This week, Rochester’s Haewa embarks on a four-show run in May, taking them to Albany, Plymouth, NH and Burlington, VT, then back home to Rochester on May 10, where they will open up for Consider the Source at Flour City Station.
Originally a trio, Haewa started in 2011 with a foundation of fearless improvisation. They soon transformed into the four piece band they are today, featuring founding members Collin Jones (guitar) and Ben Chilbert (bass), as well as the newer additions of Troy Evan’s (keyboardist/synth wizard) and Marco Cirigliano (powerhouse drum master). The band’s roots allow their collaboration to create a unique sound that balances the sonic landscape between utter chaos and pure bliss.
Haewa’s matured sound encompasses unique songwriting, in depth instrumental compositions, as well as pure improvisation and vocals. Combining the spirit of rock-n-roll with trance-like, electronic influences and funk, Haewa commands their audience down the musical road less taken, into a familiar yet enlightening unknown.
Catch Haewa in Albany on May 2, Plymouth, NH on May 3, Burlington, VT on May 4, and back home in Rochester, supporting Consider the Source on May 10.
Calling all aspiring chefs, taste-testers and food lovers; Vinnie’s Kitchen is making a return to Summer Camp 2019! This year, moe.’s Vinnie Amico will be hosting his cooking show during the Thursday Pre-Party. Summer Camp is giving fans a chance to participate in the recording of the episode!
All you need to do to cook with Vinnie is share a description of your favorite festival food and attach a photo/video in a post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In order to enter you must include the hashtag #VinniesKitchenSCamp19 by Friday, May 3. Then, fans will vote to see who wins the grand prize – a 4-day pass to Summer Camp, and you get to pick the recipe you and Vinnie cook together! For more info, visit Vinnie’s Kitchen.
This upcoming Saturday, April 27, Northeast rockers Dopapod are returning to the stage at the Capitol Theatre after a nearly 16 month hiatus. The show will be the band’s first at the prestigious theater, making their comeback that much more special. The following Sunday afternoon, a VIP storyteller set (including brunch) will take place at the Cap’s smaller venue, Garcia’s, which should make for an extremely special experience for the small group of fans that got tickets.
For those unfamiliar with the band, Dopapod is a progressive rock group that formed at Berklee College of Music in 2008 and started touring consistently in 2010. From 2010 to 2017, the band gained traction nationally by touring, performing at least 100 (usually more) shows a year. The group announced in September of 2017 that they’d be taking a year off to focus on themselves and relieve the stress pent up from 7 straight years of touring nonstop, which was thankfully understood by the fans.
2018 saw very little in the Dopapod realm; they put out a video for “Mucho,” Rob and Eli did a couple of “OG Dopapod” gigs with Turkuaz’ Mikey Carubba, and the members sat in with each other’s side projects from time to time. But, after a year of patiently waiting, fans got an announcement: Dopapod is coming back, and at the Capitol Theatre nonetheless! The return of Dopapod is finally here. That should get you up to speed!
The group has also announced a new album due out May 25 entitled Emit Time, which is a palindrome just like the band’s previous album titles. Two singles have already been released on all streaming platforms and YouTube, “Numbers Need Humans” and “Test of Time.” The album is said to contain material both old and new, some of it being left over from the sessions for the pre-hiatus release MEGAGEM. The band recorded 2 albums worth of material but ultimately decided against a double album since they were focusing on vinyl, saving half of the tracks for future use.
The comeback show this Saturday and VIP set on Sunday should be an amazing experience for everyone going. Dopapod is an extremely talented band that will hopefully continue playing music in the future. Check back with NYSMusic for coverage of both the show and the VIP set!
Papadosio‘s Content Coma spring tour was comprised of several stops in New York, including a show in Buffalo on April 19 to a packed house at the Town Ballroom. Opening up the evening was Colorado’s Cycles. Then, after a quick changeover, the Asheville, NC-based rockers took to the stage for the one set main event. Playing tracks from throughout their catalog including a few cuts from last fall’s Content Coma release, Papadosio enthralled the crowd with their unique blend of analog-rooted electronica.
When most people picture Woodstock ’69, they think largely of the fan’s perspective, envisioning the hundreds of thousands of free loving humans gathered to see some of the top musical acts of the era and revel in their desire for social unity. What makes for just as interesting of a story is Elliot Tiber and his back of house account of the people that combined forces to make such a seemingly impractical festival function relatively successfully given the outrageous circumstances.
Elliot Tiber helped secure the Woodstock festival location in 1969 and published his memoir Taking Woodstock in 2007, which was made into a movie with the same name in 2009. The story depicts the unpredictable adventure that saved his family from bankruptcy and transformed him forever.
