Funk all-stars Lettuce continued their Vibe Up Tour at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, NY on Saturday January 12. Snarky Puppy side project, Ghost Note, opened the show with an incredibly energetic set.
After nearly 27 years together, Lettuce still brings an amazing amount of energy and life to their shows. Playing classics like “Lettsanity,” “Fly,” and “Sounds Like a Party To Me,” they played well into Sunday morning, leaving the fans still craving more. You can catch them down the East Coast and then across the country on this tour. And expect new material later this year.
Setlist: Blast off, N’Dugu, Kron Dutch, Lettsanity, Gang Ten, Remember the Children, Breakout, Shmink Dabby, Squad Live, Chief, Phyllis
Rochester-based musician Caleb Churchill is on the verge of launching his next album, the fourth in a span of a little over a year. “Chuck Had Days Like This” gives us a first glimpse at the upcoming release. Indie rock influences abound in this frantic percussion-driven song. And the stream-of-consciousness spoken word sections are reminiscent of the 90’s lo-fi avant-garde stylings of King Missile and The Mountain Goats.
Churchill’s solo work shows another side of the frontman from Antilock, a garage punk band that’s been making waves in the underground music scene in Rochester for the past few years. More details about the new album will be revealed via social media. Follow on Facebook for news and upcoming events.
When my friend first played me a burned copy of Lettuce’s Crush, when I lived in South Florida a couple years ago, I was instantly swept up in the bright, triumphant horns and contagious grooves. It was a new band to me but the music perfectly illustrated a part of my spirit that couldn’t be put into words, something I’d felt for a long time before hearing it played out in song.
After that initial introduction, my commutes to work for weeks on end involved flying north on 95 in my perpetually overheating 2001 Ford Focus, routinely passed by luxury cars with a death wish, yet feeling my own kind of rich. I might as well have been driving a souped up getaway car fleeing from the authorities after a successful bank heist with Lettuce as my soundtrack.
Having never seen them live, the January 10 show at Anthology couldn’t be missed. Though I’d largely over-saturated my ears with their sound, as is often the tragic irony for music lovers, I’d hoped a live show would rekindle an old flame and help me appreciate the band in a new way.
Lettuce played through a bunch of new material, their steady, conquering sound invoking a sense of power in the listener. They were incredibly tight and well-rehearsed, but almost to a fault. Their performance lacked expression, crowd interaction and all the things that separate listening to the album versus going to a live show for the experience. I never felt connected to them.
While it was a bit of a let down for me, when I looked around the room, my eyes were met by a sea of bobbing heads and contemplative smiles. It certainly wasn’t a bad show, just not what I was hoping for. Being the first night of their Vibe Up tour, maybe they’re still finding their momentum. Who’s to say.
While Lettuce’s set was polished and serious, the opener, Ghost-Note, danced with creativity, spewing offbeat, avant garde solos, keeping the crowd guessing through their set. Embellishing their songs with humor, drummer Nate Werth pointedly flipped off the crowd midway through “Funk You Muthafunka.”
Ghost-Note was also playing the first night of their Smack ‘Em tour, supporting their 2018 album Swagism, which is awesome. Taking way more chances on stage, they did get a bit muddy at times, with so many musicians trying to fill pockets. But their set was a nice contrast from Lettuce.
The Vibe Up tour will see Lettuce dance down the east coast before heading out west for the last few shows. Ghost-Note will follow a somewhat similar trajectory, opening for Lettuce for the first handful of shows before splitting off.
Lettuce Setlist: 4th Dimension, Blaze, Your Royal Highness, Purple Cabbage, Ready to Live, Silverdome, N’Dugu, Sam Huff’s Flying Ragin’ Machine, Madison Square
Kung Fu returned to The Hollow Bar and Kitchen in Albany on Friday, January 11 for a funk filled show of originals and covers of Steely Dan (“King of the World”) and Weather Report (“Birdland”). They’ll be at The Westcott Theater in Syracuse on February 1 and Brooklyn Bowl on February 9. For complete tour dates, check out their website.
Setlist: Prime Rib, Bopcorn, Speedbump, The Lurker, King Of The World, Dirty Power, Scrabb, S’all Good, Daddy D, Bringing Up The Rear
Just a little over a year after their debut album Family Tree, The New Jersey-based psych/funk rock band Uncle Stump have released their second studio effort, Panacea. Although officially an EP, this five-song release is jam-packed with the depth and diversity of a full-length album. Avoiding a sophomore slump, the band was able to capture the texture and sound of their live shows while in the studio. Something that can be challenging to artists that improvise as much as Uncle Stump does on stage.
