NYS Music 20​17

Category: Reviews

  • Hearing Aide: Theo Katzman ‘Heartbreak Hits’

    Funk mastermind Theo Katzman of Vulfpeck has released his second LP today titled Heartbreak Hits, following the 2011 release of Romance without Finance. This latest work oozes heartache, with Katzman‘s youthful vocals lamenting the loss of a lover. The songs evoke the agony of painful breakups, and might even open old wounds for some listeners, but they’re delivered with such gripping soul, that most won’t even think to press pause.

    The album kicks off in rock ballad fashion, akin to the likes of 70’s icons The Eagles. Katzman confirmed on his crowdfunding album campaign that the band did in fact lend inspiration. Wailing guitar on album opener “Hard Work” shocks the eardrums to life before Katzman’s breathy pop vocals attempt to make sense of a failed relationship. People will go the extra mile for someone they love, and with pragmatically comical lines like “I held your hair back when you had too much to drink/ I used my bare hands to unclog that bathroom sink” and “When you got depressed and your mind was on the brink/ I peeled you off the floor and drove you to a shrink” it’s easy to see how a guy thinks he’s earned his keep.

    “Breakup Together” is sweet on the ears, but the melodic sing-songy quality carries Katzman’s tenderly brooding words as he laments “We used to make love together, now we break up together.” Trilling backup vocals follow this somber sentiment. The silver-tongued harmonies call to mind that flock of helpful songbirds chirping away in Snow White, but instead of helping the fair maiden do laundry, they perch on Katzman’s shoulders and chime in as he mopes (understandably) in a corner.

    “Crappy Love Song” supplies some of the most gut-tickling harmonies on the album before “My Heart is Dead” goes nineties angst as Katzman pouts, “My heart is dead girl/ It doesn’t beat no more.” “Good to be Alone” presents a sobering, understated country folk charm replete with slide guitar. A more earnest tone on this number replaces Katzman’s raspy pop attitude found throughout much of the album. Lyrics seeking the silver lining of reclaimed independence in the wake of a breakup, he attempts to convince himself, “No one to scratch you down your back/ No one to cut you any slack/ You got to scratch it on your own/ It’s good to be alone.”

    “Lost and Found” staccato style drums, guitar and vocals add a bouncy feel, revisiting the lively pop realm before “My 1-Bedroom” finds Katzman dreamily fantasizing about the prospect of sharing his small dwelling with a significant other, nearly whispering the lyrics with stripped down instrumental accompaniment. Already the album has led the listener on a roller coaster ride, each song undulating along the spectrum of sadness and resentment, lyrics spiced with cynicism. “As the Romans Do” injects some steam into the track list with powerhouse pop vocals and pounding drums. This song in particular demonstrates the skillful subtleties in Katzman’s singing ability, especially through the lines “I bid a fond farewell to my bestest friends/ I packed my possessions in a Uhaul then/ I sailed like a sailor to the promised land.”

    “Love is a Beautiful Thing” mellows the track list again with soft jazz guitar, muted drums and light piano laced with Katzman’s delicate falsetto. The words convey a familiar scenario in breakups: the pain of seeing an ex-lover involved with someone else when you’re still hurting. He sings, “Love is a beautiful thing/ Hugging, kissing, laughing, holding hands/ Love is a beautiful thing/ Unless it’s you loving another man.” After this song the listener almost surely feels as if Katzman has beaten them over the head with such relentless harping on the same themes of loss, yet by sticking so loyally to this theme, he has created a very real portrayal of the cyclical thought patterns many experience in a breakup. “Plain Jane Heroin” rounds out the ten-track album on a somber note, ending the album on a bit of a cliche, comparing the allure of a woman to the addictive nature of heroin.

