New York is a vast state with pockets of local scenes throughout. While a “scene” these days isn’t what it was in the ’80s or ’90s where bands of similar genres created scenes out of necessity, the music scenes of the 21st century are, more or less, regions where live music is simply a way of life. Some regions are even cross-pollinating. So while we aren’t seeing strictly area scenes, live music is no less prevalent around the state.
We polled our staff looking for the best music towns across the state and this year, our state’s capital came out on top. The Albany area’s diverse scene includes small venues such as Parish Public House, The Hollow Bar + Kitchen and The Low Beat, mid-size venues that include The Egg, Cohoes Music Hall and the Palace Theatre along with the storied Times Union Center.
The Times Union Center, then known as Knickerbocker Arena, was christened on January 30, 1990, by none other than Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Other big-name acts that have performed at Kickerbocker/Pepsi Arena/Times Union Center over the years include the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion and Phish.
The Palace Theatre opened in 1931 as a movie and vaudeville house and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This not-for-profit building has also hosted the Stones and Springsteen and has been the New Year’s Eve home for moe. and Twiddle.
When it comes to smaller venues, Albany has plenty to choose from, attracting national and international acts that are on the rise. The Hollow Bar + Kitchen has served as host for numerous Capital District acts as well as up-and-coming national acts such as White Denim and Barns Courtney.
Add all these venues to the varied acts in the local scene and you have a diverse music community that draws from influences from all over.
Glass Pony, Wild Adriatic, Hartley’s Encore and Annie in the Water are spearheading the next wave of jambands not just in the Albany area but across the state and beyond. And while the term “jamband” may bring a certain style to mind, these bands are all unique in sound, all based in rock, but drawing from disparate influences.
Eddie Hotaling of Glass Pony
When you look at Albany’s music history, venues such as Valentine’s come to mind. moe., the Ominous Seapods, God Street Wine and others of the third wave of jambands got their feet wet in and around the Albany scene.
In the late ’70s, the comedic rock band Blotto burst onto the Albany scene. Comprised of members with names like Sergeant Blotto, Broadway Blotto, Lee Harvey Blotto, Bowtie Blotto and Cheese Blotto, the band received significant play on MTV’s airwaves with the UAlbany student-shot video for “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard.”
In later years Sarge Blotto (real name Greg Haymes) became a writer for the Albany Times Union and later went on to found the Capital District website Nippertown, which champions the Albany area music and arts scene. Haymes died on April 10 of this year, leaving a large hole in the Albany music scene.
Albany, NY based band Glass Pony is dropping their debut self titled album today, November 2, on all streaming platforms. The seven-track album has head-bopping beats that make you want to get up and move. The four piece band made up of guitar, bass, and drums gets inspiration from everything in between the 60s and 90s, with influence from rock, punk, indie, and jam band genres, according to their bio.
The album starts with “Grover’s Mill 1938,” which is a groovy opener. With a runtime dropping in just under 9-minutes, it’s a long listen, but one worth listening to. Its usage of multi layered vocals has a somewhat ‘Pixies meets jam band’ feel to it, that keeps you entertained throughout.
If you aren’t into songs long songs, Glass Pony might not be the band for you; about half of their songs hit in the 8-10 minute mark and take their time to get in the groove with long intros and outros. Their second song on the album, “Swing That Maximus” has a full two-minute instrumental intro. With tempo changes up the wazoo throwing the listener from dance-y beats that make you want to get up and boogie, to slow sections you would barely move your body, they are definitely the type of band you can let loose to live or shamelessly-groove-to on your daily commute. Glass Pony brings you out of the mundane with some chaotic, yet systematic rhythms and beats that make Glass Pony one of a kind.
Shorter songs like, “Too Close To The Sun” (under 5 minutes), follow suit with their routine guitar riffs, solid beats and smooth tempo changes. Glass Pony is a band to keep an eye on, with this solid album in their arsenal.
Key Tracks: Stardust, Grover’s Mill 1983, Too Close To The Sun.
Saves the Day made an appearance at SkyLoft in Albany on Sunday August, 11. Not only did they deliver a high energy filled performance, but also took the crowd through the last two decades of their amazing musical journey.
The set list immediately caused heads to bob and feet to groove with the unforgettable guitar-riff filled song “Anywhere With You.” Saves The day continued to classics such as “Say You’ll Never Leave,” “The Last Lie I Told You” and “Freakish.”
