They say this is a bad year for music legends. They say all the good ones are gone. Shhhhh! Don’t tell that to Bunny Wailer, the last original member of the legendary Wailers. Because, not only is he alive, but skipping and skittering across stage while belting out tropical sun-drenched roots reggae songs with sinewy finesse. The three-time Grammy winner recently assembled a robust band along with a buzz-cut sharp horn second called the Solomonic Reggaestra. Wailers assemble sparked the Ogden Theatre last week in Denver, Colorado with jaunty renditions of classic Wailer favorites like “Trenchtown Rock.” Local ska/reggae favorites, Highway 50, led by former Samples keyboardist, Al Laughin, started the evening with lemon bright set of melodies punctuated by the brass jags of The Horns of Destruction. The bloggers may not have it quite right. Maybe it hasn’t all been bad this year for music legends. And they aren’t all dead. Not by a back roads Jamaica mile.
Category: Genres
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Del the Funky Homosapien ‘Iller Than Most’ Tour Stops in Brooklyn
Del the Funky Homosapien inhabits a world of his own. It’s a world in which George Clinton occupies a role like that of a creator-god and Del with the rest of the Hieroglyphics crew are on a mission to ensure that the forces of funk win over the forces of non-funk in a never-ending cosmic saga.
Luckily for the race of Homosapiens on Earth, Del’s world is accessible to us through his records and live shows. Three years after rebooting the futurist hip-hop group Deltron 3030, Del continues to perform occasionally with that group as well as on his own, performing original music stretching back to 25 years of underground emceeing.Del’s music is compellingly original. The rapper-producer has admitted in interviews that he listens to very little new music and spends his time working on his own. The result: an unheard of lyrical flow tightly woven over self-produced tracks; it’s a veritable rhythmic tour de force. To be in the presence of such a funky person is humbling. Del fans are dedicated and hang on every cadence that issues forth from the stage at his shows. The opportunity to be among them should not be considered lightly.
Del the Funky Homosapien will manifest his far-out rhyming for one night only at the Brooklyn Bowl on May 7. DJ Shiftee and Sean Anonymous will kick off the show at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available online through the venue’s website.
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David Gilmour Mesmerizes NYC for Three Nights at Two World-Famous Concert Halls
After almost immediately selling out one show at Madison Square Garden, the voice of Pink Floyd added a second night, and with the ticket demand still high, added a third night at Radio City Music Hall last month. David Gilmour recently concluded the North American portion of his Rattle That Lock world tour at the two famous NYC concert venues, and the rock legend mesmerized audience members fortunate enough to score tickets for one, two or even all three nights with his iconic guitar work. Photos by Carl Scheffel/MSG Photos
Gilmour’s NYC run began at Radio City on April 10 with many ticket holders still in line outside on 50th St. as he struck the first notes of “5 A.M.” Aside from this minor setback, the experience of this performance was quite special. The acoustics in the 6,000-seat music hall created a big, clean sound that washed over and enveloped every seat. Rather than a typical concert feel, the aesthetics of this performance made it seem like Gilmour was playing an intimate home living room show.On the other hand, the arena setting of Madison Square Garden created a larger-than-life rock concert atmosphere for Gilmour’s performance. Not as cozy of a setting as Radio City, the crowd feel was looser and livelier. If we were to compare the two venues for an act such as Foo Fighters, MSG would likely claim the title for best event. However, the experience of Radio City was unsurpassed for seeing such a legend as Gilmour.
The set list for all three shows remained the same, save for a swap of “On An Island” and “The Girl in the Yellow Dress” during the second set. While it would have been interesting to hear more variety between each night, there were no complaints in having more opportunities to absorb the solos on “High Hopes” and “Comfortably Numb,” just to name a few. Gilmour’s overall selection of songs covered a palatable range of Pink Floyd classics and his 2006 and 2015 solo releases.
