It wasn’t at the famed Chicago Paradise Theatre that the legendary classic-rock band Styx performed. This time it was the stunning and fairly modern American Music Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on a warm summer night, August 15, 2016. The 1600 seat American Music Theatre first opened its doors in 1997 and has been the host of a multitude of Grammy winners, Grand Ole Opry legends, National Broadway Tours as well as numerous top musical acts and performers over its two decade span.
It may not have the history as the famed Chicago’s Paradise Theatre, however, but the classy modern AMT is surely a beautiful and relaxing place to catch a show with its wonderful mezzanine accessible by two grand staircases on each side of its spacious open lobby, a nice and unique gift shop, clean modern restrooms and two plentiful and delicious refreshment areas that are easily accessible from the main lobby directly outside the theatre doors. Seating is very comfortable and spacious with a good open view of the stage. There really isn’t a “bad seat” in the house. The AMT provides state of the art sound and lighting as well as top notch production, sound, lighting, crew, very friendly ushers and accommodating staff.
Styx, one of the world’s best selling bands of all time, formed in Chicago in 1972 by twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo and Dennis DeYoung along with Guitarist James Young. Tommy Shaw would join the band in 1975. Styx signed with A&M Records and released Equinox in 1975 as well which gained the band considerable recognition and airplay on FM radio in the relatively new Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format. The band’s 1976 album, Crystal Ball, would be the first to feature Shaw. The bands real breakthrough triple platinum smash album The Grand Illusion was released on July 7, 1977 and featured the mega-hits “Come Sail Away,” “The Grand Illusion” and “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)”. Styx would go on making huge albums and selling out arenas and stadiums throughout the late 1970’s and 1980’s with albums Pieces of Eight, Cornerstone, Paradise Theatre and 1983’s Killroy Was Here.
At just a little after 7:30 p.m. in the sold out 1600+ seat AMT, the house lights went down and Styx drummer Todd Sucherman could be seen settling in behind his kit while waving to the crowd. As the intro music intensified, the other members of Styx walked out a stage door just to the right of the drum riser waving and moving into position. As the intro reached its crescendo the band, guitarist/singer Tommy Shaw, founding guitarist James Young, keyboardist/singer Lawrence Gowan, drummer Todd Sucherman and bassist Ricky Philips established their musical diversity and ageless sound right away opening with “The Grand Illusion” followed by the timeless 1981 hit “Too Much Time on My Hands” and another from the 1977 Grand Illusion album, “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” which featured original founding bassist Chuck Ponazzo joining the band on stage.
The band was musically superb. Without a doubt the performance was outstanding as the band was as tight as could be, delivering a loud but clean sound with the amazing vocal harmonies the band is known for, dazzling guitar tones blended well with the mix of electric and acoustic six and twelve stringers along with the synth and piano from Gowan, who replaced founding keyboardist/singer Dennis DeYoung in 1999. Shaw however soaks up the majority of the spotlight while sharing frontman duties with Gowan as he took lead on at least half of the 18 song set as well as explained a little history of the band including Styx being one of the founders of “Album Rock” and “Story Telling” through LP’s. He commented that the goal in the late seventies for bands was the idea of Album Oriented Rock and that “If you made it through side A of the album and flipped over to side B, the more experimental and personal songwriting and sounds tended to find its way to the B sides”. Shaw introduced the next song as the second song from side two of the Grand Illusion album, “Man in the Wilderness,” as he strummed his beautifully crafted Gibson acoustic guitar.
Styx continued throughout the night with Young engaging with the crowd as well as he took lead on several numbers and introduced the next song, “Light Up,” from the 1975 Equinox album. He talked about the days when President Ford was still in office, before the cell phone era, when the band would engage in “not so healthy choices,” and when the crowd forty years ago would hold up actual lighters and a “so called aroma would permeate the air.” He urged the modern concert goers to instead hold up and light their cell phones as the band broke into the song sung by Gowan. Young then took lead on the 1977 song, again from the Grand Illusion album, “Miss America” and later on the 1981 song “Snowblind” from the Paradise Theatre album making reference to how hot it has been recently and for the audience to relax and cool down a bit for this song.
Shaw and Gowan performed a mesmerizing tribute to David Bowie with their rendition of “Space Oddity” featuring bewitching harmonies with only Shaw’s acoustic guitar and Gowin’s piano accompanying their vocals. A few other surprises were covers by The Beatles with “I am the Walrus,” Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” and Prince’s “1999,” as well as a rendition of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” all performed solo by Gowan while the rest of the band stepped offstage for a bit. It seemed the hits kept coming one after another. With close to 45 years as a band and over 15 studio albums with four consecutive albums being certified as Multi-Platinum from 1977-1981, the set-list could continue for hours. Styx’s AMT set included thirteen of their well known hits as well as five covers. The band tends to avoid adding some Dennis DeYoung songs to their set-list including “Babe,” “Mr. Roboto,” and “The Best of Times.” Needless to say, the set, the songs, the musicianship, the showmanship, the enthusiasm and energy all made for an amazing show in the very classy and comfortable American Music Theatre.
Styx had the audience highly entertained and engaged throughout the night in between their powerful guitar heavy rock songs such as “The Grand Illusion,” “Too Much time on my Hands,” and “Miss America,” and their more laid back hits such as “Man in the Wilderness,” “Crystal Ball,” and “Lights.” As the show progressed, Shaw urged the crowd to move up to the front of the stage and move around. And again, as expected, the crowd was enthralled in the moment, with much of the audience choosing to sit and watch the show from their relaxing theatre seats many of the other fans moved right up to the front of the stage waving and extending their arms in the air hoping to slap hands or catch a guitar pick from one of the band members.
The hits kept coming all night including “Blue Collar Man” and the mega power rock ballad “Come Sail Away.” Styx came out and performed two encores including “Rockin’ the Paradise” complete with confetti blasters on both sides of the stage and finally, from the 1978 album Pieces of Eight, “Renegade.”
Styx continues their summer 2016 tour throughout the months of August, September, October and November. Whether you’re an old fan or a newcomer to Styx, the band is timeless and the band features amazing musicians that perform all the Styx hits with flawless sound, energy and passion. Check out their upcoming tour dates, news and more at their website below.
Styx, August 15, 2016 – American Music Theatre, Lancaster, PA
Setlist: The Grand Illusion, Too Much Time on My Hands, Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man), Man in the Wilderness, Light Up, Miss America, Space Oddity, Crystal Ball, I Am the Walrus, Snowblind, Lights, Blue Collar Man, 1999, Rocket Man, Dock of the Bay, Come Sail Away
Colorado’s String Cheese Incident made their two-night debut at the newly renovated Kings Theatre in Brooklyn this past weekend to showcase their electronic fused jams rooted in Americana sounds and instruments. After months of not playing the big apple, the return was rewarding to fans in bust out covers and phenomenal playing across the board.
