Category: Western NY

Arc Iris Transforms Abilene

Abilene Bar and Lounge is a modest neighborhood bar built into an old house on an out of the way street in downtown Rochester. Generally it plays host to roots Americana acts, honest tunes sung and strummed on good old fashion acoustic stringed instruments. But Tuesday night, Arc Iris descended onto the stage and transformed the joint into their own little Moon Saloon.

A complete DIY stage set, composed of multiple gelled floor can lights and strings of LED lights, including one hanging off the back wall writing their name, helped to set the scene. Lead singer Jocie Adams came dressed in a skin-tight shiny gold one piece, with a quasi-cape neckpiece and white tasseled ankles. She would add wings to the ensemble midway through the show, with a dramatic entrance and full on display during “Kaleidoscope,” like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. However, a small stuffed doll Max Rebo sitting on Zach Tenorio-Miller’s keyboard may have been the most appropriate prop of them all.

Arc Iris was like a spaceship: Adams as the captain, Tenorio-Miller at the controls and drummer Ray Belli providing the driving power behind the ship as the engine. With the opening notes of “Saturation Brain,” off of their spectacular 2016 release Moon Saloon, the audience was pulled from the Earth’s gravity, floating along attached to lifelines. Each song was a journey, traveling from point to point. They could lull you into a beautiful dreamscape before jolting with sudden acceleration in a surprising new direction, such as on “Paint With the Sun.” Arc Iris defies convention at every turn.

Adams commanded attention with her incredible vocal range, navigating complex narrative song structures. Singing through two mics, run through different effects pedals and loops, one voice could be many, human voice could be alien. Tenorio-Miller kept busy, constantly pounding out bass lines with his left hand while maintaining much of the melodies that were represented by horns, strings and more on the album. He provided extra boosts to the ships rockets with some downright brilliant keys work, reminiscent of greats like George Duke and Herbie Hancock. Loops, samples, backing vocals and percussion just added to his arsenal.

Last month the band played a special set in Burlington. VT where they recreated Joni Mitchell’s Blue in it’s entirety. Mixed in with the set heavy on Moon Saloon material, they treated Rochester to a trio of their Blue re-workings, playing through their versions of “Last Time I Saw Richard,” “River” and “Blue,” each flown out to outer space and back, jumbled and reconfigured. sounding in the end almost like new Arc Iris originals. One foot in the past, one foot firmly planted in the future.

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It’s not often a band can completely consume and redefine the stage on which they play. With some simple stage design, but mostly through their transformative music, Arc Iris successfully took Abilene on a short but memorable journey up and away from what had just been a regular old Tuesday in Rochester, NY.

October 7, 2016
Project/Object Kicks-Off Northeastern Tour

New Jersey-based Frank Zappa tribute band Project/Object will be touring the Northeast United States through October 23rd with stops at Mavericks in Ontario, Canada on Friday, October 7; The Garrison in Ontario, Canada on Saturday, October 8; at The Tralf in Buffalo, New York on Sunday, October 9 and at Lovin’ Cup in Rochester, New York on Monday, October 10.

Founded in 1989 by guitarist/vocalist André Cholmondeley, Project/Object has gone through numerous lineup changes since its inception, hosting more Zappa alumni than anyone other than Zappa himself. Project/Object welcomes back alumni vocalist/guitarist Ike Willis and synthesizer legend Don Preston for a tour “Celebrating 50 years of The Music Of Frank Zappa” featuring material both men recorded with The Mothers Of Invention, The Frank Zappa band, and much more!

NYSMusic’s Amy Cavalier recently caught up with Cholmondeley about the upcoming tour and what it’s like being in the longest-running Zappa alumni tribute band in the world!

NYS Music: Tell me the story behind Project Object’s inception? What was the vision for the project?

André Cholmondeley: My vision for the project was simply to turn people onto music that was very influential and important to me.

Around 1989 I started having a Frank Zappa birthday party at my apartment. We would listen to only Zappa music for 24 hours and read interviews read album covers etc. I realized that many people were showing up and did not know a lot about Zappa and left with names of records and songs scribbled on paper. This is way before the blow up of the Internet so people would come back the next year having searched record stores and maybe built a little Zappa collection.

About the third and fourth year, my band played at one of these parties, performing about a half-dozen Zappa songs. It went over great so we learned another half dozen and soon we played our first gig in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It just blew up from there. Next was Lion’s Den in New York City where we connected with our first managers Howie Schnee and Mike Maietta.

NYS Music: A pretty high bar has been set by Frank Zappa, his son Dweezil other Zappa tribute bands…what makes Project Object so unique?

