NYS Music 20​17

Category: Genres

  • Hearing Aide: Wild Adriatic ‘Feel’

    Saratoga Springs’ Wild Adriatic has logged a good deal of miles on their way to many well deserved accolades as a live act. On their latest LP, Feel,  they looked to their touring experience both for inspiration and style. In a recording session in Austin, with Grammy-nominated producer Frenchie Smith, they kept it simple. They avoided production bells and whistles, opting for a more organic and in-the-moment sound. The songs themselves were born on the road as well, in various writing retreats around the country, from Wisconsin to Virginia to Texas.

    But this journey begins in Appleton, Wisconsin, site of some of the band’s most memorable shows. The opening track, “Appleton,” starts things off with an unexpectedly funky nod to Sly and the Family Stone. They ease into their more muscular moments with the slinky and soulful “Runnin’ Thru” and the infectious and poppy “Come Back Baby,” where guitarist Travis Gray works a gorgeous falsetto backed by the West End Horns.

    There’s no looking back from there. Fueled up, the trio –  Gray, Rich Derbyshire on bass and Mateo Vosganian on drums – step on the gas, letting loose on their energetic and soulful rock engine. When all three cylinders are firing, Wild Adriatic commands attention.

    “Same As It Ever Was” establishes their ability to elevate a simple blues into a grooving and fist-pumping rocker – a formula they find more success with on “Hurricane Woman” and “Some Nerve.” Thumping bass, rollicking drums, ripping guitar riffs are all tied together with Gray’s unmistakable voice.

    “Blaze of Love” blends their knack for funky grooves, powerful beats and soaring leads perfectly. The album closes with “Busman’s Holiday,” a deep rocking blues number that calls to mind Led Zeppelin and the Black Keys. Gray repeatedly sings, “I’m going back on the road.” This excellent collection of songs is ready to go with them there. Back where they all began.

    Key tracks: Blaze of Love, Same As It Ever Was, Come Back Baby

  • Greensky Bluegrass Crack Egg Jokes Amid Stellar Performance

    Anders Beck had a moment before Greensky Bluegrass’ performance at The Egg on January 31. He shared with the audience that, for dinner, he was served chicken inside an egg. And that was just one of the many egg yolks cracked by the dobro player this evening, who had high praise for the venue in saying, “It’s unique, it’s different, it’s The Egg.” An apt description.

    Fruition opened the night with a crisp and refreshing Northwest bluegrass sound that is at times mellow and folky then at times rockabilly. They emanate an energy that kicked up in unexpected spots, never spending too long in one genre for more than a song.

    greensky bluegrass eggA symphony of sound greeted a sold out audience inside The Hart Theater for Greensky Bluegrass this evening, and they opened with “A Letter to Seymour” and a dark “In Control.” The Band’s “Shape I’m In” got deep and stretched out nicely in a patient jam before a trio of new songs off Shouted, Written Down & Quoted followed — “More of Me” (with extra egg humor), “Fixin to Ruin,” and the very upbeat and extended “Living Over.”

    The second set began with crowd pleaser “Take Cover” and a hypnotic beat developed two songs later during “Lose my Way,” fitting to its name. The psychedelic light show paired perfectly with the progressive jamgrass and fell neatly into Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.” An animated Paul Hoffman took off on mandolin during “Pig in a Pen,” then swapped to guitar to jam out the final two songs, “While Waiting” and “Don’t Lie.” The latter of which was built layer upon layer and led to a deep culminating jam to close the set.

    For the encore, Greensky brought out opener Fruition and stepped in front of the mics to the front of the stage as the audience gathered near for purely acoustic versions of “Demons” and “Meet me on the Mountain.” The camaraderie the two bands exhibited as they collaborated in the finale was representative of the communal nature of their mutual bluegrass roots. That communal sense stretched to the crowd, who found themselves inspired to leap to their feet at numerous junctures throughout the show and dance with a passion aroused. As a friend said in passing prior to show time, “This is bluegrass for the rock n’ roll fan and rock n’ roll for bluegrass fans.”

