Tag: upstate concert hall

Asking Alexandria has Clifton Park stand up and scream

Old school fans of Asking Alexandria cannot miss the 10 Years in the Black Tour. On November 15, Asking Alexandria alongside Born of Osiris, I See Stars, After The Burial, Upon A Burning Body and Bad Omens, brought the tour to Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park to showcase not only the best of the Sumerian Records, but the best of each band as well.

Asking Alexandria, headliners for Sumerian Records’ 10 year anniversary tour, have a surprise waiting for fans coming out this month. For any new fans of Asking Alexandria who expected to see songs from their latest release, The Black, performed on this year’s tour, you are surely mistaken.

Bad Omens opened the show with clean, intense, harsh vocals by vocalist Nicholas Ryan. They were the best way to start the night, especially impressive being the drumming by drummer Nick Folio. Their set allowed for the crowd surfers to come out early, and were just what the audience needed before watching Upon A Burning Body.

Texas natives, Upon A Burning Body, woke up the crowd to the fullest during, “Texas Blood Money.” A fan favorite by Upon A Burning Body, this was the first song of the night that really got everyone in the venue up and moving. At the end of the song, a couple in the crowd starting ballroom dancing to the Mexican interlude that followed the song.

Encouraging the crowd to be active, frontman Danny Leal invited fans to come up to him and give him a high five. “Don’t be afraid, every single one of you get the f-ck over here,” said frontman Leal.

Although this show was not a sell out and not everyone had arrived at the venue yet, during Upon A Burning Body’s set, there was a reminder of what a concert should really be like. A smaller number of fans were all working to get everyone off of their feet that wanted to crowd surf, and making sure they would get safely to the front of the venue.

Following Upon A Burning Body were metal group After The Burial. The excitement from Upon A Burning Body carried over into After The Burial’s set, with frontman Anthony Notarmaso encouraging shaking people around in the audience.

“If you came here with a friend start shaking this mother f-cker side to side. I promise if you do it, they will smile,” said Notarmaso before performing, “Collapse.”

Before performing their last song, the crowd was so upset about their set being over, fans started yelling profanities from the crowd towards the stage encouraging them to stay longer.

I See Stars, who released a their new album, Treehouse, over the summer, has gone from playing The Vans Warped Tour to being a part of this ten year celebration with Sumerian Records.

With their unique style of blending electronic and metal together, I See Stars were one of the most entertaining and energetic performances from the tour. Frontman Devin Oliver left no area of the venue untouched, whether by jumping on top of stereos to reach out to fans, or going up against the audience themselves.

“I want you to sing louder, I want you to jump higher,” said Oliver.

Although performing a majority of their set to promote Treehouse, there are some fans who were hoping for earlier I See Stars songs to appear on the setlist, like their 2012 song featuring Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria, “Endless Sky.”

All of the energy given off from Oliver was given back to him by the reactions from fans during their entire set.

Heavy metal quintet, Born Of Osiris, were the heaviest band on the tour, and fans knew it immediately. Although it can seem odd going from the upbeat style of I See Stars to the heavy style of Born Of Osiris, the shift was not as strange as fans may think.

Playing songs like, “Follow The Signs,” were exactly what they crowd needed to be ready for headliners Asking Alexandria.

Despite being named the, 10 Years in the Black Tour, fans of Asking Alexandria may find themselves pleasantly surprised about the content played by Asking Alexandria. This tour not only surprises original fans with old content, but they actually go through their evolution as a band.

Asking Alexandria, who reunited with original vocalist Worsnop and parted ways with vocalist Denis Stoff soon before the tour began, gave, according to Worsnop, “a whopping five days before the tour started,” to prepare for the tour.

With a lack of preparation and the confusion from fans, Asking Alexandria are using the 10 Years in the Black Tour to perform the stages of Asking Alexandria, starting with performing from Reckless & Relentless, followed by From Death To Destiny, and ending with songs from Stand Up and Scream.

According to Worsnop, bringing himself back into the mix makes the band feel they are back to how they were, “When it was five guys in a beat up RV in a Walmart parking lot in New Jersey.”

The chemistry between every member of the band surpasses any expectation. Despite being, in general, well-rounded musicians, the energy and connection between the members of Asking Alexandria is enjoyable for everyone to watch.

Every member of the band, whether it’s guitarist Ben Bruce, or guitarist Cameron Liddell, make sure to get up on speakers and get as close to fans as possible.

Worsnop, who has had vocal issues in the past, surprised the audience with the way his live performance has improved. His vocals, especially on songs like, “The Final Episode,” and “A Single Moment of Sincerity,” sound remarkably like the original recordings from 2009.

