NYS Music 20​17

Author: Eli Stein

  • 5 Shows to See in Rochester in December

    How’d you do with our November picks Rochester? We were able to catch a few of our recommendations and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. We’re back with five more choice live music options to fill up your Rochester in December calendar so you can end the year strong. Check them out and let us know what you see.

    Wednesday, December 6
    lespecial @ Funk n Waffles Music Hall

    First stop is Funk n Waffles for lespecial, a young electronic-infused trio carving out a name for themselves on the jam band circuit. Childhood friends, these guys have many years worth of connection to each other behind some otherworldly onstage communication. The music flips around furiously and often, keeping surprises around every corner. Is it rock? Or is it world? Is it punk? Or is it jazz? Is it funk? Or is it hip hop? The answer is yes.

    Tuesday, December 12
    The Black Lillies @ Abilene Bar and Lounge

    The joint will be jumping when The Black Lillies return to Abilene. With a full-blooded country and blues rock sound, the old house will be struggling to contain it all. They’re a bit of a rotating cast behind frontman and multi-instrumentalist Cruz Contreras. The current lineup includes bassist and vocalist Sam Quinn, drummer Bowman Townsend, and guitarist/vocalist Dustin Schaefer. This might be the last chance you have to see them before Abilene needs to upgrade these guys to one of their “On the Road” destinations.

    Friday, December 29
    Hinkley @ Three Heads Brewing

    Rochester’s own Hinkley will start the New Year weekend off at Three Heads. Nearing the 20 year mark as a band, they will have plenty of material to draw from, but will likely be favoring their fantastic brand new album, Peak of Light. Their sound hovers amongst the Wilcos and Death Cabs of the world; hints of Americana sand-blasted with more modern and experimental rock sounds.

    Friday, December 29
    Rubblebucket, Cuddle Magic @ Anthology

    Rubblebucket has made Rochester a stop along their New Year’s tour for the past few years at least. There’s not a better time to see them than when you’re in the mood to celebrate. The afro-beat-based horn-infused dance happy music is perfect for a party and this year the party will be at Anthology. Even though it won’t quite be New Year’s Eve, they won’t skimp on the balloons, confetti and wild antics. No stranger to Rochester either, Cuddle Magic will open with their unusual instrumentation and fantastically lush baroque rock sounds.

    Sunday, December 31
    Easy Star All Stars, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad @ Anthology

    Speaking of parties at Anthology, the next two nights they’ll be throwing the Forever Party to end 2017 on a dub note. It all starts on the 30th with John Brown’s Body, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Thunderbody. JBB and GPGDS are both members of the reggae label, Easy Star Records. The label’s signature band, Easy Star All Stars, are known for recreating famous albums in their own image. On New Year’s Eve they’ll be presenting their spin on a Pink Floyd classic, playing through their Dub Side of the Moon album. That will be followed by another set by GPGDS. Should be a fun time!

  • Ron Gallo and Naked Giants Blow the Doors Off the Bug Jar

    “I don’t know why there’s anyone here but it’s fucking awesome,” said Ron Gallo a few songs into his blistering rock and roll set at the Bug Jar in Rochester. “I thought the rule was, the first time you play a place only three people show up…”

    But this show, from top to bottom, was in complete defiance of all rules. As that’s the very definition of punk, it was very fitting that the show ended with both Ron Gallo’s trio and their tour mates, Seattle trio Naked Giants, all on stage, mostly shirtless, romping through The Stooges’ “TV Eye,” screaming and thrashing about the stage like a group of maniacs.

    Rules likely also dictate that the opening band will be some half-baked group of local musicians defiling gems from The Stones or trying to work up yet another rendition of “Crazy.” But on this night, the crowd was treated to 40 minutes of excellent original songs from Rochester’s Dangerbyrd. Mixing blues, country and early 60’s psychedelia, they settle comfortably near the sounds of The Band and Credence Clearwater Revival, keeping it simple while nailing it in the process.

    Next up were the aforementioned Naked Giants, a trio of Gianni Aiello on bass, Grant Mullen on guitar and Henry LaVallee on drums. They played with a frenetic energy, going after every single note with reckless abandon, completely untethered. The set began with a noisy, effects-laden jam, swimming in cymbal crashes. Aiello danced about the stage, somehow still keeping total control of his bass sound which, at times, he seemed to be changing with every other pluck of the strings. They weren’t a band to follow the rules either. The bass was as much a lead as the guitar was and traditional song structure took a back seat to rhythm and pure enjoyment. No one was having more fun than the three on stage.

