NYS Music 202​0

Category: Reviews

  • The King of Corona: Paul Simon says goodbye at Flushing Meadows

    On September 22, 2018, at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, Paul Simon said goodbye.

    Paul was introduced by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. He started the 2 and 1/2 hour show with Simon & Garfunkel classic “America.” His setlist pretty much remained the same as it was the rest of the tour.

    paul simon goodbye

    “This is like, two miles from where I used to play high school baseball,” he said after the first song. He then took out a baseball and glove and started playing catch with the massive audience. You can hear the sound of passing planes from above. “I was worried about that” he said. “Well, Welcome to New York” he joked as the plane can be seen landing in nearby LaGuardia Airport.

    The show continued with more classics like “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” “Boy in the Bubble” and “Mother and Child Reunion.” During the Goodbye Rosie part in “Me and Julio,” the crowd went crazy when he said “Queen of Corona” Paul’s wife Edie Brickell joined him on stage for the whistling solo. After the song, he said to the crowd “How much fun is it to sing a song about Corona, in Corona?!” Looking back, that was pretty cool moment.

    Even though this was his farewell concert, Paul still sprinkled in some songs from his new album “In the Blue Light.” Although this is his fourteenth solo studio album, the album consists of re-recordings of lesser known Simon songs like “Can’t Run But” And “Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War,” which were both performed.

    Paul then started talking about a song he had an “interesting relationship” with. He talked about writing this song and “giving it away” to someone, but being able to reclaim it for his final tour. The song he was referring to was “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” After performing it with a slightly different arrangement with YMusic, who Paul worked with on his new album, he thanked Aretha Franklin who covered the song in 1971.

    The show ended with two encores. The first encore started with “Late in the Evening” but the highlight was “Still Crazy After All These Years.” The second encore started with “Homeward Bound” followed by “Kodachrome,” “The Boxer” and “American Tune.” The show ended with Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sounds of Silence” performed by Paul with just an acoustic guitar. He then thanked the crowd and walked off stage and just like that, the last show of the final tour ended, and Paul Simon said goodbye.

    paul simon goodbye

    Out of the 26 song set, only five were Simon & Garfunkel songs. Not one mention of Garfunkel was made during the entire show other than a picture of the duo that flashed briefly during a video montage during “Homeward Bound.”

    Although this was his final “tour,” Paul has stated that he may still do an occasional performance.

    Setlist: America, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, The Boy in the Bubble, Dazzling Blue, That Was Your Mother, Rewrite, Mother and Child Reunion, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War, Can’t Run But, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Wristband, Spirit Voices, The Obvious Child, Questions for the Angels, The Cool, Cool River, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al

    Encore: Late in the Evening, Still Crazy After All These Years, Graceland

    Encore 2: Homeward Bound, Kodachrome, The Boxer, American Tune, The Sound of Silence

  • In Focus: Pink Talking Fish gets Dazed and Confused at Jericho Drive-In

    On a chilly September night, the first where autumn made its presence known, Jericho Drive-In in Glenmont, NY hosted a socially distant crowd of a few hundred for a double feature – Pink Talking Fish and Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.

    With cars lined up 10 rows deep, Pink Talking Fish gave the Capital District‘s jam scene something they had long been waiting for – a chance to get down and dance with close friends in a safe environment. Fans were smart and followed the rules we’ve all been aware of for six months – wearing masks when leaving your car area, and small clusters of live music fans staying within their bubbles. After 6 months of little to no live music, it’s fair to say that fans weren’t screwing this up (heads up here Gov. Cuomo).

    Pink Talking Fish Drive-In

    The performance from Pink Talking Fish was as invigorating as it was cathartic. Their blend of Phish, Talking Heads and Pink Floyd was overdue for many in the crowd, with a show opening “Simple” with a “Third Stone from the Sun” tease on the 50th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death.

    One of many highlights of the evening, “Theme From The Bottom” > “Us And Them” > “Any Colour You Like” > “Theme From The Bottom,” featured a subtle tease of “Waste” and jumped feet first into show-stopper “Crosseyed and Painless.” To close out the night and give a nod to the second feature, Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” was deftly intertwined within Phish’s “David Bowie,” bringing back the feel of exploratory “Bowie”‘s from the mid-90s.

