NYS Music 20​17

Tag: The Seratones

  • Best of NYS Music 2017: Bands on the Rise and Artists You Should Know

    As we continue our look at the best of and the brightest in music in 2017, we shift our focus to up and coming bands that are ready to burst on to the national stage.  While our staff picks may mirror those of last year, NYS Music readers have voted for a new act that’s ready to join the ranks of other popular New York bands with bight futures.

    And if you’ve missed any of our previous voting results from earlier this week, check out our winners for Best Venues, Best Albums and Best Festivals.

    Bands on the Rise

    Staff Pick

    Aqueous

    For the second year in a row, our staff has selected Aqueous as a band on the rise as the Buffalo, NY quartet continues their steady progression towards national relevancy.  Playing bigger festivals, opening for acts like The Disco Biscuits, and collaborating with members of moe., fellow Upstate New Yorkers, in addition to a steady touring schedule have all contributed to this band’s surge in popularity.  This should come as no surprise to Buffalo area music fans who have been singing the group’s praises for years now.  They’ll get to enjoy Aqueous back in their hometown as they ring in the new year at Town Ballroom.  Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.

    Readers Pick

    The Other Brothers

    At least the readers of NYS Music have offered up a new taste this year for their Band on the Rise selection as they’ve chosen The Other Brothers.  Fresh off the heels of their recently released EP Jones, this band has seen a steady rise in prominence in 2017 thanks to increased exposure this summer at local festivals like Disc Jam and strong word of mouth.  They hang their hat on being able to mix delicate ballad-like songs with focused and heavy jamming in the live setting.

    Artists You Should Know

    We’re always looking for new music, especially bands from New York State, and this year we stepped up our game and found bands from all corners of the state playing our local bars and clubs, just getting started.

    We checked in with our readers, and they overwhelmingly suggested three New York artists: The Backseat Bullets (for fans of shoegaze and a 90s grunge influence), Aqueous (jam stalwarts of Buffalo), and Hartley’s Encore, the new funk powerhouse in Albany.

    The Backseat Bullets

    Aqueous

    Hartley’s Encore

    Meanwhile, we asked the staff who were some artists readers should know about, and we ended up with an impressive list of 21 different artists to check out. There’s no sense in sending you off to listen to three or four bands worth checking out when there is so much variety in store. So here’s the NYS Music Staff list of Best Artists You Should Know for 2017.

    St. Phillip’s Escalator

    Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

    Sydney Worthley

    Big Mean Sound Machine
    King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

    The Honey Smugglers

    lespecial

    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

    Vulfpeck

    Turkuaz

    oh wonder

    The Seratones

    Sofus

    Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals

    Portugal. The Man

    The Wood Brothers

    Root Shock

    Parquet Courts

    Mary’s Blood (Japan)

    Highly Suspect

    Royal Jelly Jive

  • Drive-By Truckers: Protest Rock At The Egg

    It’s been a long and inspired ride for the Athens Georgia based Drive-By Truckers. Since their debut album Gangstabilly almost 20 years ago, the band has seen numerous band lineup changes and produced multiple critically acclaimed LP’s. Co-founders of Drive-By Truckers Patterson Hood (lead vocals, guitar) and Mike Cooley (lead vocals, guitar, banjo) have been the architects of their longevity by amassing a pool of amazing musical talent that currently includes Matt Patton (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jay Gonzalez (keys, guitar, accordion, backing vocals), and Brad Morgan (drums). The band’s last LP, 2016’s politically charged American Band, takes head on the subjects of gun violence and the current state of U.S. race relations that only a Southern based rock band steeped in that culture and tradition possibly could.

    Drive-By Truckers at the Egg

    DBT brought that politically charged power and intensity to the Hart Theater located in Albany’s Egg Performance Art Center on Tuesday July 25. This is the eleventh stop on DBT’s Resist Tour and the band was accompanied by opening act The Seratones. Based out Shreveport Louisiana, The Seratones are touring in support of their 2016 rocking release Get Gone. Lead Singer and guitarist AJ Haynes along with band members Connor Davis (guitar), Adam Davis (bass guitar), and Jesse Gabriel (drums) kicked off the show with a high octane version of “Choking On Your Spit.” The high octane, in your face, offering set the tone for their remaining energetic set.

    After a short break, it was the Truckers turn to take the stage and they kicked off their set with “Filthy and Fried” off of 2016’s American Band. Vocalist Cooley painted a gritty picture of a modern day landscape that showcases the angst of a 27-year-old woman trying to cope with the struggles of gender identity in everyday life. Next it was Hood’s turn to take the lead on vocals with a stirring rendition of “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife” off of 2008’s Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. It was just a little later in DBT’s set that Cooley realized that the crowd at the Egg were being overly reserved and sitting statically in their seats. He addressed the audience, stating that it was alright if they wanted to keep sitting down. Cooley went on to say that he and the band were more than willing to play slow songs, but if they wanted to rock they should feel free to get up on their feet. The newly energized crowd eagerly left their seats, the majority of which, stayed that way for the remainder of the performance.

    DBT kept up their end of the bargain by cranking out down and dirty versions of Truckers fan favorites “Where The Devil Don’t Stay” and “Puttin’ People on the Moon.” Bassist  Matt Patton also got a turn at vocals later in the set with a high-powered rendition of the Ramones classic, “The KKK Took My Baby Away.” DBT finished the night with an encore that included American Band’s politically charged “What It Means.” The song lyrically examines the ever-increasing incidents of gun violence in America and references the gun slayings of African Americans Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. The stage lights went down during the performance, with the exception of a brightly lit Black Lives Matter sign that was prominently featured on the side of the band’s piano. Hood ended the anti-gun violence anthem with the impassioned mantra “It ain’t political…It’s personal!”

    The Truckers wrapped up their set with a stirring version of “Grand Canyon” off of 2014’s English Oceans. Hood dedicated the song on-stage to “Departed Drive-By Truckers Family,” a reference to longtime merch-man and band ambassador Craig Lieske who passed away in 2013. The Drive-By Truckers will be featured at both the Newport Folk and XPoNential Music Festivals later this month.

    Setlists:

    Drive-By Truckers:  Filthy and Fried, Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife, Ramon Casiano, Baggage, Marry Me, Dead, Drunk and Naked, Guitar Man Upstairs, Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn, Surrender Under Protest, The Company I Keep, A Ghost to Most, The Guns of Umpqua, Where the Devil Don’t Stay, Puttin’ People on the Moon, Shit Shots Count, Ronnie and Neil, Kinky Hypocrite,The KKK Took My Baby Away, Sinkhole, Made Up English Oceans, Let There Be Rock, Zip City, What It Means, Love Like This, Grand Canyon

    Seritones: Choking On Your Spit, Sun Kingdom Come, Get Gone, Head-trip, Chandelier, Tide Brainwashed, Take It Easy, Necromancer, Don’t Need It, Trees

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