    The small stage couldn’t contain LaVallee’s excitement when, just a few songs into the set, he kicked the back door open and ran outside mid-song, the first of many times that door would swing open that night. Mullen shredded impressively throughout their set which included songs like “Slow Dance 2,” “Pyramids,” “Twist” and the closing White Stripes-esque “YaYa.” The energy was infectious and the mostly unfamiliar crowd was smitten by set’s end.

    By the time guitarist Ron Gallo and his trio (bassist Joe Bisirri and drummer Dylan Sevey) took the stage, the crowd was at a fever pitch. Gallo played off of this by stepping to the mic, monotonously and stiffly reading from a piece of paper: “My name is Ron Gallo. That is also the name of our band. We are excited to be at the Bug Jar in Rochester New York, one four six oh seven. Thank you and enjoy yourself.” It was the calm before the storm, immediately followed by fuzzed out bass blasts and a heavy guitar jam. Usual rock show protocol would dictate that the guitar player wouldn’t jump into the crowd until late in the show, but Gallo was jamming from within the crowd before the first song even started.

    The entry jam lead into an opening combo of “Put the Kids to Bed” and “Kill the Medicine Man” off his stellar new album, Heavy Meta. They mixed tracks from the album together with new songs (“Man Keep Your Hands on Your Pants”), older songs (“Really Nice Guys”) and covers (Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be”). When “All the Punks Are Domesticated” got called out from the crowd, Gallo responded,”…is the name of the next song we’re going to play” and launched into it without missing a beat. During the slow dripping, heavy blues of “Black Market Eyes,” Gallo followed LaVallee’s earlier lead and left the stage out the back door. 30 seconds later he returned running through the back of the crowd and back on stage to rejoin the band for a another heavy rock jam.

    The racing train car of a rock show finally went off the rails during his solo on “Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me.” He once again went out the back door, this time mid-solo, and with his guitar, continued to play outside on Monroe Avenue. He eventually reentered the room, bringing along the boys from Naked Giants as well as a couple of other new fans off the street. The two bands shared the stage as a double-trio for raucous versions of “Sorry Not Everybody is You” and “Age of Information” from a split EP they released together earlier this month. They followed that up with a through-the-roof cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” which was a meta (heavy meta?) description of exactly what was happening. Playing the denouement to that climax, the six were prompted to play one more song, which brings us back to the shirtless and thrashing “TV Eye.”

    Ron Gallo Setlist:
    Intro > Put the Kids to Bed > Kill the Medicine Man, Man Keep Your Hands On Your Pants, Really Nice Guys, Please Yourself, Black Market Eyes, All the Punks Are Domesticated, You Gotta Be (Des’ree), It’s All Gonna Be OK, Temporary Slave, Young Lady You’re Scaring Me, Sorry Not Everybody is You*, Age of Information*, Helter Skelter (Beatles)*
    E: TV Eye*
    *with Naked Giants

  • The Aptly Named Finger Lakes Live Open For Business in Geneva

    The Finger Lakes region, Rochester included, is bursting with live music lately. Dan Smalls Presents has a handle on things on the south side of Cayuga Lake. On the north side of the lakes, The Smith hosts medium-sized shows at the theater and occasionally puts on some club-sized shows in smaller spaces around Geneva. But there hasn’t been a venue hosting live music consistently on a weekly basis in Geneva for a long time. Until now…

    flx liveFinger Lakes Live – FLX Live – a near 300 capacity space, opened this past August and has been holding shows every Thursday through Saturday (and sometimes Wednesdays) ever since. The venue is drawing in both national talent like Billy Strings or Molly Tuttle Band (who played the night we visited), regional acts from Syracuse, Rochester or Buffalo and bands from their own backyard.

    Finger Lakes Live FLX LiveOwner Ian Pattison, General Manager Nicholas LaChance and Musical Director Matthew Elkin met at Hobart and William Smith College and watched as the landscape of Geneva changed throughout their time in school. The city has recently undergone a renaissance linked closely to the boom of wine and beer tourism in the area. With that success came a bunch of great restaurants and bars. But the friends spotted a need for a music venue.

    Part of the beauty of FLX Live is that it is first and foremost a live music venue, and a bar second. The sound and sight lines throughout the place speak to this, with improvements still in the works. It’s a warm and welcoming place, with wood accents throughout. A long and easily accessible bar is backed by beautifully lit wooden cask bottle displays. The beer list spans all tastes with something to satisfy the snobbiest of drinkers as well as those preferring something that advertises on sports broadcasts. There is also plenty of wine and alcohol available as well. Within the next couple of weeks, they will begin offering pizza and other finger foods.

