NYS Music 20​17

Category: Regions

  • Chenango Blues Fest to Celebrate Twenty-fifth Anniversary

    The Chenango Blues Fest will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary on Aug. 18 and 19 at the Chenango County Fairgrounds in Norwich, New York headlined by the North Mississippi Allstars with John Medeski. The event kicks off with a free show on Friday night beginning at 6:00 p.m., with stylish showman Reverend Shawn Amos.

    Following Amos will be 2017 International Blues Competition Best Band Winners, Dawn Tyler Watson & the Ben Racine Band. Headlining the opening night will be twenty-time Blues Music Award nominee Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials. Lil’ Ed Williams continues the lineage of such Chicago slide guitar masters as Hound Dog Taylor, Elmore James, and Williams’ uncle, J.B. Hutto. The fan favorite, fez-wearing, toe-walking showman is not to be missed.

    Chenango Blues Fest anniversarySaturday’s ticketed event ($25 advance, $35 day of show) has a jaw-dropping amount of talented musicians. Acts will alternate between the main infield stage and the tent stage.

    Main Stage:

    11:30 – Gracie Curran & the High Falutin’ Band
    1:45 – Muddy Magnolias
    4:00 – Mannish Boys Allstars
    6:30 .- Tommy Castro & the Painkillers w/s/g Magic Dick
    9:00 – North Mississippi Allstars w/s/g John Medeski

    Tent Stage:

    12:45 – Alvin Youngblood Hart
    3:00 – Jason Ricci and JJ Appleton
    5:15 – Ghost Town Blues Band
    7:45 – Victor Wainwright and the Wild Roots

    Gracie Curran, Muddy Magnolias, and the Ghost Town Blues Band all continue to confirm the Chenango Blues Festival’s ability to identify and feature emerging artists that captivate audiences and quickly become fan favorites, as the GTBB demonstrates with their third Norwich appearance since 2015. Alvin Youngblood Hart’s powerful vocals will kick things off on the tent stage, where he will be followed by Jason Ricci and JJ Appleton. Ricci is one of the most talented and creative harmonica players playing anywhere. Blues harp fans will come from far and wide to hear him. He teamed with Appleton on the 2015 acoustic blues release, Dirty Memory.

    The Mannish Boys Allstars is a dream team of veteran award-winning bluesmen including lead vocalist and front man extraordinaire Sugaray Rayford, guitar wizard Kid Ramos, Anthony Geraci on keyboards, and the rhythm section of Willie J. Campbell and Jimi Bott.

    Tommy Castro & the Painkillers will add harmonica ace Magic Dick Salwitz, known best for his work with J. Geils Band, to their lineup.

    Closing out the tent stage will be 2017 BMA Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year winner Victor Wainwright, appearing with his eight-piece project, Victor Wainright and the Wildroots. This band won the 2016 BMA Band of the Year Award. This group is a full-blown aural onslaught replete with piano, organ, guitar, bass, drums, horns, harmonica, and backup vocals.

    Headlining the main stage for the second time are the North Mississippi Allstars. The duo of brothers Luther (guitar, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, piano, synth bass, vocals) are steeped in the traditions of Mississippi hill country blues music and will be complemented by in-demand keyboard virtuoso John Medeski. Expect the unexpected with this collaboration.

    More details on the 25th Chenango Blues Fest can be found here.

  • Songsmith C.K. Flach Talks about His Songwriting and What Inspires Him

    Curtis “C.K.” Flach — pronounced flack — has a look and sound to him that clashes with today’s world. But, when he opens his mouth, people listen.c.k. flach

    The 25-year-old Coeymans Hollow native often takes to the stage dressed one necktie away from a job interview, with a clean white shirt and sports jacket, topped with a whimsical head of hair reminiscent of a flamboyant Jerry Lee Lewis.

    But, flamboyant, he is not. Though people may want to mispronounce his name as flash, there is little flashy about Flach, but the self-described “quiet kid” commands the stage like a master craftsman at work in the backwoods, strumming his guitar and sharing stories of struggle through a voice others have compared with the late Lou Reed.