The first night’s first set started strong with “Johnny Cash,” and the energy would carry through as lead guitarist and violinist Michael Kang took the vocal duties from rhythm guitarist Bill Nershi. A favorite amongst the full room of fans came with “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance,” a song that lives up to its name. The first half of the first night came to a close with the SCI classic “Born On The Wrong Planet,” which flowed into an energetic rendition of the Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime,” and ending the set strong with “Colliding.”
The second set ignited with keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth’s gritty and groovy original “You’ve Got The World.” The electronic influence on this once stripped down group shined through on “Hi Ho No Show” where drummers Jason Hann and Michael Travis showcased their talents alongside Hollingsworth’s synth playing. Bassist Keith Moseley would take his turn at vocals during the uplifting song he wrote known as “Joyful Sound,” Perhaps the most favorable cover came with the encore of the classic folk song “I Know You Rider” that many in the crowd were familiarized with by the Grateful Dead.
Night two continued the theme of uplifting pockets of exploration and danceable music. The synthesizer and techno beat laced Irish trance opener “Valley of the Jig” picked right back up from the previous night and showed that the band was eager to put on a great performance. Moseley took the lead on “Sweet Spot” midway through the set, holding down the microphone and bass at the same time. To close out the set, the Cheese men reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out an age old classic known as “Round The Wheel.”
Set number two was filled with brilliant covers and SCI originals to close out the run. Hot off their performance at Peach Fest where they performed an Allman Brothers Band set, Nershi and the boys were joined by Greg Allman’s guitarist Scott Sharrad while they ran through the instrumental “Hot Lanta” followed by Cheese’s “On The Road,” and finally the Allman’s “Southbound.” The set ended with “Way Back Home,” the bluegrass standard “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” and the Led Zeppelin staple “Kashmir,” pushing the envelope on all three. A three-piece encore emerged featuring Nershi leading his bandmates through “Honky Tonk Heroes” and “Hobo Song,” and sharing the mic during “Rosie,” which was highlighted by Kyle Hollingsworth’s finger work.
After both nights were in the bag, the fun had been had, the music had been played, and there were positive memories to be cherished because of the music and the festive atmosphere that Cheese shows are notorious for. The only downside to having the String Cheese circus in town is the reminder that it doesn’t come to the New York market often enough.
This phrase was repeated a few times during Strangefolk‘s Garden of Eden weekend run in Jay, VT. Held only a few miles from Eden, VT, the original site of Garden of Eden festival in 1996, the weekend featured Strangefolk, Percy Hill and Assembly of Dust that brought back memories of Edens of the past, but also looked to the future of Strangefolk in an idyllic setting in Northern Vermont.
Photo by Andrew Francke
This was one of the shows where, even if you could stream it and take part in couch tour, the feeling of seeing faces from throughout the history of Strangefolk, their peers in the 90’s New England jam community, and weather that enveloped the mountains and Stateside Amphitheater in a cloud for much of the weekend, you had to be there. While FOMO is something alleviated by streaming services, there’s the innate ability to be there hearing new Strangefolk songs performed live for the first time that made a 5-hour drive from Albany beyond worth it.
Photo by Andrew Francke
Percy Hill opened each night with soul and funk found deep in the annals of bands that grew from the influence of the 90’s jam scene, bringing a familiar tone that is back for select shows this year, including a performance on Jamcruise 15 next January. “Color in Bloom” had a early SCI/Paul Simon vibe with the crowd getting down as each familiar song made an appearance.
Photo by Andrew Francke
Jason Crosby was on hand all weekend with Strangefolk playing fiddle and keys, as they kicked off the night with “So Well,” which later closed the second set on Saturday, appropriate for the line “20 years gone by,” sung aloud by the crowd and band in unison. Solid versions of “All the Same” and “Furnace” preceded a lengthy “Paperback Book” and a surprise “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” to end the first set.
“Rather Go Fishin’” and “Faces” kicked off a looser, more jam heavy second set. The debut of “California Love,” a new Trafton tune, led to “Walnut” which gave way to two unique sandwiches – “Take it Easy on Me” > “Songbeard” > “Take it Easy on Me” and “Roads” > “Like You Anyway” > “Roads”, the latter featuring an ambient “Mind Left Body” jam. An encore of “Stout Hearted Man” and “Get Down Tonight” brought Percy Hill to the stage. And that was only night 1.
Saturday was a rainy one for much of the Northeast, and Jay Peak didn’t escape a drenching from Mother Nature. A VIP set in the Stateside Lodge featured fan favorites “Sidestep Blues,” “Things That Fly,” “New Glock 2,” and “Whatever.” As the evening arrived, so did a warm wind that blew in from every direction, sometimes bringing rain and other times blowing EZ-ups like tumbleweed.
Photo by Andrew Francke
Strangefolk arrived on stage one by one, first with Luke Smith working into “Strange Ranger” as bandmates joined him, then an intense and well received “Westerly.” “Come on Down” dropped smoothly into “Sometimes,” which led into “Udderly Addled.” “As…” and “So Far Gone” closed the set, which featured incredibly tight segues that were fluid and un-orchestrated.
Photo by Andrew Francke
The second set started out with the fan-favorite jingle “Juicy Fruit,” where a guy in a turtle costume joined the band and proceeded to smash a guitar on stage – hopefully not Reid’s, as he was performing on a Telecaster throughout the Amphitheater sets. A rare “Folka Polka,” a Crosby-led jam in “Pawn,” and the debut of “Sunday Soon” highlighted the middle of the set; the new songs that Strangefolk debuted over the weekend have that pure and familiar Strangefolk sound. A combo of “Diary” and “Lines & Circles” were a high peak of the set, yet the hits and heat kept coming: “Dance” followed by the ending of “So Well” capped of a throwdown set. An encore of the new “Introducing Everything” followed by “Speculator” with Yahuba Garcia from Percy Hill and Ryan Montbleau on vocals closed out a family affair, 20 years gone by.
Photo by Andrew Francke
To end the weekend, Assembly of Dust’s late night set in the lodge had friends gathering round to celebrate a successful return to Eden, with highlights “Love Junkie,” “Whistle Clock” which featured Crosby teasing “China Cat Sunflower” in a smooth jam, and “Songs We Sing” to close the night.
Stream or Download Friday and Saturday from Archive.org and watch video of the weekend below.
Friday
Set 1: So Well, Valhalla, All the Same, Near and Far, Furnace, Shift My Step, Paperback Book, Oxbow, While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Set 2: Rather Go Fishin, Faces, California Luck*, Walnut, Take it Easy on Me > Songbeard > Take it Easy on Me**, Roads > Like You Anyway > Roads > What Say You > Reuben’s Place
E: Stout Hearted Man&, Get Down Tonight&
Saturday
VIP Set: Sidestep Blues, I Tell Myself, Angry at the Sun, Things That Fly, New Glock 2, Rachel, Sad, Hildegard, Whatever, Poland
Set 1: Strange Ranger, Westerly, Come on Down, Sometimes, Udderly Addled, As…, So Far Gone
Set 2: Juicy Fruit, Folka Polka, Alaska, Pawn, Sunday Soon*, Diary, Lines & Circles, Elixer, Dance > So Well
Once again, Montréal brought in thousands upon thousands of the world’s biggest heavy metal fans last weekend. The event known now as Heavy Montréal, was held on August 6 and 7 at the Plaine des Jeux at Parc Jean-Drapeau. The weekend was host to more than 37 bands that played across 3 different stages. Out of the 30,000+ fans that attended, approximately 23 countries were represented. Those countries include fans from, the United States, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, France, Great Britain and more.