    Patrons can view the show from hightop tables and chairs in an elevated area at the back of the room, which for some shows will be available for reservation, with bottle service possibly in the near future. There is also a large floor immediately in front of the stage, for those wishing to get closer to the band and dance. They will be hosting live bands of all kinds, everything from rock to folk to salsa to funk and everything in between, with DJs spinning dance music after many shows. Just a 45 minute drive from Rochester, Syracuse or Ithaca, FLX Live is well situated to draw people from out of town to downtown Geneva for live music. So look at their upcoming schedule and make a plan to check it out.

    Schedule highlights:
    11/22 – Aaron Lipp and the Slacktones, A Girl Named Genny
    12/2 – After Funk
    12/8 – Dead Winter Carpenters
    12/30 – Big Mean Sound Machine

    Learn more and hear from the owners in a great interview with Evan Dawson on Connections from September.

  • All Them Witches and King Buffalo Turned the Bug Jar Upside Down

    With a fully furnished retro 60’s apartment hanging from the ceiling, Rochester’s Bug Jar is the original Upside Down. There were some frighteningly stranger things going on between it’s walls on Sunday, November 12. The music put forth by Nashville’s All Them Witches and Rochester’s own King Buffalo could be described as a lot of things: rock, metal, blues, psychedelic, sludge, stoner. But perhaps one word summed it up best: BADASS. How else could one elicit the concentrated pulsating power billowing through the small rock club? What else could properly describe two different bands sporting shirtless drummers?

    This saga began with an ominous electric drone put out by King Buffalo‘s bassist Dan Reynolds. The suspense built as guitarist Sean McVay added some additional noise before drummer Scott Donaldson found his way to the kit. The set opening “Orion” continued to build steam until it exploded into a full-fledged rock out. “Can you hear me / through the smoke and the haze?” The band seems to run on the antithetical premise that the slower it gets, the harder it rocks. During “Drink from the River Rising” an unnatural pulsating from the intersection of guitar and bass had the entire space vibrating, before finally closing out with the same electronic drone that began the set.

    All Them Witches King Buffalo

    All Them Witches took the stage to deliver more of the same: Brooding, mysterious and bursting with dark energy. They may be the most un-Nashville Nashville band, though their geography shines through with some Southern-rock touches. The band, with Charles Michael Parks Jr. on bass and lead vocals, Robby Staebler on drums, Ben McLeod on guitar and Allan Van Cleave on keyboards, showed a great propensity for stretching songs out in long bouts of improvisation. It appeared early on with a massive “The Death of Coyote Woman” that opened and closed with extended blues rock jams. Staebler towered over his drums, pounding out an incredible amount of sound from a bare bones kit.

    No one’s calling them a jam band, but they could spar with the best of them. At the heart of the set laid a 30 minute segment that began with “Internet,” moved effortlessly into “Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters” before finishing up back at “Internet.” Filling every gap within were flourishes of psychedelic organ and electric piano, staccato guitar freak outs, melodic slide guitar progressions, and low end drum rumbles. Behind driving bass work the pace quickened and mellowed over multiple distinct sections. In a quasi-apology, Parks announced, “That was a song about being alive, thanks for sticking it out with us.” There was no apology needed though, it was glorious.

    With the blistering rock-out “Sleeping Through the War” the set closed showcasing their dynamic variety. The crowd which had patiently meandered with them earlier in the set, took the opportunity to squeeze the last bit of energy out of the weekend and a mosh pit broke out. The show ended just before midnight, and as Sunday turned to Monday, reality set back in. Unfortunately, the right-side up beckoned.

    All Them Witches Setlist: Alabaster, When God Comes Back, The Death of Coyote Woman, 3-5-7, Elk.Blood.Heart, Internet > Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters > Internet, Am I going Up?, Sleeping Through the War

  • Maybird Plays Hometown Gig at Three Heads Brewing

    Two things were made clear Friday night when Maybird commanded the stage at Three Heads Brewing. First, their time hitting the road playing gigs across the country has been paying off. Even in returning to Rochester, playing in front of friends, family and fans old and new, the band has shed that familiar ‘local band’ tarnish. It was still the same band, but tighter, more confident, boasting a more muscular full-bodied sound. The kind of bold sound that has been knocking out audiences far and wide.

