NYS Music 20​16

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  • Slightly Stoopid Stopping in Utica this Summer

    California reggae-fusion act Slightly Stoopid has announced their ninth annual cross-country summer tour, bringing them to Saranac Brewery in Utica on July 22.

    The Return Of The Red Eye Summer Tour will criss-cross the country, hitting amphitheaters and pavilions throughout North America, with supporting act SOJA announced as direct support for most dates. Zion I, the Grouch & Eligh and Fortunate Youth will also perform on select portions of the tour, with all acts aside from Fortunate Youth performing at Saranac Brewery on July 22.

    Return of the Red Eye Summer Tour Dates:
    6/15 Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park # *
    6/17 Eugene, OR – Cuthbert Amphitheater # *
    6/24 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre # *
    6/25 Irvine, CA – Irvine Meadows # *
    6/26 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl # *
    6/30 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex # *
    7/01 Las Vegas, NV – TBA # *
    7/02 Stateline, NV – Harvey’s Outdoor Arena # *
    7/03 San Luis Obispo, CA – Avila Beach Resort # *
    7/09 San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre # *
    7/15 Houston, TX – The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall # *
    7/16 Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Amphitheater Pavilion # *
    7/17 New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater # *
    7/21 Portland, ME – Maine State Pier # *
    7/22 Utica, NY – Saranac Brewery # *
    7/24 Simsbury, CT – Simsbury Performing Arts Center # *
    7/29 Portsmouth, VA – Portsmouth Pavilion # *
    7/30 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater # *
    7/31 North Charleston, SC – Riverfront Park # *
    8/03 Des Moines, IA – Brenton Skate Plaza # *
    8/04 Kansas City, MO – Crossroads # *
    8/06 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre # *
    8/07 Council Bluffs, IA – Stir Cove # *
    8/11 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre # !
    8/12 Cocoa, FL – Riverfront Park # !
    8/14 St. Petersburg, FL – Vinoy Park # !
    8/18 Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion # !
    8/19 Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage # !
    8/20 Philadelphia, PA – Festival Pier # !
    8/21 Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Pavilion !
    8/25 Minneapolis, MN – Cabooze Outdoors # !
    8/27 Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion # !

    # with SOJA
    * with Zion I, The Grouch & Eligh
    ! with Fortunate Youth

  • Sunday Night Legends: Dave Mason and Leon Russell at The Egg

    Watch the Oscar’s or go see live music? Leo and Chris Rock or Leon Russell and Dave Mason? It wasn’t a close call when The Egg announced the pairing of two legendary musicians from the 60s who have continued to create and perform music to crowds for nearly half a century.

    leon russell dave masonDave Mason (no relation) got the night started with songs spanning his career, featuring solo work and songs written during his time with Traffic. A darker “Dear Mr. Fantasy” came early in the set and was hauntingly bluesy, a theme reprised throughout the set. An extended blues jam was patient and went beyond with Johnne Sambataro (guitar) and Anthony Patler (keys) taking requisite solos; they synced up well and carried the song through its motions without a need to rush. “Good 2 U” came from a certain era of 70s rock that is smooth, accessible and engaging without being too jazzy or improv reliant. The set closed with “Feelin’ Alright,” rearranged slightly for a darker vibe, as well as the encore of “All Along the Watchtower.”

    leon russell dave masonThe only subpar aspect of Mason’s set was the backdrop for the band. What amounted to a computer screen broadcasting behind the band was basically a billboard for albums and dated promo for the artist as though he was just getting around to branding himself in 1995 and never updated his ad set. There were some albums, cover art and his music catalog along with some old photos, but it felt as though Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam could have used a much more psychedelic feel to their stage presence, beyond the music.

    After a short change over, Leon Russell took to his white grand piano to perform Elvis’ version of “I Got a Woman” and didn’t hesitate to keep playing the hits. “Rolling in my Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “Let the Good Times Roll” fit the label of not soft rock yet not hard rock. It was Goldilocks rock:  just right. Russell told stories about playing The Concert for Bangledesh at George Harrison’s behest and performing in Woodstock for Bob Dylan, including on “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.”