For those who attended the festival last year, there were two main differences. Those differences were the festival was dropped down to only Saturday and Sunday instead of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The other difference being in the actual festival grounds. This year, the festival moved to the smaller side of the island known as the Plaine des Jeux. Over the same weekend, metal fans may have run across many hipsters wearing their colorful tank tops and board shorts while taking the metro to Heavy Montréal. The reason for the mix of music scenes was because right next door at the old Heavy Montréal festival grounds was the ÎLESONIQ festival which was headlined by artists such as Zedd and Skrillex.
Anyways, back to the metal. Saturday was a busy day for everyone it seemed. Only the most loyal fans to the headlining bands camped along the rail all day to catch that one band they came for. Pop Evil was one of the bands who started off the weekend and they seemed to love Montréal and the crowd loved them. The band opened up with the crunching riff of “Deal With The Devil”. Festival sets are never long, so everyone has to bring their ‘A’ game. The crowd support and reaction at just 1:30 in the afternoon was incredible.
In the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, it seemed to go back and forth from one great artist to the next. Bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Skeletonwitch, Fear Factory and Kataklysm were only some of the options early in the day. Each of those bands all seemed to draw respective crowds which was surprising when some of the sets overlapped. Somehow it seemed like no matter who was playing next, each stage was packed.
Saturdays biggest surprise was Escape The Fate. Playing on the Blabbermouth.net stage, these guys absolutely stole the show. Skeptical on how the crowd would react at a festival dominated by “heavier” bands, Escape The Fate provided that breath of fresh air in the afternoon. The band’s setlist consisted of mainly songs off of their last 2 studio albums, which were both solid from start to finish.
Other bands that played Saturday that put on unforgettable performances were Sabaton, Sebastian Bach and Black Label Society. Sabaton had the best stage set of the entire weekend hands down. The Swedish power metal guys in Sabaton brought both pyro to their stage set and a tank. Yes, you read that correctly, a tank. To go along with the awesome stage show, Sabaton ripped through a 10 song set list that consisted of songs like “Ghost Division,” “To Hell and Back” and “Night Witches.”
Sebastian Bach, who everyone knows as the voice of Skid Row, seemed to surprise the audience with a high energy impressive set. Sebastian came on stage to “Slave to the Grind” and was headbanging while swinging his microphone around him. Sebastian connected with the Montréal crowd by speaking lots of French to them, which brought roars from the packed audience. Fans of the TV show “Trailer Park Boys” were present in the crowd, which is a show Sebastian is commonly featured on. Fans brought in a sign for Sebastian, which he took, not to rip up and throw away like Axl Rose would have done, but instead Sebastian held it up high with laughs and propped it up on stage. It could easily be seen that Sebastian was in high spirits and truly loved performing at Heavy Montréal.
Black Label Society was one band that not a single person in Montréal should have missed. Friday night the band played a headline show in the city and on Saturday once again at Heavy Montréal. Watching Zakk Wylde shred on the guitar is mind-blowing. The man can virtually play anything with his eyes closed. The band was tight and ripped through a quick 8 song setlist, highlighted by “Funeral Bell,” “Bleed for Me,” “Godspeed Hell Bound” and “Stillborn.” The end of the set wasn’t the end of Zakk for the weekend. Everyone knew that Zakk and his band would be back on Sunday for more, but not to perform as Black Label Society, but under Zakk’s name instead for a softer set.
The end of the day 1 for Heavy Montréal was capped off by Mastodon, Nightwish, and last but not least Five Finger Death Punch. Mastodon, who was scheduled to play last year’s Heavy Montréal but was forced to cancel, came back this year and gave fans what they’ve been waiting for. The group from Atlanta, Georgia mixed with tremendous talent all around has been on the round behind their 2014 release of Once More ‘Round the Sun. As many fans hoped, Mastodon focused on that album playing track from it such as “The Motherload” and personal favorite “High Road.” Other fan favorites from the set included “Oblivion”, “Divinations” and “Blood and Thunder.”
Nightwish made its only stop in North America of 2016 at Heavy Montréal. For being a symphonic metal band from Finland, the crowd support for Nightwish was unbelievable. The band opened with “Shudder Before the Beautiful” which was off their 2015 release Endless Forms Most Beautiful. Their latest album seemed to be the focus of the night with 5 songs played off it in total. The band brought in an impressive pyro display wish some fans certainly didn’t expect. Between the frequent pyro blasts right in front of singer Floor Jansen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, the C02 cannons going off gave Nightwish the complete production package.
Night 1 of Heavy Montréal was closed out by one of the most bad-ass bands of today, Five Finger Death Punch. These guys have been non-stop with a vicious cycle of releasing albums and touring without taking a break. Work has already begun for their next album after just recently putting out Got Your Six. The road warriors opened their set with “Lift Me Up” which was off Volume 1 of The Wrong Side of Heaven And The Righteous Side of Hell. With a short set and so many tracks to choose from, it’s hard for the band to really dig into their catalog. The guys seemed to try and keep everything balanced by playing at least 1 song off of 6 different albums. The night ended strong with “Got Your Six,” “Under and Over It” and “The Bleeding.” Five Finger Death Punch gave the crowd everything they had and the crowd showed no signs of letting up. Fans at Heavy Montréal were ready for day 2 before they even left the island.
Sunday started off with bands I Prevail and We Came As Romans. Both drew in the younger crowds early in the afternoon. I Prevail played their hit cover song “Blank Space” which was made famous by Taylor Swift. Surprisingly, this rendition was awesome and I Prevail really made it their own.
Guitar genius Tosin Abasi was on site Sunday with his band Animals as Leaders. This instrumental djent band drew in all the guitar nerds in the crowd over to the Scène HEAVY stage to get a glimpse at Tosin doing his thing. Animals as Leaders was definitely one of the standouts of the weekend for their uniqueness.
One of the summer’s biggest metal tours made their stop in Montréal on Sunday. The tour features Saint Asonia, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin and Disturbed. Saint Asonia was the creation of Adam Gontier, formally of Three Days Grace and Mike Mushok of Staind. Joining them in Saint Asonia are Corey Lowery on bass and Rich Beddoe on drums. Basically a “supergroup” these guys have been going strong after their formation in 2014 and touring behind their 2015 self-titled release.