    Next up for Pink Talking Fish, they’ll play two shows in Burlington, VT at The Backyard at Nectar’s on Friday, October 16! More info and tickets here.

    Jericho Drive-In, Glenmont, NY, Friday, September 18, 2020

    Setlist: Simple* > Happiest Days Of Our Lives > Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 > This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Rift, Have A Cigar > And She Was, Reba, Wish You Were Here > Moon Rocks, Theme From The Bottom > Us And Them** > Any Colour You Like > Theme From The Bottom > Crosseyed And Painless > David Bowie% > Dazed And Confused > David Bowie%%

    *w/ Third Stone From The Sun tease
    **w/ Waste tease
    % w/ Purple Haze tease
    %% w/ Dazed And Confused teases Pink Talking Fish Drive-In

  • TEST and Roy Campbell: A throwback to a fantastic night at Brooklyn’s Hinton House

    Indie Jazz label 577 records has just released the new TEST and Roy Campbell Jr. album, recorded live at the Hinton House. The live recording of the performance took place in April, 1999.

    According to Jazz Times, Roy Campbell Jr. was considered a favored player among the free jazz aficionados. He was praised for his adventurous approach and mixing of genres including world music, hip-hop, and reggae. Unfortunately, Roy Campbell Jr had passed away on January 9th, 2014, at 61 years old.

    Campbell was joined by bassist Matt Heyner, drummer Tom Bruno, and saxophonist Daniel Carter, with Sabir Mateen also playing saxophone alongside the group. According the album notes, this performance was a benefit gig to repair the No Neck Blues Band’s van. John Fahey, Lee Ranaldo, and No Neck Blues Band joined the stacked lineup at their loft, The Hinton House, and raised the ‘bread’ to fix the van. Spirits were lit with a listening and enthusiastic audience. The cathartic energy rising.

    The performance and energy were frantic and steadily increasing as the show went on. Listeners tuned in to the live performance clearly enjoyed the free-jazz and the atmosphere Roy Campbell Jr. and company provided.


    TEST occupied the public space of New York City. TEST’s typical audience was a passerby on a subway platform, a curious security guard on a smoke break in midtown, or the most ‘in the know’ subset of gig-goers. TEST, distinctly honed their working band approach, by actively gigging multiple times a week across the NYC subway map.

    When TEST performed at a venue, listeners would witness the bullseye acumen of a working band. This ethos of the band choosing to ‘play anywhere/all the time’ separated TEST from other groups.

    One of the hardest working musicians in the scene, Campbell lived at the north end of the Bronx, but nightly could be found downtown, uptown, or somewhere in the middle playing weekly at venues such as Lenox Lounge, The Pink Pony, Brecht Forum, Tonic, Knitting Factory and CBGB’s Gallery.

    The free-jazz album has left listeners feeling nostalgic for the time. The Test and Roy Campbell album has given jazz aficionados the opportunity to live in that moment of free-jazz history. The album is now on Bandcamp.


  • On this day in 2001, stars unite for “America: A Tribute to Heroes”

    Ten days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, living legends and new artists came together for a primetime benefit concert, “America: A Tribute to Heroes.” The star-studded lineup included Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, U2, Billy Joel, Céline Dion, and Willie Nelson.

    Executive produced by Tenth Planet Productions’ Joel Gallen, “A Tribute to Heroes” was simulcast across all major networks commercial-free. The September 21 concert won the 2002 Primetime Emmy Award for an Outstanding Variety Special, with many artists channeling the somber energy into the best performances of their careers. The telethon portion of “A Tribute to Heroes” raised over $150 million for 9/11 victims and their families, specifically police officers and firefighters. Years later, networks repeated the concert-telethon model for Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

    America A Tribute to Heroes

    The concert was filmed live in New York, Los Angeles, and London, with British and Canadian artists supporting their American peers. At each venue, the stage was decorated with hundreds of candles. Bruce Springsteen opened the show with the then-unreleased song “My City of Ruins,” playing guitar and harmonica. With the E Street Band, he introduced it as “a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters.” The following year, the five-minute track closed out Springsteen’s 9/11-inspired album The Rising.

