Tag: Palace Theatre

A Spectacle at The Palace: The Disco Biscuits Return to Albany

The Disco Biscuits visited Albany’s Palace Theatre for a 2-night run this past weekend, the band’s first time in the Capital District since 2010’s show at The Egg. Opening up the night was the local and nationally touring band Formula 5 making their debut at the Palace. Though the weather was quite brisk, fans came out in droves to see both bands work their magic at the famous venue.

Formula 5 kicked the night off with an hour-long, all original set, opening with a newer tune “In The Sand,” into “Sad Bed,” a rocking cut from the group’s recent studio album All Points North. “Sad Bed” was left unfinished as the band transitioned into “Booher’s Pass,” a more somber instrumental tune that featured the best jam of the set, leading the group into some experimental type-2 territory. After another original “Gettin’ Tough Again,” the group closed out their set with another new song, “Breaking Glass.” The song mixes lyrical sections with synth-heavy, prog-like riffs and does it well, as the crowd was responding very positively to what F5 was laying down.

To open up the Palace show, The Disco Biscuits played the rocking “7-11,” an older song that was met with open arms by just about every fan in the theater. “7-11” was just the beginning of what became an incredible first set, which was foreshadowed by the band absolutely nailing the composed section of the tune. The jam was extremely fast-paced, featuring lots of drummer Allen Aucoin hammering away on his drum pad laying down an untzy groove for the rest of the group to build a heavy jamtronica groove off of. “7-11” was left unfinished so that the group could transition into the ending of “Above The Waves,” signaling to the fans that the band was inverting the song. Following the quick peak of “Waves” the group started working through the song’s composed section, another tune from the early days of the band.

The “Waves” jam continued the uptempo jamming from “7-11” before dropping back into the song’s chord structure and bringing the jam back to the peak it had opened with. Following a heavenly solo from Barber, the group dropped into “Minions,” a more recent tune that had a mysterious feel to it. Keyboardist Aron Magner utilized the full extents of his rig during this tune, looping a funky clavinet part during the verse and singing the chorus through a vocoder on one of his synthesizers. The majority of the “Minions” jam was the band flexing their funk muscles before they started lifting the jam into the last song of the set, “Voices Insane.” This version of “Voices” was superb, the band locked in and smoothly transitioning between each composed section, allowing some of the movements to breathe a bit before moving onto the next part.

After a quick set break, the group came out and opened the second set with “Sweating Bullets,” a grandeur tune that had a medieval feel to it during the composed section. The jam was fairly short and featured a somewhat dub reggae feel before coming to a close. The group then took a quick pause and dropped into “Resurrection,” which had an R&B feel to it and allowed for the group to show off a different side of their musical capabilities. The “Resurrection” jam was slower than most of the night’s previous jams, and served more as a jumping off point for the segue into “I-Man,” which is where the second set started to pick up.

The band very suddenly dropped into the fan favorite “I-Man” during the “Resurrection” jam, beginning with Barber singing out the opening lyrics of the tune, which was met by loud cheers from the entire crowd. Following the lyrical sections, the group started into the jam of the night, a supernatural peak that was incredibly patient in its build up, delivery, and subsequent redelivery as the group started back into the song’s chorus. Following “I-Man,” the group broke into Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia,” a song that has only been performed three times prior by the Biscuits. The “Knights” jam was full of untz and dove back into the jamtronica side of the Biscuits, before a very dramatic drop back into the song’s lyrics and main riff. To close out the set, the group broke into the upbeat “Story of the World,” which rounded out the stronger second half of the set. After the main composed section, the group broke into some more funk-themed jamming, bringing back some of the musical flavor that “Minions” was offering during the first set. The peak was pretty quick and brought the tune back into the melody of the tune before one last chorus and ending the set. For an encore the group played an extremely short, “World is Spinning.”

Saturday night was a spectacle of its own, with the crowd revved up from the night before and ready to rage the Palace. Opening with “The Tunnel,” which has found its way back into the rotation in the last few years took a journey that ended up in the latter section of “Spectacle,” which would also open Set 2 with the first portion of the song. “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.” brought the energy level even higher through the composition and eventual jam, which worked into Biscuits anthem “We Like To Party,” a statement that encompasses the tone of the crowd over the weekend. “Rock Candy” and “Save the Robots” took it back old school for a tight pairing to close the set.