Hatebreed also played on Sunday. Many fans may have missed the fact that Hatebreed was at Heavy Montréal because they were a very late addition for Trivium who had to cancel last minute. For a last minute add-on, Hatebreed came to destroy Parc Jean-Drapeau. Ironically, the band opened up with “Destroy Everything” and then immediately went into “Looking Down The Barrel of Today.” The band a total of 4 songs off of The Concrete Confessional which was a heavy hitting album Hatebreed released last May.
Both Blind Guardian and Zakk Wylde drew big crowds on day 2 of Heavy Montréal. Blind Guardian who just played Wacken Open Air in Germany 2 days before coming to Montréal, had the best sound of the weekend. The German power metal band played a 8 song set that featured tracks from 6 different albums. The most popular album of the setlist for Blind Guardian was Nightfall in Middle-Earth. The tracks featured on that album that were played during the set were “Into the Storm,” “Mirror Mirror,” and “Time Stands Still(At The Iron Hill).”
Zakk Wylde was playing for his 3rd time in 3 days. This time just under the name Zakk Wylde, but still with his BLS bandmates on stage with him. The set started out with “Sold My Soul,” which seemed like a 20 minute guitar solo that features Zakk going nuts by playing behind his head and with his teeth. The band played “In This River” which is a Black Label Society song, but this version definitely had a different spin to it. Watching the band transform and play something completely different than the day before was very cool. There probably aren’t many bands out there that can do what Zakk and his Black Label crew could.
Sometime during the late afternoon the rain finally came down. While it started out as a light shower and then stopped, things changed shortly after with a downpour. The rain didn’t last long but from what fans were saying, it was the first time it had ever rained at Heavy Montréal.
As stated earlier, Alter Bridge was in Montréal and ready to show the city what they’re made of. Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti together make one of the best guitar combos in rock. Together, with the rest of Alter Bridge, the band puts on an incredible live performance. Myles is one of the best vocalist there are today and the band creates some heavy hitting riffs that are hard to get out of your head once you hear them. Songs like “Come To Life,” “Ties That Bind,” “Isolation” and “Addicted to Pain” are just some of what Alter Bridge played during their short set. The only thing that can be said is that Alter Bridge needs to do a headlining tour and come back to Montréal very soon. With a new album The Last Hero due out on October 7, Alter Bridge fans may very well get that headlining tour they’ve been wanting.
One of the best bands of the day if not the best overall was the mighty Killswitch Engage. The guys in Killswitch Engage squeezed in 11 songs into their short set time and showed every other band over the weekend how it’s done. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz lead the charge and opened up the set with “My Curse.” Between songs Dutkiewicz made sure the crowd did not calm down. This was definitely the set to see at Heavy Montréal. The crowd was a constant circle pit with crowd surfers and topless chicks. To sum it all up, the word would be chaos. Vocalist Jesse Leach was quite impressive in his ability to not only cover his original songs, but also some of the songs Howard Jones originally sang on. Songs like “Rose of Sharyn,” “The End of Heartache,” and “Holy Diver” sounded incredible with Jesse back in the band. On top of that, their newest material from Incarnate and Disarm the Descent was absolutely killer live. The mix of fast brutal riffs and energy Killswitch Engage brings to the table makes them a hard act to top for the rest of Heavy Montréal.
The 8th Heavy Montréal was closed out with Breaking Benjamin, Volbeat and Disturbed. Breaking Benjamin has been on the road ever since their release of Dark Before Dawn in 2015. With Benjamin Burnley is the only original member left in the band and he’s done a spectacular job filling the spaces next to him on stage. The reformed Breaking Benjamin sounds awesome together, especially Ben. It’s a pleasure to be able to see Ben back out on the road playing songs such as “So Cold,” “Breath,” “I Will Not Bow” and last but not least “The Diary of Jane.” To add to that, the new material off of Dark Before Dawn is also great live and the crowd in Montréal certainly helped Ben out by singing basically every word alongside with him.
Volbeat, who just released Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie came out with “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown.” The highlight of their set was performing “Evelyn” with the Barney from Napalm Death. Volbeat who now features a new bass player, Kaspar Boye Larsen and Rob Caggiano on guitar, still puts on a great live show, but the energy on stage was missing that came from their former bass player Anders, who left the band last year. The band was sure to play hits like “Sad Man’s Tongue,” which was introduced with a little “Ring of Fire” intro by Johnny Cash. The crowd was definitely familiar with Volbeat and their love and respect for Johnny Cash. The night for Volbeat ended with “Still Counting” and just about everyone at the festival could be heard singing, “Counting all the assholes in the room,” even the people waiting across the way waiting for Disturbed.
Back from their hiatus and hitting the road after releasing Immortalized, Disturbed has been destroying every arena, amphitheater and festival it can play at. Heavy Montréal was no exception to that statement. Bringing an onslaught of pyro, just like Nightwish did the evening before, David Draiman and the rest of Disturbed were there to show Montréal they were back and meant business. The set opened with “Ten Thousand Fists,” “The Game” and “The Vengeful One.” For a band that took a long break, one would expect them to be rusty and still not be in the swing of things. Not Disturbed, this band is a well oiled machine that shows no signs of slowing down. The biggest surprise was hearing the band play “Land of Confusion,” a song that hasn’t been featured in their setlist often on tour. The band obviously played it’s insanely popular cover of Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence.” Just about every cell phone and lighter was in the air for this song and it was a powerful performance to say the least. The night was full of other hits like “Stupify,” “Inside the Fire,” “Stricken,” “Indestructible” and “Voices.” The night and entire weekend came to a close with the song that just about everyone in the world could have predicted, “Down With the Sickness.” This was the perfect ending for a perfect weekend of metal music at Heavy Montréal.
If anyone has thought about going to Montréal for this festival, it’s highly recommended. The city is beautiful, the people are friendly and getting to and from the festival is easy. On top of that, Heavy Montréal is one of the most organized and put together festivals in North America. Look for a lineup announcement coming to NYS Music for Heavy Montréal 2017 early next year.
There is an ancient Eastern ritual cycle known as Jo-Ha-Kyu which has been applied to tea ceremonies, martial arts rituals, and even theater performances. The cycle was created to create intention and awareness to the different stages of life. From August 5-7 outside Loveland, Colorado, a family-run, independent music festival, called Arise, enacted the spirit of that intentional cycle through its three-day event. The festivities opened with a beautiful opening ceremony that included a series of “Jo”-like songs, chants, and prayers aimed at infusing festival-goers with an air of respect and care not often found at music festivals.
The ritual “Ha” concept emphasizing the activity of becoming, often referred to “the swirl of days,” spun its way through the Arise weekend with a constant parade of live and electronic music acts including Jurassic 5, Colorado’s own, Elephant Revival, the Hard Working Americans, and Papadasio. The Area 51 stage hosted a bevy of bass-thumping EDM acts throughout the weekend. Still, mixed into the swirl were a number of self-reflective activities including yoga, philosophical discussion groups, and environmentalist workshops, including one led by the world-renowned activist, Julia Butterfly.