AC: Indeed Dweezil’s band is incredible.I think what makes us unique in our way is that we went out and did it before other bands, over twenty years ago. We were the first band to tour with so many diverse Zappa alumni across the USA and into Canada since Zappa himself took them on the road. We also were the first to do a wide variety of his music

The Grandmothers (ex Zappa/Mothers members) were out there but they tended to do the very excellent early stuff ONLY. We went out there with Ike Willis then Napoleon Murphy Brock etc. and did material from every period in Zappa’s history.

NYS Music: Is there a lot of pressure to get it right and recreate the songs as accurately as possible? Or is there still room for improvisation?

AC: The fans know every note! We strike the balance between doing some tunes as close to the record as we can, with the correct sounds and timbre and instrumentation. And then other things we do – perhaps one of Zappa’s many live versions – we look for moments in the songs where he would leave room for improvisation.

Improvisation is very important part of the Zappa aesthetic but at the core is doing the music accurately and getting chords and little parts correct. I have been fortunate to have so many of the actual ex-Zappa players in the band so along the way they correct parts and help us get little details right.

NYS Music: There have been a lot of stories about Zappa’s family and disagreements over copyright issues, as well as stories floating around about bad blood between you and Dweezil, in the news. How do you get away with playing songs without infringement issues? And has the air cleared between you and Dweezil?

AC: Early on we got so many threats from Gail Zappa that we sought the advice of a lawyer and I learned a lot about copyright law. It’s very basic and simple. As long as the venue you are performing is paying their American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) or Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) membership dues for publishing rights, you are fine. That’s why there is an enormous business in cover bands of every genre imaginable. It was always completely legal to do what we do. In the Project/Object entire career of over two decades we have had to cancel two, maybe three gigs because the venue was not part of ASCAP membership.

I think the NPR interview I did “NPR Zappa Lumpy Legacy” is the final word on it. NPR spoke to me as well as Gail Zappa and independent legal

counsel and they said on national radio that as long as the club is certified it’s no problem playing published music of any artist.

As far as the recent history about the copyright issues and the Zappa family, a lot of what happened was due to the wishes and direction of Gail Zappa. Now that she is gone there is a real splintering of stuff and the siblings are sadly in dispute over many issues.

Even before she passed away I made peace with Dweezil and have seen his band several times. He was very gracious about accepting my apologies for the previous bad vibes. He was aware it flowed in both directions. This thawing of the ice has continued after Gail Zappa’s passing and Dweezil has been very public talking about how the Zappa family trust unfairly charged him for various things and made it difficult for him to just go out and play the music.

I’m happy to say that through his agent, Dweezil and I worked together recently to plan out these historic appearances that Ike Willis is doing with his band. I want to support anything and everything that celebrates Frank’s music.

NYS Music: Your partner was in a serious car accident recently which caused you to postpone your tour. How is she doing and why have you decided to resume the tour at this point in time?

AC: While Robin is still experiencing a fair amount of pain and difficulties she has come a long way in what is almost seven months since the accident. She will be with us on this tour in a very tentative and basic role – we are trying to see how much she can do safely in her regular job as merch and Production Assistant. We hated canceling that tour and she is happy to be out on this one and to be able to personally thank so many of the fans who helped us out.

NYS Music: What is the feeling going into this tour?

AC: We just love to play and get out and travel and this is a great time of year to do so. We have a few things we have never done before, some stuff we have not done in a decade or more, balanced with a couple of the Zappa song-along, crowd favorites that you almost have to do, so it’s a mix!

We are upbeat and excited to get out there playing this incredible music again. Also Zappa lyrics, without even touching them up, have a timeless political accuracy and so getting out right before yet another ridiculous American election season is kind of perfect.

For more information about Project/Object visit www.projectobject.com or follow Project/Object on Facebook or Twitter.

October 5, 2016
Buffalo Scores Big with Two Nights of moe. at Town Ballroom

It had been well over a year since moe. graced the Town Ballroom stage, when they arrived at Buffalo this past weekend. With their annual 2-night stay, fans were happy to have the band “home” again and this time with a last minute opening act Floodwood, featuring Vinnie Amico, Tony Markellis, Jason Barady, Nick Piccininni, and Chris Eves. Floodwood picked, kicked, and hollered with delight to a sold out anxious crowd, which included an original debut by Eves, titled “Green and Blue” featuring some warm vocals and smooth fiddle. This top-notch group flooded the room with enough hip-swinging rhythms to warm up any venue in western New York.

