The Flatbush Zombies drew a huge costumed crowd that packed Brooklyn Steel on Halloween night. Erick Arc Elliott opened as a DJ, playing noise-music of a sort that jumped from soothing jazz to banging trap. This kicked off the chain of shenanigans that would precede the show.
Meechy Darko emerged, in a bright yellow leather patched suit and heavy clown face paint, as the Joker to kick off the costume contest – the grand prize being $1000. They brought up ten selected members of the audience and let the rest of the crowd decide on who the winner was. The list of costumes at Flatbush Zombies included but was not limited to a Spiderman, Frozone, Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. They went down the line with hovering hand over heads and listened for the cheers. Then it was down to the final three: Frozone, Sally, and a masked killer. The crowd overwhelmingly hailed Frozone as king of the costume contest, who then proceeded to deliver a heartfelt acceptance speech before being abruptly kicked off stage by a raging Meechy.
After a set change, another Joker entered the stage waving and boasting his wrestling championship belt. Zombie Juice was following, promising to relinquish him of it. A fierce fight ensued with all sorts of jump kicks and WWE slams. When the dust finally cleared, Zombie Juice stood victorious.
In celebration of the 10 year anniversary since the band’s debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning, Welsh alternative rock group The Joy Formidable have announced ‘The Ten Years Floating Tour’ in North America for the upcoming winter. This comes just after the end of a fall acoustic tour with Devotchka, a four-piece instrumental and vocal ensemble from Denver, CO.
During the tour, the band will make three stops in New York. First performing back to back nights Dec. 5 and 6 at the Rough Trade in Brooklyn. They will then make their way to Albany for a show at The Hollow on Dec. 7.
Additionally, The Joy Formidable has released a special double album edition of their debut album. In keeping with the band’s desire to pay homage to their Welsh heritage, they will also release an acoustic Welsh language version called ‘Y Falwn Drom’. Already available through Hassle Records, there will be a double CD and double colored vinyl. It is a limited edition with only 1000 copies and can be purchased here. Featuring the single “Whirring,” A Balloon Called Moaning was originally written and recorded in a bedroom by Ritzy Bryan (lead singer and guitarist) and Rhydian Davies (vocalist and bass) over 10 years ago in North Wales.
On the new release, Ritzy explains; “We’ve been through such a lot as a band over the years, it’s been a really reflective studio session, returning to the old recordings and transforming them into these beautiful stripped back, intimate versions. It’s exciting hearing them in the Welsh language because now they have new life too and can be a celebration of language as well as memory.”
The Joy Formidable – Tour Dates Nov. 29 – Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington, DC Nov. 30 & Dec.1 – Boot & Saddle – Philadelphia, PA Dec. 3 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA Dec. 5 & 6 – Rough Trade – Brooklyn, NY Dec. 7 – The Hollow – Albany, NY Dec. 10 – Velvet Underground – Toronto, ON Dec. 12 – Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL Dec. 13 – Colectivo – Milwaukee, WI Dec. 14 – Fine Line Music Cafe – Minneapolis, MN Dec. 17 – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA Dec. 18 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR Dec. 20 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA Dec. 21 – The Teragram – Los Angeles, CA
Blues Traveler delivered a healthy dose of Four and a few covers at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Friday night. The band kicked off their Four Live Tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their seminal album Four. The audience was mostly full, and loving every nostalgic moment of hearing their favorite songs from the mid ’90s with the stunning architecture of the Beacon Theater serving as a backdrop.
The current line up in Blues Traveler is John Popper (singer/harmonica), Chan Kinchla (guitar), Brendan Hill (drums), Tad Kinchla (bass), and Ben Wilson (keyboards). This fall, the band is playing Four in its entirety to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the certified platinum album. They did just that and brought back many fun memories of this album.
The band sprinkled a few covers into the set, including a rocking “One Way Out” by the Allman Brothers and “West L.A. Fadeaway” by the Grateful Dead. They also played a memorable “Shout” by the Isley Brothers.