Certainly there are other festivals attempting to infuse self-reflective elements of artistic expression with art structures, live painting, play spaces, and spiritual growth workshops into the music scene. However, it is a testament to Arise organizers that they continue to grow as a family-run event in a saturated festival market that is increasingly being dominated by large-corporately-funded events. Arise grew this year even as a new festival, backed by a music industry giant, sprung up in a nearby location the same weekend.
The Arise weekend closed with rousing performances by the likes of Ziggy Marley, the New Mastersounds, and the Old World beats of Dirtwire, an EDM project founded by members of Beats Antique. A final ceremony closed the festival early Monday morning. “Kyu” rituals are designed to acknowledge the collections of communal experiences with the hope that participants have created a singular experience that is more than just another multi-day party. As the sun peaked over the rust-colored hills, and festival-goers slowly gathered in a circle to join hands, the sight was enough make one’s heart grow three sizes too large.
No one can replace the likes of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright, Nick Mason, or Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, but in The Machine’s recent stop in Peekskill the band showed that it’s possible to get fairly close to doing so.
The Machine lived up to their 26-year reputation for accurately recreating the Pink Floyd catalog in their first ever appearance at Paramount Hudson Valley, a sort of hometown show as they are from across the river to the south in Nyack, NY.
The set list pulled from each of Pink Floyd’s distinct sounding eras including the songwriting of Syd Barrett, the Roger Waters-driven songwriting, and the post-Waters take-off under the wing of David Gilmour’s guitar. The Machine wasn’t shy in reaching deep, either. “Wut’s…Uh the Deal” and “Burning Bridges” were in the mix as treats to the true Pink Floyd fans in the crowd.
Each of the key elements that identify Pink Floyd’s style were obvious during The Machine’s set. Joe Pascarell’s guitar intonation mimicked that of Gilmour’s Black Strat and was almost note-for-note on solos, particularly the show-closing “Comfortably Numb.” The distinct vocal leads of both Waters and Gilmour were well represented in similar tones particularly when the two roles play off each other in “Run Like Hell.”
Set 1: Welcome to the Machine, Another Brick in the Wall, Wot’s…Uh the Deal, Hey You, Astronomy Domine, Sheep, On the Turning Away
Set 2: Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5), What Do You Want From Me, Echoes, Money, Arnold Layne, Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)
On Saturday, October 22, Brooklyn Comes Alive, an indoor festival that debuted in 2015, will return with performances from 50 artists showcased across three venues – Brooklyn Bowl, Music Hall of Williamsburg and The Hall at MP, each a 10 minute walk from the others. Solo sets, unique acts and familiar and new supergroups will perform throughout the day from 12pm-12am.
Update 8/18: The first supergroup for the event, Breaking Biscuits, featuring both members of Break Science and Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of the Disco Biscuits, has been announced.
Be sure to grab advanced tickets now to secure your spot at one of the most momentous musical occassions of the year! For those seeking to be fully immersed in the Brooklyn Comes Alive experience, consider purchasing VIP tickets, which grant access to the Brooklyn Bowl “Artist Lounge” as well as access to private VIP viewing areas at Music Hall of Williamsburg and The Hall at MP.
Members of The Disco Biscuits, String Cheese Incident, Ratdog, Lettuce, Trey Anastasio Band, The Nth Power, Dopapod, Gov’t Mule and many more will take part in the day long marathon of music. Musicians are encouraged to create their own groups and concepts, and bring together new collaborations with a spirit of community.
Music starts at noon on October 22 at The Hall at MP, with a brunch inside The Hall and at the adjoining restaurant MP Taverna. Brooklyn Bowl and Music Hall of Williamsburg will open up in the early evening, with all three venues remaining open all night long.
Note: both The Hall at MP and Music Hall of Williamsburg are 18+ venues, while the Brooklyn Bowl is strictly 21+. If you are between the ages of 18 and 21, you are welcome to purchase a ticket, however you will not be allowed access to the Brooklyn Bowl.
The night was dirty, loud, revolutionary, beer-soaked and pleasantly dark. I’m not only describing the inside of indie Brooklyn’s sacred sanctuary, Shea Stadium, but also the band behind the interior madness, Evolfo. As the band entered the stage, their UFO style of music was introduced to the crowd with a thunderous instrumental intro highlighting everything from the keyboard and bass to the drums and horn section.
One of their newer installments, “Bloody, Bloody Knife,” had a familiar, almost White Stripes meets 60’s punk sound and included a guitar solo by Matt Gibbs. During the solo, his hair completely covered his face while he melted our faces. The crowd favorite, “Mechanicals,” created an infectious dance party with a late night lounge feel. The whirling keyboard effect used by Rafferty Swink sounded like something Dr. Dre may steal for his next album while Matt Gibbs’ creative lyrics were politely screamed in a Shakespearean manner. As soon as it feels like the song couldn’t get anymore genre blending, the bursting horns march their way into the room like an impromptu parade down Bourbon Street. Gibbs gave the crowd a minute to catch our breath as he highlighted how ecstatic the group was to play in such an iconic, underground sonic space.
After boogieing through “Love Like a Freak,” Evolfo kept the most recent songs coming with “Rat City.” Imagine David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” played with a faster tempo by a psychedelic garage band like The 13th Floor Elevators, but with just the perfect amount of brass to shackle it to the ground. Next up was “Let’s Carry On” which saw bass player Ronnie Lanzilotta stomping back and forth like an air guitarist on Red Bull. His energy was so intense he cosmically summoned one of the members from the opening act, Mobile Steam Unit, to jump on stage and rage with him equally as hard. The momentum spread like the Zika virus and before you knew the entire crowd was infected; one of the highlights of the hour long set.
Judging by the “Herbie and the Headhunters” t-shirt worn by their bearded saxophonist, Jared Yee, this gnarly crew were no strangers to the realm of funk. They have no shame in fronting as a “funk band” even though they consider themselves “garage-soul.” One of the best tunes that display their thrilling, chilling funk talent is “Wild Man” which Evolfo played with delightfully terrifying precision. I had a moment to speak about the visually freaky yet addicting music video for “Wild Man” with Gibbs before the set, inquiring about the first music video regarding any correlation to the imagery in the video compared to what he thinks about while on stage. He replied:
“Well some things in the video do quite literally have a place in our show. Some of the outfits and the demon mask and other small things have made their way onto the stage over the years. And then, of course, I hope that we portray some of that raw animal magnetism. I would love for real life to be as crazy as “Wild Man.” If we’re in the zone and we’re getting the energy from the audience I believe we can really live up to that fun with reckless abandon. As far as what’s on my mind while I play, I pretty much always wish I could pour some ambrosia on the audience and make them turn into animals. That would be ideal.”
