Category: Western NY

Dark Star Orchestra Treats Buffalo Crowd to Three Sets

Back in 1972 the cost of a gallon of gas was 55 cents. Richard Nixon was our nation’s president, soon to experience a fall from grace. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. “American Pie” by Don McLean was #1 on the music charts. March 25, 1972 was the date in Grateful Dead history that Dark Star Orchestra helped us relive in Buffalo. That original show took place at the Academy of Music in New York City.

DSO took the stage at the sold out Town Ballroom in Buffalo NY right after 8:00 p.m. They started the night off with the classic “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).” They would close the first set with “Bertha.” Throughout the night they teased the crowd saying they might play three sets.

By the start of the second set, DSO seemed to be feeding off the enormous amount of energy that the crowd was providing. “Mr. Charlie” got things started with set two. They would close this energetic second set with the sing a long classic “Casey Jones.”

The third set did not directly correlate with this date in Grateful Dead history. It was a filler set but you couldn’t ask for a better way to close out four hours of beautiful music. Songs like “Black Throated Wind” and “Tangled Up In Blue” really seemed to hit the sweet spot with the crowd. All in all it was a beautiful night of music. The crowd consisted of old school and new school Dead Heads. No matter what their age, every last one of them left the Town Ballroom with a huge smile on their face.

Set One: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), Are You Lonely For Me Baby, Next Time You See Me, Brown Eyed Women, Smokestack Lightnin’, Sitting On Top Of The World, Sugaree, Looks Like Rain, Bertha

Set Two: Mr Charlie, Black Throated Wind, Deal, Playing In The Band, Turn On Your Lovelight, Casey Jones

Set Three (Filler): Chinatown Shuffle, Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, Black-Throated Wind, Positively 4th Street, Tangled Up In Blue

June 6, 2016
Legendary Bassist Stu Hamm to Stop in Schenectady

Fans of guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani will recognize the name, as will any learned bassist. Stu Hamm rose to fame performing with Satriani’s band for a decade, and on June 3, Hamm brings his solo act to the Van Dyck in Schenectady.

Hamm’s tour is a true solo run in support of his latest album, The Book of Lies. In addition to the Schenectady stop, Hamm’s brief stint also includes shows in New York City and Buffalo.

Hamm met Steve Vai while both were students at Berklee in Boston; he met Satriani as a result of his relationship with Vai and rose to fame as a member of his band. Hamm played on Vai’s first solo album, Flex-Able, in 1984 and went on to record with Satriani on his seminal ’80s albums Dreaming #11 and Flying in a Blue Dream.

Throughout his career, Hamm has recorded with such guitar luminaries as Eric Johnson, Michael Schenker, Frank Gambale, Alan Holdsworth and Robert Fripp. Another claim to fame is being named both best rock bassist and jazz bassist in the same year by Guitar Player magazine.

Expect a mix of bass virtuosity and humorous storytelling when Hamm hits the stage. In a statement, Hamm said, “I promise an entertaining evening of music and stories from my 43 years of playing bass with some of our generation’s greatest musicians!”

Check him out a venue near you this month.

Songs and Stories Tour 2016:

6/2 – New Hope, PA – Havana
6/3 – Schenectady, NY – The Van Dyck
6/4 – New York, NY – Spectrum (Masterclass at 2 p.m.)
6/5 – New York, NY – Spectrum (6 p.m. and 8 p.m.)
6/6 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint
6/7 – Dunellen, NJ – Roxy and Dukes (Presented by NJ ProgHouse)
6/8 – Buffalo, NY – Sportsmens Tavern
6/9 – Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey
6/10 – London, ON – London Music Club
6/12 – Detroit, MI – The Token Lounge
6/13 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival
6/14 – Cleveland, OH – Nighttown
6/16 – Charleston, WV – The Empty Glass
6/17 – Pittsburgh, PA – PGH Winery

https://youtu.be/VAkYhNUOWMY

May 28, 2016
Heartless Bastards and Old 97’s Bring Texas Rock to Buffalo

An unadulterated evening of Texas-style and Texas-sized rock and roll with Heartless Bastards got started with a little North Carolina folk music. American Aquarium’s BJ Barham played a set of his new songs, commanding the audience at the Tralf in Buffalo, with just his voice and sparse acoustic guitar. The material was inspired by the attacks in Paris last year, during which Barham happened to be about an hour outside the city.

