Trey Anastasio Band )TAB) closed a sold out, two-night run at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, on Saturday. Fresh off ringing in a new decade, up in the rafters of Madison Square Garden, Trey and his amazing band warmed up the theatre with energy and ease. The original rock palace served as a perfect setting, allowing for a more intimate and special-filled night of fan favorites, and debuts.
The weekend was a springboard for a short winter tour to begin mid-January.
The night kicked off with a mellow “Everything’s Right.” The highlight of the first set came with the debut of “Silver Light,” only to kick back with “Ocelot,” and round out with “Rise/Come Together.” After a short break, the second set ensued: “46 Days,” a bass heavy “Sand,” an eight-minute “Mr. Completely,” and a classic “First Tube,” to close out a great night. The octet returned to the stage for a 12-minute encore (of a not-so) “Brief Time” and “Push on Till the Day”
Set One: Everything’s Right, Cayman Review, Acting The Devil, Alive Again, Sometime After the Sunset, Silver Light, Mozzambique, Ocelot, Curlew’s Call, Rise/Come Together.
Set Two: Burlap Sack and Pumps, 46 Days, Magilla, Sand, A life Beyond The Dream, Liquid Time, Heavy Things, Traveler, Mr. Completely, Dark and Down, First Tube.
Motion City Soundtrack have been on indefinite hiatus since 2016, but last summer the Minneapolis band began teasing something for New Years Eve. The surprise came in the form of a NYE show in Chicago at House of Blues followed by a month-long “Don’t Call It A Comeback” tour of the US. New York area shows included Webster Hall in NYC, where we caught the tour, Starland Ballroom in NJ and The Paramount on Long Island.
The newly renovated Webster Hall is still very much a work in progress, but that did not take away from the delight and anticipation of the fans. By the time the opening bands were set to play, the room was already mostly full and buzzing. Support for the night came from Gregory Stovetop followed by The Sidekicks who both played very upbeat pop-rock sets.
Motion City Soundtrack put out one of the most iconic mid-2000s anthem in “Everything is Alright,” and the crowd was treated to it early as the second song. The entire room jumped along to the guitar riff, stressing the ancient Webster Hall floor, while shouting the chorus in full-throat. Another fan favorite, and pop-rock hit “The Future Freaks Me Out” served as the final song of the night.
Motion City Soundtrack at Webster Hall 1/8/2020 – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
The band had terrific chemistry throughout the night, Justin’s vocals sounded crisp and the band delivered a tight 20 song, career-spanning set, meant to please. The hiatus is certainly over and MCS are back at it.
Motion City Soundtrack at Webster Hall 1/8/2020 – Photo: Joseph Buscarello
The rest of the tour runs through mid February, with stops coast to coast, concluding with three sold-out home town shows at The Fillmore in Minneapolis. Support for those last shows comes from White Reaper, Why Not, Lydia Lizer and Author.
Neil Peart, the pioneering drummer and primary lyricist for Canadian progressive rock icons Rush died Tuesday, January 7 following a nearly three-year-long battle with brain cancer. He was 67 years old.
The influential drummer joined Rush, replacing John Rutsy, in 1974 for the band’s second album Fly By Night and immediately changed the musical direction of the band with his Ayn Rand and SciFi-inspired lyrics and technical drumming skills.
Peart was an unassuming and deeply private man with an extraordinary talent for drumming, the man who inspired legions of air-drummers throughout the world. He rarely did interviews, leaving those duties for bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, where he spoke most directly was through his lyrics.
Drawing from science fiction, fantasy and the works of Ayn Rand (which he would later renounce), Peart wrote lyrics that could be fantastical, could be direct but they made the listener think.
The 1982 single “Subdivisions” spoke directly to a generation of young disaffected high schoolers, addressing the loneliness and separation of one trying to fit in.
Subdivisions
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
Subdivisions
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Rush – “Subdivisions” (1982)
Those lyrics spoke directly to this writer trying to find his way around the halls of Staley Junior High School. It let the disaffected know they weren’t alone in their feelings. And it struck home.
A truly lasting memory associated with Rush is from the winter following the release of the band’s breakthrough 1981 album Moving Pictures. This album was inescapable that year but nowhere more than at the outdoor hockey rink at Franklyn’s Field in my hometown.