    A classic country version of “Wild Horses” was highlighted by the pedal steel of Beau Charron who was versatile on the keys and mandolin over the course of the night. “I’ve Just Seen his Face” by The Beatles had a Widespread Panic sound to it which was followed shortly after by a remark about the All-Star Mad Dogs and the Englishmen set that he performed at Lockn’ Festival this past September. “Delta Lady” and “The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen” both reminded me of that powerhouse set with Tedeschi Trucks Band, Chris Robinson and the singers from the original album, all of which Russell spoke highly of in reminiscing. “Roll Over Beethoven” served as the final song of the night, and while a dual encore of Dave Mason and Leon Russell would have been great, there were no complaints to be had from a night of classic rock at The Egg.

  • Hearing Aide: ‘Vinyl: Music From the HBO Original Series — Volume 1’

    Atlantic Records and Warner Brothers Records have teamed up to release the official soundtrack of the new HBO series Vinyl. The first volume was released on February 12, two days before the series premiere on Valentine’s Day. The second volume is expected to be released on April 15, two days before the season finale. Both volumes are expected to be released on vinyl (how fitting).

    Vinyl director Martin Scorsese is easily one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. It’s not just his ability to craft and tell a story, or his unique vision, or his fearlessness to never stray from anything dark and controversial,  Scorsese really rises above the rest by incorporating music into his projects flawlessly. Whether it’s introducing a character, a love scene, or a couple of wise guys getting whacked, Scorsese always manages to find the perfect sounds that clutch to our emotions. Scorsese is no stranger to the ever evolving music industry, especially with legendary rockumentaries attached to his name like The Last Waltz, Shine A Light, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan and George Harrison: Living in the Material World; it is clear he has a finger on the pulse of some prolific music.

    Martin has never been shy about projecting his love for the Rolling Stones and he frequently dips into their catalog. Whether it was “Jumping Jack Flash” in Mean Streets when Johnny Boy (DeNiro) is first introduced, as he walks into a bar with two women on each arm in the peculiar dark red lighting, or the opening scene of The Departed when “Gimme Shelter” opens the film, painting the picture of pure evil with the lyrics “rape, murder, it’s just a shot away.” “Gimme Shelter” also makes appearances in Casino and Goodfellas as well because why wouldn’t it?

    Scorsese’s most recent project finds himself side by side with his idol Mick Jagger as co-creator of the new HBO series Vinyl (along with Terence Winter). The series takes place in New York City in the early 1970s, the epicenter for sex, drugs and rock and roll. The story follows a record executive, Richie Finestra, as he tries to adapt to the changing tides of the music scene, especially with punk and hip-hop on the horizon. Finestra is head strong on finding new talent to save his tanking record label and he has a laundry list of problems, including a cocaine habit that makes Scarface look like he had his shit together.

    Scorsese uses music as good as he ever has in this series. The first volume includes takes from The Meters, Otis Redding, Edgar Winter, and even the fictional band from the series, the Nasty Bits (fronted by Mick Jagger’s son, James Jagger). With the series currently underway there’s a lot that can still happen, but after three weeks it seems like the series is setting itself up for a twist. Vinyl airs on Sunday nights on HBO and HBO streaming services.

    Key Tracks: The World Is Yours, Sugar Daddy, Rotten Apple

  • Jimkata Goes Panda in New Music Video

    Ithaca-based band Jimkata got the Nerdist nod this week. The band used the website to release its first music video, for the single “Wild Ride,” from their latest album In Motion. The video features the members of Jimkata dressed in panda costumes, riding on scooters, and partaking in an animal dance party.

    Aaron Gorsch, Evan Friedell & Packy Lunn- Jimkata- Copyright Pat Tellier

    The video is currently exclusively only available through the Nerdist wesbite.