But then the rock came. And later the roll.

Austin’s Heartless Bastards blasted out of the gates with “Gates of Dawn” off of their latest release, Restless Ones. Their music is like a silly putty replica of classic rock. They’ve mashed the putty down, lifted up the image of rock as it was, and pull at it, distorting it into a creation that is all their own. They stretch it out until it slows almost to a standstill, bringing out the beauty of every nuance.

Drummer Dave Colvin controlled the putty, shaping and forming the rhythm with master strokes and splashes of cymbals and brilliant fills. Bassist Jesse Ebaugh accentuated the drawn out pace, while still managing to enter in some full-on lead bass lines into the mix. Mark Nathan’s guitar crunched out some good old anthemic rock lines slowly building into epic soars as Colvin and Ebaugh drive the beat forward. Kyleen King filled in the empty spaces when and where they existed, playing guitar, percussion, keys and backing vocals. Above it all, and lending as much to their signature sound as anything, was rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Erika Wennerstrom. In a different era, Wennerstrom’s voice would be on every radio in America, a one-of-a-kind marvel of a sound that perfectly melds with the oozing power of the Heartless Bastards.

Heartless Bastards hit upon all eras of the band, and peaked throughout the mid-set trio of “Hold Your Head High,” (from 2009’s The Mountain) “The Fool” (off Restless Ones) and “Down in the Canyon” the epic closer of 2012’s Arrow.

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

Rhett Miller (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Ken Bethea (lead guitar), Murry Hammond (bass) and Philip Peeples (drums) have been touring together as the Old 97’s for 23 years. After 10 studio albums and countless shows, it’s been the same guys sticking together through it all, a rare feat to say the least. But in fact, on the road, the lineup changes on a nightly basis. The crowd is undoubtedly the fifth member of the band. The audience was singing every word to every song, hitting all the right emphases, stomping, clapping, hooting and hollering the whole way through. They added an energy and excitement to the proceedings that wouldn’t be the same with just the same four guys onstage.

With song titles like “Stoned,” “Wasted,” “Smokers,” “Let’s Get Drunk and Get It On” and an opening number that dropped more than a few none-too-subtle F-bombs, you might expect a stage full of brutish hard partiers. They appeared, however, to be a group of pretty easygoing guys that life has been pretty kind to. When Hammond took a swig of his bottled water he joked it was filled with straight liquor. But there was no alcohol to be had on this stage. Just earnest songs with a rockabilly bent and a lot of twang, staying true to their alt-country roots, much to the delight of their fans.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sACWvgFQ5t8[/embedyt]

Miller sang, “I’m gonna play my guitar ’til my fingers fall off; sing till my voice is gone.” Through a 22-song career-spanning set amidst a lengthy spring tour, truer words may never have been sung. Or perhaps maybe they had hours earlier, when Wennerstrom belted, “I know whenever you are feeling down, you gotta have, gotta have, you gotta have rock and roll!” Those Texans seem to know a thing or two.

Setlists:

Heartless Bastards
Gates of Dawn, Got To Have Rock And Roll, Black Cloud, Into the Light, Blue Day, Hold Your Head High, The Fool, Down in the Canyon, Only For You, Parted Ways, Nothing Seems the Same

Old 97’s
Nashville, Rollerskate Skinny, Melt Show, Stoned, Wasted, Crash on the Barrelhead, Dance With Me, Big Brown Eyes, Won’t Be Home, Longer Than You’ve Been Alive, Wish the Worst, Valentine, Barrier Reef, Victoria, Give It Time, Smokers, Nineteen, Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You), Most Messed Up
E: Question, Let’s Get Drunk and Get It On, Timebomb

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May 24, 2016
Dark Star Orchestra Returning To Buffalo At The Town Ballroom May 24

Dark Star Orchestra (DSO), the Grateful Dead tribute band hailing out of Chicago Illinois, will return to the Town Ballroom in Buffalo. Since forming, DSO has played 2,200-plus shows, recreating Grateful Dead concerts in their entirety.