Before claiming disgruntlement for the sets not including more Pink Floyd staples, it’s important to remember that these weren’t Pink Floyd shows, as some MSG concert-goers expected. The new songs appearing on Gilmour’s Rattle That Lock were met with mixed paces of acceptance (typical for an artist’s first live performance of new material), but for the dedicated Gilmour/Pink Floyd fans, his shows hit the mark and lived up to expectations.The fundamental anticipations of Gilmour’s NYC run were his extraordinary guitar work, performed on his Workmate (1955 Fender Esquire), The Black Strat (1969 Fender Stratocaster) and his Jedson lap steel, among others. Whenever the cue came that Gilmour was about to break into his solo, cheers erupted before he even started. Particularly during “High Hopes,” the audience melted into their seats as Gilmour backed away from the front of the stage to take a seat at his lap steel. Gilmour’s big intro on “Sorrow” knocked everyone back as it inflated Radio City’s art deco ceiling and shook some dust from MSG’s recently renovated canopy. The only disappointment was that “Comfortably Numb” did not last all night.
Joining Gilmour on this tour were many of the musicians who recorded on Rattle That Lock and some who have performed with him on previous tours, including the final Pink Floyd tour. To his right, the Roxy Music alumnus and renowned writer/producer Phil Manzanara complemented Gilmour’s guitar lines. Also joining Gilmour were Jon Carin and Kevin McAlea (keys), Steve DiStanislao (drums), João de Macedo Mello (saxes), Guy Pratt (bass) and Bryan Chambers, Louise Marshall and Lucy Jules (backing vocals). Although Gilmour remained in the spotlight, members from his tight-knit backing band occasionally took the lead or shared part in vocals Chambers’ memorable lead in the chorus of “In Any Tongue.”On the visual front, lighting designer Marc Brickman and his crew nicely balanced painting a canvas behind the songs without over-dramatizing, and threw in a few clever chases from the lights around the moon screen that played on its geometry. Though the stage took a very similar form to Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell tour in 1994, it fit well for Gilmour’s solo performance.
If Gilmour’s shows were entirely about his guitar work, it wouldn’t be the mark of a well-rounded performance. Several moments throughout the show made it wholesome in that regard. The simple guitar duet “Wish You Were Here” solicited a 6,000- and 18,000-person sing-along (heard all the way down in the Financial District) that joined the audience together early in the set. “Money” took a funky turn after de Macedo Mello’s roaring sax solo as Gilmour doodled over his rhythm section, ending the song in full energy. The driving performances of “Astronomy Dominé” and the vocal call-and-response of Gilmour and Pratt on “Run Like Hell” breathed life into the second set, and also nicely bookended the set with two distinct periods in Pink Floyd history.
MSG may have been particularly subdued for the jazz-driven “The Girl in the Yellow Dress,” but the change in pace showed a songwriting side of Gilmour not seen before and gave de Macedo Mello an opportunity to show his chops in a more conventional setting. On a more serious subject, some found themselves transfixed on the animated video set to “In Any Tongue,” a very powerful and personal song resonating with those affected by recent wars. With so many moments speaking louder than words, we’ll have to wait for a DVD of one of his tour stops to be released to speak for itself (though video of another venue cannot enumerate the experience precipitated by Madison Square Garden and Radio City).
While this will likely be Gilmour’s last big tour as hinted in his Rolling Stone interview last year, it hopefully won’t be the last the U.S. will see of him. After cheers of “David! David!” following “Comfortably Numb” on his final night at MSG, Gilmour concluded his thank-yous with, “we’ll see you again one of these days.” With Roger Waters performing The Wall at Yankee Stadium in 2013 and Gilmour’s three nights in NYC in 2016, many bucket lists for younger Pink Floyd fans now have a few more checkmarks. Regardless of whether or not Gilmour will again gift stages here in New York with his presence, these three nights will be remembered forever.
Gilmour continues his Rattle That Lock tour in Europe, including two nights on July 7 and 8 at the Pompeii Roman Amphitheatre, where Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii was recorded, and several evenings at The Royal Albert Hall, London, in September.
