NYS Music 20​17

Category: Genres

  • A New York City St. Patrick’s Day with Larry Kirwan and Friends

    Every St. Patrick’s Day, the New York City streets and subways flood with green from onlookers of the 5th Avenue parade and thirsty pub-goers. With many options for a good St. Pat’s show or party from uptown to down and across to Brooklyn, one might almost need to throw a dart at a subway map to plan their night. But near Times Square a staple of the New York Irish scene returned to BB King’s to put on the perfect show for the occasion. For a second St. Patrick’s Day in a row, Larry Kirwan brought his songwriting and music from the retired Black 47 to the midtown blues club along with entertainment from some friends.

    The evening started right on time with the dinner crowd being treated to a set from the Lia Fail Pipes and Drums from Mercer County, NJ performing traditional Irish and Scottish tunes including the 1916 Easter Uprising inspired “Foggy Dew.” Singer-songwriter Pat McGuire, a native New Yorker who calls Galway home, was greeted with admiration from the crowd starting to gather near the stage. As a pleasant surprise to many in the room, former Black 47 member Geoff Blythe joined McGuire for most of the set on soprano/tenor sax. The two complimented each other very well, especially on McGuire’s new songs. His set included a nod to his hometown, “A Song for New York,” in tribute to the Hurricane Sandy victims and storm cleanup efforts.

    Returning to the BB King’s stage following McGuire’s set was Rory K, an independent hip-hop artist from the city, with a short set from a genre that was certainly the odd one out from the other acts yet fit in well. This year Rory drew more folks into his self-written lyrics with a high-energy and charismatic stage presence, debuting within the set a brand new song, “Talkin’ that Talk.”

    With just the blink of an eye between sets, we arrived at the main act of the evening, Larry Kirwan & Friends. With the retirement of Black 47 two and a half years prior on the same stage, Kirwan’s band for the night returned from the previous St. Patrick’s Day show –  Coty Cockrell (keys), Deni Bonet (violin), Rene Hart (double bass) and former Black 47 bandmate Thomas Hamlin (drums). The band had a tighter sound this time around giving a different take on the arrangements of the Black 47 songs in the set.

    The band’s instrumentation was that of a typical rock setup but with upright bass, keys, and violin – a bit of a contrast to Black 47’s horn and uilleann pipe section, so the feel of the performance was inherently different from what longtime fans of the band had been used to. But that’s not to say anything about the quality of the show. The tunes in their different arrangement stood in their own right for a perfect show, with Cockrell’s keyboard lines and the pretty sounds of Bonet’s violin complimenting the original songrwriting well.

    Concurrent with giving a performance with plenty of dancing to be had, Kirwan brought one of his former band’s recognizable elements to the show – politics in the form of song. A number of songs in the set came from Kirwan’s fervor for the history and stories of his home country of Ireland. Just like in the Black 47 days, these songs engaged a passionate audience, particularly the anthem to the Irish labor activist James Connolly. In more current affairs, Kirwan debuted a new single, “Second Coming Blues,” fueled by the recent election season and inspired by William Butler Yeats’ 1919 poem similarly titled “The Second Coming.”

    The show also featured a few surprises mixed throughout. The first was an appearance received with much applause by Cait O’Riordan (from The Pogues), who Kirwan introduced with a fun little story about when he attended that band’s first gig in NYC. Right after a rendition of The Pogues’ “I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday,” the band paid tribute to David Bowie with a cover of “Heroes” to which Kirwan had penned an extra verse about Belfast. Rory K stepped back out on stage for a father-son moment during a section of “Fire of Freedom,” and perhaps one of the most exciting moments for long-time fans was the reunion of Kirwan and Black 47 co-founder Chris Byrne for “Walk All The Days.”

    Before the night was over, the Kirwan treated BB King’s to one of Black 47’s MTV hits “Funky Ceili,” a song that for some intangible reason does not seem to get worn out with time, and the night closed with a large sing-along on the choruses of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.”