Internally struggling as a young, semi-closeted gay man, Tiber enjoyed a thriving career and whimsical lifestyle as a successful interior designer in NYC. It contrasted drastically with his dingy family life to which he returned on weekends to help run his parents’ failing motel business, the El Monaco, in a defunct resort hamlet in White Lake, NY within the town of Bethel. Pouring his own money into the rundown property and working tireslessly on repairs and keeping his homosexuality undetected, he endlessly sought the approval of his unaffectionate parents.
When he read about the proposed Woodstock festival in the paper, Tiber helped secure a location for the festival after learning it was under serious threat of being cancelled entirely. The festival permit for Wallkill, a town about an hour east, was revoked due to concerns over how the estimated 50,000 attendees might negatively impact the town. Tiber had just purchased his own permit for $1 from the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, planning to host his own, much smaller, annual music festival. Realizing he held the golden ticket Woodstock Ventures desperately needed, he offered it to them, hoping the festival would take place on his family’s property and serve as their saving grace from financial ruin.
Although the El Monaco sat on unworkable swampland, Elliot Tiber connected the festival organizers with nearby farm owner Max Yasgur, whose property was twice as big as the Wallkill site. Festival co-creator Michael Lang disputes this detail in his book, The Road to Woodstock, claiming Tiber connected his production team to a realtor who showed them Yasgur’s farm. Either way, the organizers struck a deal with Yasgur for Woodstock to take place on his property, and the El Monaco became the official Woodstock festival headquarters where people could buy tickets for the event, party at the motel bar, mobsters would come looking to extort them for money, sufferers of bad acid trips could recuperate, and where Tiber claims one woman would suddenly give birth. To this day, however, there is no current knowledge of the identities of anyone born at Woodstock.
Sidenote for those confused by the Woodstock location changes: Wallkill was the second choice location after Woodstock Ventures could not find a suitable location in Saugerties, the town bordering Woodstock, an hour north of Wallkill. In Lang’s book, he described the Woodstock area as a musical epicenter where several well-known musicians had been migrating. Saugerties was known for hosting mini-music festivals throughout the summer in a beautiful rural landscape under the stars, a picturesque experience that inspired Woodstock Ventures to embark on a bigger festival in the area.
Tiber’s account provides a colorful backstory and invaluable context to the movie which should not be seen before reading the book. His book is a quick read with comedic storytelling, at times slinking into hyperbole which leaves the reader questioning if certain events transpired exactly as Tiber describes. The entertainment value will keep the reader amused and engaged, written in a style and brand of humor well suited for David Sedaris fans.
The Taking Woodstock movie adaptation, directed by Ang Lee and starring Demetri Martin as Tiber, sounds promising between those two key players, but the movie skulks along awkwardly with dull acting and a lack of context that leaves the viewer fairly underwhelmed. It’s hard to tell if Martin’s portrayal of Tiber while in White Lake is reflective of how Tiber actually conducted himself in the rural environment to mask his homosexuality, or if it’s just dry acting on Martin’s part.
One of the most glaring omissions from the movie is Tiber’s raunchy depiction of his sexual encounters in NYC, which probably account for nearly half the book. Elliot Tiber also describes a shack on the El Monaco property he used to carry out various sexual exploits, which was not alluded to in the film.
The movie does a disservice to Tiber’s unique lens on experiencing Woodstock by nearly completely avoiding Tiber’s internal struggle that made for nearly as compelling a story as the struggle of producing the Woodstock festival itself. The festival had already been thoroughly depicted in the 1970 Academy Award winning documentary, so the movie disappoints by blandly reenacting the festival happenings already captured on film.
Amoramora might be the new kids on the block in the jam scene, but these rocky mountain boys are becoming quite the road warriors, where they are gaining more and more momentum through an unbreakable comradery, as well as great musical talent and exploration. Their 21-date spring tour is coming to a close, with stops in St. Louis, Cleveland, Nashville, Macon and New York, performing at the infamous Cutting Room on April 6, 2019.
This quartet consists of Danny Evans on guitar and vocals, Eric Levine (bass/vocals/trumpet), Michael Lenssen (trumpet/EWI/keys/vocals), and Tyler Hobbs (drums/precussion/vocals). Amoramora blends Funk, bluegrass, jazz and African Highlife, with a main theme of positivity guiding their sound. The band has a great commitment to consistently changing setlists and expanding their extensive catalog of original material.
Zach Belfer: How would you describe Amoramora to a music fan that has never heard of you before?
Danny Evans: It’s like a s’more – crunchy, warm, melty and tasteful.
ZB: How did you come up with the name Amoramora?
DE: To us it means More Love. It’s a made up word inspired by a pet snake we knew in college.
