Brooklyn-based beatmaker and hip-hop instrumentalist Birocratic has released his latest single “Extra Fresh” along with a tongue-in-cheek infomercial music video.
Birocratic, real name Brandon Rowan, initially rose to fame as a student at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, where his dorm room beat-tape releases Beets and Leftovers became YouTube sensations, and most recently has made official remixes for GRiZ. On “Extra Fresh,” Birocratic pays homage to 80s and 90s house, funk, and hip hop, with familiar synth melodies and deep bass lines.
Birocratic will tour this summer throughout North America.
After a 7-month break due to bass player Rob Derhak’s battle with cancer, Buffalo rockers moe returned to the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York to deliver two sold out shows on February 2nd and 3rd. Their first shows with the full lineup since July featured a variety of fan favorites as well as four brand new songs from four of the five band members. The first night featured an opening act, with the high-energy funk outfit Kung Fu properly warming up the crowd for the main event.
After a brief word of thanks from a very emotional Rob, the band wasted little time diving into the flagship “Rebubula,” Rob’s anthemic ode to his wife, Rebecca. They quickly transitioned into the funky “Akimbo” which featured a slap-happy bass interlude that made the hungry crowd explode. This was followed by the twangy, energetic “32 Things” and then a brand new song titled “What Can I Say,” written by guitarist Al Schnier. “What Can I Say” was originally debuted earlier in the week during the band’s pre-show webcast, though this was the first time the song had been played in a live setting. Fans then belted out the opening lines to the fan-favorite “Spine of a Dog” which was followed immediately by “Plane Crash,” which felt particularly deserved, with Rob screaming the words “I don’t wanna die” at the end of the final chorus at the top of his lungs.
Set 2 started off with a bang with the Pink Floyd-inspired “Silver Sun” and then Rob was able to showcase his brand new tune, “LL3” which he wrote in transit to his chemotherapy treatments. “LL3” already shows great potential as a jam vehicle, and will probably appear on the new album that the band is cooking up. The rest of Set 2 was a continuous battery of rock and roll as they interweaved “Moth,” “Captain America,” the instrumental “Hector’s Pillow,” the legendary “meat.” and finally closed with the end of “Moth,” completing a sandwich that took up the majority of the second half of the show. Guitarist Chuck Garvey then led the band in an encore rendition of “Wind it Up,” that had the entire audience collectively singing the lines “Be on my side, I’ll be on your side” with the band.
A veritable army of excitable moe.rons showed back up to the scenic Capitol Theatre for Round 2 on Saturday, for a performance that was somehow even better than the previous night, this time with no supporting act. It was a night of pure moe. and once again the crowd was deafening when a happy and healthy looking Rob Derhak took the stage.
The band opened with the crowd-pleasing “Okayalright,” which segued smoothly into “Not Coming Down,” once again showcasing Rob’s bass skills. This was followed by the entrancing instrumental “Wormwood,” which then seemlessly transitioned into the slide guitar-heavy intro to “St. Augustine.” Next, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist debuted his new song, the dark and moody “I Can Never Remember,” which he sang with his signature rasp. This was followed by the short and pleasant Chuck Garvey tune “All Roads Lead to Home.” After “All Roads” came “Opium,” and Rob showed how well his voice has healed, demonstrating his impressive vocal range. The first set closed out with a monstrous version of the jam beast, “Recreational Chemistry” before they took a short set break.