Night one started off rocking with “Rainshine,” a straight-forward rock song, not played enough in rotation. Without “huddle,” Rob led the group into “Jazz Wank,” segueing into a more than an hour long “Buster” sandwich including a seamlessly paired “Lazarus > George” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” Garvey captivated listeners with his silver-tongued vocals as Schnier lead out the solo with lust and emotion. Since their late-night tribute set at The Peach Fest, the guys have been working more Floyd tunes into their sets for the Fall tour.

Second set sluggishly took off with “Lost Along the Way,” picking up momentum during the instrumental section. The crowded Town Ballroom was then treated to a thick tasty “MEAT” sandwich, doubling up for the evening. The peak of the evening was surely this mamma-jamma, stuffed with tight-fitted solos from each member during “Akimbo” and “Silver Sun.” Topping off the night, Loughlin delivered radiant vocals on Frank Zappa’s “Cosmik Debris,” a tune first debuted at last years Halloween show in Philly.

Sparing little time and energy on Saturday, moe. returned to the stage of the Ballroom and hit-the-deck running with “Blue Jeans Pizza.” Chuck took it upon himself to set fire during the jam, enough to slap a consistent smile on Rob’s face for the duration. Al’s fun piano chops held together an interesting yet playful segue jam before switching to guitar for “Mexico,” which led into Merle Haggard‘s “Mama Tried.” Having only played that twice as a band (Once in 1997 and again last April), the majority of the audience sang along and danced their cares away. Acknowledging the culminating energy, Garvey simply stated “Round 2.”

Next, came a massive “Opium” containing plenty of sustained twang-ish slide guitar work, carried over by Chuck from the previous tune. A lengthy version allowed Vinnie to change up drumming styles, easing his way into “Understand.” Garvey took to the voice box for an honorable rendition of David Bowie’s “Fame” followed by “Same Old Story” to round off the first set.

Commencing the second set with “In the Flesh,” moe. proved how much they’re enjoying playing Pink Floyd as well as utilizing Jim’s voice. Given the opportunity, the ensemble intensely kicked up the energy with “Spaz Medicine.” Next came the last “sandwich” of the weekend with “Yodelittle > Down Boy > Yodelittle” featuring some notable lighting work by Pulse Lighting‘s own Justin Casey, who’s been having too much fun with the Clay Paky B-Eyes and Chauvet Rogue R1 FX-B series lights. After a brief pause, Garvey worked up some slide guitar again for “Shoot First” before segueing into an impressive “Billy Goat > Kids.”

Just before moe. took to the stage one last time, Schnier proceeded with the nightly “Al.nouncements” tradition. Unable to resist, he riled up the Buffalo crowd asking “So, here’s the question, are we gonna win tomorrow?” referring to the Bills vs. New England Patriots game on Sunday. With some New England fans scattered throughout the audience and on stage as well, the response was a little heated tho undeniably entertaining as Al had to explain that Bills Nation lasts year-long. moe. finished up their two-night “hometown” run with “Not Coming Down” and “Spine of a Dog,” giving Buffalo another win of the weekend.

Friday Night Photos by Tim Merrill

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Saturday Night Photos by Jim Houle

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October 4, 2016
Reed Mathis Resurrects Beethoven in Buffalo

Bassist Reed Mathis is embarking on a new adventure. His album, Beathoven, just out September 30, features nine different trios tackling his rearrangements of Beethoven’s 3rd and 6th Symphonies.

But the true nature of the project is the live band, with Jay Lane (Primus, Ratdog) on drums, Todd Stoops (RAQ, Kung Fu) on keys, and Clay Welch, a young guitarist who literally honed his craft while following Mathis’ old band Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. As Mathis explained before leaving the stage at set break, Beethoven’s music was conceived from improvisation and was heavily improvised on when Beethoven himself performed. Mathis felt it was time to take the music out of the museum, dust off the 200-year-old masterpieces, and get back to the true spirit of the original music. So he is taking it on the road for a couple of years with his new band, to resurrect the life of the long-dormant spirits. They stopped at the Iron Works in Buffalo during their short tour surrounding the release of the album.

Writing good songs has long been a crutch for many jambands. Many rely on playing lots of cover material, some exclusively so. Though if you are going to do that, you might as play material from one of the greatest composers of all time. Beethoven’s original music served as a mere blueprint, an inspiration, and a launching off point for what became deep dives into massive exploratory soundscapes. The first piece they played, the 3rd movement of the 3rd Symphony, aka “Rebirth,” clocks in just over five minutes on the album. Live, on this night, it ran 45 minutes. Their jams flowed from theme to theme, each taking on a life of it’s own before dissolving or sometimes abruptly shifting into the next. This constant movement kept the long-windedness feeling remarkably shorter, easily digested and invigorating.