After the “Wild Man” lit up the room with aerobic weirdness, they were ready to give us what we wanted, the title track to the newly announced EP, Last of the Acid Cowboys. The lyrics are coming from a place of pure spacey madness. Swink’s keyboard is projecting a surfin’ synthesizer sound while he sings in an eerily familiar Jim Morrison tone. If this song doesn’t wind up on the next Quentin Tarantino soundtrack, someone isn’t doing enough research.
Gibbs shed some details about the new EP and it was time for one more classic Evolfo tune for the brass-aholics in the crowd. Loaded with sexual innuendos, tantalizing bass lines and mod soul-funk, the climax during “You Light Me Up” is definitely the horn (or horny, sorry, I had to) section. Their time on stage was short and sweet, but the memory of that performance will last a long time, even for the fans in the booziest of states.
Musical evolution has been as much a staple of New York City as pizza, or more recently, Pokemon Go. Much like the global sensation of walking around with a smart phone and searching for rare creatures from a different dimension, a new species of music is evolving right before us. Label it whatever you want, but for those of us lucky enough to discover the rare Evolfo at Shea Stadium on a Wednesday night, we have a new band that is about to morph. After the release of their new EP, a tour is sure to follow and if they continue to put on shows with that sort of allure and creativity, I gotta catch em’ all.
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.
As the crowd eagerly anticipates tonight’s concert at the Lakeview Amphitheater for the Counting Crows and Rob Thomas, lead singer, Adam Duritz took a few moments while getting ready for the tour this spring to speak with NYS Music on fame, music, his band, and Woodstock 99.
Kathy Stockbridge: Hi Adam, how are you?
Adam Duritz: Hi Kathy, I’m great, it’s a beautiful day today.
KS: Yes, it absolutely is. I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with our readers today, I know you are a very busy man. Most know that you are a musician, but you are also a film and music producer as well. You wear a lot of hats. Is there any one particular hat you prefer over the others?
AD: I just really like playing with the band. I’ve done a lot of different things, and mostly because it was necessary at that moment. Honestly I don’t think I would ever do another movie again, that was exhausting. I just did it because my friends had written a script and I wanted to help them get it made. Mostly, I just play in a band, that’s what I like.
KS: Well that’s good because you are good at it, and we enjoy it so it’s a win/win for everyone here. In past interviews I’ve seen and heard, many people think that “Mr. Jones” was your breakout song as it it went up the charts so fast. But it actually was your performance on Saturday Night Live of “Round Here” that actually catapulted you into the limelight. Talk to us a little about that take off, and was it everything you expected when it happened?
AD: No, but it never is. Because there is no way for you to ever conceive what that’s going to be like. Whatever picture you might have or imagination about fame or fortune of that sort of thing, where guys are suddenly listening to your music and you are the center of culture for that second, yeah there’s no way. In fact whatever ideas you ever have about what’s that’s like, are nothing like what it’s actually like. It’s so weird.
KS: It’s almost like the first time you ever hear your song on the radio, you never forget where you were. I’m sure it really a cool experience though.
AD: Yah, that’s a really cool experience. I very vividly remember that. It was just very clean, very simple, and FUN. Like the first time I heard us on the radio I was like “that’s just really cool”. But becoming famous all of a sudden having a sudden wash of success is nothing like anything you’ve ever experienced before in life. Like hearing your song on the radio is like really cool, but it’s like feeling appreciation from someone in some other way. And that’s happened before (feeling appreciation), people have told you something was good and you’ve gotten a compliment so it’s like a bigger.. better version of something you’ve experienced before. Getting famous and having that mass cultural thing is like nothing else in life. There is no way to understand before you hit that, how weird that is. It’s just really strange and bizarre. We had been touring for awhile at that point. People had made a mistake thinking that “Mr. Jones” was new, but it had been out for awhile. “Mr. Jones” had been on the radio, the record wasn’t even in the top 200. The video came out and we were touring, and we had not been doing our first headline shows yet. We had been opening for Kracker. We really hadn’t toured as a headliner at all. Then we played Saturday Night Live, and played “Round Here” and the whole world changed. Our record jumped forty spots a week for five weeks. We were at like 213, then we were at 170 something, 130, 90 something, 50 something, 12, 6, 2, and then stayed at 2 for like the next two years. It was just weird. It happened so suddenly, and it was such a weird surprise.
KS: That song has a special meaning to you I’m sure, but then even more so as it was the one that helped you get your music out there to everyone.
AD: Yeah, and not just for me too, but for our fans in a way. Because “Mr. Jones” is a really great pop song, I love that song, but “Round Here” it shows the breathe of what we really do. Like what we do live and how its kinda the scope of our music. “Mr. Jones” doesn’t, so when we played it on TV, that’s why it blew us up because a single is one thing, but a band that moves you, a band that makes you feel something, expansive and big and moving like “Round Here” does, apparently knocked people out that day because our lives all changed after that.
KS: Did you know automatically this would be the one you would sing?
AD: On Saturday Night Live? Yeah we knew. But it was a huge fight. It was a mess. Like we had been getting offers for months. The Letterman show had been offering for us to come play on there. But they kept making all these caveats like it had to be Adam with the Late Night Band; okay it can be Adam with guitar player and our band, it can be Counting Crows, but with Paul, and we were just waiting for someone to offer us an opportunity so that we could just play. And then SNL came along and they were through more months of arguments about what we were going to play, and came to an agreement that we would play “Round Here” first, then “Mr. Jones” later, and then we wouldn’t have to cut anything. Then we got there that week and started rehearsals for the show and they sprung on us that they had changed their mind and that we were going to play “Mr. Jones” first and that we were going to have to edit both songs. So it was just a huge fight all week. It was kinda a nightmare. Like I was sure that “Round Here” was the song to play for our first big exposure. They didn’t want it any more and it was a mess, and it was a huge fight all week. Then they finally caved about an hour before the show.
KS: Good thing you stood your ground there.
AD: I think they were so pissed that they never had us back again.
KS: Their loss. “Round Here” was written off the top of your head, from what I understand. You were able to write it in one sitting. In an interview I with Charlie Gillingham, he said that “(Durwitz) has a way of coming up the amazing complex literary lyrics off the top of your head. And that there are lines in these songs, hundreds of them where he says something that really matters that is just so well said.” That’s amazing to me. When writing songs do you find that these songs take on a life of their own or does it write itself in a way with you?
AD: No, its a little of both. It’s not like I wrote the song off the top of my head, it’s a Himalayan song, my band before Counting Crows. “Round Here” is from that band. We were playing along and we were recording, on a cassette tape, our rehearsal. So it was probably 20 minutes of us singing on there and a lot of the song was already in there, so I edited it down. I used to do that a lot. Where I would say things off the top of my head, listen to it, then go back and pull things off it, and edit it down into a song. That I used to do an awful lot of. But I don’t write as much that way anymore. Probably because we don’t rehearse as much any more, as we all live in different places now. So I tend to write more by myself or with the other guys. Yeah, I used to write a lot that way. But it wasn’t like I would play for five minutes and then there’s “Round Here.” It’s more like there’s 20 to 30 minutes of music on a tape and I pull from it and then craft it into a song. A lot of it was there, but it was heavily edited down.