My friends and I made the short trek to the park every day, sticks over tiny shoulders, skates dangling behind us. We knew we were in the right place once we heard the lone tinny speaker attached to a light pole overlooking the rink cranking “Limelight,” “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ.” This was my first real exposure to Rush and the most lasting memory I have of the band. The songs were technical, yet accessible. And the drums. I’d never paid much attention to individual instrumentation as a 12-year-old finding his way in the music world. Peart demanded your attention. And he did just that, for 40 years. A virtuoso in a band of virtuosos.
Peart retired completely from drumming following Rush’s final tour in 2015. The demand put on his body over years of constant performing left Peart unsure of his ability to maintain his precision. The demands of the profession lost out over the desire to spend more time with his family and with his other writing and producing projects.
He leaves behind his wife Carrie Nuttal and a daughter, Olivia along with a legacy few humans can claim.
The Capitol Theatre has had a lot of impressive shows in recent times: a Neil Young pop up show, multi-night runs with legendary rockers Ween, the opening night of a three-night-only touring run for the vintage jam project Vida Blue, and lots of others. On December 21, 2019, the Port Chester, NY music venue hosted a concert as special or even more so, the “80th Birthday Celebration” of Del McCoury.
For fans of bluegrass, it doesn’t get much more important than Del, at least in terms of still living musicians. Across his more than sixty-year career, Del shaped the way modern bluegrass guitarist approached their instruments, as well as the way they sing a ballad or write an instrumental tune. He has performed with nearly everyone that made a mark upon the genre, which is perhaps fitting that this eightieth celebration show was billed as an evening with special guests. Players both classically recognized and recently popular were invited to be a part of this one of a kind, free-for-all style celebration of one of the guys who helped to start it all.
Del and his family group, The Del McCoury Band, tore open the evening with the invigorating, breakdown-style tune “Traveling Tear Drop Blues.” What was cool about this – it is a song that many bluegrass bands coming up in the past decade or so, from Yonder Mountain String Band to The Infamous Stringdusters, have covered regularly. Pretty much all of the songs being performed this evening at The Cap were now historically famous numbers that Del had either written himself or put his spin on decades ago. It links a sense of timelessness to the man himself.
At 80 years old, not only does Del pick a guitar as well as ever, but he’s spry in both mind and spirit. The entire night saw him bantering back and forth with an incredibly enthusiastic crowd. People screamed covers endlessly, which made him chuckle every time. Calls for perhaps what is his most famous cover, Richard Thompson’s Del joked to the crowd: “Yes, we’ll get that Vincent, for ya, we will! Maybe right after the show’s over!”
But it’s not just a Del show. The Del McCoury Band, who have toured in recent years without their founding father — that there’s three generations of McCoury ripping it up on stage right now. There’s Del, his sons Ronnie McCoury on mandolin and Rob McCoury on banjo, who have been in the band since the 1980s. As of late there is also Heaven McCoury, who takes after his grandfather and picks a mean guitar. Heaven might have hung in the back quietly most of the night, but whenever it was his turn to step up to the mic, he impressed.
Soon enough, after the core band had whipped the audience around for a bit, they brought out the night’s first special guest. “He’s one of the best in the entire world on his instrument,” introduced Ronnie McCoury, “please welcome, Jerry Douglas.” Yes, he is even objectively speaking probably the single greatest dobro player of all time, but in addition, he matches Del’s smile and charm. He instantly helped pick one of Del’s most famous tracks, “Nashville Cats.” The first set ended on a fantastic, strong note. Douglas lead the way on a quick but searing instrumental breakdown tune.
Set breaks aren’t usually magical, yet The Capitol Theatre always surprises its audiences with tricks. As The Del McCoury Band watched backstage, The Cap played a montage clip of musicians giving sentiments about the eighty-year-old legend on the venues wall. Giants from Paul Simon and Robert Plant, to jam scene heroes Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, and bluegrass newcomers Trampled By Turtles and Chris Thile, all spoke words of thanks and admiration towards Del. His limitless influence upon them, and American music in general, was clear.
Post montage, Del ushered the second half of the night with a duo, alongside noteworthy David Grisman. Grisman, just a few years younger than Del (as he made sure to point out humorously this evening), also earned his place in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, across countless records and collaborations with others of the genre. Del and Dawg, as they have billed themselves over the past few years, have an old folkster sort of camaraderie. Corny jokes were as present as the solos traded off back and forth.