To any Dead Heads that need their fix, this show is not to be missed. It’s been more than 20 years since Jerry Garcia has passed, but the Grateful Dead’s music lives on with the passion and extensive touring DSO has displayed over the years.

Dark Star Orchestera has had a slightly changing line up throughout its existence; the current band members include Rob Barraco (keys/vocals), Rob Eaton (guitar/vocals), Dino English (drums/percussion), Rob Koritz (drums/percussion), Lisa Mackey (vocals), Jeff Mattson (guitar/vocals) and Skip Vangelas (bass/vocals), and look forward to their return to Town Ballroom.

Tickets for the May 24 show are still available and can be purchased from Ticket Fly or through the Town Ballroom box office; door open at 7 p.m.

May 23, 2016
Marco and Mikaela Mystify Montage Music Hall

An evening of acts defying easy categorization at the Montage Music Hall on May 12 began with Rochester-born Mikaela Davis and her harp-led melodies. Her band, whittled to a trio from its usual quartet format, consisted of Alex Coté on drums and Shane McCarthy on bass. The lack of guitar pushed the harp to an even more prominent position in the music, and “Other Lover,” off a special tour sampler CD, was a slow groover with a nifty mid-song breakdown. Coté shined early and often, taking control both in backing and leading positions. The magnificently exotic (particularly to the Montage stage) harp was adorned not only with spiraling LED lights, but with many effects pedals as well, pushing its sound into strange and different spaces.

After the set closed with, “In My Groove,” a brand new song, ironically about needing to write a new song, the opening band found itself in the unusual position of being called back for an encore. They hesitantly took the stage, and with nothing prepared, they winged a cover of Gillan Welch’s “Caleb Meyer” — nice choice, nice execution and impressive all around.

Davis mentioned that in the trio format she felt they were resembling Marco’s band, with the bass, drums and said that there was pretty much a harp sitting inside the piano. It certainly rings true with the unique approaches they take to their instruments.

Davis wasn’t the only one playing with a modified band. Karina Rykman was filling in on bass for Dave Dreiwitz in Marco Benevento’s band. She matched Dave’s signature smile and bass stylings perfectly, while filling out striped pants that complemented Marco’s candyman-meets-madman outfit better than Dave ever could. Andy Borger maintained his spot behind the kit, as he has for a handful of years.

When Marco introduced the band, he also introduced the audience to his piano, Gibbs. It fittingly shares a name with the street just around the corner from the venue, where the famous Eastman School of Music resides. The piano was a $100 purchase off of CraigsList, which to put it mildly, has been slightly modified to Benevento’s tastes.

Touring behind his freshest release, The Story of Fred Short, the band kicked right into the new material with a set-opening take on the infectiously catchy “Dropkick.” Moving back in time they continued with “If I Get To See You At All” off Swift and then”Atari” from Invisible Baby.

It was right back to the present with the full presentation of the side B conceptual Fred Short suite of songs. This was pulled off brilliantly with special sound and lighting effects and the works. The “Stay in Line” section was particularly fiery. Borger and Rykman took charge and pounded it into submission.

But “The Real Morning Party” had only just begun, with ripping versions of a by-request “RISD,” “The Knife’s “Heartbeats” and “Limbs of A Pine” that featured a quick return into “Dropkick.” The 90-minute set finished up with the whole crowd singing along to “At the Show.”

The show came full circle during the encore as Mikaela Davis re-emerged. The modified harp and the modified piano played side-by-side for rollicking takes on David Bowie’s “Heroes” and the Rolling Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together.”