    Secondly, the band has not forgotten their roots in the midst of their blossoming success and discovery. They were clearly excited to be back on familiar turf, showing their love for Rochester continually throughout their 80 minute set. The oldie but goodie song “One Love” they claimed is played nowhere but Rochester, led one to believe that when lead singer Josh Netsky sang, “You are my one love,” he was talking about his native city. Guitarist Overhand Sam Snyder proudly recounted how it made people happy to hear they were from Rochester when they were out on the road. But just the simple, “It’s sweet to be back home,” uttered a few songs into the set made it quite clear.

    From the building slinky psychedelia of “Maybird” to the tight big rock dueling guitar finish on “Turning Into Water,” the set was stacked with tracks from their two most recent EPs. But there were a few surprises as well. They dropped in a brand new tune “Don’t Keep Me Around” with synth-heavy grooves. A few covers were played, spanning the decades. They took on the 60’s with Brenda Lee’s “All Alone Am I,” payed tribute to early 80’s David Bowie with a perfectly funky “Ashes to Ashes” and brought it up to the last decade with a Rosewood Thieves cover, a song which Snyder had originally contributed to and one that their tour manager, Erick Jordan, had actually written. The show closed with a bombastic encore of “Call You Mine,” another older tune, the full sound bubbling over with Kurt Johnson on a ferocious electric lap steel.

    The band is about to head back out for more touring, this time sharing the stage with fellow Rochester success story Joywave. If you can’t be home, might as well take a piece of it with you.

    Setlist: Nocturne, Maybird, Ashes to Ashes (Bowie), Don’t Keep Me Around, All Alone Am I (Brenda Lee), Bluebird Flew Away, One Love, Grace, To the Stars, (Rosewood Thieves), Two Horizons, Keep in Line, Turning into Water

    Encore: Call You Mine

  • “Playing Songs for Strangers in Towns That Aren’t Ours”: Anna Tivel & Jeffrey Martin at Good Luck

    On a Monday night, nestled in Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts, art was being created live within the walls of the restaurant Good Luck. For their last show in 2017, Honest Folk brought an artist back for the first time in it’s two year history. Portlanders Anna Tivel and Jeffrey Martin had performed in the same space earlier this year, and it was so well-received they invited them again. Or as Martin supposed, they screwed up so badly they were given another shot. The couple, who are not normally a duo, both returned with brand new albums, and new songs, to play.

    They opened with “Saturday Night” off of Tivel’s new release Small Believer. They drew a Saturday crowd out on a Monday, the Monday after Daylight Saving no less, so it was an appropriate song to start the show. To call what they played ‘songs,’ however, wouldn’t be doing them full justice. They were stories and revelations told in poetic verse, that just so happened to be sung in beautiful voices and accompanied by sparse but rhythmic guitars. The audience hung on every word, absorbing the insights, receiving the sparks of inspiration.

    The pair found their stories through people. All sorts of people; some who they were close to, some they randomly crossed paths with, some they’d only read about, and some who were famous. Gillian Welch once said, folk music is music made for folks to listen to. Martin and Tivel might add, folk music is music made about folks.

    Anna Tivel They sang about the man who sat on a bench in Portland, rain or shine, to watch as a Marriot was built on the riverside. There was a song inspired by the soul of her just passed 99 year old grandmother. Another about young people finding true love, or maybe not, in small town America. The hard-working border agent she heard about on the news, the drunk woman who told her her life story from a bar stool and the stories she read on the Occupy website. There were songs about fathers, sons, uncles, mothers and daughters, and one about womanhood which included a shoutout to local and national hero Susan B. Anthony. There was the one about William S. Burroughs, how he stupidly and accidentally shot his wife dead. “Just Like You” included verses about Hitler and Jesus and includes what may be the most hilarious opening line of any folk song: “Joseph Stalin came from someone’s vagina.” Most songs were deep and dark, but Tivel answered later in the show with her own humorous tune, about a smattering of whacky characters she met while dating on Craigslist, in which the conclusion was, “We’re all crazy all the time.”

    As Tivel sang, her eyes closed and her shoeless feet twitched and flexed. Martin also sang eyes shut, his accentuated facial contortions partially hidden beneath his burly beard. They were completely absorbed in the words they sang, giving each character the attention they deserved.

    In two hour-long sets, the couple shared each other’s songs and also took the stage solo off and on. They did manage to squeeze in a pair of other people’s songs, covering Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain” which Martin called the greatest love song ever written, and John Prine’s “In Spite of Ourselves.” Some folk royalty there. Though the highlights were easily their own, like Martin’s “Coal Fire” with Tivel’s haunting fiddle accompaniment, and Tivel’s “Dark Chandelier” which was a bit of a heart stopper.

