The Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA hosted a night of Colorado all-stars on Friday October 13 featuring The Floozies. Late Night Radio and the Funk Hunters opened the evening, both bringing high energy. The room was surging from the beginning, cheers and roars coming during every drop.
The Floozies came out to a sold-out crowd and did not slow down all night long. Playing favorites like “Sunroof Cadillac,” “Cheese,” and “Love, Sex, and Fancy Things,” they mixed in hits off their new album, Funk Jesus. The duo heads west across the country, playing halloween night in Utah, playing a long west-coast run before ending in their home-state of Colorado. Check out the photos from Boston by Zatchmo Lives Media.
On October 28, Disc Jam is presenting Halloween Horror Camp 3! Celebrate Halloween weekend listening to lespecial, Strange Machines, Formula 5 and more as they pay tribute to some of their favorite artists like Primus, Rage Against the Machine, The Doors, Phish, Daft Punk and more. Concert-goers should be prepared to be in Western Massachusetts’ 413 area code, but the catch is that the exact location for the event won’t be released to ticket holders until 2 days before the show.
Show gates will open at 10:00 am, and music will go from 1:00 pm to 3:00 am. There are two camping options: on-site cabins and car side camping. Guests 21+ can enjoy complimentary beer from the Lagunitas beer garden. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased here.
Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) played The Fillmore in Philly on September 30. I have only seen them a few times over the last few years, but this show was different. They sounded like a new band. A lot of the jams seemed to have an almost house like feel. Not to compare them to another jamband, but they almost sounded like some glorious 2007 Disco Biscuits, without trying to. After touring since their last release, 2016’s The Universe Inside, the new line-up is firing on all cylinders and I suggest you give their new sound a listen.
Once you fall down the rabbit hole and begin obsessively following the “Jam Scene” you quickly take note of which bands are the real deal and which ones will soon become another fourth-tier festival causality. Since their birth in 2009, Baltimore natives Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have quickly pulled themselves up the ropes and show no signs of slowing down. Progressing from simply a name you saw on the line-up of nearly a dozen festivals and hearing about them for Phish after-shows to headlining their own two-set shows and establishing an obsessive fan-base of their own (often referred to as “The Flock”), PPPP has secured a spot in the rank of bands you absolutely must see if they are within driving distance (eight hours is driving distance… right?). With the release of their new album PIZAZZ on October 20, the band solidifies that they are here to stay and only getting better with age.
If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to catch a show, then you already know how much energy this band has at all times. For the right person, a PPPP show is the equivalent of running a 5K on acid. Prior to your first show I would recommend going to the gym three times that week to prepare for the number of funk-driven convulsions your body will encounter. While it is often difficult to translate what a band can achieve in a live setting to a studio album, PIZAZZ is about as close as it gets. This is the essential “dancing your ass off in the kitchen while cooking dinner and you’re so into it you don’t even notice your roast has burnt” kind of album. It is genuinely fun, with each track offering a different form of exhilaration to keep the listener engaged. It is often difficult to choose music that satisfies every guest’s tastes when throwing a party, but with PIZAZZ you are guaranteed a bridge that will keep everyone satisfied and may even inspire a few hallway dance circles.
The album starts off hot with its first single “Fun in Funk” which epitomizes what the band and album is all about. The lyrics are playful and self-aware, but musically it is clear that they are not messing around. While “Fun in Funk” has already debuted live, like many other tracks from the album, the studio version is cleaned up and polished, while not at all overproduced. The second single “Something for Ya” follows keeping the energy going, but after listening through the album a couple of times you realize that they could have release almost any other song as their second single and it would fit. The album flows like a well-thought out 11-song set. As you reach the end of the final track, the mystical “Poseidon,” you have the urge to let out a little yell and clap for a couple of minutes until they come out for an encore. While we will have to wait a bit for the encore, this album is certainly one you will listen to over and over until it comes.
Key Tracks: Fun in Funk, Something for Ya, Poseidon
Firestarter’s latest album, The Time It Takes, is proof that good things do come to those who wait. While the band from New York retains their songwriting and lyrical prowess, their latest work exceeds expectations. They’ve risen to a higher caliber by amplifying punk elements. The release was celebrated with a show at The Cave featuring support from Light It Up, The Weekend Classic, and Something More.
The Cave is located within RVP Studios in New Haven, Connecticut, just southwest of Yale University. In addition to the venue, this hub of the local scene offers rehearsal space and music lessons. Most places where up-and-coming independent artists play aren’t this well equipped. They’ve got a top-notch sound system and a great lighting setup, which were immediately apparent upon arrival during Light It Up’s sound check.