Setlist: Just Wait, One Way Out*, Crash Burn, Fallible, Look Around, Stand, Run Around, The Mountains Win Again, Freedom, West L.A. Fadeaway**, Just Wait (reprise), Price to Pay, Brother John, Shout***
Encore: 12 Swords, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Drum Solo, Hook
* Allman Brothers Cover
** Grateful Dead Cover
**Isley Brothers Cover
Catch Blues Traveler on their Four Live tour this fall, and celebrate 25 years of Four with them.
Upcoming Tour Dates
Tuesday, Nov. 5 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre
Wednesday, Nov. 6 Richmond, VA The National
Friday, Nov. 8 Louisville, KY Headliners
Saturday, Nov. 9 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Sunday, Nov. 10 Cedar Rapids, IA Paramount Theatre
Wednesday, Nov. 13 Grand Rapids, MI 20 Monroe Live
Simple ingredients, assembled one at a time, in careful order add up to more than the sum of their parts. In the kitchen: eggs, flour, water, sugar and heat become cake. Musicians are no different as guitar, drums, and bass join together to become a collective far greater than the sum of their parts. In musical costume, the creative behemoth known as Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, dressed as chefs for their performance of “Stop Making Cake,” sliced a mashup of originals, garnished with Cake and Talking Heads covers for night two on their Halloween run through Boston, New York, and Connecticut.
“Macho Man” Andy Frasco & the UN, dressed as their favorite 80s wrestlers, got the crowd going early with a high energy opening set of fun covers and originals, along with a heavy dose of Andy and his shtick. He’s hard not to love, funny as hell, backed by great musicians with a singular desire to party and have a good time. He delivered. Some set highlights included covers of “Baker Street,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Bulls on Parade,” “Tom Sawyer,” “Killing in the Name,” and original “Change of Pace.” Music is just a a part of Andy’s show, as he came down from the stage several times to either smoke a joint with some folks up front, crowd surf, or, best yet, a crowd-surfing pillow fight on an air mattress with Ernie Chang, the UN’s saxophonist.
Andy’s quote of the night, “I may not be as good at music as everybody else, you know, I’m not the best, but I like to have a good time.” It’s just this type of self-awareness that makes his shtick authentic and his show worth seeing. Bravo, sir.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong in matching chef jackets and hats took the stage shortly after 10:30; the adoring crowd received their “kitchen staff” eagerly: “Scrambled Byrne” Greg Ormont, “Frank Sinatra” Jeremy Schon, “Chef Gator” Alex Pretropolis, and “Baker Ben” Carrey. “Too Long” got the kitchen party going before the band added a few extra ingredients, The West End Blend(er) Horns, for “Burning Up My Time” > “Love You Madly” (Cake) > “Burning Up My Time.” Accompanied by Jeremy Schon’s dizzying solos and Greg Ormont’s chicken scratch guitar, the rhythm section of Ben Carrey on bass and Alex Petropolis on drums drove the crowd into a frenzy all night. Just to highlight that point, the first set drum solo featured Chef Gator playing not only his drum kit, but an assortment of mixing bowls – with a mix of spatulas, whisks, and wooden spoons. “Julia” sandwiched the first Talking Heads cover of the night with “Flowers” to close the 75-minute set.
After a moderate 20-minute break, PPPP returned with “Henrietta” to whip the crowd up some more. The next ingredient was a cover of “Burning Down the House,” which was a highlight cooked to perfection. Just like its first set counterpart, Ben was still way up in the mix, dropping consistent bone-rattling bass-bombs mixed with frenetic beats that kept the crowd moving. The West End Blend horns continued to be in and out, adding beautiful layers of trumpet and trombone solos to the Cake, served up by Pigeon, especially during the “Horizon” > “Sheep Go to Heaven” > “Horizons” combo that ended the set. “Ocean Flows” in the encore slot gave the crowd one more chance to boogie down after several moments of raucous applause.
It’s always a pleasure to share increasingly bigger rooms with this band, as they continue to grow and please their adoring Flock. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong has a unique creative edge that keeps their fans coming back time after time. Enjoy.