ZB: What venues would you like to play that you haven’t played yet?
DE:Too many great places to pick one… but playing the Brooklyn Bowl or Capital Theater would be pretty mind blowing.
ZB: What was your favorite memory of this tour?
DE: I think that our show in Cincinnati on April’s Fools Day was one of the most creative and dynamic shows we have ever played. It was seriously fat, with tons of tease and laughs throughout.
ZB: Tell us a fun fact about Amoramora, that fans wouldn’t know about.
DE:Both the bass player (Eric Levine) and the keys player (Michael Lensse) have a degree in Jazz Trumpet. Eric went to University of Colorado and Mike went to University of Miami (FL).
ZB: Where can we find your music?
DE: Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, Archive.org, and written on the caves of Altamira.
Setlist: Window To The Stars, Diamond Phillips > Spirit Of Adventure, Rafiki’s Expedition*
Notes: 1 set, 45 minutes, opening for Hayley Jane & The Primates. Danny teased The Flintstones,Mike teased Swingtown and Eric teased In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida in Diamond. Spirit featured a Round The Wheel tease and an In The Streets / 70s Show Intro tease. Mike also teased Rhapsody In Blue in Spirit. Rafiki’s featured Eric on Trumpet and Dan Montgomery sitting in on Bass.
Lettuce is bringing their tight funk-grooves and hip-hop inspired beats to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on Saturday, April 20 for a special headlining show with famous jazz guitarist, John Scofield, sitting in as a special guest.
The band is getting ready to premiere their new studio album ‘Elevate’, of which their first single “Krewe” has just been released. Their latest release, 2017’s Witches Stew, is the band’s jazz fusion tribute to Miles Davis. Recorded live at the 2016 Catskill Chill, the album is an interpretive take on the experimental Bitches Brew era. Lettuce continues to push jazz fusion forward with this latest release, a tribute to one of the band’s biggest influences.
With John Scofield as a special guest, you should expect some psychedelic jazz fusion blends from Lettuce at The Capitol Theatre this Saturday. Tickets are still available here.
Sounds Good To Steve and Offside Tavern present a 4/20 celebration in New York City featuring O’Duo and guitarist Will Bart’s project, Johnny In The Basement. The afternoon event serves as an “unofficial” pre show for those going to see Lettuce at The Capitol Theatre, Twiddle at Brooklyn Steel or Dumpstaphunk at Brooklyn Bowl.
The show is free and runs from 2:30-5:30pm, leaving plenty of time to get to Brooklyn, Port Chester or wherever the night takes you. There will be limited 4/20 inspired giveaways, and if you register with Eventbrite, you’ll get a buy back on your first drink. Offside Tavern is located at 137 West 14th Street in NYC.
One of UPAC’s bartenders skipped down an abandoned hall, hands aloft, waving side to side, an unadulterated grin glued to his face. An usher, with no one requiring assistance, leaned against a post, nodding appreciatively and smiling approvingly. It was the encore, but the exit hall was empty and there was nobody to usher; no one left this show early. Meanwhile, Angelique Kidjo and her backing band took a victory lap, wading into the crowd from stage right, dancing, hugging and high-fiving their way to the back of the room. They shifted to the adjacent corner and shimmied back up onto stage left, all the while covering Talking Heads “Burning Down the House.”
Kidjo and her band brought down the house from the opening djembe drum solo to the Talking Heads finale. When she took the stage, Kidjo’s presence instantly demanded full attention; her attire rivaled the vibrancy of her voice and she and her band held onlookers riveted all evening.
Originals and Talking Heads covers alternated throughout the evening, with anecdotes sprinkled in. After the opening drum solo kicked things off, a cover of “Born Under Punches” flowed into a bass and synth-heavy “Crosseyed and Painless.” Kidjo followed these covers by informing the Ulster Performing Arts Center, “We love doing Remain In Light—with the blessing of the Talking Heads of course!” Kidjo and her cohorts played a few California concerts with David Byrne, she explained.
For most of the evening, the aisles were filled with a wave of grooving bodies and seats were left abandoned. Kidjo is undeniably a star: her presence is vast and her voice is a wide-ranging instrument unto itself. She formed a symbiotic relationship with the Kingston crowd that blossomed all evening. Her dancing was like jujitsu that warded off bad energy as she bounced from American funk to African beats.
Midway into the show, Kidjo disappeared into the crowd and would occasionally pop up in a sea of fans in the heart of UPAC. She finally reemerged onstage for the remainder of her nearly two-hour set to energetically cover “Once In a Lifetime” to fans’ delight.
