Dave Matthews Band has been on an extensive fall tour this year, making stops all across the United States, sounding tighter than ever and brought an incredible show to the Times Union Center in Albany, NY on December 5.
Usually, the band makes their way to the Albany area in the summer for their legendary SPAC runs in Saratoga Springs. The group opened up with “You Never Know” into “One Sweet World,” followed by “Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin).” Next, Dave Matthews and his band played crowd favorite “Everyday” followed by a cover of Aerosmiths’ “Sweet Emotion.”
The night was filled with crowd pleasers and hits like “Where Are You Going,” “Don’t Drink The Water” and of course “What Would You Say.” The Dave Matthews Band ended the night with a two-song encore featuring “Granny” and the Bob Dylan cover “All Along the Watchtower.” The group continues their tour through December 28 when they close in Miami, FL. Check out photos from their Albany performance below provided by Vinny Otto:
Setlist: You Never Know, One Sweet World, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), Everyday, Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith cover), Minarets, Where Are You Going, Burning Down the House (Talking Heads cover), Crush, Kill the King, What Would You Say, Here on Out, Don’t Drink The Water, Dancing Nancies, Come On Come On, Grey Street, She, You Might Die Trying
Encore: Granny, All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan cover)
Dave Matthews Band returned to the world’s most famous arena for back-to-back sold-out shows as part of their 10-city fall tour on Nov. 29 and 30.
Having the opportunity of a summer tour to spotlight songs from the band’s 2018 release Come Tomorrow, DMB shied away from making that the focus with one four songs from the album in their set. Instead, they took the opportunity to mix the show up a bit with some rarities and older songs not often seen in their touring set lists.
Highlighting the latter part of the nearly three-hour single set was a special appearance by the talented Eric Krasno, a NYC native and founding member of Soulive (alongside Alan and Neal Evans) and Lettuce. Krasno joined the band for a fiery solo on “Lie In Our Graves.” (DMB’s second night featured Warren Haynes as a special guest).
With the early 2018 departure of the band’s long-time violinist Boyd Tinsley, whose parts were a defining part of their live sound, the band found keyboardist Buddy Strong to fill the spot. Strong is a talent behind the keys, touring or performing with majors acts like Usher, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and others. He brought a different dynamic to the performance than we are used to, adding a bit of funk and soul to the overall sound and crafting a new feel to some of the improvised moments of the show such as his solo on “Funny The Way It Is.”
A few familiar songs anchored the setlist to keep the less-seasoned DMB fans engaged such as “#41” and “Satellite,” though night two’s set was a little bit more mainstream in the tunes. Closing the encore was one of DMB’s more commercially popular songs, “Ants Marching,” featuring some extended jamming and Beauford riffing around an a drum intro that slowly teased the song.
Setlist (Night 1):
Seek Up, That Girl Is You, Why I Am, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), Kill the King, #41, Satellite, Again and Again, Sweet Emotion, Minarets, Can’t Stop, Lover Lay Down, Lie in Our Graves (w/Krasno), Sleep to Dream Her, Typical Situation, Funny the Way It Is, You & Me, You Might Die Trying
Tis the season to enjoy live music and support a great cause, across New York State! Annually, NYS Music works with bands and promoters across the state to help those in our local communities who are less fortunate and in need of a healthy dose of cheer this holiday season. Combining live music performances and the spirit of giving during the holiday season are a natural combination, and we present these 4 Jam for Tots 2018 shows where fans are able to enjoy the best music across the state, and help kids out at each show.
Or stop by Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs all month long and drop off a toy!
In the Catskills, join John Pinder and the gang for Open Mic on the first Thursday of the month. The jam lends a hand to the Toys for Tots drive this month by asking musicians and patrons to bring along an unwrapped toy for a less fortunate child. Jam for Tots has become a cherished tradition at The Stewart House. The list opens up at 6:30pm, be sure to ask the bartender or the host John Pinder to get signed up! All are welcome. Be it a solo, duo, group, spoken word, or stand up session, head down to the Stewart House to share your talent.
