NYS Music 20​18

Category: NYC Metro

  • Photo Gallery: The Seventh Annual Wintercourse

    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.

    wintercourse 2018Space 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.

  • Freaks Ball: Then and Now

    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.

    freaks ball

    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

    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.

    freaks ball

    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.

  • Electric Love Machine at American Beauty on New Year’s Eve

    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.

  • Photo Gallery: Kung Fu New Years Eve at American Beauty

    On New Years Eve, Kung Fu filled American Beauty to ring in 2018. With cage dancers and late night revelers on hand, the funk group played until 4am, the final night of music at a fan favorite venue in the heart of Manhattan.

    Kung Fu

  • Photo Gallery: Lettuce with Bobby Dietch at Brooklyn Bowl

    On December 30, Lettuce welcomed special guests John Scofield and Pharoahe Monch to Brooklyn Bowl for night 2 of their 3 night New Years run. Opening up were Deitch Band, featuring Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch’s mom, Denis and his dad, Bobby.

  • The Disco Biscuits Heat Up New York City

    The Disco Biscuits returned once again to New York City to end out the year, playing their New Year’s Eve run at Playstation Theater. They’ve had a month off since their last run at Holidaze, but they sounded like a band that has been on the road for weeks. After a solid run opener on Thursday, the band was warmed up and primed to throw down a classic on the 29th.

    Disco Biscuits New York CityPhilly’s Greg D got the show started with an R&B heavy set as the rest of the crowd filtered in from the Phish show at Madison Square Garden. The Disco Biscuits started the night off with two songs that normally end the night, with the pairing of “Hope” and “Kitchen Mitts”. They then went into a monster “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.” which was the meat of the set clocking in at almost 30 mins, which then dropped into “Gangster”. “42” was next, and it was one of the best jams of the run. Marc Brownstein set up the pace for a nice dance funk style jam which would be something they would return to a few more times in the night. The jam bled into “Spraypaint Victory” to end the set.

    Disco Biscuits New York CityThe second set was pretty much one highlight reel, as it was up there with one of their best sets of the year. Things started back up with a “Crickets > Papercut > Crickets” sandwich, with the jams into “Papercut” and then back into “Crickets” being the highlights of the segment. Next was “Story Of The World”, which went into “Spacebirdmatingcall”, which featured some of my favorite type of Biscuits;  blissful and bouncy. Barber started tearing up the guitar which then led into “Tricycle”, which had another happy biscuits jam before going back into ‘Story Of The World” to end the set. A “Once The Fiddler Paid” encore was the perfect way to warm up everyone’s hearts before venturing back out into the bitter New York City cold.

    Disco Biscuits Playstation Theater, New York City

    Set 1: Hope, Kitchen Mitts, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.> Gangster> 421> Spraypaint2
    Set 2: Crickets> Papercut> Crickets, Story Of The World> Spacebirdmatingcall1> Tricycle>Story Of The World
    Encore: Once The Fiddler Paid
    1. unfinished
    2. ending only

  • JRAD sells out three nights at The Capitol Theatre

    Joe Russo’s Almost Dead started off 2018 with a string of sold out shows at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY this past weekend. The band debuted six new songs during the run and teased countless more throughout the weekend.

    Friday’s show kicked things off with an intro Jam that made its way into “Brown Eyed Woman” and an extended “Jack Straw.” “Shakedown Street” with a “Here Comes Sunshine” Jam to close the first set is a must-hear if you weren’t at the show. The second set opened with “Rosa Lee McFall,” a Charlie Monroe cover that the Grateful Dead played 18 times throughout their career and last on 10/27/80. This set also featured JRAD’s first “Atlantic City” since 4/28/17.

    The boys came out swinging on Saturday with a debut each time they came on stage. “Pride of Cucamonga” was well-received in between “They Love Each Other” and “Playing In The Band” in the first set and Led Zeppelin’s “Your Time Is Going To Come” flowed from a fantastic “I Need A Miracle.” They saved the best for last with an encore starting with a Marco Benevento solo into Chuck Berry’s “The Festival.” Marco took the lead on this song about a music festival featuring The Band, The Who, CCR, The Beatles, Hendrix, Joplin and of course, The Grateful Dead.

    Sunday closed the weekend with two more debuts and the return of Stuart Bogie for a number of songs. He last joined up with the band during their October Brooklyn Bowl run and he especially shined during the debuts of “Chinatown Shuffle” and Dr. Feelgood’s “She Does It Right” during the encore. However, the highlight of the night was the “Dancing In The Streets” that ended the second set. It was spacey 27 minutes of bliss as the band teased Dire Straits as well as others to end the last full set of the weekend.

    Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returns to New York on March 15 in Syracuse and March 16 in Albany.

    Tune into the shows on Relisten Friday 1/12/18, Saturday 1/13/18 and Sunday 1/14/18

  • Relix Live Music Conference Returns to Brooklyn Bowl May 8 and 9

    After a successful inaugural event last year, Relix will host a two-day music conference May 8 and 9. Held at Brooklyn Bowl, the 2018 Relix Live Music Conference will feature panels, discussions, and presentations by industry professionals, with the goal of informing and educating musicians and music fans and is designed to shed light on the fast-paced and ever-changing live music business. The event only has a handful of tickets left, so check out the details and pick up your pass today!

    This year’s panels include Building Businesses in the Music Space (moderated by Dean Budnick of Relix Media Group), Management (moderated by Dan Berkowitz of CID Entertainment), Agenting (moderated by Jason Miller of Live Nation), Livestreaming (moderated by Jonathan Healey of Dayglo Ventures), Talent Buying (moderated by Lucas Sacks of Brooklyn Bowl), Activism (moderated by Jay Curley), Sponsorship, Festivals, Touring & Album Cycle, Restoring a Rock Palace, and much more.

    There will also be daily presentations by Brendan Sheehan (Mr. B’s), Cameron Smith (HUB Entertainment Insurance), Amy Striem (The Rock and Roll Playhouse), Jon Bahr (CD Baby), Allen Cook and Jeremy Rollinson (TourTech), and Scott Owens (DoStuff Media)

    Follow Relix for updates on this year’s events and ticket availability and watch last year’s conference highlight was a keynote discussion between Ron Delsener, Peter Shapiro and David Fricke:

  • Photo Gallery: The Nth Power at American Beauty

    For the first of four nights of post-Phish shows at American Beauty, The Nth Power brought their soul funk to a crowd of late night party seekers on December 28. During the night, John Shannon from The Leaders of The Shift and rapper Atlas Gramz joined the Nth Power on stage for what would turn out to be one of the final shows at American Beauty.

  • American Beauty Closes its Doors

    American Beauty, the mid-town Manhattan venue that quickly became a staple for the Big Apple’s jam scene, is no more. In a statement on Friday, following the January 1st shuttering of their doors, American Beauty issued the statement below:

    It is with a heavy heart that we announce our doors closed after December 31st 2017. Our home at 251 West 30th Street was purchased by Herald Square Properties in 2016, who are renovating the building and renting to new tenants.  We’d like to thank our loyal staff, customers and every artist who’s performed on our stages for a magical run.

    Although it’s sad to say goodbye to our Midtown party factory for now, we are happy for the memories that will live on with those who experienced it. Fare Thee Well.

    Touring bands, as well as pre and post show events surrounding Phish and Dead and Company shows at Madison Square Garden, were a huge draw to American Beauty, located just 2 blocks from MSG. Events held during these runs filled the bar’s three floors with vending, music, beer and free pizza, causing a great deal of surprise from fans, patrons, and the musicians who performed there. Seth Eisenstein, saxophonist at Polyvamp, called the venue home, and lamented its closing, saying “American Beauty always felt like our home away from home. Polyvamp was able to grow our sound playing that room, and always had a blast doing it. We want to thank American Beauty for everything and wish the great staff all the best in their next step.”

    american beauty

    While American Beauty is closed, the space has been a music venue under other names for years, leading to the hope that perhaps the room will open under another name, given the history of the location. The final show at the venue was a Phish after-party featuring Kung Fu and Wyllys and went late into the night.