As the show neared its end, Kidjo exclaimed, “I want at least thirty people up on stage– first come, first serve, ladies, men, I don’t care who– get up here! Let’s go!” The stage quickly filled with eager attendees looking to bask in Kidjo’s presence. The djembe drummer lumbered to center-stage and began serenading dancers with beats, which they, in turn, interpreted with their shaking bodies. Anyone who wanted the limelight was given their shot at it. Those who preferred watching were treated to a show.
The evening was more an interactive musical experience than a concert. When Kidjo said, “Clap,” the Kingston crowd clapped; when she said stand, they stood. “Dance!” Kidjo demanded, and dance they did. No one left early, and no one left without a look that said they yearned to remain in Kidjo’s bright light.
In a 2003 interview, Jon Fishman said “Look, Trey shits music.” He would know, having played with Trey since 1983 and observed his obsessive song-writing habits. Fishman joined Trey for the first time in a side project, the brand new Ghosts of the Forest, which debuted this month in Portland, ME. When Trey spoke during the encore at The Palace Theatre in Albany on Tuesday, April 9, he said he hoped to play music for 50 more years, and given Trey’s workload – writing Kazvot Vaxt and Ghosts of the Forest nearly back to back – and his increasingly positive outlook on life, that task is not out of reach.
This is Trey who is the unofficial celebrity spokesman for Light (now, with MORE brightness!). He’s been dropping notes of light in songs for a decade now, and with Ghosts of the Forest, we may have hit a new peak with Trey’s profoundly personal and positive lyrics. Trey spoke about Albany as being his second home, and close to those he loves in Burlington and New York City, and how excited he was to bring this new project to the Palace and a sold out ‘hometown’ crowd.
With a band consisting of Fishman on the kit (sans muumuu, he looks like your neighbor who side-gigs as a session drummer), a healthy Ray Paczkowski behind the keyboards, and Jennifer Hartswick and Celisse Henderson who provided gospel hued vocals that not only backed up Trey, but added a sonic layer to the group’s psychedelic rock. Saratoga Springs’ Tony Markellis took up bass duties, as he has in every side project Trey has had since 8 Foot Fluorescent Tubes debuted in 1998 at Higher Ground. Energy in the room was palpable, as many eschewed listening to the recordings of shows from earlier this month for a first-look experience that is otherwise hard to come by. Even the album won’t be released until April 12, making this a nearly-virgin experience for the majority of fans in attendance.
The production design by Abigail Holmes, who worked on Stop Making Sense and The Wall among many other shows, created a playground for her to color, using LED screens behind thin tapestries affixed with folded white paper in sweeping patterns. The symphony of light accented the music and was choreographed to each song of the night. During “The Green Truth,” a rainbow LED projection of Trey floated behind the band across the stage, while a stratified nighttime rainforest sky filled the stage during “Mint Siren Dream,” bringing the audience to Pandora for a brief moment.
Ghosts of the Forest can be translated as deep memories in our mind, and throughout the songs, themes of loss, love and decade-long friendship were present. Trey lost close friend Chris “CCott” Cottrell to cancer recently, and the experience led to a number of the songs performed by Ghosts of the Forest. Trey spoke to Rolling Stone about playing acoustic guitar while CCott was in his final stages, and would play as he went in and out of consciousness. “Drift While You’re Sleeping” draws from that, while having a mid-1970s psychedelic rock feel – think Derek and the Dominoes with space built in for Trey to stretch.
“Beneath a Sea of Stars Parts 1 & 2” was a fun Beatles-esque rocker, with a third part to close the set. “Stumble into Flight” had direct hints of Phish – “Pigtail” meets “Cool Amber and Mercury” with a dash of Steely Dan mixed in. “Ruby Waves” jumped out as a late 70s Neil Diamond show-stopper on steroids. A highlight among the night was “A Light Beyond the Dream,” with lights cascading as if entering a stained glass window and beaming on the congregation, combined with encouraging lyrics of not giving up hope.
This is prophetic Trey: upbeat, happy, and encouraging, dad-like at times but not playing dad-rock. Ghosts of the Forest is a culmination of Trey’s last decade of writing. Trey said he wants to play for another 50 years. This is just the beginning.
Trey Anastasio – Ghosts of the Forest – Palace Theatre, Albany, NY – April 9, 2019
Setlist: Piano intro, Ghosts of the Forest, Drift While You’re Sleeping, Friend, Sightless Escape, Halfway Home, If Again, In Long Lines, There’s a Path Above, About to Run, The Green Truth, Beneath a Sea of Stars Parts 1 & 2, Mint Siren Dream, Stumble Into Flight, Ruby Waves, Shadows Thrown By Fire, Wider, A Light Beyond The Dream, In This Bubble, Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 3 (blue)