As well as going through the evolution of Asking Alexandria, the band also paused between songs to share stories and give background on some of the songs and the albums themselves.

“I’m not addicted to drugs anymore, that’s cool,” said Worsnop to introduce the middle of the show where they started performing songs off of From Death To Destiny.

The performance by every member of Asking Alexandria is not only incredibly impressive, but you get a sense that these five guys who started the band together, missed their time performing together. Any fan of Asking Alexandria looking to see old school Asking Alexandria songs performed, cannot miss out on the 10 Years in the Black Tour.

November 19, 2016
Highly Suspect Hit Big With First Headlining Show At Upstate Concert Hall

On Saturday, November 12, Highly Suspect, one of hard rocks bands that are fast on the rise, made their first appearance at Upstate Concert Hall in over three years, but this time, they headlined, and have all this momentum with a studio album, (with another on the way this week) a Grammy nomination, and few songs on active radio. So did the band live up to the hype?

The night started with indie trio Slothrust, who received a warm reception from the packed crowd. Now I am not familiar with any of their material, but musically they were very clutch, and that “I don’t give a shit” attitude gives them a unique appeal. It will be interesting to see what the future holds from this band. My only minor criticism would be that there’s a minor lack of chemistry on stage between the three of them.

Things got very loud when Highly Suspect took the stage. There was plenty of build up before they got on. They started their set with “Bath Salts” easily one of the best songs off their debut album Mister Asylum. This band shares a unique chemistry between twin brothers Rich and Ryan Meyer and guitarist/vocalist Johnny Stevens. They’re heavy enough for the metal heads, they’re hip enough for the hipsters, mainstream enough for the casual rock listener, and have enough sex appeal for the ladies. You could take anyone with you to see this band and you’re guaranteed a kick ass time.

The band also did a wonderful job showing off their versatility between each member. Ryan Meyer had a couple of sick drum solos, and there were a couple songs where Rich Meyer took over lead vocals. Rich has more of a softer voice than Johnny Stevens, whom I think, has the most emotion behind his voice since Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Highly Suspect also debut a few songs off their upcoming album The Boy Who Died Wolf such as “My Name Is Human” and “Serotonia.” But the main highlight was the song that everyone wanted to hear “Lydia.” They even teased the crowd a little bit during the song to add a nice element to it that would make this song extra special live.

After finishing their initial set, they came out with a three song encore and closed with the dirty tune “Fuck Me Up” that got the crowd pumped one last time. All I can say is that this band has a very bright future ahead of them and will be playing much bigger venues in the next couple years. Everyone needs to catch this band now while they’re playing the smaller venues. They’re a young, talented, power trio that will make bigger splashes in the music world and is giving rock and roll the much needed facelift that it needs, so that rock as we now know it, doesn’t fade to obscurity.

November 15, 2016
Highly Suspect to Play First Upstate Concert Hall Show Saturday

Grammy nominated Cape Cod rockers Highly Suspect are set to play a show at Upstate Concert Hall this Saturday, November 12 for the first time. Doors are open at 7:00 p.m with show at 8:00 p.m. Slothrust is slated to open the show.

Along with the upcoming show, Highly Suspect is releasing their sophomore effort The Boy Who Died Wolf on November 18 via 300 Entertainment. The band will undoubtedly play a few songs from that album.

This is a band on the rise so it would be best to purchase tickets for this show sooner rather than later.

November 11, 2016
Clutch uses Psychic Warfare to sell out Upstate Concert Hall

For a band that gets little to no radio play in the Capital Region front man Neil Fallon and the other members of Clutch had a sold out Upstate Concert Hall on its feet singing every word to every song Saturday night.

There was no light show and no gimmicks. Clutch is a straight forward kick you in the teeth rock band and that is just what they did as they ripped through their seventeen-song set. They opened the show with the crowd favorite “Burning Beard” and didn’t stop until the last song, “X-Ray Visions,” off their latest release Psychic Warfare.

Neil Fallon tells just as much of a story with his vocals as he does with his movement, like a king holding court with spastic movements and commanding vocals, he owns the stage every second he is on it. Fallon’s vocals as well as the rest of the band are just as crisp and clean live as they are on their recordings. You must see Clutch live to appreciate their genius.

Show openers Kyng are a solid three piece from Los Angeles who really got the crowd going. They tore through their eight-song set from their three albums. The crowd at UCH really responded to the band and they showed their appreciation by hanging out at their merch booth for much of the night.