The quartet played wonderfully off of each other, under the direction of Mathis, who belted out instruction now and again. Encouraging for more of the same when he heard something he liked, calling for a change when it was time to move on, etc… At one point, during the second composition, he almost brought the music to a stop as he took a survey of those on stage and all in attendance if they liked the last bit they had played. It was something new they were testing out. Moments like these and the freshness of the music to both the band and audience, gave the concert a feeling of an intimate dress rehearsal. It felt like we were in on the ground floor of something big.

The music wasn’t just electric, but eclectic as well. Each member brought a full arsenal to the table. Mathis’s bass could hold the groove or step up and become the lead in any number of unique sounds he could conjure from his numerous pedals. Lane’s drumming, highlighted often, was a constantly moving rumble rolling the music forward with a controlled chaos of bops booms and crashes. Stoops could fill in every empty space with swirls of organ or take the lead in mystifying runs through Beethoven melodies on a variety of keyboards. Welch’s guitar was the line that tied through it all, jawing directly with Mathis, dancing with Stoops’ plinks or crunching out rhythms along with Lane, all the while, never devolving into self-indulgent soloing. It was some high brow jamming, or as Mathis calls it, CDM (Classical Dance Music).

If you’re wondering what Ludwig himself would think of it all, you need look no further than his infamous trip to San Dimas in 1989. He would love it of course! And so did we.

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October 1, 2016
One Night in Buffalo with Quilt and Mutual Benefit

Two underappreciated indie-rock bands made a stop at Mohawk Place in Buffalo on Saturday night. Mutual Benefit opened the evening with the ambient instrumental “Madrugada,” also the lead track off of their latest release, Skip a Sinking Stone. Members switched between guitars, keys, flute and melodica to create the soundscape that served as the perfect introduction to their set, a pleasant drift into the dream state.

As it dissolved into “Skipping Stones” (as it does on the album), the opening lyrics, “You are the first thing I see / When I open my eyes when I wake from a dream” reinforced the dream-like quality of the music that would envelope the room for the next 40 minutes. It was two guitars, bass and drums. Nothing too unusual, save some flute here and banjo there and a drum kit composed mostly of hand drums, but together they formed a blanket of sound, soothing, mellow and beautiful. It was the soundtrack of your most pleasant and colorful dreams. The songs drifted in and out of nothing, and like your subconscious thoughts, once the next began the last became a distant nearly forgotten memory. Each song existed wholly in the moment.

“What’s today, is it Thursday?” asked lead man Jordan Lee. It was Saturday. “For us, every day is Thursday, it’s a blessing and a curse.” The set closed with their most energetic number, “Golden Wake,” again with the all too appropriate line, “We woke for golden morning hours / Just to soak in all the power.”

With our minds sufficiently relaxed and pliable, Boston’s Quilt emerged to knead and massage our mental state into the trippiness of 60’s psychedelia. There is a sound that resides in the musical real estate between “Taxman” and “Crimson and Clover.” They find plenty of room to explore the landscape therein though, showing their influences but sounding fresh and original all the same.

The quartet that started as a trio had grown to a quintet, with keyboardist June West joining guitarist Shane Butler, guitarist Anna Fox Rochinski, drummer John Andrews and bassist Keven Lareau. They opened with the enchanting “Passersby” off of their early 2016 release Plaza. Throughout the set, composed fairly democratically between their three albums, it was apparent that what set them apart was the incredible songwriting and unique and various vocals. They have a knack for “discovering” new music that seems to have existed forever. Familiar, yet exciting and new. Rochinski, Andrews and Butler all shared vocal duties, harmonizing in pairs and altogether, both syncopated and out-of-sync, injecting a variety of different elements and surprises through their voices alone.

During extended improvisations, notably the early set “Saturday Bride” and late set “Secondary Swan,” like oil in a lava lamp, the music oozed slowly up and around themes, collapsing into itself and reforming into something different but similar. The environs did nothing to aid in this mental transportation, a dive bar with limited lighting, dark and overpowering backdrop, and disappointing crowd threatened to cut off the escape. But the music powered through.

“Is it Sunday?” Rochinski inquired. “No? Well it feels like Sunday.” It was in fact, most definitely still Saturday. It must be tough to keep track though, whether touring in a dream state or a time warp. No matter, that night was the right time to partake in a little bit of both, via Quilt and Mutual Benefit.

