In what has become a bit of a tradition, afrobeat-dance-pop partiers Rubblebucket once again worked Rochester’s Water Street Music Hall into their New Year’s weekend plans this year. Though their visit is never quite held on New Year’s Eve, they’re always sure to carry over some antics with them.
The stage was dressed with a painted and black-lit backdrop that was hit with various animations throughout the night, including jellyfish, clouds, hyperspace-esque bursts etc. The band continued their strong touring behind their latest album Survival Sounds. The show opened with “Shake Me Around” and “Sound of Erasing” and the rest of the set was peppered with more Survival Songs tracks. Past hits from Omega La La “Silly Fathers” and “Came Out of a Lady” (hilariously available now as a onesie) aren’t ready to leave the rotation though. Most exciting though, the band continued it’s slow and subtle evolution showcasing two brand new songs that will hopefully find their way into stores on a new album sometime in 2016.
First up was “Donna,” a song about imaginary lovers unrelated to the Richie Valens classic and just a smidge more upbeat. It featured Kalmia Traver back on the sax, something that has grown rarer, and Alex Toth making use of a megaphone. Later in the set, the band emerged with another new one, “Party Like Your Heart Hurts.” An apt title for a song by a band who brings a party every night and oozes love for their music, audience and life in general. With an undercurrent of electronics bubbling up, this one is immediately infectious and the crowd spent no time acclimating to the groove. It was as if they’d heard it a 100 times. Check out videos of both songs below.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z6utKdEqXM[/embedyt]
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6BURv6gqy0[/embedyt]
After an hour long set that featured a tutu worn by multiple members of the band, confetti cannons, full-crowd jump-alongs, a horn march through the crowd, and Kalmia Traver riding through the crowd in an inflatable raft (impressively while still holding mic and singing), the audience wasn’t ready to quit this not-quite New Year’s Eve celebration. Rabidly chanting “One more song!” as loud as you will ever hear, when the band came back Alex Toth asked, “Is it OK if we play 2 songs?”
So two songs they played, the first a cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” (video below) which brought a much harder edge to the mix. It served as a dynamic contrast to their usual bright sound and was a great addition to the repertoire. The night closed with “Save Charlie” and a huge balloon drop, including a massive blue octopus that snaked through the crowd. Rubblebucket continually out-Rubblebucket’s themselves over the New Year’s holiday, and Rochester happily hosted the party once again.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d2A1FIi2Z4[/embedyt]
A quick return to Star Wars brought the lively “Cantina Theme” Garvey employed some dexterous finger-picking, while Derkak employed some effects pedals to mimic the familiar theme from Star Wars – A New Hope. Loughlin’s malletkat added to the feel of the song, giving the feel of being in the cantina itself.
Schnier’s coming-of-age song, “Mexico” came next. The teases into it from “Captain America” had the crowd warming up its vocal chords, ready to join in at the first word. This one turned into a chill-inducing, whole-crowd sing along. Garvey’s solo take during this song had Rob Derhak sitting back smiling with pride in his bandmates. While “Mexico” isn’t one of the big jam vehicles die-hards yearn for, as witnessed Friday night at the Palace, it is certainly a crowd-pleaser, and one that deserves a spot among the great narrative songs.
When I got into MSG around 8:15 P.M., I heard the opening notes to “AC/DC Bag,” and it seemed like the classic opener had returned to blast us off into the night, but having wrapped things up at the 
With Fishman gently brushing his drums, a balancing “Train Song” arose, bringing tears to the eyes of those chasing the soft Billy Breathes tune, a rarity these days, but a beautiful one at that. Julius reinvigorated the crowd to close the set, one that started strong and finished out the same. Fans then awaited the final of nine sets that Phish would play this run, ventured around the concourse one last time and saw friends they may not see until Summer Tour or beyond, or perhaps resting their legs and reflecting on a crazy, music-filled weekend in the 
As the lights dropped and Trey softly played the opening notes to “Tweezer”, the second set jam vehicle of legend, the audience exulted. The jam slowly built and never let up, and had some back and forth between Trey and Page for a bit, but the final two minutes of Tweezer really shone in an accelerated “What’s the Use?” jam that brought the 22 minute tour de force to a close before pouring into “Sand.” Even still, after “Tweezer”, there was no let up on this “Sand,” which garnered cheers from the “Flowing through the hourglass” line, now forever intwined with the ‘Hourglass Jam’ that rang in 2016 two nights prior.
Returning to the stage, the buzz was centered on “Fluffhead,” which hadn’t been played since August 2014. What feels like years of waiting will feel a little longer as Phish opted for a combo of “The Lizards” and “Tweezer Reprise,” one that constitutes a single “Fluffhead,” which is one part rarity (The Lizards) and one part energy builder with a huge payoff (Tweezer Reprise). There were no complaints with this set, let alone the entire show. While January 2, 2016 marked the best show of the run, with the Mayan Riviera shows coming up in a week, the bar for the year is set high with this final performance from the New Years run.
The band has been celebrating its 25th anniversary throughout 2015 and sound as cohesive as they ever have. A relationship this long, no matter what the scenario, is difficult to maintain at any level, yet it seems as if moe. has found new life in this trip around the sun. Onstage smiles were continuous during this run; it’s obvious that this is a band still having fun playing together.
Busting out with a rare “
Following a half-hour break, the band opened the second set with a tribute to the 
This led to the surprise of the night as Loughlin left the confines of his kit at the back of the stage to drop some mad rhymes to 
As the band members took a brief break, microphone stands were brought to the front of the stage for the encore. Schnier played his acoustic, while Garvey plucked on his electric. Amico played the tambourine and Loughlin the maraca, as Derhak, with the assistance of a lyric sheet, sang the Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” with help from the crowd on such lyrics as “Home is where I want to be.” As moe.’s adopted hometown, the collaboration was a fitting end to the show capping off the band’s silver anniversary year.
The live recording of Aqueous’ 
David Loss not only handles guitar and vocal duties but also keys and synth. In listening to this release, it’s his nuances that bring out the best of the Dark Side recording but also the best of Aqueous’s original material. He seems to always know where he is in regards to complementing his fellow musicians. It’s a mind-numbing skill to have as a musician to be able to understand that sometimes less is more, or that layers are built on levels, but that in order to build a deep sound, the levels can’t all be the same.