    Stevie Wonder then performed “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” the opening track of Songs in the Key of Life, with gospel sextet Take 6.

    U2 performed “Peace on Earth” and “Walk On” from London with Natalie Imbruglia and Dave Stewart. “Peace on Earth” was inspired by the 1998 Omagh car bombing, but took on new meaning after 9/11. For the performance, Bono changed the original lyrics from “I’m sick of hearing again and again that there’s gonna be peace on Earth” to “I’m sick of hearing again and again that there’s never gonna be peace on Earth.”

    Billy Joel had the most hopeful performance of the night, singing and playing “New York State of Mind.” Rather than dwelling on tragedy, he expressed New Yorker pride and even smiled throughout his performance. Joel never officially released “New York State of Mind” as a single, but due to its popularity with fans it’s often mistaken as one.

    In addition to the night’s abundance of established acts, then-new artists Alicia Keys and Enrique Iglesias took the stage. Keys performed a cover of “Someday We’ll All Be Free” by Donny Hathaway, beginning with a piano riff reminiscent of her future 2003 song “Diary.”

    Enrique Iglesias had just broken out two years earlier in 1999 with “Bailamos,” but his signature hit would go on to become “Hero,” which he publicly performed for the first time that night. Radio DJs later mixed the song with audio from police, firefighters, and civilians, adding to the song’s popularity.

    Iglesias wasn’t the only artist to sing a song called “Hero.” A few numbers later, Mariah Carey sang the just-as-famous song of the same name off her 1993 album Music Box. A New Yorker herself, Carey’s performance was more subdued than past renditions but characteristic of the night’s solemn energy.

    The event also included some country artists. Faith Hill performed “There Will Come a Day” from her 2001 album Breathe with a backing gospel choir, and the Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) performed the poignant “I Believe In Love.”

    “America A Tribute to Heroes” ended on a patriotic note, with Céline Dion singing “God Bless America” and Willie Nelson leading the Los Angeles performers and speakers in a grand finale of “America the Beautiful.” Dion later released her cover as a single, and performed it again at the Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. Céline Dion and Neil Young were the night’s only Canadian performers.

    Other performers included Neil Young, Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, Bon Jovi, Sting, Dave Matthews, and Paul Simon. Most major genres were well-represented: multiple pop, rock, country, folk, and soul artists were on the setlist, and despite their thematic similarities for the occasion, they were diverse in sound.

    The success of “America: A Tribute to Heroes” prompted two more 9/11 tribute concerts a month later: the similarly diverse “Concert For New York City” in Madison Square Garden, and the pop-focused Michael Jackson-led “United We Stand.” In 2004, Rolling Stone named the 9/11 concerts “one of the 50 moments that changed rock,” and it’s easy to see why—despite the tragic circumstances that brought the artists together, many were on top of their game.

  • Jerry Sunday: The Grateful Dead at MSG, September 20, 1982

    By 1982, The Grateful Dead’s relationship with the State of New York had been firmly established. It began with a free show at Tompkins Square Park in 1967. Now, the band had graduated to regular gigs at Madison Square Garden, The World’s Most Famous Arena. Monday, September 20, 1982 would be part of their third run at The Garden, after playing there initially in 1979 and a brief two-show stay in 1981. The Brent Mydland era was now in full swing and this show from 38 years ago sees the band relaxed and fully cohesive as the Grateful Dead at MSG deliver another knockout New York performance.

    A spunky “Shakedown Street” gets things started off on the right foot. The band wastes no time getting into a nice groove and Mydland’s backing vocals spice this one up nicely.

    Guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir take turns leading the way on vocals through pristine versions of “Candyman” and “El Paso,” respectively, with the rest of the band sounding fully engaged. Afterwards, the recent revival of “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” continued. A month earlier, the Dead dusted off this oldie but goodie after a four-year layoff. Garcia’s vocals seem to have an almost echo-y feel to them on this one before he nails the corresponding guitar solos.