Setlists

Mutual Benefit: Madrugada > Skipping Stones > Closer Still, Let’s Play / Statue of a Man, Lost Dreamers, ?, Strong Swimmer, ?, Advanced Falconry, Golden Wake

Quilt: Passersby, Young Gold, Saturday Bride, Eliot St., Roller, Searching For, Arctic Shark, Hissing My Plea, Penobska Oakwalk, Secondary Swan, Talking Trains

September 28, 2016
Gwar Declares the Next President

The night was beautiful, so beautiful in fact that the only thing that could make it better was blood covered concert goers. That is what was going to happen in downtown Buffalo and Town Ballroom in the heart of the theatre district. People were wrapped around the building waiting to get in. You know who the veterans are in regards to going to Gwar concerts; they are the ones dressed in white or any lighter color they didn’t mind trashing.

Hardcore metal band Mutoid Man was first to hit the stage, and that they did with vulgar sexual references; everything from penis to boob jokes. Guitarist Steve Brodsky and bassist Nick Cageao poured huge, unrelenting riffs out of their amplifiers, while Ben Koller drove songs with his innovative style of drumming. The thing that stood out most about Mutoid Man was they were having fun playing on stage and you saw it in each of them based solely off expression.

Crowbar is a sludge metal band from New Orleans known as “some dudes” and have been in the music scene for nearly 30 years now. Windstein interacted brilliantly with the crowd and kept everyone engaged in between songs as Crowbar tuned their instruments. Spitting like a cowboy who thinks he’s still in the saloon, Windstein rumbles and roars into pit-starter “Conquering,” and so the riffs start falling. Frontman Kirk Windstein, metal legend that he is, still sets up his own gear from scratch, tunes guitars himself, and distributes set lists to the band. This shows the humbleness he has a reputation for.

Then as the lights lowered and the elaborate stage was set up by a crew of about 10 workers, people got as close as they could to the front of the stage. This is where my previous statement about being a beautiful night for concert goers comes into play. What`s the indication of Gwar coming on stage? When the music stops you know that’s when things are about to get messy.

The screen they bring on stage lit up and showed an unflattering picture of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. First to the stage was ring announcer Sleazy P. Martini, who talked about what was going to unfold this evening – 3 separate wrestling matches and one of them would be Trump vs. Hillary. The fight between the two led to Hillary as the triumphant winner. She ripped his face off then took out his intestines and pointed his blood splattering chest towards the crowd, soaking several rows of patrons. As Hillary was celebrating her win, Blothar came up and ripped off her breasts and spewed even more blood onto the crowd ranging almost to the back of the venue in distance.

Viciously some aliens from another planet came in and fought Blother and Bone Snapper, stealing the title! Musically this group of guys are very talented in their respected instruments; Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus) shreds a mean guitar, and Gwar front-man Blothar has appeared on Ted Talks and is quite intelligent. The cult following they have is undeniable. Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus) was the front man prior and that’s what most people knew Gwar as, granted it will never be the same but Blothar is a great replacement.

Back to the wrestling match, the intruder aliens came back to fight the final fight and this time Bone Snapper and Blothar were victorious! They won the title and Blothar announced to the crows that he was best suited to be the president of the United States. Fans cheered like they were at a rally and with the election candidates we have now, I think our best bet for a better future is Blothar for president!

September 27, 2016
Ghost Kick Off Popestar Tour in Rochester, NY

Ghost is back on the road once again and is giving fans their biggest show yet – the Swedish metal group, lead by Papa Emeritus III, kicked off their Popestar Tour Friday, September 16 in Rochester, NY. The show was held at the Main Street Armory which was home for a few days while the band worked out the kinks in the new production they were debuting for the first time ever.

The show was kicked off by the duo that goes by Zombi. It was a synth set that kept fans occupied while they waited patiently to see the debut of Ghost’s new production. Everyone knew it was time for Ghost when the lights dimmed and their signature entrance music “Masked Ball” played over the house speakers.

To coincide with their new release, the Popestar EP which hit shelves that day, Ghost opened up the night with “Square Hammer.” Fans in Rochester were the lucky ones who got to see the new single performed live for the first time ever. Together with a new stage setup, which featured a trippy looking black and white checkerboard floor, Ghost was full of surprises all night long.

It didn’t take long Friday night for fans to realize something besides the production was different on the stage. Although the Nameless Ghouls’ identities are kept secret, there was an apparent change in the band. As rumors sparked throughout the room and comments flooded live Facebook streams, it was confirmed that the Ghoul who goes by Omega had been replaced. Sadly, Omega, who was one of the original members of the band, was not in Rochester and would not be with the band on this tour. It remains unconfirmed whether or not Omega is gone for good, but he was certainly missed Friday night.

