On August 4, 2015, Billy Joel played the final show at the original Nassau Coliseum. Billy played for over 3 hours at the 43 year old arena with a setlist that touched on every decade of his career. The thing that made this show special was the way he built the show specifically for a Long Island Crowd. He had many Long Island anecdotes including his first gig at Holy Family Church in Hicksville, and fights he had in a Northport restaurant.
The place went crazy when Billy said “I’d like to bring out a fellow Long Islander and one of the great songwriters of our time” and out walked Paul Simon. It got even louder when he played the first few notes to “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” They also did a duet of “Homeward Bound” and then a horn section came to the stage and they played “Late in the Evening” for the last song with Simon. Later on, another Long Island native, Kevin James came out and did the intro to “Miami 2017” before Joel took over the song.
It was Joel’s 32nd concert at the Coliseum and the last before the $130 million renovation and featured Michael DelGuidice to open the show. It was a sad event for fans like myself who grew up going to Islander games and concerts at the Coliseum our entire lives. They couldn’t have picked a better person to end that chapter of the Coliseum’s history. That’s probably why Billy also reopened the arena on April 5, 2017.
Setlist: Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Zanzibar, Summer, Highland Falls, Everybody Loves You Now, No Man’s Land (first since 1995), Just the Way You Are, The Entertainer, The Longest Time (with Doo wop tribute intro), The Downeaster Alexa, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard*, Homeward Bound*, Late in the Evening*, The Ballad of Billy the Kid, New York State of Mind, Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)^, Until the Night, Allentown, Goodnight Saigon@, Keeping the Faith, She’s Always a Woman, My Life, Captain Jack, I’ve Loved These Days, The River of Dreams, Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Philadelphia band Goalkeeper have come through with “Happy,” an upbeat pop punk banger of a track just in time for the dog days of summer.
Full of crunchy power chords, and catchy melodies, “Happy” is the bands first release off of their upcoming EP Life in Slow Motion which will be released this upcoming September 25th on the Lost Music Collective independent label. “Happy” encapsulates everything Goalkeeper have been about thus far; writing nostalgic-flavored pop punk songs from the early 2000s coupled with roaring vocals and hefty breakdowns.
Goalkeeper have proven themselves to be a group who is constantly seeking out new sounds in an effort to push the genre they operate in to the next level. Opening for bands such as State Champs and Real Friends, Goalkeeper are determined to leave their mark on the east coast pop punk scene.
Well, moe. was supposed to perform at Vernon Downs this past weekend, but the powers that be pulled the plug just two days prior to the shows. Making lemonade out of lemons, moe. instead streamed both nights of shows from Big Blue North Recording Studio in Utica, where they had been rehearsing for the shows. The band sent the following video message to fans prior to the show.
Over the two nights, fans were treated to a tracks off the new album, This is Not, We Are, a few classic moe. jam vehicles and a couple of choice covers that left the fans buzzing on the couch and online.
Highlights from the two shows included a “St. Stephen” jam in the new song “Crushing,” “Timmy Tucker” and “Brent Black” both providing ample room for improvisation, and a cover of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” sandwiched in between “Bear Song” to end the first set of the weekend.
On August 1, the band paid tribute to Jerry Garcia on his birthday with a “West L.A. Fadeaway” that was anything but your typical cover of a Dead tune. Rob starts this out with heavy funk in his bass as Al’s gutiar takes a spacey journey to the lyrics. Full of just the right amount of notes, the band put a most unique twist on the song, one you’ll want to check out below.
With a rousing “New York City” to end the two nights, moe. tipped their hat to the Big Apple with their ode to the heart of the Empire State and epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic in America.
If you missed the shows, order here from Tour Gigs.
