At moe.’s final show of their February tour, the city of Albany had something special on tap to honor the group who called Albany a second home during the 1990s. Mayor Kathy Sheehan was welcomed to the stage by promoter Greg Bell where she recalled seeing moe. at Valentine’s, and issued a Mayoral Proclamation declaring February 24 as moe.day. With band on stage, the audience erupted in delight at the honor bestowed on them by a town ripe with bands following in moe.’s footsteps.
After being handed a ‘Rob. Strong’ banner, moe. dove into the first of two firey sets with a “Rebubula” intro fakeout that dove into “Buster” on a dime, and followed with back to back ~12 minute versions of heavy hitters “Haze” and “Y.O.Y.” and the second version of “Who You Calling Scared?” which debuted in Portland a week earlier. “Akimbo” and “Rise” sustained the energy of the set ahead of the only cover of the weekend run, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” with Chuck and Al trading off throughout.
“Stranger Than Fiction” led the way in Set 2 with a hefty and fluid “Faker” and “CalifornIA” that followed. Jim Loughlin then dove into “Farmer Ben” and a rage rocker “Don’t Fuck with Flo” kept Loughlin in the spotlight on vibraphone, as well as in “McBain,” the ninth of ten 10+ minute songs played this evening alone (there were 7 the night prior). After a potential segue towards “George,” moe. opted to wrap up the show the way they started and swung for the fences with “Rebubula” to the intense delight of the crowd. Returning to the stage following a balloon drop, Al Schnier thanked the crowd and the city of Albany and led the band in “Letter Home,” wrapping up the run on a heartfelt note and giving time for the kids to keep dancing long after the show on South Pearl Street.
Setlist
Soundcheck: Johnny Lineup, Who You Calling Scared? – Listen here.
Set 1: Rebubula > Buster > Haze > Y.O.Y. > Who You Calling Scared?, Akimbo > Rise > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed*
Set 2: Stranger Than Fiction, Faker > CalifornIA > Farmer Ben > Don’t Fuck With Flo > Faker, McBain, Rebubula
Going to the mall on a Friday night seems something a bunch of teenagers might do. Friday, February 23 saw a slew of twenty and thirty-somethings take over Crossgates Mall in Albany. The relatively new Jupiter Hall, located toward the back of Lucky Strike Social, has been bringing a variety of great concerts to the area and they might have outdone themselves with Deer Tick.
Deer Tick’s “Twice Is Nice” tour is highlighting an acoustic set and an electric set. This allows the band to explore their wide variety of influences from folk to rock and from country to blues. It’s a special treat for the dedicated fans that want to hear over two hours of music from the incredibly talented group from Rhode Island.
Deer Tick (John McCauley, Ian O’Neil, Chris Ryan and Dennis Ryan) brought along a friend for the Albany show, the Catskills’ very own James Felice jumped in on keys and accordion adding to the energy of the evening.
The tour heads out west and back in New York for shows at The Haunt in Ithaca (March 3) and the Lost Horizon in Syracuse (March 4). The band will be taking the tour overseas to Australia and will be back in the states in April for the Rhythm and Blooms Festival in Knoxville and then another stretch of dates throughout the south.
moe. returned to The Palace Theatre in Albany on Feb. 23 for the first time since New Years Eve 2015 and brought along Buffalo’s Aqueous, giving fans a look at the past, present and future of the New York State jam scene.
Looking to the future of the scene, look no further than Aqueous, one of the success stories coming out of Western New York. The versatile foursome set a standard for touring bands who are just getting their start or waiting for their big break out of the clubs and into the national scene. They kicked off the night shortly after doors and proceeded to give the Albany audience a five-song set. Guitarist Mike Gantzer noted they only had 15 minutes left, and that meant there was time for one more song, and with that dove into the proggy “Triangle,” which had hints of Umphrey’s McGee but still the classic Aqueous tightness throughout.
moe. stepped out with bright lights shining behind creating a silhouette during the accelerating instrumental “Jazz Wank” and instead of the usual “Buster,” “Skrunk” followed and bled into “Down Boy” with Chuck and Rob creating a vocal segue over the end of “Skrunk” with the first verse of lyrics. 15 minutes of a Chuck-led jam later, “Down Boy” moved into a high energy “Tailspin.” The new “I Can Never Remember” was the only breather in a firey first set, with “Blue Jeans Pizza” jumping the tempo back up and giving the crowd chills when Rob hit the high note. The highlight among a packed first set was Mike Gantzer of Aqueous coming out for “Waiting for the Punchline,” with Al taking the lead on the jam before turning Mike loose on the audience who greeted his moment in the spotlight with intense cheers to end the set.
