NYS Music 20​16

Category: Alternative/Indie

  • Hearing Aide: The Felice Brothers- Life in the Dark

    The Felice Brothers album, Life in the Dark, to be released on June 24, is a great example of how to be a relevant folk band. Many bands feel they need to discuss the good ole days or life out on the farm, but the Felice Brothers largely steer clear of this theme, and are able to get their message across just fine. They define as indie-Folk, if that’s even a thing.

    Songs like the opener, “Aerosol Ball”, “Plunder” and “Sally” are rocking tunes reminiscent of shows like Happy Days. Not many bands would try and pull this sound off – mixing the rock n’ roll of the 1950s under lyrics about issues of today is just, well, nifty.

    “Jack at the Asylum” and Life in the Dark” are two examples of a slower side of the Brothers. In “Asylum”, Ian Felice howls “America” with what would seems like his last breath while “Life in the Park” preaches a different, very morbid message. At the end of the song chanting that “we live and we die and we don’t know why”, there seems no place for such a line, but maybe, since the album was named after this song, there is a reason its on here.

    “Diamond Bell” is the only song that has a new age folk vibe. It is the story of a girl who seemingly goes on a murder spree across the country and he loves her anyway: more of the same story that’s been told a million time. My deepest apologies if this “Diamond Bell” did enter your life and cause such a ruckus, but it seems far fetched and when all is said and done it didn’t add very much value as the album is strong enough on its own. The style that fans have grown to love shines through this album. People who think folk is a dead art need to listen to “Life in the Dark”, by The Felice Brothers.

    Key Tracks: Jack at the Asylum, Life in the Park, Plunder

  • Photo Gallery: Coldplay Heats Up Buffalo

    Coldplay heated up Buffalo this on Monday, August 1 as they brought their show to the First Niagara Center. NYS Music was there to capture a few shots of the show for readers.  Usually the bells and whistles are saved for the close of the show, but these guys brought the big guns out right out of the gate with some of their best hits, canisters blasting confetti, and showering laser lights through the packed to capacity venue.

    coldplay buffaloTouring for their most recent album release, A Head Full of Dreams, Coldplay is half way through the tour that spans North America and then heads overseas to Australia for the month of December. Check to see if they’ll be coming to a city near you soon. This kaleidoscope band delivers one heck of a colorful high energy show.

    coldplay buffaloSetlist: A Head Full of Dreams, Yellow, Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall, The Scientist, Birds, Paradise, Always in My Head, Magic, Everglow, Clocks, Midnight, Charlie Brown, Hymn for the Weekend, Fix You, “Heroes” (David Bowie cover), Viva la Vida, Adventure of a Lifetime, Kaleidoscope, Green Eyes, In My Place, Til Kingdom Come, Amazing Day, A Sky Full of Stars
    Encore: Up and Up

    coldplay buffalo

    coldplay buffalo

  • Night Lights Music Festival to Hold Battle of the Bands 2016

    Night Lights Music Festival will hold a Battle of the Bands to give two bands an opportunity to perform at the sixth annual event on August, 25, 26 and 27, 2016. NYSMusic is proud to sponsor this year’s contest.

    Interested bands are asked to submit a current Electronic Press Kit including a Hi-Res live video performance, a current band photo and social media details to nightlightsfestbands@gmail.com.  All submissions must be received no later than 11:59 P.M. on Aug., 3, 2016.  Finalists will be announced on Aug., 4th. Voting will run Aug., 5th through 12th. NYSMusic.com voters will have the final word, with the band with the highest number of votes will open up the festival’s Friday Main Stage. A second artist or band will receive the Judge’s Choice Award and a slot in the festival’s line-up.

    night_lights

    The Night Lights Music Festival is a magical three-day event in Sherman, NY that combines the power of sound and light to give festival-goers a unique sensory experience. At the top of the bill are the renowned fusion/electronica powerhouse Beats Antique, two-time Grammy Award winning guitarist Eric Krasno, Moon Hooch, the London Souls, Ithaca’s Jimkata, Holly Bowling, and Buffalo’s groove-rock quartet, Aqueous.

