On Sunday, December 5th, music legend, photographer and artist Graham Nash sat down with Alan Light, one of America’s leading music journalists, to reflect on more than fifty years of an extraordinary life as captured in his new book of personal photography: A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash.
Graham Nash and Alan Light at 92Y in New York City
A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash includes an extensive collection of color and black and white photographs from the personal collection of Nash. Many of his photographs depict intimate moments with family and friends including Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Neil Young. Other pictures in the book include fellow artists like Bob Dylan, Mama Cass, Twiggy and Johnny Cash.
During the interview, which took place at the 92Y cultural center in New York City, Graham discussed how he became interested in photography at a young age as well as how some CSNY songs like “Ohio” were created. Another very interesting story he told was how he met The Beatles in 1959 before they were even called The Beatles. You can hear that story below from his appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. He also took questions from some audience members who were lucky enough to have their question chosen.
Graham will be doing a similar appearance through Bookends in New Jersey on Wednesday, December 8th. You can purchase tickets to that event here. Every ticket comes with an autographed copy of his book which makes it well worth the price of admission. He also announced an upcoming tour starting in the Spring of 2022. You can see all of the dates as well as purchase tickets here.
Legendary punk rockers Bad Religion stopped by the Hammerstein Ballroom Friday October 29, 2021 as part of their 40th Anniversary tour. The tour was originally scheduled for last year but was postponed due to Covid-19. The supporting acts include co-headliners Alkaline Trio and openers War On Women.
War On Women is a feminist harcore-punk band from Baltimore. After being inspired by the riot grrl bands that started in the nineties, Shawna Potter and Brooks Harlan formed War On Women in 2010. Their debut album was a six-song EP titled Improvised Weapons released in 2012. Their newest album Wonderful Hell was released last year on Bridge Nine Records. The bands current lineup includes Shawna Potter (lead vocals), Brooks Harlan (guitar), Jennifer Vito (guitar), Suzanne Werner (bass) and Dave Cavalier (drums).
Alkaline Trio has been described as pop punk, punk rock, emo and harcore punk. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). They started their eighteen song set Friday night with “Private Eye” from their 2011 album FromHere to Infirmary. The crowd was amped as the trio got into some even older songs like “We’ve Had Enough” and “Nose Over Tail.” They also did a few songs from their newest album Is This Thing Cursed? released in 2018. The set ended with “Radio” from their second album Maybe I’ll Catch Fire released in 2000. The crowd was now well primed for the anticipated headliners.
Bad Religion came out and played a 22 song set that spanned their entire 40 year career from their first LP How Could Hell Be Any Worse? all the way to their latest album Age of Unreason. They started with “New Dark Ages” but quickly got into older classics like “Modern Man” and “Recipe For Hate”. As soon as they started playing I felt like it was twenty years ago and I was back at Roseland Ballroom. They sound exactly the same as did then and the mosh pit was just as rough as I remember it. You can definitely feel more energy during certain songs, especially the older ones like “I Want To Conquer The World,” and “Better Off Dead” which was the first time they played it live. I was very excited to finally see BR post covid and they did not disappoint. The band is the same, Greg Graffin (lead vocals), Jay Bentley (bass), Brian Baker (guitar), Mike Dimkich (guitar), and Jamie Miller (drums). This tour ends on November 27th in Hollywood, CA. You can see the rest of the dates here.
