NYS Music 20​17

Tag: albany

  • CANCELED: Moriah Formica Added to Times Union Center’s Gala Celebration and Re-Opening

    The major concert celebrating the Times Union Center‘s grand re-opening has been canceled, according to the Times Union.

    The concert was to feature James Taylor, John Legend, Jim Belushi and Moriah Formica, a 15 year-old Albany-Shaker High student who recently competed on NBC’s The Voice, in a celebration of the arena’s $20 million dollar upgrade.

    The general manager for Times Union Arena, Bob Belber, cited the promoter’s failure to pay its deposit for the event. Metropolitan Entertainment Consulting from New York City was the event promoter with SMG, the arena’s management company listed as co-promoter.

    Belber said another event with well-known performers will be planned for later in the year.

    Upstate New York has seen its fair share of musicians from the area do amazing things on various singing competition shows over the last couple of years. The most current local artist to make waves in the music industry after her strong performance on “The Voice,” Moriah Formica, has been added to the artist lineup for the grand re-opening of the Times Union Center in Albany on Jan. 26.

    As part of team Miley Cyrus, the Albany Shaker High School teen made it to the show’s playoffs. She turned heads with her rock sound on the show and while performing shows around the Capital District. The multi-talented singer not only plays guitar she can also slam behind the drum kit and play some sweet melodies on a keyboard.

    After seeing Formica perform, Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale said “One of the few great hopes for female rock singers of the next generation. Absolutely incredible!!  I’m so honored and proud of this 15 year old powerhouse!! Don’t ever quit singing, Darlin’!” Formica released her debut EP of original material Bring It On, in 2016. It showcases her many talents, adding songwriting into the mix.

    Formica will join a  Times Union Center Gala Celebration lineup that includes 10-time Grammy award winner John Legend, five-time Grammy award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, James Taylor, and legendary comedian Jim Belushi. Tickets are on sale and cost between $62-$192 before fees.

    The Times Union Center will showcase it’s first phase of a 30 million dollar renovation. The once outside atrium, is now enclosed and carpeted, with a tall rain wall, glass elevators, and seating. The venue sports a new modern look, and a new media area that will accommodate coverage for larger sporting events like the upcoming 2018 NCAA women’s basketball regionals and the 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The renovations have also connected the arena to the Empire State Plaza, and the Albany Capital Center. Phase two of the project will concentrate on painting the entire inside of the arena, and upgrading the private suites and concession areas.

  • Madison Theater to Close for Cleaning, Potential Sale

    In a recent Times Union article, the 88-year-old Madison Theater in Albany, will close January 1 for an extensive wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling cleaning and improvements.

    Founder and president of Tierra Farm, Gunther Fishgold, who owns the Madison Theater and its two connected businesses hinted at two potential buyers for the property. The two potential independent interested parties plan to keep the Madison a theater. There is some talk that one of the interested players will make the venue into a “mixed community space” for live performances. Tierra will announce any potential deal near the end of January.

    Fishgold commented on the upcoming potential sale, “I really can’t be specific, but I have a couple of interesting deals in front of me that would keep the integrity of the theater and be much more responsive to the community.”

    The Madison opened in 1929. Tierra purchased the building in Sept. 2013. The company spent over a million dollars on a new outside marquee along with several other exterior and interior upgrades.

    Keeping the integrity of the historic movie venue is important to Fishgold, which almost became a CVS Pharmacy drive-through in 2004. He said Tierra’s main objective was to always save and preserve the historic place more than making money. He stated, “It’s not a money-maker. It’s never been a money-maker for me … It really was a placeholder for someone who could come in and do a better job than we could, as a nut-and-fruit company running a theater.”

    Fishgold also talked about the possibility of what would happen if both potential deals fell through. He said he would figure out a way to continue to operate the venue and may lease parts of the building, rather than try to operate several different businesses under the same umbrella. When talking about the other businesses attached to the building, Fishgold said: “Someone’s gonna run a better coffee shop than I run. Someone’s gonna run a better restaurant than I run. No one’s gonna run a better nut business than me, but all three of those – theater, restaurant and coffee shop – can be done much better. It’s such a thriving neighborhood. I’m not doing it justice.”

