Beach balls were flying and raindrops were falling during CountryFest at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Hosted by 107.7 WGNA, a country radio station out of Albany, CountryFest featured A-list country acts like Eli Young Band, Big & Rich, and Old Dominion. SPAC’s Live Nation Country concerts usually have a large turnout and this was no exception. The amphitheater was filled by the time Eli Young Band took the stage at 6:30 and the fans had already been enjoying themselves tailgating in the parking lot before making their way to their seat or placing their lawn chairs in the perfect place to view the concert.
Eli Young Band kicked off the show with a roar from the crowd. The rain didn’t keep the fans from having a good time singing along to the band’s hits, such as “Crazy Girl” and “Drunk Last Night.” They were a perfect opening act. Getting the crowd pumped with some of their country classics from the 2000’s, Eli Young Band started on the right note. Lead singer Mike Eli’s voice sounded just like the recordings fans know and love. It was very refreshing to hear country music sound as real as the topics being sung about.
The show took a turn when a DJ from Schenectady, New York started playing confusing mash-ups of country hits with early 2000’s hip-hop high school dance songs. Country music has been in its teenage phase of life and experimenting with many different elements of music, some further away from the singing pedal steel and lively fiddle riffs than others. An avenue that many country artists have tried out is rap and hip hop, incorporating the use of drum machines and quick-witted rap verses.
Big & Rich displayed that they are one of those artists that decided to drive head-on into this new sub genre of country music by inviting Texas country rapper Cowboy Troy on stage with them to add clever verses to their old songs and many of the cover songs that they performed. The whole performance felt a little too far from the celebration of country music that one would expect when going to a country music festival. They definitely brought the most “Wow” factor to the show and, for better or for worse, the crowd seemed to enjoy it. There were many parts of the performance where the looks on fans’ faces said, “What is going on?” Mostly when a man in a Spiderman suit came out and they started singing the Spiderman theme song. One commendable aspect of the show that was heartwarming and made any sense was when John Rich invited a United States veteran on stage and asked him to say a few words. After the few minutes of clarity, it went right back into a medley of songs from all different genres, from “American Pie” by Don McClain to “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, before finishing with their smash hit “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).” Overall, the whole set left fans happy but slightly confused and wondering if they were still at CountryFest.
The night ended with the high energy, lovable group of guys known as Old Dominion. Their pop-country hits had people singing along and dancing until the end of the night. Matthew Ramsey’s charming personality reached out to many fans in the front by giving out high fives and signing personal items. They played a humanizing acoustic set while sharing their stories coming up as songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee. Playing songs that other country artists such as Blake Shelton and Dierks Bentley have made famous, the frontmen of the band, Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, and Brad Tursi, revealed to the crowd that fans had been listening to their music for a while before Old Dominion was even making music together. Their story was very inspiring and the short acoustic versions shed light on not just how musically gifted the group is, but what brilliant songwriters they are as well. They announced that their new album is coming soon and gave CountryFest a sneak peek at a new song on the record called “Smooth Sailing.” The tune fits perfectly into their sound with a catchy melody and clever lyrics. Country music fans should keep their eyes and ears open for Old Dominion’s next album because if the rest of the record is as good as “Smooth Sailing,” it will be a great listen that embodies the fun aspects of country music.
It was a humid Friday night in Saratoga Springs, where people of all ages were buzzing in anticipation for a throwback experience from singer/songwriter Jackson Browne at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “Have you seen him before?” was one of the questions floating around the amphitheater and the responses varied from person to person. Many different dates of shows spanning from the early ’70s and onward came from the mouths of dedicated fans, proving the long-lasting impact Browne has had in his career. The show started right on time at 7:30 p.m. with the Brooklyn-born indie pop band Lucius.
Photography: Carl Scheffel
Lucius opened the show with a chilling a capella rendition of “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” with the women fronting the band wearing matching red ponchos and body glitter on their faces and palms. Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig stood around one microphone at center stage facing each other and immediately caught the attention of the crowd with their powerhouse harmonies. Though the stage setup allowed for the singers to be intimate and have a clear way to communicate cues for each other, it took away from the audience engagement and closed off a relationship fans desire from a live performance. The one microphone did aide the duo in creating a fading or floating audio and visual effect during their last song “Woman” which played with the depth of the dynamics of the song nicely. The show heavily featured the two fronting ladies, however, the group consisted of three other band members playing their share of instruments, swapping between percussion and guitar frequently. Jackson Browne joined them in the middle of their half hour set to perform “Willin’,” entrancing the amphitheater with their three-part harmonies. Lucius released a compilation album of their back catalog, new songs, and a duet with Roger Waters in 2018 called Nudes.
