NYS Music 20​17

Author: Steve Malinski

  • Dark Star Orchestra Continues 20th Anniversary Celebration at Paramount Hudson Valley

    On Nov. 12, Dark Star Orchestra traveled downstate from a show at the Palace Theater in Albany to Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill the next night to continue celebrating their 20th year of performing authentic Grateful Dead show replications. The saying “never miss a Sunday show” was once again validated by DSO’s stellar sets at the Paramount a day after the 20th anniversary of their first show in 1997.

    Dark Star Orchestra Paramount Hudson ValleyA fun game for the audience at any DSO show is to take a guess as to what Grateful Dead show the band is covering (which they later reveal before their encore). Shortly after the start of the first set it was fairly easy to narrow the time frame to the late 1980s/early 19990s from the prominence of the keys and later the style of the drum break.  DSO broke form slightly to perform a selective setlist in the style of a particular show which in this case was based on the stylings of 7-19-1990 at Deer Creek Music Center in Indiana. Even though the show wasn’t an exact replica of a Grateful Dead setlist, it showed DSO’s endowment for channeling a particular Grateful Dead style seamlessly through set substitutions to maintain the feel of a real Dead show.

    Set 1 started with a quick recognition of “Jack Straw” and continued on with an easy groove through the set. The 1940s blues standard “It Hurts Me Too” anchored the first set with a remarkable feature of singer Lisa Mackey’s vocals. Rounding off the first set was “Deal,” starting off like any Grateful Dead performance of the song interlaced with plenty of noodling intricately replicated by Jeff Mattson (who replaced long-time DSO guitarist John Kadlecick in 2010). Like a firecracker on a short fuse Mattson’s noodling quickly went from its regular form to a fiery hot guitar jam before coming back around to a quick refrain of the chorus.

    The second set was a bit more true to the Deer Creek show it was modeled after with just two song substitutions. True to a Grateful Dead second set the song run was continuous until the encore even with the contrast between some adjacent songs. Leading in from a “Playing In The Band” reprise, original DSO drummers Rob Koritz and Dino English gave the subtle hints about the drum break about to happen. Koritz and English began with a more structured duet between the two kits before loosening up to move around for a more improvised percussion break including some electronic drums (something Billy Kreutzman and Mickey Hart started incorporating in the late 1980s). While “Space” is what it is for some folks, it’s a good opportunity to zone in and hear something unexpected. The latter part of the second set capped off the show with a strong finish. A Spanish jam akin to Maurice Ravel’s 1928 composition “Bolero” (from which the music of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” was inspired) segued into a crescendo that progressed through “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Black Peter,” and “Not Fade Away.”

    Keyboardist Rob Barraco took a few moments before the encore to explain a little bit of the setlist and to plug DSO’s four-night Jamaican excursion in January. The Dead’s 7-19-1990 show only included “U.S. Blues” but DSO took the opportunity to make it a perfect close to the show by adding on “Mr. Charlie.” With many unique and excellent Grateful Dead cover acts out there, Dark Star Orchestra has shown again their consistency in delivering a genuine Grateful Dead tribute.

    Dark Star Orchestra, Paramount Hudson Valley, Peekskill, NY

    Set 1: Jack Straw*, They Love Each Other*, Good Times Blues, Row Jimmy*, Blow Away, It Hurts Me Too, Althea* > Deal
    Set 2: Foolish Heart* > Playing In The Band* > China Doll* > Uncle John’s Band* > Playin’ Jam* > Drums* > Space* > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Black Peter* > Not Fade Away*

    Encore: U.S. Blues*, Mister Charlie

    * denotes songs from the Grateful Dead setlist

    (Omissions from Grateful Dead 7-19-1990 setlist: Desolation Row, Picasso Moon, Promised Land, Victim or the Crime, All Along The Watchtower)

    Check out a recording of this DSO show on archive.org.