War On Women Setlist: YDTMHTL, Divisive Shit, White Lies, Lone Wolves, Big Words, Aqua Tofana, Predator In Chief, Silence Is the Gift, The Ash Is Not the End
Alkaline Trio Setlist: Private Eye, We’ve Had Enough, Blackbird, Is This Thing Cursed?, I Wanna Be Warhol, Nose Over Tail, Every Thug Needs A Lady, Cringe, Clavicle, Armageddon, Mercy Me, Emma, In Vein, Continental, Warbrain, Fine, This Could Be Love, Radio
Bad Religion Setlist: New Dark Ages, Modern Man, Recipe For Hate, Los Angeles Is Burning, Fuck You, Chaos From Within, Epiphany, I Want To Conquer The World, 21st Century (Digital Boy), Damned To Be Free, Man With A Mission, Murder, Better Off Dead, Candidate, Do What You Want, No Control, Generator, You, Infected, Sorrow, American Jesus Encore: We’re Only Gonna Die
On Sunday, October 10th, HR (who is best known as the frontman for the iconic punk band Bad Brains) performed at The Kingsland in Brooklyn. Opening acts included local punk bands Aliens and Public Nature.
Bad Brains formed in Washington D.C. in 1977. They are regarded as the pioneers of harcore punk although the bands members have objected to the term to describe their music. They also feature elements of other genres of music like reggae, funk, heavy metal, hip hop and soul. The band has had several members over the years, but the classic line up includes singer HR, guitarist Dr Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer and drummer Earl Hudson.
In more recent years, HR’s performances have become more mellow focusing on primarily reggae and rasta. His current backing band includes guitarist Ezekiel Zagar, bassist jfreshi and drummer Adam Williams. HR’s distinct voice still sounded the same as he performed songs from his solo career as well as some new ones that will be featured on his new album coming soon.
Public Nature opened the show on Sunday night. The band consists of lead singer/guitarist and founder Oscar Canas, bass player Robbie Harrison and drummer Scott Lehman. They sounded terrific as they ripped through songs from their catalogue such as “Old Bus”, “My Friend”, “Find My Baby” and “Summer Rain.” The band has a very Nirvana esque sound with heavy rips and melodic melodies. Oscar came to New York via MedellÃn, Colombia in 2014 with songs he had written over the years and released his first single under the band name Tender Beats. You can check out more of his music here.
Next was New York hardcore punk band Aliens. The band consists of frontman Blake Sandberg on guitar/vocals, Kevin Jones on bass and Miguel Vela on drums. They also put on a tremendous performance with songs from their inventory such as “Committed to Wind”, “Neversleep”, “Reflex Motor” and “The In Side. This band has played historic NYC venues such as CBGB, The Knitting Factory, Bowery Electric and has toured the US. Blake has also recorded with Hunt Sales (Iggy Pop/David Bowie) and The Rammellzee. You can find Alien’s music here.
Setlists:
Public Nature: Old Bus, My Friend, Play Love, Elephant Man, Find My Baby, Every Day Saturday, Summer Rain, Sentimental, Boo, She Said, Hey You
Aliens: Committed to Wind, Moving Parts, Neversleep, Shape Shifter, Guinea Pig, Enjoy Killing Time, Stow Away, Reflex Motor, Leave Luck To Heaven, Storage Space, Watch and Learn, The In Side
HR: Psalm 100, Easy, Attitude, Everything You Do, Peace and Love II, Let Luv Lead the Way, Married Again, Mighty Comforter, Sovereignty Prayer, I And I Survive, I Luv I Jah, Shame In Dem Game, Rasta
The Tedeschi Trucks Band continued their fall residency tour at the Beacon Theater on Wednesday making it their 43rd Show at the historic venue. Special guests Jorma Kaukonen and Marcus King sat in with the full 12-piece band on their material and incredible covers by great blues artists.
TTB opened their set with a spectacular cover of The Lovin Spoonful’s “Darling Be Home Soon.” After that, they performed “Signs, High Times” off their most recent album with Mike Mattison and Susan trading lead vocals. Derek stepped in with an incredible guitar solo that left the crowd awestruck.
Another highlight of the night was a cover of The Allman Brothers Band “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin” with Gabe Dixon on lead vocals. Once again Derek’s guitar playing was masterful and left me with chills. For me it’s a bit nostalgic to see an Allman Brothers tune played at this historic venue where so many legendary ABB shows have taken place.