    This year’s festival will feature expanded and enhanced lighting trails and installations, and new daytime activities, such as a Kan Jam tournament, poetry readings from Just Buffalo Literary  Center, yoga, Hoop-a-Thon from UltraHoops, swimming, biking/ hiking and much more.

    For full lineup and more information on Night Lights Music Festival, visit their website.

  • So Right on a Friday Night in Saratoga with Dave Matthews

    Saratoga Performing Arts Center has been a staple for Dave Matthews Band for so many years and the band busted open the two night run with So Right, fitting perfectly and setting the tone for the weekend. The band is celebrating their 25th year this tour and with their upcoming break next year the band is putting it all on the table as they poured through their catalog with favorites as well as mixing in a few newer tunes. Fan favorites Recently and Crash followed and kept the energy flowing through, it seemed like the band was having an incredible time on stage and continued to pour it on throughout the evening. The Crowd was mixed with younger and older fans alike and was great to see families enjoying the great lawn together.

    saratoga dave

    Setlist: So Right, Recently, Crash, Raven, Warehouse, Bob Law, Proudest Monkey>Satellite, One Sweet World , Crush, Samurai Cop , Seek up , Idea of the you, Grey Street*, Death on the High Seas , Typical Situation , Too Much , Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel Encore: Sister, Granny, Tripping Billies

    *w/ Dave Pietro

  • Alice in Chains at the Turning Stone Casino

    Alice in Chains brought a perfect blend of classic and new hits to a near capacity crowd at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort on Friday July 22. Alice in Chains, who recently opened a few of the Guns N Roses reunion shows, is currently headlining a North American Tour that is scheduled through early October.

    Chris Besaw Alice In Chains Turning Stone 2016-4034

    Alice in Chains, despite the passing of lead singer Layne Staley in 2002, has been forging ahead with William Duvall as their full time lead singer and has been touring since 2006. The new line-up has since released Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009 and The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here in 2013. Alice in Chains is beginning work on their next studio album with a TBD release date. This is my third time seeing Alice in Chains with DuVall and if you haven’t seen them yet, you are missing out.

    Alice in Chains opened with “Hollow,” followed by “Them Bones” and “Dam That River.” William DuVall and Jerry Cantrell flawlessly traded off vocals reinforcing that authentic Alice in Chains sound. The band continued with more hits, “Check My Brain,” “Angry Chair,” and “Man in the Box.” Bass player Mike Inez attempted to get the crowd revved up by playing at the edge of the stage and motioning for the audience to cheer. Cantrell worked to engage the audience as well by yelling come on and pumping his hands in the air. The crowd fell a bit flat despite the best efforts of the band members to get them pumped. Cantrell took the time to thank fans who were engaged by flipping a guitar pick to them between songs.

    Drummer Sean Kinney took a short break from pummeling his drum kit to joke around with the band and the fans by making a circle with one hand and poking a finger through it with the other to indicate the band was about to play “Down in a Hole.” Kinney in addition to being an amazing drummer, clearly has a sense of humor and finds creative ways to interact with the fans from behind his drum kit.

    The evening continued with “We Die Young,” “Got Me Wrong,” and “It Ain’t Like That” before the band took a short break. The encore included some of my favorites with a powerful version of “Rooster,” “No Excuses” and an in your face “Would?” Alice in Chains bid the crowd goodnight; Cantrell, DuVall and Inez tossed out handfuls of guitar picks as Sean Kinney handed out a few drum sticks to select fans he had engaged with throughout the set.  Alice in Chains created a memorable night of music from Cantrell’s haunting guitar riffs to DuVall’s perfectly sung harmonies, Inez’s energy and smile intermingled with Kinney’s constant backbeat; these guys know how to get it done.

    Set list: Hollow, Them Bones, Dam That River, Again, Check My Brain, Nutshell, Angry Chair, Man in the Box, Your Decision, Down in a Hole, Stone, Last of My Kind, We Die Young, Got Me Wrong, It Ain’t Like That

    Encore: Rooster, No Excuses, Would?