    Asked whether he would just abandon the venue: “No, I don’t want to leave the community high and dry after all I did to this space. And I won’t, I won’t.”

  • Watch Goose Cover “Crosseyed and Painless” with Chris Michetti

    Goose recently supported RAQ on a Halloween run all over the east coast.  On Friday November 3, the two acts played The Hollow Bar + Kitchen in Albany, NY. During the middle of Goose’s set, Goose invited up guitarist Chris Michetti of RAQ to cover the Talking Heads classic “Crosseyed and Painless.” Check out the video of the full sit in below!

    Goose continues their tour with shows at Nectar’s in Burlington, VT November 10 and Saturday November 11 at Ocean Mist in Wakefield, RI. For more information, click here.

  • A 20th on The Eleven: Dark Star Orchestra Celebrates a Milestone

    Rob Koritz, DSO drummer

    It was a chilly night at Martyr’s in Chicago on November 11, 1997, when a group of like-minded musicians got together to spin their takes on a band beloved by an intrinsic fan base — one that is both fun loving and importunate at the same time.

    No one involved that night could have predicted what was blooming, as the original members of The Grateful Dead tribute group Dark Star Orchestra got together to have some fun and jam out.

    On Saturday night, at the Palace Theater in Albany, a band that has seen 24 different members come through its turnstiles will ring in a very special 20th anniversary of playing Grateful Dead music. Whether they’re recreating a setlist from 1973, or piecing together their own show, Dark Star Orchestra has displayed some very impressive staying power. They are a touring force, filling theaters across the country and headlining festivals  during the summer while performing more than 2,700 shows in their history.

    But the piece that holds it all together is what built the Grateful Dead community in the first place: the fans. For a group that had almost no expectations, Dark Star has exceeded in keeping together something that took 30 years to build.

    “We had no idea this band would take over our life,” said Rob Koritz, who fills the role of Mickey Hart in Dark Star. “It’s so fantastic. Anyone who plays music for a living, they want some sort of security and longevity. I think we are doing the music justice.”

    None of the members from that Chicago night remain in the band, but the ethos plays on. The Grateful Dead had to simply endure many times of their existence, whether is was a death in the band, or a health scare, or anything in between. In 1966, they were playing the Acid Tests, and in 1995 they were selling out massive football stadiums. Dark Star Orchestra has trucked on in a way that  preserves what Jerry Garcia and company made into a lifestyle.

    But make no mistake, Dark Star isn’t a knock off in any way. To embody the spirit of a group the way that Dark Star has is an impressive feat.

    “We are Deadheads too,” Koritz said. “We recognize that. Our hope is that we do the music justice. We are going to do what we have been doing for all these years this weekend. We work hard for this music and all we hope is that the fans receive it the same way.”

    In an era where there is no shortage of Grateful Dead tribute music, Dark Star Orchestra has persevered. They stick to a simple script, one that brings a simple and pure form to those who weren’t around when the Grateful Dead were alive and well.

    Koritz, though, doesn’t view what Dark Star is doing as starting a trend in the scene. It doesn’t take much to go out and see a Grateful Dead band, he says, and he understands that any competition is natural, if not warranted.

    “We weren’t pioneers,” Koritz said. “Every town has a Grateful Dead cover band. You can see it any night of the week. In reality, we did it on a national level where there’s no dearth of Dead bands. Greensky Bluegrass does Dead stuff, and that’s incredible. It’s a testament to the music. Every band has its twists. It’s kind of like comparing this to the originals. No one is better than another, and everyone adds a unique take.”

    Albany, and more specifically the Palace Theater, is a special venue for the band which has been making their November show an annual tradition, sometimes happening on Thanksgiving weekend. Koritz said the band adores the theater and the magic that it brings, especially because of the crowd it draws.