Set 2 started with a powerful rendition of “Brent Black” which featured not one or two, but three bass solos from a smiling, enthusiastic Rob as well as a fearsome drum-off between Jim Loughlin and drummer Vinnie Amico. Afterwards, Al Schnier led the band in a spirited version of “Mexico,” telling the story of his tumultuous 21st birthday. This was followed by “Timmy Tucker,” once again proving that Rob still has his vocal chops. Chuck Garvey then debuted his newest song, “New Hope for the New Year,” which definitely shows great promise for future shows and the new album in the works. The rest of the set was vintage, heavy, dark, creepy, spacey moe. as they played “Yodelittle” into the high energy protest song “George,” back into “Yodelittle” and then into the sing-a-long “Buster,” every moe.ron’s favorite song about a flying pig. They encored with “Nebraska,” complete with a ripping talk-box solo from Garvey, and finally the hard-hitting “Annihilation Blues” to cap off the back-to-back performances.
moe. proved this past weekend that they are far from done, and after Rob’s recent cancer scare and recovery, he is clearly eager to please his fans and write new music. The historic Capitol Theatre projected a series of images of Rob from different stages of his career throughout the shows, and moe. brought an anxious crowd to their knees. Once again, it’s so good to have you back Rob. We hope for many, many more years of music and laughter from you.
February 2 Setlist
Set 1: Rebubula > Akimbo, 32 Things, What Can I Say (FTP), Spine of a Dog > Plane Crash.
Set 2: Silver Sun, LL3 (FTP), Moth > Captain America > Hector’s Pillow > Moth > meat. > Moth
Encore: Wind it Up
February 3 Setlist
Set 1: Okayalright > Not Coming Down > Wormwood > St. Augustine, I Can Never Remember (FTP), All Roads Lead To Home, Opium, Recreational Chemistry
Set 2: Brent Black, Mexico, Timmy Tucker, New Hope for the New Year (FTP), Yodelittle > George > Yodelittle > Buster
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since this crazy journey started,” says guitarist Nate Blasdell, a resident of Rochester, NY. “Although the band has gone through so many changes from being two high school students from Miami making music after school on a laptop to five best friends from all around the U.S. touring the world, this album is the footprint that got it at all started. We are so excited to bring this throwback to the fans that have stuck with us for so long.”
You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter 10 Year Anniversary Tour Dates:
Feb. 15 – Pittsburgh PA – The Funhouse @ Mr. Smalls Theater
Feb. 16 – Fayetteville NC – Drunk Horse Pub
Feb. 17 – Savannah GA – Aura Fest @ S.O.T.S. Maritime Museum
Feb. 18 – Richmond VA – The Camel
Feb. 20 – Stanhope NJ – The Stanhope House
Feb. 21 – Baltimore MD – The Ottobar Feb. 22 – Brooklyn NY – Kingsland
Feb. 23 – Philadelphia PA – The Voltage Lounge
Feb. 24 – Providence RI – Fete Music Hall Feb. 25 – Buffalo NY – Mohawk Place
Feb. 27 – Pontiac MI – The Pike Room @ The Crofoot
Feb. 28 – Chicago IL – The Beat Kitchen
March 1 – St. Louis MO – Fubar
March 2 – Merriam KS – Aftershock
March 3 – Wichita KS – Rock Island Live
March 4 – Denver CO – The Marquis Theater
March 6 – Seattle WA – Studio Seven
March 7 – Portland OR – The Analog Theater
March 9 – Sacramento CA – The Holy Diver
March 10 – San Diego CA – Soma Side Stage
March 11 – Los Angeles CA – 1720
March 13 – Scottsdale AZ – Pub Rock
March 14 – Albequerque NM – The Launchpad
March 16 – Oklahoma City OK – 89th Street Collective
Buffalo jam legends moe. return to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York for two sold-out shows after a 7-month hiatus. The band took a break from touring starting early last summer in light of bassist Rob Derhak’s cancer diagnosis, but has recently announced their triumphant return to the stage. With Rob out of commission for several months with oropharyngeal cancer, the other members pursued various side projects including performances with Mike Dillon and Everyone Orchestra, but will finally reunite to perform two nights at the historic Cap. He is now cancer-free and ready to return for a 6-show tour, Summer Camp Music Festival, and Peach Fest.
moe.’s last show at the Capitol Theatre was a special holiday performance in December of 2016, and they managed to fill the room despite only giving fans a little over a month’s notice. This show featured several cuts from their Christmas album, as well as a Kinks cover, and a whopping three debuts of new moe. songs. They also sold out a smaller acoustic performance, in the attached bar, Garcia’s. In previous years, they have performed at the Cap with Nate Wilson on keys, and played a moe. and Friends show in honor of the anniversary of the Wetlands closing. moe. has historically delivered powerhouse performances at the Capitol, and a very eager fan-base has been waiting months for Rob’s return to health, and of course, moe.’s return to the spotlight. Listen to the December 2016 show on Archive.