    Katzman has crafted a string of songs that thoroughly display the breadth of his vocal ability. The rawness of the lyrics suggest Katzman might have actually had his heart recently ripped from his chest by whichever woman called it splitsville. While profit from fresh heartbreak is a form of sweet songwriting revenge, it doesn’t appear that a recent tragic breakup is the essence of inspiration. Katzman stated in his album campaign, “I started writing songs, and found myself exploring different angles of letdown/loss of expectation/heartbreak: My own personal experiences, as well as the extrapolation of those experiences into my imagination.” Nevertheless, nearly anyone can empathize with Heartbreak Hits’ sentiments, and dance, rage or cry to the album at their discretion.

    The album was recorded by Tyler Duncan at The Barber House, mixed by Duncan and mastered by Devin Kerr. Cover photo by Claire Marie Vogel and album artwork by Robert Lester. Musicians contributing to the album include: Joe Dart (Fender bass), Woody Goss (piano, Wurlitzer electric piano on “Break Up Together”), Laura Mace and Mike G: (omni backing vocals), Lee Pardini: (Wurlitzer electric piano), Drew Howard: (pedal steel guitar) and Brett Farkas: (additional electric guitar on “As the Romans Do”).

    Currently Katzman has one scheduled performance on January 26 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles, California. The album is available for purchase here.

    Key Tracks: Hard Work, Breakup Together, As the Romans Do

  • The Machine New Year’s Eve show in Niagara Falls

    Judging how well a tribute band does is a weird task to ask someone to do. For one thing, they’re not playing any original music. And the audience is there only to hear someone else’s music, mainly of a band or artist long since dead or disbanded. Sometimes you get an act that should be better off playing in a hotel bar. But others, you could swear you genuinely got the original. On New Year’s Eve at the Rapids Theatre, the people of Niagara Falls got their fill of one such band, Pink Floyd, in the form of The Machine.

    The Machine bills itself as America’s longest-existing Pink Floyd tribute band. Made up of Joe Pascarell on guitar, Ryan Ball on bass, Scott Chasolen on keyboards, and Tahrah Cohen on drums, they’ve been performing the Floyd’s music since 1988 and are regarded as one of the first and best tribute bands. It’s hard to come across a cover band with live DVD’s of shows in Amsterdam and performing with a symphony orchestra, but such is the demand for Pink Floyd music that sizable droves will show up like it’s one of the band member’s solo tours.

    The Machine started off right away with the first five songs from The Wall. From the first riffs of “In The Flesh” through the audience chanting along with “Another Brick in the Wall,” the audience got immediately hooked, living for every recognizable music line or lyrics, even coming from a ballad off the Atom Heart Mother album. The band certainly appeared to be having the time of their lives with songs you could tell were their favorites. Chasolen was living for every different keyboard effect used on “Welcome to the Machine,” along with the saxophone solo on “Money” played on keyboards too.

    There was a break between sets for the audience to refill their drinks and to watch the ball drop on two screens beside the stage. The second set, fittingly enough, began with “Time,” the clocks chiming at the beginning drawing immediate applause, while later on, the vocal interplay between Pascarell and Ball sounded just like it came from the Dark Side of the Moon album.

    The Machine wasn’t afraid to shy away from the longer Floyd songs either. They ended the first set with “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” from the Animals album, which Pascarell certainly got very involved in once the talkbox solo came in. They also performed the first half of “Shine On you Crazy Diamond,” complete with the long synth and guitar intro with visuals of a child playing and laser lights.

    I’m sure if I saw Pink Floyd back in their heyday, or one of the Roger Waters or David Gilmour solo tours, this would be quite similar to what I’d get from those. Certainly the kind where the long instrumental passages and medleys are best enjoyed with the assistance of some substance in your system. And considering this is as close to hearing a genuine Pink Floyd show I’ll ever come to, I was pleased with the authenticity. There were no flying pigs, but I can take that.

  • Twiddle Packs the Palace for NYE

    Vermont-based jam band Twiddle packed the Palace Theater in Albany with a near capacity crowd on NYE. Fellow Vermont two piece Soule Monde and Buffalo groove rockers Aqueous opened in support.

    photo by Steven Rauch

    Twiddle pleased fans with two sets of music. The night opened with Twiddle’s most recent song “Moments.” The first set also included “Blunderbuss,” the band’s newest instrumental piece, which was debuted this past May at the Capitol Theatre.  Twiddle’s first set also included fan favorites “Lost in the Cold,” “Doinkinbonk,” and first set closer “Apples.”