    The association with Reed is no mistake. As Flach started listening to music as a musician, he came across Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” and thought he could learn how to develop his vocal range through the late artist. “I felt I could learn a lot about what to do vocally by listening to him,” he said. “Then I found that I really, really like his writing style, how bold it was, and just went from there.”

    Reed’s music was often described as avant garde. Credited as one of the pioneers to the punk rock genre that started in the late ‘60s. A rebel renowned by music lovers of today, but woefully underappreciated by critics of today. Upon his death in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine apologetically held vigil by tweeting and reporting about his every last moment. But, in the past, the magazine was one of his harshest critics. So goes Reed’s style and polarizing persona. For the deadpan singer sharing stories about drug addicts and social misfits, there was no middle ground. People either loved him or hated him.

    “He’s a tough guy rebel. He’s the godfather of punk rock. You listen to him talk, he’s got that New York accent. He’s got a toothpick in his mouth while he’s playing on stage. Yeah. A real rebel. I don’t see myself like that at all. I’m quiet, to be honest with you. I don’t really stand out like that. I’m a pretty nice guy, I think. And, really shy at times as a kid. It’s amazing that I get up on stage and sing in front of people.

    Flach was born and raised on a steady diet of classic rock. He started drumming when he was ten. He only learned to play a few chords on the guitar when he was a teenager. By 2012, he was out of high school and in a band he started with his brother, called “The Kindness.” Then he started to songsmith.

    As a songwriter, Flach said he draws inspiration from what is around him: the landscape, lifestyle and people here in the Hudson Valley. Flach started singing and writing for “The Kindness,” which released an EP in 2015. That immediately took Flach to a solo project that produced “Empty Mansions” in 2016.

    Flach prefers to describe himself as a songsmith, because he sees himself more as a craftsman that is considering all aspects of music and not only the lyrics. Standing front and center on stage, he is wrapped in layers of song structure, lyrics, tone, and delivery. The placement of the bridge. Where to start the chorus. How does it relate to the previous song.

    “It’s important to think all of those things through,” said Flach. “I think the difference between writers and craftsman is that [a songsmith] thinks of all the angles, and tries to approach it as a total project and not just song. … I like that term “smith” because it makes me feel like a craftsman. That’s important to me.

    Flach began writing songs that spoke of social strife — politics, racism, division and corruption — and stories of love, loss, heartache and salvation. He said he was heavily inspired by Reed’s critically acclaimed album “Berlin,” which does the same. Stories, he said, that come through the “eyes of empathy.”

    “It’s an interesting world we live in,” said Flach, who said he doesn’t feel today’s pop music speaks to today’s problems — drug addiction, financial struggles and Washington politics. Though, he said, music is often an escape for some people, “but I also know there’s a place for songs to be realistic,” he said. “Sometimes things happen that we prefer didn’t. I think having a song or two about it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It might be comforting at times to have that relatable song that we can go to that helps us square up with reality and be aware of what’s going on around us. Another part of it comes through the eyes of empathy. Because, there are people out there who are struggling, and go through different things than we do. They may not have a use for a poppy song. It doesn’t really reflect their life at the moment, and I hope that anything that happens to someone, that’s not quite ideal, is temporary. Maybe in that moment, they could use a song or two that speaks from where they are coming from. … That place of empathy is where I’m coming from.”

    Flach said opportunities have presented themselves to him since the release of “Empty Mansions.” Aside from opening this year’s MOVE Music Festival with a sold out show at Cohoes Music Hall, people have approached him about collaborating. Though he is currently writing for another release, no timetable is set for a second album just yet. He plays next at the Dana Park free concert series on Monday, Aug. 7, with Let Go Daylight and Two Guys in Albany.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518.