After the band performed “Hear Me” and “Do I Look Worried” they brought back Jorma to the stage for two more songs. The first was a Bob Dylan cover of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” with Derek trading guitar licks with Jorma who I’m sure is one of his heroes based on the expression he had on his face. The next song they performed was another cover, this time of Charles Segar’s “Key to the Highway.” Once again, Mike Mattison stepped up with extraordinary vocals while Jorma and Susan traded licks and Derek closed the tune with his renowned slide guitar. Jorma got a much deserved standing ovation as he left the stage.
Rising star Marcus King made a surprise appearance for a blues heavy performance of Sleepy John Estes’ “Leaving Trunk,” also featuring Mattison on vocals. King also stuck around to perform a cover of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Volunteered Slavery,” a tune originally recorded in 1968. Marcus also received a huge ovation from the sold out crowd at the conclusion of the song.
To end this incredible evening, the band pulled out a cover of George Harrison’s “Isnt It a Pity” and a Derek Trucks Band Cover of “Get What You Deserve.” There are still two more Tedeschi Trucks Band Beacon shows left on this run, but TTB has shows scheduled through 2022. You can see the complete list of upcoming shows here.
Setlist: Darling Be Home Soon (The Lovin Spoonful), Signs, High Times, High and Mighty, It’s So Heavy, I Know (Derek Trucks Band), Right On Time, Don’t Keep Me Wondering (The Allman Brothers Band), Hear Me, Do I Look Worried, Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (Bob Dylan)(with Jorma), Key to the Highway (Charles Segar)(with Jorma), Midnight in Harlem, Leaving Trunk (Sleepy John Estes)(with Marcus King), Volunteered Slavery (Rahsaan Roland Kirk)(with Marcus King), Bound For Glory, Isn’t It a Pity (George Harrison), Get What You Deserve (Derek Trucks Band)
The Many Saints of Newark kicked off the Tribeca Fall Preview Wednesday night at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
The prequel to the critically-acclaimed hit series The Sopranos, The Many Saints of Newark is a look at the formative years of young Tony Soprano amid growing violence between rival gangs and the powerful DiMeo crime family. Tangled in it all is Dickie Moltisanti, the uncle whose influence shapes Tony into a formidable mob boss.
The Many Saints of Newark stars Alessandro Nivola, Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Michael Gandolfini, Billy Magnussen, Michela De Rossi, John Magaro, Joey Diaz, with Emmy winner Ray Liotta and Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga.
The entire cast as well as some of the original Soprano cast were at the Beacon for the premiere. They were all very gracious and greeted fans waiting for them to arrive. Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal were also there to introduce the film, and Sopranos creator David Chase.
The film releases nationwide October 1st in theaters and on HBO Max.
The Central Park “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” was cut short Saturday, August 21 due to approaching Hurricane Henri. The announcement was made over the PA system in the middle of singer Barry Manilow’s set. Those in attendance were urged to move to the nearest exits and “proceed to outside of the park.”The concert was originally scheduled from 5pm to 10pm, but was abruptly shut down just after 8pm.
Despite the rain, concert organizer and music mogul Clive Davis along with Mayor De Blasio desperately tried to get the show restarted. Unfortunately it was to no avail as the rain was at its heaviest during 9pm and 10pm (a record-setting rainfall for Central Park). The concert was supposed to be the grand finale after a week of other homecoming concerts throughout the city.
Although We Love NYC concert was cut short, the 60,000 fans in attendance still got to witness some pretty amazing performances. “CBS This Morning” host Gayle King kicked off the show by introducing the New York Philharmonic. They performed a bunch of New York themed instrumentals including Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” featuring Billy’s former saxophone player Richie Cannata, and “Theme From New York, New York” made famous by Frank Sinatra. Then italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who himself had a recent battle with covid, joined the Philharmonic for beautiful renditions of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “O Sole Mio”. Before leaving he told the crowd “After a storm comes always the sun.” It was an emotional moment.