Setlist – July 31, 2020
Set 1: Johnny Lineup, Akimbo, Along for the Ride, Tubing The River Styx > The Pit > Dangerous Game > Bearsong > Walk On The Wild Side > Bearsong
Set 2: Brent Black > Mar-Dema > Who You Calling Scared, Four, ATL, Can’t Seem To Find, Billy Goat > Brent Black
Encore: Plane Crash, Jazz Cigarette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uKkKXyMpKA
Setlist – August 1, 2020
Set 1: Buster, Downward Facing Dog > Deep This Time, Undertone > Letter Home, Tailspin, Skitchin’ Buffalo > Skitchin Buffalo Reprise > Wind it up
Set 2: George, Blue Jeans Pizza > Crushing > LL3 > Bullet, Don’t Wanna Be > Timmy Tucker
A trio of brothers came together to form the band, Council. Now, they have a powerful new EP under their belt, Haunts Me.
Cover art for Council’s new EP Haunts Me.
From Farm Life to Musical Talent
Pat, Doug and Andy Reeves hail from Baldwinsville, just outside of Syracuse, where they worked the fields on their family farm. While they worked during the day, they had time to practice at night.
The three musically educated themselves by listening to their father’s record collection. They say they were athletes growing up, so they never performed as kids. They decided to perform together nine years ago at a local library.
“We were so nervous we asked them to not record us, as we were expecting the worst,” says the band.
Council band members Pat, Doug and Andy Reeves.
Family Knows Best
The idea of working and playing music with family might mean fun all the time, but that’s not what the guys say. In their experience it could be very difficult at times.
“We have 3 different opinions about everything and have no issue with arguing over everything. We often times find two of us huddled together creating secret pacts against the third so an idea gets passed or someone catches more of the blame than the others,” They say.
That doesn’t mean a family band is bad, though. The trust between the three of them is strong and they all grew up with the same musical past. They say if anyone tries to join the trio, it never ends up well.
The First Council Release was a Success
The Reeves brothers continued to work on their musical career over the years, with their first release of, “Rust to Gold,” that both American Idol and the Winter Olympics featured.
Haunts Me Empowers Internal Battles
While “Rust to Gold,” symbolized an introduction to their band, they say Haunts Me is “internally based”. One of the tracks, “Born Ready,” came out of their personal struggles they were dealing with at the time. It embodies the idea of being able to handle whatever life throws at you because you are born ready.
The current state of the world made many feel a bit detached from society. Haunts Me guides not only the listener, but also the mind to a more powerful outlook on how life has become.
Council expanded their live streaming from their website to BOSE, Twitch and Sessionslive. Because of the global pandemic they are currently on tour, so live streaming will be their outlet to perform and connect with fans. Haunts Me is set to release on Aug. 4.
New York has settled into its Phase 4 stage of reopening. This means that museums, zoos, botanical gardens, and “Low-risk entertainment services” such as live music are all returning to the empire state. Nobody is bringing live music back quite like the Smith Center for the Arts.
In partnership with Supernatural Lake, a stunningly beautiful outdoor seasonal wine bar located in Interlaken, this series will feature a series of renowned artists in the coming weeks. Each Friday and Saturday night show will begin at 6:30 pm, with Sunday shows beginning at 12:00 pm.
A top NYC wine bar is opening a pop-up in the Finger Lakes
The next featured artist this coming Fri, Aug 7 is Bobby Henrie and Friends. Bobby is a self-described “Rockabilly, Swing, Jazz, Old-time country and Fiddle music, Bluegrass and Flat-pick guitar music” artist.
Performing Fri, Aug 14 and Sat., Aug 15 is author, professor, and critically acclaimed jazz artist Mark Adams with Jazzical. In addition to performing around the world, Mark Adams has played with jazz greats such as Roy Ayers, Ron Carter, Ronnie Laws, Hugh Masekela, Bobbi Humphrey, Dave Valentin, Wayne Henderson, and Tap-Dancer Savion Glover. Tickets are available now!
The following weekend on Sun, August 23, will feature Matt Venuti. While not only being an award-wining recording/music video and soundtrack composer/editor Matt Venuti is also a talented multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter.
Slated for Sat., Aug 29 is Maddie Walsh and The Blind Spots. This female-fronted moxy rock band from Ithaca features a solid-as-a-rock rhythm section, eclectic library of vintage keyboard sounds, bold and inventive electric guitar stylings, and electrifying lead vocals.