May 20, 2016
Sick Puppies Rock the Iron Works

Buffalo Iron Works was introduced to a night full of in your face rock with promising young bands rocking the house. Hudson, all the way from Los Angeles, kicked things off Thursday night with a high energy, on-point performance, despite the lack of crowd participation and lackluster reaction.

Stitched up Heart set up their gear and by their looks I wasn’t sure what to expect. Their outfits were great but hinted at a feeling of metal and screaming, which did not fit the rest of the bill. Front woman Alecia “Mixi” Demner ran onto the stage and had such a crisp, clear voice with a power that reminds one of Lzzy Hale from Halestorm. The band had magnificent harmony and the hair flips and guitar riffs were impressive. I am definitely a fan and cannot wait to listen to their newest tunes.

Red Sun Rising (RSR) is a band I’ve seen before when they were in town opening for Seether and Mark Tremonti at Rapids Theatre last year. RSR’s fan base has grown tenfold and they have a more confident stage presence since I last saw them. Mike Protich’s vocals have mammoth power and clarity to them. He has a towering stage presence that captivates and engages the audience. Dave McGarry replaced original guitarist Tyler Valendza and he is an exceptional replacement. McGarry’s uses his long hair to his advantage, whipping it around while playing his catchy riffs. I expect to see this band headlining their own shows within the next five years.

Sick Puppies returned to Buffalo after a lengthy hiatus, and first time since their antecedent lead singer, Shimon Moore left the band. Many fan favorites were played as well as a couple of new songs. They kicked off their set with “War” that immediately brought the audience off their feet.

Buffalo gave a warm welcome to new front man Bryan Scott as he stood his ground. Bassist Emma Anzai, made her presence felt with her typical top notch performance. Stand out songs from the Aussies’ set list included “Riptide,” “Should’ve Known Better” and “Pitiful.” The band also performed their latest single, “Stick to Your Guns” from their upcoming release Fury. The crowd loved the appearance of another taste of the new record during a short version of “Black & Blue.” Bryan Scott has stepped into some big shoes and came off as a solid replacement. The direction the band is now taking is impressive and the crowd at the Iron Works seemed to agree.

May 19, 2016
Bands on the Bricks at Rochester Public Market Reveals 2016 Lineup

Bands on the Bricks is back for summer 2016 at Rochester’s Public Market. The free Friday evening concert series kicks off at the Union Street location on July 8, and this year’s lineup includes Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Donna the Buffalo, Turkuaz and Aqueous, among others.

The concert series welcomes July with an opening evening show dubbed Latino Night, created in partnership with the local Puerto Rican Festival, followed by Three Heads Brewing Night on July 15 with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Rochester’s own Suburban Plaza. July 22 is the Food Truck BBQ Contest for the Rohrbach Brewing Company Night with Cats Under the Stars: A Jerry Garcia Band Tribute and Flour City’s Subsoil, before Donna the Buffalo headlines on July 29 and Turkuaz with the Buffalo-based rock group Aqueous on Aug. 5.

Bands On the Bricks takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. every Friday starting July 8 and ending Aug. 5 at the City of Rochester’s Public Market — seating is limited, so don’t forget your folding chair. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., and remember, no shoes, no shirt, no entry.

Bands on the Bricks summer concert series 2016:

7/8 – Latino Night in partnership with the Puerto Rican Festival of Rochester, Inc.
7/15 – Three Heads Brewing Night with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Suburban Plaza
7/22 – Food Truck BBQ Contest Night with Cats Under The Stars: Tribute to Jerry Garcia Band and Subsoil
7/29 – Donna the Buffalo
8/5 – Turkuaz with special guest Aqueous

May 19, 2016
Gang of Thieves Tour Stops in Utica and Troy

Gang of Thieves will head out on an extensive tour of the Northeast and South with stops at several New York music festivals and shows in Utica and Troy.