    “We love the Palace,” he said. “The fans in Albany are just so great and honestly, it’s why we keep choosing to come back. The energy. It’s one of the bigger rooms we fill up. When the Palace gets rocking, you can see the balcony swaying and it gives the band an extra boost.”

    Show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., and while Koritz didn’t divulge too much, he did lead on that this special show isn’t lost on the band.

    “We have a few special things in store, for sure,” he added. “We’re going to stand out a bit.”

  • Primus Still Sucks, Ambushes Albany’s Palace Theatre

    Primus has never fit the mold of conventional music, so it was only fitting the trio helped kick off Halloween weekend in appropriately eccentric style. Playing to a sold out crowd of not only those who grew up on Primus in the eighties, the packed Palace Theatre housed an audience that ranged from elementary-aged, youthful rockers to unsuspecting parents with college students. Having only performed in Albany three times prior, the fourth run-around brought tricks on stage and treats in unique encores as bodies dressed head to toe in spider webs, sequin dresses and spooky masks trashed around for a three-hour show. Yes, Primus still sucks.

    Equipped with video screens behind them, Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander began the night with the help of quirky British flash animation series, Saladfingers, as the first set was jam-packed with Primus favorites. Quickly following, “Too Many Puppies” spiked ultimate excitement in the regal downtown Albany venue. While the short, hard-hitting tracks seemed fleeting, “Sgt. Baker” found its way into an energizing “Too Many Puppies” sandwich as technicolor prisms were projected onto the Palace ceiling and Claypool stomped circles around the stage with grit. More classics like “Last Salmon Man,” “Mr. Crinkle” with a Zeppelin “Kashmir” tease and “My Name is Mud” popped up throughout the set with tempo-matching,  psychedelic video footage before a fun “Candy Man” called for clips of hypnotizing and colorful candy-like claymation.

    Primus Still SucksLaLonde and Les Claypool left the stage for an anticipated drum solo as a hooded Alexander led the show. Claypool shortly returned while sporting a pig mask and breaking out the Whamola for entrancing sounds. This time, the video projections offered clips of instrument strumming, as it matched up perfectly in sync with the live strums of Claypool’s Whamola. Interacting with the audience every so often with small interjections like “beautiful building you’ve got here,” Les Claypool asked the crowd to guess the ending track of set one with the firm strike of one note. Without a doubt– “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver” would close out the night with clips from the music video displayed symbiotically.

    Trading in a pig mask for a ram head, set two unleashed the force behind the Ambushing the Storm tour as Primus shredded through their latest studio effort, The Desaturating Seven, finding applause during every passing silence.  Eerie cartoon goblins found their way dancing across the screens in the Palace, the same ones from an Italian children’s book, The Rainbow Goblins. The newest album was heavily influenced on the Ul De Rico-written book, one Les Claypool used to read to his children. Played front to back, the unique seven-track album reminded everyone why Primus still sucks after all these years. On the heels of ending a grimy Halloween weekend performance, the trio ended with a triple-header of an encore with special dedications to the devastating fires in California. “Groundhog’s Day,” “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” and one they rarely ever play, “Tommy the Cat,” all welcomed extended guitar solos and wicked improvisation from LaLonde as well as shrieks and rock on symbols from the crowd.

    Primus Still SucksWith their last Palace Theatre gig in 2014 and before that 2009, for some this was a short-lived chance to catch the seasoned rockers in person.  There are two situations where walking by talking animals and skipping pirates is the norm: during halloween festivities and leaving a Primus show,  as a satisfied audience quickly flooded out of the venue and infiltrated an already amped up South Pearl Street crowd.

  • Hearing Aide: Sydney Worthley “Strong”

    In anticipation for her upcoming album release, Albany-based singer-songwriter Sydney Worthley has dropped the title track of her new album exclusively this week, entitled “Strong.”

    Sydney Worthley StrongFor anyone who has ever seen the decline of a loved one, through various hospital visits and treatments, this song hits right at home. Despite the morbid picture the lyrics paint for us, Worthley reminds us to hold on to our loved ones and keep going.