Loud cheers from women and men alike echoed through the walls of SPAC when Jackson Browne and his band took the stage to close out the show with an impressive two hour set. Browne’s performance was filled with many of his classics that were easy to sing and dance along to even if you didn’t know the words. “Take It Easy,” which Browne co-wrote with The Eagles, was the second song in the more than 20-song set and it brought everyone to their feet. Browne’s easy-going vibe on stage seemed to take the edge off the heat and provided a relaxing atmosphere after the excitement of the 4th of July the day before. Browne joked about his age after there was a guitar mix up, saying to the stagehand, “I think you brought me the wrong guitar,” followed by the stagehand coming back out with the supposed right guitar and a sense of confusion. After a few seconds of conversation and bending down to read the setlist, Browne admitted that he was wrong and that he should have brought his glasses with him on stage. Many of Jackson Browne’s songs relate to immigration and issues that America deals with today. He played songs such as “Walls and Doors” that was written by Cuban singer/songwriter Carlos Varela and “Lives in the Balance” which were both in reference to South America and its culture. “Lives in the Balance” featured a very soulful performance from one of Browne’s backup singers, Chavonne Stewart, whose beautiful voice brought new life to an old classic. Lucius came out to help Browne on the last four songs and it was the perfect climax of vocal harmony and instrumental genius. The two acts were clearly very close and the respect and love for one another made for a really enjoyable performance.
Photography: Carl Scheffel
Lucius setlist: A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (Ilene Woods cover), Tempest, Right Down the Line (Gerry Rafferty cover), Something About You, Go Home, Turn It Around, Willin’ (Little Feat cover), Two of Us On the Run, Woman
Jackson Browne setlist: I’m Alive, Take It Easy, The Pretender, Enough of the Night, The Long Way Around, Tender Is the Night, You Love the Thunder, These Days, Mohammed Radio (Warren Zevon cover), The Dreamer, Lives in the Balance, Walls and Doors (Carlos Varela cover), Doctor My Eyes, Somebody’s Baby, I’ll Do Anything, In the Shape of a Heart, Running on Empty, Dusty Trails (Lucius cover), City of Immigrants (Steve Earle cover), I Am a Patriot (Little Steven cover) Encore: The Waiting (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
Each new day is carved under the shadow of yesterday in the light of our hope for tomorrow. Our environment, society, and culture are forged and shaped by memories, some more recent than others. In 1969, I lifted a single snapshot out of the photo album of time, one that depicts a critical juncture in the world’s recent past.
Sea Gudinski
Music is a medium that transcends time, culture and the stories kept – then transformed into song. The crossroads of 1969, music, pop-culture and the political climate grew into a timeless entity for millions – in particular Woodstock. A lifetime spent obsessing over every minute detail of the era would still not prepare you for what author, Sea Gudinski has done with her first novel, 1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back. The high school graduate opted out of college, and in result, this book appears inevitable from her birth.
Both Gudinski’s parents lived through the 1960’s; her father was a veteran, musician and immersed in the counterculture of that time. In fact, the 1969 Woodstock experience was “an event that he felt dramatically influenced his life,” said Gudinski in an article by Susan Murphy (seagudinski.com). But how can a young author depict events decades before her time? Perhaps, her parents and surroundings sparked the flame, but six years of calculated, and frankly impressive, research led to all 569 pages appearing in print. It is something your high school curriculum of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, or Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test could not prepare you for. Gudinski was lost in an era, between the pages, and soon, you will be too.
1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back begins behind the eyes of the naïve Rhiannon Karlson, a female drummer, dreamer and typical-teenager. In the first few pages Karlson lost herself in a dream amongst the Fresno heat. My daydreams always begin with a drumbeat: slow, concise–like a heartbeat manifesting the imagery I conjure up into the realm of reality. At first, that is all I hear–my drumbeat–and then quickly, quietly, the rest of the band begins to fade in.
Gudinski overloads the readers stimulus with the precise details and feelings of each object, and character. Tangents on the soup-like air, introspective assumptions of her friends thoughts, and the powder-blue bubble letters on her band’s flyer seem unnecessary or irrelevant. However, the reader soon will lose sight of the words and become lost, dead-center of Karlson’s world. These details paint a tapestry of emotion as they reel on vividly in your mind – the key that will soon unlock Karlson’s world, and yours.