But it was the songs that were performed from “All-Star Me” to “Suzuki” from their latest album, 9, that audience to relive the bands journey.
All in all, the set list was solid and left the crowd screaming “ENCORE” by the end. Saves the Day not only saved the summer with their performance, but they also saved many emo hearts.
Setlist: Anywhere With You, Bones, You Vandal, A Drag, Say You’ll Never Leave, The Last Lie I Told, Nightingale, Do You Know What I Love the Most?, Jukebox Breakdown; Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots; Firefly, When It Isn’t Like It Should Be, Freakish, Houses and Billboards, Suzuki, Eulogy, Kaleidoscope, Z, In Reverie, All-Star Me, Cars & Calories, Three Miles Down; Sell My Old Clothes, I’m Off to Heaven.
Since its inception back in 2009 Albany based punk band, The Slaughterhouse Chorus, have been taking no prisoners with their aggressive, in-your-face musical style. With the release of their fourth record, …In The Name Of Progress, the band has penned its swan song and will be disbanding later this year. After ten years of touring and recording original material, the members of The Slaughterhouse Chorus, which is comprised of Chris Jordan (vocals and guitar), Jay Bonafide (guitar), Bob Watson (bass and vocals) and Mark McKenna (drums), have always steered through the rocky waters of the music industry with honesty and integrity. Initially formed from the ashes of local long-running punk/ska band, Public Access, the band has always had a “do it yourself” mentality that is a hallmark to their popularity and longevity.
The Slaughterhouse Chorus’ latest effort is a stripped down production that was captured at vocalist Chris Jordan’s rural Rensselear County cabin. Each of the five tracks on …In The Name Of Progress were recorded as a live performance by the band and recorded by producer, Ryan Slowey. The EP is being released by local artist collaborative label, Built4BBQ’s, that the band helped co-found. Their first release since 2014, …In the Name of Progress will be available on 12″ vinyl and digital download.
The EP starts off strong with the fast tempo punk number “Greenplates.” Fast guitars and booming vocals by Jordan set the testosterone fueled tone for the record. With lyrics that drip with irony and disillusionment, Jordan lyrically recounts a life of toil and hard work with nothing to show for it but poverty and frustration.
The Second track off of …In The Name Of Progress, entitled “Hambone,” brings a taste of country flavor to an otherwise irreverent punk number. The tune lyrically depicts a gloriously raucous road trip to Nashville where a fresh start in life awaits… if they can just get there in one piece. The track features guitar work straight out of the Grand Ole Opry from Jay Bonafide, who deftly picks away like Roy Clark coming down off of a three day bender. “Hambone” is a fun track to listen to and features backup vocals by Built4BBQ’s fellow label-mates, John “Henry’s Rifle” Pipino and Dan Wilson (of Kimono Dragons and the Rechorduroys), adding a bit of flavor to the number.
Luckily fans of The Slaughterhouse Chorus still have a few chances seeing the local punk favorites live before they hang it up for good. They perform next at their final record release party at Albany’s Hollow Bar & Kitchen on Friday, May 31 at 8PM. They will be accompanied by musical friends Turf ‘n’ Turf, The Death Vacation, and Kimono Dragons. The Slaughterhouse Chorus will play a few more shows this year before taking their final bow sometime this fall, including the sixth annual Built4BBQ Star Spangled Bonanza July 3 at the Hangar on the Hudson, and the Divine Vibes music festival at the Beer Diviner Brewery July 19-21.
Sing Out! New Yorkcelebrates New York’s leading role in championing equal rights through innovative concerts, close encounters with today’s most adventurous artists and composers, interactive workshops, collaborative community events, film screenings, and artistic happenings throughout Troy and the New York Capital Region.
The Albany Symphony is committed to telling the stories of our time, place, and history through collaborations between composers and fellow artists, and through the creation of new music. In late May and early June 2019, we will shine a light on New York State’s leading role in social justice history through Sing Out! New York, this year’s American Music Festival and free concert tour. To frame an artistic discussion surrounding the fight for inclusion and equality in New York State, we drafted a broad team of artists, including a number of emerging composers who represent our richly diverse community and partnered them with other creative artists and community organizations from myriad disciplines. Then we invited them to tell stories, about the heroic figures, defining events and related issues of some of the most defining equal justice movements in our history. We paired remarkable new and recent works by composers who have led the fight for social justice in New York State alongside established works, and we designed immersive events that celebrate the things that bring us together as New Yorkers and as human beings.