    After a brief hiatus this past fall, the three piece of Evan Friedell, Aaron Gorsch and Packy Lunn returned with the release of their second fan-funded album. The band is currently touring in support of the record.

    Jimkata returns to the Aura Music Festival this weekend before jumping back on the road. Their current tour is making several stops in New York state including Buffalo, Rochester, New York City and the band’s hometown of Ithaca.

    JIMKATA TOUR DATES

    Mar 03 — Live Oak, FL — Aura Music Festival
    Mar 05 — Savannah, GA — Barrelhouse South
    Mar 17 — Washington, DC — Gypsy Sallys
    Mar 18 — Asbury Park, NJ — The Saint
    Mar 19 — Hamden, CT — The Outer Space
    Mar 24 — Pittsburgh, PA — Club Cafe
    Mar 25 — Harrisburg, PA — Abbey Bar
    Mar 26 — Buffalo, NY — Iron Works
    Apr 01 — Rochester, NY — Flour City Station
    Apr 02 — Oneonta, NY — Oneonta Theatre
    Apr 07 — Boston, MA — Middle East Upstairs
    Apr 08 — Ithaca, NY — The Haunt
    Apr 09 — Brooklyn, NY — Rough Trade
    Apr 13 — Cleveland, OH — Beachland Tavern
    Apr 14 — Columbus, OH — Woodlands Tavern
    Apr 15 — Kalamazoo, MI — Shakespeare’s
    Apr 16 — Chicago, IL — Tonic Room
    Apr 21 — Fort Collins, CO — Hodi’s Half Note
    Apr 22 — Denver, CO — Larimer Lounge
    Apr 23 — Boulder, CO — The Lazy Dog
    Apr 25 — Lawrence, KS — The Bottleneck
    Apr 27 — Iowa City, IA — Yacht Club
    Apr 28 — Grand Rapids, MI — Founders
    Apr 29 — Lansing, MI — The Loft
    Apr 30 — Erie, PA — Kings Rook Club

  • Top 10 Reasons moe.’s Tropical Throe.down Was Amazing

    moe. threw an amazing party Jan. 11-14 in Jamaica. This year’s Throe.down was combined with Little Feat’s annual destination festival called Feat Camp, and it was held at Jewel Paradise Cove in Runaway Bay, Jamaica.

    Now that we’ve had a little time to ruminate on the amazing experience (yeah, yeah, we know, it’s been a long time), here are our top 10 favorite things about moe.’s Tropical Throe.down 2016.

    1. Rob playing an entire song laying down
    It was pretty epic. During the final moe. show of the festival, bassist Rob Derhak sat down in a chair for a few moments earlier in the show, but later on, someone switched the upright chair out with a lounge chair. Rob took the bait and sat down, laying back and kicking his feet up in front of him as he picked away at the laid-back new tune “Montego,” an instrumental debuted at the band’s New Year’s run in Albany.

    Toward the end of the song, guitarist Al Schnier grabbed an inflatable whale that had been making its way around the resort pools for the last few days and the stage that night. He threw it on the ground near Rob and sat down straddling it as the two jammed with Rob slapping the shit out of a nasty bass solo.

    The song transitioned into “Billy Goat,” a song that Rob sings, meaning he had to stand up. It was pretty entertaining to watch him try to haul himself out of the chair while playing the lead-in to the song without stopping. After some bad attempts with his legs flailing awkwardly, he finally took a second from playing so he could get up. Then he launched into a badass “Billy Goat” to end the set.

    2. Sweet Billy Payne sit-ins
    Little Feat’s keyboard player Bill Payne sat in with moe. on a handful of songs throughout the festival: “Sensory Deprivation Bank”>”Happy Hour Hero” on the second night and the Jimmy Cliff classic “The Harder They Come” and “Bring You Down” on the final night. moe. has had plenty of keyboard players sit in over the years, but Payne may be one of the best — he meshes well with the band’s sound while filling it out in strategic places. And the guys definitely seem to have fun playing with him.

