For the next installment of moe.ron Monday on Nugs.TV, the band heads to Colorado for their February 6, 2015 performance from the Ogden Theatre in Denver. moe. also recently announced the upcoming digital release of their new album This is not, We are, with select songs now available for streaming.
Let’s head north on I-87 to Glens Falls for the May 5, 1981 Grateful Dead show at Glens Falls Civic Center. This is a high energy show, especially Set 2.
The opening set goes back and forth on Jerry and Bobby tunes until “Althea” breaks out for 10 minutes, and the set-closing pair of “The Music Never Stopped” -> “Don’t Ease Me In” is worth a listen. Set 2 stands out on paper, and for good reason. The transition from “Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire on the Mountain” is as musically tight as one could ask for, with melodic solos throughout each.
backstage pass via Larry St.Pierre
“Estimated Prophet” gets dark quick and leads into the uplifting “Eyes of the World.” A Spanish jam that develops from “Truckin’” leads into “Alabama Getaway,” and closes a set with “Johnny B. Goode.” This show is a hidden gem among Dead shows in Upstate New York. Listen below.
Grateful Dead – Glens Falls Civic Center – May 5, 1981
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, Peggy-O-> El Paso, Ramble On Rose, CC Rider, Althea, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, The Music Never Stopped-> Don’t Ease Me In
Set 2: Scarlet Begonias-> Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> Uncle John’s Band-> Truckin’-> Alabama Getaway-> Johnny B. Goode
Roger Sharp, owner of High Peaks Event Production has launched New York Rock N Roots Festival to highlight talent in Saratoga Springs. The festival is livestreamed Sunday nights on the Rock N Roots Facebook page.
Sharp has always entertained the idea of putting on a summer festival in his hometown. His Upstate New York stomping grounds have nurtured a wealth of talent in virtually every genre, from Lana Del Rey the Goo Goo Dolls, and Ani Di Franco to moe., Rick James, Lou Gramm, 10,000 Maniacs, and Chuck Mangione. But keeping up with the demands of his growing business prevented him from getting around to realizing this dream. He finally found the time though after the COVID-19 lockdown put all events on hold. Roger Sharp expresses his thoughts on the livestream festival:
Since we can no longer do mass gatherings, we’re focusing on another way of reaching people, This isn’t a money-making deal, it’s a way to keep ourselves and bands busy, while providing our community with an entertainment option, all while following strict safety standards. Our goal is to create excitement around the bands without distracting from them.
Looking to give viewers something as close as possible to an engaging festival experience, Sharp and his wife LD Christine Sharp along with their associates decided to support each musical act with a full production light show that reflected the music. Helping Sharp and his team achieve these looks is CHAUVET Professional. CHAUVET Professional offers innovative professional lighting fixtures for the production and touring market as well as permanent installation in theaters, hospitality venues, cruise ships, clubs, television and architainment applications.
Varying which upstage fixtures are turned on at different times allows the team to create distinctly different looks for each band, while gobo patterns from the beam and spot units add depth to the stage. Additionally, the wide zoom range of the downstage fixtures increases the variety of looks during the two-hour stream by allowing the design team to change the coverage area of their front lighting.
Although, he is happy with how the livestreams have gone, Sharp admits he “can’t wait to get back to live events” once the lockdown is over. When that happens, he’s going to have a lot of great music to light, given the rich tradition of his Upstate New York market. For now, there’s New York Rock n Roots.
For tonight’s moe.ron Monday on Nugs.TV, the band goes back to their April 22, 2017 show at Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain, North Carolina. moe. also recently announced the upcoming digital release of their new album This is not, We are, with select songs now available for streaming.
Set 1: Okayalright > Wormwood, Not Coming Down, Seat Of My Pants > Sensory Deprivation Bank, Prestige Worldwide, St. Augustine Set 2: Big World > Ricky Marten > Hi and Lo > Bullet > Kyle’s Song, Opium, Silver Sun Encore: Captain America
All funds received during the webcast will be donated to the NAACP. Tune in here at 8pm on Monday, and watch last week’s installment below.
It was March 29, 1990 when saxophonist Branford Marsalis joined the Grateful Dead at Nassau Coliseum for much of the show. Notably, the version of “Eyes of the World” stands out, as it was released on Without a Net in September 1990, and later rereleased on Spring 1990 (The Other One) box set in 2014.
Branford Marsalis had not planned to sit in with the Grateful Dead for more than “Bird Song” that night, as he recalled in talking to Rolling Stone in 2014.