Set 2 began with the Sticks and Stones era “Deep This Time” and “New York City,” followed by a break for tuning that led to Al and Rob riffing on an ‘Albany Song’ made up on the spot. “What Can I Say” was a lighthearted break in the action but from here the jamming went deep. “Hi and Lo” built the foundation for the next hour that built with a Latin-tinged “Montego,” a marvelous “Captain America,” and a 26 minute version of “She” that was at times loose and spacey and somehow found its way into “Happy Hour Hero.” The encore of “Downward Dog” closed the night at nearly 1 in the morning, with one more night in store on Saturday. Tickets are available here.
Aqueous setlist: Aldehyde > Skyway, Strange Times > Marty, Triangle
moe. Setlist: Set One: Jazz Wank > Skrunk > Down Boy > Tailspin, I Can Never Remember > Blue Jeans Pizza > Waiting For The Punchline* Set Two: Deep This Time > New York City, Albany Song^, What Can I Say, Hi & Lo > Montego, Captain America > She > Happy Hour Hero Encore: Downward Facing Dog
* with Mike Gantzer of Aqueous on guitar
^ ‘debut’, made up on spot
It was a cold and snowy night on Saturday, February 17th, outside Albany’s Parish Public House, but inside you could feel the heat with a packed house that was ready for a heavy dose of deep fried funk served up by Vicious Jimmy and special guest Morris Code. It was apparent that Vicious Jimmy’s two year hiatus from playing did not detract from their fans coming out and supporting the band. This type of fan support could be due to the fact that the lineup of the band features all Albany natives, including Tom “TK” Kretzler on guitar/lead vocal, Tim Fiato Jr. on keyboards, Jeff Jukes on Bass, Gary Nowik on drums/percussion and newcomer to the band, Jason “JY” Young on lead guitar/backup vocal.
Vicious Jimmy was formed back in 2009 and released their single LP Relatively Dangerous in 2012. The band has had a few lineup changes over the years, but with the welcomed addition of Young to the band’s roster this past year, the band has developed a new energy in their playing and showmanship. JY is no newbie, he has been a mainstay in the local musical scene for years with his long time work in the acoustic duo Yellow Dog, which just celebrated their 25th year playing together. Kretzler and Young met at a party and when JY listened to their music, he knew he wanted to be part of the band.
Vicious Jimmy took the stage first, which initially seemed strange to me, but when I asked about the band opening the show bassist Jeff Jukes stated jokingly, “Our fans like to be home before midnight so they can get their sleep”. He was alluding to the fact that the audience that came out for Vicious Jimmy was primarily comprised of their Generation X contemporaries, who are now well into their late 40’s.
The band started their set with a “Black White Black” jam which is strictly an instrumental led off by Tim Fiato’s funky keyboards which was slowly picked up by the rest of the band, leading them straight into “Intro,” a mainstay in the band’s set list. This number set the groove for the evening while, at the same time, musically introducing the band members to the crowd in a very Vicious Jimmy deep fried, funky way. Next up was “Ape City” which showcases the comical and irreverent lyrics that makes VJ’s music so much fun to listen to. During the break between songs, guitarist Young called for the audience not to be shy and to come up towards the stage and dance. After a brief tune up, Vicious Jimmy went into their classic song “Donkey” and kept the pressure up on the audience with their lyrical chant, “Get Your Ass Grooving”. The crowd still seemed reluctant at first, but after a few more funky licks from the boys, they finally started to loosen up and dancing started to break out right up by the stage. Vicious Jimmy showed that they came to play. During the number “Underground,” when Kretzeler and Young went into a complicated extended guitar solo, the two guitarists harmonized expertly together, creating a jam that was a personal highlight of the show.
Another high point of the night’s set was Fiato’s artful keyboard solo that was an intro into “Dr. Selkirkian,” a song that eerily depicts a menacing physician living in the tiny town of Selkirk which is located just south of Albany. VJ finished their set strong, performing fan favorite “Liquor,” but instead of playing the number as it is on Relatively Dangerous, they broke the piece up into three pieces in a variant style labeled as “Liquor in Three Jiggers.” The first part being the bluesy “Who’s Drinking?,” in which Kretzler polls the audience from the stage on what type of alcohol they were partaking in. The second “Jigger” was the more traditional “Liquor” that featured the band’s signature funky sound. The third and final movement was straight out of the Blues Brothers/Sam and Dave soul review routine. The boys sped up the tempo of the last movement, while Kretzler, in true Elwood Blues style, thanked everyone for coming out in the crummy weather and pleaded to the crowd to drive safely home and to remember to be good to one another. The set wrapped up with the band leaving the audience craving more of Vicious Jimmy’s down home, deep fried funk.