    Mydland’s signature raspy vocals accompany more beautiful Garcia-supplied guitar licks on the bluesy “Never Trust A Woman” that follows. The first set later ends with a couple of new tunes. Weir quickly mentions something about “remembering all the words this time” before they launch into “Throwin’ Stones.” This would be only the third one ever played after making its debut earlier in the fall tour. It’s an aggressive rendition as Weir certainly remembers the words and then some. But instead of the traditional outro jam the Dead would later develop for it, they pivot immediately to a rousing “Keep Your Day Job” that closes the set.

    Grateful Dead at MSG

    Things rev back up immediately with the “Scarlet Begonias” that opens up the second set. It features some delightful interplay between Garcia and Mydland on keys. With a pounding rhythm generated from bassist Phil Lesh, the jam eventually meanders a little bit before the familiar tones of “Fire On The Mountain” come through.

    The mid-set “Terrapin Station” that later follows has a very mellow feel to it early on. The composed section drifts off into near silence before eventually picking back up. Later in the set, emerging from the confines of “Space,” is another Dead specialty – the “Spanish Jam.” It’s a brief but infectious instrumental section that’s influenced by the theme to Miles Davis’ “Solea” from his Sketches Of Spain album. This more than aptly serves as the bridge to “Truckin’.”

    There would be no “Truckin’” jam tonight though. Instead, the band does another collective pivot of sorts and hurls into “The Other One.” It’s a quick but powerful version that sees Weir almost toying with the lyrics.

    After a customary joyous run through of “Sugar Magnolia” to close out the second set, the Dead decide to end things with yet another new number. This is also only the third ever performance of “Touch Of Grey,” a song that would later become synonymous with the band and their lone commercial “hit.” One more show at The Garden would follow the next evening as the Dead continue to make their presence felt in The Empire State.

    Grateful Dead at MSG

    Grateful Dead – Madison Square Garden 9/20/82

    Set 1: Shakedown Street > New Minglewood Blues, Candyman > El Paso, Dupree’s Diamond Blues, It’s All Over Now, Never Trust A Woman, Row Jimmy, Throwing Stones > Keep Your Day Job

    Set 2: Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Women Are Smarter, Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Spanish Jam > Truckin’ > The Other One > Stella Blue > Sugar Magnolia

    Encore: Touch Of Grey

  • Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park: The Concert that Restored a Historical Destination

    Picture Central Park today. Beautiful bridges and architecture throughout a green, shaded landscape. A place where people can enjoy their hour lunch break, or a destination for buskers trying to earn some cash. In the 1970’s, the park had been a completely different atmosphere. Crime, graffiti and decay structured the park.

    Simon & Garfunkel
    Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon

    On Sept. 19, 1981, Simon & Garfunkel raised around $51,000, performing at the Central Park Stage which had free admission. Their concert would forever change the entire vibe of the famous park and helped it thrive to where it is today.

    The concert was a year after Elton John performed for around 300,000 people, wearing his iconic duck suit. Among the artists that also performed in Central Park were Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band and Garth Brooks.

    Simon & Garfunkel
    Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park, 1981

    Although most of the concerts drew enormous crowds, and made a lasting impact on Central Park being a destination for great musicians, Simon & Garfunkel literally cleaned up the park with the money they raised from merchandising, CD sales and TV and video rights.

    The show was broadcast live on HBO, then was recorded and released as the duo’s first live album.

    http://www.michaeldoret.com/
    Poster by Michael Doret

    Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel made history that day and drastically improved the state of Central Park. As a result of the impact they made, the park became a popular tourist attraction. There were no “sounds of silence,” when it came to the cheers of the 500,000 people in the audience.

    Setlist: Mrs. Robinson, Homeward Bound, America, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Scarborough Fair, April Come She Will, Wake Up Little Susie, The Everly Brothers, Still Crazy After All These Years, American Tune, Late in the Evening, Slip Slidin’ Away, A Heart in New York, The Late Great Johnny Ace, Kodachrome/Maybellene, Bridge over Troubled Water, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, The Boxer

    Encore: Old Friends / Bookends Theme, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy), The Sound of Silence

    Encore 2: Late in the Evening (Reprise)

  • Matt Smith to Release Eight New Albums Today

    Matt Smith, a Capital District-raised, Austin-based artist, has released eight new albums as well as ten digital releases from Smith’s catalog of recordings. The albums will be available everywhere music is streamed or bought. Hard copies of the album are available through Austin’s Waterloo Records.

