lineup consisting of numerous bands that could have headlined, Rock Allegiance was set to be a success from the start.
Saturday’s forecast was perfect for the event, consisting of warm weather and sunshine. The beautiful day definitely helped fans get to the stadium early to get things started right after 11 a.m. With three stages going all day, there was something for everyone. The bands that opened the morning and early afternoon were no amateurs. Bands such as Unlocking The Truth who are still in their teens, took the Rock Allegiance Tent Stage and immediately demanded the circle pits to be started. That type of crowd control and confidence will definitely keep those youngsters going for a long time. Other bands such as Devour The Day and Red Sun Rising, kept the early afternoon rocking on the two stages set up inside the stadium.
From Ashes To New
The 3rd band of the day to take the Tent Stage was From Ashes To New. This band has been on the road with Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach and In This Moment, all who were also at the festival. From Ashes To New drew a huge crowd for their set time and they were phenomenal. It’s no surprise now why they were on the road with those other bands. The energy and style this rap-rock band was very refreshing because many new bands today go toward the scream vocals and heavy riffs.
Shifting to the main stages afterward, The Glorious Sons took the stage for a quick set of hard-rocking blues rock. They were definitely the band that stuck out the most, but not in a bad way. Although many fans weren’t there to see them specifically, The Glorious Sons got love from the respectful crowd. After they were done, all the attention shifted to Stage East for Nothing More. At this point, if someone hasn’t heard of Nothing More or hasn’t at least heard “Jenny” or “Mr. MTV”, they’re living under a rock. There hasn’t been a band moving up the ladder this fast in quite a long time. Lead singer Jonny Hawkins and the rest of the band put on one of the best live performances today. They’ve been on the road for quite some time now and are taking cities by storm. The crowd at PPL Park definitely could have gone for a longer set because 30 minutes was certainly not enough. The next band that played inside on Stage West was Atreyu, who just released Long Live on September, 18. This was their first album in six years and these guys got a huge welcome. This band may have been overlooked on the lineup due to all of the other big names, but Atreyu proved they still have what it takes to be on the main stage. Lead singer Alex Varkatzas spent most of the set down in the crowd getting up close and personal with people in the front row.
Nothing More
In the meantime while Nothing More and Atreyu were rocking the main stages inside, the Charm City Devils and Superheaven were playing over in the Tent Stage. After their short sets were done, Pop Evil took over back inside the stadium. Touring on behalf of their recent album Up, Pop Evil played a mix of material from their newest album and Onyx. Pop Evil is a band that works off of the crowds energy and they shined on Saturday. The band looked like they were having fun on stage and they sounded great. As soon as Pop Evil ended, the crowd ran over to the Tent Stage to catch a set from the Butcher Babies. The Butcher Babies are a heavy metal band fronted by Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, two of the most metal chicks in the music industry today. These two ladies take control of the stage and put on an unforgettable performance. The girls jump all over the stage and get down on the crowd to sing with the audience. Anyone who decided to skip out on seeing their set missed an awesome show, but luckily the Butcher Babies are always on the road. Their newest release Take It Like A Man will surely keep them on the road for some time. Speaking of girls in metal, right after the Butcher Babies were done, In This Moment took over PPL Park. With a full stage production with costume changes, choreography and more, Maria Brink and the rest of the band proved why they are one of the top metal bands in the scene today. Although the band has a handful of albums now, their two most recent releases Blood and Black Widow have given them radio play and mainstream success. The crowd sang every word with Maria throughout the entire set. In This Moment seem to get better and better every time around and their performance at Rock Allegiance is proof.
Bring Me The Horizon
One of the craziest crowds of the day had to be for Bring Me The Horizon. Even with a throat infection, singer Oliver Sykes made sure the crowd was left bloody with broken bones just as he demanded. The infection didn’t seem to affect Oliver one bit. The band was spot on and had the crowd in their control before they even took the stage. The fans waiting in front of the East Stage were definitely waiting for BMTH all afternoon. Touring in support of their latest release That’s The Spirit, Bring Me The Horizon has been packing venues left and right the last few weeks in the States. All of the momentum they’ve gained at the smaller shows seemed to explode at Rock Allegiance on Saturday. While Bring Me The Horizon played, new “supergroup” Saint Asonia played over in the tent. Fans of Three Days Grace and Staind were surely over in the tent watching Adam Gontier and Mike Mushok. Their self-titled album has been all over the radio since the announcement of the group and debut at Rock on the Range earlier this year. The original voice of Three Days Grace and axe man of Staind seem to blend perfectly together and have created something nobody expected. Their setlist was mixed with singles off their album and covers of Three Days Grace and Staind.