The rest of the evening absolutely shined, getting better with each song and new guest called up. The last two guests, Leftover Salmon’s guitarist Vince Herman and mandolinist Drew Emmitt, ensued a full bluegrass ensemble – it was a magnificent sight and sound to behold. The entry of Andy Falco, guitarist for the Grammy-winning jamgrass outfit The Infamous Stringdusters, was especially touching as it was his first time getting to sing on stage with Del.
With all centered around Del, musicians picked in glorious, uniform and flawless fashion. All the songs “Midnight Blues” again a classic number but once that saw a resurgence of popularity with Leftover Salmon’s cover in the early 2000s, was a highlight of the night. It brought that great, country-rock kind of groove, but amplified with the intensity of a lot more players, and of course brought sharp solo after solo, after solo.
After a double encore of one of the most famous bluegrass songs of all time, “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” Del’s 80th Birthday Celebration clocked close to three hours, with the main McCoury strumming and singing as effortlessly as he did around its opening. If that doesn’t speak to the fascinating amount of vitality this man commands as a performer, nothing will.
Legendary trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and his Uptown Jazz Orchestra will be playing songs off their upcoming album, Jazz Party tonight, Friday Jan. 10, in NYC. The album promises to deliver modernized twists on New Orleans traditions as well as homages to modern jazz musicians. Tickets are still available.
“Jazz, the indigenous American music, is a music of celebration and optimism. The Uptown Jazz Orchestra is such a fun band that I wanted to capture its uniqueness. The idea was to keep the wide variety of styles that we play but to really capture the joy that is a central trademark of the band.”
Delfeayo Marsalis
Jazz Party is set to release on February 7, 2020 via Troubadour Jass Records. It’s Marsalis‘ seventh album as a band leader, and the second major recording with Uptown Jazz Orchestra. It’s a follow-up to 2017’s Kalamazoo.
The work of iconic singer-songwriter and musician Carly Simon will be honored on a special night at NYC’s Carnegie Hall with “The Music of Carly Simon,” hosted by Cyndi Lauper. The event takes place on March 19, and all the proceeds will be donated to music education for underprivileged youth. It will feature more than 20 artists who will be paying their tributes.
The star-studded lineup includes Lauper, Livingston Taylor, Indigo Girls and Michael McDonald. Also slated to appear is Rachel Price of Lake Street Dive. More artists will be announced.
“I’m so proud to be involved with bringing music into the lives of underprivileged children. It’s a tribute to them. I will be singing along with all of the exceptional performers who have given their time. If it’s only in the rehearsals, I’m going to be footloose in the aisles.”
Carly Simon
Tickets are on sale now. For more information and updates, visit musicof.org.
It was a warm winter Friday night and the street lights and holiday decorations glowed through the mountain mist in sleepy Woodstock. But just down the street, the foundation of The Colony was shaking as a capacity crowd danced the night away to home town heroes The Felice Brothers in the middle of their New Year’s Eve run of shows.
After playing Rockville, Hudson, then Boston, the band was tight and the audience that packed in the venue-surrounding balcony was excited for a band that grew up, wrote an awful lot about, and clearly loved their local fans and the area. The lights that hung across the stage and throughout the venue gave a warm ambiance and this warmth could be felt in the crowd as nearly everyone sang along, danced, or did both to the new and older material
Ian (guitar/vocals) and James Felice (keys/accordian/vocals) along with band mates Jesske Hume (bass/vocals) and Will Lawrence (drums/vocals) led off with a mix of tunes from their most recent album and then went all the way back through their catalog that spans 15 years. Both Ian and James are seasoned song writers and, as musicians, can make material about a bleak winter or drowning one’s sorrow in whiskey into foot-stomping barnburners. Yet, the next moment might find Ian gently strumming his guitar while he and James croon about family woes in a song that sounds like it came from a campfire during the Civil War.
Ian Felice introduced the song “Wonderful Life” from their 2008 self-titled album noting, “I wrote this next song in a cemetery just down the road.” Though some might categorize The Felice Brothers as folk/Americana, there are moments of pure rock, ’90s grunge, swelling punk, and tenderness and sweetness that transcend through the spirit of the audience as well as the haunted Catskill Mountains.
