NYS Music 20​16

Tag: Brooklyn Bowl

  • Del the Funky Homosapien ‘Iller Than Most’ Tour Stops in Brooklyn

    Del the Funky Homosapien inhabits a world of his own. It’s a world in which George Clinton occupies a role like that of a creator-god and Del with the rest of the Hieroglyphics crew are on a mission to ensure that the forces of funk win over the forces of non-funk in a never-ending cosmic saga.

    Del the Funky HomosapienLuckily for the race of Homosapiens on Earth, Del’s world is accessible to us through his records and live shows. Three years after rebooting the futurist hip-hop group Deltron 3030, Del continues to perform occasionally with that group as well as on his own, performing original music stretching back to 25 years of underground emceeing.

    Del’s music is compellingly original. The rapper-producer has admitted in interviews that he listens to very little new music and spends his time working on his own. The result: an unheard of lyrical flow tightly woven over self-produced tracks; it’s a veritable rhythmic tour de force. To be in the presence of such a funky person is humbling. Del fans are dedicated and hang on every cadence that issues forth from the stage at his shows. The opportunity to be among them should not be considered lightly.

    Del the Funky Homosapien will manifest his far-out rhyming for one night only at the Brooklyn Bowl on May 7. DJ Shiftee and Sean Anonymous will kick off the show at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available online through the venue’s website.

  • The New Mastersounds Return to Brooklyn Bowl

    The New Mastersounds’ extensive U.S. tour is under way with the first of three concerts at the Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday, coming after a quick appearance at Wannee Festival. Opening a three-night residency on a Thursday gave fans a unique opportunity to see a band deliver a compelling show to a small weeknight crowd while also gearing up for the rest of a big weekend. The jazz-funk quartet from Leeds, UK, was supported by Brooklyn’s own Moon Hooch.tkenna_newmastersounds_bkbowl_35

    Moon Hooch put on an opening performance that was brimming with creativity and authenticity. Their music is a sort of new wave-influenced EDM brought to life with an arsenal of carefully selected acoustic and electronic instruments. The HN3A8280compositions are rooted in tight dance rhythms precisely metered out by drummer James Muschler. Mike Wilbur’s saxophone melodies typically take the lead while Wenzl McGowen produces womping bass lines using anything from a contrabass clarinet to a baritone sax to a woodwind MIDI controller. Song arrangements did vary in surprising ways, though, such as when
    Muschler sat down on the floor of the stage to provide some excellent tabla playing or when Wilbur delivered a dope rap verse. All three members of the trio proved themselves to be versatile and cleverly skilled. Moon Hooch’s set had a spiritual undertone throughout, made explicit at times by slowed down samples of Alan Watts and McGowen’s closing remarks about imaginal cells, which turn caterpillars into butterflies.

    The New Mastersounds kicked off their set with characteristic pep and never slowed down for a second. Their brand of bouncy, uptempo jazz riffing was infectious and immutable. Drummer Simon Allen propelled the band with giddy enthusiasm. Bassist Pete Shand was an endless fountain of rhythmic momentum and complex harmony. Some of the most ebullient soloing came from keyboardist Joe Tatton’s organ. Guitarist and bandleader Eddie Roberts defined the character of each tune with a steady cascade of jazz-funk techniques. The set consisted pretty much entirely of cheery, major key groovers. Whatever it may have lacked in emotional range, it more than made up for in intensity. The buzz that the band created was one of pure joy and vigor. Even as the Thursday night crowd began to thin towards the end of the performance, the remaining audience was huddled in front of the stage, soaking in every moment of what came to feel like a very intimate musical experience. The band seemed to be projecting a humble appreciation for the setting and to be gearing up for the remaining shows on Friday and Saturday. These weekend shows are likely to see larger turnout and even more fiery performances from The New Mastersounds.

  • The New Mastersounds to Headline 3-Night Weekend at Brooklyn Bowl

    The New Mastersounds have a simple mission: create and share an ebullient energy with a receptive audience. They’ve been accomplishing this swimmingly with their bouncy, funky instrumental grooves for a decade. New York City will have its chance to get down New Mastersounds-style for three consecutive nights at Brooklyn Bowl on April 14-16.

    In the UK where there are no John Scofields or Galactics to create a rich jazz-funk jam tapestry, The New Mastersounds started out as a band filling that void with free reign. Nowadays they run widely in the US festival circuit and collaborate with Mike Dillon, Grace Potter, Maceo Parker and Art Neville. Their music is fast and relentlessly euphoric.

    The Saturday date at Brooklyn Bowl will also include an afternoon family show for all ages beginning at noon, in addition to the show that evening. The matinee appearance has become a tradition for the band over their last two appearances in Brooklyn. The New Mastersounds first appeared at the Bowl in 2010, and three-night runs have occurred there at least once yearly since 2013. New York funk fans are doubtless hungry to have them back.