    This title track will be one of the many pop-infused trials Sydney brings us on Strong, which will be released on September 9. This album features 14 tracks, each song with its own unique style and intent. She has a creative mind for vocalization and harmonizing, which renders her identity to fit a folk or Americana sphere. Her ease of shifting in and out of her head voice could be comparable to Joni Mitchell, with a songwriting technique similar to that of early Taylor Swift. Despite the multiple genres Sydney toys with in Strong, it’s in this soft, vulnerable space where we hope to see future works of Sydney Worthley, which will allow her vocal technique, and her story, to shine through.

    In anticipation for the upcoming album release, head over to her Twitter and Facebook for updates on releases and performances, and check out Sydney’s newly-released title track below.

  • The Funky Meters Strut Their Way Back To Albany

    Thursday’s Alive at 5 brought funk legends The Funky Meters to Albany on July 13. The highly anticipated show was moved to the Corning Preserve Boat Launch, Alive at 5’s designated rain location.

    The Funky MetersThe location is a perfect second option due to the stage and crowd space being located under a bridge. The Funky Meters formed at the 1989 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival during an informal jam with Art Neville, George Porter Jr and Russel Batiste Jr.

    The Funky MetersWurliday started the night off with their own signature sound of funk.  The Albany native band brings together soul and funk creating an exciting blend of music. The group of dynamic musicians released their album Bedtime Blazer which was recorded by Soulive’s Alan Evans at Iron Wax Studio in Miller Falls, MA.

    the funky meters Next Week’s Alive at 5 is country night bringing Lindsay Ell along with Anthony Fallacaro. Music starts right at 5pm and goes until 8pm.

    The Funky Meters

  • The Outlaws Brings Quality Rock and Roll to Albany

    This week’s Alive at 5 brought rock legends The Outlaws to the stage. The southern rock band famous for their song “Green Grass and High Tides” shocked the crowd with their guitar duels all night. PYX 106 brought their morning show hosts Quinn and Cantera to host the show and entertain Albany like they do every single morning.

    the outlaws
    The Outlaws

    The opening act, The Steppin Stones, also brought high energy rock and roll. They wowed the crowd with an amazing rendition of Neil Young’s “Ohio.” Guitarist Hannah Wicklund blew the crowd away with her ripping solos. She is only 20 years old and is already on her way to being the next prodigy.

    the outlawsAlive at 5 takes a week off for the 4th of July and then comes back the following week by bringing in The Funky Meters with Wurliday on July 13th.

  • Naughty By Nature Brings a High Energy Show to Alive at 5

    This week’s featured artist at Alive at 5 was the Grammy award winning hip-hop group Naughty By Nature. The weather was perfect on Thursday, June 22, and the energy was a max. The group got the crowd on their feet right from the start with one of their hit’s “O.P.P.” Naughty By Nature performed for about an hour. This also marked the first hip-hop group of this year’s concert series. The group from New Jersey is celebrating 20 years of creating music.

    Naughty By NatureNext week’s Alive at 5 Concert brings rock and roll band The Outlaws along with The Steppin Stones. Be sure to get down to Jenning’s Landing right at 5pm to catch both acts!

    Naughty By Nature

  • Average White Band Brings the Good Times to Albany

    This weekend marked the second week of the Alive at 5 concert series in Albany. This weeks headliner happened to be Average White Band much known for their songs “Pick Up The Pieces” and “Cut The Cake.” They are regarded as one of the best soul and funk bands of all time.

    average white bandDespite a short period of rain, the crowd toughed it out and was a great attendance. Albany’s Victory Soul Orchestra an up and coming band opened up for the funk legends leaving a great impression at the summer concert series.

    average white bandNext week’s Alive at 5 is bringing in Hip-Hop icons Naughty By Nature along with JB aka Dirty Moses, DJ Trumastr and Paul Nice. For the full Alive at 5 schedule click here.

    average white band