With Omega’s departure, it’s with open arms that fans of Ghost welcome a new member. This new member is handling bass duties for the band and the original bassist, Water, has taken over the second guitarist role. Any fan of Ghost could easily identify Water as the Ghoul who was taking over Omega’s role.

What fans couldn’t answer though was, “Who’s the new bass player?” The new bass player is certainly a tiny one, which leads many to believe that the new member is indeed a female. This tiny Ghoul, who rocks the red nail polish, seemed a bit nervous on stage at first but warmed up throughout the set. To help confirm the rumors about the new Ghoul, she used a black guitar pick that had a pink symbol for Water. Overall, for her first show, the new Ghoul did a great job in the Water role. Original Water, who’s now playing as Omega, was outstanding. As Papa Emeritus III said in previous shows when he introduced Water on the bass, he plays a mean guitar.

Once fans realized there were new faces behind the masks and processed that Omega wasn’t there, they were able to appreciate the new production the band brought. This time around, Ghost had pyro, CO2 cannons, and confetti cannons. Throughout the night, these added bonuses would pop up and give Ghost’s live show an added punch. Songs like “Square Hammer,” “From The Pinnacle To The Pit,” “Year Zero,” and a few others featured those new added bonuses.

Papa Emeritus III, the front man of Ghost, engaged the crowd all throughout the night. He took a poll of where the crowd came from and it seemed like Buffalo was the clear winner. Other cities Papa mentioned were Niagara Falls, Syracuse, Albany, and obviously Rochester. One of the best things about seeing Ghost live is the humor of Papa Emeritus III. It’s almost impossible to go see a Ghost show without laughing once.

The Popestar Tour setlist was fairly similar to what Ghost has been playing since Meliora came out, but the show is certainly different. Papa no longer introduces his Ghouls, which also supports the rumors of a lineup change. Some new songs have been added while others have been cut. The balance between albums Meliora, Infestissumam and Opus Eponymous was fairly done. The only song off the setlist that wasn’t part of those 3 albums was “Square Hammer.”

The night came to a close in typical Ghost fashion. The song, “Monstrance Clock,” has been Ghost’s go to song to end shows for quite some time. For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to see Ghost yet, this tour is the one to certainly check out. The Popestar Tour runs all the way through October and wraps up in Brooklyn, NY on November 12. From now until November, the Ghost will make their way all across the United States and select cities in Canada.

Setlist: Square Hammer (Live Debut), From The Pinnacle To The Pit, Secular Haze, Stand By Him, Con Clavi Con Dio, Per Aspera ad Inferi, Body and Blood, Devil Church, Cirice, Year Zero, He Is, Absolution, Mummy Dust, Ghuleh/Zombie Queen, Ritual, Monstrance Clock

September 22, 2016
Aoife O’Donovan Uncorks a Perfect Night in Geneva

Traveling down a country road that didn’t veer from it’s straight path infinitely in either direction, the kind GPS voice eventually called for a turn down a perpendicular gravelly dirt path. It wound through a vast vineyard before arriving at a wooden barn. Visible inside through the large barn window, a stage was being set: drums, amps, guitars, all illuminated by a simple set of LEDs. As the crowd gathered, sampling the wine and meats being served up at the Ravines Wine Cellar, they oohed and aahed and tried to capture images of September’s beautiful full moon, aka the Harvest Moon, rising through the late summer sky. The crescent moon logo of the Smith Club Series, however, served as a reminder of the impending concert with Aoife O’Donovan.

Opener Brooke Annibale, comes from Pittsburgh via Nashville via Pittsburgh and back again. Her sound reflected her disjointed travels. Her beautiful voice sometimes reaching a more emotional gravelly strain, melodic strumming interrupted by dashes of brilliant fingerpicking, and simple rhythms shifting in surprising jolts. One of her songs took a cyclical path as well. “Alright,” off of her 2015 LP The Simple Fear (as most of the set was), was written while she was employed at Starbucks. After finally recording it a few years later, Starbucks bought the tune to play in their stores nationwide.

Headliner Aoife O’Donovan took the stage in front of the sell out crowd after a short break. Her band, Anthony Da Costa on guitar and Steve Nistor on drums, have been touring with her since January, in support of her early 2016 release, In the Magic Hour. “Lay My Burden Down” off of her 2013 debut Fossils was followed by “Magic Hour” off her latest, and the set continued with a healthy mix of both releases, sprinkling in some covers for good measure.