Desperate to land a record deal with her band, The Descendants, Karlson is a music-junkie through-and -through, that is, when she is not bickering with her mother. The clash drives Karlson to take a magical crystal substance out of a pink baggie. A silver pipe ‘intricately decorated with motifs that had been rubbed smooth from use,’ sparks Karlson’s imagination as to who used it before her; and where it had taken them. Rightfully so, she is swept up in a dream. For the reader it is hard to differentiate between Karlson’s daydream, a trip or reality. Gudinski does a beautiful job creating a fervor in the hearts of each reader for what is to come. And down the rabbithole we go.
A specially curated playlist highlighting the music of Gudinski’s novel.
For NYS Music fans, and musicians alike, 1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back delves into the greats: Janis Joplin, Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Clapton and more. Hints of Karlson’s musical quest mirrors that of the musicians she idolized and tastefully sounds an era that undeniably shaped the industry for the better.
Gudinski is passionate and unyielding in her quest to turn ever pebble in the sea of 1969. Nothing goes unnoticed and is explored through a kaleidoscope, ever-changing and beautiful. This book is great for anyone curious – a young teenager, aspiring musician or someone who wants to relive their formative years in the 60’s. It is relatable and enjoyable to the masses.
Although, it would be interesting to debate the thoughts of those who shaped the 1960’s counterculture against Gudinski’s work. All of which would seamlessly collide.
Not only did the popular books on 1960’s counterculture and beat movement shape Gudinski’s novel, but also films: Michael Wadleigh’s 1970 documentary, Woodstock; Easy Rider (1969); Twilight Zone; and Authors: William Brautigian, Michael McClure, Horatio Alger and more. Remarkably, 1969 hinges on the personal encounters and stories of Gudinski’s loved ones and peers – which makes each page so addictive.
Although this is Gudinski’s first published work, she has written a total of six books. An impressive debut novel only begs the question: what will Gudinski reach for next? When? Looking up at the stars, limits simply do not exist for the creative mind of Sea Gudinski.
The sun was hot, quickly rolling into sets, swimming and hanging at the beach with friends. The pressure of squeezing so many good bands into a single Sunday of Vans Warped Tour grew daunting, but others vibed out. Nearly every band was packed – both Full Sail and Blackcraft stages shared adjoining beach and in the end, the mass of people merged as if they were one.
California’s Atreyu took Van’s “Off The Wall” mainstage at doors. Over the past 15 years the band, who has preserved a near original lineup, pulled out all the stops from favorites “Becoming The Bull” and their cover of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” with a metal twist, of course.
Guitarist Travis Miguel in his comfort zone. Photo by Chuck DeFilippo.
Guitarist, Travis Miguel, was hyped on the gig. “It’s not every day that you literally get to play on the beach. Usually when you’re at a big festival like this, nine times out of ten it’s in the middle of nowhere in some field. It’s nice to see the Atlantic Ocean from the stage.” This energy and consciousness allowed longtime brotherhood to shine though in the delivery of their material from intense oldies like “Blow” or the more cinematic “House Of Gold,” from their latest album, In Our Wake.
“Vans Warped Tour is pretty surreal; I remember my first Warped Tour was 1998 and Deftones played, CIV and Rancid. Incubus played on this little flatbed-truck-stage before anyone knew who they were. It was a long day, I remember getting sunburnt and the Deftones went on – everyone lost their minds in a dirt field in Orange County. It was gross, pulling dirt buggers out for two days and beign sunstruck… but with that being said I had the fucking time of my life,” said Miguel.
“I’ve gone to Warped Tours since then, but in 2005 we actually played and that was surreal because not long before that – I was the kid going to Warped Tour having the time of my life. To be asked to play the 25th Anniversary is cool because it is like bringing back old memories: seeing crew people, friends I haven’t seen in years, and you pick up right where you left off. It’s sensory overload because there’s so much going around: press, a half pipe out there, a human cannonball, music everywhere – it’s a fun day for sure.”
Travis Miguel, Atreyu.
“Now that I’m older, looking back, it’s safe to say that everybody in the band’s view is: we’re extremely lucky to be doing this. We don’t take it for granted. There’s a lot of bands we came up with back in the day that are long gone and the fact that we still get to do this, essentially the same five members for 15 years…I’m definitely proud of that.”
Atreyu embodies the morals of Warped, fans and crew alike. “We’ve all seen each other at our best and our worst. It’s very much a brotherly relationship between the five of us: we get on each others nerves just as much as actual brothers would, I’ve been in two of their weddings and we’ve been apart of each other’s big life moments. It’s definitely a family vibe,” said Miguuel.
Sunday kicked in, full force from the start, making it difficult to navigate through all the great bands playing. The beaches were packed – a sea of people relaxing or constantly shifting from stage to stage. Mid-afternoon highlights included Circa Survive frontman, Anthony Green, crowd-surfing his way from the mainstage into the Atlantic.