To keep the party going in the second set, a 45-minute pairing of “Spectacle” -> “spacebirdmatingcall” made for a sweaty run of energetic of the Biscuits signature trancefusion jams. A brief “Hope” was a well placed breather, if you consider the flowing peaks of the song a place to rest. “Reactor” featured an inverted “Crickets” sandwiched inside, a crunchy progression of classic Biscuits jam vehicles that brought the set to a tremendous finish. “Portal to an Empty Head” closed the night in the encore slot, wrapping up the first multi-night Biscuits run in the Capital District since Camp Bisco was held in nearby Mariaville.

The Disco Biscuits have been on fire as of late, and have a few more runs you can catch them at before their NYE run at The Fillmore in Philadelphia. Check out photos from Filip Zalewski for a taste of what the the evening was like.

Setlists

Formula 5, Friday, November 23, 2018

Set: In The Sand > Sad Bed*# > Booher’s Pass, Gettin’ Tough Again, Breaking Glass
*”In the Sand” tease
# Unfinished

The Disco Biscuits, Palace Theatre, Friday, November 23, 2018

Set 1: 7-11* > Above the Waves (Inverted) > Minions > Voices Insane
Set 2: Sweating Bullets, Resurrection > I-Man, Knights of Cydonia**, Story of the World
Encore: World is Spinning
*Unfinished
**Muse Cover

The Disco Biscuits, Palace Theatre, Saturday, November 24

Set 1: The Tunnel -> Spectacle, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.-> We Like to Party-> Rock Candy, Save the Robots
Set 2: Spectacle-> Spacebirdmatingcall, Hope, Reactor-> Crickets (inverted)-> Reactor
Encore: Portal to an Empty Head

November 26, 2018
Photo Gallery: Alice Cooper Gets Paranormal at the Palace

October started off right in the Capital Region with rock icon Alice Cooper and his cast of incredible hired guns who took the Palace Theatre stage. The sold-out crowd was delighted with the classic Alice Cooper favorites, like “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, “Poison”, “I’m Eighteen”, and the encore “School’s Out”.

As anyone can tell you an Alice Cooper show isn’t just about the music, it is about the SHOW itself. Blood, swords, crazy nurses, guillotine, and even a larger than life Frankenstein monster. The audience represented every age group with fans traveling from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and further to see their cult icon. And why not? Alice’s congregation weren’t only dressed up they were committed and stayed on their feet for the entire performance. A great way to kick off the month of Halloween and a great way to kick off this leg of their tour.

October 13, 2018
David Byrne brings American Utopia Tour to the Palace Theatre

David Byrne’s much-hyped (and rightly so) American Utopia Tour found its way to Albany’s Palace Theatre on Sunday, September 9, after six months of crisscrossing the country, with all the buzz about the set and production having preceding each performance. Byrne’s catalog of music was on display throughout the night, with 21 songs covering his solo work, as well as that with Talking Heads and with St. Vincent and Fatboy Slim, combining for a nearly two-hour performance with the psychedelic alt-rock of Tune-Yards opening the night. With a futuristic mix of electronic, new wave and indie pop, plus a lead singer dressed like a dystopian Supreme Court justice, made for an interesting prelude to Byrne. Forty minutes of pure energy and symphonic pomp was capped by “Heart Attack,” and paired nicely with the variety of Byrne’s music that would follow.
Nature sounds over the PA filled the air as the stage was set for David Byrne. When the curtain opened, we found Byrne sitting at a table holding a human brain, pointing out the purpose for the brain in the lyrics of the opener ‘Here,’ an anticipatory introduction into the evening’s performance. Slowly, an 11 piece band, including six percussionists and drummers, emerged from behind the silver strand curtains that surrounded the stage on three sides, as Byrne moved into “Lazy,” which could have easily been pulled from LCD Soundsystem’s catalog. But it was the opening beats of “I Zimbra” that brought the audience to their feet in unison, like a preacher calling the congregation back from a moment of reflection.

Following “Slippery People,” Byrne took a moment to recognize Headcount and encouraged everyone to register to vote, and then make sure they vote in elections, which was met by thunderous applause from the audience. The St. Vincent collaboration “I Should Watch TV” and “Everybody’s Coming to my House” preceded two of the most familiar songs of the night, “This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)” and “Once in a Lifetime,” the crowd singing along some of Byrne’s finest work.

The band was introduced one by one for a slowly growing intro to “Born Under Punches” from the acclaimed Remain in the Light. Byrne’s solo work was showcased with four songs that followed, “I Dance Like This,” “Bullet,” “Every Day is a Miracle,” and “Like Humans Do.” Blind” took on an ominous feel with low stage lighting projecting a monstrous shadow of Byrne on the curtains behind the band, with a raucous “Burnin Down the House” closing the 80+ minute set.