After Kyng left the stage Zakk Sabbath, Zakk Wylde’s Black Sabbath tribute band, invaded UCH and played the music of the gods. I believe that there was just as much anticipation for this band as there was for Clutch. They tore through six classic Sabbath songs with the highlight of the night for me anyway was when they completely tore up “War Pigs.” If there was anyone to front a Sabbath tribute band the lead Berserker himself is more than capable to wear the crown that Ozzy possesses.

Kyng setlist: Burn the Serum, Trails in Veins, Pushing & Pulling, Pristine Warning, Self Medicated Man, Breathe in the Water, Electric Halo, Falling Down

Zakk Sabbath Setlist: Children of the Grave, Snowblind, Supernaut, War Pigs, Into the Void, Fairies Wear Boots

Clutch Setlist: Burning Beard, Decapitation Blues, Crucial Velocity, Noble Savage, The House That Peterbilt, Sucker for the Witch, The Face, A Quick Death in Texas, The Soapmakers, Firebirds!, Cyborg Bette, Power Player, Passive Restraints, Cypress Grove, X-Ray Visions, Encore: Spacegrass, The Wolf Man Kindly Requests…

November 4, 2016
AWOLNATION ‘Sails’ Through Upstate Concert Hall

AWOLNATION ‘sailed’ into Upstate Concert Hall on Wednesday, July 13, energizing the audience despite the imposing heat.

Kicking off the evening were L.A. natives Irontom. With flamboyant gestures and high energy, the band quickly engaged the audience and became the highlight of the three sets of the evening. Irontom consists of guitarist Zach Irons, singer Harry Hayes, bassist Dane Sandborg, drummer Dylan Williams, and Daniel Saslow on keys. Lead singer Hayes was fascinating to watch as he gestured and mimed his way through the band’s set, almost reminiscent of Cage the Elephant’s Matt Shultz.

Unfortunately for the audience, Irontom’s set was over too soon, as time constraints forced them to end before their last song. Irontom has released a compilation album of their 2012-2014 recordings. Check out their upcoming tour dates.

Following Irontom was San Francisco’s Finish Ticket, who just recently opened for Fitz and The Tantrums at UCH on June 23. While less energetic than Irontom (lead singer Brendan Hoye frequently cited the heat), Finish Ticket is reminiscent of Walk the Moon. The highlight of their set was a cover of the Killer’s “When You Were Young,” sounding perhaps better than the original.

Finally, AWOLNATION took the stage around 10pm. Consisting of front man Aaron Bruno, Kenny Carkeet on keyboards and guitar, Isaac Carpenter on drums, and bassist Marc Walloch, AWOLNATION combines electronica and rock to create a unique sound. Their second album, Run, was released in March 2015.

Opening with “Run,” the band covered the majority of the tracks from their sophomore album, while also throwing in highlights from their debut. The crowd covered all of the floor at UCH, with little room left to spare. As the night went on, the temperature rose as condensation dripped from the ceiling.

AWOLNATION didn’t let the heat slow them down, powering through “Hollow Moon,” “Not Your Fault” and “Jail Break,” joined by Irontom’s guitarist Zach Irons (replacing AWOLNATION’s Drew Stewart who left the band in September 2015), and with Irontom’s drummer Dylan Williams on one song.

The band was thankful to be there and appreciative of their audience, frequently checking in with the crowd, telling people to look out for each other, and often remarking that their music “is for everyone.”

Highlights of their set include a drum solo, the appearance of inflatable shark pool toys in the audience (which one crowd surfer climbed atop), and “Dreamers” during the encore.

The band closed the evening with a medley of “Now I Can See You” and crowd favorite “Sail.”

Setlist: Run, Hollow Moon, People, Not Your Fault, Jailbreak, Soul Wars, Windows, Kill Your Heroes, Woman Woman, All I Need, Like People, Like Plastic, Drum Solo / Burn It Down, I’m on Fire, I Am, Dreamers, Sail

Tune in below for an interview with AWOLNATION’s Aaron Bruno and Keller of WEQX, prior to their UCH appearance

August 11, 2016
Beartooth Ready To Get Aggressive With NY This Fall

Lost, aggressive youth of NY, are you ready to let out your aggression? Then join the boys from Beartooth this Fall as the band brings the U.S. edition of “The Aggressive Tour” to North America. Special guest to help support the tour will soon be announced. The stops in 32 cities across the nation with tickets costing around $20.

The tour kicks off at the House of Blues in Chicago and wraps up in the band’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Beartooth has been touring in support of its second studio album Aggressive, which was released in June to many positive reviews.