    Matt Smith

    Smith has been working on the flagship release, Being Human, for four years. The song addresses broad themes of love, death and spirituality, along with timely issues such as immigration, narcissism and addiction.

    Parlor is a solo acoustic instrumental album recorded entirely on an 1890’s Thompson and Odell parlor guitar that has been handed down through four generations of the Smith family. Chop Shop – Live at Strange Brew was recorded at the legendary south Austin venue during the
    band’s weekly Sunday afternoon residency.

    When asked about why releasing now, Matt Smith said, “It’s an election year and there’s COVID. I had them all ready, and rather than dribble them out, why not put it all out at once? That way, I can get back to work on new material.”

  • Nas makes his latest claim to the throne with “King’s Disease”

    The 13th studio album from legendary Queens rapper Nas was released on August 21 through Mass Appeal Records. Composed of twelve tracks and one bonus record, the project was produced solely by California native Hit-Boy, a well-known producer who has made a name for himself for producing records with artists the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake, Big Sean and more.

    Following the lackluster reception to his previous body of work, Nasir, King’s Disease had fans skeptical, wondering what the fabled emcee had left. Would the album feel as uninspired as its predecessor or, would it be as acclaimed as 2012’s Life is Good? Other concerns arose when the track list was revealed, as Anderson .Paak, Lil Durk, Fivio Foreign and A$ap Ferg held the guest spots, which led the public to assume that Nas would try to conform and abandon his timeless style for a more modern trend of music. 

    These doubts were surely put to rest after the intro track and realized that Nas wasn’t conforming but taking his style and meshing it with more modern sounding beats and production. He effortlessly got into his pockets and felt comfortable from start-to-finish.

    Nas

    The album cover goes consists of Cupid-like babies. Some are black, others white, with wings of angels but colored red as if they were demons holding up a plaque that is covered by dirt. Nas’ name appears on the plaque, while one of the babies holds a crown. There is a rusty bloody machete on the table with fruit, gold, a skeleton head, the head of a hog, a serpent and flowers from a garden. 

    Throughout his last couple of projects Nas has been made his spiritual beliefs apparent and this album cover reflects that. King’s disease is defined as a disease where affluent people eat poorly, invest poorly and have bad relationships, which leads to one’s downfall. Nas touches on business and health throughout the project but the theme he harkens on the most is love and relationships. On multiple songs he tells stories of failed romantic relationships, or how relationships work poorly within the black community. Nas also touches on the struggles of the black community as a whole throughout.

    Hit-Boy did a masterful job with the beats. The album has a classical sound to it, with a couple of instruments being played in the background on the majority of the tracks, combined with the heavy bass that is preferred in today’s rap music. 

    The story-telling is a highlight of the album. He didn’t do it too often but, when he did, they were amazing. On the record, “Car #85,” we get Nas at his descriptive best as he tells tales of his close run-ins with the law, his trips to hang out with friends, as well as his attempts of keeping a romantic relationship alive. All precipitated by this car service that he would use exclusively. 

    The length of the album was a plus – short and succinct, thus making it an easy listen, although several records felt short. Nas is known to rap multiple verses yet, on this project, it seemed like he would give one or two concise verses so as to not prolong the records. 

    And while many of the features were surprising, he did a great job of staying true to himself while letting other artists shine in their own lanes. He didn’t try to step on their toes and in return, they didn’t step on his. If there can be a complaint, it’s that the contrasting sounds made for songs sounding entirely different when a new act was introduced. For example, in the Lil Durk-assisted “Til The War is Won.” Nas raps for two verses and basically hands the record off to Lil Durk for the last minute or so. This also happened with his song with Anderson .Paak “All Bad,” which sounds like an Anderson .Paak song featuring Nas. 

    While having a great theme, Nas fails to focus on it for the entirety of the album. And at times, it feels like he was running down bullet points instead of detailed explanations. Nas is knowledgeable, but at times he doesn’t explain his knowledge – he just puts the knowledge out there for fans to either get it or not. This was a problem from his last release Nasir, where fans reduced many of lines to him being a conspiracy theorist.  