Hanna and the Blue Hearts will perform Sat., Sep. 5. Hanna PK is a 2019 International Blues-Challenge semifinalist, solid pianist, soulful vocalist, vibrant performer, and resident of Rochester!
Artists and performance dates will be added to fill up weekends from now through the end of September. To keep track of currently scheduled performances and see what is coming up next for the Smiths Supernatural Lake Series, follow the Smith Center for the Arts event calendar.
Protest-folk music icon of the sixties, Arlo Guthrie, collaborated with Solo Pianist, Jim Wilson, to release, “Hard Times Come Again No More.”
Arlo Guthrie, Jim Wilson and Vanessa Bryan create a stunning, folk rendition of, “Hard Times No More.”
The single is a rendition of the Stephen Collins Foster Song, which originated in 1854. The original was Foster’s, “empathetic look at the increasingly dire, pre-Civil War world around him,” according to Rolling Stone.
Guthrie has been a staple for the political movement in music since the 1960s. His idea came from the current state of the world. The global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement inspired him to create this rendition. He wanted to remind everyone to pay attention and to help everyone to be equal as one.
“I grew up in a family that cared about the hardships of others. My father was well known for writing and performing songs to offer hope. ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’ resonates with me, and I know it did as well with Woody. Though it was first released around 1900, the message endures with the calamities of today being utterly unjustifiable. We must come together not only as a country, but all across the globe in this dire moment.”
Arlo Guthrie
Guthrie and Wilson collaborated remotely due to COVID-19. They have never met. but this didn’t stop them from creating a beautiful tune.
Along with Guthrie and Wilson, many musicians, like Vanessa Bryan and Stanley Clarke came together for this rendition.
Together, the musicians composed a touching outlook on why everyone needs to unite in hard times, such as these.
We head back to the Island for this week’s Jerry Sundays installment with a Grateful Dead show at the legendary Nassau Coliseum from 1979. The band played two shows here earlier that year in January, more than five years after their first appearance in Uniondale in 1973.
Now, in the middle of hockey season, and at the peak of the NY Islanders hockey dynasty no less, the Dead played three shows at the famous arena that surrounded Halloween. This was still the dawn of a new era of Dead as the band was still breaking in keyboard player Brent Mydland, new to the band as of April that year.
The tone for this evening is immediately set through a ferocious “Jack Straw” that starts the show off in grand fashion. Weir’s vocals are matched in intensity only by the lead guitar fills supplied by Jerry Garcia. “They Love Each Other” ends with a flippant comment from guitarist Bob Weir afterwards about Russia “bombing Staten Island” that evening. The Cold War Era was truly a different time. A robust and particularly uptempo “Mama Tried” that follows seems to take the place of the usual early show “El Paso” due to the “Mexicali Blues” that starts up immediately afterwards.
Another gem from this first set is a crisp version of “Peggy-O,” with delicate vocals and guitar play both handled wonderfully by Garcia. The swaying emotions that the cover of this traditional ballad brings with it would be a staple of Dead and Jerry Garcia Band shows for years to come. This one has a smooth delivery thanks to an in-sync rhythm section that motors along behind Garcia effortlessly.
The first set “Candyman” features even more howling guitar play from Garcia and the “Looks Like Rain” that follows is filled with even more emotional guitar fills that accompany nicely with Weir’s vocals that steadily build in ferocity as the song develops. And the newcomer gets a first set contribution as well as the Mydland-penned ballad “Easy To Love You” makes one of its earlier appearances.
But the true “meat and potatoes” of this show is the opening sequence of the second set. Some consider this longest “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire On The Mountain” combination that the band has ever played. And they would have a legitimate argument as this one effortlessly stretches out past thirty minutes in all. Garcia and Mydland start hooking up as the “Scarlet” jam progresses and this carries all the way into and through a “Fire” that more than lives up to its name.