It’s a Funk Night XMAS Ugly Sweater Party ft. Hayley Jane & Members of Kung Fu, West End Blend, Wurliday, & More! Come out and sing some funky XMAS classics with us at this special holiday rendition of NYS Music’s Albany Funk Night! 5$ off with a toy for our Jam n Tots drive.
On December 13, celebrate a Funk Night Christmas with an Ugly Sweater Party at Parish Public House in Albany! Join the band and sing some Christmas songs at this special holiday rendition of NYS Music’s Albany Funk Night! Take $5 off the cover charge when you bring a toy for our Jam for Tots drive.
The Funk Night Christmas lineup includes Hayley Jane, Beau Sasser (Kung Fu), Chris DeAngelis (Kung Fu), Justin Henricks (Wurliday), and Bryan Brundige and Phil Chow (The Chronicles). Tickets are $15, or $10 if you bring a toy.
Join two of Buffalo’s best groups, Intrepid Travelers and Folkfaces, as they team up for an incredible night of jam, rock and much more. Bring an unwrapped gift for a 2-12 year old and the gifts will be gathered by USMC representatives. Give back to those most in need this holiday season and enjoy a great show at the same time! $5 , 21+ unless accompanied by a parent/guardian
Let’s Be Leonard returns to Caffe Lena for their annual holiday show! Expect to hear your favorite Leonard boys performing the holiday classics sprinkled with their signature Leonard flavor!
The marriage of electronic and improv-based music was inevitable from the start. The malleability of overtones provides a great platform for on-stage audibles. A lot of groups have used the modern synths to their advantage, although any music hobbyist who has played a synth can vouch for its complexity. Being able to find a good sound that is purely one’s own sound is difficult given the almost infinite parameters contained in modern synths. More so, being able to control those tones on the fly, whether in studio or on stage, is equally hard. Lord Electro, a budding electronic band from Albany, figures out a way to make their synth stand out as a staple lead tone by creating rich rhythmic grooves which fit like a puzzle piece underneath competent key lines with various changing characteristics. Their recent 10-track album, Reinvigorator, gives listeners a lot digest in terms of not only the content of each song, but the emotional arc the whole album follows.
Dan Gerken, Steve Mink and Jordan LeFleur make up Lord Electro, a trio that fills out a sound of a much larger outfit. One of their main catches, if you’re able to catch them live, is that they are an all-organic electronic group. The album reflects their ambition to remain an organic band. You can feel the chemistry on every track, with different parts within each composition lining up in sync to a level that sounds rehearsed but not computerized. Just about every piece on the album is a true dance track, staying in that sweet bpm range of 120-140. The seventh track, “Broken Glass,” features a more frenzied bass and drum line. The bass lines up almost perfectly with the bass drum accents to give the line a lot of weight, while the key parts mesh one piece providing the chord structure and rhythm while the other lead-synth part drives the melody and development of the song. This is a formula followed throughout much of the album. While this could be redundant, Lord Electro does a great job of varying even just the smallest pieces on a composition to keep it interesting.
A couple of the songs feature vocals too, whereas the rest is mainly instrumental with some background samples of different speeches or monologues related to the song. The vocal performances add a lot of texture to the album. While sparse, they are powerful and rich, relaying lyrical content that doesn’t delve too deep and provides more of a musing or reflection related to the song. On the eighth song, “Why Wait,” the vocals mirror the emotion of the tune, delivering an empowering message. The album follows a nice transitional arc too, with some tracks acting as a kind of anchor for the true sound and other tracks experimenting around that sound. This provides great variety, with every song feeling like a hard refresh. The ups and downs are in the grittiness of the bass line, or the beautiful melody of a synth lead.
Cousin Earth said an emotional goodbye to singer, percussionist and keyboardist Tara Lawton last Thursday at the Mercury Lounge. The band filled the room with high energy jams, to the audiences’ delight. Lawton jumped around on stage as she took in her final performance, while delivering vibrant vocals and funky keyboard riffs. At the end of the set, the band members took turns embracing with Lawton.
Formula 5 followed this memorable performance with a delicious set of flawless jam rock. From the first song, the Capital Region band dove into a groove, and did not stop. Guitarist Joe Davis and Keyboardist Matt Richards were often jamming together, creating electric and cohesive improvisation.