Punk-rockers, Keep Flying, dominated the Monster Energy stage early on in the day with their addictive horn lines and heart-racing tempos. The sextet blew up at last years Warped Tour, and if you didn’t know any better, you would think they had been there from the start. They controlled the crowd with showstopper “I Always Knew,” both visually and musically overstimulating. Not to mention the electrifying horn section, intricate harmony and energy from each member.
Keep Flying, dominating the Monster stage with furious drums, punk-horns and electricity.
The day carried on with Worcester, MA veterans, Four Year Strong. Contrasted by their laid back vibe and over-familiarity with Vans Warped Tour, the four piece pulled out all the stops. Opening with “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die,” FYS set the bar with signature double-bass, dueling-guitar and dueling-vocal exchanges. The crowd was absolutely insane.
There was just too much to digest: Big D and the Kids Table, Dirty Heads, The Used and Bowling For Soup – but the day rolled on. The Skatalites changed the pace on The Blackcraft Stage with authentic reggae flare. As the sun set and punk-rockers grew tired, a solid crowd swayed for Kingston, Jamaica’s finest. Atlantic City was blessed by none other than “The Queen of Ska,” Doreen Shaffer, who soulfully harmonized with the band. Born in the 1940’s, Shaffer filled the crowd with a youthful energy, and soul.
Cusped between electronic, pop and rock genres, Andy Black turned heads for unfamiliar listeners, drawing them to the Monster Energy stage as they passed on the beach. His most explicit example, the album titled track “Ghost Of Ohio” fuses these elements into something obscure and refreshing. Fans of any taste can harmonize with his energy and showmanship.
Taking Back Sunday warmed up the main stage for Warped closers’ Blink-182 with driving tracks like “What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost,” while lead Adam Lazzara strut the entire length of the stage, twirling his microphone like a noose. Later in the evening, ska legends, Reel Big Fish, drew attention from the Full Sail stage as the crowd shifted angles to The Blackcraft stage for an epic RBF Set. Kicking of the set with “Asshole,” turning backstage into a skank-inspired dance party.
Vans Warped Tour did an amazing job attending to sparse incidents in the pits or those who needed medical attention. Surrounded in a mosh-pit or relaxing by the beach was one in the same, because everyone truly had each other’s backs. The mass of Vans Warped Tour cannot be defeated, as we all plead for another year.
Reel Big Fish skank-party as the sun set on the Atlantic.
Interviews with Atreyu, Matt Butler, Kaleido and Shiragirl spoke on behalf of the festival as a whole: its status, impact, family vibe and overall positivity. Regardless of why you were there, who you were with and who you saw, Vans Warped Tour’s 25th Anniversary Tour was the necessary cap to years past.
“It’s amazing to see how the tour has grown and affected so many people,” said Brooklyn’s Shiragirl. “To be apart of this is a huge honor – there are so many amazing bands. We are super stoked to be apart of the final chapter. Last year we were lucky enough to bring back the stage for the final full cross country tour. I just have nothing but great things to say about Kevin Lymann. I wanna be like him when I grow up.”
Stay Tuned for the full Post Warped Tour interview with Shiragirl.
Reminisce with highlights from the bands of Vans 25th Anniversary Warped Tour.
“It’s not who you know, it’s who you don’t know;” the well-worn oft-repeated mantra of the Rochester International Jazz Festival not only rings true but pays dividends when heeded. Over 18 years the producers have followed a successful formula mixing well-known talent, historically-significant acts or tributes, returning favorites, local talent, up-and-comers, and unknown, sometimes unpronounceable names from places spanning the globe.
It’s these last two that tend to define our Jazz Fest experiences. Other than their status as unknowns, the other thread common to these artists was their ability to make sixty minutes feel like thirty. We weren’t checking the clock or getting antsy for the sets that lied ahead, our attention was commanded in full. These are the 10 artists that blew us away most in 2019 at Rochester Jazz Festival, artists you should most definitely give a listen to.
A Danish quintet featuring no girls, actually had to leave one of their members behind at the airport, as sax player Martin Stender’s visa was denied. It didn’t matter much to our ears as remaining members: Lars Greve (sax), Mathias Holm (keys), Victor Dybbroe (percussion) and Mads Forsby (drums), were still one of the highlights of the festival. The band, together ten years, moved between ethereal soundscapes, intense evil marches and organ-rich spacey grooves, mixing in infectious rhythms and melodies along the way. Their music would only be called jazz because, what else would you call it.