Even with all of the bands mentioned so far, Rock Allegiance was not even half over. After Saint Asonia, Jacoby Shaddix and the rest of Papa Roach took over PPL Park. There’s never a Papa Roach show were Jacoby leaves the crowd disappointed. The crowd for Papa Roach was definitely the most so far out of the day. The highlight of the set was when singer Maria Brink of In This Moment came on stage to join Jacoby in singing “Gravity”. Fans who caught the tour with FFDP, Papa Roach, In This Moment and From Ashes To Knew were definitely expecting this duet because they have been doing it nightly. Watching Jacoby and Maria sing the song together was one of the top moments of the day. During Papa Roach’s set, Hollywood Undead competed for audience in the Tent Stage. It was a hard decision to make for fans to pick one or the other. Papa Roach easily had the majority of the crowd, but the tent was still packed for the rap-rock band. The guys came out in their signature masks and carried on their performance like they weren’t competing with anyone.
Papa Roach
As the sun went down and the night grew cold, Five Finger Death Punch took the East Stage and got the crowd on their feet and moving. Even with a shorter then normal set, Ivan and the rest of FFDP put on a great performance with a mix of material from their catalog. Unfortunately, the band only played 2 new songs off their latest album, Got Your Six which were “Got Your Six” and “Jekyll and Hyde”. With such success on the charts, many fans were hoping for more of the new material then some of the older. FFDP has always been a band that supported the country’s armed forces and they showed their appreciation Saturday night. Ivan took one fan’s sign that read he had been deployed and had the entire band sign it. As usual, Ivan invited some youngsters on stage to rock out to their song “Burn MF.” During the song, Ivan high-fived the kids and gave them energy drinks, guitar picks and arm bands. What Five Finger Death Punch does for their fans and the troops is a prime example of how every band should be.
One of the best crowds of the day, hands down, belonged to Boston rockers Godsmack. Sully Erna is one of the best in the business when it comes to putting on a rock show. Sully makes sure the crowd is into the performance and if they’re not, he’s going to change that. The band recorded the song “Something Different” which is going to be used for a new documentary. During the song the crowd reaction was amazing to watch from the stands. Every person was jumping up and down singing along with Sully. Another highlight of the set was the usual “Batalla de los Tambores” with Sully and Shannon. For those unfamiliar with that song, it’s the dual drum instrumental where Sully and Shannon both play on their own drum kits and Robbie and Tony rock the bass and guitar. They play their own song while mixing in riffs from Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC and more. The night was closed out with a cover of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” and then their classic hit, “I Stand Alone”. Godsmack could have easily closed out the entire night, but there were still two more bands to go.
While Godsmack was rocking the stage on the right, the stage on the left was empty with the iconic Korn album backdrop from 1994. With the 20th anniversary shows being common recently, many fans were expecting Korn to play the entire debut album. The set started off in that direction with “Blind”, “Ball Tongue”, “Need To”, “Clown” and “Faget”. But once the band dove into the riff for “Here To Stay”, the crowd knew they weren’t getting the full album. Which for many seemed okay because at a festival there’s typically a mix of fans who want to hear more of the hits. Korn seemed to put on the best setlist of the night. The material they picked kept the crowd moving and it didn’t let up. The highlight was when “Shoots and Ladders” went into the ending for “Somebody Someone” and the crowd went absolutely nuts. Surprisingly Korn ended the night with “Freak On A Leash” and then announced that was their last song instead of announcing it ahead of time. Ending the set like that left fans begging for more as Jonathan Davis brought his wife on stage sharing with the crowd that it was their anniversary.
Korn
Once Korn ended, the entire Stage East crowd shifted to the right to be in front of the stage for Rob Zombie. Even though it was apparent some of the crowd had filed out after Korn, Zombie still had a huge crowd. Unfortunately due to smaller main stages, Zombie didn’t have the stage production some people expected. Even without his signature stage production, Rob Zombie and his band put on a hell of a show. The band came out with different costumes and instruments all night long. Guitarist John 5 was a crowd favorite because of his costumes and unique guitars.The night opened up with a White Zombie cover of “More Human Than Human”, which set the pace for the night. During the song “Sick Bubble-Gum” the band had huge balloons for the crowd to amuse themselves with while they chose sides with either Piggy D. or John 5 by chanting “Rock” or “Mother Fucker”. Rob Zombie always has and will continue to be one of the best entertainers in the music industry. Fortunately for fans in Chester, they got to see one of Rob Zombie’s last shows for a while. The band has been on the road for quite some time now and are ready to take a break from the road. Fans ended the night in Zombie style with fan-favorite “Dragula”.
Just as fans thought the night was over with a closing fireworks display alongside the Delaware River, Steel Panther was ready for the after-party under the tent. Three albums in, Steel Panther continue to have success with their parody style 80s hair metal. Not only did fans stick around for the after party, but many band members came out to watch Steel Panther. Watching side stage were members of Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, Nothing More, From Ashes To New and even more. Unfortunately, none of those guys got on stage to do any covers, which was surprising due to all of the guest musicians they usually get on stage. Regardless of whether they had guests on stage, Steel Panther put on a show that was perfect to end the day. The band had the entire tent rockin’ and laughing for the entire hour.