  • Hearing Aide: Keepin’ The Family Debut EP

    New Jersey indie rock band Keepin’ The Family independently released their self-titled debut EP in late June. The five-piece band has been gaining ground, only just getting started in 2016. With interesting instrumentation, including a trumpet and banjo, Keepin’ The Family has a range of talent with a little something for everyone. 10707147_1065713793490471_956034429_n(1)

    The first track ‘Wet Snow’ comes in fast and heavy, with lead singer Jacob Cafaro’s voice barreling through. The song’s impetus rhythm is undeniable, making it difficult to not bop your head to the beat of the drums. Throw in some banjo, and you’ve got yourself a beautifully intense song. It would be easy to pop this album in at the start of a road trip and get a solid start.

    Track three, titled ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ shows the band’s ability so slow it down and make listeners daydream a little. Slower in tempo and on the playful side, the track builds to a beautiful Allman Brother’s-esque guitar solo that makes the track feel more like a story. Cafaro’s voice isn’t perfect, but always hangs on and finds the perfect place to be. The band’s playful side is apparent, whether it be a rock song or a slower ballad.

    Getting to the final track, ‘Road Trip,’ listeners are given a simple, clean song that feels inspiring and promising. The banjo yet again shines through, adding a piece of bluegrass to the already classic song. It would be easy to listen a few times and want to sing along by yourself on the open road.

    ‘Keepin’ The Family’ is a really fantastic introduction to what this band is capable of. Their influences may be obvious to most, but the range of their music is unique and vast. Not many bands include banjo and trumpet, only adding to their already remarkable abilities. With just five tracks, listeners can be in any mood to enjoy the album in full. Keepin’ The Family has a promising future if they continue to put out albums that not just engage listeners, but make them really feel it.

    Catch up with Keepin’ The Family on their Facebook page, and listen to the album on their Bandcamp.

    Key Tracks: Wet Snow, Camelot, Road Trip

  • Hearing Aide: Jack and Amanda Palmer “You Got Me Singing”

    You Got Me Singing, Amanda Palmer’s first full-length album since 2012’s Theatre is Evil with the Grand Theft Orchestra, is a heart-felt tribute to both folk music and family. Along with her father, Jack Palmer, the album consists of twelve cover songs, spanning from Sinéad O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds” to Leonard Cohen’s “You Got Me Singing,” after which the album was titled.

    AmandaPalmer

    Funded entirely by Patreon, the album cover itself is a pastiche of Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home. Recorded with a once-estranged father when Palmer was eight months pregnant, the simplicity of the songs reminds us of the power of music, and why we listen to it in the first place. They aren’t merely covers, but new versions of old favorites.

    The album opens with Leonard Cohen’s “You Got Me Singing,” with both Palmers sharing vocals, Jack’s bass (think: Johnny Cash) complimenting Amanda’s quieter tones. From there, covers include a nursery rhyme, Richard John Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” where both Palmers swap vocals, and particularly relevant in today’s political climate, Sinéad O’Connor’s “Black Boys on Mopeds.”

    As a complement to the O’Connor cover, Phil Och’s “In The Heat of the Summer,” soon follows. Written in 1963 about the Harlem riots, some of the lyrics have been changed in order to bring home the message. Jack Palmer sings, “Another black kid face down in the road, whose life did not seem to matter.”

    Other highlights include “Skye Boat Song,” a tribute to Palmer’s mother’s family who originate from Scotland. The song tells the story about the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie to the Isle of Skye after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Both Palmers again share vocals here.

    The album overall has unconcealed messages about unity and togetherness. Though the songs were chosen because of their meaning to Jack and Amanda personally, the themes of family and peace are ubiquitous.

    Amanda and Jack are currently on a short tour together now. Two New York dates remain:

    July 20 – Le Poisson Rouge, New York
    July 23 – Basilica Hudson, Hudson, New York

    Key Tracks:     Skye Boat Song, In The Heat of the Summer, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9LlSYGM0Rg[/embedyt]

  • Say Hello to Temple of the Dog – Legendary Tribute Band Announces Brief Tour for 25th Anniversary

    Temple of the Dog, a six-piece all-star project, will tour this Fall in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their only album’s release back in April of 1991,  the self-titled Temple of the Dog.