    Brooklyn’s own Moon Hooch will support The New Mastersounds on Thursday, April 14. Their primitive dance music played in sax-sax-drums power trio format is sophisticated and provocative. In a league with other contemporary artists who blur the line between live acoustic performance and sleek electronica production, Moon Hooch have an unprecedented sound and an attitude that’s always carrying them into new musical territory. Aficionados will want to be there at 8 PM when they get the party started at Brooklyn Bowl, kicking off a three-night weekend with The New Mastersounds.

  • Wyclef Jean Takes on the Brooklyn Bowl, NY

    Grammy winning artist Wyclef Jean brought the house down Tuesday night during his second performance at the Brooklyn Bowl.  His DJ bumped the beats as Wyclef freestyled his way onto the stage mic in hand rhyming about Brooklyn, Haiti, politics and music…and even gave a shout out to the girl with the camera in the front row (that would be me!)  He wowed the crowd with eccentric dance moves, multiple costume changes, instrument maneuvers, and guitar rifts with his teeth.

    wyclef jean brooklyn bowlThe Bowl was energized from the moment Wyclef set foot on the stage. Cell phone cameras were in the air the entire night and fans were dancing in the bowling lanes as he weaved his way through tracks like “911” and “Hips Don’t Lie.”  During his new single “My Girl” with Sasha Mari, over 100 multi-colored flashing foam glow sticks were thrown into the crowd and fans from the front row were pulled onto the stage to dance with Clef and his backup dancers from Studio L Dance Co.  A fan favorite, “Killing Me Softly” was performed by Canadian jazz, pop, and soul singer Nikki Yanofsky, whose big voice filled the room over the sound of the crowd belting out of the lyrics with her.  Another special moment of the evening came when Wyclef welcomed his sister Melky onto the stage to perform a super soulful version of Leela James’ song “A Change is Gonna Come.”

    wyclef jean brooklyn bowlIt is evident why the Brooklyn Bowl added a second Wyclef show to their schedule.  He is a passionate performer who lights up a room with his talents.  He remains relevant to his fans and is always looking for the next big thing.  Be sure to keep your eyes out for his new album Carnival III which is expected to release mid-September.

  • Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Keeps Brooklyn Bowl Buzzing

    To an interloper who missed opening night, witnessing Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at Brooklyn Bowl on Friday, March 25, could have been a bit like waking up on top of Mount Everest without knowing how you got there. Usually concertgoers stay alert for the peak moments of concerts that become precious memories. Night two of this sold-out three-night run felt like one big peak of something larger.

    tkenna_jrad_bkbowl18

    As a general rule JRAD plays Grateful Dead songs with all the force of a careening steam engine about to jump the tracks. On this night the band proved that they don’t even require a recognizable song structure to reach that energy level, as the opening improvisation dialed right in to the crowd-animating zeal cooked up the previous night.

    Perfectly in line with the band’s signature ability to tear the Dead’s material away from its original context and invigorate it with original spirit, a five-piece horn section appeared at the start of “Hard To Handle” to add unprecedented texture and heat to the tune. Having set the tone for a night of “big band” Dead music, the dynamic of the Otis Redding-cover opener was balanced out with more Garcia flavor in “Franklin’s Tower”. “Feel Like A Stranger” took an abrupt dive into a spacey, bass-driven groove that quickly became the foundation of a jazz piano exposé by Marco Benevento. A spicy hot trumpet solo was a highlight of “Help On The Way,” which gave way to a particularly outlandish and adventurous “Slipknot!” A very carefully executed transition brought “Althea” to the fore in place of “Franklin’s,” which had already appeared in inverted position earlier in the set.

    JRAD really showed Brooklyn Bowl what they’ve got as an original musical collective in the ensuing extended group improvisation, which called to mind Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis and was shaped by contributions from all band members. Lightning-fast fingerwork from Scott Metzger and trippy guitar skwonking by Tom Hamilton finally coalesced into an incredible whirlwind of a set-closing “The Other One”.

    The second set began with a pair of punchy rockers, the mid-’60s novelty “Cream Puff War” kicking things off and “I Need A Miracle” regaining that steamrolling momentum established in set one. The gentle majesty of “Lady With A Fan,” embellished on this evening by beautiful flute parts, asserted itself at this juncture. The presence of the horn section recalled the orchestral flourishes on the studio recording of “Terrapin Station,” but the arrangement was something new and in harmony with JRAD’s high-intensity approach to this anthemic song. The cathartic, celebratory mood prevailing at this point was given some funky motive force with “Dancing in the Street”. A full-throttle “Cumberland Blues” brought the set to an end. A “Sugar Magnolia” encore inspired both daydreaming about springtime sunshine and anticipation of the third and final show to come.