    Twiddle took to the stage just before midnight with the members of Soul Monde and Aqueous to ring in the new year with “Auld Syne Lang”. As the clock struck midnight, fans in the venue’s balcony lobbed hundreds of green and purple balloons onto concert goers on the venue’s lower level. Everyone also stayed onstage for a rendition of ALO “Barbeque”. The second set also included an extended version of “Polluted Beauty,” “Jamflowman” and “Frankenfoote.”

    Twiddle returned to the stage for their encore with Aqueous’ Mike Gantzer and Dave Loss, as the band debuted the classic hit “Layla.” Although the band is often know for teasing the tune, it was the first complete performance of the song.

    The Albany performance closed out a stellar year for Twiddle, who continue to develop a growing fan base, perform sold out shows and grow into larger venues as well as their own festival Tumble Down, which will enter its sophomore year this summer.

    photo by Steven Rauch

    2017 is already shaping up to be another stellar year for the band. Announced dates include a January stint on Jam Cruise as well as the Jungle Jam in Costa Rica in March. Twiddle hits the road with Aqueous in support for several dates including multiple two night runs in February and March. Twiddle is on a short respite until the end of the month.

    Setlist:

    Set One: Moments, Doinkinbonk!!!!, Lost in the Cold, Blunderbuss, Daydream Farmer, Dusk til Dawn, Apples

    Set Two: Auld Lang Syne (with Soule Monde and Aqueous) BBQ (with soule Monde and Aqueous), Polluted Beauty, Zazu’s Flight, Jamflowman, Frankenfoote

    Encore: Layla (with Mike Gantzer and Dave Loss of Aqueous)

  • The Benevento / Russo Duo Reunite in Brooklyn

    The Benevento/Russo Duo played their first show together as a duo in 6 years on December 27 in Brooklyn. The last minute show was announced on Marco’s Benevento’s Instagram about four hours before the 8 o’clock start.

    They rewarded those who attended with an intimate show at Three’s Brewing in Brooklyn, with a capacity of around 100. The set was a nice mix of their catalog, with tracks that spanned the course of their career. The band sounded great, like they hadn’t lost a step, despite playing in side projects here and there that have obviously helped them keep their chemistry alive.

    The show was both a return to their roots, playing in a small club in New York City where they got their start, and also a warm-up for their only other scheduled date on Jam Cruise in January. But you can be sure this isn’t the last we’ll see from The Duo in 2017.

  • The Rain Came Down during Phish’s Petrichor New Year’s Eve

    Phish has found a way to utilize the space inside Madison Square Garden for New Years Eve celebrations for more than 20 years. They’ve been scientists in a time lab, made it snow, flew in on a giant hotdog, lifted fans off the floor, held a runaway golfcart marathon, and moved the stage (twice), all as part of their celebration to ring in the new year.

    petrichorSo what do you do when you’ve already done this much with the room? You make it rain in the closing minutes of 2016, after wrapping up one of the strongest sets Phish has ever played at MSG, and in doing so washing away a year many would like to forget.

    The show began as the other three nights did, with an acapella rendition of a rarely played song, in this case, Fraternity of Man’s “Don’t Bogart That Joint,” keeping fans on their feet and crossing a rarity off the list of many fans. “Your Pet Cat” > “Kill Devil Falls” > “Back on the Train” > “My Soul” served to keep energy nice and high for the beginning of the night, when Trey took a minute to opine about the extra 6 feet of stage they had in front of them, and what could they possibly do with it but let The Chairman of the Boards, Page McConnell, take a stroll out on the stage while crooning “Lawn Boy.” Page and Mike Gordon alike took a wander around the enlarged stage, wandering over to Mike Side and Page Side, greeting fans and smiling widely. A well-placed “Divided Sky” followed before the energy kicked back up again with “Ya Mar,” “Character Zero,” and “Walls of the Cave,” all setting the stage for another monster second set.