After a brief pause in the action, while the bands transitioned their gear, it was Morris Code’s turn to take the stage. The Albany 5-piece is comprised of band members Conor Donovan on vocals, Jesse Rawson on guitar, Daniel Milici on keyboard, Dan Walker on drums, and Kyle Salcedo on bass. Walker was not available for the gig so Vicious Jimmy’s drummer Gary Nowik was gracious enough to fill in for him for the performance. The band came out strong with a Morris Code original, “Take Over.” The sound of the band was much harder than Vicious Jimmy and lent itself more to hard rock than funk. The band also did a few covers and featured a mash-up of The Allman Brothers’ classic “Midnight Rider,” Lorde’s “Royals” and finally Lynyrd Skynyrd’s rock anthem “Sweet Home Alabama.” While you might think that this would not be a good combination of songs to work with musically, all in all, it really seemed to work. It became apparent that the crowd was thinning out and became much younger. Morris Code went on to play more original material including “Snake Charmer” and “Cafe Berlin,” both of which were featured on the band’s 2015 LP Decrypted. A personal highlight of the set was an interesting version of Radio Head’s “Creep” which featured Rawson on both electric guitar and trombone.
SETLISTS:
Vicious Jimmy: Black White Black Jam, Intro, Ape City, Donkey, Good For You, Blackhouse, Underground, Hard Boiled, Dr Selkirkian, Stiff Arm, Liquor in Three Jiggers: • Who’s Drinking? • Liquor
Morris Code: Take Over, Only Me To Blame, Midnight Rider/Royals/Sweet Home Alabama, No Turning Back, Charades, Hysteria, Snake Charmer, Creep, Cafe Berlin Watching Stars, Joker And The Thief, Don’t Count Me Out
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.
After selling out the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester at the beginning of February, and delivering two smoking shows in bass player Rob Derhak’s hometown of Portland, Maine, moe are slated to play their first Palace Theatre shows since their 2015 New Year’s run. moe. has a storied history of playing in Albany, and were a staple of the underground jam scene while the band was in their formative years. Their presence in Albany in the mid-90’s was instrumental to their rise to success. They performed alongside other New York staples such as Moon Boot Lover and The Ominous Seapods as they steadily grew in popularity. Listen to one of their early Albany recordings at Valentine’s here.
In 2013, 2014, and 2015, moe. played the Palace for a two-night New Year’s Run, with collaborations with ska band Conehead Buddha, full acoustic sets, and supporting acts such as Twiddle and Kung Fu. They broke with this tradition in 2016, instead opting for a destination show in Missoula, Montana and were unable to perform a New Years concert in 2017 in light of their hiatus. These upcoming Palace shows mark their fifth and sixth shows back since bassist and vocalist Rob Derhak’s return to health and to the stage.
On February 23rd, moe. will be supported by fellow Buffalo rockers and proteges, Aqueous. After the Palace festivities, fans should migrate to The Hollow on Pearl Street in downtown Albany, for Floodwood, featuring moe.’s own Vinnie Amico, and Space Carnival. February 24th’s after party will feature Electric Beethoven and Scott Hannay Plays Video Games, a side-project from the front-man of Albany’s Mister F. Furthermore, if any moe.rons are feeling particularly thirsty Friday afternoon, The Hollow will be hosting a happy hour party from 5 to 7 before the show. There will be drink specials to enjoy and a free raffle, in which a lucky .ron can win a two-night VIP Okayalright package. Fans can purchase tickets for the Hollow aftershows here.
If the first four shows of the tour were any indicator, Rob is happy and in good health, his voice sounds fantastic, and the boys are ready for some innovative, exploratory jams. There are still some heavy hitters on the table, and moe. has seemed to be reconstructing some of their classics and introducing several debuts this tour, so these shows are not to be missed, for fans hardcore or casual.
Members of Dopapod, Kung Fu and Wurliday joined forces on Thursday, February 15 for the latest installment of Funk Night in Albany. Held at Parish Public House, the night featured funk tunes, Zappa and Nirvana covers, plus special guests Rob Sommerville of Kung Fu on saxophone and Philippe Chow of Albany on trumpet. Watch video footage from the show, plus a gallery from the night’s performance below.