  • Hearing Aide: Incantation ‘Profane Nexus’

    Death metal has many faces, much like the seven headed beast that rises from the sea! It can have the speed and ferocious nature of a great white shark, thrashing while tearing the flesh apart without mercy! Or the infernal beast can take a sickening slow approach. Slowly filling your body and soul with dread as you gasp for air! Yes, the genre has taken many shapes and forms. One of the most recent incarnations, has risen from the depths of the nine circles once again. This demonic beast is known to those as Incantation from Jonestown, Pennsylvania. They have unleashed the most disgusting of all unholy sounds with their latest release Profane Nexus (released via Relapse Records). Let us delve into the hellish world of death metal, but with severe caution in this album review.

    Incantation 'Profane NexusProfane Nexus is the follow up from 2014’s Dirges of Elysium ( released via Listenable Records). With this latest release mixed and mastered by Dan Swano at Unisound  Studios, most known for helping the Swedish death metal scene with such groups like Entombed,  you can bet already the album will have that filthy muddied sound we love to drown ourselves in. The album starts with the blistering guitar works from McEntee and Lombardozzi on the opening track “Muse.” With the familiar down tuned style of the band, it contains both groove orientated soundscape combined with clearly mastered technical skills of both guitar players. You can feel the riffs gorge on your remnants with each passing second!
    If you need something for those blasphemy outings, “The Horns of Gefrin” shall be your unholy hymn of choice for you then! Severn (drums) will have you begging for the barrage of intense and unforgiving dynamic display he is showcasing in his drumming to stop before your skull cracks open! He will bash your head in with a smile on his face. Incantation is most known for their more sludge driven type of death metal much like Autopsy and Disma. The track “Incorporeal Despair” brings that sudden sensation of dread and suffocation to the album. McEntee’s vocal approach will make you feel as though he is speaking from the deepest parts of the abyss. Dragging through the river of Styx you shall find Sherwood as your ferryman as he plays  the most blood curdling  bass riffs, cracking your soul in half!
    Even throughout the many band changes in regards to  live performance members, the name Incantation shall reign forever in the death metal world from the past, present, and the future! I give this album an 8/10. Check out the band’s site to order, and sample the album, Relapse Records online store,  and of course check out your local record store to see if they can supply you with this perfect dose of death.  Remember boys and girls, hail the goat!
    Key Tracks: The Horns of Gefrin, Incorporeal Despair, Ancients Arise

  • It was Still Lawnboy: Phish Glazes the Crowd on the Final Night of Baker’s Dozen

    It took 13 consecutive shows for Phish to perform 237 songs at Madison Square Garden, with not a single repeat among them. It will take far longer than this Baker’s Dozen of shows to fully grasp the historic nature of this run of shows by Vermont’s famous quartet.

    On the final night of Phish’s Baker’s Dozen of shows at The Garden, a Pink Glazed donut was the flavor du jour, tickets were nearly impossible to acquire and fans flocked inside early to get ready for the last night of bustouts, first time covers and extended jams that have been the hallmark of Phish’s residency. While the donut flavor did not directly correlate to anything performed during the show, the audience and band were both glazed with joy, reaching the end of this unprecedented run of shows.phish baker's dozen

    The first set of the evening featured songs phans chase, including “Dogs Stole Things,” “Ha Ha Ha,” “Camel Walk,” and “Sanity,” among others. Vida Blue’s “Most Events Aren’t Planned” was a surprise cover, one of a handful that Phish learned in advance of the run. The long awaited bustout of Hendrix’s “Izabella” left many flat-footed with the original intro preceding the stand alone set closer, but once Trey kicked into familiar riff, the crowd cheers began to arise while some stood in disbelief and others with jaws dropped, as the cover shelved for 19 years finally made an appearance in the 25th set of the run.

    Set 2 began with “Simple” which wandered past the 25 minute mark, nearly matching the Northerly Island jam from July 14, kicking off a five song set. The new tune “Rise/Come Together” had a powerful, unifying message tied within the ascending rocker, and was greeted by fans with cheers as the “Rise up…. Come Together” lyrics were matched with Chris Kuroda’s growing light show. Bowie’s “Starman” followed, only the second version since The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was covered in full last fall in Las Vegas.