David Alan Miller, Albany Symphony Music Director
The Albany Symphony’s American Music Festival will return to Troy with performances and happenings at EMPAC, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Troy’s Monument Square starting Thursday, May 30 through Sunday, June 9. Curated by Grammy Award-winning conductor and Albany Symphony Music Director, David Alan Miller, the festival will turn downtown Troy into a hub for new American concert music featuring 50 new or recent works by 38 composers, including 27 world premiere performances. The Festival includes works by acclaimed composer-activist David Del Tredici, and four-time Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer, John Corigliano, as well as performances by composer/performer Molly Joyce, the Argus Quartet and soprano Hila Plitmann. Sing Out! New York kicks off on Thursday, May 30 with First Draughts Reading Session & Beer Tasting and runs through Sunday, June 2 in Troy. The musicians, then embarks on a four-concert regional tour in Schuylerville (June 6), Schenectady (June 7), Albany (June 8), and Hudson (June 9), New York.
The American Music Festival Sing Out! New York explores the storied legacy of New York’s rich cultural history in the fight for inclusion and equality. Two milestone anniversaries frame the festival: the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.
“I began researching the history of the suffragist movement last year in advance of its centennial. I discovered that many of the seminal events of the movement happened right here in New York. At the same time, I knew that June 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, that amazing moment in Greenwich Village when members of the LGBTQ community stood up and demanded true equal rights for all. By exploring these movements together, we send the message that the fight for social justice and equal rights never includes just one interest group but applies to all of us.” – David Allen Miller
The stories of the activists who led these movements, and their significance today are the basis for each festival event. On Friday, May 31, the Dogs of Desire, combining popular culture and classical ensemble, will premiere five commissions inspired by the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention. The Albany Symphony will premiere a suffragist inspired piece by composer/performer Tanner Porter on Saturday, June 1 alongside Pop-Pourri with soprano Hila Plitmann, David Del Tredici’s first in his series of works based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and John Corigliano’s Piano Concerto with pianist Phillip Edward Fisher. Albany Symphony will record both Pop-Pourri and the Piano Concerto for commercial release.
Sing Out! New York is a terrific addition to the slate of events taking place across New York State this summer to celebrate WorldPride and commemorate Stonewall 50, and the concerts will inspire travel to the Capital-Saratoga vacation region. Empire State Development and I LOVE NY are excited to support this great series of events and the always innovative work of the Albany Symphony.
Ross D. Levi, New York State Executive Director of Tourism
According to Executive Director Anna Kuwabara, “The American Music Festival is the annual blossoming of the Albany Symphony’s commitment to the music of our time, to giving voice to the stories, aesthetics, thoughts, and emotions of our society right here, right now. The Festival is a hub for new music, and it is our opportunity to celebrate and unite our community, to transform lives and be transformed through the power of music. The four free Sing Out New York! Tour events are our joy and honor to present. The program in each community includes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, sing-alongs, and summertime favorites. The centerpiece of each is one of the newly commissioned works from the Dogs of Desire concerts earlier in the Festival. Along with great music, we look forward to bringing attention and business to each site with family activities, food trucks, fireworks, and other festivities.”
Tickets and Festival Passes to the American Music Festival Sing Out! New York in Troy May 30 – June 2, 2019 are on sale now and can be purchased through the Albany Symphony Box Office: 518-694-3300, Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or online. Performances take place at EMPAC Concert Hall on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, and Troy’s Monument Square
The American Music Festival Sing Out! New York Tour concerts at Hudson Crossing Park in Schuylerville, Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady, Albany’s Jennings Landing, and Basilica Hudson are free and open to the public.
2019 American Music Festival Sing Out! New York Calendar can be found at their website.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen a jam show in a shopping mall. If anyone could pull it off, it’s Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, who brought the flock to an upstate NY mall filled with buzzing Saturday night consumers. Albany’s Crossgates Mall quickly melted from its usual demographic into a sea of sequins, tie dye and feathers as a sold out crowd poured into Lucky Strike’s concert venue, Jupiter Hall.
A long line trailed past an abyss of arcade games, around the corner and right out of the venue’s front doors while a Denver, CO three-piece, Cycles, instantly grabbed hold of the crowd with demanding stage presence and a larger than life sound, jam packed with fast, frenzied bass slaps and hard hitting notes.