So much great music is played in three beautiful churches during the Rochester International Jazz Festival. Rarely does the church become the instrument. Kit Downes, a British keys player who we’ll hear from again, below, took on the task of playing the Christ Church’s Craighead-Saunders organ, the most accurate baroque organ in the Western Hemisphere. It sits above the pews in the balcony so a video feed was provided for the audience. The action of Downes playing the organ was almost as intriguing as the sounds filling the great hall. Almost but not quite.
As the sounds were some of the most unique and exciting we have ever heard at the festival. He played melodic and accessible pieces mixed with some longer, more improv-heavy works. The highest notes chimed like jingle bells and the lowest were guttural deep rumbling moans that were felt as much as heard. It was a cultural experience beyond just a set of music at a festival, and one we won’t soon forget.
Kit Downes was back the next night playing the piano in a trio, joined by Frans Petter Eldh on bass and James Maddren on drums. This was not a set where the audience would be clapping mid-song for impressive solos, because there were no solos. Or were they always soloing? It was an intense tangle of piano, bass and drums that was constantly in motion – flowing in waves of energy that always seemed to trend upwards with little in the way of ebbing. They could be melodic or dissonant, rocking or sparsely quiet, but always together.
In what became a three-day British jazz game of Six Degrees of Separation, Enemy drummer, James Maddren, was back at the Christ Church the next day as a part of saxophonist Trish Clowes’ band. Ross Stanley on organ and piano and Chris Montague (from NYS Music’s favorite of the 2015 festival, Troyka) on guitar.
Montague had proven to be a marvel on his last visit, and Trish Clowes bears the band’s namesake, but this was a band’s band with no clear leader musically. The sound varied from number to number: high speed melodic chases, punchy avant garde jams, spacey organic textures and even Weather-Report-inspired rock fusion. As if that range wasn’t enough, they also added recorded samples on “I.F.” and Clowes, singing on the beautifully meandering epic “Free to Fall.”
Give a listen/look at their brand new video for a song inspired by the great sci-fi film, Arrival.
Swedish reed player Thomas Backman, last seen at the Jazz Fest as a part of Klabbes Bank (yet another NYS Music fave) in 2017, returned with his own unit. He was backed by keys, drums and bass, with the women on keys and drums taking vocal duties on various tunes. They seemed to make their way through their 2018 debut in order, possibly in full. Each player was a creative mastermind, maximizing their possible range and output. Whether teetering into techno, bursting into bombast, or coasting quietly on a beautiful melody, the quartet had the audience rapt for the full hour.
Austrian pianist, David Helbock, brought his Random/Control group which was as interesting a trio as you’ll find. Johannes Bar played sousaphone, trumpet, an interesting wood block didgeridoo, various percussion, electronics, and at one point a long plastic tube with a red horn attached to the end. Andreas Broger played multiple reeds sometimes two at a time. Helbock was a non-traditional player, diving inside the piano almost as much as on the keys, while also banging a kick drum and wood blocks. All three played the piano together at one point, knocking on it inside and out. They played Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood,” Cedar Walton’s “Bolivia,” and John Williams’ theme from the movie “Catch Me If You Can,” but as you can imagine, none of it sounded quite the same.
By now you’re sensing a pattern. Yes, the European groups dominated the festival highlights this year, but there were some wow moments from closer to home as well. This Brooklyn-based duo of Josh Dion on drums, vocals and keys and Geoff Kraly on bass and modular synthesizer, had an in-your-face garage rock energy with some beautiful R&B soulfulness. It was heavily drenched in electronic sounds yet always rooted in the organic. Original songs from their recently released debut were joined by completed deconstructed covers of “Life is a Carnival” and “Have a Talk with God.”
OK, back to England for one more amazing artist. While many others wowed us with unusual instrumentation or arrangements, saxophonist Nubya Garcia just wowed us with flat out fiery playing. The festival decided to add some additional Made in the UK sets outside of its usual spot at Christ Church. It was a wise move in the sense that allowed them to book more of the talent bursting forth across the pond, but in this case the outdoor Jazz Street Stage was an odd placement. Garcia’s quartet, including Sam Jones on drums, Taber Gable on keys and Daniel Casimir on bass, weren’t playing the most accessible music that would normally grace the free stage. The nuances of what they were laying down were difficult to parse out among the drinking partying masses. On the other hand, it was a great opportunity for the non-Club Pass crowd to see such a high level of playing and composition. Garcia didn’t impress with the amount of notes she played, rather with the power and thoughtfulness put into each one. Rochester caught her on her first ever North American jaunt and certainly caught a rising star, one to keep an eye on for sure.