Lotus has been on top of their game this year, bringing their heavy bass-line jams across the country and on Saturday, November 24, the quintet came to NYC and played to a packed show at the Playstation Theater in Times Square.
Set I: 128, Hammerstrike, Inspector Norse > Cosmosis, Cain & Abel, Travel > Greet the Mind
Set II: Slow Cookin > Wooly Mammoth, Faceblind, Through the Mirror > Sunrain, Spaghetti > Age of Inexperience
E: Strawberry Letter 23
You can catch the boys this winter at Dominican Holidaze and on their New Year’s Run. They play the Majestic Theater in Detroit and the Intersection in Grand Rapids before finishing with two nights at Park West on December 30 and 31.
The Disco Biscuits visited Albany’s Palace Theatre for a 2-night run this past weekend, the band’s first time in the Capital District since 2010’s show at The Egg. Opening up the night was the local and nationally touring band Formula 5 making their debut at the Palace. Though the weather was quite brisk, fans came out in droves to see both bands work their magic at the famous venue.
Formula 5 kicked the night off with an hour-long, all original set, opening with a newer tune “In The Sand,” into “Sad Bed,” a rocking cut from the group’s recent studio album All Points North. “Sad Bed” was left unfinished as the band transitioned into “Booher’s Pass,” a more somber instrumental tune that featured the best jam of the set, leading the group into some experimental type-2 territory. After another original “Gettin’ Tough Again,” the group closed out their set with another new song, “Breaking Glass.” The song mixes lyrical sections with synth-heavy, prog-like riffs and does it well, as the crowd was responding very positively to what F5 was laying down.
To open up the Palace show, The Disco Biscuits played the rocking “7-11,” an older song that was met with open arms by just about every fan in the theater. “7-11” was just the beginning of what became an incredible first set, which was foreshadowed by the band absolutely nailing the composed section of the tune. The jam was extremely fast-paced, featuring lots of drummer Allen Aucoin hammering away on his drum pad laying down an untzy groove for the rest of the group to build a heavy jamtronica groove off of. “7-11” was left unfinished so that the group could transition into the ending of “Above The Waves,” signaling to the fans that the band was inverting the song. Following the quick peak of “Waves” the group started working through the song’s composed section, another tune from the early days of the band.
The “Waves” jam continued the uptempo jamming from “7-11” before dropping back into the song’s chord structure and bringing the jam back to the peak it had opened with. Following a heavenly solo from Barber, the group dropped into “Minions,” a more recent tune that had a mysterious feel to it. Keyboardist Aron Magner utilized the full extents of his rig during this tune, looping a funky clavinet part during the verse and singing the chorus through a vocoder on one of his synthesizers. The majority of the “Minions” jam was the band flexing their funk muscles before they started lifting the jam into the last song of the set, “Voices Insane.” This version of “Voices” was superb, the band locked in and smoothly transitioning between each composed section, allowing some of the movements to breathe a bit before moving onto the next part.
After a quick set break, the group came out and opened the second set with “Sweating Bullets,” a grandeur tune that had a medieval feel to it during the composed section. The jam was fairly short and featured a somewhat dub reggae feel before coming to a close. The group then took a quick pause and dropped into “Resurrection,” which had an R&B feel to it and allowed for the group to show off a different side of their musical capabilities. The “Resurrection” jam was slower than most of the night’s previous jams, and served more as a jumping off point for the segue into “I-Man,” which is where the second set started to pick up.
The band very suddenly dropped into the fan favorite “I-Man” during the “Resurrection” jam, beginning with Barber singing out the opening lyrics of the tune, which was met by loud cheers from the entire crowd. Following the lyrical sections, the group started into the jam of the night, a supernatural peak that was incredibly patient in its build up, delivery, and subsequent redelivery as the group started back into the song’s chorus. Following “I-Man,” the group broke into Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia,” a song that has only been performed three times prior by the Biscuits. The “Knights” jam was full of untz and dove back into the jamtronica side of the Biscuits, before a very dramatic drop back into the song’s lyrics and main riff. To close out the set, the group broke into the upbeat “Story of the World,” which rounded out the stronger second half of the set. After the main composed section, the group broke into some more funk-themed jamming, bringing back some of the musical flavor that “Minions” was offering during the first set. The peak was pretty quick and brought the tune back into the melody of the tune before one last chorus and ending the set. For an encore the group played an extremely short, “World is Spinning.”