Light It Up
From nearby Wallingford, Light It Up is fronted by Gina Fritz, a no-holds-barred punk rocker who could hold her own toe-to-toe against any other singer on the scene, male or female. Their original pop punk songs speak to empowerment and strength in the face of adversity. They threw a cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business” into their set, too, to the delight of the members of the audience.
Next on the bill was The Weekend Classic from Indiana. It took a few minutes to set up the drum kit, so the guys noodled around on their guitars to the house music, which was Toto’s “Africa.” Their set officially started with “More Alive.” It’s one of their newer songs, more refined and polished than the tracks off their early EP’s. And when they played a couple of songs they wrote a couple years ago, like “Disbelief” and “The Better Half,” they gave them a fresh spin, with more intricate instrumental work and enhanced melodies in the three-part vocals.
Something More from Maryland stormed the stage, rife with positive pop punk attitude. What’s not to love about a band who names two of their three works Dogs and Dogs Part II, with a cute canine on the covers? Their set included “Distance & Space,” “All My Friends Are Dogs,” and “It’s Not About You, Part II.” The energetic set included tons of punk jumps and an impassioned speech about making a collective effort to keep venues safe.
Fans, friends, and family were pumped up by the time Firestarter took the stage. They started with the first track off the new album, “One Year Later.” Right off the bat it was apparent that they’ve come a long way from 2013’s New Beginnings and Rooftop Acoustic Sessions. The riffs were heavy, the beats hit hard. The introduction of harsh vocals by bassist Dan Sheehan enhanced lead singer Matt LaPerche’s emotionally charged lyrics.
They were there to have a good time. Sheehan was hamming it up on stage right during the set. But he was sincere in thanking everyone for coming, and made a point to give a shout out to guitarist Mike Held’s dad. They threw themselves into the performance, stomping and spinning around the stage as they played. Drummer Matt Bliss was in the zone. The crowd was feeling it: heads were bopping to the fat beats. It was impossible not to sing along on the amped-up remakes of their hits “Troubled Existence” and “Headstones & Old Bones,” with lines like, “So make the change, fight through the pain and make it through another day.”
The night was over way too soon. Band members hung around afterwards to meet up, sell merch, and sign autographs. Firestarter has a couple gigs lined up in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and are booking more shows in and around New York. The Weekend Classic makes their way back to the east coast next month with support from Massachusetts’ In Good Nature and Albany’s Young Culture on select dates.
Firestarter setlist: One Year Later, Forgotten Yesterday, Empty Roads, A Light To Guide You Home, Troubled Existence, Headstones & Old Bones, What’s Left Of Us.
Firestarter’s The Time It Takes is available now to stream on Spotify and to purchase on Bandcamp, Amazon, and iTunes. Order a physical copy of the CD and merchandise through their webstore. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and show announcements.
My husband and I were fortunate enough to be in attendance the last time the Farm Aid lineup rocked Burgettstown in 2002.
This time was extra special as it was the first time our six-year-old son was able to attend a Farm Aid event with us. The life experience he has gained from attending the press conference, being up close to music greats like Farm Aid board members, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, learning about vermicomposting in the HOMEGROWN Village and eating all the amazing food the local farmers and food vendors cooked up for the show; I can’t even begin to imagine the lasting impact that will have on him. Did I mention that all of the concessions sold at the show were sustainably produced by family farmers using ecological practices and any waste produced was recyclable or compostable? Awesome!