    It’s not the first time that Payne has sat in with moe. He joined the guys for their Halloween 2014 show in Las Vegas. The show was “The Big Lebowski”-themed, and Payne dressed as the Stranger, the movie’s narrator.

    Tropical Throe.down

    3. 85 and sun
    We all know it hasn’t been the coldest winter in the Northeast, but it was still a huge relief to be in a place where it’s 85 degrees and sunny nonstop. And the resort where Throe.down was held, the Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort & Spa, was great — three swim-up bars, great food, the hot tubs were hot and the pools were refreshing, and you were never far from anything. Plus the service was usually super helpful, you could go on a free glass-bottom boat tour or snorkeling expedition or try their kayaks or other boats, and there was even a super-fast waterslide in the middle of the resort.

    Tropical Throe.down

    And Jamaica is an amazing place. Many of the people there seem to be friendly and positive people. We had several people tell us, “In Jamaica, there are no problems, only situations,” and we heard the refrain “No problem” each time we asked for anything.

    4. “Ziggy Stardust” in honor of Bowie, “Donkey Show,” and other amazing music
    Memorable musical moments at Throe.down were abundant. But the most poignant was probably when the band played “Ziggy Stardust.” David Bowie had died the day before, but it wasn’t until Jan. 11 that the news started to spread, and that night, moe. payed tribute to the rock icon with one of his most well-known songs. It was the third time moe. played it — they debuted it in 1999, and they brought it back out again for their Star Wars-themed Halloween 2015 show.

    The least poignant moment — but still a super entertaining one — was when the band finished out Throe.down with “Tijuana Donkey Show,” the first time they had played it since 2007. Originally a song from side project Ha Ha the Moose, moe. played “Donkey Show” a handful of times between 2004 and ’07 before giving it up. Until the crowd insisted that it be the Throe.down 2016 encore. Percussionist Jim Loughlin, who drums for Ha Ha the Moose as “Sludge,” took over the drums while drummer Vinny Amico covered percussion.

    The band also broke out “Defrost” again, which they played on New Year’s Eve for the first time in eight years. It was in heavy rotation in the mid ‘90s, but the band stopped playing it for an 11-year gap, pulling it out once in 2008, then again New Year’s Eve.

    Tropical Throe.down

    Other notable moments:
    – moe. occasionally played a great version of Little Feat’s “Spanish Moon,” but with Little Feat co-hosting the festival with moe., they decided not to play what has become a popular cover among fans. But that didn’t stop moe. from teasing it a bit. During their Jan. 11 show, moe. played an extended jam featuring melodies from “Spanish Moon” in the middle of their “Cissy Strut” encore, getting close but never quite getting into the full song.
    – They also teased ZZ Top’s “Waitin’ For the Bus” during the second set opener, “Puebla,” on Jan. 11.
    – It was their frst time playing “Cantina Band” from Star Wars in a show that wasn’t billed a being “Star Wars” themed (third time overall).

    Tropical Throe.down5. If you like pina coladas…
    And besides the regular shows, the daytime acoustic set was a whole other mess of fun. The guys played the set at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Ocho Rios, but before the show, most of the band members joined fans on a catamaran ride and lunch with a company called Cool Runnings. The boat launched from Mahogany Beach in Ocho Rios and everyone was given a chance to snorkel, then there was a lot of rum punch, loud music and dancing. Some of the band members may have learned how to twerk.

    Then, after lovely outdoor buffet lunch, everyone was bussed to Margaritaville, where moe. played a super fun acoustic set in the sun. They played some great covers including “Escape” — the “if you like pina coladas” song — the Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun,” “Cajun Moon” by J.J. Cale, and the Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” first played this New Year’s Eve. The song had the staff swaying to the tune by the end.

    The set also included “Blue Eyed Son,” “That Country Tune” and “Johnny Lineup,” along with a few other tunes the band plays more regularly.