Set 1: 5 A.M., Rattle That Lock, Faces of Stone, Wish You Were Here, What Do You Want From Me, A Boat Lies Waiting, The Blue, Money, Us and Them, In Any Tongue, High Hopes
Set 2: Astronomy Dominé, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Fat Old Sun, Coming Back To Life, On An Island*/The Girl In The Yellow Dress**, Today, Sorrow, Run Like Hell
Encore: Time->Breathe (Reprise), Comfortably Numb
*Radio City Music Hall only
**Madison Square Garden only -
Twiztid Juggalo Invasion 2016 Tour Lights Up Magic City Music Hall
This past Friday the city of Binghamton was paid a visit by Detroit Michigan’s dark and demented duo Twiztid. Twiztid, who is currently out on the road on their Juggalo Invasion Tour in support of their newest release Mutant Remixed & Remastered brought with them a very impressive lineup consisting of Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Boondox, The R.O.C., Lex the Hex Master, and Davey Suicide.
The show kicked off with opening acts The Real Chaos, Insane E, Ajax and Trilogy. I have to admit given the number of openers and the limited amount of time each were allotted to perform, they all delivered very energetic and intense sets and did a fantastic job of getting the audience warmed up for a very powerful night of music and mayhem.If these acts didn’t get the crowd warmed up enough, the next round of artists kicked things into overdrive. Artists Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Boondox, Lex the Hex Master and The R.O.C. delivered nothing but excitement, skill and precision to their fans that evening. Fans danced, moshed and sang along with the artists! When it comes to gritty, sleazy full on metal you should check out UnHolywood, Killafornia’s very own Davey Suicide! One may think metal does not fit into this mix but Davey and the band are comparably dark and sinister and even won over some new fans!
Now for the main act! The artist everyone was waiting for, Twiztid. The fog rolls onto the stage amid the eerie low glowing green lights, the intro is cued and the demented duo creeps onto the stage. The fans go crazy as Twiztid tears up the stage with their back up band The Wickedness! Yes, they did something they have not done in a long time they used a live band to help them take things to a whole new level for their fans. Twiztid played a nice selection of tracks from their immense catalog. With Wickedness as back up, they were able to put different spins on their songs. They cranked out such hits as “Die Motherfucker Die” and the loudest version of “We Don’t Die” I have ever heard! Madrox and Monoxide are true masters of their art!
The show was incredible and intense from the beginning right up to the end leaving fans wanting more.
Prior to the show I had the opportunity to chat with Blaze Ya Dead Homie. Blaze is a very welcoming and down to earth guy despite his hulking and terrifying appearance. We talked about his new album “Casket Factory,” artists who inspire him and horror movies. Hope you enjoy the interview!
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Amon Amarth Vanquish Water Street Music Hall
On Monday April 25, Rochester New York fell prey to one of Sweden’s most notorious metal bands. Amon Amarth kicked off their 2016 Jomsviking North American tour on April 17. Joining them on their voyage are fellow Swedes, Entombed A.D. and American thrash metal band, Exmortus.
The line outside the venue stretched the entire length of Water Street and then some. Some concert goers went as far as dressing in viking armor, helms and bracers in support of Amon Amarth’s musical theme.
Setting the pace for the evening was Sourthern California quartet, Exmortus. Their performance was enthusiastically received by the crowd throwing up their “horns.” The band consists of Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez on vocals/guitar, guitarist David Rivera, bassist Michael Cosio and Mario Moreno. Their set list for the evening was as follows: “Rising” “For the Horde” “Foe Hammer” “Death to Tyrants” “Moonlight Sonata (Act 3)” and “Metal is King.”