KS: Has writing been something you’ve always done? Was it a creative outlet for you?
AD: I didn’t really start writing songs till I was about, well the first song I wrote music and lyrics was the fall term of my freshman year in college. Before that, I hadn’t really done it. But after that, I did nothing else. For years at a time. I just used to write all day, every day.
KS: Well you are very talented and it comes out in your lyrics and music. You once described the difficulties you experienced when you guys were recording August and Everything After. You were developing your roles within the band and the sound and brand during those sessions. You knew in your mind what you wanted to achieve in the finished product and took charge. If you had a chance to go back would you do anything differently while recording that first album?
AD: I’d be less of an asshole. The thing of it is, it’s hard to like…I have skill sets now for being a band leader that I didn’t have then. I had no idea how to do that. It wasn’t a brand, I just knew there was something better than what we were doing. We were playing a kind of music that sounded like a sort of style of the time. It kinda sounded like late model Roxy, which is cool. We sounded like a bunch of sounds that were big at the time, that we were trying to sound like. And I just wanted us to sound like us! I was like, strip it down and find out what we were. I felt like that was what it was necessary, and in order to do that I had to take away to just play simple instruments for a bit. We ended up using lots and lots of weird sounds over the years. But at that moment I just wanted us to stop trying to sound like something and just figure out what we sounded like when we stood in a circle and played together. I felt like there was something much more long term, much more rewarding, and much like a deeper vein to mind, than what we were doing. But the thing is, I was brand new to doing this. And brand new being a band leader, and not very good at it. People always talk about how they love playing music, or anything you do in life that you enjoy like a hobby, then talk about it becoming work it’s a negative. Because all of a sudden you’re fighting over things that you used to enjoy. But that’s what work is. Work is when you take something you used to do for fun and you turn it into something you really really good at. And a lot of people can’t get past that point because they don’t like when their hobby starts to be work. Because it’s a big transition to get from one to the other, ya know. And you have to fight about things, where you used to just have fun. I just wasn’t very good at that so there was a point on that first album where we were having a lot of pressure of making a first record and I’m making everybody ditch the instruments and the effects they are using that they are comfortable with and stripping them all away and saying just play. That made it hard on everybody. I was pretty sure of what I was doing, but not very good at doing it. I was hard on everybody. I was harsher than I needed to be and I was so insecure about it. Everyone in the band tried to quit during that album. At some point during it, every single one of us decided to quit the band. It was really hard. The one thing I would change, is the one thing you can’t really change. I would like to know what I know now, then. I could be better at it, but you only get that knowledge doing it. In life the one thing you can’t go back and change, is the shit you learned, because that’s how you learn it.
KS: Exactly. I’m with you on that. As you wrote more albums, of course it got easier for you and as you grew as a band in the business you developed a reputation as an amazing live band. Your band mates are one of the most cohesive groups that I’ve ever heard. And nothing is more apparent than as you play live and improvise on stage. Which is amazing to me. You once said that “playing is really important but listening is more important.” Do you think this is why you all meld so well on stage because you listen to each other and pick up these cues?
AD: Yes, I think so. And also I think we’re not afraid to get it wrong. We have a confidence that there is no “wrong.” What you are suppose to do up there on stage, is try stuff. To play, feel it, and try stuff. I think it’s a live experience. I think when you are so worried about being perfect all the time it makes you really stiff in those moments and I think we’ve kinda gotten over, and not so worried about being perfect. We try to be really good, but we’re willing to experiment and if something goes wrong, it goes wrong and it’s not the end of the day. If we have a train wreck, I don’t mind stopping the song, pointing out the guy that screwed up, laughing at him and then starting it over again. It happens sometimes, things go wrong. It’s real life. The other night we were playing a show at a festival outside of Austin, like last Friday. I went back to the piano to play “Long December,” I sit down and was talking with the audience, and I start playing and right before I played the song I changed the cap on my mic. So when I do that, I signal my monitor guy and he turns off the mic so that when I’m unscrewing the cap, it won’t make a bunch of noise. You have to do that (change the cap) because you sweat and it soaks into it and you have to change them every now and then. So I changed it and he turns the sound off, screwed it back in, and then go back to the piano to play “Long December.” So when I go to sing he had forgotten to turn the mic back on. So I just stopped the song, laughed at him, he turned it back on, we joked round for a second, then we counted it back in. Truth is, that stuff happens. It’s just human stuff. He’s just doing 90 things at once, he’s setting up someones else’s monitors, flicks my thing off, and then forgets to flick it back on. You can get uptight about stuff like that, or you can realize it just happens. So you just keep playing.
KS: When audiences see that stuff happen, it helps them relate to you I think. They have you up on a pedestal, then when life happens, and they see your human side, they can relate more with you as you are just like them. Mistakes happen.
AD: I think that’s true. It’s an interesting by product of it. Fact of the matter is, it is all real. We’re a bunch of guys on stage playing, and we’re trying to not do the same thing every night exactly the same way. And so, stuff happens. It’s just real life. It just happens to be on stage, and we just happen to have microphones. It’s the same as the rest of our day in a way and everyone’s real life.
KS: In 1999 you came to my hometown and played the Woodstock here. Can you share thoughts of that eventful concert there?
AD: They are not really good remembrances.
KS: I know. At times I wonder if we should get a do over or should we just cut our losses and just call it a day? SMH over here.
AD: I think that was one of the worst ways of honoring one of the best places in the history of rock and roll that I can ever possibly imagine. Woodstock is deservedly one of the most important place names in the history of music. It really is, and totally deservedly so. But those guys, that year, ended up charging like $7 for waters, on a concrete pad, on a day that was 100 degrees outside. Having the port-a-potties not properly maintained, and the poor fans that are dehydrating like crazy can’t buy water because it’s so expensive, and there was a 40 yard pool of urine and shit. People rioted. Let me tell you something about that. And they blamed the bands. Not the people, the promoters blamed the bands. But we wanted to play a night slot at Woodstock, I know this is true because they came back and said we want you to play before sundown because all the night slots we want to have as many aggro bands as possible. They wanted to have it as wild and as intense as possible at night. So we are only putting the loudest bands on at night. They put Limp Bizkit on, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and who ever else. After a certain hour, they were only really aggro bands. Which meant that’s exactly what you are going to get at the end every day. So when they set that up that way, all the bands did was be themselves. I saw the Limp Bizkit show, they played a great show that day. But they are an inciting band. So if you want to have people out in the sun all day and not give them water, and then put Limp Bizkit on, it’s going to become a mosh pit.
KS: Our town is quite embarrassed by the whole thing. It’s one thing to be famous, another to be notorious. So sorry you had bad memories of Rome.