For an encore, Byrne introduced “Dancing Together” as a song with lyrics provided from Imelda Marcos’ own words and originally from a musical Byrne collaborated on with Fatboy Slim about the former Philippine dictator’s love of shoes and disco. A frenetic version of “The Great Curve” followed, with the woke audience moving to the enthusiastic Talking Heads original. Returning to the stage for a second encore, Bryne chose “Say Your Name” by Janelle Monae to put a coda on the evening, which shares the names of numerous individuals who have been victims of police and/or racial violence, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Amadou Diallo and others. It was a powerful statement to send the audience out on and left an exclamation point on an evening at The Palace.

Byrne’s American Utopia tour continues with stops in Syracuse on Sept. 12, Queens on Sept. 15, and two nights in Brooklyn Sept. 16-17.

Setlist: Here, Lazy, I Zimbra, Slippery People, Dog’s Mind, I Should Watch TV, Everybody’s Coming to my House, This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody), Once in a Lifetime, Doing the Right Thing, Toe Jam, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), I Dance Like This, Bullet, Every Day is a Miracle, Like Humans Do, Blind, Burning Down the House

Encore: Dancing Together, The Great Curve
Encore 2: Hell You Talmbout*

*Janelle Monae cover

September 10, 2018
Brandi Carlile Wrestled with Loss to Bring Back Joy at The Palace

If you were seeking a little bit of country, a touch of rock, some moments reminiscent of church hymns and Irish music, and a whole lot of honesty, the Palace Theatre was the right place to be Sunday night. Brandi Carlile, with special guests Secret Sisters, filled the Palace Theatre with over 2,000 guests to hear authentic harmonies and sometimes almost “too honest to bear” lyrics that offered redemption, forgiveness and even joy.

Secret Sisters Laura and Lydia opened the night with the promise that their music was primarily filled with sadness, and noted they were going to “wrestle joy away” from audience members with their harmonies. Their deadpan humor and teasing of one another juxtapositioned their swampy songs of longing perfectly. From Muscle Shoals, Grammy-nominated Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle sang about loves lost, mistakes made and poor choices, mostly in minor keys. The women acknowledged the normalcy of loving the wrong person as both human and worth growing through. The sisters joked about how Laura named her previous lover in “He’s Fine,” bringing laughter when the sisters sang his name in the actual song.

Secret Sisters was so welcomed by the audience that it was easy to forget they were just the opening act. Their easy rapport with the crowd, combined with the women’s amazingly clear vocals and Everly Brothers-like harmonies, struck a strong chord with the audience. The sisters closed with “You Don’t Own Me Anymore,” an original song with a nod in the bridge to Lesley Gore’s 1963 tune “You Don’t Own Me.” The audience responded with a standing ovation.

The silent stage washed in purple lights opened up with a string trio joined by a French horn, teasing melodies from Brandi Carlile’s new album, By The Way, I Forgive You. The crowd cheered these classical musicians as they welcomed Brandi Carlile on stage with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth. Playing their most popular radio tune first thing, audience members had to notice: this was confidence. What would be left for the rest of the night?

Brandi Carlile answered any doubts and questions immediately with her high energy jumping across the stage through 17 years of music. The band could play a Crosby, Stills and Nash sound and then jump into a more rock sound, alternating and enjoying the variety. This was true talent.

The band’s newest album is full of hard songs to sing. Lyrics about loss, forgiveness, parenthood and survivorship didn’t sugar coat a moment. Two particular pieces, “Sugartooth” and “Fulton County Jane Doe,” touched upon the drug epidemic and violence against women. “The Joke” is a social advocacy song pushing people to be fearless in whom they are. And “The Mother” authentically tackled the normative ambivalence of becoming a parent.

The twins and Brandi sang an unplugged acoustic version of “Cannonball” to its audience after declaring the Palace “a singing room.” The band members’ strongest pipes are clearly shared among the three vocalists; all three could fill the hall with equal harmony. If you closed your eyes, you could mistakenly believe you were in church. The screaming fans, of course, would ground you back to the theater.

Sounding of country, rock and folk music, Brandi Carlile’s diversity and range was showing. And she was clearly having fun, jumping around the stage like a teen and sharing stories that charmed about her children. She even introduced her four-year-old daughter Evangeline to the audience, who waved and said, “Thank you Albany.”

And just when you thought they had done everything possible, Brandi Carlile covered the Led Zeppelin tune “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” in quite possibly the sexiest and most compelling song of the evening. Brandi’s achingly gorgeous voice as she leaned into her vocals was a reminder: this band can do whatever it chooses to do.