Burlington, Vermont-based rockers Gang of Thieves’s spring and summer tour will take them to several stops in New York as well as neighboring states. It brings them back to Lukin’s in Utica on Thursday, May 26. After a tour of North Carolina and South Carolina through the first half of June, they return to the Northeast. They’re back in New York on June 18 to play the River Street Festival in Troy, and they’ll come back to Troy on Aug. 12 for a show on the Captain JP Cruise Line.

Gang of Thieves has several stops in nearby locations in the Northeast including their tour opener on May 20 at Harlow’s Pub in Peterborough, New Hampshire and the following night, May 21, at the Magic Hat Artifactory in South Burlington, Vermont. Following their tour of the South, they return with a show at the Kingdom Taproom in St. Johnsbury, Vermont on June 11. They play the Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday, June 17. A return to Vermont sees them at the Eat More Kale Festival in Montpelier on June 25 before heading to Manchester, Connecticut on July 1 to play the Hungry Tiger. Beer and music lovers will find them at the Stowe Brewers Festival on July 29 in Stowe, Vermont.

They’re making full rounds of the area festivals including Strangecreek on May 27; Buffalove on July 30; the Organic Smiles Festival in Middletown, Connecticut on Aug. 5; Backwoods Pondfest on Aug. 6; and Mazzstock in Marlboro on Aug. 27.

Gang of Thieves tour dates:
May 20 – Harlow’s Pub, Peterborough, NH
May 21 – Magic Hat Artifactory, South Burlington, VT
May 26 – Lukin’s, Utica, NY
May 27 – StrangeCreek Campout, Greenfield, MA
May 29 – Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, NC
May 31 – Independent Public Alehouse, Greenville, SC
June 1 – Charleston Pour House, Charleston, SC
June 2 – Visulite Theatre, Charlotte, NC
June 3 – The Pour House Music Hall, Raleigh, NC
June 4 – Bulls Tavern, Winston-Salem, NC
June 11 – Kingdom Taproom, St. Johnsbury, VT
June 17 – Middle East, Cambridge, MA
June 18 – River Street Festival, Troy, NY
June 25 – Eat More Kale Festival, Montpelier, VT
July 1 – Hungry Tiger, Manchester, CT
July 29 – Stowe Brewers Festival, Stowe, VT
July 30 – Buffalove Music Festival, Westfield, NY
August 5 – Organic Smiles Festival, Middletown, CT
August 6 – Backwoods Pondfest, Peru, NY
August 12 – Captain JP Cruise Line, Troy NY
August 27 – Mazzstock, Marlboro, NY

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCn1NfcMBK8[/embedyt]

May 17, 2016
Supporting Local Music From The First Note

Have you ever thought about where your favorite famous musician started before they played in arenas around the world? Probably not. Chances are, at one point, every artist you can think of was playing a show to a handful of people rather than a sold-out crowd.

It’s easy to forget that once upon a time, one of the only ways to discover musical artists was by going to the local music venue. There are some amazing talents hidden away in small and big towns alike with dwindling options for places to play their music for other people.

The local music scene has been near and dear to my heart for quite a few years now. One word to sum up the scene is, family. I have experienced different music scenes from all over and this seems to be a common theme. Here in Buffalo, we are blessed to have such a tight knit music community.

I am a professional music photographer and work with many of the bands here in Buffalo and sometimes in the Rochester area. Local music is very important to me and is one thing in life that keeps me going. I love capturing the truest of emotions on stage. That is something that cannot be recreated. I’m in it for the long haul, to make a career of this.

Music is a powerful means of connecting people. It bridges linguistic and cultural divides, and is a vehicle for identity and expression like no other. Music has the power to do this, no matter where you come from or your background. Music, is one thing that brings all walks of life under one roof.

I also love that no matter which genre of music I’m covering, we all treat each other with a sense of community. I see many musicians from different bands on their off night come support their brothers and sisters as they play locally. I’ve seen just about every vantage point in the music scene. I’ve been the band girlfriend; witnessing the countless hours and money artists spend writing and recording, trying to make a name for themselves. I’ve seen the local promoter putting in their own money, working to find artists who fit the same bill; taking chances on bands that nobody knows exist, hoping to possibly just break even.