With the crowd already hungering for more, Entombed A.D. was next to take the stage. Consisting of Lars-Göran Petrov on vocals, Olle Dahlstedt on drums, Nico Elgstrand on guitar and Victor Brandt on bass, the Stockholm based band’s heavy riffs added fuel to the fire, as crowd surfers began making their way towards the front of the venue towards waiting Security. The band’s set list for the evening was in support of their February 26 album release Dead Dawn with songs such as “Dead Dawn” “Stranger Aeons” “Second to None” “Midas In Reverse” “Living Dead” “The Winner Has Lost” “Revel in Flesh” “Wolverine Blues” and “Left Hand Path.”
With the venue at near capacity, the fans were ready battle when Amon Amarth time came to slay the crowd. The stage was set with a giant viking helm emitting smoke with the drum kit perched atop between it’s horns. With their new album release, Jomsviking, which has dominated the charts around the globe, the band took the stage like a storm starting things off with the song “The Pursuit of Vikings.” The performance was met with more crowd surfing, chanting, fists in the air and horns raised enthusiastically. With frontman Johan Hegg sporting a drinking horn on his side and decorated leather bracers on his arms, he appeared as a viking warrior straight of some epic story. Backed by guitarists Ted Lundström and Johan Söderberg along with bassist Olavi Mikkonen and new drummer Tobias Gustafsson, the show raged on through the night with songs from the new album along with some old favorites. The set list being, “The Pursuit of Vikings” “As Loke Falls” “First Kill” “The Way of Vikings” “At Dawns First Light” “Deceiver of the Gods” “Cry of the Black Birds” “One Against All” “Thousand Years of Oppression” “Destroyer of the Universe” “Death in Fire” and “Runes to My Memory”
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Buckethead Has Returned: Westcott Theater Performance Coming May 3
After four long years of waiting, fans of Buckethead finally have the chance to see him live once again. The man who sports the white mask and bucket on his head is coming to the Westcott Theater this Tuesday, May 3. Tickets are on sale for $25 and are available at the door.
For those who may not know who Buckethead is, he’s a guitarist who can practically play anything. Buckethead is a guitar virtuoso who covers many different genres including metal, funk, classical and more. Starting in the late ’80s and learning from the great Paul Gilbert, Buckethead has been attached to his guitar ever since. Bucket’s first solo album, Bucketheadland, came out in 1992, and that’s where the journey began.Since 1992, Buckethead has released 264 studio albums. The lineup of musicians that Bucket has worked with is extensive as well. That list includes Bootsy Collins, Iggy Pop, Les Claypool, Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Mike Patton and many more. Buckethead was also the lead guitar player for Guns N’ Roses from 2000 to 2004. The long-awaited Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy features Buckethead on all but two tracks.
Not only does Buckethead play guitar, but he is also a fantastic bass player, a talent which he displays at his live shows as well. Watching Buckethead play live will certainly leave everyone in the audience in a daze. For those who think watching a guy play guitar for over an hour straight may be boring, Buckethead will certainly prove them wrong. Complete with dance moves, nunchucks and toy giveaways, Tuesday’s show is sure to be one to remember from Buckethead.
Although his official website hasn’t been updated, Buckethead has an entire tour planned for the next few months. For those interested in seeing Bucket’s show, the Westcott Theater is the only place to see him in New York except for his show at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on May 7. The rest of the dates can be found at this link.
To purchase tickets to the show this Tuesday, visit the Westcott Theater website.
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Five Finger Death Punch Being Sued By Record Label
According to a recent report by Blabbermouth, metal rockers Five Finger Death Punch are being sued by their record label Prospect Park for breach of contract. Prospect Park claims that the band is trying to cash in before their bandmate, frontman Ivan Moody, does something stupid or even dies. Moody is accused of being addicted to alcohol, and some worry that if things end in a train wreck, Five Finger Death Punch’s music catalog would end up worthless.
Five Finger Death Punch signed a four-album contract with Prospect Park in December 2012. The contract states that the band could not record any new material earlier than nine months after its latest release, unless the label agrees to it in writing. The band’s third studio album under contract, Got Your Six, was released Sept. 4, 2015. That means the band can’t start “any portion” of the new album in the agreement until June 4, 2016.