    “You Enjoy Myself” finally arrived, with all the pent up energy you would expect after nearly 2000 minutes of music, and the release on the lyric “Boy” was as powerful as it’s ever been. Prior to the vocal jam, Mike began to tease the “Izabella” bass line and instead of the usual vocal jam, Trey put his guitar back on and, began to jam back into “Izabella” on more time, one of those ‘Holy shit’ moments that kept happening night after night. The set was capped with The Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup,” a perfect ending to the high energy, jam filled set.

    For the encore, Trey choked back tears as he began Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” which was followed by Page leaving his key rig while the band kicked back into a jam on “Lawn Boy” that was last heard on July 25, jam-filled donut night. Page told the crowd “A lot of people have been asking me if this is still ‘Lawn Boy’…. It is,” referencing a fan made shirt that appeared only days after the half hour version of the typically standard three minute lounge singer tune.

    The laughs that erupted from the audience were due in part to the band being in on the joke and the audience/band interaction solidified as the run came to a close. Page sang a few bars of “Lawn Boy” and while he retreated to his rig, Mike and Fishman laid down the opening bass and drums to “Weekapaug Groove” to fake out the audience (there would be NO repeats this run) before the final release of “Tweezer Reprise” was finally laid out for the fans.

    Phish had done it – 13 consecutive shows, no repeats, over 200,000 tickets sold over the course of the run, and a gleeful crowd embracing the joy of the final night of a piece of music history. But most importantly, it was still ”Lawnboy.”

    Setlist from Phish.net

    Set 1: Dogs Stole Things, Rift, Ha Ha Ha, Camel Walk, Crazy Sometimes > Saw It Again > Sanity > Bouncing Around the Room,Most Events Aren’t Planned[1], Bug, I Been Around, Izabella
    Set 2: Simple > Rise/Come Together > Starman, You Enjoy Myself, Loving Cup
    Encore: On the Road Again > Lawn Boy Reprise > Tweezer Reprise
    [1] Phish debut

    phish baker's dozen
    phish baker's dozen
    phish baker's dozen
    phish baker's dozen
    phish baker's dozen

  • Bruce Springsteen Makes His Broadway Debut

    Bruce Springsteen will make his Broadway debut in his “Springsteen on Broadway” run of shows in New York City. The marathon run of shows takes place throughout October and November.

    Bruce Springsteen will play a total of 39 shows as part of his “Springsteen on Broadway” run of shows at New York City’s 960 seat Walter Kerr Theatre. The intimate shows will combine stories and music from his career, which began with 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. Springsteen is quoted on the “Springsteen on Broadway” website:

    “I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible. I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind. In fact, with one or two exceptions, the 960 seats of the Walter Kerr Theatre is probably the smallest venue I’ve played in the last 40 years. My show is just me, the guitar, the piano and the words and music. Some of the show is spoken, some of it is sung. It loosely follows the arc of my life and my work. All of it together is in pursuit of my constant goal to provide an entertaining evening and to communicate something of value.” 

    While “The Boss” has kept busy over the course of his career, last year was a big year for him with The River Tour 2016 being named the top global tour according to both Billboard and Pollstar, the release of his memoir Born to Run and its companion album Chapter and Verse in September and being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November.

    Previews for “Springsteen on Broadway” begin on Oct. 3. The official opening is Oct. 12. The shows take place Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with a final performance on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. to make up for taking Thanksgiving Day off. The show is expected to last approximately two hours.

    Tickets for “Springsteen on Broadway” are being sold through Ticketmaster’s VerifiedFan program and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Aug. 30. Fans wishing to attend the shows must register with Ticketmaster by 10 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 27. Verified fans will be confirmed on Tuesday, Aug. 29 and will receive a special code by text message on Wednesday, Aug. 30 prior to the 10 a.m. on sale time.