With a fired up stage and audience waiting in the tightly packed hall, Greg, Jeremy, Gator and Ben hopped onstage just as excited to see their devoted fans as each gig prior.
With a warm welcome and a few simple words, Greg admitted that its been “Too Long” since they’ve played in Albany, segueing into the Pizzaz party favorite. Momentum kept moving with “Yo Soy Fiesta” followed by
a blissful and beautifully performed “Poseidon” which brought the biggest jam of the night so far. Energy skyrocketed through the bowling alley music hall you instantly forgot you were inside of as “Pop Off” and “Upfunk” came next. Pigeons bowled a strike by sandwiching Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” between “J Town,” as the classic rock tune had all heads banging, including bassist Ben and his luscious, wavy locks. Winding down the set, P4 served up another tasty sandwich, this time with “Julia” > “Beanstalk” > “Julia.”
Set one ended at a perfect time, allowing for both musicians and fans to breathe, regroup and re-energize for an equally powerful second set. Every song seemed to be the crowd’s favorite, as the Maryland natives cycled through a “Havana” opener and a mesmerizing double whammy of “Melting Lights” and “Whirled.” The show was perfectly composed of party anthems and the deep, groovy jams kept pleasing with “Somethin’ For Ya,” an unfinished “Zydeko,” and “Lightning” with a “Kiwi” sandwich between two slices of “Time to Ride” bread. An encore of “Snake Eyes” and “Dawn a New Day” kissed the Albany audience goodnight to end the unsuspected mall party everybody was confused about, yet didn’t know they needed.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at Albany’s Jupiter Hall on 3/30/19
From playing tiny venues like Albany’s Red Square back in 2015, opening for Dopapod in Saratoga Springs in 2016, to selling out Jupiter Hall and various venues on tour to date in 2019, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong keep climbing the rungs to success while showing their fans endless appreciation along the way. Catch them at their very own 10th Annual Domefest from May 16-18 in Masontown, West Virginia.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong March 30, Jupiter Hall Setlist:
Set 1: Too Long, Yo Soy Fiesta, Poseidon, Pop Off, Upfunk, J-Town > Black Dog > J-Town > Julia > Beanstalk > Julia
Set 2: Havana > Melting Lights > Whirled, Somethin’ For Ya > Zydeko^ > Lightning, Time To Ride > Kiwi > Time To Ride
Bad Luck’s new EP, Drug Phase, is the perfect vessel for launching a comeback. Bad Luck. continues to tick all the right boxes: fast tempos, aggressive guitar work, pop-influenced melodies and clever lyrics. The solo-project-turned-band cranked out a couple promising releases in 2014 and 2015, then went quiet until last year, when they announced signing with Take This To Heart Records. Fortune seems to be favoring Bad Luck. as they enter this new phase of their career.
Bad Luck. leads with “Impressive Depressive,” in which they channel some serious My Chemical Romance vibes with their dark lyrics and edgy riffs. The mood lightens up in the next track, “Mean Dudes.” The uptempo bubblegum-pop serves as a perfect contrast to lyrics, oozing with sarcasm and disdain. The title track “Drug Phrase” has more bite to it. The gritty, grungy song is a brutally honest reflection on a dark time: Used to say I’m okay/ I could try a bit/ Just for the hell of it.
The EP switches gears again with “Sheep Song.” Even though the lyrics are about herd mentality and blindly following along, it’s a challenge not to sing along to the “ba ba ba ba” chorus. This is followed by “Wish We Still Talked.” Abrasive vocals belt out raw emotional lyrics riddled with regret. The layered vocals are reminiscent of Taking Back Sunday. Drug Phase ends with a track called “P.S. Wiffle Ball.” The jangly tune on acoustic guitar is accompanied by whistling and a sing-song melody. The simplicity of this track evokes nostalgia for youthful ignorance and bliss.
The collection creates a story arc that follows the rise, fall and rebirth of the jaded-yet-relatable protagonist. But unlike most concept-based albums, each of the songs can stand on their own and still make sense. There’s no filler or transitional tracks. The music is compactly arranged – tight, well-paced and cohesive.
All music and lyrics were written by vocalist/guitarist Dominick Fox. His brother Joseph Fox plays bass. The band is rounded out with Charlie Caruso on lead guitar and Michael Sichel on drums. Drug Phase was engineered, produced and mixed by Jim Wirt at Crushtone Studios, and mastered by John Naclerio at Nada Studios.