Buffalo is one of many communities that suffers when a local venue closes. Venues are struggling financially and are on the fence about whether or not to continue providing live music. We take this for granted. To keep local music alive, it’s as simple as supporting the artists and the venues by buying a ticket to see the show or buying something from the venue; a beer, coffee or dinner. Sometimes venues will also dedicate a portion of the night’s bar revenue to the bands, making this a win-win situation.

Musicians are a healthy part of local economies. When we support them, we are supporting a number of business owners and employees, including the local bars and venues, screen printing companies, record labels, record stores, even the food trucks on the street outside the venues.

If the music is something that tickles your fancy, consider purchasing the artist’s CD or a t-shirt. Musicians are often not getting paid their worth from venues and many end up losing rather than making enough money to cover expenses. Many artists have the burden of working tirelessly to expose their music, most on penny-pinching budgets. Wearing a band’s t-shirt, listening to their music or even mentioning the music to friends is a simple way to continue your support long after the live music has ended.

Live music has a power that can last long after a single performance. Lyrics and tones pull feelings from you that you have never experienced. The energy of a live show needs to be felt. Bands and artists pour their hearts and emotions into their live performances, and while the crowd is feeding off that energy, the band is feeding off the crowd.

Checking out a local show is a much more intimate experience, and there’s no corporate music nonsense involved, meaning you’re truly hearing what the artists want you to hear. These guys and girls on stage have day jobs just like the rest of us. They can be the girl from the coffee shop serving you your daily medium coffee, two cream and a muffin or the plumber who helped fixed your busted pipes on an emergency night call. Some of us are doing this for fun and some are striving for stardom. Regardless of what each individual`s motive is, support is what keeps it going.

We must also extend our hands to local bands that took that leap of faith and decided to take their music on a weekend or a month-long tour to play with bands local to those cities in hopes of spreading their name.

I`m happy to see fellow music lovers offer the courtesy of their homes to those traveling bands so they don’t have to spend money that can be used elsewhere on hotels or forced to sleep in their vans in the frigid or scorching weather.

The bottom line is, don’t stop enjoying internationally known bands, just make some time to go to a local music venue and support the ones who are starting from the ground up, where their lyrics are true and haven’t been touched by 30 hands. Who knows, you may even be watching the birth of the next great star!

May 13, 2016
X Ambassadors Play to a Sold out Town Ballroom

Tuesday in the heart of the Buffalo theater district Town Ballroom had a sold out crowd that was going to be highly entertained by X Ambassadors and some top of the line indie bands. Sara Hartman was the opener for the night; she is originally stems from NY but moved to Berlin in recent years. She brought her Berlin band mates with her as they were fresh off the plane. Despite having a couple technical difficulties they still put on a solid performance. I expect to see great things from her in the coming years.

Savoir Adore was co headliners Tuesday and it was like something I haven’t quite experienced before. They are mixture of pop and indie. Main vocalist Hammer was highly energetic and combined with Muros soft voice it reminds me of the chemistry between Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis of July Talk. The other band mates sing as well and for the most part it blends and is pleasing to the ear, but some of it was a little overdone and not necessary for everyone to be joining in.

X Ambassadors—a soul funk band who started out in Ithaca, NY. If Sam Harris wasn’t enough to look at, his brother Casey Harris, over on the keyboard certainly was. I give him a notable mention for executing dinosaur-like; leg pounding dance moves while pulverizing the keys for the entire duration the show.
Sam started playing the sax on Love Songs Drug Songs, proving that everyone loves some saxophone. Harris told the crowd that if they knew the lyrics to Renegades to sing along and the maybe the audience had just seen the Jeep commercial enough but during the chorus enough people actually sang the words to let Harris hold the microphone out to them. You could definitely distinguish by the participation of the crowd who have been lifelong members or Ambassadors to those who only know their top hits.

Regardless of how long you have been following them everyone walked away entertained that night by the high energy performance they put out.

May 11, 2016