    Some of the best stories were told in between the songs, and one of the best lines was too. Putting a positive spin on the tough times the world is living through now, Martin remarked, “When times are good, bands like Nickelback pop up.”

    Honest Folk is taking a break until after the new year, but keep your eyes peeled for their next show announcement soon after. Doubtful it will be Nickelback.

  • John McLaughlin Kicks Off Meeting of the Spirits Tour in Buffalo with Jimmy Herring

    Jimmy Herring and the Invisible Whip struck the match. John McLaughlin and the Fourth Dimension fanned the flames. Together, using material from a 45 year old band, McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, they built a blazing fire inside the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts Wednesday night on the Meeting of the Spirits Tour.

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    It was the first night of a fusion guitar lover’s dream tour, dubbed The Meeting of the Spirits. It will be the last ever North American visit for the legendary British septuagenarian guitarist.

    The opening set from Jimmy Herring’s new solo outfit, was anything but your typical opening set. The seats in the theater were full and the crowd was at full attention from the first notes. Herring showcased his talents in restrained spurts, masterfully directing his bandmates through 50 minutes of exhilarating instrumental fantasies. His crack squad of Jeff Sipe, Jason Crosby, Matt Slocum and Kevin Scott were with him every step of the way through a seven-song set including “1911” and “Jungle Book.” Their mid-set rendition of “Les Brers in A Minor” made clear that it was a jazz fusion tune hiding out in a Southern rock band all along.

    McLaughlin’s Fourth Dimension is another band brimming with talent. Bassist Etienne Mbappe, drummer Ranjit Barot and keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband all had ample space to showcase their talents throughout the set. Masterful bass solos were met with drum solos complete with mind-boggling scat drumming. Husband made the synthesizer a chameleon, realigning the sound continuously. “Kiki” and “Miles Beyond” gave way to more mellow material like “Gaza City” and “El Hombre Que Sabia,” a tune McLaughlin meant to record with Paco Delucia before he passed away, which now he plays as an homage. He wandered the wide-open stage as he played, effortlessly creating guitar sounds that were impossibly perfect at impossible speeds. As their set ended, McLaughlin was ready to keep it going, calling for Herring and band to come out. Call it a first night mix-up, apparently there would need to be a quick break.

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    For the third set both bands combined to form a 9-man fusion supergroup. This was headphone music and luckily the theater’s acoustics were up to the challenge. The sound was impeccable. And the playing was too. Double drummers, double bassists, double keys, and McLaughlin pulled out the double-neck guitar to boot. Somehow as the band doubled in size it only grew tighter. McLaughlin played facing the band for most of the set, not only lead-guitarist but musical director, steering the monster band through a selection of classic Mahavishnu Orchestra tunes. “Meeting of the Spirits,” “Trilogy,” “The Dance of Maya,” not quite as fresh and vital as they were 40 years ago, but still powerful and invigorating. The maestro was in and the class was in session. “Eternity’s Breath” showcased the intensity of a band where every member is a secret weapon. Though perhaps they were most impressive on the mellower “Earth’s Ship,” as the bassists weaved lines around each other and the rest of member’s distinct sounds were teased apart gently to beautiful effect. The inner mounting flame was burning, unfortunately it couldn’t be eternal.

    Leaving a Buffalo stage for the last time, McLaughlin said his final goodbye to the city with a quote from the Eagles, of all things, “We may lose and we may win though, we will never be here again.”

    Take it easy, John.

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  • Amy Helm Pays Tribute to Petty in Rochester

    Friday October 6 at Funk n Waffles Music Hall in Rochester started with one voice and one guitar, as Woodstock’s Connor Kennedy took the stage to warm up the stage for Amy Helm. He would end the night, as part of Helm’s band, on a two-neck guitar. Three and four-part harmonies would be the centerpiece of Helm’s set, which culminated with five songs by Tom Petty songs as a part of a six-song encore. One two three four five six… though Amy Helm and band put on a show that was anything but paint-by-numbers.

    Amy Helm PettyKennedy highlighted his emotive country-ready voice in a short set of fresh original folk tunes. He was appropriately decked out in denim head to toe, though he admitted a “clerical error” in not wearing his Nick Tahoe’s tee. During “Down by the Water” a voice emerged from the audience, in perfect harmony. Amy Helm, enjoying the set from the crowd, decided to sing along, beautifully “sitting in” without taking the stage. His set ended with him seated at the Rhodes, to play the title track off of his excellent just-released album, Somewhere.