    The evening was by no means low key but was rather a fun-filled, laid back way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and a show well worth checking out next time it rolls around on the calendar. Until then, Kirwan has some solo gigs/talks popping up which can be found between Facebook and the Black 47 website.

    Setlist: Livin’ In America, Bas In Eirann, Five Points, Camptown Races/Hard Times, Big Fellah, I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday (w/ Cait O’Riordan), Heroes (David Bowie), Fanatic Heart, Sean MacDiarmada, Redemption Song -> Fire of Freedom, Second Coming Blues, Walk All The Days (w/ Chris Byrne), James Connolly, Funky Ceili

    Encore: Like A Rolling Stone

  • REVIEW: Making up with Adam Levine

    Watching Adam Levine perform with Maroon 5 was a dream come true for me and likely for many of the fans who came to the Times Union Center on Tuesday, March 7. The band had previously cancelled its appearance last September due to the birth of Levine’s first child with wife, Behati Prinsloo.

    Opening the evening was the U.S. Virgin Island group, “R-City” (also known as “Rock City), featuring brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas with a half-hour set of Jamaican based hip-hop, rap, and pop hits from its debut album, “What Dreams Are Made Of.” Upon performing the hit, “Make Up,” the brothers continued to make the show kid-friendly by teaching fans some Virgin Island slang. The crowd went crazy for a medley of songs R-City recorded for other performers —“Replay” (Iyaz), “We Can’t Stop” (Miley Cyrus), “I Don’t Mind” (Usher) and “Pour It Up” (Rihanna). R-City closed out the evening with “Locked Away,” a track that features Levine, of which he would reprise later in the evening.

    A rousing, electrifying drum solo welcomed the crowd to Tinashe and her group of female dancers, as they opened to “Ride Of Your Life,” from her sophomore album, “Nightlife.” In her half hour set, Tinashe also performed hits from Justin Bieber (“Let Me Love You”) and a remix reminiscent of 5th Harmony’s “Work.” before leading on into her own “Company”  and “All Hands on Deck.” The dance choreography from Tinashe and her dancers was great to watch. At one point, they were all in formation dancing to an Beyoncé-inspired rendition of “Single Ladies.”

    By the time the lights dimmed and the music began to blare, the audience was on their feet in anticipation of Maroon 5. Levine and company opened with “Moves Like Jagger.” Levine (guitar/ lead vocals) and his band, featuring Jesse Carmichael (guitar/piano), James Valentine (lead guitar), P.J. Morton (piano), Matt Flynn (drums) and Mickey Madden (bass), wasted no time in getting the audience to sing, video tape, and dance along to a majority of the band’s hits from “Songs About Jane,” “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long,” “Hands All Over,” “Overexposed” and “V.”

    Watching Maroon 5 perform to an almost sold out crowd was an evening I will never forget. Levine’s famous falsetto range was on point for every single song he performed. If you’ve thought watching the band perform with Levine on The Voice was awesome, watching their live performance in person at a live venue is amazing. One of the highlights of the band’s first set was a high-energy performance of “Let’s Dance,” a tribute to the late David Bowie. While another was when Levine gathered the band to center stage for an acapella chorus of “Payphone.”

    The encore featured nothing but an electronic drum kit and a piano. Levine and Valentine opened with an intimate look at the timeless hit, “She Will Be Loved.” Valentine took the lead, performing on acoustic guitar as Levine sang. He dedicated the song to all of the beautiful ladies who came to watch the show. Morton and Flynn joined Levine and Valentine to perform, “Don’t Wanna Know.” After a few more songs, the band closed the evening with yet another tribute —an electrifying homage to Prince. Purple lights flashed and illuminated the stage as each of the members poured their hearts out to perform “Let’s Go Crazy.” Levine stepped up to the challenge, performing Prince’s blistering guitar solo at the end to the crowd’s delight.

    Amy Modesti is a visual artist, photographer and musician who’s dedicated to sharing what’s surrounding her with the rest of the Capital District and beyond. She’s one of the photographers for TheSpot518.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518.