Set 1: Too Long, Burning Up My Time*> Love You Madly (Cake)*> Burning Up My Time> Sunny Day> The Distance (Cake)*> Sunny Day, The Liquid*> The Great Curve (Talking Heads)*> Upfunk> Drums> Upfunk, Julia> Flowers (Talking Heads)*> Julia.
Set 2: Henrietta, Naive Melody (Talking Heads)*> Porcupine> Burning Down the House (Talking Heads)*> Porcupine*, Lightning*, Crosseyed and Painless >Horizon*> Sheep Go to Heaven (Cake)*> Horizon.
The holidays are fast approaching, and if you’re not ready, a listen to Big Band Holidays II will surely get you looking forward to the final months of 2019. The sequel to the critically acclaimed 2015 release from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis features original arrangements of holiday classics, and are joined by an all-star assortment of guest vocalists, including Veronica Swift, Denzal Sinclaire, Catherine Russell, Audrey Shakir, and the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin.
There are familiar classics (“Cool Yule,” ft. Catherine Russell) and newer songs (“Rise Up Shepherd and Follow,” “(Everybody’s Waitin For) The Man with the Bag”), all kicked off by a brassy rendition of “It’s the most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
A solo piano rendition of “O Tannenbaum,” featuring the late, great, Aretha Franklin, has never before been released and serves as one of her final recorded performances. Her brief and passionate take on the classic was a surprise performance during the 2015 edition of Big Band Holidays.
A jazzed up “We Three Kings” featuring Denzal Sinclaire, and “What will Santa Claus Say? (When He finds Everybody Swingin’)” is fast moving with Carol Russell on energetic lead vocals. “Silver Bells” with flute and bass highlighted, and the smooth instrumental “Snowfall” nicely varying the tempo of the album.
The upbeat “Brazilian Sleigh Bells” has a Bossa Nova beat that speeds things up, making for one of the most energetic holiday songs you’ll encounter. “Silent Night” starts out heavier and bolder than familial versions, before soothing vocals from Sinclaire and Audrey Shakir, who trade verses before joining together in the final minutes.
Listen to the original album below, and enjoy the holidays this season with these fresh takes on classic songs.
Key Tracks: O Tannenbaum, Brazilian Sleigh Bells, Silent Night
San Fermin, an art-pop project from Brooklyn, have shared an acoustic cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit single “Run Away with Me.” Reinterpreted by bandleader Ellis Ludwig-Leone, San Fermin’s cover finds vocalists Claire Wellin and Karlie Bruce harmonizing for a warmly emotive take on the Emotion classic.
Regarding the acoustic rendition, Ellis Ludwig-Leone says, “Carly Rae’s version is a perfect party song, with that synth lead and four on the floor bass drum, so we went the other way with it. The lyrics are actually pretty intimate and lend themselves well to a quieter version. It was fun for us, as a band with eight members, to do something truly stripped down.”
“Run Away with Me” follows the October release of the group’s newest album The Cormorant I. Currently in the midst of their North American tour, San Fermin will continue with headlining dates across the U.S. and Canada before concluding with a hometown finale at New York’s Brooklyn Steel on December 6. Get ticketing information and details here.
San Fermin is the project of Brooklyn-based composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ellis Ludwig-Leone, who pairs lushly avant-garde arrangements with pop-minded melodies that are brought to life by his bandmates. Formed in 2012 – shortly after Ludwig-Leone completed a job assisting composer Nico Muhly – San Fermin made their debut with a self-titled 2013 release hailed by NPR as “one of the year’s most ambitious, evocative, and moving records.” With the 2015 release of Jackrabbit and 2017’s Belong, San Fermin garnered extensive critical acclaim, selling out shows worldwide and appearing at major festivals and opening for the likes St. Vincent, The National, Arctic Monkeys, alt-J and more. Having recently signing to Sony Music Masterworks, San Fermin usher in a new chapter with the release of The Cormorant I, the first of an eventual two-part project encompassing the scope of their new trajectory.