    Helm’s set started with a small hiccup, as Kennedy had some guitar amplification issues. The rest of the band soldiered on, extending the beginning of “Didn’t It Rain” into a funky little jam, complete with improvised vocals. They funked, but didn’t waffle. As soon as the guitar was ready, the band immediately clicked into the song proper, as if it was part of the plan all along. The rest of the set went on without a hitch, mixing and matching genres like soul, R&B, roots, country, funk and blues. “Rescue Me” took on a southern rock feel and “Cotton and the Cane,” a new song co-written with Mary Gauthier,  showed more twang, but the band’s incredible harmonies were present throughout. They mixed in two great ones from the late great Alan Toussaint, “Yes We Can Can” and “Freedom for the Stallion,” both times Helm remarked how relevant the lyrics still were in our current time. The set closed with a searing rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Meet Me in the Morning,” which opened with some thumping bass from Ted Pecchio, closed with a rollicking solo from Sean Dickson on drums, and was pure fire in between.

    The encore opened with another cover, one of more recent significance, a near a capella rendition of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” with only the Rhodes and some very subtle bass and drums as accompaniment. A beautiful tribute, but wait, there’s more. Helm said they knew in the lead up to this gig, a part of a quick three-show stint, they would need to play a Petty song. But once the time grew closer, they realized they couldn’t just play one, they needed to play five. So the encore became a mini Tom Petty tribute set. They continued on, with “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” an acoustic one-mic bluegrass version of the deep cut “No Second Thoughts” and “Waiting is the Hardest Part.” Helm then held back tears as the band beautifully dedicated the hymn “Gloryland” to Petty. This immediately led into an explosive finish, with Kennedy strapping on the aforementioned double-neck guitar for a perfect “American Girl.” We give it a ten!

  • Broken Social Scene Breaks Out a Social Scene in Ithaca

    Canadian indie-rock collective Broken Social Scene opened their US tour, their first in six years, at the State Theater in Ithaca on Saturday, September 16. They’re touring behind Hug of Thunder, their first album in seven years. With the exception of some one-off festival shows here and there (mostly there), the band has essentially ceased to exist.

    As soon as the lights went down, the much-less-than-sellout crowd left their assigned seats en masse, as if it were planned, tightly packing the theater halfway. What they lacked in size, they made up for in energy and excitement. Ring leader Kevin Drew took notice and set the tenor for the evening. He said the tour manager warned of a light crowd, but they didn’t care, they were going to throw a “private party” in Ithaca. And gracious hosts they were. Indeed they broke out quite a social scene. Drew, always a showman, was especially high-spirited and chatty on this evening.

    They may not have played as a regular unit in a while, but this wasn’t a mere reunion show featuring just a couple of the original members. They brought the core band that has been together since the early days of the band, Drew, Brendan Canning, Charles Spearin, Justin Peroff, Andrew Whiteman, Amy Milan, Sam Goldberg along with some horns and percussion and Ariel Engle, the relative newcomer on vocals. Members came and went and switched instruments at will for a constantly fluctuating lineup that maxed out at 11 people. The guitarist became the bassist became the keyboardist became the trumpeter became the drummer, and so it went.

    The band, or at least some of them, kicked into the opening notes of “7/4 Shoreline” shortly after arriving to the stage. Drew stopped them, saying they weren’t playing that yet. They recollected themselves and reached further back in their catalog for the opening “Cause=Time,” which was immediately followed by the aforementioned “7/4 Shoreline.” The band was loose in spirit and playing, but still incredibly tight, like they’d been playing hundreds of shows a year.

    Drew’s strict adherence to their predetermined setlist was eventually abandoned. Midway through the set he started openly taking requests from the audience. It was a “private party” after all. “We’re for you, not us, don’t forget that,” explained Drew. “Almost Crimes” opened up the request faucet. “Texico Bitches” also came by request, though as the band started into it, Drew said, “Oh we’re really doing this?” The leader became the follower, reluctantly. They wouldn’t oblige all requests though, “Swimmers” was too deep to be dredged up. Nonetheless, that the somewhat out-of-practice band of 11 was willing and able to take random requests was most impressive. That’s not an easy ship to steer.

    Someone, perhaps angry their request wasn’t granted, threw their cup on stage, nearly hitting Drew. Security quickly apprehended the guilty party and dragged them out of the venue. Drew, watching the action unfold, responded, “Aww, I liked that guy!” But he wouldn’t be invited back to the party.