“Me and you we did the same damn thing, We fell in love knowing the pain it would bring, Now all I do is sing…. sad songs with red eyes, Throw your arms around me, Let’s keep this quiet, Hear our hearts in the distance like cannon fire, See our breath in the window, in the turning light, Oh it’s a wonderful life.” -Ian Felice “Wonderful Life”
After a beautiful, solo opening set from Allison Olender of the amazing group Upstate Loves You, The Felice Brothers did not disappoint. They were called back twice for encores. The Colony is a great venue, with a full bar and small plates from the kitchen that come out quickly. The sound engineer had a perfect mix for the room as well. Ian and James just keep getting better and their shows capture a raw energy. The next night they closed out the New Year’s run in Brooklyn and, at the end of the month, head to Europe for a tour before a couple of festivals in April.
Setlist: Lincoln, Katie Dear, Awesome Bomb, Let Me Come Home, Cheeky Momma, Homeless Red Neck, Whiskey In My Whiskey, The Kid, Wonderful Life, Cherry Liquorish, Hometown Hero, Savin’ Up For President, Life In The Dark, Take This Bread, Love Me Tenderly, Frankie’s Gun, Penn Station
The 2020 Bonnaroo lineup was revealed Tuesday morning. The June 11-14 festival returns to Manchester, TN for its 19th year with headliners Tool, Lizzo and Tame Impala.
Other acts slated to appear this year include the newly reformed Oysterhead (featuring Trey Anastasio of Phish, Stewart Copeland of the Police and Les Claypool of Primus — which will also be performing), Lana Del Ray, Vampire Weekend, Miley Cyrus, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Tenacious D.
Brooklyn’s Turkuaz, which released its latest EP Kuadochrome in November of last year, is performing with former Talking Heads members Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew as part of a 40th-anniversary tribute to the Heads’ Remain in Light album. Also Nelly will be performing a 20th-anniversary tribute to his Country Grammar album.
Tickets for Bonnaroo 2020 go on sale Thursday, Jan. 9 at Noon ET at several different price levels. Details can be found here.
The Alpaca Gnomes, fresh off of a holiday toy drive show, head to NYC Friday night, January 10, for a set at Rockwood Music Hall‘s Stage 1 at 10 p.m. The band has built up a loyal following with their vibrant, stomp-and-groove, 7-piece original rock-folk jam band. The Gnomes ensemble currently features violin, electric & acoustic guitar, bass, drums, sax, and percussion. Check out their set for FREE this FRIDAY.
The Alpaca Gnomes at Soupstock 2018 – Video by: LiveMusic420
The Alpaca Gnomes’ eclectic style always gets crowds moving and has allowed them to appear on a multitude of bills with varied acts and musical genres such as Living Colour, Blues Traveler, Twiddle, DJ Logic, Funky Meters, Anders Osborne, Railroad Earth, The Drifters, The Tokens, Rick Derringer, Soul Rebels, Roots of Creation, Kung Fu, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Box Set Duo Trio, and The Main Squeeze, as well as private events such as ESPN Radio’s NCAA College Football National Championship pre-party in Pasadena, California.
With each new year comes the promise of new music, and this year is also the start of a new decade. To usher in the new era, musician Jake Bellissimo has collaborated with legendary composer Gerald Busby on a new song, “The Budding of The Rose.” The song is from Bellissimo’s new album The Motion That We Make, which is set to release later this month.
Formerly of Rochester, NY, Bellissimo has been living in Berlin, Germany. The song is a cross-Atlantic effort with Bellissimo providing lyrics, and Busby setting them to melody and composing music for viola from his home at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. The resulting song is sublime. The ardent love song traipses through a sonic garden of delight. It’s contemporary, yet timeless and classic.
Busby has resided at the Chelsea since 1977, when his mentor Virgil Thompson procured him a room. A child prodigy, he was playing with the symphony by the age of 15. He started composing later in life, and debuted professionally when he wrote the score of Runes for choreographer Paul Taylor’s dance company. He’s best known for writing the music for Robert Altman’s acclaimed movie 3 Women.
Bellissimo, in addition to being a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, runs the label Drunk With Love Records. The Motion That We Make is a contemplation on motion, mortality, and coincidences. It is a reflection on the places they’ve been and the people they’ve loved, and those they’ve lost. Watch for the release on January 24 on Drunk With Love Records.