And it does. Brandi Carlile chose to make us cry and remember past loves. They reminded us to forgive our parents and love them regardless of faults. They cued listeners to be social activists who encouraged acts of goodwill. Brandi Carlile took the Albany audience on a very human journey Sunday night. With a diversity of style and sound, and generosity to include their opener in their later acts, Brandi Carlile wrestled with loss and pulled it away from Albany, leaving pure joy in its place.

Setlist: Every Time I Hear That Song, Raise Hell, Harder to Forgive, The Eye, The Mother, The Joke, Have You Ever, Sugartooth, Mainstream Kid, Fulton County Jane Doe, Cannonball (front of stage, off mic), Most of All , Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You (Led Zeppelin cover), Secret Sisters song “Mississippi”, The Story, Whatever You Do, Party of One

Encore: Hold Out Your Hand, Amazing Grace

May 10, 2018
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Bring Spiritual Nourishment to the Palace

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul brought a crowd of 900 to church on Friday, May 4. The full band of 14, including 5 horns, 2 pianos, 2 percussionists, 1 guitar, 1 bass and 3 back up singers, were joined on stage by Little Steven a little after 8 pm. As the wall of sound overtook the Palace, it became immediately clear that the crowd was about to get some soul nourishment through old-fashioned big band live music.

Little Steven spoke to the crowd repeatedly through the concert, asking initially if the crowd liked “good music” as he pointed out dancing, head bobbing fans in the seats. As the band roared through their set list, memories of Little Steven’s history playing in the E Street Band and with Southside Johnny flooded the theatre. The top-notch musicians created chord progression after chord progression of satisfying sound, filling the space with covers and new songs alike and bringing the audience to a fevered pitch of joy.

Ever the entertainer, Little Steven was in constant motion. Between removing his trench coat, pointing to band members to cue them to take solos, and dancing with his fans, the star powered his way through five songs before taking a break and instructing his audience to “sit and relax” too. He announced the release of the group’s live album and dedicated the night to the teaching profession, noting, “It is time to give them the respect due.” He added he probably should also dedicate it to those teachers he gave a hard time to in school, which drew laughter from the agreeable crowd.

Steven graciously shared his stage and highlighted talent within his band, giving ample opportunities to each section for solos and audience applause. Generous and joyful, Steven reflected on how live music can nourish your soul. “The world’s going crazy out there,” he mused, “ We need to gather in cathedrals like this to remember our common ground.”

Soul music was the common ground for this band, and as they gave nods to Motown and Springsteen alike, they shared high-intensity energy and love for their craft. They brought the audience with them; with hands clapping and the crowd jumping, as a frenzy of lights and a wall of music lifted spirits and grounded souls in Albany.

Setlist: Sweet Soul Music (Arthur Conley cover), Soulfire (The Breakers cover), I’m Coming Back (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes cover), The Blues Is My Business (Etta James cover), Love on the Wrong Side of Town (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes cover), Until the Good Is Gone, Angel Eyes, Some Things Just Don’t Change (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes cover), St. Valentines Day, Standing in the Line of Fire (Gary “U.S.” Bonds cover), I Saw the Light (Little Steven cover), Salvation (Little Steven cover), The City Weeps Tonight (Little Steven cover), Down and Out in New York City (James Brown cover), Princess of Little Italy. Groovin’ Is Easy (The Electric Flag cover), Ride the Night Away (Jimmy Barnes cover), Bitter Fruit (Little Steven cover), Forever

Encore: I Don’t Want to Go Home (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes cover), Out of the Darkness (Little Steven cover)

May 10, 2018
David Byrne to perform at The Palace in Albany

The Palace Theatre in Albany will welcome the legendary David Byrne in concert this September 9 as part of an extensive world tour. Joining Byrne is a twelve-piece band who will performs songs from his recently released album, American Utopia, classics from his solo career and favorites from his days with Talking Heads. Special guest Tune-Yards will open.

Byrne has called the tour “the most ambitious show I’ve done since the shows that were filmed for Stop Making Sense.” This tour also marks Byrne’s first extensive outing since his 2013 shows with St. Vincent and also his first solo tour since 2009.

Watch “Everybody’s Coming To My House” from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Byrne has released American Utopia: Detroit, the music video for “Everybody’s Coming to My House,” from American Utopia, featuring a performance of the song by Detroit School of Arts (DSA) Vocal Jazz Ensemble students. Byrne spoke with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show about the collaborative video, the experience of making it, and how it ties into the musician’s larger vision of both the new album and his ongoing Reasons to Be Cheerful series, which includes a hub of stories, news and ideas which inspire optimism.

March 15, 2018
moe. to wrap up February run at Palace Theatre in Albany

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.

February 22, 2018