Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman, Corey Taylor, updated the maggot faithful on the future of Slipknot during a recent interview with MusikUniverse.
Slipknot fans, aka “Maggots,” have been waiting since the band’s fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter, released in 2014. After past comments Taylor has made about the band’s future and recent comments by band mate and Slipknot founder Shawn “Clown” Crahan, that the band’s next studio effort could possibly be their last.
Taylor was asked if he has heard any material from other bandmates for Slipknot’s upcoming album. “Yeah, I have. It’s awesome – that’s all I’m gonna say about it.” Taylor then explained that he received six “really, really good” demos from the band.”
Taylor later discussed Crahan’s recent remarks that Slipknot’s next album “could be it for him.”
“We’ve always said — and this is not in a negative way — we’ve always said that when we get to the point where we physically can’t do Slipknot the way we want to do it, we’ll stop, and for some of us, the years of being in Slipknot have taken [their] toll.”
On whether if he could continue on as a part of Slipknot without Crahan:
“He’s always been the vision for this band, for Slipknot, and without that, it crumbles. So, yeah, if he left, that would be it for me, as well — and I say that, honestly, in a very positive way, because none of us would want to continue doing it from a half-assed point of view. Nobody wants to go 50 percent on a Slipknot album.”
When asked if he would ever venture off into another genre of music, Taylor stated that he would like to make a jazz album after his heavy metal days are behind him:
“I want to put together a quintet or a sextet and record it old school, all of us in a room, playing together, do it very organic, very live — the way those great albums were recorded, you know? Make it a hint of jazz, a hint of big band — just really make it about the song, and about the individuals playing together.”
New York fans have been buzzing the last couple of days after the mighty Metallica posted a video on social media that said “Monday, Worldwired Tour,” The brief video left fans hoping their city will be part of the the band’s 2018-2019 touring plans.
Rumors started circulating once venues across North America started sharing Metallica’s post hours later. Two of 34 venues that shared Metallica’s video, were located in New York state. One of those venues on the list, had Capital Region metal fans saying “Could this be for real,” when the Times Union Center in Albany shared the band’s post.
Now that Monday has arrived, everything has been made official. Metallica will make two stops in New York on their upcoming “Worldwired 2018/19” tour, including Oct. 27, at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo, and Oct. 29, at the Times Union Center in Albany. Fan club presale begins Feb. 27 at 9 a.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public March 2.
Look for Metallica to announce around 50 shows to round out the 2018 tour schedule. Frontman James Hetfield admitted in a 2016 interview that, “My body has told me to tell these guys that 50 shows a year is kind of what we can do, so make the best of those. And I think we all kind of agree in that. But 50 shows a year, that’s pretty good. My body can handle that. Body, mind and spirit all need to kind of revitalize themselves at home, and days off for voices — things like that — so 50 shows a year, it goes pretty quick, I’m sure.”
Since their debut in 1981, Metallica has released 10 studio albums, a cover album, four live albums and five EP’s. Their last six studio albums, all debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. They have sold over 125 million records worldwide, making them one of the most commercially successful bands of all time. Since 1991, the band became the third best-selling artist with over 58 million albums in the U.S. alone. Metallica has released over 37 singles, and won nine Grammy Awards.