  • Hearing Aide: Dangermuffin ‘Heritage’

    Melding multiple genres, Americana quartet Dangermuffin has put together eight unique tracks for its new album, titled Heritage, which is set to drop on March 31.

    Kicking off the album with a Corona-in-the-sand vibe is the wavy and groovy “Ancient Family,” an almost surfer dude type of track, but with a more elegant and highbrow vibe. It’s a solid song to blast on a beach vacation with your friends, or late-night at home when you want to wind down.

    “Fidel” continues the seashore and ocean theme, except this time it’s strictly a reggae song with quite the fun nearly sky, rhythmic musical interlude in the middle. “Kindred Sun” starts out sounding like a slowed down version of “Jack Straw” by the Grateful Dead, but quickly morphs into a psychedelic excursion based around the biggest star in our solar system.

    “Methuselah” begins with a simple drum beat that slowly builds into a five note rhythm that might play out very well on the live stage. “One Last Swim” combines a country feel with bluegrass twang that simply adds to the eclecticism of Heritage.

    “Sea and the Rose” brings back the breezy and free feel of the beginning of the album, enlisting the use of the clavicle in a simple but quite effective way. “Waves” would have closed out the album in the perfect way, adding a little bit of all the themes on the previous six songs. The gentle guitar leads and danceable rhythms make this the feel good song of the record. “Ode to my Heritage” closes out the album in an old timey, campfire circle sort of way.

    Dangermuffin hails from Charleston, S.C., and this album reflects the light and airy ways of the south. A little pickin’, a little grinnin’ and a lot of soul and groove have given Dangermuffin an album to be proud of.

    Key Tracks: Waves, Methuselah, Kindred Sun

  • The Finals of NYS Music’s March Madness 2017

    We have made it to the finals of NYS Music’s March Madness! From our Final Four, two bands, Intrepid Travelers from Buffalo and Root SHOCK from Syracuse have reached the finals in our month long friendly competition between bands.

    A brief intro to each of our finalists:

    Intrepid Travelers specialize in creating sprawling improvisational soundscapes, infusing elements of  jazz, rock, funk, and bluegrass. Most of what the group plays are original compositions, and their covers get a groovy IT makeover.

    The group holds their annual IT Fest each year, and last year NYS Music had this to say about their performance: “The first two sets were a mixture of original songs with a few covers thrown in the mix. The last set they covered MGMT’s album Oracular Spectacular from start to finish. They put their own twist on the album, showing fans a side of the band that they might not be aware of.”

    Root SHOCK was formed in Winter of 2012 with veteran musicians whose love of reggae music flows deep. Last  fall we reviewed Root SHOCK’s self-titled release and said “Their self titled debut is an authentic embodiment of the magnetizing performances that have continued to draw in larger crowds wherever they go” amid an interview with Phil Grajko.

    In September 2015, we reviewed the group’s Funk n Waffles show and editor Ally Dean said “The high-energy atmosphere fostered a connectedness and comfort level allowing several liberated spectators to remove their shoes, showing off some fancy footwork, toes unrestricted.” The band just last week released their latest video “Sunlight.”

    Check back Monday for the 2017 winner!

    Voting begins at Noon on Thursday, March 30 and ends at midnight on Saturday, April 1 and we’ll announce the winner on Monday, April 3!

    We’d like to thank our regional sponsors The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, Nietzsche’s Buffalo, The Downtown Barn and Castle Studio. These small businesses represent the best of what New York State has to offer and celebrate music while inviting local and touring bands to perform for growing local scenes across the state.