After the gloomy psychedelia, the record brightens up a bit with “Body Talk”. A lighthearted track with both tropical and jazzy sections, that is sure to end up being a dance-floor favourite for fans to sing along to. The final track of the EP “Anita”, starts as an upbeat and playful romp that finds itself spinning around into a deep groove, complete with vocals parts influenced by the likes of Zappa or Claypool. A catchy little jam you may find yourself humming even after the album is over.
Uncle Stump has been added to this year’s Sherman Winter Jam at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, PA on February 16th. Headlined by revered Grateful Dead tribute Splintered Sunlight, the line-up promises to be a party full of explorative rock n’ roll.
Like top shelf whiskey, country music is best served straight up. This is what Ryan Sutherland serves up in Sleepwalker. Pure unadulterated country, without any neotraditional, pop, or indie-rock influences to water it down. If you listen to what passes for country these days, and wonder what happened to musicians like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, give this album a spin.
I don’t trust any musician who works the bar venues and doesn’t have a decent drinking song. This 8-track long album’s got two. Sleepwalker kick starts with one of them, “Jimmy Tequilla.” Sutherland, with his guitar and slide, sings about the kind of guy everyone knows and shakes their head about. After the second chorus, the conclusion of song is told from Jimmy Tequilla’s perspective: You see, I can’t love nobody / as much as I love to hate me / She is like a deep dark well / A Better reflection of myself/ That’s enough to dull the pain. And in that moment, he becomes relatable as we realize that there’s a little bit of Jimmy in each of us.
“Bar Weirdos,” the other drinking song, features harmonica interludes as Sutherland turns a phrase about the communal nature of local watering holes. Well, leave your politics and your worries behind / Drink your communion straight from the vine / Here at the bar we’re all the same. Although the song is set at a bar stool, it’s the kind of song that’ll make you want to dust off your old cowboy boots and kick up your heels.
Sutherland continues to exhibit his ability to spin a yarn and set it to tune in “The Ballad of the Trap Man” and “Twisted Liz.” Interspersed are some songs that aren’t story-based: a contemplative medley called “Maybe Ya Can,” the longing reminiscence “Yuletide Regrets,” and the soul-searching “Two Bedroom Apartment.”
Sleepwalker was recorded and engineered by Eric Pinales at Nothing to Lose Studios in Irondequoit, NY. The album art featuring a hiker in the mountains was designed by Adam Kujawski. Sutherland wrote and performed the entire album himself.
Key tracks: Jimmy Tequilla, Bar Weirdos, Maybe Ya Can, Yuletide Regrets
Meat Puppets’ original lineup, Curt and Cris Kirkwood and returning drummer Derrick Bostrom, will be releasing a new album, Dusty Notes on March 8. This will be their first album together since 1995. The band has also announced that they will be touring the U.S. in support of the new record.
Formed in Arizona in the ’70s as youngsters, Curt Kirkwood (guitar, vocals), Cris Kirkwood (bass), and Derrick Bostrom (drums) found a sound that caused a stir in their local music scene and eventually became one of the most important bands of the alt-grunge era of the ’80s and ’90s.
The band was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2017, this is where the the original lineup played together for the first time in over two decades. The onstage chemistry between the three was overwhelming, as Bostrom stated, “It was so intense that even I couldn’t deny it! I remember why we did this. It was magical.” From this, Dusty Notes was born. Two tracks from the new album are available now on YouTube. You can see them below Tickets will be on sale Friday, January 18 on the band’s website.
Meat Puppets — 2019 Tour Dates:
April 4 – Sweetwater Music Hall – Mill Valley, CA
April 5 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
April 6 – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA
April 7 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA May 8 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY May 9 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
May 10 – Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA
May 11 – Asbury Lanes – Asbury Park, NJ May 13 – Colony – Woodstock, NY
May 14 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT
May 15 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME
May 16 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
May 17 – 3S Artspace – Portsmouth, NH
May 18 – White Eagle Music Hall – Jersey City, NJ
For their Winter Tour opener in support of the upcoming album All For Money, Greensky Bluegrass found an enthusiastic welcoming crowd at The Palace Theatre in Albany on Thursday, January 10. Fan familiarity has grown greatly throughout New York in the past few years with two memorable shows at The Egg (the latter of which sold out), and now, a tremendous show at The Palace in Albany.
Circles Around the Sun performed a 45-minute opening set of instrumental Grateful-Dead-inspired compositions. The first few rows were packed-in with fans of Neal Casal’s Fare Thee Well project, which is finding tremendous response from fans in the live setting. The pairing with Greensky Bluegrass could not have been more perfect.