  • Hearing Aide: The Southern Belles ‘In the Middle of the Night’

    The sort of plasmic, shape-shifting rock and roll spawned by The Southern Belles of Richmond, VA, has been released to humans everywhere for their listening and dancing pleasure on August 5. Their third album, In the Middle of the Night, is oddly akin to Willie Wonka‘s three course dinner chewing gum, in that, through the consumption of one product, several flavors can be indulgently experienced in a brief period. At least by listening to this album, no one will need a swarm of oompa loompas to roll them to the juicing room… that we know of.

    This album dives deeper than their previous release Close to Sunrise, offering heavier jams, tighter instrumentation and an overall more spacious and grandiose sound. The Southern Belles is Adrian Ciucci (guitar), Tommy Booker (keys), Aaron Zarrow (drums), and Derrick Englert (bass). In the Middle of the Night was recorded at The Ward recording studio in Richmond.

    “Everywhere 1” floods the eardrums with runaway guitar like an antsy racehorse exploding out of the starting gate. In under a minute the tune relaxes before getting groovier, continuously arousing the listener’s curiosity. Ciucci’s vocal tone is a crosshatch of Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre and Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins. The song culminates with an uplifting message of gratitude: “Everything I try to be, there’s someone there reminding me/ Life is grand, we’re so lucky/ And it’s amazing everywhere it takes me.” This closing sentiment is a suiting cap to the opening song of an album, almost an anthem to their success, four musicians converging, playing their brand of music together in a way no other combination of musicians could exactly replicate. Something to be thankful for.

    “Deja Vu” offers a more somber beginning, with higher octave backing vocals that emulate The Flaming Lips with a sea of airy voices echoing Ciucci. It shifts from whirring organ to bouncy guitar, offering an uplifting release from the heavier tone. “L.A. Moves” opens with delicate guitar and elements reminiscent of NY synth-rock band Jimkata. “Tryin” promptly brings the Vulfpeck vibes with playful keys before escalating into a rock-opera ballad replete with gospel-like vocals and undulating tempos. The album closes with “Everywhere II,” trickling in with calming water effects, muted organ and vocals with Pink Floyd connotations before Ciucci utters the heartening sentiment, “Just know in the end you’re gonna get where you’re goin, so take good care of your friends/ They’re the only ones who know you and the only ones who care so be kind and fair.” The song then picks up tempo and finishes on a high note with a cathartic swirl of guitar and pounding drums, bringing it full circle to the beginning of the album.

    In the Middle of the Night was officially released on August 5 at The Broadberry in their hometown. The single is being streamed via Soundcloud and their website, and can be heard on SiriusXM’s Jam On. The Southern Belles have been touring the East Coast leading up to the album release, and will hit the road again for their fall tour. They will be playing Saturday August 12 in Capon Bridge, WV at La La Land, followed by the Peace of Mind Fest in Halifax, PA on August 31.

    Key Tracks: Everywhere I, Tryin, Everywhere II

  • American Acoustic Brings Magic to Chautauqua

    When you scan your ticket at the gate for admittance to the Chautauqua Amphitheater you don’t immediately enter a concert venue. You first gain admittance to the Chautauqua Institution, a self-contained gated community unlike any other. There is a surreal quality to the surroundings, only amplified on this cool, rain-drenched August evening. A group was gathered in the Chabad House to welcome the Sabbath a few steps from Palestine Street and just around the corner from the Ecumenical Society. Quiet, tree-lined and nearly carless streets led down to a town square where a group of kids were taking advantage of the extended summer evening with a pre-dusk soccer game. It felt like we were extras on a movie set, wandering through a story beyond our immediate grasp. Just past the square, the faint sounds of acoustic guitar emerged from a sunken wooden amphitheater. It was newly rebuilt and restored this past year, a unique space with stunning sound and excellent sight lines. People were gathered inside for the evening’s entertainment, being provided by American Acoustic. The location and entertainment overlapped in some sort of mystical is-this-real-life place, a dense mash of thick color in the middle of a complex Venn diagram.