    The night before in the second set, Phish dropped a “Tweezer” > “Sparks” > “Ghost” > “Light” for the ages, and given the three sets they had tonight, they had set the bar high for themselves and the challenge was accepted. Dropping into “2001” to get things rolling, the Garden dance party was in effect, getting dark upon entry into “Carini” and lighter again with Trey’s ascending jam in the “Twist” that followed. The segue into “Piper” was interrupted by Fishman singing his hilarious yet brief “Ass Handed,” which segued back into the rest of “Piper,” during which Trey played the marimba lumina and Mike joined Page on keys for a yet another full band jam. A filthy “Sand” followed, as did a perfectly placed and executed “Slave to the Traffic Light,” wrapping up the set with “More,” a fan favorite off the recent Big Boat, the line “In a world gone mad, there must be something more than this” resonating with the crowd.

    During the intermission between second and third sets, fans made their final preparations for ringing in the new year while the stage was set for Phish’s NYE stunt, including additional keys for Jeff Tanski, percussion for Andres Forero and mics for a horn trio of Jennifer Hartswick, James Casey and Natalie Cressman. Fans awaited patiently for the lights to dim and musicians to take the stage in the 20 minutes before midnight, which saw a full band performance of “Petrichor” complete with a choreographed performance of faceless umbrella-wielding dancers and artificial rain courtesy of David Gallo Design.

    As the dancers broke into their routine, they used umbrellas for props to block them from the falling ‘rain,’ an incredible sight inside the confines of Madison Square Garden. The dancers then used floating white umbrellas to continue their routine as the song moved through its 22 sections, culminating in the dancers standing at the front of the stage, awaiting Trey’s 2-minute early countdown, to which he jokingly commented “Well, it’s never too soon to say goodbye to 2016” as he began the countdown and the band broke into the traditional “Auld Lang Syne.” And with that, from the ceiling it rained down cats, dogs and foam rain drops, as well as thousands of balloons and confetti, making it hard to find band members on stage amid the decorative chaos.

    Over the next hour, Phish pushed into the new year with horns a blazin’, starting with “Suzy Greenberg” and “No Man’s in No Man’s Land.” Following were lackluster choices that fit well with the horns, and made the first set of 2017 feel like a true Phish first set – “Breath and Burning,” “Tide Turns,” “555” and “Ocelot” were all odd choices after 3.5 nights of powerful sets with little pause or relief, but given the horns and accompaniment onstage, they were apt selections that had audience dancing and laughing into the finale of the high energy “First Tube.” A cover of The Rolling Stones “Loving Cup” ended the run at the Garden and amid a sea of cats, dogs and rain drops, fans hugged, smiled and greeted 2017, having seen one of Phish’s finest New Years runs and NYE stunts to date.

    Setlist courtesy of Phish.net

    Set 1: Don’t Bogart That Joint, Your Pet Cat > Kill Devil Falls > Back on the Train > My Soul, Lawn Boy, Divided Sky, Ya Mar, Character Zero, Walls of the Cave

    Set 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Carini -> Twist > Piper -> Ass Handed > Piper[1] > Sand, Slave to the Traffic Light, More

    Set 3: Petrichor[2] > Auld Lang Syne[3] > Suzy Greenberg[2], No Men In No Man’s Land[2], Breath and Burning[2], Tide Turns[2], 555[2], Ocelot[2], First Tube[2]

    Encore: Loving Cup[2]

    [1] Trey on Marimba Lumina. Mike on keys.
    [2] James Casey on saxophone, Natalie Cressman on trombone and vocals, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet and vocals, Jeff Tanski on keys, and Andres Forero on percussion.
    [3] James Casey on saxophone, Natalie Cressman on trombone, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, Jeff Tanski on keys, and Andres Forero on percussion. With recorded cat and dog noises as cat and dog balloons fell from the ceiling.