“I came up for “Bird Song,” and after the set was over, I said, ‘Thanks for letting me play, guys.’ And they’re like, ‘No, no, stay! Play the second half of the show. We’ll do “Dark Star”.’ That had no significance to me. I’m like, ‘ “Dark Star”? Okay. What is it?’ ‘Oh, you’re gonna love it. It’s free, it’s out.’ ‘Great, I can play out.’ They start playing that lick, and the audience goes bananas. Later, I started getting these phone calls on my private number: ‘Man, you were great last night. Thanks for getting them to play “Dark Star”. They haven’t played it in six months.’ I’m like, ‘Who are these people?’… There was almost nothing [the Grateful Dead] couldn’t play—and make it sound authentic. When they played a song by The Band or Bob Dylan, they played it with the same spirit as The Band or Dylan. They didn’t feel the need to write their own arrangement of it. They were all listeners. There is a point where musicians who establish themselves stop listening to music and start listening to their own rhetoric. The Dead didn’t do that. It was obvious in the way they approached a song.” – Branford Marsalis, to Rolling Stone magazine
Discover Grateful Dead shows from over the years across New York State with our interactive map below
Anyone who experienced the Spring 1990 shows, or has listened to Without a Net can attest to the benefit Marsalis brings to this version of “Eyes of the World.” The extra element of saxophone layered within the Dead classic gives it a proper place on a pedastal as one of the best versions of the song.
“After they whip through a bright first set featuring mostly live staples like ‘Bertha’ and ‘Ramble on Rose’, Marsalis joins in at the start of the second set for stellar, extended takes on the more exploratory side of the Dead catalog. His airy improvisations on classics like ‘Eyes of the World’ and ‘Dark Star’ sound brilliantly natural here, and what’s most palpable is the sense of exhilaration and mutual respect between these two forces of sonic trailblazing.”
Need some fresh moe.? Well you’re in luck. For This is Not, We Are, moe.’s first studio album in six years, the band will release individual tracks over the next few weeks, leading up to a June 26 release date. Released so far are “Crushing,” “LL3,” “Jazz Cigarette,” “Who You Calling Scared?,” “Dangerous Game,” “Skitchin Buffalo” and the latest track, “Along for the Ride,” have been released and can be found below.
photo by Frankie Cavone
This is Not, We Are, which is available for preorder as a digital (only) album, will be released on June 26.
“We kind of went back to our roots a bit,” Derhak says. “We just wanted to do something that made us feel inspired like we had felt when the band first started. But it also has everything that we’ve picked up along the way, all the good baggage – and maybe some of the bad – that we’ve dragged along for the past 30 years.”
Rob Derhak
Additionally, moe. has shared video via Relix of the live debut of “LL3” from February 2, 2018 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Read our review of the band’s return from hiatus following Rob Derhak’s successful battle with cancer.
Just released on June 9 is the video for “Jazz Cigarette,” a xylophone-heavy jazz odyssey that was filmed from studio sessions.
Released on June 11, “Who You Calling Scared” is a Derhak-penned tune, with Garvey singing lead. Derhak explained to Relix:
“The song is also a tribute to some of the funk and fusion guys that I discovered when I was younger, like Rocco Prestia from Tower of Power. When I sat down and tried to sing and play the basslines, I realized, ‘This is never going to happen. I can’t sing and play those bass lines at the same time.’ So I recruited Chuck to sing the song for me. He was a little reluctant at first but then he jumped on board.”
The latest track, “Dangerous Game,” written by Al Schnier, gives us two takes – one from the studio spliced with a live version from the song’s debut at the State Theatre in Portland, ME on February 16, 2019. Schnier explains about the song:
“This song came from me watching and reading a little bit too much news these days. I don’t want to say that this song is political in nature; it’s more about the personalities of the people in power and maybe the cult of personality and those things we all contend with. I don’t want it to come across as some leftist, liberal rant against the current people in power. It’s more a song about my personal concerns about anyone who would be in a position of power.”
The latest track, “Skitchin’ Buffalo,” looks back at moe.’s early days in the Queen City. The performance from Observatory North Park in San Diego on March 7, 2020 can be seen below, along with insight on “Skitchin’ Buffalo” from Derhak as shared to Relix:
The song looks back on the group’s early days. Rob Derhak was prompted to write it following a conversation with Mike Norris, the singer for Monkey Wrench, one of the band’s early contemporaries. Derhak recalls, “The first time I had ever heard of ‘skitching’ was when I was hanging out with him and it was icy and snowy in Buffalo on some winter night. We were on our way home and he grabbed onto the bumper of the back of a car that had stopped at a stop sign and then just got in a squatting position and the car took off. He hung on and it’s basically like water skiing off the back, except you’re holding onto the bumper. He called it ‘skitching’ and we called it ‘bumper sliding’ where I grew up, and he thought it was funny. He held on and kept getting dragged. His belt buckle was completely scratched up and it looked like he was completely shiny and we were laughing about that incident. And then later, I was like, ‘This is what the song can be, about the memories of Buffalo.’ Basically, I took a bunch of memories of fun stuff we did when we were in college and playing in the band and I put it into one incident. One thing after another.”
The last track to be shared prior to release, “Along for the Ride,” gives fans a mix of studio and live takes, the latter pulling from their February 28, 2020 performance at Revolution Hall in Portland, OR.
