NYS Music 20​19

Tag: Dan Smalls Presents

  • The Bad Plus Activates Infinity at Hangar Theater in Ithaca

    Finishing up their second year with Orrin Evans at the piano (replacing founding member Ethan Iverson), and on the eve of the release of their second album with the new lineup, The Bad Plus made a stop at the Hangar Theater in Ithaca. Previously declaring themselves the band that will Never Stop, they were now ready to Activate Infinity.

    And why not? The music emerging from the trio, even after the change, and after almost two decades as an entity, is as potent and timeless as ever. Their healthy mix of rock, classical, pop, and yes, of course, some jazz as well, has a bit of something for anyone willing to listen. Hearing it performed live in an intimate setting with an appreciative and attentive audience, such as the case on this evening in Ithaca, is truly the ideal environment for such an endeavor.

    The stage was warmed up with an opening set from The Long Now Trio, a local Ithaca band featuring guitarist Ryan Vanderhoof (founding member of the psychedelic rock band Akron/Family), Matthew Saccuccimorano on drums and Brian Dozoretz on bass, playing only their fourth performance together. It sounded more like four years together as they went on an improvisational adventure of their own, tangling cosmic guitar sounds with flourishing drum work in a quick but exciting 30-minute set.

    The main course of The Bad Plus started innocently enough, with some soft and sparse piano. Gentle bursts of bass and brushes dancing along a bevy of cymbals soon joined the fray. The three disparate sounds slowly built in intensity, eventually climaxing in a complex three-part fit of triumphant chaos. The gentle easing into the set was a ruse, indeed the audience had just found itself caught up in an indescribably beautiful ten-minute whirlwind of sound. It was uplifting and exhilarating and worth the journey out on a Thursday night and the price of admission all on its own. It was Reid Anderson’s composition “Seams” and everything else was essentially on the house.

    But the band still had over an hour more of tricks up their sleeves. They followed with Evans’ “Commitment” which ditched the subtle shifts in dynamics, choosing instead sudden shifts and jerks in a very dramatic and theatrical piece that had a bit of Broadway flair, with thematic characters and narratives shining through in the music.

    Next was “Anthem for the Earnest,” a highly melodic energetic rocker that was go-go-go from the start and hardly let up for a breath. These three selections showcased all three members’ songwriting and the range and skills of their musicianship. It seemed they laid all the cards on the table so soon into the show, but each next piece was an adventure all its own.

    The set mostly drew from last year’s Never Stop II record but also featured a few tracks from their new release, Activate Infinity, in the second half. “The Red Door” trended on the jazzier side of things, playing like a hyped up Thelonius Monk tune. On “Undersea Reflection,” each member took the task of rhythm and melody simultaneously and separately.

    In its infancy, The Bad Plus made waves with their unusual cover choices and sprinkled them generously into shows and albums alike. But more recently, and on this night as well, it took until they were coaxed out for an encore, for a presentation of their classic cover of Aphex Twin’s “Flim” that turned into a Dave King drum workout and a the perfect cap to a wonderful night of adventurous instrumental music.

    The Bad Plus don’t sound like anything from the past. They don’t really sound like they’re from the future, or even a representation of the present. There is a timeless quality to the music that just is. Their melodies feel like they will Never Stop being relevant.

    Setlist: Seams (Anderson), Commitment (Evans), Anthem for the Earnest (King), Salvages (Anderson), Safe Passage (Anderson), 1983 Regional All-Star (King), The Red Door (Evans), Boffadem (Evans), Undersea Reflection (Anderson), Dovetail Nicely (King)
    E: Flim (Aphex Twin)

  • Western Swing and Waltzes: Colter Wall at the Haunt

    Colter Wall travelled from Saskatchewan in southwestern Canada to grace the stage of The Haunt in Ithaca on Saturday night. Though he had no problems connecting with the sold out crowd. Songs centering around cattle branding, ranching and rodeos were cut with more universal themes like love, friendship, trains, cars and motorcycles.

    He arrived to the stage alone with his guitar and his cowboy hat, appropriately opening the set with the old cowboy song, “Old Paint.” He continued with a more modern tale of his own making, “John Beyers.” His voice, a resonant baritone, is rich like a finely aged whiskey (aged just 23 years in this case) and had a strong presence that echoed throughout the room. Though, possibly, the echo was from the audience, who exuberantly sang along, to each other, to the stage or to themselves.

    A few songs in, Wall’s band joined him on stage. Together a quintet, pedal and lap steels, harmonicas, drums, and bass joined him and his guitar. Each brought their own character to the mix. There was an entire arsenal of harmonicas, and even a jaw harp, to match the mood of every tune. The pedal steel’s howls and whirls intermingled beautifully with the harps in an unexpected and somewhat unusual combination. The steady bopping red and gold paisley covered bass and swinging and tasteful drums held it all together perfectly.

    The set was filled with songs from last year’s release. Songs of the Plains, and 2017’s Colter Wall. The tried and true, the ones everyone knew, were tossed in with something new, like “Western Swing and Waltzes” and also some much older selections, like covers of Ramblin’ Jack Elliot’s “Railroad Bill” and Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues.” No matter their age, coming through the voice of Wall and with the skill of his backing band, it was all sounding great to the adoring crowd.