    There’s something amazing about sitting on a deck, sipping margaritas and basking in the sun while listening to one of your favorite bands play a few dozen feet away. Even if the sound wasn’t perfect, it was still super entertaining. Jimmy Buffet would be proud.

    6. Medeski Martin & Wood
    The instrumental trio was billed as a special guest, and special they were. They refer to their music as an “amalgam of jazz, funk, ‘avant-noise’ and a million other musical currents and impulses,” and that pretty accurately described what it was like to see them play three days. The band swings from one influence to the next in a way that’s very fun and engaging, if sometime a little hard to follow. Their cover game was on point (or on fleek? Is that how you use that term?), ranging from Duke Ellington to David Bowie. MMW’s “avant-noise” bit seemed too much for a few of the fans to take, but for the most part, the crowd bobbed their heads and danced along as the creative trio brought them on an enjoyable musical journey.

    And fans who stayed on for an extra day at the end of the festival were lucky enough to see both John Scofield and Warren Haynes sit in with MMW for a few songs. Both musicians were arriving for Government Mule’s Island Exodus 7, which began at the same resort the following day.

    And with a band full of guys who are so cool and down to earth, that’s awesome. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to ask them all the moe. questions that have been keeping you up at night, like why did they stop playing “Disembodied Head,” or what on earth is going on with “Lazarus” these days, or what’s up with moe.down? But you might just find yourself cutting them a break and shooting the shit about the weather when you run into them, cuz hey, they’re on vacation too.

    10. The drum stick trick

    Watch this, paying special attention to Jim right around 1:01:45.

    Jim and Vin are freakin’ ninjas. Apparently they’ve done this before. It’s amazing.

  • Hearing Aide: Ten Cent Howl’s ‘Ain’t It Strange’

    Ten Cent Howl does the Americana genre proud on their latest album Ain’t It Strange. Featuring the deep and distant voice of Bill Smith, who sounds like he is coming to us from a different era a half century ago, this band makes it nearly impossible for listeners to not be tapping their feet and singing along after just one listen. All the songs on the album seem to be characterized by the perfect mix of catchy lyrics in the choruses, interspersed with beautiful poetry that is definitely worth focusing on. Also, as an added bonus, if you are of the opinion that one can do no wrong as long as there’s a mandolin playing, then this album is for you.

    Sounding like they come from a simpler time, unspoiled by the marvels of modern technology, Ten Cent Howl offers a refreshing glimpse into rural American living through their vacillatingly uplifting and melancholy songs, many of which are about love lost and found. While one can say this has been done already, Ten Cent Howl manages to put more on the table, with each band member seeming to be giving it their all on each and every tune. Featuring Jerry Hall on the bass, Harmony Griffin and Tim Pitcher on guitars, Peter Ramos on drums, and Bill Smith on guitar and lyrics, this band sounds like they have been playing together for decades, just like the music of the past, passed down through the generations. Listening to this album, one feels as if they have been transported to a country bar in the ‘50s, the way the harmonica licks come flying, the pedal steel strings are picked and the extraordinary harmonies that are belted out.

    From the Johnny Cash-sounding “33 Days” to the Roy Orbison-esque “This Is Real,” there is something to please everyone on this album, appealing to those who appreciate an album for its instrumentals, with its ideal mix of electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin, and harmonica, as well as to those who are more interested in the vocals, with Bill Smith’s perfectly polished yet old timey quality, and fellow band members Hall, Griffin, Pitcher, and Ramos, who all seem to be able to harmonize so flawlessly. With a growing fan base in the Buffalo area, the band’s hometown, having numerous gigs lined up at local hotspots Sportsmen’s Tavern, where the band celebrated its release of Ain’t It Strange on February 27, as well as other area favorites including 189 Public House and Tudor Lounge, one can only hope that these guys will venture further to bring their wonderful timeless take on Americana music to the rest of the world. In the meantime, give Ain’t It Strange a listen; I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

    Key Tracks: Never Ceases, This Is Real, In View of Her

  • Twiddle Takes Over The Town Ballroom – Photo Gallery

    Twiddle returned to Buffalo in their first ever headlining show at the Town Ballroom this past Thursday.  The packed house was treated to Twiddle history as guitarist Mihali Savoulidis  cased his signature Becker Hornet and debuted two new guitars from DGN Custom Guitars.