The Disco Biscuits’ Aron Magner has put together a new piano trio with some of his Philadelphia buddies, Jason Fratacelli on upright bass and Matt Scarano on drums. The music certainly hews more toward traditional jazz from his usual jam-tronica fare, but in their live set, one of their first-ever, it proved to be anything but traditional. It was a roller coaster ride for the ears: spaciness climbed to full-on rock which fell back back down. Funky rocking electronic turned into catchy piano melodies and back again. Magner spent almost as much time playing electronic as he did acoustic and Fratacelli ran his bass through enough filters to escape the limits of his acoustic instrument on many occasions. So much to say, that this wasn’t your average jazz piano trio and the whooping and dancing crowd made that all the more clear. They were tight, unique and exciting.
Give a listen (debut album to be released July 19):
A trio from Asheville, consisting of Jon Stickley on guitar, Lindsay Pruett on fiddle and Hunter Deacon on drums, have all the makings of a great Americana act. And while that is where they are generally categorized, they are so much more than that. Stickley is a guitar whiz and can flatpick with the best of them, but he’s just as happy to sit back on a bass line for bit or shred out a headbanging rock riff. Likewise, Pruett also has the chops to run with any bluegrass unit, but doesn’t rest there long with this trio. Deacon is a flurry of activity on the drums, jumping from jazz to techno to rock, sometimes in the same song. Even an old fiddle tune like “Jerusalem Ridge” gets dressed up and knocked down with dance-ready beats and guitar pyrotechnics. Individually they are all musicians of remarkable talent, but as showcased in their sets at the new-to-the-festival Geva Fielding Stage, the bands most brilliant moments were when they locked together as a threesome, which they exhibited more often than not.
Best of the Rest
It wasn’t entirely “who we didn’t know” for the full nine days of the festival, we caught plenty of greatness from proven talents. Bill Frisell was back again with his trio of Kenny Wolleson and Tony Scher and they played two hour-plus sets with nearly no breaks – from blues to Beatles to Bacharach to Bill, unbelievable through and through. Vibraphonist Stefon Harris and his quintet Blackout schooled the audience in music as art, both with their phenomenal playing and in Harris’ frequent asides. Local sacred steel legends, The Campbell Brothers, blessed the audience with their breathtaking interpretation of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” in addition to opening up a Sunday evening church service at the Squeezers Stage with their usual roof-raising fare.
Cyro Baptista premiered his new quintet which was filled with worldly and joyful sounds from his “weapons of mass percussion.” Guitarist Lionel Loueke and Raul Midon shared the Kilbourn Stage for a set that mostly saw them go their separate ways. Both showcased their incredible guitar and vocal prowess, but only combined forces on two tunes. Loueke took on the first 30 minutes of the set, while Midon played his own full hour set, taking the full festival set time over by 40 minutes. Even so it was difficult for anyone to walk away, and encores were still called out for. Alas, another edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival is now in the books, see you all again next year!
SPAC’s jam-packed July schedule kicked off Monday night with Blink-182 and Lil Wayne coming into town. The contrasting styles of the iconic pop-punk band and hip-hop legend, Lil Wayne, made the night all the more interesting, bringing in thousands of fans from each performer. Blink-182 is celebrating the 20 year anniversary of their most notorious album, Enema of the State.
The night kicked off with Welsh punk band Neck Deep. After their brief, eight song set, there was a 15 minute turn-around before Lil Wayne emerged from the giant Young Money logo at the center of the stage accompanied by a 4-piece rock band. The set was filled with impressive raps with a voice that is identifiable to only as Lil Wayne, solos you wouldn’t see at most hip-hop shows and an audience that was shouting out every bar through the hour long set. However, Lil Wayne never made the night about himself, constantly shouting out his band, fellow rappers and showing love to his loyal fans.
The intermission between Lil Wayne and Blink-182 was cut off when all the house lights came down and the voice of Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) came over the speakers reciting the now iconic Ezekiel 25:17 from Pulp Fiction. The moment at the end of the passage when the gunshot a fired, the lights shot on and Blink-182 began playing “Dumpweed,” the first song from Enema of the State. The band played the album straight through, as they have at each show throughout this tour. The album is one of the genre’s greatest, including hits such as “All The Small Things,” “What’s My Age Again?,” and “Adam’s Song.” After playing the record in its entirety, Mark Hoppus (bass) came out into the crowd and played a brief acoustic set. Following this, the band paid tribute to Nipsey Hussle, a rapper who tragically passed away earlier this year.