  • Premiere: Wild Adriatic’s Music Video for ‘Come Back Baby’

    Wild Adriatic premieres today their video for ‘Come Back Baby,’ off their latest album Feel. Drummer Mateo Vosganian shares a little on the making of the video:

    “For this video we had the idea of involving the local community a bit more and put out a call for local young theater students to cast in this video. We ended up working with kids from Ballston Spa and had such a great time shooting with them. They were, of course, way more professional than we were on set and committed a whole weekend of their lives to making a fun video with us. Everything related to the video stems from our home community. Our friend Josh Casano is a band director at Oneida Middle School and connected us with the school principal who agreed to let us shoot there. Our friends Chromoscope Pictures are based in the Troy area and directed, produced, and edited this project. All in all it ended up being a super fun concept and we loved being able to sneak nods to some of our heroes into it.“

    Tour Dates
    Wild A Tour Dates
    3/31 – Nectar’s – Burlington, VT
    4/01 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME w/ The Maine Youth Rock Symphony
    4/07 – Parlor Newport – Newport, RI
    Come Back Baby
    Wild Adriatic & Leopold & His Fiction Tour
    4/11 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY
    4/12 – Coda – Philadelphia, PA
    4/13 – Daryl’s House – Pawling, NY
    4/14 – The Haunt – Ithaca, NY
    4/15 – Dogfish Head Brewing – Rehoboth Beach, DE
    4/16 – Rams Head Baltimore – Baltimore, MD
    4/18 – Broadberry – Richmond, VA
    4/19 – MotorCo – Durham, NC
    4/20 – The Evening Muse – Charlotte, NC
    4/21 – Ashley Street Tavern – Augusta, GA
    4/22 – Sweetwater 420 Festival (Just Wild Adriatic)
    4/25 – Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
    4/26 – Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
    4/27 – House of Rock – Corpus Christi, TX
    4/29 – Limelight – San Antonio, TX
    5/02 – Atomic Cowboy @ The Bootleg – St. Louis, MO
    5/05 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
    Wild Adriatic Summer Tour
    5/26-5/28 – Summercamp – Chillicothe, IL
    6/1-6/04 – Hazelnut Hang – Isle of Palms, SC
    6/30-7/02 – moe. Down – Turin, NY

  • Metal Couch Cast Returns With Season 2, Talk The Rods Returning, Feuds, and Review Obituary’s New Album

    Metal Couch Cast, the metal talk show on YouTube based in Syracuse returns after a brief hiatus, now featuring two of NYS Music’s writers Jay Saint G and Black Metal Steve

    Along with voice actor Matthew “Moshpit” Fardo, with Steve Losurdo Productions handling all of the show production go into a frenzy of metal topics including Tool’s recent tour announcement, along with The Rods new album and label with much, much more.

    Check out the video below and be sure to subscribe.

  • Dopapod to Release Live Album this Friday

    Dopapod will release their second live album II Saw Live Dopapod Evil Was II this Friday, March 31. The album takes choice tracks off live recordings from Fall 2016 and early 2017 shows in Colorado. This live release is in addition to the high quality soundboards of most performances available at music.dopapod.com. Highlights include the new song “Trickery”, as well as fan favorites “Trapper Keeper,” “FABA,” “Picture In Picture,” and many more.

    dopapod live albumFans can pre-order the album and get an instant download of “FABA” and receive the album immediately upon its release.

    Track Listing:

    Trapper Keeper > Mudwalkin’ > Trapper Keeper (1/29/17 – Frisco, CO)
    Priorities (11/17/16 – Stroudsburg, PA)
    FABA (12/30/16 – Covington, KY)
    Hey Zeus! Que Tal? (12/9/16 – Iowa City, IA)
    Nerds (12/14/16 – Ann Arbor, MI)
    Psycho Nature > PLSS > Psycho Nature (1/29/17 – Frisco, CO)
    Vol. 3 #86 (12/14/16 – Ann Arbor, MI)
    Trickery (12/15/16 – Kalamazoo, MI)
    PIcture In Picture (12/30/16 – Covington, KY)
    Present Ghosts (11/17/16 – Stroudsburg, PA)
    STADA (11/18/16 – New York, NY)
    Bluetooth (12/2/16 – Charleston, SC)
    Blast (12/2/16 – Charleston, SC)
    Bubble Brain (12/2/16 – Charleston, SC)

    Catch Dopapod on tour this spring!

