NYS Music 20​16

Category: Berkshires

  • The National: The Band an Ocean could not Break

    North Adams Mass sits in the nook of the Berkshires, a quaint college town known for its art, culture and its museums. Mass MOCA, (MOCA being short for Museum of Contemporary Art) hosts hundreds of displays as well as musical events. On June 11, The National was one of these and they made the museum theirs for the day.

    Known for a melodic somber sound, The National, found a way to take this feel and turn it into a rock show with emotions and waves of feeling – a rare find with bands of this genre. By digging deep into their whole catalog, the audience never knew what to expect, a tactic that left us with a phenomenal feeling. Opening up with the Trouble Will Find Me hit, “Don’t Swallow the Cap,’” the band knew they had the audience in their hands from the get go. After a few more rocking tunes the band slowed things down with the Grateful Dead classic, “Peggy-O,” citing that even though the dead didn’t write the song they still played it a lot so this is their homage to the Dead. This comes off the heels of the highly anticipated Day of the Dead – an album, four years in the making, featuring 59 tracks of Dead covers and over sixty artist.

    They kept things slow for the next two songs and then they treated the crowd by playing three new songs in a row. This is most likely a preview for an album that may see light sometime next year. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again… and again. This was the case when the band dug into their catalog again to bust out “Slow Show.” When they finally got it down, it was one of the highlights of the show. The passion that singer Matt Berninger sang with was second to none. These guys are rock stars.

    “About Today,” from the Cherry Tree EP, was a song that many wouldn’t anticipate would be good live. It’s a slow song which Berninger sings, slowly, almost a whisper “ How close am I, to losing you?” What made the song that much more enjoyable was their ability to captivate an audience with a song that rightfully so can put you to sleep. They kept the energy going and closed out the set with “Fake Empire” off the Boxer LP this song left the crowd wanting more, and more is what they received. The National came out with a four song encore ending with High Violets “Vanderlye Crybaby Geeks,” a sing along song during which the band played acoustic which was totally genius.

    In a show rife with slow and sad songs, the band was able to keep the crowd at attention and not drifting off into oblivion.

  • Wild Adriatic Hits the Road for Eurotrip

    Capital Region rockers Wild Adriatic recently rolled out dates for a Eurotrip and U.S. tour as well. The three-piece group will head out on the road beginning Feb. 11 in Boston and wrapping up May 15 in Spain.

    Fresh off the heels of their debut voyage on the Rock Boat, where they played an all-Zeppelin set and jammed onstage with Sister Hazel, Michael Franti and Gavin Degraw, WA’s upcoming tour includes Northeast-heavy dates with home state stops in Corning, Saratoga Springs, Rochester, Syracuse, Brooklyn, Buffalo and Jamestown before returning to Europe for a four-week headlining run.

    The blues-rock band consists of Travis Gray (vocals, guitar), Rich Derbyshire (bass) and Mateo Vosganian (drums); supporting groups that will share the bill with WA during this winter/spring tour will be the Mallett Brothers Band, Let’s Be Leonard, Turkuaz, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, the Suitcase Junket and Animal Years.

    This January, WA released their first full-length live album from their two-night performance in Albany last October and will record the upcoming Feb. 20 show at Putnam Den for a possible future album. The band’s self-titled EP dropped in 2011, and their most recent collection debuted May 2015 as the five-song Never Enough. Although, according to the press release, WA has a new record in the works:

    We’ll be back in the studio making our second full length record in Fall 2016. Hoping to release Early 2017 and we have never been more excited to get in the studio and create! So much inspiration over the last few months, I know we have a few more tunes in us to get out before we hit the studio but we are very excited with how the material has come together so far!” 

    Tickets for all 2016 show dates are on sale through Wild Adriatic’s official website.

    Wild Adriatic 2016 Tour Dates:

    2/11 – Boston, MA – Lansdowne Pub^
    2/12 – Burlington, VT – Nectar’s^
    2/13 – Sugarloaf, ME – Sugarloaf Mountain^
    2/18 – Corning, NY – Corning Museum of Glass 2300 Series
    2/19 – Portsmouth, NH – Birdseye^
    2/20 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Putnam Den*
    2/25 – Rochester, NY – Flour City Station
    2/26 – Syracuse, NY – Funk N Waffles Downtown*
    2/27 – Stratton, VT – Grizzly’s%
    3/3 – Worcester, MA – Electric Haze
    3/4 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl#
    3/10 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater
    3/11 – Mifflinburg, PA – Rusty Rail
    3/12 – Asbury Park, NJ – Wonder Bar
    3/16 – Washington, DC – Black Cat~
    3/17 – Mercersburg, PA – Mansion House~
    3/18 – Philadelphia, PA – Milkboy~
    3/24 – Hartford, CT – Arch Street Tavern
    3/25 – Manchester, VT – The Perfect Wife
    3/26 – Stratton, VT – Grizzly’s*
    3/31 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe
    4/1 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works
    4/2 – Jamestown, NY – Shawbucks

    ^ – w/ The Mallett Brothers Band
    * – w/ Let’s Be Leonard
    % – w/ Turkuaz
    # – w/ Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds & The Suitcase Junket
    ~ – w/ Animal Years

    4/14 – Oostende, Belgium – Bada Bing
    4/15 – Kortrijk, Belgium – Den Trap
    4/16 – Krefeld, Germany – Kulturrampe
    4/17 – Turnhout, Belgium – Dax Cafe
    4/19 – Norderstedt, Germany – Music Star
    4/20 – Malmo, Sweden – St Gertrund
    4/21 – Hamburg, Germany – Sound Yard
    4/22 – Bordesholm, Germany – Albatros
    4/23 – Singwitz, Germany – Kesselhaus
    4/26 – Bratislava, Slovakia – Muzeum Obchodu
    4/27 – Kufstein, Austria – Eggers
    4/28 – Besancon, France – Passengers Du Zinc
    4/29 – Alencon, France – La Luciole
    4/30 – Rouen, France – Hipster Cafe
    5/2 – St Etienne, France – Thunderbird Lounge
    5/4 – Bilbao, Spain – Antzokia
    5/5 – Ourense, Spain – Cafe Auriense
    5/6 – Cangas, Spain – Salason
    5/7 – Aviles, Spain – Centro Niemeyer
    5/8 – Leon, Spain – Gran Cafe
    5/11 – Estepona, Spain – Louie Louie
    5/12 – Murcia, Spain – Garaje Beat Club
    5/13 – Castellon, Spain – Veneno Stereo
    5/14 – Valencia, Spain – Pabersematao
    5/15 – Torredembara, Spain – La Traviesa