“Worldwired” Tour Dates:
Oct. 2 – Kohl Center – Madison, WI
Oct. 4 – Target Center – Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 6 – Pinnacle Bank Arena – Lincoln, NB
Oct. 8 – Alerus Center – Grand Forks, ND
Oct. 11 – Denny Sanford Premier Center – Sioux Falls, SD
Oct. 13 – Bell MTS Place – Winnipeg, MB Canada
Oct. 15 – Sasktel Centre – Saskatoon, SK Canada
Oct. 16 – Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center – Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 18 -PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 20 – Bryce Jordan Center – State College, PA
Oct. 22 – Spectrum Arena – Charlotte, NC Oct. 27 – KeyBank Center – Buffalo, NY Oct. 29 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
Nov. 26 – T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 28 – Taco Bell Arena – Boise, ID
Nov. 30 – Vivnt Smart Home Arena – Salt Lake City, UT
Dec. 2 – Spokane Arena – Spokane, WA
Dec. 5 – Moda Center – Portland, OR
Dec. 7 – Golden 1 Center – Sacramento, CA
Dec. 9 – Save Mart Center – Fresno, CA
Jan. 18 – BOK Center – Tulsa, OK
Jan. 20 – Verizon Center – Little Rock, AR
Jan. 22 – Legacy Arena at the BJCC – Birmingham, AL
Jan. 24 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
Jan. 28 – PNC Arena – Raleigh, NC
Jan. 30 – U.S. Bank Arena – Cincinnati, OH
Feb. 1 – Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, OH
Feb. 28 – Don Haskins Center -El Paso, TX
March 2 – United Supermarkets Arena – Lubbock, TX
March 4 – Intrust Bank Arena – Wichita, KS
March 6 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
March 9 – KFC Yum! Center – Louisville, KY
March 11 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
March 13 – Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Mi
Vibrant pop punk outfit Young Culture made their way from their hometown of Albany to Rochester on February 17 for the first night of their coast to coast tour. They’re on the road promoting their sophomore EP, Blue, which was released in the fall. NYS Music met up with founding members Alex Magnan and Gabe Pietrafesa just before their show at Vineyard Community Space to talk about the release, tour, the importance of support from friends and family, and the game called Odds.
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
Paula Cummings: You’re on tour for your new EP. Tell me about Blue.
Gabe Pietrafesa: We recorded last January, about a year ago. We went out to Always Be Genius Studios in Indiana and recorded it with Seth Henderson and Derek Discanio from State Champs. We were there for eight days, did five songs. We had a blast. Now it’s out and it’s going good. The shows have been really great, and the songs are where we want them to be.
Alex Magnan: It definitely felt like a good follow-up to our first EP You because that one we recorded when we were pretty young. We were 17/18 when we recorded Blue, so it’s just more mature than the last one. It felt like the next step.
PC: You recorded with Derek from State Champs. They’re from your hometown of Albany, right?
GP: We’re homies with the State Champs guys. Derek actually worked with us on our first record, too. He’s a friend now and he’ll come to us with ideas or we’ll come to him with ideas. He just wants to be part of what we’re creating because he’s been with Young Culture from day one. State Champs has been a big thing in the Albany scene.
PC: Also important are supportive parents, and I’ve heard that you guys have an awesome band mom.
AM: Both my parents, Mike and Gina, are the greatest souls ever. They just love everybody and they really are into what we’re doing. So they’re very supportive of it. Every time before we leave for tour they always make us mad food, a big breakfast and food to take.
GP: And any time we have friends’ bands, like if Rarity was in town, they’ll have them over, let them stay and do their laundry, cook them food. They go out of their way. They’re great people.
AM: I feel like they were never doubtful about it. When I was like “Mom, Dad, I want to do music,” they were like, “This is the right move, but if you want to do it, you better haul ass and be 100% about it.” They pushed us to keep doing what we’re doing, which is pretty unorthodox. A lot of parents don’t do that.
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
PC: You spend a lot of time on the road. I hear you like to play a game called Odds.
GP: So the rule for Odds is… I’ll use (friend and cameraman) Danny as an example. I’ll think of a crazy task. I’ll be like, Danny, what are the odds that every photo you take tonight you have to close your eyes. Danny will be like one out of ten. And Alex will count us in like 3, 2, 1. And then we both say a number between one and ten, and if we both say the same number, then he has to do it. If I said four and Danny said six and it adds up to ten, then the odds are reversed, and I have to do it, and he won’t have to. We’ve done some pretty stupid odds.
AM: It’s like you’re on the road in a van a long time with a bunch of dudes and you’ve got to keep things interesting sometimes. So we’ve gone to some extremes.
GP: We make an agreement that we don’t do odds for the show. We don’t do anything that’s going to mess with it. That’s a big thing. One time we were doing the drive from here to Texas, and it was insane and we were really bored, and there was a cup of Alex’s pee and someone odds me to drink a sip of it. I didn’t think it would happen.
AM: Needless to say, we’re more than friends now. We’ve done some outlandish stuff.
GP: One time we had our manager Joe go up to someone after their set and say, “Good set. Not great, though.”
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
PC: You’re ending this tour with a hometown show. How psyched are you for that?
GP: So stoked.
AM: We’re going to try to sell that one out. It’s going to be at a venue called Lucky Strike Social. All the openers for it are friends of ours. The Maloy Brothers, who have never done a full show are going to be the openers. And then we have Perfect Scores. And a band called Viewpoints – they’ve been doing this as long as we have.