The rest of the second set is certainly no slouch, but the extended break and rabid fan reaction after these first two songs marked the end of something special. The “Terrapin Station” that follows later in the set features more of the same relaxed tone in some of its transitional sections that stretch out a little longer than usual. This eventually gives way to a “Playin’ In The Band” that races through its composition and serves up another psychedelic offering with more heavy Garcia-Mydland interplay steering the collective ship.
A late second set “Black Peter” gives Garcia’s guitar the spotlight and a chance to blissfully wail away again. And the “U.S. Blues” encore hits all the right notes, courtesy of more passionate playing from Mydland. But the legendary “Scarlet” > “Fire” pairing that opens the second set is what makes this show so special – one of the greatest versions of one of the band’s greatest pairings. In other words, just another typical New York Grateful Dead show.
Grateful Dead 11/1/79 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Uniondale, NY
Set 1: Jack Straw, They Love Each Other, Mama Tried-> Mexicali Blues, Peggy-O, Minglewood Blues, Candyman, Looks Like Rain, Don’t Ease Me In, Easy To Love You, Promised Land
Set 2: Scarlet Begonias-> Fire On The Mountain, Samson & Delilah, Terrapin Station-> Playin’ In The Band-> Drums->Space->Black Peter-> Good Lovin’
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to a ever-expanding listening audience. Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm on 102.7 FM, you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. NYS Music will bring you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
These two songs make up the first new release since 2016 from this Saratoga Springs band. On Prodgnerd Dryer brings back the lo-fi sound of some of the bands that influence them like The Breeders, Pavement, and Guided By Voices. So if you’re into them and other cool 90’s alt rock stuff like Superchunk, Green Day, Weezer, or Varuca Salt, take 8 minutes out of your day and please listen to these new songs. Don’t you have 8 minutes? Actually it won’t even take you that long. And if you have more minutes, you can hear a decade’s worth of goodies by checking out Strut and Fret: A Collection of Songs from 1993-2003 You Missed the First Time Around. But if you only have 8 minutes at least listen to this.
This Voorheesville native has been playing piano since she was 6 years old and cites The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as early influences. Annie wrote her first song in second grade and taught herself guitar by the age of 12 when she began writing more seriously and even playing gigs. Fast forward to 2018 and Annie was rewarded with a trip to L.A. after being honored with the Producer’s Choice Award for the ‘Celebration of Music’ PBS special in Troy, NY. In L.A. she was taped performing this song and that recording will air internationally sometime this year.
Next Station formed in Niskayuna in 2009 and split up for a while due to different career paths. And though distance has kept them apart physically (one went to NYC and another to Dallas, TX) they managed to record their first new song in 4 years and are set to release their first new album since 2012. The songs were workshopped via e-mail and conference call after singer/songwriter Will Pedicone began writing new material in an effort to revive the band. And revive it he has! There is even talk of a tour when the world opens back up.
These two Southern Vermont multi-instrumentalists specialize in, well, instrumentals. Take the rich drone of the electric guitar and add some warm open-back banjo and you get a sound that is both intriguing and soothing. But that’s not all they are capable of. Their new album Soon Comes the Night has much more to offer. It’s both melancholy and high-spirited as it weaves tender music and upbeat fiddle tunes together throughout. Hear more of their work and check out some videos of the duo on their website.
The show would serve as The Who’s only performance at SPAC, with a then-record attendance of 33,652 (reported as 27,800 by The Who), which shattered the previous record of 22,647 set by Chicago in 1970. Christian rock star and future Gospel Music Hall of Fame singer Mylon served as support for the show.
The crowd was everywhere, in the seats, on the lawn, on the stage, in the aisles and even on the steel girders on the side of the theater. The latter, fortunately, was only temporary until the police ordered the dozen young people down.
They were a noisy, restless audience to say the least, but seemed to lap up everything the four-man group offered. The Who gave them their money’s worth for an hour and a half, and do they work. As to the quality of their music, It was loud. I’ll leave further critique to those who favor this type of rock music. But the fact that they brought nearly 28,000 paying customers to SPAC is not to be denied.