Legendary hip-hop artist Chuck D – born, Carlton Douglas Ridenhour – will be honored with the Woody Guthrie Prize, on November 16, at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Queens-bred emcee is known for his politically conscious lyrics, which he’s used to help spread awareness about the many injustice’s minorities face.
Ridenhour, an Adelphi University graduate, as well as the recipient of an honorary doctorate, began his rap career as a member of iconic hip-hop group, Public Enemy. Their 1988 sophomore album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is not only considered a rap-classic, but standout records like “Rebel Without a Pause,” and “Night of the Living Basehead,” set the standard for politically conscious music.
Throughout his career, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has made it a point to address social-political issues facing the African American community, whether it be through his solo work, his contributions to Public Enemy and rap-rock supergroup, Prophets of Rage (alongside members of Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine and Cypress Hill emcee, B-real).
The Woody Guthrie Prize is awarded to artists who use their art to speak up for the less fortunate. It is presented in honor of American folk singer Woodrow Guthrie. Other recipients of the award include, gospel singer Mavis Staples, folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, and television producer, Norman Lear, who produced sitcoms such as, Sandford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.
“We are honored to recognize Chuck’s work as he shines a light on social and cultural issues through his words and encourages us all to take action for equality and justice. We know that Woody would be rapping right alongside him as he speaks truth to power,” said Deana McCloud, director of the Woody Guthrie Center, according to the official website of the Woody Guthrie center.
Tickets to see the presentation of the Woody Guthrie Prize and a discussion with Chuck D are available here.
Goose lead a capacity crowd through a semi-pro Halloween party for the ages on Thursday, October 31 at Mercury Lounge. Up against the expectations of a sold out show (and $12 tickets were selling for over $100 on the resale market) as well as musical ghosts of bands like Phish, String Cheese Incident, and Umphrey’s McGee who have made Halloween the biggest musical holiday of the year, Goose treated the capacity crowd to a Halloween bash of the highest order.
Opening band Of Clocks and Clouds lead Joe Salgo promised that if he made it into the room, we wouldn’t be disappointed – a big understatement, as the band opened for Goose. Double guitar shredding, a fast-and-furious pocket groove and complementary heavy jams from the keys made this band hit hard. Their heavy metal costumes contributed to the uber-amplification as, the room began to swell as the Goose crowd filtered in. It was a truly great set that hopefully leads to bigger and better things for this awesome band.
Goose took the stage promptly at 11:30pm, uniformly clad as members of the Flint Tropics from Will Ferrel’s movie Semi-Pro for their Halloween costume. Jackie Moon’s “Love Me Sexy,” played and sung by Will Ferrell’s lead character in the movie, opened the set, with much more of the soundtrack on the horizon. Goose original “Hot Tea” followed with nearly twenty minutes of crushing jams. Peter Anspach on the keys would move back and forth all night between funky-ass jams on the keyboards and face-melting guitar work. A cover of the Brothers Johnson’s “Get Da Funk Out Ma’ Face,” also from the Semi-Pro soundtrack, began with Trevor Weekz’ bass-slapping intro before melting into the double guitar attack from Peter and co-lead vocalist Rick Mitarotonda.
A duo of originals, “Yeti” > “Wysteria Lane” showed exactly why this band, on an exponential rise, sold out the neighboring Bowery Ballroom for their just announced January 24, 2020 show mere minutes after the on sale. Back to their musical costume, they closed the hour long set with Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” and Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band’s “A Fifth of Beethoven.”
DJ Doey Joey kept the vibe going with great beats both before the set and during the break. The band returned after 20 minutes for a costume contest, and among the three finalists chosen by the band, Happy Gilmore’s caddie won in a landslide.