Set 1: Hot Dog, Miss Riverside, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Stink Foot, All Apologies, Shake Everything You Got, Cold Sweat
Set 2: Ain’t it funky now, Peg, Bodhisattva, Catfish John, Flood in Franklin Park, Windjammer
With members of his touring bands on stage at The Egg, the catalog of David Bowie was celebrated in earnest, featuring a mix of classics, rarities and fan favorites that sprang an audience from their seats throughout the night. Having lost Bowie just over two years ago, the stars sounded very different tonight thanks to the voices of Bernard Fowler (The Rolling Stones), Gaby Moreno, Joe Sumner and Corey Glover (Living Colour) bringing life to Starman’s songs once again.
Celebrating David Bowie featured an incredible lineup fronted by Queens native Mike Garson, who performed with Bowie at his first and last U.S. concerts, and noted early on that he was blessed to play 1000 concerts and 20 albums with Bowie and was proud to continue bringing his music to you. Joining Garson were guitarists Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard, Carmine Rojas on bass and Lee John Madeloni (Slick’s son) on drums. Over the course of two and and a half hours of more than 20 songs, between 5 and 10 musicians were on stage at a time, echoing Garson’s remark, “It takes a village to get Bowie’s music across.”
With all this talent and the music of David Bowie, it raises the question, “Is there such a thing as too many hits to play?” The answer, by the end of the marathon performance, was a definitive no. Rojas noted after the show that with all the tunes to choose from, it is hard to pick what to play, but they intend to mix it up night after night this tour. Bowie indeed had too many hits to count, plus a bevy of under-appreciated albums, many of which found themselves in the limelight this evening, performed by the musicians who knew the music better than anyone other than Bowie himself.
Starting the night with “Bring Me the Disco King,” an extended cut from 2003’s Reality album, Fowler took the lead on vocals from the get-go, following with “Rebel Rebel,” “Moonage Daydream” and ‘Fame” which saw the crowd rose with encouragement from Fowler. Living Colour’s Corey Glover, who sang backup for Fowler on many songs tonight, took to the mic for the first time singing “Changes,” followed by “Space Oddity,” the first song vocalist Gaby Moreno, a 2017 Grammy nominee for Best Latin Pop album for Ilúsion, sang amid a starry backdrop. Joe Sumner, Sting’s son, sang and played acoustic guitar for “Quicksand” off Hunky Dory, followed by Glover back on vocals for “Young Americans.”
An immense highlight of the show followed in the form of “5 Years,” performed elegantly by Moreno. The gritty, dark rock of “Station to Station” brought Earl Slick into the limelight to perform the title track of the album to which he contributed. During the outro to “Alladin Sane,” a piano medley by Garson included Bowie, Beatles, and old timey piano tunes mixed in. Moreno and Fowler performed a duet on “Wild is the Wind” while Sumner sang “Ziggy Stardust” better than anyone alive, with Slick shredding throughout.
During “Suffragette City,” Glover ventured into the crowd for the latter part of the song, and admiring the amphitheater in front of him, he took a seat in the top row to take in the set closing “All the Young Dudes,” where Sumner had everyone waving hands in the air.
For the encore, Gerry Leonard came out for a solo guitar rendition of rarity “Loving the Alien,” followed by Sumner stepping out to sing “Life on Mars?,” an emotional rendition of one of Bowie’s best songs. For the grand finale, “Heroes” closed the show, bringing all 10 musicians to the stage for an all-star ending to an emotional tribute for one of the greatest rock n’ roll legends ever.
Setlist: Bring Me the Disco King, Rebel Rebel, Moonage Daydream, Fame, Changes, Space Oddity, Quicksand, Stay, Conversation Piece, Can You Hear Me, Young Americans, 5 Years, Station to Station, Time, Lady Grinning Soul, Alladin Sane, Wild Is the Wind, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City, All the Young Dudes
Encore: Loving the Alien, Life on Mars?, Heroes
Celebrating David Bowie next perform this Friday, February 16 in Boston, MA at Chevalier Theatre, Saturday, February 17 in Montreal, QC at M Telus and Sunday, February 18 in Toronto, ON at Danforth Music Hall.
It has been a cold and miserable winter here in Capital Land. Many people in the area are suffering from an acute lack of funkiness which is not only extremely toxic, but is also a very communicable disease. If you feel that you are suffering from this awful malady, then do I have the cure for you: a night of deep fried funk featuring the masters of the funky beat, Vicious Jimmy with special guest Morris Code.