Amid a sea of bobbing heads, who were rapt with attention throughout the night, Greensky kicked off their first set of the tour with a quick jumpstart in “A Letter to Seymour” and “In Control,” off 2014’s If Sorrows Swim. “All for Money,” the title track of their latest release was an early highlight, featuring instrumental consonance that was coupled with exquisite vocal harmonies, and had room to jam built in.
“All 4” had an ebb and flow during the slow developing improv; one that grew to a remarkable peak before returning to a unified point. Greensky really shines when they unleash a jumble of jam inside their songs, always with an ear to bandmates and eventually finding their way home with applause to end the journey. It was followed by Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” to wrap up the first set.
Dobro-extraordinaire Anders Beck said, as the band returned to the stage shortly after 10pm, “You can tell it’s Set 2 because it’s after the first,” and with that Yogi-ism it started with “Old Barns” and “Murder of Crows.” The lights on this evening towered over the band, and illuminated the audience in a minimalist design that fit the stage and sound aptly.
Love was in the air on the back-to-back pairing of Jimmy Martin’s “Hit Parade of Love” and the ‘grassed up psychedelic reggae of Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved.” Happy Birthday wishes to Emily, from Beck, turned into Happy Birthday wishes to the entire audience over the course of the year. The show wrapped up with an encore of “Dustbowl Overtures” with a tip of the hat to NY in the vivid lyrics: “And the world’s whistle of a bullet going by / It’s a New York minute, New Mexico sky … It’s the volume of an image, it’s a vision in a song.” Closing the encore was the extended instrumental by the founder of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, in “Wheel Hoss.”
Greensky Bluegrass performs at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Saturday, January 12 and All For Money will be released on all platforms on Friday, January 18.
Setlist:
Set 1: A Letter to Seymour, In Control, All for Money, The Four > Bottle Dry, Into the Rafters, Like Reflections, Burn Them (1), Blood Sucking F(r)iends, All 4, Money for Nothing
Set 2: Old Barns (2), Murder of Crows, What You Need (3), Hit Parade of Love, Could You be Love (4), Radio Blues, Broken Highways, Run or Die, Windshield
Ithaca is a hotbed of creativity. The Blind Spots are its shining example of the caliber of musical talent emerging from the city. The five-piece, female-fronted band has spent a decade wowing audiences with their punchy pop rock performances. With Maddy Walsh at the helm, on vocals, The Blind Spots have reached new heights with their latest album Talk.
Catchy melodies and driving rhythms create a scaffold which can support Walsh’s powerhouse vocals. Her soulful voice is at times sweet and other times sultry as she delivers catchy lyrics and choruses that make you want to sing along. The range of her voice is as wide as the subject matter of the songs on the album. She could be your confidante. She could be your lover. She could be your big sister. She could be your partner-in-crime on adventurous sprees. And the music sweeps you up into the storyline. “Trampoline” is a twinkly ear-worm that I catch myself humming: morning, noon, and night. The “Bliss Seeker” stands out, showcasing the band’s zany fun-loving side. The lyrics highlight the ability to put a positive spin on anything: How did I get here? I might have a problem. You could say I have a problem, but I don’t. That’s not what I call it. I’m a bliss seeker, bliss seeker.
Even the saddest song on the album, “Song for Leyla,” is oozing with heartfelt messages and optimism: You’ll always have one foot in this world wherever it is you land. Believe that little girl, she’ll help you understand.They’ve saved the best for last with the title track “Talk.” It’s the perfect late night last-call-at-the-bar slow dance with the one you’re taking home after the show. They may call themselves The Blind Spots, but they’re strutting into the limelight with Talk.
Key tracks: Trampoline, Bliss Seeker, Song For Leyla, Talk
Radiohead fans were treated to an Internet-streamed surprise of a b-side track to 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool. “Ill Wind” begins as a brooding, bass-driven track which opens to a full suite of synth inspired soundscapes towards the latter half. Released with the song “Spectre,” the band’s rejected intro theme to the 2015 James Bond film, the two tracks were an extra CD bonus with the purchase of the vinyl record.
Take a listen.
The release of “Ill Wind” comes during a flurry of news regarding solo work from Thom Yorke. He’s announced a limited edition release of more than 20 songs, cut from the soundtrack to the 2018 remake of Suspiria. Separately, a solo record, apparently sharing some political themes has been confirmed for 2019.
According to an interview with El Mundo, with translation from Pitchfork, Thom states “I didn’t have any desire to make very political music, but everything I do tends to go that way anyway.” The album will be produced by longtime Radiohead collaborator, Nigel Godrich.
Thom Yorke and Radiohead fans have much to look forward to in 2019, including Radiohead’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Coincidentally, Thom won’t be able to make it to the ceremony, he’s got some other things to attend to.