With an intro that sounded decidedly like Phish’s “Maze,” a cover of Barry White’s “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” made a jam sandwich of Semi-Pro covers around original song “Jive 1,” joined on the back end by WAR’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends” and “Jive Lee.” Some major funky vibes coming from Peter’s keys, with Trevor’s heavy bass lines and Ben’s driving beats, the crowd was working a serious groove. Staying with a few more originals, “So Ready” and “White Lights” rocked the room some more as both Peter and Rick gave out high fives to the fans rocking out. Randy Newman’s “Short People” closed the main set before a faux-encore break, “We don’t really have to fake walk away and come back do we?” as it’s not really practical to leave the Mercury stage in a sold out room.
“A Fifth of Beethoven” (reprise) > “Also Sprach Zarathustra” were the icing on the 90-minute cake called the second set, and put an exclamation point on a wild and exclusive sold out party for 250 of Goose’s closest friends on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
This being an initial Goose experience, it is difficult to resist the temptation to make comparisons to other bands. Goose is a mix of Spafford and Goose’s avian kin, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong; fast and furious jams that stay tight and in the pocket, peaks upon peaks upons peaks until, finally, unable to ascend further, several more peaks, each one flavored with a unique and signature funk. The Bowery Ballroom in January simply can’t come soon enough.
Goose Semi-Pro Halloween Setlist
Set One: Love Me Sexy (WIll Ferrell as the fictional Jackie Moon; Semi-Pro), Hot Tea, Get Da Funk Out Ma’ Face (Brothers Johsnon; Semi-Pro), Yeti > Wysteria Lane, Lady Marmalade (Patti LaBelle; Semi-Pro), A Fifth of Beethoven (Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band; Semi-Pro)
Set Two: Never, Never Gonna Give You Up (Barry White; Semi-Pro), Jive I > Why Can’t We Be Friends (War; Semi-Pro) > Jive Lee, So Ready, White Lights, Short People (Randy Newman; Semi-Pro)
Encore: A Fifth of Beethoven Reprise > Also Sprach Zarathustra (Deodato; Semi-Pro)
After releasing singles “L.B.E.,” “Losing,” and “Insecure” earlier this year, Brooklyn based R&B singer Amare Symoné released her latest single “Ellipsis” on October 24. Utilizing her inseparable ties of Jazz and R&B, Symoné creates a modern fusion of the unique two genres. A dissonant sample loops throughout the track, as Amare’s vocals float throughout in her ever-confident delivery.
This sex-positive track finds Symoné sorting through her head wondering why they both just can’t read the signs. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, this song looks to fill in the blanks, or in other words the ‘Ellipsis’ of her own feelings.
Symoné, a California born and Brooklyn bred singer-songwriter, poet, activist, and womanist, graduated from Professional Performing Arts High School in NYC. A student at Columbia College working towards a Bachelor’s degree in music business, Amare is inspired and influenced by Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Destiny’s Child, Etta James and Eryn Allen Kane.
Ghost Note, the acclaimed jazz, hip-hop, funk and world-fusion outfit will gather a few talented friends for a very special tribute to Prince at Sony Hall on Monday, December 30 for a late-night show following Phish’s performance at Madison Square Garden.
Former Prince collaborators MonoNeon (bass), saxophonist Sylvester Onyejiaka (saxophone) and Dominique Xavier Taplin (keys) have made sure the Purple One’s pedigree is always well-represented with Ghost-Note. For this guest-filled, late-night Ghost-Note & Friends Play Prince blowout, the insanely gifted outfit led by percussionists Nate Werth and Robert Sput Searight (Snarky Puppy) will dive headfirst into the beloved Prince catalog to help NYC party like it’s (almost) 2020.
Joining Ghost-Note as the “Friends” portion of the bill will be Trey Anastasio Band trumpeter/vocalist Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band), D’Angelo and The Vanguard singers Rojo “REDD” Lavoe and Ahrel Lumzy, and Cory Henry/Childish Gambino vocal collaborator STOUT. Hartswick will be pulling double-duty during the Phish run, as the TAB trumpeter and vocalist will also be playing with The Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein’s Star Kitchenthe night before, Sunday, December 29th, also at Sony Hall.
Tickets for Ghost-Note & Friends Play Prince go on-sale at 2 p.m. ET, and can be purchased here.