    American Acoustic is a dream-come-true tour for bluegrass and Americana fans. The all-male super-group-in-reverse Punch Brothers (featuring Chris Thile on mandolin, Paul Kowert on bass, Gabe Witcher on fiddle, Noam Pikelny on banjo and Chris Eldridge on guitar), joined forces with the all-female super group I’m With Her (featuring Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan) and rogue guitar phenom Julian Lage for an all-out string feast.

    Like a scene from The Wizard of Oz, two large wooden doors automatically opened to the side of the stage, and musicians would emerge from the darkness beyond. They ebbed and flowed from the lineup throughout the evening, displaying multitudes of unique combinations, providing moments upon moments of sheer brilliance.

    Each was a verse in the poetic epic that comprised the entire show: In a duo with Chris Eldridge on “Things in Life,” off their recent release, Julian Lage snuck masterfully melodic picking in, around and under Eldridge’s vocals / Kowert accompanied the otherwise a capella I’m With Her for their set-closing take on Adele’s “Send My Love,” each of their beautiful voices weaved around each other in a magnificent groove / A perfectly placed dog bark rang out during the Punch Brothers’ performance of Claude Debussy’s “Passepied,” further knotting the connection between the place and performance, much to the delight of the crowd and band alike / In a cover of Josh Ritter’s sea-faring tale “Another New World” the closing improvisation section appropriately contained monster waves of sound, swelling with energy / Jarosz joined the band for an oozing and sparse rendition of Radiohead’s “The Tourist”  / The entire ensemble combined for a hair-on-end words-can’t-describe it cover of the Beatles “Julia” / A show closing take on the traditional “Father Adieu” was a true vocal workout, each verse being sung by a different combination of voices, with the last round between the collective male and female voices, simply stunning.

    Those extra special moments were wrapped tightly amongst more folk-induced warmth and heat. Julian Lage and Noam Pikelny showcased their individual eye-popping talents with interspersed solo pieces. I’m With Her beefed up their minimal-but-growing catalog of originals like “Overland” and “Little Lies” with covers of Jim Croce’s “Walkin’ Back to Georgia” and John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters.” The Punch Brothers took over after a short break, with a set spanning their catalog, hitting on “New York City,” “Julep,” “Familiarity” and the clever pairing of “Hops of Guldenberg” with “Rye Whiskey.” During the closing portion with everyone on stage, Thile presented a new song, ripped from the headlines, titled “Comey’s Waltz,” with lyrics like, “Now someone else has to come and stick it to ya, hallelujah” and “Sir, I’m already gone.”

    With a fun romp through Randy Newman’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come” featuring everyone, as their encore, they sent the crowd back on their way. Exiting the gates of the community, like emerging from the corn fields in the “Field of Dreams,” we were mortal again. The real world beckoned, but we’ll always have that magical night with American Acoustic in Chautauqua.

  • Hollywood Undead and Butcher Babies coming to Rochester

    Rap metal heavyweights, Hollywood Undead and metalcore band Butcher Babies recently announced their North America 2017 tour. Anthology in Rochester will be one of their stops on Friday Nov. 17.

    hollywood undeadBoth bands have new unreleased albums but only Hollywood Undead have officially released details on their new album titled Five (stylized as V), while Butcher Babies have only stated on social media that they have finished recording a third full length album only referred to as BB3, presumably Butcher Babies 3. Tickets go on sale Friday July 28 at 10:00 a.m., with prices ranging from $25 to $30. This show will be 16 and up.

    For more dates check Hollywood Undead’s Facebook events page.

    In the meantime, you can check out Hollywood Undead‘s latest single “California Dreaming” from the album V.

  • Thanks be to God for Alabama Shakes in Albany

    Thousands gathered to listen to a preacher give thanks. Her boisterous voice echoed throughout the golden walls, as painted angels peered down from the ceiling. She removed her glasses to wipe the sweat from her brow and then threw her hands to the sky as she sang to the heavens in gratitude and desperation. Brittany Howard is the lead singer and guitarist of the Grammy nominated band, Alabama Shakes. On August 1, 2017 she was a preacher. The Palace Theater in Albany was the church. The sold out crowd of 2,800 ticket holders the congregation.