Saturday night was a spectacle of its own, with the crowd revved up from the night before and ready to rage the Palace. Opening with “The Tunnel,” which has found its way back into the rotation in the last few years took a journey that ended up in the latter section of “Spectacle,” which would also open Set 2 with the first portion of the song. “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.” brought the energy level even higher through the composition and eventual jam, which worked into Biscuits anthem “We Like To Party,” a statement that encompasses the tone of the crowd over the weekend. “Rock Candy” and “Save the Robots” took it back old school for a tight pairing to close the set.
To keep the party going in the second set, a 45-minute pairing of “Spectacle” -> “spacebirdmatingcall” made for a sweaty run of energetic of the Biscuits signature trancefusion jams. A brief “Hope” was a well placed breather, if you consider the flowing peaks of the song a place to rest. “Reactor” featured an inverted “Crickets” sandwiched inside, a crunchy progression of classic Biscuits jam vehicles that brought the set to a tremendous finish. “Portal to an Empty Head” closed the night in the encore slot, wrapping up the first multi-night Biscuits run in the Capital District since Camp Bisco was held in nearby Mariaville.
The Disco Biscuits have been on fire as of late, and have a few more runs you can catch them at before their NYE run at The Fillmore in Philadelphia. Check out photos from Filip Zalewski for a taste of what the the evening was like.
Setlists
Formula 5, Friday, November 23, 2018
Set: In The Sand > Sad Bed*# > Booher’s Pass, Gettin’ Tough Again, Breaking Glass
*”In the Sand” tease
# Unfinished
The Disco Biscuits, Palace Theatre, Friday, November 23, 2018
Set 1: 7-11* > Above the Waves (Inverted) > Minions > Voices Insane Set 2: Sweating Bullets, Resurrection > I-Man, Knights of Cydonia**, Story of the World Encore: World is Spinning
*Unfinished
**Muse Cover
The Disco Biscuits, Palace Theatre, Saturday, November 24
Set 1: The Tunnel -> Spectacle, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.-> We Like to Party-> Rock Candy, Save the Robots Set 2: Spectacle-> Spacebirdmatingcall, Hope, Reactor-> Crickets (inverted)-> Reactor Encore: Portal to an Empty Head
Tea Leaf Green recently celebrated 20 years as a band and was greeted with an exceptionally warm Northeast welcome. This run was special because the San Francisco-based jam quartet hasn’t visited the area in two years. These shows notably mark the second time bass player Eric DiBerardino played with Tea Leaf Green in the New York City Metro region. DiBerardino replaced bass superstar Reed Mathis in 2016. Fans are excited to be more acquainted with his style.
StageOne in Fairfield, CT (11/16/2018)
Described as a “coffee shop stage,” StageOne in Fairfield, CT offered fans a chance to see the band up close with great acoustics. The venue has a 225 person capacity, with seating on both sides of the stage. Tea Leaf Green rewarded those in attendance with a classic set of favorites.
The set began with “5000 Acres” and “Ride Together,” which got the crowd on their feet and grooving. Next up were “Make a Connection,” “Innocence” and the electro-funk jam “Germinating Seed,” featuring notable guitar segments from guitarist Josh Clark. The set wrapped up on a high note with the perennial hit “If It Wasn’t For the Money,” featuring outstanding vocals and smooth solos by keyboardist Trevor Garrod.
Set II picked up where Set I left off, starting with the funky “These Two Chairs“ and an electrified “Don’t Curse the Night.” The high energy “One Reason“ got the crowd ready for the first jam of the night, “Gasaholic.” Garrod’s soulful vocals and funky keyboard execution combined with Clark’s guitar improvisation made this an unforgettable rendition.
“All Of Your Cigarettes“ brought a few chill moments before Jordan Giangreco of The Breakfast joined Tea Leaf Green on stage, playing organ next to Garrod for the high energy favorites “Give Me One More Chance“ and “Incandescent Devil.” Musical nirvana between all five musicians was reached during the second jam of the night and closed the second set on a high note.
The encore brought the energy down to earth for the melodic Garrod classic, “Earth and Sky.”
Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY (11/17/2018)
Tea Leaf Green has a rich history of high energy jamming at the Brooklyn Bowl, which features a bowling alley adjacent to the stage. Gadadu and Greg Humphrey’s Electric Trio opened and got the crowd on their feet.
The band was ready to rock and roll from the very first song, “Devil’s Pay,” including eloquent vocals from Garrod and mind-numbing guitar solos by Clark. The harmonica-fueled “Let Us Go“ was the perfect precursor for the jam of the night, “Red Ribbons” > “Garden III.” Both are classic Tea Leaf Green songs, and “Garden” included a unique rock infused jam, which delighted longtime fans.
Garrod’s vocals and keyboard skills shined in “Been So Long“ and “Cops Took My Weed“ followed by a Clark electric guitar clinic in “Space Hero“ and “Hot Dog.” There is no question how talented this band is.
The soulful Garrod tune “Kali Yuga” closed out the set, and included celebration confetti from the audience. The encore began with “Carter Hotel,” an inspiring ballad sung by Clark. The show ended on a high note with the electric “Vote on Tuesday,” including more audience confetti to close this memorable night.
The Northeast was jubilant after two fantastic Tea Leaf Green shows and awaits their return for more soulful, funky improvisational rock and roll.
The Egg recently announced five great musical acts visiting the Capital Region for shows this coming spring. The first is Americana, rock, and improvisational group Railroad Earth. The group self identifies with rock-and-roll, but their distinct bluegrass influence is undeniable. Who says you can’t have the best of both worlds? You can see this incredible fusion of musical genres yourself Feb. 14.
Railroad Earth
Next in the line up is local talent who hail from Albany, the folk group Dannybrook Fair. The three original members recently celebrated a successful summer tour. You can catch the trio during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on March 14.
March’s offerings continue at the performing arts venue as Pat Metheny’s recent jazz project Side Eye makes an appearance on March 30. Universally recognized as one of the best guitarists in jazz history, Metheny is joined by pianist James Francies and drummer Nate Smith for this musical experiment. You will not want to miss a performance from the unmatched Pat Mentheny.
Last, but not least, Candlebox comes to Capital region audiences on Thursday, April 25. The Seattle rock group, who rose to fame in the ’90s grunge scene will be showcasing songs from their sixth album Disappearing in Airports.
Mike Gordon and his band released plans for Spring appearances around the east coast. The rapid-fire March tour will bring Phish bassist Mike Gordon and company to several venues in up and down the east coast, beginning in Atlanta and finishing up with a four night run in Cambridge, MA. General Admission tickets went on sale on Friday.
New York fans of the rock group will be excited to see that Mike Gordon will be performing in Buffalo at the Town Ballroom during the March Tour. For more info regarding the tour and ticket purchases visit Mike Gordon’s website. Current tour dates are below.
Mike Gordon Tour Dates:
March 8 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
March 9 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
March 10 – The Basement East – Nashville, TN
March 12 – Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC
March 13 – Harvester Performance Center – Rocky Mount, VA
March 15 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
March 16 – Asbury Lanes – Asbury Park, NJ
March 17 – White Eagle Hall – Jersey City, NJ March 19 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY
March 21-24 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
The night was filled with crowd pleasers and hits like “Where Are You Going,” “Don’t Drink The Water” and of course “What Would You Say.” The Dave Matthews Band ended the night with a two-song encore featuring “Granny” and the Bob Dylan cover “All Along the Watchtower.” The group continues their tour through December 28 when they close in Miami, FL. Check out photos from their Albany performance below provided by Vinny Otto:
The marriage of electronic and improv-based music was inevitable from the start. The malleability of overtones provides a great platform for on-stage audibles. A lot of groups have used the modern synths to their advantage, although any music hobbyist who has played a synth can vouch for its complexity. Being able to find a good sound that is purely one’s own sound is difficult given the almost infinite parameters contained in modern synths. More so, being able to control those tones on the fly, whether in studio or on stage, is equally hard. 