GP: It’s going to be two weeks of us playing shows, and then we get to come home to a big hometown show. We haven’t done a hometown show in like six months.
AM: That’s the best way to do it. You come home and end tour with a bang.
GP: We’re playing so many places we’ve never even been to.
AM: I was excited to come back to Rochester.
GP: It’s cool because not only do we get to play music, we get to travel the world.
AM: What better platform to travel than music.
GP: It’s a lot of fun.
Catch Young Culture on their remaining tour dates:
Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Vibe
Feb. 24 – Lake Forrest, CA – Rushbar
Feb. 25 – Santa Anna, CA – 4th Street Market
Feb. 26 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
Feb. 27 – Albuquerque, NM – The Jam Spot
March 1 – Indianapolis, IN – Hoosier Dome
March 2 – Cleveland, OH – Euclid Tavern
March 3 – Erie, PA – Basement Transmissions March 4 – Albany, NY – Lucky Strike Social
Find Blue, and their 2016 debut EP You on iTunes. Follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on their adventures on (and off) the road.
Returning to New York for the first time since his fall from a stage prop tipping over on him at the Hammerstein Ballroom in September, Marilyn Manson is once again making headlines while performing in the Empire State.
As described by concert goers in attendance at The Paramount, an intoxicated Manson took the stage, performed a few songs, and rambled incoherently before walking off stage early.
People.com reports that Manson used his past injury as part of his stage act at the beginning of his set, as he was pushed out on stage in a wheelchair by guys in hospital scrubs. While keeping his back to the crowd for most of his brief performance, he started and stopped songs several times, and incoherently played the guitar for several agonizing minutes.
Some fans are going as far a saying that 49-year-old Manson had a meltdown on stage. He threw his mic down, pushed over equipment on stage and demanded fans tell him that they love him. As he walked off the stage for good, fans chanted “Fuck you, Manson.”
Fans flooded to the venue’s Instagram to voice their displeasure of the night’s event on a post advertising the show, with many asking the venue and organizers to issue a refund. One fan stated on their site, “The worst event I ever experienced. He should be held accountable for his actions and not get paid for this.” Another fan posted, “3 songs in and the dude had a mental breakdown or was a drunk dick. Remember @marilynmanson we pay $$$ to see you, I’m getting a fucking refund. Pissed! Waste of time.”
One fan who had a meet and greet before the show with Satan’s favorite son, took to Reddit and shared his experience before the show.“There’s no more to it. I had the meet and greet. He was wasted. He was worse on stage. Rambled on and on about us loving him. Here’s the set Reflecting Deep six Rambling on and on for minutes Disposable teens (cut short) He’s off stage for 5-10 Back and rambles for 20 min about who knows what Saturnalia (poorly played riff over and over for 10+min into lunchbox riff with him doing spoken word for 15 min. Stumbled off stage. Band finished lunchbox the right way. Gods gonna cut you down house music.”
The show at The Paramount was originally slated to take place on Oct 9, 2017, but Manson’s stage injury put him on the shelf for nine months, canceling and rescheduling several tour dates.
Disturbed has hinted at a new release some time in 2018. The question is, what kind of release will it be?
About a year ago, Disturbed frontman David Draiman stated that the band would do what many other bands have recently, and produce an acoustic EP before moving on to the band’s seventh full length studio album. No word if those plan are still intact or if the band will put the acoustic album on the shelf for a new full length effort.
Disturbed has re-entered The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas where the band secretly recorded their last album Immortalized, and teamed up once again with producer Kevin Churko for another go around.
Blabbermouth reported that in a 2016 interview with For Guitar Players Only, guitarist Dan Donegan commented on Churko, and the band clicking from the start during the band sixth studio album. He stated:
We took some meetings with some big-name producers, just to see what they had to offer. It was just a great, eye-opening experience to know that there’s some geniuses that can kind of challenge you and throw these ideas out. When we met with Kevin Churko, we just felt something within the first hour, two hours that we were bouncing ideas off each other. It was pretty obvious that he just seemed like the right fit for us. We just felt like some of the suggestions he threw at us definitely helped elevate those songs to make them even hookier and riffier. It was just amazing. I didn’t really want to leave the studio. After nearly three and a half, four months of recording, I was a little sad when we were done. It just felt like, creatively, ‘Ah, man, I still want to keep going,’ but we already felt like we had such a strong album.