Drug Phase is out now on Take This To Heart Records. Purchase merch and music directly or buy/stream on your favorite major music platforms. Bad Luck. celebrates the release with a four-date Northeast tour that started in Boston last night, and hits Albany today, Brooklyn on March 30 and Philly on March 31. They’re also slated to play BLED FEST in May. Follow them on Facebook,Instagram, and Twitter for updates.
Key Tracks: Impressive Depressive, Sheep Song, Wish We Still Talked
Vignettes of heartache, redemption, hometown joy and drama fuel Anything, Everything, the sophomore album from the Connecticut-based pop-punk band Say What You Will. Hailing from New Haven, the band is Christine Sabol on bass guitar, Shane Emery on vocals and lead guitar, Chuck DeFilippo on drums and Ethan Griffeth on lead vocals. Amongst changes in personnel and other identity shifts since 2017’s Seconds to Home, the new album is a work of passion and exploration, sure to excite longtime fans and attract new ones. The band supported the album release by debuting their music video for the feature track, “Southbound,” in late February.
Drawing from the likes of State Champs, Grayscale, Sleep On It and others, Say What You Will found a way to create a distinctive, unique sound while paying homage to their influences. Recorded with Chris Piquette at No Boundaries Studios in Rhode Island, the record marks a new age of growth and maturation for the band. Anything, Everything is set to release on all platforms next Friday, March 15.
“We’ve always tried to incorporate so many influences into our music, and I think that this time around we were more focused on making something that sounded like us.”
Shane Emery
From the start, “Break Away” pulls listeners in, skipping casual orbit and launching them directly into the fiery atmosphere of Anything, Everything. The restrained, energy-building intro showcases the band’s chemistry by allowing Griffeth’s expressive voice to sit on top of the rhythm, culminating in a quick stop and explosion of layered melody sure to get peoples’ bodies moving.
Moving on, it’s clear that a key strength of the album is how it dynamically shifts between the blasting, yell-along, triumphant choruses and the sensitive, yearning reprieves. “Carolina” stands apart as a pop-punk ballad, an ode to a specific place and time, displaying Emery’s journeying, skilled guitar and the interplay between drums and Sabol’s bass. The record picks up the pace again in “Lake Zoar,” filled with jump-along moments.
Distinct from the instrumentation of each song, there are the stories Griffeth shares through emotive vocals and heart-wrenchingly piercing lyrics. “Summer Haze” ends the album with a story of a woman who’s struggled with helping her significant other with drug addiction. Inspired by heroin epidemics in Griffeth’s hometown, the song is the band’s plea to shine a light on dark moments.
Anything, Everything has all the elements of what makes a great pop-punk record, though it doesn’t stop there. The album represents a refined and redefined sound identity for the group. Listeners will always find their way to the catchy hooks, the grooves and breakdowns in the songs that feature boundary-pushing infusions from other genres. Say What You Will has put all their cards on the table, successfully creating something unique and inspiring. Pop-punk fans will find plenty of value and perspective from picking up this album.
*Anything, Everything Release Show*
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[accordion title=”April 6: Pauly’s – Albany, NY” load=”hide”]April 15: Encore Live Room – Dayton, OH
April 16: Evolution Music – Downers Grove, IL
April 17: Laundry Room – Nashville, TN
April 18: The Depot – Baltimore, MD
April 26: Ralph’s Diner – Worcester, MA
May 3: Cianfano’s – Elizabeth, NJ
May 4: The Barbary – Philadelphia, PA[/accordion]
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Photo: Megan Greer
Listen to Anything, Everything and learn more here.
On a cold Friday night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to Albany’s Palace Theatre for its seemingly annual performance at the venue. The show sold out months in advance and the theatre filled quickly as Grateful Dead fans across the northeast flocked to New York’s capital for a tribute to their favorite live act.