Also under the agreement, the band is under contract to release two masters for a greatest hits album. The band refused to deliver the masters out of concern from Moody, and members plan on recording the greatest hits album on a new record label. Part of Prospect Park’s lawsuit states:
Regrettably, with the encouragement and assistance of their entertainment lawyer and business manager, the members of FFDP have unequivocally repudiated their contractual obligations to permit Prospect Park to determine the recording elements of a new record and a greatest hits record. In doing so, the members of FFDP are shamelessly attempting to cash in before the anticipated downfall of their addicted bandmate.
Prospect Park blames the band for rushing to record the fourth album that they are contracted to, disregarding the health and safety of Moody and ultimately destroying the band in the process. The record label says that the band has reached out numerous times with concern about Moody’s addiction getting out of control and fear he may not be there to fulfill his obligations to the band and the contract, thus seeking to capitalize as soon as possible at the expense of Moody’s health.
Prospect Park also stated in the lawsuit, “Based on FFDP’s own assessment, Moody is unable to perform at the level required under Section 3.01 of the Recording Agreement for delivery of the Fourth Album’s master recordings or Greatest Hits Masters.”
The lawsuit lists numerous text messages and emails from FFDP band members and represenatives. A message on Nov. 15, 2015 reads, “The writing is on the wall, and that, it’s a matter of time before Ivan hits the wall — and once he does — it will be too late to sell.” In an email received on Dec 3, 2015, band members wrote, “if Ivan does something stupid — dies…., goes away to jail — then the catalog is a bust — then we won’t be able to sell and we’ll be trying to salvage what we can — IF we can … so to me it’s imperative to make a move and sell.” One message even says that Moody is getting in the way of an eight-digit payday.
The label states in the lawsuit some of the reasons why they want control over the recording elements. Some of those reasons include a precipitous decline in sales, the fact that radio has told the label that the band’s sound is getting “stale” and the disappointment that the band has failed to reach Platinum or Multi-Platinum level.
During a show in Memphis in May 2015, Moody was accused of having an onstage meltdown, and some fans even thought the band split up as the rest of the band left Moody on the stage by himself after he made a remark about drummer Jeremy Spencer’s book. Spencer left the stage first and the rest of the band slowly followed. Moody soon after that released a statement blaming technical difficulties, and saying the band was in good standing with each other.
At the end of March 2016, Moody was hospitalized, forcing the band to cancel their Australian tour, and a gig as a supporting act for Black Sabbath’s final run. Moody was admitted to the ER in his hometown of Denver and was said to make a full recovery. The band has recently notified Prospect Park that Moody is in an in-patient rehabilitation facility for an unknown duration of time.
Five Finger Death Punch is slated to play many of the major rock festivals this May including headlining the opening night at the first-ever Rock’N Derby in Schaghticoke on May 20. The band days ago confirmed a fall tour with Shinedown and Sixx: A.M., and a coast-to-coast tour of Canada with Papa Roach and Sixx: A.M.
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Hearing Aide: Rogue Wave “Delusions of Grand Fur”
California based Rogue Wave’s six studio album Delusions of Grand Fur – the band’s first release since 2013’s Nightingale Floors – is a progression, if not a departure, from their customary sound. Despite the change of pace, Delusions of Grand Fur provides a welcome and sometimes synth-fueled soundtrack representative of the mellow, coastal sounds of the West Coast. Recorded and produced by the band in their own home studio in Oakland, Delusions of Grand Fur is representative of spring with tracks such as “California Bride” and “Ocean.”Rogue Wave is a quartet led by Zach Rogue, who also serves as the principle song-writer. The space between Delusions of Grand Fur and previous albums, and the band’s self-led production, has allowed for growth and experimentation that is apparent on this album. The title itself – a pun meant to emphasize the misconceptions of life in a band – also places emphasis on the listener not to underestimate or enter with preconceived expectations concerning the band’s sound.