  • The Other Brothers CD Release Party Meets Sold-Out Crowd in NYC

    New Paltz’s The Other Brothers have been playing music for a few years now, but this fall have released their debut EP, Jones. With roots of rock and funk laced with a blend of soul, The Other Brothers rightfully claimed NYS Music’s readers’ pick as band on the rise last year. On Sept. 30, The Other Brothers celebrated the release of their debut studio album.

    American Beauty, a perfectly sized music club located just around the corner from Madison Square Garden, hosted the band’s first sold out show with an incredible amount of energy on stage and in the crowd. Opening the show was NYC/Brooklyn’s own Huck, who put on a solid show and a closing DJ set was provided by Michael Suarez.

    From the moment Chris Owen (vocals) and John Morrison (guitar) took the stage for an opening duet before the full band came on, American Beauty was lit up with plenty of loyal enthusiasm. One of the captivating elements of the show was their ability to create a variety of moods throughout their sets, and even within songs. Behind Morrison and Owen were Jordan Mendelson (bass), Brandon Bera (drums), Jared Nelson (percussion), and Gabriel Marquez (keys). The flow of their work on stage came through as seamless, a sign of professionalism in musicianship, which combined with their character on stage created a downright enjoyable listening experience to dance to.

    The Other Brothers show can most simply be summed up as the mark of a local Hudson Valley band who continues to be on the rise.

    Jones is available over at their Bandcamp page.While we wait for a music video shot at the end of their American Beauty show, you can check out a video released for “A2W” here.

  • Gogol Bordello Celebrate Release of ‘Seekers and Finders’ At The Capitol Theatre

    On August 29, Gogol Bordello stepped off from their hometown of the East Village of NYC to celebrate their just-released  Seekers and Finders album in Port Chester at The Capitol Theatre. Opening the show was Philadelphia-based punk artist Dave Hause and the Mermaids, with a similar sound to New Jersey’s Gaslight Anthem.

    Gogol Bordello’s set lived up to, and even exceeded, the expectations of their typical shows. With the energy of a club show such as the basement of Webster Hall, their sound filled the large room of The Cap as an added bonus. Gogol Bordello’s setlist included a few new tracks off of Seekers and Finders along with several of their better known songs as well as some B-sides.

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    The mainstay of their show, which is consistent from night to night, was a non-stop energy from the first song until the end of the encore with plenty of audience interaction. To open up the encore, frontman Eugene Hutz and Sergey Ryabtsev (violin) performed two songs from the soundboard with the audience sandwiched between them and the rest of the band playing from the stage.

    To cap off the night a select bunch of friends and fans were treated to a late night afterparty DJ set next door at Garcia’s from Hutz and bandmate Pedro Erazo.

    [singlepic id=15430 w= h= float=none]

    Gogol Bordello returns to NYC for two pre-New Years Eve shows on Dec. 28 and 29 at Brooklyn Steel with some help from NYC brass band Lucky Chops.

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  • Bastille’s Wild, Wild World Stops by The Palace

    While weeknight shows are sometimes a little bit more difficult to make it to, they are just as worth a show on the weekend. On Sept. 12, Bastille made their second Upstate NY appearance along with some help from FRENSHIP at the Palace Theatre in Albany for a nice chip out of a midweek routine.

    California-based FRENSHIP opened the night with an upbeat electropop set that seemed to impress new ears as well as fans of the band. While the band only released their debut EP last year, they were dynamic on stage, on par with the fact that they’ve been playing together for a few years prior to their EP release.

    When Bastille took the stage silhouetted by the brightly backlit stage, the eagerness of the crowd in the standing area near the stage was like a flock of salmon jumping up a waterfall. The Palace remained tightly attentive to the music from start to finish.

    Frontman and lyricist Dan Smith writes lyrics that are typically rooted in not the brightest of themes (though not always, as in “Glory”) which are paired with upbeat musical moods. Without being aware of the lyrics it is easy to place Bastille in a happy-going dance pop category. It is this conflict between lyric and song that work symbiotically on the subconscious ear.