    Unknown-7

    The Twiddle evening was also a Town Ballroom debut for hometown band Funktional Flow.

    The night’s set list only included one song, “White Light”, from the band’s latest release PLUMP- Chapter One. The evening was packed full of Twiddle fan favorites like “Brown Chicken, Brown Cow” and “Cabbage Face.” The setlist also saw a healthy dose of jam friendly tunes and covers including ALO’s “BBQ” and Tears for Fears “Mad World.”

    Twiddle continues to promotes a packed schedule including a slot at the Lockn’ Music Festival and their own two-day summer concert event Tumble Down in Burlington, VT this July.

    Setlist: Atlantic Mocean > BBQ > Atlantic Mocean, Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Orderly Chaos, Wildfire, Jamflowman[1], Cabbage Face, White Light -> Pachelbel’s Canon In D -> White Light

    Encore: Mad World

    [1] “Jamflowman” contained  a “Layla” (Eric Clapton) tease.

    Setlist courtesy of utwiddle.

  • Animal Collective Paints New York City with Sound

    Animal Collective continued their Painting With tour with two stops in NYC at Irving Plaza last week. Fresh off the album’s release, they continued their penchant for not only changing their sound with each album, but the live show evolves as well. This tour and album were different in that they didn’t play any of the songs on the road before recording. They normally use their live shows to feel out the songs and work through and expand on them, so that by the time they go into the studio to record, the songs have morphed into something completely different. Everything but the energy seemed a little paired back this tour; they played smaller venues, they had one less band member, there was less instrumentation on stage, but this seemed to force the show to have some more focus.

    Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist ditched their usual instruments and were setup in front of modular synthesizers, while Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks/Ponytail band-mate Jeremy Hyman took over the drumming duties. For Painting With, the band made a conscious decision to keep the songs short and to the point. The songs are fast and dense, like they had taken their essence and squashed it into a hard little piece of bubble gum. It was on the road that the songs would be chewed up and stretched out.

    As with most Animal Collective shows, the latest album was heavily featured. But that didn’t stop them from throwing several older gems into the set. The new tracks had a sense of  frenetic acid pop, which pulsated with tribal rhythms that drove the energy forward and carried momentum throughout the set, even if the audience wasn’t necessarily familiar with all of the new material.

    They started off the night with a torrent of new sounds as they tore through material from Painting With, the only respites was their cover of the 60’s Motown classic, “Jimmy Mack,” by Martha and the Vandellas and “Daily Routine” from Merriweather Post Pavillion. The room erupted when they then dropped into “Golden Gal”. It’s candy coated melodies make up the most infectious track from Painting With and the crowd ate it up. On Delay is perhaps the strongest of the new tracks and it was a great jumping off point to slide into the sublime Feels track “Loch Raven”. They then finished the set off with “Floridada”, an earworm of a song that had the crowd jumping along and ended the set with a cartoonish exclamation point.,

    The droning trance of “Bees” gave everyone a chance to recollect themselves during the beginning of the encore before “Lying on the Grass” melted into the old-school classic “Alvin Row”, a song that many people were hearing live for the first time as they had never played the song live as a band before this tour. Some people were completely losing their shit, and it’s hypnotic builds and releases were a great way to end the show.

    Animal Collective continues their tour this week with stops in Denver and Utah, before heading to the Pacific Northwest. Check out myanimalhome.net for more dates.