Although the day in many ways is about the music, I want to take a moment to focus on the heart of the cause…the family farmers. Farm Aid has raised more than $50 million to support family owned farms. The press conference held prior to the day long concert, focused on four stories of local farms. They varied from a produce farm that sold to local schools, a dairy farm that was able to stick it out and make things work even in tough times, one of the pioneers of organic farming in the region and an inner city urban farm that invites the community to have a safe haven to commune, work and get a bite to eat if they’re hungry. Pennsylvania was selected to play host to the 2017 Farm Aid concert because it is home to over 58,000 farms. However, those farms are declining at a growing rate. For more information about Pennsylvania farms please visit here. It is no surprise that the 2017 Farm Aid concert sold out the first day tickets went on sale. The lineup was incredible and featured some of the music industry’s best. Farm Aid 2017 featured Willie Nelson, Neil Young with the Promise of the Real, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson, The Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Rateliff &The Night Sweats, Blackberry Smoke, Margo Price, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Valerie June, Insects vs Robots and Blackwood Quartet. We met people who had traveled from Alaska and even Australia to see the show. The day opened with the smooth sounds of the Blackwood Quartet; followed by the experimental psych-rock band Insects vs Robots featuring Micah Nelson, son of Willie. Valerie June brought her beauty and talent to the stage. How many instruments can she play? Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real were on fire. It has been a few years since I have seen them and they have certainly progressed as a band. Lukas has a genuine, likeable stage presence and proved that he has natural talent like his father. In fact, this band is so amazing that they have the distinct honor of being the backing band for Neil Young. Jam-rock band Blackberry Smoke played a set reminiscent of the sound of the Allman Brothers. Farm Aid veteran Jamey Johnson took the stage next. The crowd was starting to fill in as he performed country favorites, “Up on Cripple Creek” and Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” I had heard great things about Margo Price, a newcomer to the alternative country music scene. She did not disappoint. She has a voice that will take her places and a personal reason for championing the Farm Aid cause; her family lost their farm in 1985. Things really started to heat up when Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats took the stage. It was my first time seeing the band and now I completely understand what my friends have been raving about. What an awesome sound that culminated with their performance of “S.O.B.” The Avett Brothers kept the momentum going. I am unsure of how to describe their sound. You really just need to check it out for yourself. They rocked “Laundry Room,” “True Sadness” and “Slight Figure of Speech.” Jack Johnson is one of the most laid back performers I have ever seen. He opened his set with a highly entertaining parody song aptly titled, “Willie Got Me High and Stole All My Money.” Jack invited Jamey Johnson, Sheryl Crow and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats to join him onstage to cover Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.” To keep the party going, Jack called for someone to find Lukas Nelson so that he could come up and perform with him. Lukas was located and joined him for “Breakdown” which included a snippet from Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker.” Jack Johnson was clearly in the mood to share the stage and the Avett Brothers joined him for the final two songs of his set, “Mudfootball” and “Better Together.” The sun was finally starting to go down and Sheryl Crow was up next. She took the stage and immediately lead with hit song “Every Day Is a Winding Road.” She followed Jack Johnson’s lead by inviting Margo Price to join her for “Strong Enough” and ended her set with The Allman Brothers Band cover “Midnight Rider” with Margo Price, Willie and Lukas Nelson and Jack Johnson onstage to help. The first of the Farm Aid board members, Dave Matthews along with his partner in crime, Tim Reynolds performed next. Matthews and Reynolds laid down some mean guitar tracks during set opener “Don’t Drink the Water.” They pleased their diehard followers by debuting a new song that may appear on an upcoming album release that fans have dubbed “Odds Are Against Us.” Their set felt short. Of course I am accustomed to their nearly three hour long performances. John Mellencamp always puts on a good show. I am convinced he can pull off anything from country, blues, jazz-funk to good ol’ rock n roll. He can sing it all and his band is on point. He played fan favorites “Small Town,” “Check it Out,” an acoustic version of “Jack and Diane” to which Mellencamp said, “I don’t know why I play this song anymore. I guess it’s cause I know you all want to hear it.” “Rain on the Scarecrow” was very moving given it summarizes the heart of the devastation of the loss of a family farm.
I have seen Neil Young perform at Farm Aid several times but this year, he stole the show. Young along with Promise of the Real took the stage by storm with a thundering version of “F*ckin’ Up.” Young was ready to rock and ripped through stunning versions of “Cortez the Killer,” “Cinnamon Girl,” “Heart of Gold” and the crowd went crazy when the opening chords of “Rockin’ in the Free World” hit the air. He summed up the day by stating “Farmers are the American heroes today. They are living a real life.” It was time for the heart and soul of Farm Aid to take the stage… Mr. Willie Nelson. My son was overjoyed that he opened with his favorite Willie song, “Whiskey River.” Willie performed a Toby Keith cover “Beer for My Horses,” “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” “On the Road Again” and ended the night with some humor or perhaps satire with “It’s All Going to Pot.”
What can you do to help?
Shop at your local farmer’s market
Join a CSA
Grow your own garden or participate in a community garden
Talk to local farmers and learn about what they do and their farming practices
The Worcester Palladium will play host to a huge array of incredible musical acts in the coming years. September 28 was a night of livetronic legends at Worcester Palladium with STS9 and Denver-based Sunsquabi who opened the night with deep bass lines and a lot of heavy guitar shredding. The trio only played for a half hour, but the room was electrified quickly. Opiou had an incredible set, with Kevin Donohue from Sunsquabi sitting in on a couple tracks.
The “Enceladus tour” brought Sound Tribe Sector 9 to a packed and jam-hungry crowd. The quintet played two incredible sets that never seemed to slow down. With favorites like “Metameme” and “Shock Doctrine,” the fans were given a night of true Tribe greatness.