    It was this balance which kept the balcony and orchestra levels dancing throughout the show and carefully tuned in to the quieter songs such as the hauntingly melodic guitar and vocal duet between Smith and Will Farquarson on “Two Evils.” Bastille also showed off their knack for intelligently mashing two songs together – “No Angels” as a mix of TLC’s “No Scrubs” and the xx’s “Angels” and “Of the Night” as a mix of the two 90’s dance hits “Rhythm of the Night” and “Rhythm is a Dancer.”

    Just as it would seem abnormal for a band like Lynyrd Skynyrd to not end their show with “Freebird,” Bastille rightfully closed their show with their biggest success, “Pompeii,” which got the band in a much brighter spotlight outside of the UK. FRENSHIP came out to jam for the last song, having just as much fun on stage as fans in the audience were having.

    Bastille Setlist: Send Them Off!, Laura Palmer, Overjoyed, Warmth, Flaws, Lethargy, Snakes, No Angels, The Draw, The Currents, Glory, Bad Blood, Oblivion, Blame, Icarus, Of the Night, Fake It, Good Grief

    Encore:
    Two Evils, Things We Lost in the Fire, Pompeii

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  • Two More Days of 1969: Woodstock 48th Anniversary Feat. Arlo Guthrie, Billy Cox, Leslie West, and More Coming This Weekend To Brooklyn Mirage

    Every August there are a variety of Woodstock 1969 tribute events, the last major one being the Heroes of Woodstock tour with many of the original festival performers in 2009 for the 40th anniversary. This Friday and Saturday Aug. 18 and Aug. 19, several of the original Woodstock performers and key figures will be appearing at Brooklyn’s newest outdoor music and event space, the Brooklyn Mirage. 48th

    arlo guthrie Woodstock 48thLeading the two day event is the co-creator and founder of Woodstock, Artie Kornfeld, a Brooklyn native himself. Friday’s event is a speaking engagement with Kornfeld featuring a discussion about Woodstock. Doors open at 5 p.m., tickets are available for general admission ($10) or seated ($20).

    Woodstock 48th

    Saturday’s event will feature music by Arlo Guthrie, Billy Cox Band of Gypsys Experience, Melanie, and Leslie West (of Mountain). Kornfeld will be back to host the evening of music and there will also be an appearance by Wavy Gravy and special guests. Tickets for Saturday are $49 (general admission) and $69 (seated); doors are at 4 p.m.

    Tickets are available through Eventbrite.

  • Dead and Company Play Perfect Sets During Return to Citi Field in New York City

    Dead and Company’s third tour made its way to Citi Field on June 24 while the Mets were away in San Fransisco, defeating the Giants by a score of 5 – 2. The summer evening weather made for a spectacular night of music with a packed stadium.

    The long-standing game of guessing the show opener was on the tongues of many before the 7:30 downbeat and, regardless of incorrect guesses, “Dancing In The Streets” (which debuted earlier this tour) got the Queens crowd moving to the pace of the night. The relaxed but fun set continued on with the likes of “Jack Straw,” Tennesse Jed” and “Cold Rain and Snow” among others. Dead and Company jumped the gun by capping off the set with the party-rousing “One More Saturday Night,” more often seen in the second set of a Dead show.

    As the second set rolled onward from the beautiful “Scarlet Begonias” opener, they let Oteil sing, as some t-shirts have said. Burbridge has been making more of a vocal appearance on this tour and took the lead on singing “Comes a Time,” making for a spectacular performance of the song coupled with Mayer’s atmospheric noodling on Dead and Company’s debut of that song. Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman put on a unique rhythmic soundscape for the drums/space break which was integrative of acoustic and electronic sounds and instruments including Hart’s multi-string, one-note Beam.

    The encore was truly something special for the New York crowd. The familiar opening riff of “Touch of Grey” rang through the crowd noise as the projection faded to the b-roll live footage of the synchronized light show atop the Empire State Building across the East River in Manhattan. Without much of a skip the happy feels were capped off in a rock-and-roll fashion with “Johnny B. Goode.”