They seemed to sing all the songs the crowd came for, as well as anumber of new ones, and had a difficult time convincing the crowd to go home.
Opening the show for the first have was Mylon, a long haired, grating singer-guitarist backed by five musicians and three girl singers. They did everything from rock to country-western, spirituals and even a standard, “Sixteen Ton.”
The Post-Star review goes on to detail the sound at the show as well as fans camping on the lawn:
The sound throughout the program was loud for those in the theater, and everywhere backstage theater walls and floor were actually vibrating. Out on the lawn, the sound was more moderated. Thanks to the closed circuit TV system used again last night, those on the lawn had a perfect viewing spot. Watching the TV cameramen in the aisles and one on stage on a ladder trying to cover the show for those on the lawn was almost a show initself.
There were the usual several minor cuts and abrasions, as well as several fainting incidents requiring backstage first aid, with some also going to the hospital.
Reportedly several on the lawn camped there from late Sunday night in order to be sure of a good place, so that should give some indication of the popularity of The Who. For anyone so inclined, a close examination of the group’s tons of sound equipment would be a short course in the electronic world of amplification at its fullest.
The intermission was especially long, as management pleaded for the young people to clear the aisles to comply with state fire laws. They never did get the aisles clear, but finally did get most of the kids to sit down so those in seats could see the stage.
A unique feature to evenings at SPAC – a program was distributed to attendees, as seen below.
Program coverProgram back
Among the small print, the program says of The Who:
Unlike so many groups in the fickle world of pop music, The Who have remained together as a band since their start in 1964. The creative sparkplug of the group is Pete Townsend, guitarist, songwriter and composer of Tommy. Bass player John Entwhistle is another fine songwriter. The two other members of the group are drummer Keith Moon and the explosive microphone-twirling singer Roger Daltry.
(Ed. Note: Townshend, Entwistle and Daltrey’s names were misspelled in the program)
Aside from the rock opera concept, The Who have been pioneers in many other areas of pop music. They were the first to refine guitar feedback to a high art, the first to use the previously sacred Union Jack as clothing and the first to wind up their performances by smashing their instruments.
The program goes on to note that The Who had just played two sold out shows at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens. They wrapped up their tour shortly after their Saratoga performance, with final tour stops at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, CT, Cobo Hall in Detroit and Chicago Auditorium.
Setlist: Love Ain’t For Keeping, Pure And Easy, My Wife, I Can’t Explain, Substitute, Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, Won’t Get Fooled Again, I Don’t Know Myself, Baby Don’t You Do It (Marvin Gaye), Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me, Water
On Tuesday, July 28, Lake Placid native Lana Del Rey released the audiobook for her upcoming poetry collection. Titled Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, it contains 14 of the more than 30 poems to be included in the hardcover version, out September 29.
Del Rey’s lyrics have long drawn comparisons to Sylvia Plath, so her foray into poetry is no surprise. Besides Plath, she’s cited Allen Ginsburg, Walt Whitman, and Jack Keruoac as literary inspirations. The audiobook version of the collection, also a spoken word album, includes accompanying music from Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff. Antonoff co-wrote and produced 11 of Norman Fucking Rockwell’s 14 tracks, and recently worked on The Chicks’ comeback album Gaslighter. Lana Del Rey isn’t the first alternative songstress to release a poetry book: Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine published Useless Magic in 2018.
Originally from Lake Placid, Del Rey started her music career while attending Fordham University. She made her mainstream debut with the song “Video Games” in 2011, and followed it up with the album Born To Die in 2012. While garnering mixed reviews at first, she quickly acquired a loyal cult following and achieved better reception with subsequent records. Her upcoming album, peculiarly titled Chemtrails Over the Country Club, is scheduled for release on Saturday, September 5.
Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is now available on Audible, as well as in CD and vinyl formats on October 2. Proceeds will benefit the Navajo Water Project, an organization that provides clean running water for Navajo families. The first poem, “LA Who Am I To Love You,” is now on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music:
