NYS Music 20​18

Tag: NYS Music

  • Funk Night Returns with Beau Sasser Escape Plan’s Tribute to Aretha Franklin

    Funk Night returns to Parish Public House, this time, boasting a musical selection of the late Aretha Franklin tunes on Nov. 15. Beau Sasser (Kung Fu) is no stranger to hosting Funk Night in downtown Albany, as he’s done many times prior with Albany’s own Justin Henricks, as well as members of Kung Fu, Turkuaz, Wurliday, Dopapod and more.

    For Funk Night’s latest installment at the downtown Albany brick accented bar and music venue, a changing lineup of Beau Sasser (Hammond Organ), Bill Carbone (Drums) and Justin Henricks (Guitar) of Beau Sasser’s Escape plan will serve up a tasty tribute to the sorely missed Queen of Soul.

    Get your tickets in advance and hold your place in line to boogie. “Ain’t no way” you’re missing this one!

  • Hearing Aide: Edward David Anderson ‘Chasing Butterflies’

    Have you ever heard of the genre known as Black Dirt Music? No? Here’s a hint – buy Edward David Anderson’s new release Chasing Butterflies, put on headphones, close your eyes to the world and let the music take over your soul. Recorded in the Muscle Shoals region of Alabama, an area famously known for timeless music recorded here, don’t be surprised if you fall in love with this artist as soon as you hit play. Anderson’s refreshing blend of tone, lyrics and melody make for an exhilarating new batch of Americana tales sung straight from the heart.

    Anderson has a knack for being relatable with his lyrics. Swaying from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other, he hits home with several tracks that everyone can respond to easily. Gut wrenching, soul searching tunes include “The Ballad of Lemuel Penn” and “Crosses.” The former cuts deep into the soul with heart wrenching lyrics that tell the true story of a man who died “because of his own skin.” Though Penn was senselessly murdered by Klansmen, this song still rings true today as racial hatred unfortunately remains alive and well in parts of this nation. The latter reaches into the heart while painting a musical visual of crosses that quietly dot roadsides. Unafraid, this track eloquently speaks of heartache and loss and those who died that are remembered with a simple cross “on the side of the road.”

    Upbeat, spirited tracks also line this well-balanced album. Easily understandable stories are sung within several songs throughout. “Bad Tattoos” speaks just about that – the why and how of a bad tattoo. It’s hard to resist a quick chuckle as the lyrics “if I had to choose, I’d do it all over again” roll by. Who hasn’t seen a few bad ones in their time? Man’s best friend is honored and appreciated in “Dog Days” while “Sittin’ ‘Round at Home” lyrically rambles through noodling around on a guitar and recharging while relaxing at home.

    Graceful melodies that meander along the edges of seriousness and playfulness also show their graceful presence. “Harmony,” “The Best Part,” “Only In My Dreams” and “Chasing Butterflies” flow with melodies that make it easy to sway and tap to without noticing. The Americana spirit winds along the lyrics and melodies of these tracks, maintaining a clean tone while etching a story-filled landscape of emotional appeal.

    Wrapping up the album, “Seasons Turn” flawlessly breathes while inviting the listener to feel the notes as an edgier guitar takes hold. A perfect transition to bring Chasing Butterflies to a close. Overall, Anderson’s latest release is uncluttered with clean lines, graceful lyrics and spirited energy. If you’re searching for a refreshing sound that you can’t put down, this is it. You will not be disappointed.

    Key Tracks: Harmony, Crosses, Chasing Butterflies

  • Great White Kicks Off 2018 Alive at 5 Concert Series

    It was a scorching hot evening to rock and roll as the 2018 Alive at Five Concert Series kicked off a great evening of music inside Jennings Landing on June 7 in Albany. Headlining the event was none other than 1970’s American hard rock band, Great White. The band, featuring members, Mark Kendall (lead guitar/vocals), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (lead guitar/keyboard), Scott Snyder (bass), and Terry Ilous (vocals) are still keeping rock alive on the Alive at Five stage in support of their brand new album, “Full Circle.”

    Many Great White fans, even a girl waving around a vinyl record of the group from their earlier days, were in full attendance dancing and singing along to many of the band’s current singles from “Full Circle” as well as their greatest hits including “Save Your Love,” “Rock Me,” “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” among other tunes that the band had sung to their fans. Ilous, animated within his stage presence throughout the evening, even dedicated “Save Your Love” to a married couple that was celebrating over thirty five years of marriage that were watching the band perform from the front row.

    For my first time watching Great White perform, I was certainly rocking out to their tunes throughout their set, even though I wasn’t too familiar with their material, only having heard “Rock Me” and “Once Bitten Twice Shy” on the radio. Still, the band had put on a great performance to kick off Alive at Five and will be continuing to still keep rock alive after all these years of performing in front of audiences around the United States and beyond.

  • Mike Doughty Kicks off Northeast Tour

    After placing the focus on his own work over the last 18 years, former Soul Coughing frontman and solo wordsmith, Mike Doughty is making a quick trip around the Northeast to turn back the clocks and perform the alternative rock group’s ‘Irresistible Bliss’ for a total of seven dates.