Fans should also be sure to check out renowned photographer Jay Blakesberg’s work at Garcia’s, where he will be exhibiting and selling his merch. Night One will also feature opening act Kung Fu, one of the world’s premier touring funk bands, which will hopefully lead to some sit-in action with moe. and a high-energy dance party, and perhaps the lucky moe.rons in attendance will get to hear some brand new moe. material. Welcome back, Rob. You have been sorely missed.
Jack White is building enthusiasm for his 2018 tour by releasing a track from his upcoming third solo album Boarding House Reach, which comes out in March.
“Corporation” will be available for fans to download digitally worldwide on Friday, Jan. 26 at midnight. Tour tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
White is giving away a physical CD copy of the new album with every ticket purchased online for the North American shows. Fans will have the option to upgrade the CD to the standard black vinyl LP.
Jack White’s Facebook page released a 25 second preview of the track, check it out below.
Boarding House Reach is the first all-new album in nearly four years, according to a press release. The album will be released Friday, March 23. Fans can pre-order the standard vinyl LP, CD and digital format beginning Friday, Jan. 26. Fans who purchase the digital album pre-order will also receive downloads of three songs – “Corporation,” “Connected by Love” and “Respect Commander.”
White’s tour travels across North America and Europe for 42 shows from April 19 to Aug. 23.
The tour includes several music festivals that Jack White will headline. North American festivals include: Atlanta’s Shaky Knees; Boston Calling 2018; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; and The Governors Ball in New York City. Jack White will also headline some festivals in Europe: Rock Werchter in Belgium; Mad Cool Festival in Spain; NOS Alive in Portugal; and the Ilosaarirock Festival in Finland.
White released the third single “Corporation” from Boarding House Reach via YouTube Friday morning. You can view that here.
Check out Jack White’s website for more information.
Jack White 2018 Tour
April 19 – Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
April 20 – Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
April 21 – 20 Monroe – Grand Rapids, MI
April 23 – Baxter Arena – Omaha, NE
April 24 – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater – Bonner Springs, KS
April 25 – Chaifetz Arena – St. Louis, MO
April 27 – Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
April 29 – Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
April 30 – Revention Music Center – Houston, TX
May 1 – Revention Music Center – Houston, TX
May 2 – Austin360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX
May 4 – 6 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA *
May 6 – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – New Orleans, LA *
May 26 – Boston Calling Music Festival – Boston, MA * May 27 – Brewery Ommegang – Cooperstown, NY
May 29 – The Anthem – Washington, DC June 1 – Governors Ball Music Festival – New York, NY *
June 4 – Express Live! Outdoor Amphitheater – Columbus, OH
June 6 – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica – Cleveland, OH June 7 – Dome Arena – Rochester, NY June 8 – Artpark Mainstage Theater – Lewiston, NY
June 9 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
June 27 – Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK
June 28 – Hammersmith Apollo – London, UK
July 2 – AFAS Live – Amsterdam, Netherlands
July 3 – L’Olympia – Paris, France
July 4 – L’Olympia – Paris, France
July 7 – Rock Werchter – Werchter, Belgium *
July 12 – 13 – Mad Cool – Madrid, Spain *
July 14 – NOS Alive – Lisbon, Portugal *
July 15 – Ilosaaririock Festival – Joensuu, Finland *
Aug. 6 – The Armory – Minneapolis, MN
Aug. 8 – 1st Bank Center – Broomfield, CO
Aug. 9 – SaltAir – Salt Lake City, UT
Aug. 11 – Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Portland, OR
Aug. 12 – Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
Aug. 13 – WAMU Theatre – Seattle, WA
Aug. 15 – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco, CA
Aug. 19 – Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
Aug. 21 – Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA
Aug. 22 – Comerica Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 23 – The Chelsea @ The Cosmopolitan – Las Vegas, NV
The 7th Annual Wintercourse was held at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 20, 2018 on a warm and wonderful winter night filled with smiles, hugs, and good music.
Space Carnival brought the heat early, showcasing their dance laden jams as well as their heavier prog side, ending on a high note of their newly released single “Queen of Cups.” Six year Wintercourse veterans Cousin Earth played a set stacked full of high energy originals and unique covers including a throwback to Saturday Night Live’s “Natalie Portman Rap” and the Disney after school classic, “Tale Spin.” Headliner Bella’s Bartok puts on a show like no other, with a high energy dance party of klesmer and punk that was absolutely magnificent.
Teddy Midnight took the stage as the final act of Wintercourse 2018, delivering a set filled with surprises. The group brought up Tara Lawton and Joey Calfa of Cousin Earth, with Tara singing on “American Boy” by Estelle (complete with rapped verses by band members) and Calfa to ripping up the Teddy classic “Turkish Silva.” Bringing their trademark live house vibes, they covered Daft Punk’s “Face to Face” as well as a heavily improvised New Deal/Daft Punk Medley to round out the night.
Umphrey’s McGee celebrated 20 years together as a band over January 17-19 with a trio of shows at The Beacon Theater in New York City, alongside stops at Sirius/XM Studios and The Cutting Room to promote the group’s latest release It’s Not Us.
For the January 19 show at The Beacon, Umphrey’s added songs off It’s Not Us – “Remind Me,” “Speak Up,” “Looks,” and “The Silent Type” – into a setlist that featured a “JaJunk” sandwich in set 2, a monster version of “Hurt Bird Bath” (see video below) and Talking Heads’ “Making Flippy Floppy” with guitarist Oz Noy joining in.
Set 1: There’s No Crying In Mexico > Remind Me, Anchor Drops > Day Nurse > White Man’s Moccasins > Speak Up > Mulche’s Odyssey, Making Flippy Floppy[1]
Set 2: JaJunk > Push the Pig[2], Looks, Hurt Bird Bath, 2nd Self, Conduit, The Silent Type > JaJunk
Encore: Bad Friday
[1] with Oz Noy on guitar and Brendan on percussion and keys
[2] with Jake on keys; with Lose Yourself (Eminem) jam
On night 2 of the run, Umphrey’s dusted off part of Guns n Roses’ “Paradise City” inside of “Utopian Fir” (see video below) for the first time in nearly 1500 shows. Acoustic versions of “Memories of Home” and “You and You Alone” followed “Fir,” and were joined by the horns of Peter Apfelbaum (TAB, saxophone) and Mike Maher (Snarky Puppy, trumpet) for a vigorous combo of “Attachments” and Sturgill Simpson’s “Call to Arms.” Set 2 was a gift that kept on giving, with little room to breathe amid “Wappy Sprayberry” > “Wife Soup,” “August” and “The Linear” > “In the Kitchen.”
Set 1: You Got the Wrong Guy > Spires > Walletsworth, Utopian Fir > Paradise City[1] > Utopian Fir > Memories of Home[2], You & You Alone[2], Whistle Kids, Attachments[3], Call to Arms[3]
Set 2: Maybe Someday, Wappy Sprayberry > Wife Soup, In The Kitchen > Little Gift, August, The Linear > In The Kitchen
Encore: Hajimemashite > Pay the Snucka[4]
[1] one verse
[2] with Jake and Brendan on acoustic guitars
[3] with Peter Apfelbaum on saxophone and Mike Maher on trumpet
[4] with Eruption (Van Halen) tease
For the 20th anniversary show, Brendan Bayliss spoke from the heart from the stage, opening the show up by saying,
“On behalf of the band and the crew, I just want to say thank you for the last 20 years. It’s still very surreal to us, and because of you our dreams became our reality, so thank you so much. Tonight we’re going to take you backwards through time over the last 20 years. We’re going to play a song that we debuted each year. We’ll start with something new and end with something old. And we hope you like it.”
And with that, Umphrey’s McGee journeyed 20 years in reverse, starting with the recent debut “Half Delayed” and ending with their classic “All in Time.” In between, the band let loose with fan favorites and heavy hitters that have been developed into jam vehicles over the past 20 years, a dream setlist for Umphreaks and an impressive way to mark the start of their third decade performing together.
Set 1: Half Delayed, North Route > Draconian, Similar Skin[1] > No Diablo, Comma Later > Puppet String[2] > No Comment > 1348, Gulf Stream
Set 2: The Floor[1] > Eat[1] > Higgins[3], Bridgeless[1] > Ocean Billy > The Triple Wide > Ringo[4] > 40’s Theme
Encore: All Things Ninja[5] > All In Time[6]
[1] unfinished
[2] incomplete
[3] with Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (The Rolling Stones) jam
[4] with Voodoo Child (Jimi Hendrix) teases; unfinished
[5] intro only
[6] with Divisions, 10th Grade, and Nachos for Two teases; also with Thunderstruck (AC/DC) tease
Since their subtle debut at Fare Thee Well and their official debut at 2016’s Lockn Festival, Circles Around the Sun has been delighting crowds across the country. The band finished their 2018 January tour in Port Chester on Saturday, January 20 after a sold-out show at the Brooklyn Bowl the night before. The band’s third visit to the Brooklyn venue featured ‘Hola!’ as an opener and the Stella Blue Band, a Capitol Theater favorite, opening Saturday’s show with special guest drummer, Josh Dates from the Reflections.
Photo by Matthew Mendenhall courtesy of Circles Around The Sun’s press release.
The quartet began their first ever Capitol Theater show with the first two songs from their 2015 album, Interludes For The Dead. The crowd gathered close as the band dove into ’Gilbert’s Groove’ and ‘Hallucinate A Solution’ before launching into their new song, ‘Chuck.’ This new track starts with a laid-back groove and plenty of blissful keys from keyboardist, Adam MacDougall. He and guitarist Neal Casal play off of each other while bassist Dan Horne leads them through each melodic key change in this fantastic new material.
They continued the set with ‘Scarlotta’s Magnolias’ and ‘Saturday’s Children’ before ending with crowd-favorite, ‘Farewell Franklins.’ This closer had everyone smiling as much as drummer Mark Levy, who happily kept beat and grinned all night long. Neal and the boys ended the night and the tour with ‘Ginger Says’ and thanked everyone who came out before taking off. This may be the end of their first run of 2018, but the band has already said they will have more dates for us soon.
Born from one man’s desire to unite the familiar-faced strangers seen at the shows he was regularly attending solo, the Freaks List has become one of, if not the most, influential internet groups in the jam scene, or any other scene for that matter.
A Long Island-based scientist named Aaron Stein was sick of going to concerts by himself and knew he couldn’t be the only one. Tipped off by the fact that each night, in each venue, for each band, the same fans were standing in the same rooms, in the same city. It was in response to this, that eighteen years ago this week, like-minded concertgoers across the greater New York City area were given a place to meet each other. The Freaks List was born, and with it came a now eighteen-year running party known as The Freaks Ball.
In the early years, The Freaks list has was credited with jumpstarting the popularity of such acts as Robert Randolph and the Family Band and The Benevento/Russo Duo. The list’s members began talking about these emerging acts popping up in the New York City club scene, and having them play the annual The Freaks Ball. Scott Metzger’s RANA, The New Mastersounds, Apollo Sunshine, Chris Harford & the Band of Changes (featuring Dean Ween), The Squad (a variation of Lettuce), Ollabelle, Tom Hamilton’s American Babies, Skerik, Mike Dillon, Anders Osborne and more were all featured in the yearly Freaks celebration within the first decade of conception. The event had been held in venues such as Tribeca Blues, Southpaw, The Bowery Ballroom, and Sullivan Hall just to name a few. In more recent years The Freaks Ball has called Brooklyn Bowl its home.