    Set 1: A Letter to Seymour, In Control, Last Winter in the Copper Country, Ghost of Richard Manual > Shape I’m In, More of Me, Fixin’ To Ruin, Living Over

    Set 2: Take Cover, Burn Them, Lose My Way, You Can Call Me Al, Room Without a Roof, Pig in a Pen, While Waiting, Don’t Lie

    Encore: Demons*, Meet Me On The Mountain*

    * Acoustic, with Fruition

  • Spafford at Buffalo Iron Works

    It’s the beginning of February in beautiful, not so sunny Buffalo. The cold weather was no match for the barn burner that took place at Buffalo Iron Works on the first of the month with Aqueous and Spafford. As the crowd trickled in, The Emporium (Dave and Mike from Aqueous) took the stage to the hometown crowd’s delight. The set of mainly covers set the tone for the evening. Aqueous drummer Rob Houk joined in towards the end of the set and took the vocal lead on the Stone Temple Pilots cover “Plush.”

    If you don’t know about Spafford , it’s about time to change that. These guys are good and poised to take the scene by storm. Hailing from Prescott, Arizona, the band formed in 2012. Brian Moss is the lumberjack behind the axe.  Jordan Fairless is the man with the plan holding down the bass line and Red Johnson on keys. Last, and certainly not least, is Nick Tkachyk on drums.  Their sound is extremely tight. The segues were seamless. It was a beautiful night of music.

    Spafford continues on with their East Coast portion of their Winter Tour with upcoming dates supporting Umphrey’s McGee. Be sure to check these guys out.

    Setlist: Dream Jam , Windmill , BDF, Reds Jam, Weasel, Pallisaids, Weasel, Slip N Squander , LLO

    Encore: Tods Tots

  • Hearing Aide: Marco Benevento ‘Woodstock Sessions’

    Marco Benevento is the latest artist to record his Woodstock Sessions at Applehead Recording in Woodstock. The live album, recorded in a single take in front of a sold out studio audience with his band consisting of Karina Rykman on bass and Andy Borger on drums, features tracks spanning his career – from “Bus Ride” off his debut album Invisible Baby through the entire title suite from The Story of Fred Short.

    The album kicks off with Marco giving the audience his permission to dance as he jumps into “Dropkick” off The Story of Fred Short, setting the tone for this often bouncy and highly danceable set of music. While the pièce de résistance is the entire “The Story of Fred Short” suite, the 22 minute opus spanning styles, the instrumental tracks “Bus Ride,” “Coyote Hearing,” and “Greenpoint” all show off the band’s musical talent. He returns to the bouncy dance music with “At the Show” to close out the album.

    While the band is tight and musically talented, Benevento’s vocals are a bit lacking and almost a distraction. However, they aren’t enough of a distraction to prevent this from being a fun collection of tunes. Any Marco fan is sure to enjoy the album, and new listeners can hear a great career-spanning collection of his music. Woodstock Sessions will be released on Feb. 17.

    Marco Benevento is currently on tour. He plays New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl tonight followed by The Hollow in Albany tomorrow night. He’ll also be at Higher Ground in nearby South Burlington, Vermont on Saturday. After a few more shows in the Northeast this month, he heads west starting in late-March.

    Key Tracks: Dropkick, The Story of Fred Short, Bus Ride, Coyote Hearing

  • Alter Bridge Rocks Rapids Theatre In Niagara Falls

    Even though they were part of rock’s biggest tours last year with Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin, that is no way to enjoy an Alter Bridge show.  During that run, which did travel through various cities across New York State, Alter Bridge only played a small handful of songs during their opening slot.  If you really want a display of heaviness and fun and REALLY get your money’s worth of Alter Bridge, then seeing them headline is the best route to go. Those who were lucky enough to catch them on The Last Hero Tour with Nonpoint and Weapons Of Anew at Niagara Falls’ Rapids Theatre were blessed with a kick ass night of music.

    Unfortunately for me, I was unable to catch Weapons Of Anew due to the travel conditions, but I came in just as Nonpoint was performing “What A Day,”one of their trademark songs.  Nonpoint must have been a part of the tour because Mark Tremonti is a fan, and I believe they were an appropriate choice.  The urban flavor they bring to metal and hard rock makes them a standout, not to mention that this is their 20th anniversary tour (which is hard to believe at this point).  They had a very loud and energetic set; the crowd was really into it.  Some of the stand outs were their new songs such as “Divide and Conquer” as well as their cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.” They ended their set with their anthem, “Bullet With a Name.”  It’s great to see that the band is twenty years strong and still bring a lot of energy into a show.