O’Donovan’s voice provided the melodies, her guitar the rhythms. Her song craft was like the perfect grapes, but as any vintner or artisan knows, that is just the base. She added Da Costa’s guitar and Nistors’s drums to fill the bottle with subtle and not-so subtle hints and flavors. Free from major rhythmic lifting, Nistor danced outside the edges with flourishes and broad swaths. Da Costa’s guitar added body and color, bringing out the best in every moment, constantly moving in fleeting moments of brilliance, rarely soloing but shining brightly when given the opportunity. O’Donovan had crafted this band perfectly. The timeless quality of her music mellowed warmly within the barns wooden walls, much like the wine aging in casks nearby.

During a two-song solo break, she veered from her planned set to grant a fan’s request of the rare “Diamond” from her former band Sometymes Why. She pulled off the unexpected change incredibly well and followed with a stunning rendition of the traditional Creole love ballad, “The Lakes of Pontchartrain.”

Throughout the evening O’Donovan chronicled the band’s travels that day through upstate New York. They started with coffee in a “beautifully tiled” cafe in Buffalo. A little while later they were stranded for two hours at the Pembroke Thruway rest stop when they mistakenly locked the keys in the rental car. They made it to the gig though, with time enough to sample Ravines’ wines, grab some dinner and rehearse for a “special silent movie soundtrack” set they were performing at Freshgrass. After the show they would head to their hotel in the foothills of the Adirondacks, in Utica. “We’re in the Finger Lakes now, how far are the Adirondacks?” she wondered aloud.

The evening ended as it had begun, with the room mesmerized by the Harvest Moon. In tribute of the full celestial moon, the band played a cover of the Neil Young tune that shared it’s name. A fitting finish to a perfect evening amongst the grapevines.

Setlists

Brooke Annibale: Like the Dream of It, Under Streetlights, Middle of the Mess, Alright, All Over Again, The Good Hurt, Patience, Remind Me

Aoife O’Donovan: Lay My Burden Down, Magic Hour, Stanley Park, Hornets, Magpie, Glowing Heart, Red & White & Blue & Gold, Beekeeper, Anyhow I Love You (Guy Clark), Diamond*, The Lakes of Pontchartrain* (Traditional), Donal Og (Traditional) > Porch Light, King of All Birds, Detour Sign, Oh Mama

Encore: Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
* O’Donovan solo

September 21, 2016
Sounds Like a Party To Me: Lettuce Interview Jesus Coomes

Music might be business for some, but for others, it’s a way of life. Lettuce is one of those bands where music is what you do, how you do, and why you do it. It’s family and friends and everything in between. Simply put, music is life. The band hasn’t gotten where they have been in their 20+ year run from stepping on others or chasing the next hit. Throughout their journey, it’s always been about the music and its ever present bond created between them on so many levels.

This passion and love spills over on the stage, in the studio, and through all of their interactions. It’s touching to see a band deservedly grow that embodies this spirit. In just over a year, the band has headlined Red Rocks (twice), released a new album (appropriately titled Crush), played to massive crowds, and hit other career peaks along the way. As the band packs up the bus to the hit the road on yet another tour, we got a chance to catch bassist, Erick “Jesus” Coomes, before a flight out to the east coast.

NYS Music: So you’re getting ready to kick off the Sounds Like a Party Tour, which is jam-packed with dates and riding high on how well Crush has been received. How are you feeling?

Jesus: I’m so thankful – everything is great! I’m in Long Beach right now, but leaving tonight for the tour. I’m going to meet up with my best friends in the world to make some music. The first gig is in Connecticut at Toad’s Place and a bunch of our original followers are there, so we’re going to get some of that hometown love right away. I’m excited about all of this.

NYS Music: There was a mention of Nigel Hall joining you guys via the Lettuce Facebook page. Is he joining for select dates?

Jesus: He’s coming for EV-ERY-THING bro. He’s going to be crushing this whole tour!

NYS Music: That’s amazing! I saw that Nigel has recently been playing some kind of synth onstage as opposed to just coming out for the lyrical songs. Tell me more about that and if we’ll see it on the SLAP Tour.

Jesus: He’s playing a Moog and a couple of other synths; he has a whole keyboard rig now. The thing is, we were having Nigel come on tour with us and he was literally sitting in the back for a long time until he got to sing a couple of songs. We’re like, this guy plays his ASS off on keyboards. Why don’t we set him up with a sick keyboard rig so he can play the whole show with us? We’ve been doing that for a few shows now and I can’t tell you how much fun it’s been!

NYS Music: On the topic of Nigel, has the band ever thought about including more of his vocals on an upcoming release?

Jesus: We definitely have and we want to do as much as we can with him. He’ll definitely be a big part of the next album. We’ve always kept it somewhat instrumental, but at this point, we kind of want to do a whole EP or album with him singing every tune. At the same time, we really love instrumental music, including Nigel, so it’s a hard balance but we want to explore that more on this tour.