Also joining the Philharmonic was Jennifer Hudson who stars as Aretha Franklin in the new biopic “Respect.” As a tribute to “The Queen of Sole” she performed “Nessun Dorma” which Franklin sang at the 1998 Grammy Awards as a last minute replacement for Luciano Pavarotti. Jennifer did not disappoint. It was a wonderful tribute that Aretha herself would have been proud of.
At this point the man of the hour himself, Clive Davis came out and greeted the crowd. He also introduced one of his good friends Carlos Santana who performed “Maria, Maria” with Wyclef Jean. He also performed the 1999 hit “Smooth” with Rob Thomas.
Singer Kane Brown also made a quick appearance. He performed his 2018 hit “Homesick” as well as his 2020 single “Be Like That.”
Senator Chuck Schumer was also on hand. He introduced Journey who also played Jones Beach Theater the same night at the Never Forget 9/11 concert. There performance was explosive as lead singer Arnel Pineda belted out “Any Way you Want It” and “Don’t Stop Believing.” Yet another memorable moment.
Perhaps the best performance of the night goes to grammy award winner and hip hop legend L.L. Cool J. His set tuned into a hip hop lovers trip down memory lane. He was joined by fellow legend Rev Run as they performed the Run-DMC classic “It’s Tricky.” He also brought out Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s Scorpio and Melle Mel and performed one of the earliest hip hop songs ever recorded “The Message.” Other hip hop stars like Busta Ryhmes, Spliff Star, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, French Montana and A Boogie also contributed to Uncle L’s set.
Then, “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert came out and introduced Jon Batiste. He only performed one song, “Freedom”, but it was fantastic.
Perhaps the least favorite guest of the night was New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The 60,000 strong crowd greeted him with a round of boo’s, but he was able to get them back and he and his wife introduced the next performers Earth, Wind and Fire. They had recently released a new version of their hit song “You Want My Love” and performed it live for the first time with R&B start Babyface. They also sang their 1978 hit “September” with Babyface and Lucky Daye.
At this point of the show, we were starting to get warnings about the incoming weather as plastic tarps were brought out and put over the cameras and other equipment. Cnn anchor Don Lemon came out at this point and introduced Barry Manilow who was cut off in the middle of “Can’t Smile Without You.” It was just a few minutes later that the heavens opened up and New York City experienced the heaviest rain it has seen in years.
Still scheduled to perform was The Killers, Patti Smith with Bruce Springsteen, and Paul Simon who was waiting in his nearby apartment for word on weather the concert was going to resume. Unfortunately it did not resume but now Mayor De Blasio and Clive Davis are in talks to discuss a possible We Love NYC 2.0 Concert in the near future. NYSMusic.com will keep you up to date as soon as any new developments are made.
Friends and family gathered at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on Long Island on Monday, August 2 to bid farewell to music legend Biz Markie, with a funeral attended by hip hop icons including Busta Rhymes, Kid Capri, Treach (Naughty by Nature), Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Ice-T and more. The eulogy was delivered by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Markie was born in Harlem but raised on Long Island. He is best known for his 1989 single “Just A Friend.” His career took off after that. He acted, performed comedy, DJ’d and produced music for numerous artists. He also had a radio show on SiriusXm on LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells Radio.
In April 2020, Markie was hospitalized for complications of Type 2 diabetes. He died at a Baltimore hospital surrounded by family on July 16th at age 57. R.I.P. Biz!
Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck and Cappadonna, as well as Redman, Ashanti and Ja Rule played the first ever Peace and Unity Festival. The event took place at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden on Saturday July 10th. Dj performances included Funkmaster Flex, Dj Smoove and Dj Outkast.
The purpose of the Peace and Unity Festival was to bring people from all over the city together after the year and a half long pandemic. Community organizers The Waterteam, Uncle Chase Entertainment, Wakeem Entertainment, and 3J’s Creation Entertainment sponsored the event. It was originally scheduled to be a two-day event, but the organizers decided to cancel Sunday’s show.