    Alter Bridge graced the stage by opening with “Writing On The Wall” which is off their newest album The Last Hero.  Alter Bridge is a very rare and unique talent.  Not since Judas Priest has a band had two lead guitarists/soloists that share the stage, alternate solos and really feed off each other.  Vocalist/guitarist Myles Kennedy and guitarist/vocalist Mark Tremonti are the perfect complement to each other and are a powerhouse force on stage with the most wicked one-two punch that most metal and hard rock bands are lacking.  Alter Bridge made a wise decision by playing not only a hefty amount of songs off of The Last Hero, but also from their previous album Fortress which came out in 2013.  But they didn’t really tour behind it much because Myles was busy with Slash’s band and Mark had his hands full with his band Tremonti.  So it was awesome to hear songs like “Cry Of Achilles” and “Addicted To Pain,” but the real stand out was “Water Rising,” which gave Mark Tremonti to display his lead vocal.

    If there is any complaint about the show, you could say the bass was too loud.  Now that isn’t a fault of bassist Brian Marshall, it’s on the venue’s sound crew.  It just sounded muffled.  But luckily, Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti’s guitar playing is so clean and they shred so much that the muffled bass sound coming off the venue’s sound didn’t interfere with the guitars or drums for that matter.

    The best part of the show was hearing the bands best song, “Blackbird.”  It’s their masterpiece.  It’s their “Free Bird” (no pun intended) and afterwards they closed their set by finally playing material off their debut album One Day Remains with “Metalingus” and “Open Your Eyes.”  I was surprised they didn’t play much from that album, however, material from the last two albums had to be heard, not to mention that with five albums in, you only can play so many songs.  Those who stayed for the encore were in for a treat as they came out and played “Show Me A Leader” which was the lead single off The Last Hero.  Afterwards, the crowd was treated to a guitar battle between Kennedy and Tremonti, which was a great way to really see their talents on display and was fun to see.  This is something I wish bands did more.  Finally, the band left the crowd wanting more in closing with Blackbird’s “Rise Today” which is band’s trademark closing song.  Overall, it was a great set from Alter Bridge who definitely deserve more recognition in the music industry and need to headline more shows. I would recommend this band to almost anyone.  And I will definitely catch more shows at Rapids Theatre.

     

  • Photo Gallery: Escort at the Brooklyn Bowl

    Escort played their second night of a two night run on Saturday, January 28 at the Brooklyn Bowl, with Horizon Wireless opening. DJ Harrison Waxenberg created the electronic textures while drummer Daniel Lyons kept the beat driving, getting the crowd nice and warmed and setting the tone for the night.

    The sold out crowd was crammed on the floor by the time the headliners took the stage, and they kept up with them, matching the energy Escort was putting out. They started out the night with a string of originals before treating everyone to section of disco covers.  They finished off the night with their hits and the crowd kept on dancing to a closing set by DJ Speakerbot.

    Following Brooklyn Bowl, Escort finishes the run in Philly and Washington D.C. this week.

  • John Prine Brings His Illegal Smile to Albany

    John Prine, the “songwriter’s songwriter,” is busy touring. He makes a stop in Albany in July to share his classic tunes.john prinePrine is known as the “songwriter’s songwriter” as many legendary artists have recorded his music, including Carly Simon, Johnny Cash, John Denver and Bonnie Raitt. His catalog includes classic songs like “Angel from Montgomery,” “Sam Stone,” “Paradise,” and “Hello in There.” At 70, he is still actively touring.

    Prine heads out on a month-long European tour in April after playing a handful of dates stateside. He makes stops in nearby Hershey, PA on March 31 at the Hershey Theatre and Newark, NJ on April 1 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, both shows with Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams. Upon his return from Europe, he plays some shows in the maritime provinces in Canada.

    Prine makes a stop at Albany’s Palace Theatre on Friday, July 28 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the show go on sale tomorrow, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. with prices ranging from $38 to $102.50.

  • Queen and Adam Lambert Announce North American Summer Tour

    Queen has announced that they will once again team up with former American Idol rocker, Adam Lambert, for a 25-city tour across North America this summer. May, Taylor, and Lambert, will not only perform all the Queen hits, they have specially designed and created a new show for this outing, after a wide range of very successful sold out tours throughout North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America.

    queen adam lambertThe arena tour will start to rock you on June 23, at the Gila River Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, and will play it’s last “Bohemiam Rhapsody” on Aug. 5 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

    New Yorkers can catch the tour when it comes through the state on July 28, at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. Depending on your location, New York fans can also see shows within driving distance on July 17, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC,  July 18, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON, July 23, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, July 26, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and July 30 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.