Rob Zombie
Not only did Rock Allegiance have an awesome day of music, it had some great choices for food and drink. Labeled as having “Gourmet Man Food” and craft beers on top of that, PPL Park had it all on Saturday. Throughout the stadium, there were your basic food vendors as there would be at any event there. On top of that were all the food trucks that the festival brought in. The best part about all of the options was that none of the lines got ridiculously long like they do at other festivals. The prices for everything were fair which helped keep concert goers wallet’s happy. Most of all, having options besides your typical hot dogs, hamburgers, etc was a relief. The same goes for the basic festival overpriced beer, Rock Allegiance made sure there were plenty of options. The festival was filled with plastic canning jars which were being used for a variance of alcoholic beverages. Considering the price of tickets and the experience festival attendees got in return, Rock Allegiance was an absolute steal. It was no surprise at all that this event sold out ahead of time and hopefully it will return again next year.
When Rob Zombie makes an appearance in Upstate New York, fans of all ages flocked to see the hellbilly perform at The Budweiser Summer Stage at Tags, located in Big Flats NY. Tags is a Multifaceted Entertainment Facility and nationally recognized concert venue that’s neatly tucked out of the way and has hosted a wide variety of artists over the years.
Opening for Rob Zombie was Dropclutch, a band out of Binghamton New York. The band consists of Shawn Swartwood on vocals, Brandon Schuldt on drums, Josh Skellet on bass/vocals and Adam Skellett on guitar/vocals. Dropclutch has shared the stage with many headlining artists such as Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Lamb of God, Gwar and Skindred. They were well received and got the crowd worked up in preparation for Zombie to take the stage. Their set list included: The Becoming, Get Up, Pressure Chemical, Burned Between The Lines, My Island, Make Your Move, The Reason Over and Over One Bullet.
The line for Rob Zombie started at the entrance and stretched all the way around the venue. Both parking areas were full with fans of all kinds. The only thing that’s more unique than Zombie himself are the fans, some dressed as their favorite characters from his film “House of 1000 Corpses.” The venue was packed pretty tight with those eager to hear some of their favorite hits and Rob is never one to disappoint. His set’s background featured classic movie monsters. The band members blended into the scene with Rob Zombie’s bassist Piggy D dressed as a vampire while guitarist John 5 sporting a nightmarish looking gas mask. The set list for the evening included: Teenage Nosferatu Pussy, Super-Charger Heaven, Superbeast, Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine, Living Dead Girl, Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown, A Drum solo by Ginger Fish, More Human Than Human, Sick Bubble-Gum, Pussy Liquor, Meet the Creeper, Never Gonna Stop and Thunder Kiss ’65 with encores being We’re an American Band, The Lords of Salem and Dragula.
The “World’s Loudest Month” just wrapped up with Rockfest in Kansas City, Missouri – but rock fans have more to look forward to later this year. Yesterday the Monster Energy Rock Allegiance festival lineup was announced for Saturday, Oct. 10 at PPL Park in Chester, PA.
The lineup consists of some of rock’s biggest names including Rob Zombie and Korn. With Rock Allegiance only being a one-day festival, fans don’t have to wait all weekend to catch their favorite bands; they get to see all of them in one day. Also making appearances at Rock Allegiance are Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch, who were both present for many festivals throughout May.
Five Finger Death Punch is bringing Papa Roach, In This Moment and From Ashes To New along with them since they will be hitting the road together this fall. If that wasn’t enough, fans can get ready for sets from Bring Me The Horizon, Atreyu, and Hollywood Undead. Those who went to Rock On The Range were treated to a special guest which turned out to be the newly formed Saint Asonia, featuring Adam Gontier, formally of Three Days Grace and Mike Mushok of Staind. Saint Asonia will be playing at Rock Allegiance as well.
There’s not going to be much time for those who like to party outside the venue before the show because there are many more awesome bands who play earlier in the day. Some of those bands are Pop Evil, Nothing More, Butcher Babies, Art Of Dying, Glorious Sons, and Temperance Movement. The earliest acts of the day will consist of sets from the Charm City Devils, Devour The Day, Unlocking The Truth, Dorothy and more.
If ending the night with sets from Korn and Rob Zombie wasn’t enough, there’s even an after party with Steel Panther! Best of all, tickets go on sale June 2nd at special early bird pricing! Floor tickets will start at $39.50 and will progressively rise to $79.50. Stadium Seat tickets start at $34.50 and go to $44.50 until the day of the show. There are also a limited number of VIP and Stadium 4 Pack deals. For those traveling from out-of-town, there are limited hotel packages offered to help save a couple bucks. To top off a killer lineup, festival goers won’t have to rely on lame stadium food and drinks — Rock Allegiance is bringing its fans an assortment of specialty craft beers and “Gourmet Man Food.” For more information on Rock Allegiance, check out the website.