NYS Music: Selfishly, I would just suggest recording a double album with one side all instrumentals and the other with vocals.

Jesus: Ohhhhhh….that’s a great idea! I love that idea!

NYS Music: Along those same collaboration lines, Lettuce worked with Wu-Tang Clan for the 2013 Bonnaroo SuperJam [audio]. Your music certainly incorporates hip-hop into your flavor of funk. Have you guys ever thought about bringing in a hip-hop artist on an album to rap over an original tune?

Jesus: Oh yeah, definitely. There are some things in the works right now that I wish I could tell you more about. I’ve had that same thought as well. Listening to a tune like “Trillogy,” I could totally hear Ghostface or somebody like that over it. I’d love to do a whole album like that called Lettuce Raps. I’ve had that thought for a long time – 10 years or so.

NYS Music: I feel like the hip-hop, jazz, and funk scenes are thankfully all starting to blend and collaborate in beautiful ways. What are your thoughts on that topic?

Jesus: I love it and just hearing you say that makes me so happy. I love what Kamasi Washington is doing, and my friend Josef Leimberg just dropped an album on Kamasi’s label. I think I played bass on a couple of songs on that. And then there’s my homie Thundercat just crushing the bass harder than anybody and being totally acknowledged for it. It just makes me so happy. Real music is becoming important again. We have some of the best music ever hitting the mainstream – I’m geeked out about it!

NYS Music: Changing gears, I watched the live-streamed Lettuce Lockn’ set and have since listened to it again. I’ve never heard the band explore their songs like that before, taking more than half of the songs over the 10-minute mark. Are you guys going to continue to do that in pockets?

Jesus: 100% we are – just hearing your enthusiasm makes me so happy. We’re on a good path and communicating really well right now. It allows us to take a jam and extend it without sacrificing quality. We’re always coming from the heart and I’m really excited where we’re taking it. I feel like the universe is putting us into the perfect place. It’s much bigger than any of us and we’re digging in. Music is such a deep art form. I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the bottom of it, but we’re trying.

NYS Music: That’s so good to hear! In terms of new ventures, Lettuce just released a new music video that is pretty exploratory both musically and conceptually. Can you talk a little bit about the process behind it and why you went the direction you did?

Jesus: It was really incredible. The band was so excited about Crush as an album that we wanted people to hear a lot of it at once. We did the one video for “Phyllis,” but with this, we wanted to do a sneak peek of the whole album in a video format. I’m happy with the way it came out. We shot our parts and then the animators worked their butts off on the rest.

NYS Music: What are you excited about literally heading out shortly for this tour?

Jesus: The whole thing is so exciting, bro. I’m about to get on a bus with my best friends. Basically, I’m excited to see my homies and I just saw them all summer, every weekend. I’m so excited to hang out and make some smoothies. It’s like when you’re with your team, they make you better. When I’m with the guys in Lettuce, I’m a better person and I think we all make each other better. We live a healthy lifestyle and make great music every night. It’ll be nice to get back into that flow of making great music together every night and then having great days together. I’m really excited about the whole thing to be honest.

This Thursday, September 22, Lettuce will take the stage at The Tralf in Buffalo, NY. Tickets are still available for purchased. Additionally, their new album Crush can be purchased via iTunes here.

September 20, 2016
Aoife O’Donovan Coming to Geneva Friday Night

As a part of the Smith Opera House’s Club Series, Dan Smalls Presents brings Aoife O’Donovan to Ravines Wine Cellars this Friday night. O’Donovan is touring behind her sophomore solo effort “In the Magic Hour” released early this year, of which the New York Times wrote: “Sweetness and sadness find a tenuous balance in [her] voice — and in the songs on her second album…evokes the reverberant chamber pop observations of Grizzly Bear…[and] the lush austerity of Alison Krauss.” This week she also released a live album, “Man in a Neon Coat: Live from Cambridge,” which was recorded on one night this April at The Sinclair.

Singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan is best known for her work in the Boston progressive folk band Crooked Still. She has also been featured with Yo Yo Ma’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions and has made multiple appearances on Prairie Home Companion. At the top of picturesque Seneca Lake, at a beautifully sloping vineyard, amongst award-winning wines, there might not be a better setting to hear O’Donovan‘s sweet as honey vocals and airy harmonies.

Pittsburgh’s Brooke Annibale will open the evening showcasing her own evocative and timeless song craft. The music will get going around 8pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Smith Opera House’s web site. Ravines Wine Cellars is located at 400 Barracks Road in Geneva.

September 13, 2016