The album opens with “Take it Slow,” particularly reminiscent of The Shins, and sets the tone for the remainder of the album. This leads into the following two tracks “In the Morning” and “California Bride,” the latter showcasing beach-y and pop-y lyrics, with melancholy undertones. While “What is Left to Solve” initially sounds like a departure, with the heavier bass, after a few listens it fits in with the album as a whole.
Falling” similarly is mellow and harmonic, again pairing positive melodies with more somber lyrics, such as: “We live in an era where everything is for sale.” Lyrics such as these feel particularly relevant given the state of the current primary elections. The next track “Curious Me” is reminiscent of Elliot Smith in sound if not in theme.
Perhaps a favorite track on the album is “Ocean,” departing from the mellow themes to supply a refreshingly more upbeat and pop-ish reprieve. Though different, it still fits with the remainder of the album. Overall, this is a solid release, if at times certain tracks seem a bit too derivative of The Shins and Simon and Garfunkel (particularly, “Fallen”). Similarly, while enjoyable, the repetition of lyrics in other songs (“Look At Me”) can be a bit trying. These minor aspects aside, this is a great album to sit back and relax to.
Delusions of Grand Fur is released on Friday, April 29. They are on tour this spring and summer with Hey Marseille and Floating Action.
Key Tracks: Curious Me, Oceans, Falling
Catch Rouge Wave on their upcoming tour:
5/5/16 Oakland, CA @ Starline Ballroom
5/6/16 Mill Valley, CA @ Sweetwater Music Hall
5/7/16 San Francisco, CA @ The independent
5/10/16 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
5/11/16 Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
5/12/16 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
5/13/16 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
5/14/16 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
5/15/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
5/17/16 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
5/18/16 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
5/19/16 Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
5/20/16 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
5/21/16 St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
5/22/16 Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
5/24/16 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
5/25/16 Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
5/26/16 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
6/9/16 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
6/11/16 Austin, TX @ Mohawk Outdoors
6/12/16 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
6/17/16 Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom -
Twiddle Impresses in Plumpty Dumpty Tour Finale in Ithaca
It had been a decade since I’d been to Ithaca. The final show of Twiddle‘s Plumpty Dumpty tour was more than enough reason to make the drive from Buffalo. I’m sure glad I did.
It was my first time being at The Haunt. It’s a great intimate venue. The security and staff there were nothing but “frendly” and helpful. The Haunt is historic in its own right. Seeing some of the bands pictures hung on the wall it just felt right that Twiddle was closing their spring tour there.Space Carnival opened up the night. They brought high energy to the stage and the crowd loved it. Their final song for the night was a cover of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” Keep an eye and an ear out for these up-and-comers.
Twiddle opened with a great “Polluted Beauty,” one of my favorite songs off their latest Plump Chapter 1. Some of the guys were not feeling 100 percent healthy after spending a month on the road but you couldn’t tell with the way they hit the stage.
Mihali Sauvolidis took flight from the start, shredding apart the 20-minute “Polluted Beauty.” Twiddle is on fire right now. In my eyes the sky really is the limit for these guys.
My favorite part of the night was hearing the instrumental “Wasabi Eruption” > “The Box.” The set list for the night was very plump with Plump. We look forward to what Twiddle has in store with Plump Chapter 2.
Twiddle ended the night with the crowd-pleaser “Lost In The Cold.” All in all it was a beautiful night. The crowd was nothing but friendly, especially to my pregnant girlfriend. With this upward trajectory, don’t expect to see Twiddle playing at such intimate venues for much longer.
Next up for Twiddle is their May 7 date at the historic The Capitol Theater in Port Chester. If you are planning on attending, get your tickets soon. It will sell out.
Space Carnival: Rango >Regal Krad , Entree The Giant, Pilb, Uh Oh, I slipped My Disco, Cyberia, Moon Boots, All Night Long (Lionel Richie cover)
Twiddle: Polluted Beauty, Wasabi Eruption> The Box, Syncopated Healing, Amydst The Midst, White Light
Encore : Lost In The ColdSetlist provided by uTwiddle