    Nas
    Full Circle

    “10 Points” is a record which embodies where Nas is in life. The song consists of him kicking game to the youth, explaining, “Take it from a street dude, you don’t need to be a street dude. Get a lawyer, read your contract, and eat food.” The way he delivers his rhymes in a smooth cool manner is what separates Nas from a lot of emcees, still.

    He also addressed the longstanding rumors of him copying the late Tupac Shakur’s ‘Thug Life’ tattoo, rapping, “Pac saw the chain, got his medallion, I want it. Insinuate imitation cause I copied his stomach. Kings honor kings, straight from my pops to my son’s sh*t.” This was his way of laying to rest how his ‘Godson’ tattoo mirrored Tupac and a ‘Thug Life’ tattoo both being placed across their stomachs. The beat switch on this track was flawless and was the highlight of Hit-Boy’s production. 

    Nas also gave shootouts to legendary NBA player Kobe Bryant and rap legend Nipsey Hussle, rhyming, “Rest in Peace Kobe and Nip that’s off the rip.” People forget that Nas once ripped Kobe on his Street Disciple album on the track “These are our Hero’s” where he went at the then troubled NBA star for his alleged rape case allegations in 2003. It was refreshing to hear Nas ignore old wounds and pay respects to Bryant, although the two had reconciled long before his death.

    Other great records include “Blue Benz,” “Car #85,” “27 Summers,” and “The Definition.” The beats for “Blue Benz” and “27 Summers” stand out. 

    Nas and Hit-Boy complimented each other well. Hit-Boy showcased his range as a producer while showing Nas’ ability to adapt to the new climate of music. Nas works best on more simplistic beats, with some drum patterns and instruments in the background to boost his message and it was cool that he was allowed to still find his pocket.

    Nas meshed with many of the features on the album and it was great to see the return of his group, The Firm, on the song “Full Circle.” King’s Disease is a good album, and while it isn’t Nas’ best work, it wasn’t expected to be. It’s just good to hear one of the genre’s all-time greats still delivering quality music.The album is a solid 7.5 out of 10 and we look forward to what more Nas has to offer.

    With contributions from Alain Clerine

  • 20 Years Later: Phish jams “Drowned” for soaked fans at Darien Lake

    Twenty years ago, on September 14, 2000, Phish performed to a rain-soaked crowd at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. The last stop in New York on their Fall 2000 tour, this show would later be released as Live Phish, Vol. 3 in Septmeber, 2001.

    Phish Darien
    Art by Drew Suto

    This was also Phish’s last show in New York until December 31, 2002 at Madison Square Garden, which ended the band’s hiatus that began on October 7, 2000. The band played six shows in the Northeast on their Fall 2000 tour, as they headed to the Midwest and, eventually, the West Coast to cap off their first 17 years as a band and take a much needed break from the road. The Darien Lake show was the fifth of these shows, and major storm be damned, fans flocked to Western New York in search of one final taste of Phish for the foreseeable future.

    In releasing this show just a year later, as part of their then-new Live Phish series, it certified the excellence in playing throughout the show. Trey Anastasio spoke to Relix Magazine in the August 2001 issue and referenced the show’s inclusion in Live Phish.

    There are also three shows from 2000 in the series. Page and I picked one of them because it has this version of ‘Carini’ that I’m convinced is the greatest version of all time. I’m not convinced that it’s the whole greatest show of all time, but I love this version of ‘Carini.’ I also like the song list, because if you didn’t like Phish and you heard this set, it would be very interesting. There’s ‘Punch You In the Eye,’ ‘Reba,’ [Neil Young’s] ‘Albuquerque’ and ‘Carini.’ I think it sounds like such a weird band.” Trey cracks up. “Those four songs in a row? You can’t make any sense of it. The ‘Carini’ is like 15 or 20 minutes long or something. It’s a complete metal meltdown. It’s the bass and drumming in the background that I really liked. It’s really strange. Nobody’s playing the beat at all. Those guys are playing in quarter time and the guitar and keyboards are just creating this wash of color on top of this heavy booming. It’s right after ‘Albuquerque,’ which has harmonies and then this heavy metal thing. If you kind of step away from it, they’re both really odd.”