    Dead and Company’s two night run at Citi Field last June was a good showcase of the chops of a Grateful Dead family lineup who had only been on tour for about one and a half years at that point. In this year’s single show at Citi Field, Dead and Company showed an ever-flourishing presence of musicianship on stage miles ahead of the band’s debut shows in Albany and NYC in the fall of 2015, which even then were noteworthy.

    Setlist:

    Set 1: Dancing In The Streets > Jack Straw, Here Comes Sunshine, Tennessee Jed, Cold Rain and Snow, Bird Song > One More Saturday Night

    Set 2: Scarlet Begonias > Viola Lee Blues, Estimated Prophet > Comes A Time > Eyes Of The World > Drums/Space > The Other One > Morning Dew

    Encore: Touch Of Grey > Johnny B. Goode

  • Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival Returns This Weekend Following 2016 Hiatus

    The Clearwater Festival, more formally known as Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival, is returning this weekend on June 17 and 18 to Croton Point Park in the lower Hudson Valley.

    Founded by the late Pete Seeger, the festival took a brief one-year hiatus in 2016 while the organization focused on fundraising efforts for repairs to sloop Clearwater. As they promised, the festival is back and this year features familiar faces and venerable musicians in the lineup.

    At the top of the bill are Arlo Guthrie, Lake Street Dive, Joan Osborne, Tommy Emmanuel, Los Lobos, Josh Ritter, Lucky Chops and many Clearwater favorites including Toshi Reagon & Big Lovely, Guy Davis, Tom Chapin, and many others. Check out the full list and stage schedule of performers here.

    Matt Turk

    Aside from a full lineup of music going from 11am until just after sunset the Clearwater Festival features many other attractions. Ranging from family activities, an artisanal farm & food market, craft fair to non-profit advocacy and more, the festival is well-rounded for an enriching experience that goes beyond the great lineup of music.

    Kim and Reggie Harris

    The festival site at Croton Point Park is a short shuttle ride or nice walk from the Croton-Harmon Metro North/Amtrak station. Single-day and two-day passes for the festival are available here along with options for camping at Croton Point Park. Special rail fair/festival admission packages are available for those traveling via Metro North.

  • Metallica Hits Nassau Coliseum for the Only Hardwired Tour Arena Show

    Metallica brought their Hardwired World Tour for the second of two stops in the New York Metro area on May 17 at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

    Volbeat kicked the night off with several of their new songs from Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie along with a few of their previously released tunes. This wasn’t Volbeat’s first time supporting Metallica on tour either and their set was a treat for those who beat the Long Island rush hour traffic to get to the Barn before Metallica’s set.

    Metallica Nassau ColiseumMetallica’s Hardwired World Tour is entirely at large stadiums, except for the Nassau Coliseum show. While the stadiums certainly have their appeal for a monster show, nothing compares to catching one of the world’s biggest metal bands at a comparatively small indoor area (although their private fan club show at the 1,500-seat Webster Hall this past September might have this beat).

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BUOT4toFdv1/?taken-by=spm222photo

    The setlist had a tasty mix of what could be fit in a nearly two and a half hour show with just enough to tease their latest release Hardwired…To Self-Destruct and to satisfy the palate of the old school fans. Not to mention that the pick of songs was somewhat different than the MetLife Stadium show just a few nights prior.

    Metallica has been playing together for 36 years now, which is a well-seasoned career mark not every band sees. After the last sustained note of “Enter Sandman” and some stage banter, Hetfield noted that it was the eleventh time Metallica had played the Nassau Coliseum…and won’t be the last.