Travis Barker and his drum set were encapsulated by a spherical cage. Barker proceeded to play a two-minute solo and began spinning and flipping in the sphere, accompanied by a mini light show. Blink-182 finished off the night with a few more of their hits, including “I Miss You” and “The Rock Show, before finally closing the show with “Dammit.” Blink-182 brought the same energy they’ve been showcasing for over 25 years, the same energy their fans have come to know and love.
With a summer tour progressing steadily along, and each subsequent venue seemingly raising the bar higher at each stop, expectations for the upcoming set of Phish shows at Saratoga Performing Arts Center were at a fever pitch. The band never seems to disappoint at this classic Upstate NY shed, showing us this is what SPAC sounds like when the boys from Vermont come to town. Coming off of three stellar shows in Camden, marked with a notably missing “Tweezer Reprise” from the final night, expectations about the SPAC opener (and rest of the show) were rampant and lofty.
In vintage Phish fashion, the band bypassed the “Tweezer Reprise” opener many expected to happen as a nod to the unfinished business in Camden and replaced it with a first-time-played cover of The Everly Brothers’ “Cathy’s Clown,” leading to a confusing and somewhat mellow start. Afterwards, the expected “Reprise” was delivered in full force which fired up the crowd instantly and began a long stretch of high energy rock anthems, including “Carini,” a song that’s already opened two previous shows this tour. A silky smooth transition of funk from “AC/DC Bag” to “The Moma Dance” then followed before a mid set “Theme From the Bottom” that served as a respite of sorts. A rare performance of “Home” was a welcome surprise in the first set and set the waves in motion for the powerful “Bathtub Gin” that followed. That would have been more than sufficient for a complete first set, but Phish had other ideas and tacked on the perennial “Walls of the Cave” set closer in typical high octane, raucous fashion.
After a brief “Cool Amber and Mercury” to open Set 2, Mike Gordon provided the opening bass slaps to “Down with Disease” and with that we were off and running with a 21 minute gem of a jam. This instant classic found its way into the full “Scents and Subtle Sounds,” complete with intro which was soundchecked earlier that night, then dipped into “Twist” to continue a set of deep exploration. From there, the energy was sustained with “Wilson” > “Scent of a Mule” and “Fuck Your Face,” before a mild breather in the form of “Halley’s Comet.” The set closed out with a “Harry Hood” that closed out yet another Phish set that sustained the all killer/no filler trend that has been steady since Camden.
For the encore, much discussion led to Fishman tapping the kick drum to signal the start of “Fee,” which found Trey having megaphone issues but still pushed through with the help of the audience. “A Life Beyond a Dream” from Ghosts of the Forest, built up towards a pleasant landing ground, and after slight discussion, Phish wrapped up their second 3-song encore in a row with “First Tube.” Trey ran around the and marched from stage left to stage right hamming it up with the fans as he burned through the pinnacle show closer.
Joywave made their triumphant return to the Bug Jar on June 29, their first headlining show there in four years. The performance, the first in their intimate The Possession Sessions series, sold out in 45 minutes. A second set was added later in the evening, which also sold out.
The excitement was palpable on Saturday evening as fans lined up around the corner to get inside. Most were die-hard fans, longtime supporters of their hometown heroes, with a light sprinkling of first-time show goers.
There were no support acts on this show. Joywave took to the stage and started off the night with the live debut of their new release “Like A Kennedy.” The audience stood in rapt attention during the heartfelt anthem. “My TV’s talking to itself again. Do we shoot ‘em all dead? Or should we let ‘em all in?” Daniel Armbruster pondered in this poignant, introspective song about media burnout.
The crowd went wild when they launched into “Blastoffff.” Despite the heat of the midsummer day and the sweltering stagnant air in the venue, the band was wearing coordinating track suits – all in white except Daniel’s red pants. Drummer Paul Brenner went at the kit so hard that he cut his thumb, splattering blood onto his outfit. Rounding out the alt rock quintet were Joseph Morinelli (guitar), Kevin Mahoney (bass) and Benjamin Bailey (keyboards and guitar).
Armbruster used every inch available of the stage (even when the corners made his mic squeak). His hand movements and sweeping arm gestures whipped the audience into a frenzy as he worked the crowd the way a conductor leads an orchestra. Mid-set, they shared another new song – never before heard by fans. “Obsession” is aptly named. Immediately, we were infatuated with the song’s fixating beat and twinkly synth interlude.
Between songs, Armbruster filled in the audience on recent events, announcing that they just flew in late the night before from filming a new video, dropping the bomb that The Possession Sessions is so named because it’s a reference to the name of an LP, and that the full length album would be out next year. To this last bit of info, some impatient fans expressed their discontent, in the Bug Jar tradition of good-natured heckling. “Are you booing me?” Armbruster shot back incredulously.