    The trio first teamed up when Lambert was part of the singing competition show American Idol in 2009 when they performed “We Are The Champions.” They once again shard the stage in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Ireland. They played an eight minute medley of “The Show Must Go On,” “We Will Rock You,” and “We Are The Champions” to close out the show. The three first hit the road together in 2012, when Lambert joined Queen for several shows across Europe, including at several festivals.

    In a Blabbermouth report, quotes from Adam Lambert, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor about working together were published.

    queen adam lambertMay on Lambert : “Adam is the first person we’ve encountered who can do all the Queen catalog without blinking. He is a gift from God.”

    Taylor on Lambert: “Adam’s incredibly musical, and we certainly take anything he says quite seriously.”

    Lambert on replacing Freddy Mercury: “There’s never going to be another, and I’m not replacing him. That’s not what I’m doing. I’m trying to keep the memory alive, and remind people how amazing he was, without imitating him. I’m trying to share with the audience how much he inspired me.”

    Tickets go on sale to the general public on Feb. 3, at LiveNation.com.

    Queen Tour Dates:

    June 23 – Gila River Arena – Phoenix, AZ
    June 24 – T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV
    June 26 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
    June 29 – SAP Center – San Jose, CA
    July 1 – Key Arena – Seattle, WA
    July 2 – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
    July 4 – Rogers Place – Edmonton, AB
    July 6 – Pepsi Center Arena – Denver, CO
    July 8 – CenturyLink Center – Omaha, NE
    July 9 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
    July 13 – United Center – Chicago, IL
    July 14 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
    July 17 – Bell Centre – Montreal, QC
    July 18 – Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON
    July 20 – The Palace of Auburn Hills – Detroit, MI
    July 21 – Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, OH
    July 23 – Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville – CT
    July 25 – TD Garden – Boston, MA
    July 26 – Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
    July 28 – Barclay’s Center – Brooklyn, NY
    July 30 – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
    July 31 – Verizon Center – Washington, DC
    Aug. 2 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
    Aug. 4 – Americans Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
    Aug. 5 – Toyota Center – Houston, TX

  • The Egg Hosts Legendary Chicano Rockers Los Lobos

    A uniting sound in a time of discord was found with Los Lobos at The Egg Performing Arts Center in Albany, on Sunday, January 29. The legendary cross-cultural rock n roll group brought out a rising tempo over the course of two sets in the Hart Theater this evening.

    The first set was highlighted by “Burn It Down,” while the second set took off with the rockabilly “Train Don’t Stop Here,” highlighted by Conrad Lozano on bass with Cesar Rojas’ vocals. The iconic “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” was soulful and smooth as always, with that haunting accordion from David Hidalgo. “Mas Y Mas,” found the band joined by a guest trombonist and Steve Berlin on trumpet.

     

    Kiko and the Lavender Moon @LosLobosBand @theeggpac #tejano #nysmusic

    A video posted by NYS Music (@nystatemusic) on


    “Last Night” brought the crowd to their feet, and featured lyrics from “Turn on Your Lovelight” and a brief horn duel, then segued seamlessly into the Buddy Holly classic “Not Fade Away.” The set ended with a rousing rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” and an encore of Traffic’s “Light Up or Leave Me Alone.” Once again, the timeless Los Lobos sound rocked The Egg, bringing rock n roll and Tejano together to the delight of the audience.

    Los Lobos Albany

  • Hearing Aide: Andy Suzuki and The Method ‘The Glass Hour’

    Andy Suzuki & The Method (Kozza Babumba) are on the verge of releasing something incredible. It’s called The Glass Hour and it’s going to get them the recognition they deserve. Their past work, unfortunately, blended in among other folk-rock/pop bands, but they have taken a new direction that will definitely make waves in the New York music scene and it’s only a matter of time before they reach national recognition. They’re slowly finding their niche, now focused around future-pop with heavy R&B and soul touches, garnished with rock undertones. There are a wide variety of tones and attitudes and one could imagine these songs fitting seamlessly in between today’s popular music radio stations.