Vinnie Amico spoke to Relix about the Derhak-penned song:
“Part of it changed before we got into the studio. The whole slow part that gets kind of spacey, coming out of Chuck’s solo, changed over time. That wasn’t there and we morphed it into that, which ended up making the song a little more interesting because all of a sudden we go into this different part, different tempo, different soundscape. Production-wise, it’s one of the coolest parts of the whole album.”
moe. 2021 Summer Tour
June 24 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing
June 26 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns
June 27 – Black Mountain, NC – Pisgah Brewing
June 29 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre
June 30 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
July 1 — Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
July 1-4 – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival
July 9 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
July 9-11 – Marshfield, MA – Levitate Music & Arts Festival
The 4th Annual Flyday Music Festival will postpone until September, and once again return to the Blackthorne Resort in the Northern Catskill Mountains. Taking place over the course of three days from September 10 – 13, this year festival attendees can expect music from all different types of genres including rock, jam bands, soul, R&B and so much more.
With over twenty acts already scheduled to perform headliners include Lespecial, returning favorites The Magnetic Pull, Hartley’s Encore, plus first-timers Consider The Source, Schleigho, Now vs Now led by Jason Lindner (keyboardist on David Bowie’s final album Blackstar as well as a member of Meshell Ndegeocello’s touring band), Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, Expansion Project, Space Junk Is Forever, Muscle Tough, Cats Under Stars featuring Adam Czolowski, Acoustic Trauma, bassist Nigel Felony (of Floodwood), The Mark Basil Band, Level:Memory and K-Weef.
Sun Colored Chair is set to host the first annual Flyday Open MicNight on Thursday in the Phoenix Pub at Blackthorne Resort, in addition to being part of the festival lineup. Other acts are set to be added to the lineup via the website at later dates.
Originally scheduled in May, the spring festival was moved to September in response to the COVID-19. As of now tickets sales are set at 250 this time to allow for 6 feet of social distancing. Additional ticket sales will happen at the door if there is a lift in the gathering bans. Tickets are available for purchase here.
We’ve all been in need of some new live music and thankfully The Mountain Carol has come to our rescue. Their latest offering, How The West Was Won, is a live album containing incredible versions of their previously released work. Around since 2017, they have established themselves in the past with their undeniably unique sound, a combination of psychedelic and atmospheric electro-pop with a low-fi sound that permeates throughout this live release. Oh, and just a dash of alien abductions.
This album was recorded live at Light Club Lamp Shop in Burlington and the band really uses the space to their advantage. The reverberation from Matt Hall’s percussion through the room adds an incredible depth to the overall sound as it blends with the ebb and flow of Charles Bruce’s incredible vocal talent. Charles’ cosmic keyboarding also balances perfectly with Austin Petrashune’s bouncy, spacey but laser-focused guitar playing. From the giddy opening track, “Under Neith” to “Essex Ferry,” the mountainous closer, this entire album is a sonic adventure.
On their Facebook page, The Mountain Carol boldly claims to be “quite possibly the most important band to emerge from the North Country New York music scene.” Having listened to How The West Was Won multiple times, one cannot dispute their claim. Throw this on when you’re socially distancing at your next campfire, driving home from a day hike in the Adirondacks or enjoying the evening on your porch. It is available to stream on BandCamp, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music and YouTube.
Buffalo Iron Works, in partnership with The Transit Drive-In in Lockport are bringing the “LIVE AT THE DRIVE” concert series to life. The concert series will be featuring many artists starting with Aqueous on Friday and Saturday, June 19 & 20.
The socially distanced concert series will be held at The Transit Drive-In and will feature two concerts a week through August. Future artists performing will be announced in the weeks to come. The concert series aims to have 16 shows in total. Thursday nights will feature a concert and movie combo night while Saturdays will host concerts in the afternoons between 2PM-5PM.
Aqueous will be starting off the concert series on June 19 & 20. They are a groove rock band that hails from Buffalo, NY. Aqueous is a locally famous band to the Buffalo area and have been involved in many live-stream shows since the halt on live shows due to COVID-19.
Tickets will be available for purchase though the Transit Drive-In website. Gates for the concert series will open at 1pm both days with the show starting at 2pm. GA tickets are $40 per person and VIP are $80 per person. VIP tickets will include a ticket to the show, a vehicle spot in the front two rows, and a limited edition poster. All ticketing will be through internet pre-sale only, and tickets need to be purchased for all occupants of each vehicle under one transaction. A minimum of two people per vehicle must be purchased, with a maximum of six people.
For more information visit Buffalo Iron Works website and The Transit Drive-In website.
With divisions across the country on display through peaceful protest and violence, songs of unity and calm are not the first thought, but can provide an escape, even if briefly, giving pause amid the chaos in cities throughout the state and America. One of those songs is “My Sisters and Brothers”
Originally written by Charles Johnson of The Sensational Nightingales, Jerry Garcia Band would perform “My Sisters and Brothers” numerous times from the 1970s through the 1990s, and is featured on Jerry Garcia Band. The version below is the encore of the October 28, 1987 (late) show from the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Manhattan.