    3/29 Columbus, OH: Park Street Saloon
    3/30 Pittsburgh, PA: The Rex Theater
    3/31 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre Of Living Arts
    4/1 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre Of Living Arts
    4/5 Portland, ME: Port City Music Hall
    4/6 Burlington, VT: Higher Ground
    4/7 Boston, MA: Paradise Rock Club
    4/8 Boston, MA: Paradise Rock Club
    4/9 Fairfield, CT: The Warehouse @ FTC
    4/12 Ithaca, NY: The Haunt
    4/13 Cleveland, OH: Beachland Ballroom
    4/14 Detroit, MI: The Magic Stick
    4/15 Grand Rapids, MI: The Intersection
    4/18 Urbana, IL: Canopy Club
    4/19 St. Louis, MO: Ready Room
    4/20 Lexington, KY: Cosmic Charlies
    4/21 Nashville, TN: Mercy Lounge
    4/22 Atlanta, GA: Sweetwater 420 Festival
    4/25 Wilmington, NC: The Throne Theatre
    4/26 Carborro, NC: Cat’s Cradle
    4/27 Charlotte, NC: Neighborhood Theatre
    4/28 Richmond, VA: The Broadberry
    4/29 Baltimore, MD: Soundstage
    6/9 Stephentown, NY
    6/10 Boulder, CO: Fox Theatre
    6/29-30 Quincy, CA High Sierra Music Festival
    7/01 Ozark, AR: Highberry Music Festival
    7/15 Berryville, VA: Pasture Palooza
    8/04 Thornville, OH: Werk Out Music & Arts Festival
    8/06 Loveland, CO: Arise Music Festival
    8/10 Scranton, PA: Peach Music Festival

  • Moe. Tour Springs Up in the Northeast

    One of New York’s most popular homegrown jam bands will embark on their 2017 Spring Tour with a brief Northeastern run this week.  moe. hits the road on Thursday, March 30th at The Wellmont Theatre in New Jersey for the first time since 2012.  The 5-piece will close out the month on Friday the 31st at the College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT before celebrating April Fool’s Day at The Paramount in Huntington, NY on Saturday.

    All three of these venues are easily drivable or trainable from NYC, where fans have been clustered since the band’s origin over 20 years ago.  Speaking of cities where moe.ron’s like to dance, the short and sweet Northeast run will end with a four-night residency at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA. The max capacity at this Harvard Square establishment is only 525 people making it a space normally reserved for up-and-coming bands, not veteran acts capable of packing much larger venues. If you were lucky enough to score tickets to one of these four sold-out shows from April 5th-April 8th, you are in for a real treat!

    Moe. will head south in April for a handful of shows before they kick off their annual festival season with headlining performances at Summer Camp in May and the return of Moe.Down at the end of June.  Another well-known jam band from the Northeast will host a “Baker’s Dozen” run in July at Madison Square Garden and Moe. already has extra special plans for a late-night celebration on the opening night.  They are “coming home again” to New York City on July 21st for an after party at the PlayStation Theater that is not to be missed.

    “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!’” -Robin Williams

  • Formula 5 Announces Album Release Date and Supporting Spring Tour

    Up and coming Albany based jamband, Formula 5 has announced its new album, the band’s third, along with a supporting spring tour. The new album, All Points North, was funded through a Kickstarter campaign last fall and is set for release April 14.

    The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Bryan Brundige at Overit Studios in Albany and Mastered by Michael Schoonmaker at Gigantic Mastering and will be available on streaming platforms on April 14 as well as at the band’s website and JEMP Radio.

    The new album marks a new stage in the band’s progression, bringing a more mature sound. Guitarist Joe Davis reflected on the old version of the band:

    “Q&A” and “Excalibur” are on ode to the old band, having been written by myself and (former keyboardist) Mike McDonald. It’s like a final farewell to the old, mixed in with new styles, such as with “The Birch Tree,” “Do Tell,” “Figure Out a Feeling,” “Trout Waters Pt I & II” and “It Goes…;” that old jammy style is still in us but it’s more mature and reigned in.

    The new sound has a more introspective feel while still maintaining roots in the band’s signature improvisational style. It’s an album that will appeal to old fans and garner new as the band looks to expand its reach beyond the Capital District.