    Hardwired Tour – Metallica w/s/g Volbeat, Nassau Coliseum, May 17, 2017

    Setlists:

    Volbeat: The Devil’s Bleeding Crown, Seal the Deal, Heaven nor Hell, Sad Man’s Tongue, Black Rose, Let It Burn, 16 Dollars, Hallelujah Goat, Lola Montez, Dead but Rising, Still Counting

    Metallica: Hardwired, Atlas, Rise!, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ride the Lightning, The Unforgiven, Now That We’re Dead, Moth Into Flame, Harvester Of Sorrow, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Kirk/Rob Guitar/Bass solos, The Four Horsemen. Sad But True, One, Master of Puppets, Fade to Black, Seek and Destroy, Blackened

    Encore: Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman

  • Cornell ’77 Revisited: Holy Grail of Grateful Dead Shows Makes Debut at The Cap; Larry Reichman Discusses New Photo Book

    5/8/77 – Grateful Dead’s most talked about and traded show from Barton Hall at Cornell University,  has been mastered from the Betty Board tapes and commercially released along with other May 1977 Dead shows. The hype, excitement, and anticipation over this release since its announcement earlier this year has been turned over into just as much appreciation for the release in its various formats.

    Monday, May 8, 2017 marked the 40th anniversary of the legendary Cornell Barton Hall show and in Tompkins County it was declared as “Grateful Dead Day” by way of proclamation. It was a particularly special day for the Big Red Deadheads out there with a special tribute concert by the Cornell Chimes, performing a handful of arrangements of Dead tunes. Rhino Entertainment, the Grateful Dead’s record label, hosted two special events with one at the State Theatre featuring Terrapin Flyer and a second at the Capitol Theatre where the newly released 5/8/77 show debuted in full concert sound for a rather fun listening party.

    grateful dead cornellThe Grateful Dead’s Barton Hall show gained notoriety in part from the fairly quick circulation of the soundboard recording of the show among traders, which itself is of good quality with some minor flaws. In comparison, the new official release is immaculate and among the best of quality mastered commercial Grateful Dead releases. Although there was no band on stage at the Capitol Theatre, hearing the freshly realesed 5/8/77 show through the Cap’s PA system in full concert sound captured the essence of being at a live show – so much so that folks were dancing around the floor.

    While revisiting 5/8/77 at the Cap reminiscers were treated to a montage of photos from the show itself, many unseen before, projected on the theatre walls. Those photos were taken by then Cornell freshman Larry Reichman who is working on releasing a complete book featuring many more images from Barton Hall that day from setup through the concert. He was there at the Cap to promote it (the black and white photos shown within the photos in this article are by Reichman). He is currently running a Kickstarter campaign which ends on May 24 and can be found here. NYS Music caught up with Reichman at the Cap to chat about the book and his Barton Hall experience in an interview that was also broadcast on WVBR-FM in Ithaca.

    Steve Malinski: Can you tell us about your background in photography?

    Larry Reichman: I got into black and white photography when I was a high school student down in New York and learned to develop negatives and prints the old fashioned way and when I got to Cornell, I started working for a newspaper and started taking photos of events on campus – most of the concerts they had on campus that year – and jumping ahead to this show I had gotten a pass from the Cornell Concert Commission to be in [Barton Hall] the whole day. So, I took photos of the setup and the whole show.

    SM: What prompted you to shoot the Barton Hall show?

    LR: Well, I was a big Dead fan so there was no way that I would not go to the show. I had a press pass for most of the shows that year and I could have done that, but a friend of mine was a volunteer for the Cornell Concert commission and suggested I talk to someone there. While I had no special arrangement with the Concert Commission, I gave them a few photos of the show which are also now part of the Cornell University Archives.

    SM: Can you take us through the course of your day at the Barton Hall show, and interesting things that you saw?

    LR: I didn’t really know what to expect. So I was just in the Hall and as you know, it’s a big empty hall. Not a barn, but a big open space. They had to literally build the stage and lighting. There were these super trooper spotlights going in. As things were loaded in I was just wandering around taking photos. Probably the most memorable moment was (since I had a lot of time to kill earlier in the day) while I was wandering around behind the stage I looked up and the band was about four feet above me on stage. Because I was kind of shy I didn’t say hi to the band but nodded to Jerry and was on my way. The show of course was memorable. I got to claim a spot right in front of the stage and shoot from there.

    SM: And you were only a freshman at Cornell doing all this?