    Right before “Sweetest Kill,” Drew took a video of the crowd wishing his friends congratulations on their wedding, which he was sad to be missing due to this show. A message from one “private party” to another. “And now we’re going to sing a song about divorce,” he kidded.

    “Ibi Dreams of Pavement” closed the set, but the word ‘closed’ is used loosely. It was announced as the closer, and the band started leaving as it finished up, but before the entire band left Drew managed to wrangle a few to stay as he said, “That was the last song, but I gotta do this for this guy.” Another request which, as the host of the party, he couldn’t let pass. So the crowd was treated to “Major Label Debut,” and as more and more band members got back on stage, it eventually finished with the full band. One more song with more from the ladies, so they played their early infectious hit, “Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl,” which mirroring the start of the show, featured a false start and a do over. But they still weren’t finished, and would grant one last request, this one from the back of the stage, as drummer Justin Peroff asked to play another early one, “KC Accidental.” After a rocking romp through that classic, the band waved their goodbyes and stood together off to the side of the stage for one last look at their party guests. Egged on by a lingering guitar swirl from Whiteman, a few members grabbed an instrument and kept the jam going. A couple more minutes of incredible instrumental Broken Social Scene were squeezed into the end of the show, it was the kind of party no one wanted to leave.

    One last pearl of wisdom from Drew as they finally left the stage, “We’re relying on you, so help someone out, it’s the best feeling in the world.” Earlier in the evening, he wondered aloud if he was talking too much. He was looking forward to reading the review of the show that complained about his excessive banter. This isn’t that review.

    Setlist: Cause=Time, 7/4 Shoreline, Halfway Home, World Sick, Victim Lover, Protest Song, Superconnected, Fire Eye’d Boy, Almost Crimes, Gonna Get Better, Sweetest Kill, Stay Happy, Hug of Thunder, Texico Bitches, Stars and Sons, Ibi Dreams of Pavement, Major Label Debut, Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl, KC Accidental

  • Fuzzy, Juicy and Sweet: The 2017 Peach Music Festival

    A well run music festival can be a fantasy land, a respite from reality. Such was the case at the 2017 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA this past weekend. As concertgoers reveled in musical bliss, the world around them grew darker and stormier. Unimaginable horrors were unfolding. Music, blasted from three stages across picturesque Montage Mountain, formed a barrier, shielding those in the vicinity from outside influences. The focus was friends, family and fun. That was the intent and, with little exception, everyone on the festival grounds, musicians, fans, security and vendors alike obliged like it was an unwritten rule. Like a peach, the festival was fuzzy on the outside, sweet and juicy on the inside.

    Photos courtesy of Alex B and 215Music.net

    Fuzzy

    Smiling was the face fashion of the weekend. “Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands,” sung early in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s Thursday evening headline set, elicited a real life recreation of the lyrics with strangers literally shaking each others hands, meeting for the first time and happy to be acquainted and dancing together for the next four nights. The venue staff, dressed in bright orange shirts with a graphic of a hand holding up the peace sign, were labelled as “Safety” rather than Security. They were constantly circulating through the crowd, dancing and grooving along the way, just as likely to be asking how you were doing as they were telling you what to do. And the kind vibes were returned, fans offering the staff snacks, hugs and even including them in their group shots. In a moment that nearly disrupted the peaceful atmosphere, a couple of cops came into the crowd on the prowl for a specific someone. Though it wasn’t for a bust, they just wanted to say hi to an old friend and give her a hug. Fans wandering through the crowd were quick with high fives, fist bumps, a quick dance or even a hug for fellow fans. Everywhere you turned excited reunions were happening with friends both old and new. Fuzzy!

    Sweet and Juicy

    The festival, started by the Allman Brothers, thoroughly maintains the spirit of the band, even as they become a more distant memory with each passing year. Allman Brothers t-shirts, still available at the merch booth, totaled more than twice that of any other band shirt represented at the festival among the crowd. The main stages, The Peach and The Mushroom, both harken to the symbolism of the band, while the path connecting them, Skydog Way, honors the late Duane Allman. With two original members in Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks passing this year, there was more honoring to be done. The much anticipated set specifically honoring them with an all-star band was Saturday afternoon. But even before that time, My Morning Jacket was busting out a cover of “Melissa” during their set on Friday night. Pink Talking Fish shed their raison d’etre to present their version of the Allman Brothers’ classic Eat a Peach album later that night. Saturday’s tribute set, lead by keyboardist Chuck Leavell, featured a rotating cast, a who’s who of Allman Brother’s past. As ex-Gregg Allman Band guitarist Scott Sharrard remarked earlier in the day during his solo band set, “The Allman family runs far and deep. I’ve been seeing a lot of familiar faces.” Dave Schools and Jimmy Herring emerged for “Dreams,” Duane Betts and Marcus King lent their signature dual guitar sound on “Southbound,” Warren Haynes took control for a rousing “Come and Go Blues” and the quintessential “Whipping Post” while the crowd gave it all they had as the backing singers on nearly every tune. It was a tribute set that delivered on all fronts.