    The band is comprised of Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave (guitar/vocals), Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Jeff Ament (Bass), Eddie Vedder (vocals), Mike McReady (lead guitar) and Matt Cameron (drums). The group was together for only a year, preceding the 1992 breakthroughs for both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Vedder will not be performing on this tour, however. 

    It was an emotional, history-laden project that was brought to life from the grief of losing a close friend and musician, Andrew Wood, to a drug overdose. Wood was known for having great potential, rising in the booming Seattle music scene in the ‘80’s, associated with bands such as Green River, Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone, and shared time with many musicians, in the tight-knit musically “incestual” community.

    The loss was hard on Cornell, fellow band-member and housemate of Wood, who found an outlet by writing a couple of songs, later to become “Reach Down” and “Say Hello 2 Heaven,” on Temple of the Dog. He approached Gossard and Ament, also reeling from the loss of Wood weeks before their Mother Love Bone first CD release, to see if they wanted to record with him. What started as an idea for an EP became something much bigger, when the songs came pouring out, and they decided to make it into an album. The addition of Matt Cameron, also in Soundgarden at that time, brought in McReady. Eddie Vedder was later added from an audition the group held. 

    Temple of the Dog received moderate attention when it was first released April 1991 by A&M records. However, after the explosion of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden on the Grunge scene, A&M rereleased the album the next year to a sweeping fandom that didn’t all care to understand the tender intricacies of the project.

    Although the group had two semi-reunions, it was deemed that they would never perform together. There was speculation that it would just remain as a tribute to Andy Wood, too painful for the group to perform. In a press release, Chris Cornell said, “We wanted to do the one thing we never got to do … play shows and see what it feels like to be the band that we walked away from 25 years ago.”

    On September 30, 2016 UMe will release a 25th Anniversary Temple of the Dog, remastered and newly mixed by Brendan O’Brien.

    The tour will hit five cities:

    11/4- Philadelphia, Tower Theater

    11/7- New York, Madison Square Garden

    11/11- San Francisco, Bill Graham Civic Center

    11/14- Los Angeles, The Forum

    11/20- Seattle, Paramount Theater

  • WEQX Presents: Bloc Party playing Alive @ 5

    Bloc Party will take the stage at Alive @ 5  with opening act Titanics on Thursday the July 21.

    bloc partyBloc Party is an English indie rock band with artists Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums).  Their danceable rock music has made them one of London’s biggest hits. 

    The band has performed on the Late Show with David Letterman and the Tonight Show, been featured on multiple magazine covers, and performed highly-anticipated sets at major festivals such as Coachella. 

    The band’s fifth studio album, Hymns, the first to involve Harris and Bartle, was released in January 2016. They have collectively sold over three million albums worldwide.

    Check out this playlist to see what Bloc Party has to offer.

    Mark Lombardo and Derek Rogers make up Titanics who were named “Best Best” by Albany’s Metroland, featured on San Francisco’s most prestigious music blog “Indie Shuffle” and Mercedes Benz’ September 2013 “Best New Talent” mixtape. Their use of synthesizers and electronic beats create tranquil sounds, spiritual feels and a pop sensibility. Check out their website below for news updates and music downloads.

    You can get a taste for the Titanics at their Bandcamp page here.

    102.7 WEQX is the real rock alternative

  • Primus Drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander Suffers Second Heart Attack

    In 2014, Primus drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander suffered a heart attack, resulting in Tool drummer Danny Carey filling in for several dates Primus had scheduled for a tour with its classic lineup while Alexander recovered.

    Tim AlexanderSaturday, Alexander revealed via his Instagram, that he recently had another heart attack:

    Alexander is currently home and resting according to a follow-up Instagram post Saturday. Primus is next scheduled to play festival dates at Joshua Tree and Sacramento in October.

    Primus played Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown last summer on a tour with Dinosaur, Jr. and Sean Lennon’s Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, a tour that led to the recent Claypool Lennon Delirium album and tour. Below is a fan-shot video of “Southbound Pachyderm” complete with fireworks display.