    LR: I was, 18 years old. I had seen them a few times before that and it was awesome to hear that they were coming to Cornell and I didn’t have to go far to see them.

    SM: You’re working on a new photo book with many never before seen photos of the Barton Hall show, which you are raising funds for through Kickstarter. Can you tell us about the book?

    LR: Again, I was there the whole day for setup, soundcheck and the whole show. So what I’m putting together is a really good quality book, about 80-pages long. My goal is to have something special, a really good quality coffee table kind of book printed in the US. There will be three chapters. First chapter is the setup, and in fact the announcer of that show, Bob, is here tonight and I happen to have a photo of him in the book. Then the next chapters will be First Set and Second Set. First set, for the photo buffs out there, I shot with a 50mm lens, so it’s a bit more of a wide angle. For the second set I had a telephoto lens which allowed me to zoom in a bit more. Because of slower shutter speeds and other technical parameters it allowed me to capture some movement on stage. The book will have a variety of shots and won’t just be picture after picture. It will be an artistic layout.

    SM: And you’re running a Kickstarter to get this going?

    LR: Yes, the book is laid out and ready to go but I need help to print it. So I’m running a Kickstarter to raise the money for the printing. People can pledge to support it with various rewards, including a pre-order of the book and individual photos from the show.

    Editors note: as of the publication of this article, the Kickstarter campaign has been fully funded.

    SM: You mentioned that you were also involved with WVBR back around that time as well?

    LR: Yeah, I signed up to volunteer there my first week at Cornell back in 1976. I was just really interested in all things music. I learned how to splice tape and make commercials. I had a show on the AM band which was literally broadcast through the AC electric system on the West Campus of Cornell. I’d go there on Saturday nights and spin records, played a lot of Dead. Then the next year I did a bit of engineering, particularly for the news shows. Also, the newspaper I was working for was downstairs in the building. I don’t recall the name but it was a weekly startup. I think that’s how I learned about the paper from going to WVBR and saw the paper downstairs. I decided to check it out and that’s where I developed all of these photos. It was all off-campus in Collegetown.

  • Melissa Etheridge Returns to Paramount Hudson Valley with a Big Sound

    In less than a year since making an impressive solo performance at Paramount Hudson Valley, Melissa Etheridge returned on April 29 with her full band for another appearance at the historic theater.

    EtheridgeIt was a night filled with some of her popular tunes and several off of her 2016 release, Memphis Rock and Soul, including her take on venerable blues/rock staples from the likes of Albert King, The Staples Singers, and Isaac Hayes among others. The room felt electric from the moment Etheridge stepped on stage with one of her several Ovation guitars in hand, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd even before striking the first notes of “Angels Would Fall.”

    Last year Etheridge made a solo appearance at the Paramount, at times creating a one-person band set against a backdrop of a dozen or so guitars including a new bass she picked up at Division Street Guitars (right around the corner from the theater). This time with a full band the musicianship on stage from everyone was excellent, with plenty of warm-hearted anecdotes to fill the time between songs.

    Her show felt like a tribute of sorts to the Memphis blues and rock and roll songwriting, often citing Stax Records artists as inspiration while introducing the songs off of her latest release. Combined with her showmanship, Etheridge’s rich tenor  vocals validate the authenticity of her take on those songs and the style.

    Although she didn’t pick up a guitar at the local guitar store around the corner from the Paramount as she did last year, Etheridge expressed a bit of gratitude and appreciation for the venue and the city of Peekskill.

    With Etheridge’s trend of releasing a new album every few years, it’s likely just a matter of time before she is welcomed back to the Paramount with open arms.

    Setlist: Angels Would Fall, Similar Features, Any Other Way, I Want To Come Over, Fearless Love, I Want To Be In Love, Respect Yourself (People Stand Up), Hold On I’m Coming, Born Under A Bad Sign, Chrome Plated Heart, Come To My Window, Bring Me Some Water, I’m The Only One->Rock Me Baby->I’m The Only One

    Encore: Like The Way I Do