    Fellow Saskatchewans Kacy and Clayton warmed up the evening. The two cousins played a short set of lovely folk songs but were unfortunately competing with a rowdy crowd anxious to sing and dance to the main attraction. The subtle beauty of their voices and guitars was no match for the clanging of glasses and boisterous barroom conversations, but attentive ears were rewarded with another example of Canada’s increasing and ironic grip on the Americana genre.

  • Punch Brothers Entrust Ithaca with 2019 Kickoff

    Chris Thile, taking a break from his day job as host of the radio show “Live From Here,” got the band back together for a spring tour with the Punch Brothers with a tour that started with a return to the State Theatre in Ithaca. A place that banjoist, Noam Pikelny deemed to be too trusting due to the fact that on their last visit, a stranger on their flight offered them a place to stay just a few minutes after meeting them.

    The show was mostly a get-down-to-business affair, songs flowed effortlessly into each other and chatter was held to a minimum. Though some songs required further explanation, such as when they featured two different Tiki drink-themed instrumentals in the set. First the World War II drink “Three Dots and a Dash.” Later it was “Jungle Bird,” which Thile eloquently provided the recipe for. This then devolved into an argument with Pikelny over the meaning of “cheeky bit.” It was a comedy bit reminiscent of “Live From Here” and a welcome comedy break.

    The show concluded with an encore played unplugged and front of stage. The crowd was whisper quiet and the acoustically-sound room carried “The Hops of Guldenberg” to the furthest reach without issue. Without prompt the crowd joined in for some hearty “Oh Boys” for the show closer. The trust was warranted.

    Opener, Gabriel Kahane, played a short set of solo piano and guitar pieces. After the 2016 election, Kahane spent two weeks traveling by train with no phone or other modern technology, passing the time conversing with passengers in the dining cars, trying to understand and connect with people. He wrote an album’s worth of material about the experience and played some of it in his set, beautiful and meandering piano pieces. As about as stark a contrast as one could imagine, he sandwiched in a group of mini songs based on bizarre and comical tweets he read, with subjects like killer cats, Marie Kondo and Mr. Peanut.

    Setlist: Movement and Location, My Oh My, All Ashore, Flippen, Boll Weavil, Alex, Angel of Doubt, Three Dots and a Dash, Just Look at This Mess, Jumbo, Another New World, Passepied, New York City, Julep, Jungle Bird, Skeleton Key
    Encore: The Hops of Guldenberg, Oh Boy

  • “Massive Tuesday in Ithaca”: Rayland Baxter Captivates the Haunt

    On a snowy night in Ithaca on the precipice of the deep freeze, known as the Polar Vortex, a young college town crowd braved the elements to warm up to folk-rock breakout, Rayland Baxter and his 5-piece band. In the midst of a lengthy tour promoting his critically-acclaimed new release, Wide Awake, the set expectedly concentrated heavily on the new stuff, but sprinkled in songs from his entire catalog for a dynamic show.

    The set list looked a bit like a roll call. Present was “Mr. Rodriguez,” “Angeline,” Willy, “Sandra Monica,” “Olivia,” Larocco and “Amelia Baker.” But all eyes, ears and minds were set on Baxter himself.

    The frontman commanded the stage and audience like an old pro. The crowd was amped and excited; Baxter was game for a little friendly banter, going so far as to join in on a FaceTime with someone’s father. The obligatory “How’s it going?” query was answered, “It’s a massive Tuesday in Ithaca.” Baxter agreed, then took it and ran, describing his day flying in from Nashville. Later he would introduce “Olivia” as a Massive Tuesday for sensitivity dot com. When asked about his shoes, Baxter promptly took one off and put in a pitch for All Birds, followed by a pitch for his toothbrush brand of choice, of all things.

    Even more, he controlled the crowd through music. At the powerful highs of “Everything to Me” and the extended jam of “Amelia Baker” they followed along in full rock out mode. They sang and danced together to the catchy hooks of “Hey Larocco” and “Casanova.” When Baxter broke it down in a mid set solo excursion, exploring some of his older, folksier material like “Dreamin’” and “Willy’s Song,” the ambient noise in the bar was dropped to an almost indistinguishable murmur. Respectfully and incredibly quiet to enjoy Baxter alone with his guitar, voice and an airy whisper of a whistle blown through his teeth.

    Illiterate Light, a guitar and drum duo out of Harrisonburg, VA, warmed up the night with selections from their just-released EP, Sweet Beast. Bombastic drumming played from a standing position, fiery guitar leads and quality vocals, reminiscent of Jim James, put the stamp on an opening set that checked all the boxes. The venue had a room full of patrons from the get-go: the headliner had a crowd thoroughly ready for their set, the audience had an introduction to a great young band, and Illiterate Light had themselves a bevy of new fans.

    Setlist: Strange American Dream, Mr. Rodriguez, Freakin’ Me Out, Everything to Me, Angeline, Sandra Monica, Young Man, Dreamin, Willy’s Song, Olivia, Hey Larocco, Casanova, Amelia Baker, Yellow Eyes, Let It All Go Man