    Trey Anastasio, Relix Magazine, August 2001

    It had rained all day at Darien Center, and would downpour more during the show, a seemingly never-ending torrent of water from the sky. Anastasio summed up the first set well, noting a band and fan favorite version of “Carini” amid a six-song set that was capped by “The Oh Kee Pah Ceremony” > “Suzy Greenberg,” with the latter being jammed well beyond the normal confines of the set closer.

    phish darien

    Set 2 opened with “Drowned,” apropos for the downpour that drenched the crowd on the lawn throughout the evening. Dave Calarco, aka Mr. Miner, shared his take on this hallmark version of The Who classic.

    “Delving into abstract psychedelia and ambient madness, this was arguably the craziest and most “out-there,” terrorizing, and successful jams of the fall- all wrapped into one. Accessing alien atmospheres during this mind-bending excursion, this jam illustrated the ’99-’00 millennial exploration of abstract soundscapes, an element of the band’s creative direction during these years.”

    Mr. Miner

    After 30 minutes of “Drowned,” Phish moved onto another song originating from their Halloween musical costumes of the past, with Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed and Painless.” 11 minutes later, the mellow and rare “Dog Faced Boy” shone some light after more than 40 minutes of dark jams, followed by “Prince Caspian” and Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup to close the set.

    A unique encore followed, featuring three songs, two of which were still relatively new to the Phish repertoire – “Driver,” “The Inlaw Josie Wales” – and one of their most well known tunes, “Sample in a Jar.” The rain let up in the last half hour of the show, but spirits were far from dampened on this night. Some fans in attendance bid farewell to Phish, not knowing when the band’s self-imposed hiatus would bring them back.

    Setlist via Phish.net

    Soundcheck: Birds of a Feather

    Set 1: Punch You in the Eye > Reba[1], Albuquerque, Carini, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg > Jam

    Set 2: Drowned > Crosseyed and Painless > Dog Faced Boy, Prince Caspian > Loving Cup

    Encore: Driver, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Sample in a Jar

    [1] No whistling.

  • Revisiting J.Period Mixtape Live at Sony Hall

    Brooklyn based Mixtape DJ J.Period recorded another installment of his live mixtape at Sony Hall in Manhattan on September 13, 2018. This installment was a Top 5 MCs edition, featuring Rakim, Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Dres from Blacksheep and Smif-N-Wessun.

    After two DJ sets by The Whooligan and DJ Evil Dee, Pharoahe Monch started the mixtape and got the crowd amped up with a set including “My Life” and “Simon Says.”

    Dres from Blacksheep blessed the stage with a few classics including “Flavor of the Month” and “The Choice Is Yours,” with a guest appearance by Native Tongue’s Chi Ali who appeared on Blacksheep’s debut album A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.

    Next up was a set by another legendary hip hop duo, Smif-N-Wessun, consisting of members Tek and Steele. Smif-N-Wessun comprise one quarter of the Brownsville (Brooklyn) supergroup Boot Camp Clik. One of the highlights of the night was watching them perform their 1994 classic “Bucktown.”

    j.period

    Legendary MC Black Thought of the legendary Roots crew started his set with “Act Too (Love of my Life),” and also brought out Grammy nominated female rapper Mumu Fresh AKA Maimouna Youssef, and Pharoahe Monch for a three-way cypher. Thought also did a cover of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story” and dropped some of the bars we heard on his now famous 15 minute Funk Flex Freestyle.

    The show culminated with yet another legendary hip hop duo Eric B and Rakim. It was a nice surprise to see Eric B as he was not listed on the original lineup. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the classic album Paid In Full which led to the highlight of seeing Rakim perform “I Ain’t No Joke” and “I Know You Got Soul.” Rakim also brought out some very talented break dancers from the KBL (Kids Breaking League) to show off their talents as he performed “Juice (Know The Ledge).”

    This was another legendary night for hip-hop fans, especially above the age of 30, like myself. All of the artists were on point and sounded great, making for another very successful installment of J.Period and his Live Mixtape.

Built in Breakdance