    Leavell decided to “honor some other fallen brothers” and closed the set with “Yield Not to Temptation” for Col. Bruce Hampton, followed by a song to honor Jim Hall. There were more tributes to be had throughout, both for those who have passed on and those still with us. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead maintained their reputation of exploring the music of the Grateful Dead across two sets, blazing new trails on tunes like “King Solomon’s Marbles,” “The Eleven” and “Let It Grow,” though they did squeeze in their lone original, “Keeping It Simple.” The show-closing “Morning Dew” remained mostly intact; even they know you don’t mess with perfection. My Morning Jacket’s “Melissa” was played in a quasi-medley with Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind.” Steve Kimock sandwiched his set between two songs from the Jerry Garcia Band catalog, opening with “My Brothers and Sisters” and closing with “Waiting for a Miracle.” Holly Bowling played her renditions of both Phish and Dead tunes to the somewhat unusual sight of a crowd dancing to solo piano. Everyone has their heroes to honor.

    Everyone also has friends they want to have the honor to play with as sit-ins were the norm at the Peach. The Turkuaz horns were one of the designated “artists in residence,” popping up all over the place. They came out for “Bringing Out Your Dead” and “Miss September” during a rainy Greensky Bluegrass set and helped Mike Gordon’s band finish their strong set with “Face” and the debut of “Victim 3D” off of their forthcoming album OGOGO. In the first performance by any Phish member since their momentous Garden run, Gordon was literally feeling it, bouncing joyously during some of the more exhilarating moments. He thanked the crowd for “those donut occasions” after a particularly rocking “Peel”/”Marissa” combo. Gov’t Mule’s set was labeled on the schedule as “with John Scofield and Friends.” There were friends aplenty: Marcus King and Jack Pearson joined for a 3-guitar assault on Marshall Tucker’s “Can’t You See,” Chuck Leavell on”Soulshine,” a bunch of Sco-Mule favorites with Scofield of course, and then a big finish with John Bell and Jimmy Herring on Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.”

    Widespread Panic also brought out guests, though they didn’t return the favor to Haynes. Instead, they invited out two young guitarists. Brandon “Taz” Niederauer showed off his skills going back and forth with a wide-smiled Herring on “Surprise Valley” and Marcus King joined on a heavy “Me and the Devil Blues.” Panic’s song choices were seemingly one of the only references to the events in the outside world all weekend. Possibly unintentional, but many tunes like “Pilgrims,” “Cease Fire,” “Life During Wartime,” and “Lawyers Guns and Money” certainly felt relevant. Continuing into their second performance on Sunday, they opened with “Hope in a Hopeless World” before ending the whole festival on a more hopeful note with “Ain’t Life Grand.” Regardless, the magic of Panic’s music comes between the songs, and on that front they delivered some doozies. “Big Woolly Mammoth” and “Party at Your Mama’s House” both ended in dazzling segue jams on Saturday night, while “Bear’s Gone Fishin’” and “Second Skin” traveled into highlight-worthy territory as they eventually wound around into the next song.

    Fresh-picked

    A small jaunt off the beaten path, The Grove was the place to find fruit ripe on the tree and we spotted some ready to be picked. Caverns thrilled with their heavy, near metal, psychedelic rock, featuring reverb-drenched vocals and heart-pounding drumming. Lespecial jumped genres and borders quickly and continually for a head-spinning set that combined Indian, Latin, Caribbean and more, delivered with an electronic groove. Ghost of Paul Revere brought the blues to the acoustic string band, with the leads coming from a fantastic harmonica player who, using various effects, elicited some rather unique sounds from his instrument. Arizona quartet Spafford commanded an overflow crowd showing why they’ve been pegged as the next big thing in jambands. Hayley Jane impressed with a rock-ready voice and stage presence, backed by her band The Primates and joined on stage by the coordinated interpretive dance stylings of the Interstellar Dancers.

    After four short days, it wasn’t without hesitation that the crowds left the shielded wonderland of music. The dream couldn’t last forever. Until next year, peach and love!

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