Everyone was singing along to crowd favorites like “Parade” and “Traveling at the Speed of Light,” but not as many people were familiar with the words to “True Grit.” The song from their 2012 EP Koda Vista hasn’t been played live often in the past few years. Just before starting “Content,” Armbruster asked the guys in the booth to make the next one “extra spooky.” They delivered an amazing light show, cranking the strobes during the breakdown. It feel like we were in the midst of a stop-motion video.
An avid supporter of the hometown music scene, Armbruster encouraged the crowd to continue to come out to see live music and to support other local musicians and acts, like Ishmael Raps, The Demos, Mikaela Davis, and Maybird. (Fun fact: Armbruster recently produced The Demos’ latest EP If You Only Knew.)
The rest of the show ran together as the adrenaline hit full force. The camera got packed away, and I let myself get swept up in the waves of euphoria. Fellow Rochesterians, friends old and new, jumped up and down and sang along to beloved Joywave hits in unison. The show culminated in a finale featuring “Tongues” and “Destruction.” With a final wave, they made their exit.
The outro playing as people reluctantly shuffled out was the recorded version of two of the songs off the new album, including “Obsession.” Remnants of items from their last album Content were on sale by the door and people were glad to help clear out the inventory to make way for merch promoting the new album.
A second set (also sold out) was slated to start later that evening. The Possession Sessions will also be held in LA on July 9 (sold out), July 11 in Brooklyn (sold out), and November 20 in London. Joywave is also on the bill for several summer festivals throughout the US. Information and tickets are available at JoywaveMusic.com.
Setlist: Like A Kennedy, Blastofff, Somebody New, It’s A Trip, Obsession, Parade, Traveling at the Speed of Light, True Grit, Now, Content, Shutdown, Doubt, Nice House, Tongues, Destruction
New York City based duo, Silver Relics, is Alex Sepassi and Justin Alvis. Their latest release, Generic., is anything but what the title suggests. Sepassi started writing songs and singing at the age of ten, and over the years his craft has been incorporating elements of the influences he listens to. This runs anywhere from 80’s indie rock and post-punk, to 90’s grunge. The duo’s songwriting first philosophy lends itself to this easy-listening album. The familiar song structures and melodic phrases give heed to pop-punk, while the instrumentation is rich and intriguing, with aspects of countless genres woven throughout the songs. Each tune brandishes a fun chorus, while the verses and intermittent instrumental parts hash out the soundscapes that Silver Relics build.
The production on this album is a bright spot. Sepassi has worked with New York producer, Howie Beno, since meeting him in 2016. The skills he’s honed in those years, evinced by the loaded yet not bloated instrumentals. The second song, “Generic,” opens with a cinematic string intro that eventually turns into an quasi-prog rock song with shoegaze elements interspersed throughout. Here, the verse and chorus are well defined apart from each other, and flow well in and out. While the songs are not structurally challenging or progressive, the way the atmosphere changes between these parts is noted and appreciated as a transition mechanism.
A standout song with a lot of grit, ‘Timebomb’, offers an edgier look at the band. Much of the song is unrelenting; its furious intro leads the listener into an anthemic chorus, as a beautifully effected shoegazuing guitar outlines the nuances in the chord progression. For fans of shoegaze like My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive, this album provides a shmorgishborg of tried-and-true shoegaze guitar tones that sit well on top of vintage synths and spry drums. The tenth track, “Yellow Master Motive” opens with a very intricate vocal part, performed to great effect. The opening instrumental that follows is lush and sits well behind the spotlighted vocals. There’s a lot of moving parts here, as the song slowly builds up into a rock anthem.
Overall, Generic. was an exciting listen. The energy is kept up, as Silver Relics blast out earworm after earworm while leaving traces of their influences hidden underneath the solid base of the song. The songwriting first philosophy the group took in recording this record really shows. What the songs lack in compositional variety, they make up with instrumental diversity. Huge ranges of tonality come together as a woven basket, with each influence offering an essential purpose to the whole product. Generic.is streaming now!
Key Tracks: Time Bomb, Yellow Master Motive, Wanderlust
Phish returned to Maine this week for the first time since 2013 for two shows at Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor, Maine. The first night saw intense rain descend upon the crowd, with two nearly 20 minute jams from “Down with Disease” and “Simple” in the second set. Night two brought less rain and a hot set 2 trio of “Fuego” -> “Cities” -> “Final Hurrah,” standouts on a summer tour that has nearly reached its midpoint.