    Setlist: Natural Selection, Gnip Gnop, Hocus Pocus, The Burglars, Jimmy Mack, Daily Routine, Golden Gal, Summoning the Wretch,  On Delay, Loch Rave, Floridada

    Encore: Bees, Lying in the Grass, Alvin Row

  • Hearing Aid: Gibbz ‘Above Water’

    You’re young, fashionable, talented, hip and completely full of love. But time after time, you get “friend zoned.” gibbz-3That’s right, you’re ready to take your friendship to the next level, but shorty just wants to keep it platonic. This is the mental picture I got when listening to Above Water, an independent album to be released March 8 by Long Island singer, songwriter and producer Gibbz.

    Above Water is an electronic pop/R&B album with some surprise elements of funk and a whole lot of soul. Gibbz is as talented on the turntable as he is on the mic. The album’s lyrics bring you to the bar, on a date and to the bedroom.

    The album begins with “Stay for a While,” with an upbeat tempo and a beat comprised of the sounds of a ping pong ball hitting the table. The lyrics are mundane and the vocals have an audible resemblance to that of Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie. Throughout the album, Gibbz vocals are reminiscent of various other familiar artists including Michael Jackson and Sam Smith.

    The first single “Higher than I’ve ever been” features Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic on the saxophone towards the end of the track. The abundance of synthesized tones throughout the track is on the cusp of irritating but the chorus is purely delightful. The vocals are impressive, giving the song a fun, flirty vibe. This is a great song to get a party started.

    “I Really Love You,” is again upbeat and playful, but in this case the chorus loses me. There are too many sounds happening all at once and what sounds like a guitar comes off as muffled noise. My least favorite track of the album, it also happens to be the second single.

    No matter though, “Feel Good” featuring Russ Liquid on the trumpet wins me back. This song is energetic. The rhythm is fast and forces you to clap along. It is arguably the best track on the album.

    Gibbz supported Cherub, if only for a month, but this experience is evident when listening to “Too Too Shy.” His high pitched voice reminds me of the Nashville electro-duo. The song is heavy on the synth tones once again, with robotic bass lines.

    The album concludes with “How it’s Supposed to Be.” It’s a song of a hopeless romantic. The lyrics encapsulate the vision many of us have of the support between two lovers in it for the long haul. As a heterosexual woman, it’s everything I’d want to hear in a romantic interest.  But coming from a friend, it would sound desperate.

    Above Water put me on a roller coaster of relatable emotions from hope, excitement, infatuation, heartbreak and ultimately love. My level of affection for the album parallels this variance. Gibbz has the potential to be a household name. But I wouldn’t want to lead you on, at times it feels like this New York producer attempts to add too many layers. Gibbz, we can be friends, but nothing more.

    Key Tracks: Higher than I’ve ever been (featuring Dominic Lalli) Feel Good (featuring Russ Liquid) Too Too Shy, How it’s Supposed to Be

  • Twiddle Announces Show at Capitol Theatre

    Vermont quartet Twiddle announced they will headline Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre on May 7. The announcement happened in front of a sold-out crowd Saturday night at the Irving Plaza in New York City.

    NYC’s instrumental rock-fusion band Tauk will open the Cap show.

    twidcap

    Although the band has played larger venues in support of other artists, headlining the historic Capitol Theater is just another indication that the band’s rising popularity is backed by growing crowds and bookings into larger venues. Saturday night’s Twiddle show at Irving Plaza sold out days before the event. All indicators point to the show at the Capitol Theater to do the same.

    Twiddle celebrated the big news by debuting a fan-inspired song called “Collective Pulse.” Guitarist Mihali Savoulidis posted an acoustic debut of the song via his Facebook page on Feb. 13. Fans that missed the announcement and the song’s full band debut can check out this fan-shot video that highlights both:

    Twiddle continues to announces big shows and festivals that have the band touring late into the summer including a slot at the Lockn’ Music Festival and opening for the Disco Biscuits at Red Rocks on June 4. The band has also announced that they will host Tumble Down July 29- 30, a two-day music event in Burlington, VT.

    Twiddle heads to Florida for the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival on March 4-6 before finishing up the last leg of their Plumperdump Winter Tour.