    Formula 5 kicks off its Northeast spring tour at the Rock ‘n Roll Resort in Kerhonksen, N.Y. on March 31 and hits several New York venues along the way, including the legendary Monopole in Plattsburgh, the Waterhole in Saranac Lake, Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs, American Beauty in New York City, Buffalo Iron Works, Three Heads Brewing in Rochester, Nanola in Malta, the Dinosaur in Troy and wrapping up at Disc Jam Festival in Stephentown June 8 through 11.

    All Points North Tracklist:

    1. Come Along
    2. Sad Bed
    3. Trout Waters, Pt. I & II
    4. It Goes…
    5. Excalibur
    6. The Birch Tree
    7. Q&A
    8. Do Tell
    9. Figure out a Feeling

    Formula 5 Spring 2017 Tour:

    March 31 – Rock n Roll Resort – Kerhonksen, NY
    April 1 – Nectar’s – Burlington, VT *
    April 7 – The Monopole – Plattsburgh, NY
    April 8 – The Waterhole – Saranac Lake, NY
    April 13 – Bourbon and Branch – Philadelphia, PA ^
    April 14 – Pacific Standard Tavern – New Haven, CT +
    April 15 – Putnam Den – Saratoga Springs, NY &
    April 26 – Wonder Bar – Asbury Park, NJ
    April 27 – American Beauty – NYC %
    May 3 – The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD $
    May 5 – B.R.Y.A.C. – Bridgeport, CT
    May 12 – Stone Church – Newmarket, NH !
    May 13 – Bishop’s Lounge – Northampton, MA
    May 18 – Fete Music Hall – Providence, RI +
    May 24 – James Street – Pittsburgh, PA
    May 25 – Buffalo Iron Works – Buffalo, NY @
    May 26 – Three Heads Brewing – Rochester, NY
    May 27 – Nanola – Malta, NY
    June 2 – Dinosaur Bar-B-Que – Troy, NY
    June 8 – Arch St Tavern – Hartford, CT #
    June 8-11 – Disc Jam Music Festival – Stephentown, NY

    * with Mister F and Phantom Airwave
    ^ with Space Carnival
    + with Relative Souls
    & with The Other Brothers
    % supporting Dead Phish Orchestra
    $ with Litz
    ! with Revibe
    + with Electro Politics
    @ with Space Junk
    # with Airlooms

  • Hearing Aide: Julia Felice and the Whiskey Crisis ‘Devil on Your Back’

    Nestled in the foothills of the Finger Lakes is the college town of Ithaca, a community rich in the arts with a vibrant indie music scene. It was there six years ago when Julia Felice and Harry Nichols set out to record a few songs. Rather than release them on an EP, they held out until they had enough for a full-length album. Diving for Falls was released in 2014, with Felice on vocals and keys, Nichols on guitar, and Julian Dalton on drums. For the release show, they enlisted the help of Samuel B. Lupowitz on bass guitar and Joe Massa on lead guitar. This lineup eventually became known as The Whiskey Crisis.

    Over the past couple years, Julia Felice and The Whiskey Crisis have distilled their sound. Devil on Your Back has a more distinctive flavor than its predecessor. Felice’s deep and sultry vocals are complimented by the band’s jazzy blues stylings. The sound is full and robust, and the instrumental breakdowns give the musicians an opportunity to flaunt their skills.

    Over the course of 11 tracks, Julia Felice and the Whiskey Crisis demonstrate that they can perform a range of R&B songs – from the spirited numbers “Waste” and “Count Stacks” to the slow, soulful songs “Help Me Break” and “Come Over.” The song “Denim” has a funky 70’s vibe, but overall the entire album seems timeless and classic – with songs which could fit in as easily on a playlist with Joss Stone and Amy Winehouse as with Carole King or Janis Joplin.

    The band is celebrating the release on April 1 with a hometown show in Ithaca at The Range. Follow Julia Felice and the Whiskey Crisis on Facebook for upcoming shows and purchase information for Devil on Your Back.

    Key Tracks: Help Me Break, Count Stacks, Albatross