Freaks Ball XII featured the Freaks Ball-Stars that included Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds), Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Ron Johnson (Warren Haynes Band), Eric Deutch and special guests Eric Krasno, Scott Metzger and Warren Haynes. Also in 2012 Bustle In Your Hedgerow (Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Dave Dreiwitz & Scott Metzger) paid an absolutely astonishing tribute to Led Zeppelin. After putting together a seemingly impossible lineup to top XII, the 2013 Freaks Ball would bring Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Dave Dreiwitz & Scott Metzger together again for what was meant to be a one-off tribute to the Grateful Dead. They called it Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. And so it was, some thirteen years after giving The Benevento/Russo Duo and RANA an opening spot behind Robert Randolph and the Family Band at the Bowery Ballroom, The Freaks Ball would birth what we are now simply calling JRAD. Maybe you have heard of them?
In the last handful of years, The Ball would feature JRAD two more times as well as WOLF!, Stirrers (Eric Krasno, Neal Evans & Joe Russo), Superhuman Happiness, and last year hosted just the third Benevento/Russo Duo performance since 2010. Boasting a resume as strong as this, one can only ask themselves, “what could possibly come next?” On Friday, January 19th The Freaks got their answer.
This year’s Freaks Ball was headlined by the Neal Casal-led, Grateful Dead-inspired group from California and Colorado, Circles Around The Sun. The Westcoast psychedelic improvisational group drew support from Brooklyn-based DJ Kevin Kendrick, as well as a rare appearance from the band Hola! featuring none other than (you guessed it) Joe Russo and Scott Metzger alongside Andy Hess, and Avi Bortnick. It is safe to say that Circles Around the Sun, Hola!, and DJ Kevin Kendrick are not acts to pass on if given the opportunity. None of them have extensive touring schedules in 2018. All have them have just been added to the elite roster of bands and musicians chosen by The Freaks, for The Freaks.
To round out 2017 with an electroerotica groove-bang, Baltimore’s resident livetronica band, Electric Love Machine, played a mix of old classics off Xeonofonex and Love Deluxe, with a few off their upcoming third release, Future Creatures.
For the January 19 show at The Beacon, Umphrey’s added songs off It’s Not Us – “Remind Me,” “Speak Up,” “Looks,” and “The Silent Type” – into a setlist that featured a “JaJunk” sandwich in set 2, a monster version of “Hurt Bird Bath” (see video below) and Talking Heads’ “Making Flippy Floppy” with guitarist 
A Long Island-based scientist named Aaron Stein was sick of going to concerts by himself and knew he couldn’t be the only one. Tipped off by the fact that each night, in each venue, for each band, the same fans were standing in the same rooms, in the same city. It was in response to this, that eighteen years ago this week, like-minded concertgoers across the greater 
Freaks Ball XII featured the Freaks Ball-Stars that included Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds), Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Ron Johnson (Warren Haynes Band), Eric Deutch and special guests Eric Krasno, Scott Metzger and Warren Haynes. Also in 2012 Bustle In Your Hedgerow (Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Dave Dreiwitz & Scott Metzger) paid an absolutely astonishing tribute to Led Zeppelin. After putting together a seemingly impossible lineup to top XII, the 2013 Freaks Ball would bring Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Dave Dreiwitz & Scott Metzger together again for what was meant to be a one-off tribute to the Grateful Dead. They called it Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. And so it was, some thirteen years after giving The Benevento/Russo Duo and 
In the last handful of years, The Ball would feature JRAD two more times as well as WOLF!, Stirrers (Eric Krasno, Neal Evans & Joe Russo), Superhuman Happiness, and last year hosted just the third Benevento/Russo Duo performance since 2010. Boasting a resume as strong as this, one can only ask themselves, “what could possibly come next?” On Friday, January 19th The Freaks got their answer.