    The middle night of this Brooklyn Bowl run was notable for its expansive variety of soloists, with members of the guest horn section frequently stepping into the spotlight. Dueling exchanges of riffs between JRAD members heightened the ferocity of certain jams. Russo seemed determined to bolster every one of his nine fellow musicians onstage with muscular and relentless drumming, often accompanied by ecstatic facial expressions. The audience responded approvingly, to say the least, to this group as it payed homage to a legendary band with both humor and finesse. After an opening night featuring cover song debuts from outside the Grateful Dead repertoire and a follow-up show embellished with brass, it’s anybody’s guess what’s in store for round three.

    Setlist:
    Set 1: Hard To Handle > Franklin’s Tower > Feel Like A Stranger > Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Althea > The Other One
    Set 2: Cream Puff War > I Need A Miracle > Terrapin Station > Dancing in the Street > Cumberland Blues
    Encore: Sugar Magnolia

  • Wyclef Jean To Perform Encore Performance At The Brooklyn Bowl

    What happens when founding member of the Fugees, and solo artist Wyclef Jean makes an appearance to a full house at the Brooklyn Bowl, NY on Tuesday March 22, 2016? The crowd obviously couldn’t get enough, so due to popular demand the Brooklyn Bowl has added a second show with Wyclef Jean on Tuesday March 29, 2016.

    wyclef jean brooklynDon’t miss your opportunity to see this legendary Grammy award winning artist. Doors to open Tuesday at 6pm, with show beginning at 8pm.  Tickets are available for those 21 and over for $25.

  • Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Freaks Ball XVI at Brooklyn Bowl

    49-atlgJoe Russo’s Almost Dead will kick off three sold-out nights at The Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday, March 24 for Freaks Ball XVI. This constitutes the band’s fourth run of shows at the venue where the world first heard former Furthur drummer Russo lead a new cast of characters through two raging sets of Dead tunes back in January 2013. Tom Hamilton (American Babies), Marco Benevento (The Benevento/Russo Duo), Scott Metzger (WOLF!) and Dave Dreiwitz (Ween) complete the quintet.

    JRAD is a band that is as unpredictable as it is unforgettable. The band’s Facebook profile contains the deceptively simple proclamation, “We’re a Grateful Dead cover band.” Anyone who has seen them or even heard a recording knows that their true nature is that of a daring group of close collaborators who project their musical friendship onto the Grateful Dead songbook in a way that no other band has. Their carefully crafted setlists defy expectations about how the songs can be interpreted and linked. As the frequency of their appearances in the live music world has increased over the past two years, JRAD has consistently delivered fresh, stellar performances of this music that means so much to so many people.

    These Brooklyn gigs are sure to be precious as JRAD performances become somewhat more rare going forward in 2016. All five band members are incredibly busy with diverse projects, and as Russo has revealed in a recent interview, he will be taking extra time off mid-year when his first child arrives. Those with tickets will be privileged to see Joe Russo’s Almost Dead lay it down at The Brooklyn Bowl this weekend.

  • Choose Your Own Genre: Ether Band at Brooklyn Bowl

    Way back when on Friday February 5, Ether Band took their fans and the patrons of Brooklyn Bowl on an improvised auditory journey like no other. This experience is extremely unique as the audience is invited to aid in the style of music the band plays by choosing the key and genre before each performance. That means that every song or jam is very particular and a surprise for all in attendance. tmckenna_ether_bkbowl_14

    There was a very special guest present as famed trombonist Natalie Cressman joined the band for their improvisational expedition as the night ranged from “EDM in D” to “Nola Funk in F#,” “Williamsburg Chainsaw Massacre in F” and even some “Light Metal in D.” No matter what Ether Band played they exuded massive amounts of precision musicianship and talent; it’s as if they were reading each other’s minds during the performance. Every genre displayed someone’s chops in full swing and had the crowd moving non-stop.

    As a fan of live, improvisational music I realized that it is an absolute treat to witness an Ether Band performance; the audience CHOOSES what the band plays which ensures that no show is the same, the band is comprised of incredibly talented musicians that continuously find each other’s grooves, and lastly, there are amazing guest musicians that join in on the fun. If you’re able to see them live I implore you to do so, it’s certainly an adventure.