On Friday, June 11, Dee Snider came back to Long Island and rocked Stereo Garden in Patchogue. The show was filmed and will be released simultaneously with his new album Leave a Scar. Check out the video for the first single “I Gotta Rock (Again)” below.
Snider joined Twisted Sister in 1976 and became the band’s sole songwriter. In 1982 they released their first studio album Under the Blade. By 1984 they had released their third and most successful album Stay Hungry. The album featured the metal anthems “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”. In 1985 Snider was pushed further into the spotlight when he spoke before Congress against censorship in music and the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center).
I wasn’t sure what to expect since it has been a few years since Snider has performed. The the show was electrifying to say the least. Dee was full of energy and kept the crowd connected and engaged throughout the entire seventeen song set. His band also did a great job. He was accompanied by Charlie Bellmore on guitar, Nicky Bellmore on drums, Nick Petrino on guitar and Russell Pzutto on bass. Five songs from the new album made their debut as well as all of the classics. One of the highlights of the night was when former Twisted Sister bandmate Mark “The Animal” Mendoza joined Dee for a rendition on the 1982 song “Under the Blade.”
The show ended with a cover of what Dee said he considers to be the greatest rock song ever, Ac Dc’s “Highway to Hell.” The show was awesome and Dee proved he can still bring it! It was also good to see live music return after 16 months. This was the perfect show to bring it back.! You can preorder Dee’s new album here
Dee Snider – Stereo Nest, Patchogue, Long Island, NY – June 11, 2021
Setlist: I Gotta Rock (Again), Tomorrow’s No Concern, You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll, Down But Never Out, American Made, Under the Blade, Time to Choose, I Am the Hurricane, We’re Not Gonna Take It, Before I Go, Become the Storm, Burn in Hell, Stand, Ready to Fall, I Wanna Rock, For the Love of Metal, Highway to Hell
On May 26, 2019, The String Cheese Incident played the second night of their Memorial Day Weekend run at the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. 2019 marked the band’s 25th anniversary. SCI is Michael Kang, Michael Travis, Bill Nershi, Kyle Hollingsworth, Jason Hann and Keith Moseley.
They opened the show with their 2018 single “Vertigo”. Kyle then kicked off a 16 minute version of “Black And White”. That was transitioned very nicely into “Can’t Wait Another Day”. They then kicked off the first of many cover songs with Peter Rowan’s “Midnight Moonlight”, followed by “Valley of the Jig” and “Siren’s”. Both songs were on their 2003 album “Untying The Knot”. The first set ended with “Restless Wind” from the 1998 album “Round the Wheel”. That really highlighted Nershi tearing it up on acoustic guitar.
The second set began with “Just One Story” that got the crowd immediately charged back up after a quick break. Next up was “Rosie” and the title track to the 2014 album “Song In My Hand”, which both songs also appeared on. Then came the second cover of the night, The Jerry Garcia’s Band’s “Tore Up Over You”. Some of The Grateful Dead’s most legendary shows happened at The Capitol Theatre in the early seventies. That was long before most of the people in the audience, including myself were even born. Then there was a lengthy version of “45th of November” from the 2005 album “One Step Closer”.
Another highlight of the night was the band’s’ cover of The Talking Heads “Burning Down the House”. They also performed “Wheel Hoss” which was written by one of the founders of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe in 1955. The set then ended with a cover of The Weather Report’s classic “Birdland” before they circled back to the sets first song, “Just One Story.” The 4 hour plus show ended with a one song encore of “Barstool.”
String Cheese Incident – The Capitol Theatre – May 26, 2019
Set 1: Vertigo, Black and White > Canât Wait Another Day > Midnight Moonlight, Valley Of The Jig, Sirens > Restless Wind Set 2: Just One Story > Rosie, Song In My Head, Tore Up Over You, 45th of November > Burning Down The House > Birdland > Wheel Hoss > Birdland > Just One Story Encore: Barstool