This locally based band will be performing at the Parish Public House in Albany on Saturday, February 17 with special guest Morris Code. This will be Vicious Jimmy’s triumphant return since starting an extended hiatus back in 2015. They will be performing numerous of their original funky classics, including “Liquor,” “Dr. Selkirkian” and “Stiff Arm” which are all featured on their 2012 LP Relatively Dangerous. Vicious Jimmy will be debuting a new lineup with the addition of guitarist and vocalist Jason “JY” Young, formerly of the Smokehouse Prophets. It is a show definitely not to be missed and there is no prescription required.
The Hollow Bar and Kitchen was in a New York state of mind on Friday night. Albany progressive rock quartet Ampevene, celebrating the release of its new album Ephemagoria and Brooklyn-bred Cousin Earth threw down the perfect blend of Led Zeppelin-esque energy and a quirkiness in the Frank Zappa vein at Albany’s leading rock club.
Kicking things off with “Rometheu,” Ampevene put on display its prowess for technical proficiency, led by guitarist Gabe Stallman and bassist Mack Hogan trading runs. Hogan’s thumping rhythm was a constant throughout the group’s set. “Tracalysis” was followed up with an all out rock ‘n roll drum solo from Brian Fahey.
Pulling from one of their main influences, Ampevene launched into the chunky opening chords of the Nirvana mega hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Stallman added a unique spin to his short solo, making the song take a psychedelic spin. “Goliath” preceded “Tumultous,” the latter of which morphed into a crowd pleasing segment featuring Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused.” The jam saw the crowd grow a little rowdy and the band responded with the highlight of their set. “New Song” and “Valencia” closed out the set to a roaring applause from the band’s friends and family in attendance.
Up next was Cousin Earth, playing their first headlining show at the venue. The five-piece group melds together a wide array of musical variety, proved right out of the gate with a searing take on the “Zelda” theme song. Joey Calfa, on his trusted electric ukulele, showed his prowess on the unconventional rock instrument by transforming each note into a blend of guitar and ukulele.
“Zelda Sarias Song” > “Think of all the Things” > “Tale Spin Theme Song” was next, as Calfa and bassist Corey Feldman, who plays on a Kala U Bass the size of a ukulele, continued to feed of each other’s energy. Tara Lawton, who also plays the melodica, and Terry Brennan held down the vocals with the confidence of a seasoned opera singer, giving the band a sometimes Vaudeville-like feel.
(Side note: I first saw Cousin Earth a little more than three years ago, just as they were transitioning into their new name from Ukulelian. They opened up a small festival and the crowd was sparse to say the least. I was unsure what this band was going to be like given the irreverent instrumental selections, but the band blew me away that afternoon. Since then, Cousin Earth has been on a steady upward climb, and their headlining slot at the Hollow was proof of their professional work ethic.)
“Dancing Fool,” “Keep it Greasy,” “Super Fun Laser Beams” and “Alive” allowed each member to stand out at times, while also showcasing their incredible improvisational skills. Drummer Nate Searing held it all together throughout the night, while at the same time providing a loose and fun atmosphere.
The funniest part of the night is when they burst into a cover of actress Natalie Portman’s rap from Saturday Night Live. Attendees sang along and the band had some trouble containing laughter on stage.
The closing segment of “Blisters,” “Keep On”>”Scuttle Buttin’”>”Little Wing”>”Capricorn on the Cob” saw Calfa switch between his ukulele and his cherry red Fender Stratocaster to do his best Jimi Hendrix impression.
All told, this show was great in every aspect. As both Ampevene and Cousin Earth continue to ascend and grow, both groups still put all of their effort into a pleasing live experience.
Ampevene setlist
Rometheu, Tracalysis, Drum jam, Smells like Teen Spirit, Goliath, Tumultuous*, New Song, Valencia
*with Dazed and Confused jam
Cousin Earth setlist
Zelda Main Theme> Zelda Sarias song > Think of all the things > Tale Spin Theme, Dancing Fool > Keep it Greasy, Super Fun Laser Beams, Alive, Womp > Natalie Portman Rap (SNL) > Womp > Space Worms (future folk) > Tarantella Napolitana, Spiritual Spun, Blisters, Keep On ( show me the numbers, Ian), Scuttle Buttin’ > Little Wing > Capricorn on the Cob
This locally based band will be performing at the