    [FinalTilesGallery id=’670′]

  • Sister Sparrow Celebrates Live Album Release in Brooklyn

    Friday nights at the Brooklyn Bowl typically carry a heightened sense of expectation for a combination of sights and sounds that so reliably induce ecstasy. And the New York City-based funky soul-rock ensemble Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds made Friday, March 4, one to remember.

    arleigh jackson 2

    The early crowd was welcomed onto the dance floor by the Suitcase Junket, a one-man band performing original songs on a junkyard guitar and an arrangement of foot-operated percussion instruments, including a circular saw blade. The dedication that went into perfecting such rich and yet simple instrumentation rang through clear, and the set ended with strong crowd participation on the refrain of “Wherever I Wake Up.”

    Follow-up act Wild Adriatic could perhaps be likened to Upstate New York’s version of the Black Keys. Their musical territory, that of the hard-rock trio, is well trodden, but they inhabit it with purity of intention, as if there is no one to compete with. Frontman Travis Gray led the band through a set of speaker-frying blues and pop-rock driven by big, hot riffs and punctuated with psychedelic solos that shone with the emotion of personal soliloquies. Rich Derbyshire’s boxing-glove basslines bounced and jabbed all over drummer Maceo Vosganian’s pounding beats. Gray expressed thanks to the headliner and acknowledged Sister Sparrow’s common upstate heritage, giving a sense of cohesion and solidarity to the evening’s lineup.

    arleigh 2

    The Dirty Birds began to unleash something fierce with their uptempo opener “We Need A Love.” From the get-go, the band projected a swagger that spoke of power, growth and change. In the most mundane sense, the band has changed its personnel with the recent addition of drummer Dan Boyden and the departure of founding trombonist Ryan Snow. But Sister Sparrow and her crew are evolving in a more profound sense that is impeccably documented on the live double-LP Fowl Play and showcased unadulterated at this Brooklyn Bowl gig, which also functioned as the release party for the aforementioned album. The past two years have seen this band undertake an exercise in the live recreation of a classic rock masterpiece (Led Zeppelin’s IV performed at Irving Plaza in January 2014) and a cycle of songwriting that resulted in their third studio effort The Weather Below, released last year, plus more songs debuted live since that release. The focus now seems to be on upping the ante in the live sphere. Hence the decision to drop a live disc at this juncture.

    The experience at Brooklyn Bowl last Friday night must have been similar in terms of energy and execution to the Fairfield, CT, New Year’s Eve shows that were captured on Fowl Play just two months ago. At the Bowl, the Birds were dishing out cuts from their latest studio record, playing other newer songs to boot, and sounding more musically in command of their older material than ever. Elements of improvisation hitherto unseen from this band were present throughout the handful of tunes that have been in heavy rotation over the past few years. In staples like “Don’t Be Jealous,” “Sugar” and “Mama Knows,” songwriter and vocalist Arleigh Kincheloe impressively varied the melodic inflections and rhythmic delivery of her compositions; she added an unprecedented new layer of nuanced personal expression to these tunes, which already resonate as autobiographical and sincerely heartfelt. Also present were new extended passages showcasing the band’s instrumental soloists and pushing the songs to the 10-minute mark.

    If you have ever been excited about Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds in the past (and many New Yorkers rightfully have been by now), now is the time to get even more excited. Ever the relentless touring band, the Sparrow and crew will make their way across the country between now and mid-April, delivering refined rock prowess to their loyal party fowl and hopefully reaching new ears at every show.

  • Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds Returning to Brooklyn Bowl

    Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds make you feel like you’ve stumbled upon the real deal. Like eight vibrant, youthful individuals arrayed across the stage who would be your friends if they only knew your name, but in lieu of that, simply pour their hearts out musically just to see you smile. Almost a year to the day since their last appearance at Brooklyn Bowl, vocalist Arleigh Kincheloe and crew will once again be giving New Yorkers something to shake their tail feathers to on Saturday, March 4. Following recent appearances around Colorado, this Brooklyn gig lies just after the start of a 9-date East Coast tour running through the month of March.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJcFr4Vygeo

    The Dirty Birds are a soul-blues-gospel-rock band supporting a singer-songwriter vocal powerhouse whose songs ride the line between inwardly self-aware and personal and outwardly party oriented. The band’s current LP, The Weather Below, released last year, was recorded at the famous Bear Creek Studio near Seattle with producer Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers), who brought Kincheloe’s latest material to life with the greatest feeling of directness and transparency thus far achieved on any Dirty Birds recording. Several of the songs on this album are autobiographical in terms of Kincheloe and her band and have been staples of their live sets in recent years.

    Attendees of this show can expect to see ebullient original horn arrangements and soloing, the electronically processed harmonica virtuosity of Jackson Kincheloe, potential covers of Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin or the like and a whole lot of original rock music in a range of styles and moods generally catered to the dance floor.

    Albany-based power trio Wild Adriatic and one-man gritty blues band The Suitcase Junket will open the show. Doors open at 6 pm and the music starts at 8 pm.