    Throughout the evening, she would pause to give thanks. Thanks to the Emily King, the opening folk act who drummed up the crowd’s excitement. Thanks to the fans for coming out on a Monday to show their support and hear them play. Thanks to her eight other band members for tearing it up. And a reminder to “take this message with you and make others feel good.”

    Like a southern preacher, Howard was animated, soulful, serious and powerful. Entering onto the stage with a sample of David McCallum’s “The Edge” playing in the background, a feeling of intensity was shock waved throughout the building. The Shakes began with “Future People,” a song from their 2015 album Sound and Color. As she would do throughout the evening with songs like “I’m Yours” and “Dunes,” she began quietly but then abruptly pounced into action with volume and muscle.

    The songs they played from the 2012 album, Boys and Girls, like “I Ain’t the Same,” and “Hang Loose” have a distinctly southern gospel rock to them. They’re playful and dance-inducing, providing opportunities for the band to shine. Every song from Sound and Color seemed to be more Howard focused. Her vocal range is bass to soprano, all with notes she holds. Her voice has an old-timey, soulful sound that pairs nicely with the instrumentals.

    Before returning to the stage for a three-song encore, Howard and backup singer Lloyd Buchanan performed a sweet, romantic and somehow heartbreaking duet of “Gemini.” The two were able to convey a sense of unbounded and tender love. The evening ended with a soft “Over My Head,” like a lullaby to say goodnight.

    Those lucky enough to witness the raw talent of Alabama Shakes at The Palace Theater went to bed that night feeling pure bliss and of course, gratitude.

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  • Lemon Yellow Fun: Night 11 of the Baker’s Dozen

    The final weekend of Phish’s historic Baker’s Dozen, a run of 13 shows at Madison Square Garden, kicked off on Friday to much fanfare and a lot of fingers in the air, with Friday being lemon donut night.

    These shows sold out in advance and were a hot and dwindling commodity throughout the week. On Friday, Phish came on stage and performed a cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “See that my Grave is Kept Clean,” before jumping into a standard, but well played take on fan favorite “Punch You in the Eye,” which bled into a fun, short “Party Time.”

    lemon baker's dozen

    “Big Black Furry Creature from Mars,” “Dinner and a Movie,” a rousing and Trey-led “Ocelot,” “Poor Heart,” “Winterqueen” and “Bold as Love” continued what turned out to be a straight rock set without too much in the way of improvisation. Just when it felt that Phish may have laid a clunker set, they dropped into “First Tube,” which had the Garden shaking and crowd going absolutely ballistic heading into setbreak.

    To open the second stanza, Phish performed an acapella “Dem Bones,” before leaping into “No Men in No Man’s Land.” A long and spacey jam followed, something Phish has displayed it can do with utmost patience this run. Out of “NMINML” came “Everything in its Right Place,” by Radiohead. There was confusion over what the song was, before word spread that Phish was playing Radiohead. It was well played, if not spectacular.

    “What’s the Use?” blended into “Scents and Subtle Sounds,” which featured the most interesting jam of the night, a nearly 17-minute type-II journey that finished when Mike took the lead at the end. A nice and jammed out “Prince Caspian” led directly into “Fluffhead,” and it’s safe to say that the Garden crowd ended the set on the highest of notes. “Frankenstein” served as the encore, which was a fun ending to a rather unspectacular Phish show. But if you place this show in the middle of any typical tour, it will be talked about as a highlight for years to come. That’s how spoiled we have become during these 13 nights.

    Setlist via Phish.net

    Set 1: See That My Grave Is Kept Clean[1], Punch You In the Eye > Party Time, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Dinner and a Movie, Ocelot,Poor Heart, Winterqueen, Bold As Love, First Tube

    Set 2: Dem Bones, No Men In No Man’s Land > Everything In Its Right Place[1], What’s the Use? > Scents and Subtle Sounds[2] > Prince Caspian >Fluffhead

    Encore: Frankenstein[3]

    [1] Phish debut.
    [2] No intro.
    [3] Page on keytar.

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