    You’d figure by the time he notched The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns, his ninth solo album since 2000, Doughty would settle into his ways and follow a musical pattern. Simply, that’s just not the way he operates. Always diving into and exploring new sounds, the ever-growing artist and former front man is constantly taking chances on new styles and setting personal deadlines of crafting and recording original music as often as possible.

    mike doughty

    From country crooning to hard hitting beats and even a 2015 rock opera by the name Revelation, it’s clear Doughty doesn’t rely on one-track mind of creativity. Instead, he chooses from a bank of ideas in his head and decides how he wants it to translate to the public. Appealing to his roots, An Evening with Mike Doughty performing Soul Coughing’s Irresistible Bliss with Andrew “Scrap” Livingston launched on March 22 in Portland, ME before heading to a sold out gig in Boston. Having just made his way through NJ and MD, Doughty finds himself in NY from March 28 to 30, playing for crowds each night in Pawling’s Daryl’s House, Homer Center for the Arts and Albany’s the Linda, respectively.

    Visit MikeDoughty’s website for tickets.

  • Arctic Monkeys Detail North American Dates

    A total of five years have come and gone without fresh Arctic Monkeys material, leaving fans with AM to hold them over until the English rockers’ latest musical venture. Promising fans fresh content in the near future, it seems the seasoned performers will stay true to their convictions with newly announced North American tour dates for Arctic Monkeys as the warmer weather rolls in.

    One gig at LA’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery kicks things off in May, before hopping to the other side of the states for three-show runs in Raleigh, Nashville and Atlanta. The foursome will take on the East Coast on July 24 at Queens, NY Forest Hills Stadium before moving onto Boston and DC as well as Midwestern territories in Pittsburgh, Detroit and Toronto.

    Pre sale tickets went on sale March 13 at 10 a.m., while tickets go on sale to the general public on March 16. In tandem with the freshly announced European gigs, this will be the first tour since 2014.

    Check out their tour dates on their site and below:

    May 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
    June 14-17 – Dover, DE – Firefly Festival
    June 16 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
    June 18 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
    June 19 – Atlanta, GA – Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
    July 24 – Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
    July 27 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
    July 28 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
    July 31 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events center
    August 1 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple Theatre
    August 5 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre

  • BoomBox Helps Reopen the Den as Putnam Place

    Upstate NY has been lucky enough to have a musical haven in the heart of Saratoga Springs, just 30 miles north of Albany and a straight shot up the highway. Always counting on Putnam Den for an eclectic lineup of jam shows, rap artists and electronic music, lovers of live music confidently had a venue to call home. Having witnessed the Den’s transformation over the last few months, Putnam Place is ready to take shape as an updated music hall with an already stacked roster of musical acts listed for the coming months. BoomBox, a disco house/vintage psychedelic outfit will help kick off the re-opening with a gig tonight, Jan. 24.

    With Putnam Place‘s schedule still filling out, dates are already notched for ChowderFest and Super Bowl parties among anticipated gigs like Formula 5 with Strange Machines, Richard James’ Krewe Orleans: A Mardi Gras Experience (featuring members of Pink Talking Fish, Trey Anastasio Band, Turkuaz and more) in February, as well as spring performances by Wyclef Jean, Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band, Start Making Sense, Enter the Haggis, Perpetual Groove, Pink Talking Fish and more.

    Since first jumping into the scene in 2004, the duo of multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux and DJ Harry have been quietly seasoning this simmering recipe to perfection. However, it reaches a boiling point on BoomBox‘s forthcoming album, Western Voodoo and its impending string of east coast Winter tour dates, including tonight’s 9 p.m. party at Putnam Place.

    “I remain open to anything you would hear coming out of a boombox,” Godchaux, son of Grateful Dead’s Donna Jean explains. “There are a lot of different vibes and angles, but it still adheres to a universal rhythm. This new record is the most musical and varied, yet it’s tightly wound in respect to that syncopation. There are only a few rules. It should be heavy groove. It should make you want to move. Overall, I’ve further developed the sound people are used to.”

    Putnam Place’s face lift includes a giant new LED video wall and high-quality sound system, new technicolor lighting advances and a fresh coat of paint paired with interior design remodeling. The bathrooms that were once adorned with every square inch of band stickers are now a pale pink, at least in the ladies room, and come complete with bathroom attendants making the flow of traffic effortless. Events have taken place in the midst of the renovations, including a New Year’s party fully-equipped with an ice luge and soft seating.

    While it may be the new Place to be, for some, it’ll always be the Den.

    Jan. 24 – Putnam Place – Saratoga Springs, NY
    Jan. 25 – Aura – Portland, ME
    Jan. 26 – White Eagle Hall – Jersey City, NJ
    Jan. 27 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
    Jan. 28 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
    Jan. 31 – Rex Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
    Feb. 1 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
    Feb. 2 – Saint Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
    Feb. 3 – 20th Century Theatre – Cincinnati, OH
    March 17 – Pot Of Gold Music Festival – Chandler, AZ

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