AD: I don’t think that’s peoples memory of Woodstock. Many have probably forgotten that part. When you think of Woodstock, you think of the original, just not that year. Some stages were like triage. There were people like on stretchers. People were getting like so hurt. We saw like women getting their clothes torn off them in the audience. It was just so chaotic and so much anger in the crowd. It just wasn’t well run.
KS: Well we hope to welcome you back to Central NY this August at the Lakeview, and hope to change that bitter taste you have in your memory with some good ones. You will be touring this summer with Rob Thomas. Have you ever played together before?
AD: Yeah, but we’ve never toured together before. We’ve known each other for such a long time. There were times we would be in the same city and get up on stage and sign “Momma Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” together. One time I had a European tour and they had a European Tour that started a couple weeks before mine, so I just went over early to be with Rob and the guys in Italy. I just spent a week getting drunk and hanging out with them in Italy going on interviews with them before my tour started. Just because it was fun. I’m really looking forward to this because I haven’t seen Rob much the last ten years. So it will be nice to see each other again.
KS: It will be an epic tour and we can’t wait to have you guys come through. Final question for ya. If I had never heard a Counting Crows song before, which one would you tell me to listen to to get a feel and encompass what you guys are all about?
AD: “Pallasides Park.”
KS: Okay. That’s a very interesting choice. That is a great video too. Where did the concept for that come from?
AD: It was all Bill Fishman. I asked him to change a few things, but basically it was his concept from hearing the song and wanting to do it. There were a lot of submissions for who wanted to direct that, but it was clear to me the moment he sent his in. He was the guy. He just had the grasp on it.
KS: So his visual concept met yours?
AD: His visual concept met my emotional concept. I didn’t have a visual concept. I knew how I wanted it to feel, and I felt like he really captured that.
KS: Well thank you again Adam for taking the time to talk to our readers and we look forward to welcoming both you and Rob Thomas back to Central New York once again.
As the interview ended, the old proverbial ‘don’t’ ask a question you’re not certain of the answer’ came to mind. Not quite sure how I expected Adam to answer the Woodstock 99 question, however his insight from a stage view was enlightening to this journalist. Was actually embarrassed all over again for my community wishing there was a way one could rectify this catastrophic event in the minds of all that participated and attended. Perhaps some things are best left alone. Note to self, do not ask about Woodstock 99.
I found the lead singer extremely easy mannered as our conversation began. Although I sensed a reservation in his tone in the beginning of the interview, I felt his guard come down as I kept my questions on topic. I know readers want a personal insight into stars and their lives, however some things that personal are just that, personal. Perhaps I should be that type of journalist, delving into topics that readers want answers to but are encroaching, but then again, I want to know about his music, how it makes him feel, how he wants to grow and share with his fan base, not his past dating history. So I left that line of questioning to those other rags you can read in the line at the grocery checkout as I was preparing to talk with him. If he wanted to speak of those topics, I would gladly be an outlet, but we were there to discuss his music.
As our interview quickly exceeded our allotted time, we were interrupted and asked to wrap up questions to keep him on schedule by his publicist. It felt like this conversation could continue another day. I had so many other questions I wanted to ask him. Questions about acts he’s toured with, artists he’s recorded with, and then so many other topics that come from those conversations. I got a sense that Adam could be a person’s best of friends. His concern with having to take charge as band leader in the beginning, and his recognition on how he handled it was endearing to me. His willingness to work on projects to help out friends, even when it’s not his cup of tea. Then the shear compassion of the audience at Woodstock 99 left me with an insight to his character and peak under that cloak of mystery these interviews often leave you with. Sometimes not asking questions, gives you more of an insight I think into the character of person than asking them and having a wall come up. Adam was so likable, so real, so intelligent. His first answer to my hello, pointing out the beautiful sunny day he (and I) were experiencing here in NY state, immediately made him real to me. As our conversation went along it truly appeared that he was happily reliving the moments with me as he shared his story with our readers. His simplistic answer said it all. “Mostly, I just play in a band, that’s what I like.”
Being a live band, this photo-journalist looks forward to covering his show and experiencing these improvisational moments on stage with those he considers friends; his band mates and audience. The live experience is what drew us in from that initial emotional rendition of “Round Here.” This heart is what I want to see tonight.
Tour Dates Fri Aug 12 Syracuse, NY Lakeview Amphitheatre Sat Aug 13 Niagara Falls, NY Seneca Niagara Casino* Mon Aug 15 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center Tue Aug 16 Brooklyn, NY The Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk
Thu Aug 18 Bethlehem, PA Sands Bethlehem Events Center
Sat Aug 20 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Sun Aug 21 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center*
Tue Aug 23 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre*
Wed Aug 24 Chicago, IL FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Fri Aug 26 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Sat Sep 3 Woodinville, WA Chateau Ste. Michelle
Sun Sep 4 Ridgefield, WA Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
Thu Sep 8 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
Sat Sep 10 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sun Sep 11 Reno, NV Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort
Tue Sep 13 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion*
Wed Sep 14 San Diego, CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
Fri Sep 16 Indio, CA Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
Sat Sep 17 Las Vegas, NV Downtown Las Vegas Events Center*
Mon Sep 19 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre*
Thu Sep 22 Albuquerque, NM Sands Casino Amphitheater
Sat Sep 24 Allen, TX Allen Event Center
Sun Sep 25 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Tue Sep 27 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
Wed Sep 28 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
Fri Sep 30 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
The second set ignited with keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth’s gritty and groovy original “You’ve Got The World.” The electronic influence on this once stripped down group shined through on “Hi Ho No Show” where drummers Jason Hann and Michael Travis showcased their talents alongside Hollingsworth’s synth playing. Bassist Keith Moseley would take his turn at vocals during the uplifting song he wrote known as “Joyful Sound,” Perhaps the most favorable cover came with the encore of the classic folk song “I Know You Rider” that many in the crowd were familiarized with by the Grateful Dead.
Night two continued the theme of uplifting pockets of exploration and danceable music. The synthesizer and techno beat laced Irish trance opener “Valley of the Jig” picked right back up from the previous night and showed that the band was eager to put on a great performance. Moseley took the lead on “Sweet Spot” midway through the set, holding down the microphone and bass at the same time. To close out the set, the Cheese men reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out an age old classic known as “Round The Wheel.”
Set number two was filled with brilliant covers and SCI originals to close out the run. Hot off their performance at Peach Fest where they performed an Allman Brothers Band set, Nershi and the boys were joined by Greg Allman’s guitarist Scott Sharrad while they ran through the instrumental “Hot Lanta” followed by Cheese’s “On The Road,” and finally the Allman’s “Southbound.” The set ended with “Way Back Home,” the bluegrass standard “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” and the Led Zeppelin staple “Kashmir,” pushing the envelope on all three. A three-piece encore emerged featuring Nershi leading his bandmates through “Honky Tonk Heroes” and “Hobo Song,” and sharing the mic during “Rosie,” which was highlighted by Kyle Hollingsworth’s finger work.