Disturbed is slated to perform as one of the headliners for the 25th annual Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin on July 12-15.
I Set My Friends On Fire has come a long way in the past decade. The post-hardcore band that started with two teens and a laptop and has evolved into a full band with members from across the U.S. NYS Music caught up with guitarist Nate Blasdell and bassist Connor Mitchener as they were readying to take off for the tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of ISMFOF’s debut album You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter.
photo: Daniel Finkelstein
Paula Cummings: How did you get your start in I Set My Friends On Fire?
Nate Blasdell: I played in a band called The Bunny The Bear. I was pretty young, 18 years old, just out of high school. I learned a lot from that band. It was everything I thought I wanted. We were signed to a label, doing well on tours. We had a booking agent. On the outside, that looks awesome. But there’s a lot of awful stuff that happened. We burned bridges, we made mistakes. We were kids. I was considering what I wanted to do with my life and how I wasn’t a free-spirited 18 year-old looking to run away anymore. I just wanted to play music with people I cared about. Matt Mehana and I started talking and one day I asked if he wanted to get ISMFOF rolling again. We went back and forth for eight months. One day, I was like, “Let’s make a deal, if I can book us a tour in Russia, you’ll start ISMFOF up again and we’ll start touring.” Twelve hours later we had a contract and the plane tickets were fully paid… You have to be crazy to be a musician.
Connor Mitchener: You have to be a masochist.
NB: You have to make a lot of sacrifices. It’s hard to maintain relationships. We sleep in a van, from sleeping in hotels. We went from having plane tickets paid for you to having to front for plane tickets. So we started to lose money and we went through member changes before things fell into place. We had this strand of two months of touring that were horrendous. Not just financially but emotionally. We were in Russia and we all got sick.
CM: I missed a show.
NB: Our drummer got robbed of his camera. My Uber driver ran someone over.
CM: I almost got detained.
NB: He almost got kicked out of the country because his visa expired. We saw money lost from our hotel room.
CM: Literally all the money gone.
NB: All the money we made from tour we lost on our last day in Russia.
CM: That was the kick in the gut.
NB: The biggest thing about that is we flew from Russia to New York and had to play a show in New Jersey that night. We ended that tour with a smile on our faces. Everyone was still laughing, still making the best of it. That’s when we knew we had the right lineup. I think we’ve finally got it right. We’ve all been through the struggle. Instead of being jaded, it makes us that much more hungry and more appreciative of whatever comes our way.
PC: How many countries and continents have you played?
NB: It was thirty last year. Then we did Estonia, Latvia and Sweden. So thirty three. We did Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. Russia was awesome. We didn’t expect to be treated so well there. People were waiting at the train station. We couldn’t walk outside the show. They were really appreciative. We can have that experience, then we can come home and be completely normal people. I think it’s cool because you can experience it, but it’s not your full life.
PC: What was the feedback from your teachers and school counselors when you wanted to pursue a career in music?
NB: I grew up in a suburban area. I came from a good family too. There were expectations. I went through a lot in high school. I used to be all about sports. As I fell out of love with sports, I fell in love with music. Teachers and counselors I had thought I was crazy. Not only teachers and counselors, but some friends of parents and some extended family. I got lucky that I have the most supportive family every. My father has a good job. He saw that money doesn’t buy happiness, and he wanted me to be happy. I went to college when I turned 21. I’m glad I went back. I think that anyone who had a tough time in high school shouldn’t rule out college. It’s crazy. I work as a substitute teacher now alongside of some of the teachers who told me to give up. I had an orchestra teacher tell me I was a failure at music when I was in 6th grade and that I should give up violin. When you tell a kid something like that…
CM: At the most vulnerable age.
NB: It’s funny how that stuff comes around. I had some caring teachers who wanted what was best for me, but I had some who were like, “You have no idea what you’re doing.” We went out and found ourselves.
CM: We learned a lot more than we ever would in school.
NB: It took a couple years to find ourselves. We learned a lot from touring. Every kid has a different plan. I highly advise finishing high school. I know it’s a battle for some people, but once you get that piece of paper, it’s like your life is about to get a thousand times better.
CM: Like Dobby getting a sock.
NB: It will make your life that much better. You can hang it on the wall and no one can take that away. I went on tour thinking I was going to tour for the rest of my life, and I came back as a teacher. That’s one of the reasons I became a teacher is to push kids in the direction of their own greatness instead of society’s standards of greatness, and find themselves. College is always there. It isn’t for everyone, but I encourage people to try it. But there’s no time frame on it.
PC: Connor, did you have similar experiences with teachers and counselors in high school?
CM: Oh, yeah. I come from a way smaller place than Nate did. It’s pretty country. I remember getting called to the counselor’s office to do financial aid. I’m like, “I’m not going to school right away, so I don’t need to do this.” They were like, “Yes you do, because you’re dumb not to.” It sucked. High school sucked. That place just didn’t get it. People in my town never leave. There were teachers who were like “I had your parents when they were in school.”
PC: How supportive was your family?
CM: So my mom was stoked. When Nate called me, he was like, “Buy a bass, learn to play bass and come join me.” We were homies. I was like, “cool.” I go home and tell my mom and she was ok. I was a cross country and track runner. I had scholarships. I go to my dad and say, “I’m going to play music,” and he told me I was pissing away my future. They saw where this led and my dad comes to out of state shows now. They were concerned. It was random. It wasn’t a plan I ever had because I never thought I could do it. Honestly, at face value, our story is kind-of ridiculous.
NB: We both grew up in good families where there was a lot of trust. It’s cool because they’ve been supportive. There was a point where they were worried, but now there are instances like my dad will be at work and say, “My son is in a band.” They’ll ask what band, and he’ll say I Set My Friends On Fire, and they’ll be like, “No way!” Our dads brag about us.
CM: It started like, “My kid plays in a band. He doesn’t really do anything,” and now it’s prideful to say.
PC: What advice would you give to 18 year-old you?
NB: Look at the bigger picture. Don’t be blindsided by the initial look of something. And don’t let hate affect you so much. People are going to hate. I don’t let it affect me at a personal level. Don’t get caught up in what everyone else is doing. Everyone has a different plan. You can’t compare your success to others. Try not to get attached to your idols on an emotional level.
CM: Heroes become human.
NB: Who they portray themselves as and who they are is way different.
Photo: Andrew Parker-West
PC: What is your favorite lyric on You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter?
NB: Matt’s lyrics are insane. “Don’t drink and park, accidents in cars cause population” from Beauty Is In The Eyes Of The Beerholder.
CB: The end of WTFWJD, “Let me get a sip of what you want me to say, I am so thirsty.” I love the end of that.
NB: IMFOF lyrics are more meaningful than they appear. You can’t deny that we’re a sexual and violent band with content.
CB: It’s more wacky than violent.
NB: The thing that Matt does that’s really cool is that he has lyrics that appear sexual or violent but they are part of a way bigger meaning. It’s not like he’s writing it to be edgy.
As I was thanking them for the interview, they mentioned that they will be doing an interview called ‘How Well Do You Know Your Bandmate?’ while on tour. I threw a few practice questions at them. Having known each other for seven years and spent so much time together, they nailed the answers. In case you were wondering… their favorite restaurants on tour are In-N-Out Burger, Chipotle, Cook Out and Chic-Fil-A. Connor’s favorite beverages are Code Red Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. And Nate doesn’t eat candy often, but when he does, his favorite is Lemonheads.
Tickets are on sale now for the I Set My Friends On Fire on their 10 Years of Slaughter Tour. They still maintain their MySpace page, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Find music by I Set My Friends on Fire, from their debut You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter to their latest single “My Uzi Holds A Hundred Round Conscience” on iTunes and Spotify.
Primus and Mastodon are hitting the road together this year for a huge summer tour. Stretching non-step from the beginning of May to early July, the tour will circumvent virtually the entire country.
And talk about a great first show to kick things off! On May 6, the two bands will rage Red Rocks Amphitheater for what should be an especially memorable night. The majority of May will take them through the south, to venues in cities like Dallas, Nashville, Alabama and Georgia, before late May and early June starts their northeast leg. Along with dates in Portland, Asbury Park, Providence and others, they will play three New York venues: Artpark Amphitheater in Lewiston, Cool Insuring Arena in Glen Falls, and Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk.
The rest of June will take them back out towards the midwest and west, from Columbus to Chicago, to Indianapolis and then farther out to spots like Bonner, Montana, Seattle Washington, and Bend, Oregon. Primus and Mastodon wrap it all up on July 7 at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, AZ.
The pairing of these two hard rock titans should be a dream matchup for fans of either band. Primus will be supporting their 2017 release, the storybook concept album The Desaturating Seven. Mastodon is also coming off its own 2017 release, Emperor in Sand. Both albums have received ample praise across the major music news sources, and have certainly resulted in some tremendous recent shows from each artist.
Tickets are now available for all summer shows, and you can get them by visiting either Primus or Mastodon’s websites.
Primus and Mastodon 2018 Summer Tour Schedule:
May 6 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater
May 8 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
May 10 – Dallas, TX – Southside Ballroom
May 11 – Austin, TX – Austin 360 Amphitheater
May 12 – Rogers, AR – Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion
May 14 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Concert Hall
May 15 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium
May 16 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theater
May 18 – Portsmouth, VA – Portsmouth Pavilion
May 19 – Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 20 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
May 22 – Reading, PA – Diamond Credit Union Theater @ Santander May 23 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark Amphitheater May 25 – Glen Falls, NY – Cool Insuring Arena
May 26 – Providence, RI – Bold Point Park
May 27 – Portland, ME – TBA
May 29 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
May 30 – Philadelphia, PA – Penn’s Landing – Festival Pier
June 1 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summerstage
June 2 – Baltimore, MD – Pier 6 Pavilion June 3 – Brooklyn, NY – Ford Amphitheater @ Coney Island Boardwalk
June 5 – Columbus, OH – Express Live! Outdoor Amphitheatre
June 6 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
June 8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
June 9 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hill
June 10 – Indianapolis, IN – Farmer’s Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
June 12 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
June 14 – Minneapolis, MN – MYTH LIVE
June 15 – Bonner Springs, KS – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
June 16 – Camdenton, MO – Ozarks Amphitheater
June 18 – Lincoln, NE – Pinewood Bowl Theater
June 21 – Bonner, MT – Kettlehouse Amphitheater
June 22 – Seattle, WA – Marymoor Park
June 23 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphitheater
June 25 – Troutdale, OR – Edgefield
June 28 – Avila Beach, CA – Avila Beach Resort Amphitheater
June 29 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre
June 30 – Lincoln, CA – Thunder Valley Resort Casino
July 2 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Great Salt Air – Outdoors
July 3 – Las Vegas, NV – Downtown Event Center
July 5 – Los Angeles, CA The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley
July 6 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theater
July 7 – Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theatre
Dream Theater returned to their hometown for a packed house at The Beacon Theatre on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on November 16. The evening with Dream Theater was a full show put on by themselves; no opening act was needed.
Dream Theater’s last NYC show was at Radio City Music Hall in Spring 2016 where they told the story behind concept album The Astonishing from start to finish (and purely material from that album). This time around they once again presented an album in its entirety padded by some other compositions from their 30+ year career.
The first set took the Beacon through Dream Theater’s catalog starting on a hard note with “The Dark Eternal Night” before wandering through more progressive melodies and riffs from Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci. Mid-way through the first set, bassist John Myung paid tribute to one of his biggest influences, the late Jaco Pastorius, with a solo bass cover of “Portrait of Tracy.” Aside from this tribute, the band didn’t fail to tip their hat to one of their major influences and inspirations, Geddy Lee and Rush, sneaking in a tease of Rush’s “Cygnus X-1” at the tail end of the second set.
Images and Words took the limelight for the second set as Dream Theater’s tour marked the 25th anniversary of that album. Firing through the album on stage with the anticipated skill and precision of a Dream Theater performance was far from any sort of let-down. While singer James LaBrie stepped aside a few times, each of the members had more chances to show their solo chops and expand a bit upon the original studio recordings. The presentation of Images and Words in its entirety had a true classic Dream Theater appeal and was enthusiastically enjoyed by the crowd.
With just a short break before the encore, Dream Theater came back to play the entire seven-part “A Change of Seasons” off of the EP of the same name serving as a treat to the band’s fans similar to Rush playing “2112” as an encore. It was well-suited for the theme of the night given that “A Change of Seasons” was originally slated to appear on Images and Words before getting bumped to its own EP.
Dream Theater’s performances over the past few years, even through the change of drummers from Mike Portnoy to Mike Mangini, have continued to impress, if not gotten better. For this progressive metal band, the best of times may still be yet to come.
Setlist
Set 1: The Dark Eternal Night, The Bigger Picture, Hell’s Kitchen, To Live Forever, Portrait of Tracy (Jaco Pastorius cover), As I Am, Breaking All Illusions
Set 2 (Images & Words): Pull Me Under, Another Day, Take the Time, Surrounded. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, Under a Glass Moon, Wait for Sleep, Learning to Live
Complex isn’t always good, but in Ampevene’s case, it’s raw, emotive and highly expressive. The Albany-based quartet will unveil their latest live album, Ephemagoria at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen on Feb. 9 with the helping hands of their friends in Cousin Earth. Having teased fans along the way with the releases of “Valencia” and “Rometheu,” the complete live effort commands attention from its earliest, distorted notes. Over a 10-track sonic highway, the prog rockers take listeners for a noisy ride as they blend blatant psychedelic rock influences with their own gritty flair and unique cocktail of spellbinding genres.
Branching off of Gabe Stallman’s solo project as a guitarist,Ampevene is completed by Stallman on guitar and vocals, Mack Hogan on bass, Brian Fahey on drums and Ava Smith on keys. Seeing a minor lineup change, Fahey is the current drummer who took over for Darryl Kniffen, the recorded drummer on the album. The first few tracks come as an attack on your senses, kicking off with a myriad of sound and distortion as an 8-minute journey unfolds within “Florida.” While the group is undoubtedly influenced by psychedelic rock before its time, (think Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett era) Ampevene channels those visceral tendencies and matches them with the gripping mood and scaling of metal progressions and often hard to compute math-rock.
Just when you get settled into a groove, it doesn’t last for long before you’re tossed into new kaleidoscopic arrangements and time signatures. The first half of the album relies solely on storytelling through music before a 12-minute “Rometheu” introduces the first glimpse of vocals on the album, although that’s not the pinnacle of the track. While fleeting, Stallman’s vocals are comparable to the tone and echoing of groups like Circa Survive and the Mars Volta, with the latter covered later on the album. With the first and fourth beats emphasized in each measure, the song picks up speed with compositional mastery as the foursome jerk the steering wheel into fresh segments, a common thread throughout Ephemagoria.
“Hill” comes as a hard-hitter with all the focus placed on tight drumming at the album’s peak with an explosion of sound before introducing the first cover in a somber, slowed down version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” With a new age take on a beloved classic, the warped arrangement and unique style almost makes the song unrecognizable at times, if not for the lyrics. A second cover comes as a crisp version of the Mars Volta’s “Goliath,” mimicking the song’s natural sound and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’ distinct vocal inflections.
The live album as a whole features classic and never before recorded Ampevene songs as well as covers, capturing the feel of a live performance at The Recording Company in Esperance, NY, and mixed by Tim Lynch with mastering by Alan Douches of West West Side Music. Ampevene has the raw talent of making their multi-segmented tracks seem like effortless jams spliced together at all the right, unexpected times. With the ability to entice fans to try to follow along and eventually surrender to the flow, the quartet seems to have mastered their live presence and execution while diving deep into guitar solos, exploratory jazz segments and thrash metal elements.
Catch the high-energy release Friday night when Ampevene takes The Hollow stage at 9:30 PM!
It was a great night of local music on Saturday, January 27 as The Crimson Tips, The Hard Luck Souls, and Iüdica took over the Low Beat in Albany for a very special benefit to help kids diagnosed with cancer. Admission to the event was free and the participating bands only asked that attendees donate a small toy or provide a financial contribution to the not for profit Rosie’s Love Foundation.
Rosie’s Love Foundation was formed after the death of it’s namesake, two-year-old Rosemary Frances Johnson, who passed away after a valiant battle with neuroblastoma. Her family wanted to give something back for all the love Rosie received while being treated for her illness at Albany Medical Center. The foundation provides fun activities and toys for children receiving in-patient cancer treatment and offers various types of assistance to those children’s family members.
First up in the line up was Lake George based Iüdica. The roster of the band includes Brian Michael Rhythm on guitar/vocals, Chris Walker on bass/vocal, Nate Fidd on percussion, and Thom Grover on lead guitar. The group came out strong with a rendition of “Arty” a hard rock in your face number that set the tone of the show. The highlight of the set was the band’s rendition of “Circuits,” which is featured on their 2017 EP Brain Carvings. Iüdica went on to play their new release “Lipstick, Black Dress” which is slated to be released later this year. Lead singer and guitarist Brian Michael lost his guitar strap during the song and while trying to keep the number rolling, wound up whipping off his glasses, which landed on the stage. He was able to keep the pace and when asked about the incident after the show he stated “well that’s rock and roll.”
The Hard Luck Souls were next up on the bill and they came out swinging with “I Never” the second track off of their 2017 release Closer To The Flame. The Souls are a tight unit with front-man Chris Itani commanding the stage like a seasoned veteran. The song’s lyrics describe the end to a messy relationship and paired with the excellent guitar work of Brian Gentile, perfectly represents the hard rock vibe of the four man group. The highlight of the Soul’s set was “Get Back,” a fast paced number reminiscent of The Stone Temple Pilots. The crunchy tune showcased the prowess of the band’s rhythm section which features Dave Smassanow on bass and Mark Schmidt on drums. Deep into their set the Souls treated the audience by performing the band’s newly minted single “Keep On Running.”The number has only been played out live by the boys a few times and was received enthusiastically by the crowd. The Hard Luck Souls finished their portion of the evening strong with high energy renditions of 90’s classics “Nice Shot” by Filter and Soundgarden’s “Outshined.”
The Rock and Roll fund raiser was capped off when the event’s organizers, The Crimson Tips, took the stage. The hard rock outfit is a family affair with Lance Valderrama on guitar/vocal, his son Kyle Valderrama on bass/vocal, and Lance’s cousin John Nicotina on drums/vocals. Lance started the show by thanking everyone for coming out and supporting Rosie’s Love and dedicated the show to his good friend Walter, who is currently battling with fourth stage cancer. He said that the band wanted to do more for shows for charities in the Capital Region in order to give back to their community. The Tips then went into their first number “Please Help Me” off of their 2016 LP Sludge Train. The tune got off to a rocky start due to sound problems which cut off the vocals of drummer John Nicotina. The problem was quickly resolved and the band kept playing through the difficulties. The boys produce tremendous sound for a trio and with pieces like “Let Her Bark” and “Same Shit Different Day,” The Crimson Tips gritty sound hearkens back to the late 80’s NYC punk scene. The Crimson Tips ended their performance with a blistering performance of “I Just Caught You Looking,” a song that is about when someone can’t let go of a failed relationship and becomes a stalker.
Overall the fundraiser at the Low Beat was a success. It was a great lineup of local talent and the bands were able to collect a sizable amount of donations in toys and some much needed money for Rosie’s Love. These tokens of goodwill will hopefully bring a little joy into the lives of some kids who are going through a really tough time.
Setlists:
Iüdica: Arty, Ghosts, Watching, Circuits, Brain Carvings, Lipstick Black Dress, B side Love, Chocolate And Parsley
Hard Luck Souls: I Never, Hold On, Can’t Be True, Izzy’s Thunder, Feels Like Forever, Let My People Go, Way Down Low, In My Head, Fly Away, Get Back, Nice Shot, Better Keep Running, Outshined
Crimson Tips: Please Help Me, Better For You, Let Her Bark, Liar, Sunday Morning, Bleed Me, She Moves, Just A Girl, Freedom, I Won’t Be There, Goodbye, So Low, Hold On, Same Shit Different Day, I Just Caught You Looking
Slipknot fans, aka “Maggots,” have been waiting since the band’s fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter, released in 2014. After past comments Taylor has made about the band’s future and recent comments by band mate and Slipknot founder Shawn “Clown” Crahan, that the band’s next studio effort could possibly be their last.
As described by concert goers in attendance at The Paramount, an intoxicated Manson took the stage, performed a few songs, and rambled incoherently before walking off stage early.
And talk about a great first show to kick things off! On May 6, the two bands will rage Red Rocks Amphitheater for what should be an especially memorable night. The majority of May will take them through the south, to venues in cities like Dallas, Nashville, Alabama and Georgia, before late May and early June starts their northeast leg. Along with dates in Portland, Asbury Park, Providence and others, they will play three New York venues: Artpark Amphitheater in Lewiston, Cool Insuring Arena in Glen Falls, and Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk.