    The Brooklyn based bunch have known each other for some time and have been producing music for about 10 years now. They first met in college and knew that they would fit together perfectly musically. Their unique backgrounds made them gravitate towards each other with Suzuki, being half Jewish and half Japanese, practicing music in both languages, and Kozza, being the son of Grammy-winning percussionist Babatunde Olatunji. They teamed up, created three albums and on February 3rd they will release their fourth one which  is arguably their best work.

    Their prior album, Born Out of Mischief,  is very heavy on the folk/country side and it slipped under the radar. It was creative, well thought out and well produced. It showed that they knew what they were doing and could work their way around a studio and recording process. It was great work but it just wasn’t special and wasn’t worthy of great recognition. Going above and beyond, trying new techniques and combining sounds that have not been fused together before is what gets the name out there. Mischief didn’t do the trick, but The Glass Hour sure will.

    The album starts off with “Run Away” and the attitude and tone is such an incredible change compared to Mischief. It’s a giant leap towards today’s pop music direction. The Method, who will be referred to as Babumba, has a keen ear for an addictive beat. That, paired to Suzuki’s sultry voice, is the perfect recipe for a not too distant future-pop sound that feels familiar but has enough flare to keep things interesting and unique. This track is a softer entry into the album but things get even more interesting as it goes along.

    “I Can’t Live” is one of the singles they released and it’s one of which they seem to be particularly proud. They say it’s one of the tracks that sounds like a cross between Jack Garratt and Michael Jackson. That’s a bold statement, but it’s arguably true. The song is more impressive because of its properly balanced mix of pop and rock. Both clean and distorted guitar sounds ring throughout the entire song which gives the heavy pop beats and licks a nice flare.

    Andy Suzuki“Shelter” is definitely a notable track because of it’s heavy R&B and gospel  influences which makes for a very emotional song. It seems that it’s about trying to convince a girl that he will take care of and “shelter” her, which is very R&B-like lyrical content. One of the best phrases of the song is when it climaxes and they bring in a beautiful gospel/church-like chorus line and it can send chills up and down the spine of listeners.

    “Fire” is more typical pop, filled with tribal drum beats and plenty of vocalization. It brings to mind a movie montage of a group of friends on their way across country via a VW Microbus. It’s well made, but lacks direction. It’s very predictable and can be uneventful to those who don’t enjoy this type of sound.

    Once listeners hit “I Need You More” they’ll see that he group is still in experimental phase as they toy around with a very 90’s pop sound. The tone stems from the beat mainly with it’s peppy and upbeat grooves and recognizable synthetic snare hits. They again combine this sound with a gospel chorus line that adds a nice flavor to an old sound. And it works pretty well, but more than likely for a small demographic. But society is full of surprises and may eat this stuff up.

    “Come Forward” is very well done and has one of the most aggressive attitudes on the record. It carries a primarily minor tonality all the way through and it makes for a very unique track. Once again, Babumba creates a very cerebral and intriguing series of beats. It’s very busy and complicated but listeners can still feel the beat and that’s not something that’s easily accomplished.

    “Overtime” will definitely be a crowd pleaser. It was another one of the singles they released so it’s obvious they’re very confident about it. The chorus is so well done and it’s hard to explain why, but Suzuki hits a perfect series of notes over a super smooth, laid back and spacey beat. Again, a bluesy and distorted guitar solo makes a for a fantastic and addicting climax.

    If listeners weren’t perplexed by the album’s diversity by this point, then they will be by the time they hear “Digging My Way Out.” It almost sounds like a modern chain gang song. It’s march with a “four on the floor” beat with a jingling tambourine on the upbeat to give it an authentic chain gang song feel. Once again, their guitarist absolutely crushes the solos and adds a fantastic emotional flavor to the song that separates it from other genres and bands alike.

    The album is highly experimental, but it seems that there is one central theme among all the songs and that’s the intricacies of the music and how they propel the songs forward. Suzuki’s voice is immaculate, there’s no argument, but a lot of the focus is directed towards how addictive the song is musically. Hopefully, they will stay with their influences of R&B and rock because these flavors obviously work with so many different genres.

    Key Tracks:  Overtime, Shelter, I Can’t Live, Digging My Way Out

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_CH_FhCKb4

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