Beartooth recently made a stop in upstate New York this spring at the first ever Rock N’ Derby festival in Schaghticoke in May.

Several New York venues are included on the tour. The Chance in Poughkeepsie is first up on the tour Oct. 29 followed by Irving Plaza in New York Oct. 31, and Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park on Nov. 4.

Beartooth Tour:

10-02 – House Of Blues – Chicago, IL

10-04 – Mill City – Minneapolis, MN

10-05 – Summit – Denver, CO

10-06 – Complex – Salt Lake City, UT

10-08 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA

10-09 – Hawthorne – Portland, OR

10-10 – Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA

10-11 – Observatory – Santa Ana, CA

10-12 – The Regent – Los Angeles, CA

10-14 – House Of Blues – San Diego, CA

10-15 – Nile – Phoenix, AZ

10-17 – Backstage – San Antonio, TX

10-18 – House Of Blues – Houston, TX

10-19 – House Of Blues – Dallas, TX

10-21 – State Theater – Tampa, FL

10-22 – Beacham – Orlando, FL

10-23 – Revolution – Fort Lauderdale, FL

10-24 – Masquerade – Atlanta, GA

10-25 – The Underground – Charlotte, NC

10-27 – Soundstage – Baltimore, MD

10-28 – TLA – Philadelphia, PA

10-29 – The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY

10-30 – Stone Pony – Asbury Park, NJ

10-31 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY

11-02 – Palladium – Worcester, MA

11-03 – Webster – Hartford, CT

11-04 – Upstate Concert Hall – Clifton Park, NY

11-05 – Mr. Smalls – Pittsburg, PA

11-06 – Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, MI

11-08 – House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH

11-09 – The Ready Room – St. Louis, MO

11-11 – Express Live! – Columbus, OH

July 14, 2016
WEQX Presents: AWOLNATION @ Upstate Concert Hall July 13

This Wednesday AWOLNATION will headline the stage at Upstate Concert Hall with guests Finish Ticket and Irontom.WEQX presents AWOLNATION, an electro rock band formed and lead by Aaron Bruno. The American band is signed onto Red Bull Records, and their first EP, Back from Earth, was released on iTunes in May of 2010. Their first studio album, Megalithic Symphony, followed just a year later with hits such as “Sail” that hit #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart, and #5 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

Bruno has performed in other bands such as Home Town Hero and Under the Influence of Giants. He writes all his own music and will be performing with his band through October including festivals such as the Billboard Hot 1oo fest in NYC this August.

http://awolnationmusic.com/

Doors 7:00 PM Show 8:00 PM

Click here for tickets!

July 11, 2016
Rock legends, The Cult “Hustle and Strut” at Upstate Concert Hall

Rock legends, The Cult, ventured into Clifton Park’s Upstate Concert Hall on Saturday April 2, 2016 to a mixed macho crowd of mid 40-somethings. Formed in 1983, the British rockers gained a solid following due to songs like “She Sells Sanctuary” and “Fire Woman”. Thirty-three years later the bands latest release, “Hidden City:, the last in a trilogy of tightly woven albums features hard hitting and catchy tracks like,”GOAT” and Dark Energy”. What continues the bands long standing success and popularity are lead singer, Ian Astbury and Gretsch guitar toting god Billy Duffy. The two are also often credited as the two major songwriting talents for the band who have ten full length studio releases.
The band led off with the 1987’s “Wild Flower” from the mega popular, Rick Rubin produced album, “Electric”. Throughout the 15 song set list Astbury projected a re-invented energy that seemed to be missing from parts of the “Electric” anniversary tour a few years prior. Fingers, sporting fresh tape from previous nights dominance of the tambourine resulting in numerous cuts only adds fuel to the passion that has always been the music of The Cult. Perhaps the catchiest new tune of the night is “GOAT” which means “Greatest of All Time”. A song that more than fitting for one of the worlds most talented lead guitarist, Duffy

Opening up for The Cult was Holy White Hounds out of Des Moines, Iowa. Obvious fans of The Cult, frontman Brenton Dean duly noted how excited the foursome continues to be each evening to be opening for the band. The bands super short 7-song set list was a tad too brief to gain any real connection with the crowd but Dean kept his humor and energy in tact as well as his rapport with long time friend and bass player Ambrose Lupercal. The bands debut album, “Sparkle Sparkle” is scheduled to be released on May 6th with a return to Upstate Concert Hall on May 7th.