To open up the first set, the group started into a jam that slowly but surely built itself into “Cassidy.” During the intro jam, guitarist Tom Hamilton made good use of his recently acquired De Pinto guitar, manipulating its onboard overdrive effect and an octave pedal, creating a sort of fuzzy overtone, and bassist Dave Dreiwitz took the helm for a bit before the group finally dropped into the main composition. The group jammed in and out of the verses and choruses of the song before leading it into a very spacey jam that employed the use of patience as the group started into the traditional tune “Jack a Roe.” Keyboardist Marco Benevento teased the theme to Pink Panther heavily during the intro jam, adding a mysterious vibe to the music as the group worked its way into the main composition. After weaving in and out of the lyrics of “Jack a Roe,” the group wasted no time transitioning into “Box of Rain,” dropping into the Phil Lesh staple with nearly the entire audience singing along with its somber lyrics. At some point amidst the segue from “Jack a Roe” into “Box of Rain,” Hamilton broke one of his guitar’s strings and was forced to change it mid-transition to “The Other One” which led to an interesting musical conversation between Benevento and guitarist Scott Metzger.
The intro to “The Other One” was super spacious and ambient and primal feeling, and once Hamilton gave the “all clear” on his string, the group worked as a unit to build up an interesting jazzy groove, keeping that groove going under the first verse before a breathtaking drop into the chorus. Following the chorus, the group got back into the jazzy insanity that was happening during the intro, until drummer Joe Russo quickly brought the groove into “Drums,” keeping the general feeling of “The Other One” going, but adding some really impressive polyrhythms over the top of it. “Drums” was short-lived as Russo signaled to Benevento to start playing, leading to a rare Benevento/Russo reunion in the middle of the jam. The duo did their thing and quickly brought the jam back into “The Other One,” bringing the band back in for a drop into another verse/chorus just as intense and astounding as the initial drop that began the song. “The Other One” ended fairly abruptly, and the group drop-segued into the Dead’s disco classic “Shakedown Street,” much to the approval of the crowd. This version of “Shakedown” had a swagger to it, with Russo putting a bit of a swing to the groove and the rest of the band putting a little more oomph into the funk aspect of the tune. The jam following leading out of Shakedown took all the energy the band had built up during first set and transformed it into one glorious peak led by the whole band to close out the set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eRqJlt00jU
To kick off the second set, the group started into Bob Weir’s “Black Throated Wind,” a slower tune that was somewhat of a rarity in the Dead’s concert repertoire for the better part of their career. The group played through the song’s many verses with a rather somber feeling as Metzger belted out the lyrics and brought the song into a very rewarding peak that acted as a burst of the emotional energy the song had built. Suddenly, the jam dropped into the familiar chord progression of “Bertha,” only to be jammed on for a brief minute before faking out the crowd and dropping into the whimsical “Dupree’s Diamond Blues.” Hamilton lead the group through a fairly standard version of the song and closed it out with a soaring solo that began the transition into “Playin’ in the Band.” The intro jam was very patient and spacey, featuring Benevento experimenting on his Rhodes piano a bit before the group steadily rose the groove into the main tempo of “Playin’,” extending the intro of the song before Metzger broke into the lyrics. The jam immediately got spacey and dissonant with Hamilton and Benevento heavily making use of their delay pedals before Russo started bringing the “Playin’” groove back into his drumming. The group worked its way into a mini peak before dropping into one last round of choruses to finish out the song and begin the transition into “So Many Roads,” the first and only repeat from last year’s Palace show.
Benevento swiveled over to his Hammond organ to lead the band into the emotional Robert Hunter-penned tale, and Hamilton jumped back on the vocals, delivering an impressive performance of the song’s heartfelt lyrics. Following another big emotional peak, the group brought the song into a laidback reggae-ish groove that acted as the launching off point for the live staple “Estimated Prophet,” but not before heavily teasing the opening chord melody of “Crazy Fingers.” “Estimated” brought the energy up immensely after the emotional ride of “So Many Roads” and Metzger really tapped into his grittier side of his voice for the verses, which added a really cool element to the sound of this version. The jam sort of teetered its way around another spacey groove before dropping into the energetic “St. Stephen” which made the crowd roar. The group ripped through most of the lyrics and started building a super uptempo groove that burst back into “Bertha,” resolving the fakeout from the beginning of the set and leaving “St. Stephen” unfinished. “Bertha” was very fast paced, continuing the energy from “St. Stephen” and amidst the jam on the song’s main progression, the band’s tech replaced Russo’s snare drum, much to the amusement of Hamilton and Russo. Before the famous “test me, test me” section, the group got super quiet and let the tension build up before finally hitting on the chord when Hamilton sang the lyric out. The group closed out the set after one last chorus before leaving for encore break.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqhsFjsJsBk
Before the band came out for the encore, Benevento walked onstage and sat down at his grand piano to take a solo that eventually worked its way to the main melody of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” The full band walked out as he started into the chord progression and he took the lead on vocals for the only time that night for a very spirited version of the famous Dead cover.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead delivered yet another stellar performance at the palace theatre, filled with some really impressive versions of Grateful Dead classics, namely “The Other One” and “So Many Roads.” Hopefully the group continues this tradition and returns to the venue in March of 2020. Check out the photo gallery below for a taste of the evening.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Palace Theatre, Albany, NY – March 1, 2019
Set One: Cassidy > Jack A Roe! > Box Of Rain+ > The Other One -> Drums -> The Other One Reprise @ > Shakedown St #
Set Two: Jam -> Black Throated Wind -> Bertha Jam ## -> Dupree’s Diamond Blues $-> Playing In The Band -> So Many Roads % -> Estimated Prophet > St Stephen ^ -> Bertha &
Encore: Marco Solo -> Werewolves Of London *
! – Not Played by Almost Dead Since 2018-02-15 War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, TN, a gap of 43 shows + – Not Played by Almost Dead Since 2018-02-17 The Pageant, St Louis, MO, a gap of 42 shows @ – With a Duo Jam, first Almost Dead version of “Other One Reprise” # – With a “Love Supreme” (John Coletrane) Tease (TH) and a Jam that included elements of “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” (Michael Jackson) and “Serpintine Fire” (Earth Wind & Fire) ## – First Time Played in this manner by Almost Dead $ – Not Played by Almost Dead Since 2018–03-08 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 39 shows % – With a “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” (Bob Dylan) Tease (TH) Tommy actually quoted the Guns N Roses version. Not Played by Almost Dead Since 2018-03-16 The Palace Theatre, a gap of 35 shows Albany, NY ^ – Unfinished & – With a “Reveille” (Traditional) Tease (SM) and a “Rock And Roll” (Led Zeppelin) Tease (JR) * – With a “Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd) Tease (MB)
Albany was certainly the place to be Friday, February 1. The Palace Theater hosted Umphrey’s McGee for another always-astounding performance, and the Pearl Street Pub threw a legendary after-show. Once the UM show concluded at The Palace, drummer Kris Myers and bassist Ryan Stasik made their way down the block to meet up with Aqueous guitarist Mike Gantzer. The three collaborated on an energetic, punk-rock tribute to Green Day‘s 1994 album Dookie that took the Pearl Street Pub’s crowd on a high-speed cruise down memory lane.
The trio took the stage with attendees anxious to take it all in. Set one blasted off with “Burnout,” “Having a Blast” and “Chump.” Stasik then dropped into the signature bass line of “Longview,” bringing about a crowd sing-a-long. One highlight of the night was a set of three Ween covers. In between Green Day hits “Longview” and “Welcome to Paradise,” the guys played Ween’s “The Grobe,” “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night,” and “Transdermal Celebration.” The set continued with Dookie tracks in sequential order, mixing in genre-relevant covers from Nirvana, The Ramones and Weezer. Craftily weaving in a tease that was also featured at the UM show earlier, “Norwegian Wood” (The Beatles) was heard throughout “In The End.” The end of the evening featured an epic trio of songs including “Brain Stew,” “Geek Stink Breath,” the first single from Green Day’s album Insomniac, and “Bad Mouth,” a Fugazi cover.
This date marked the 25th Anniversary of the release of Dookie, making the performance a celebratory collaboration. Mike Gantzer, Kris Myers and Ryan Stasik have performed full covers of the Green Day album on two other occasions: once as a late night tribute set at Summer Camp Music Festival 5/26/17 and again at Brooklyn Comes alive on 9/24/17.
(Unofficial Setlist)
Burnout, Having a Blast, Chump > Longview, The Grobe (1), It’s Gonna Be a Long Night (1), Transdermal Celebration (1), Welcome to Paradise, Pulling Teeth > Basket Case, She, Drain You (2), Sassafras Roots, When I Come Around, Coming Clean, I Wanna Be Sedated (3) > Blietzkreig Bop (3), Emenius Sleepus, In The End (4) > F. O. D. > All By Myself, My Name Is Jonas (5), Say It Ain’t So (5), Undone – The Sweater Song (5), Brain Stew
Encore: Geek Stink Breath, Bad Mouth (6)
1- Ween cover
2- Nirvana cover
3- The Ramones cover
4- Norwegian Wood (The Beatles) tease
5- Weezer cover
6- Fugazi Cover