Set 1: Common Descent > Enceladus, Frequency > Out Of This World > Kamuy, Ad Explorata > Shock Doctrine, Surreality > EB
Set 2: Abcees 1, Rise Above Get Loud > Metameme > Aimlessly, F-Word > Modular, Click Land Echo > Inspire
Encore: You Don’t Say
Their tour continues south before they end in St. Augustine, FL. After Dominican Holidaze they have a three-night New Years Eve run at The Warfield in San Francisco, CA. Check out photos from this past Thursday night, courtesy of Zatchmo Lives Media.
Bencoolen has released their latest single, “The Crown,” recorded this past summer at Inner Ear Studios and produced by Don Zientara.
The song combines hard hitting songwriting, dynamic shifts, and tells the story of driving to a music festival to encounter someone struggling with addiction. The lyrics set the scene of the drive in, the sights and sounds of the festival, and an ironic throne on which he sits.
The Washington D.C. based group transitioned into a touring act in February 2016, bringing together founding members Teddy Scott (guitar) and Paul Gregg (vocals/guitar) with Jack Bentsen (Alto Sax), Ben Suarez (bass) and Will Lockery (drums) joining them. Together, Bencoolen has evolved into a ‘more is more’ rock group with soaring vocals, powerful guitar works and soulful saxophone. They’ve supported Big Something, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Atlas Road Crew, the Mowgli’s, and Marcus King Band, among others, and has been hitting the road hard in the Mid-Atlantic area.
They’ll be in New York on November 17 for a performance at Arlene’s Grocery with Youth Yamada and supporting Maradeen.
Hip-hop superstar and rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels drops his latest work, Back From The Dead, The Legend Lives on Record Store Day, Nov. 24. To celebrate the release, he’ll be doing meet-and-greets and talking about his life with fans at record stores throughout the entire weekend:Looney Tunes Records on Long Island (Friday, Nov. 24), Vintage Vinyl Records in Fords, NJ (Saturday, Nov. 25), and The Record Archive in Rochester (Sunday, Nov. 26). Each event starts at 3pm. Fans must pre-order Back From The Dead, The Legend Livesthrough a participating record store in order to get a wristband to attend.
Fans will not want to miss this rare opportunity to meet the legendary Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and hear his inspirational story! The founding member of Run-DMC will be joined at these events by Jason Rockman of Slaves on Dope, who performs on the album. The pair will be available after the talk to take pictures and sign copies of “Back From the Dead, The Legend Lives.” Released on Brookvale Records, the LP is limited to only 4,000 copies.
Friday, Nov. 24
Looney Tunes Music and More (LONG ISLAND, NY)
631.587.7722 www.LTCDS.com
Saturday, Nov. 25
Vintage Vinyl Records (FORDS, NJ)
732.225.7717 www.vvinyl.com
Most people might not know this, but The Pixies got their hometown start at UMass Amherst back in 1986, when two of the founding members were neighbors. Over 30 years later, they still play like the 90’s never ended. On September 20, their alt-punk-rock filled the John M. Greene Hall in Northampton, MA. With no set list, the band came out to a packed crowd and played hit after hit. After each song, the lights would dim while Black Francis would choose where the band would go next, feeding off the energy of the crowd. They have a few more shows in the northeast and Canada before moving westward. Do not miss these guys. Check out photos below from Zatchmo Lives Media.
The Floozies came out to a sold-out crowd and did not slow down all night long. Playing favorites like “Sunroof Cadillac,” “Cheese,” and “Love, Sex, and Fancy Things,” they mixed in hits off their new album, Funk Jesus. The duo heads west across the country, playing halloween night in Utah, playing a long west-coast run before ending in their home-state of Colorado. Check out the photos from Boston by Zatchmo Lives Media.
If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to catch a show, then you already know how much energy this band has at all times. For the right person, a PPPP show is the equivalent of running a 5K on acid. Prior to your first show I would recommend going to the gym three times that week to prepare for the number of funk-driven convulsions your body will encounter. While it is often difficult to translate what a band can achieve in a live setting to a studio album, PIZAZZ is about as close as it gets. This is the essential “dancing your ass off in the kitchen while cooking dinner and you’re so into it you don’t even notice your roast has burnt” kind of album. It is genuinely fun, with each track offering a different form of exhilaration to keep the listener engaged. It is often difficult to choose music that satisfies every guest’s tastes when throwing a party, but with PIZAZZ you are guaranteed a bridge that will keep everyone satisfied and may even inspire a few hallway dance circles.
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They’ll be in New York on 
Fans will not want to miss this rare opportunity to meet the legendary Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and hear his inspirational story! The founding member of