The Cult – April 2, 2016 – Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY – Setlist

Wild Flower, Dark Energy, Rain, Hinterland, Rise, Gone, Lil’ Devil, Birds of Paradise, Deeply Ordered Chaos, Sweet Soul Sister, Fire Woman, Phoenix, She Sells Sanctuary, GOAT, Love Removal Machine

April 12, 2016
Peaking Upstate: Twiddle Plumps Sold-Out Crowd

It was fitting to see a sold out Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park on Friday night for many reasons. Mainly, it signified maturity and growth for Formula 5 and headliner Twiddle, a jam-rock group out of Burlington.

Formula 5 has been working very hard lately, just wrapping up their first full tour. Led by Joe Davis on guitar, James Woods on bass, Matt Richards on keys and Greg Marek on drums, Formula 5 has quickly carved out its spot in the Northeast jam scene. It’s impossible not to draw the parallels between the four-piece and Phish, especially because the group formed while waiting in line to get tickets to a Phish show in 2009. Davis has studied Trey Anastasio and it shows in his precise, swirling, soaring guitar work

“Earthbound Tim” led way to “Pedro” which bled into “Excalibur.” Somewhere in the mix were “Down With Disease” and “Harry Hood” teases. “Floating,” “Epiphany” and a reprisal of “Earthbound Tim” closed out the show, leaving the hometown band exiting the stage with grins of approval.

Following a short break, Twiddle took the stage, backed by the Frendly Horns, which added a layer to the band not seen very much. Touring in support of their latest release Plump, Mihali Savoulidis performed using a new guitar at the show, which looked like a custom mix of a Stratocaster and a classic Guild and it sounded wonderful. It was the third show of the band’s Plumperdump winter tour.

“Gatsby the Great,” “Honeyburste,” and “Brick of Beauty”, which featured a “Shakedown Street” jam, started the two-hour set and it featured periods of extended jamming. The horns allowed Savoulidis and keyboardist Ryan Dempsey a layer of rhythmic space and both used it wisely, trading licks and staccatos before weaving their way into “Polluted Beauty” where bassist Zdenek Gubb took the lead this time and pushed the band, with the help of drummer Brook Jordan, through a funk excursion.

“Classical Gas,” “Be There,” “Complacent Race” and “Frankenfoote” closed out the set, with the audience singing along with seemingly every word.

For the encore, Twiddle had one final treat in store. Lowell Wurster, of Lucid notoriety, joined the stage to play the washboard on a version of “Did You Ever Look So Nice.”

This is the second year in a row Twiddle has sold out Upstate Concert Hall which has a capacity of nearly 1,300. Last year they did it with the support of Kung Fu. Formula 5 displayed it has the chops and dedication to continue to rise while Twiddle showed just how far they have come. It was apparent by the joyous mood outside the venue post-show that both these bands are just getting started and it’s been nice to watch them grow in the past two years.

Stream or download Ed Guidry’s recording of Twiddle’s set

Formula 5 Setlist: Earthbound Tim->Pedro->Excalibur, Floatin, Epiphany->Earthbound Tim

Twiddle Setlist: Gatsby The Great, Honeyburste, Brick Of Barley[1], Polluted Beauty, Classical Gas[2], Be There, Complacent Race, Frankenfoote

Encore: Did You Ever Look So Nice?[3]

Show Notes: This show was a part of the “Plumperdump” 2016 Winter Tour. The Frendly Horns were featured for the entire show. This was a sold-out show. Formula 5 opend the show.
[1] “Brick Of Barley” contained a “Shakedown Street” (Grateful Dead) tease.
[2] “Classical Gas” contained an “X-Files Theme” tease.
[3] “Did You Ever Look So Nice?” featured Lowell Wurster (Lucid) on washboard.

February 28, 2016
Photo Gallery: Matt and Kim Finish Tour in Capital Region

Matt and Kim’s final concert of their recent tour hit Clifton Park in a frenzy, a whirlwind, and a powerful mind-blowing orgasmic explosion. The energy of the sold-out crowd was apparent the moment you pulled into the parking lot. What was even more impressive is that Matt and Kim’s own energy matched the crowd’s and then some.

Funny, talented, and obviously passionate about what they do, it is no wonder that the duo has become one of the Capital Region’s favorite live bands. WEQX has been presenting some amazing shows with the help of faithful Step Up Presents (the promoters responsible for the majority of shows at UCH, and other venues around the area). The EQX brand is thriving in the move towards Indie that the scene is taking and sold out shows like this one are making waves. Stay on the lookout for many more exciting line-ups in 2016, and in the meantime, enjoy some photos from Matt and Kim’s recent show.

January 4, 2016