On Saturday, July 24th, The Sun Ra Arkestra returned to Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage for their fifth stint at the concert series. Still led by Sun Ra himself at the time, the band headlined the festival’s first ever concert back in 1986 at the old Central Park Bandshell. After Sun Ra’s death in 1993, the band continued on as The Sun Ra Arkestra, remaining quite active under the leadership of Marshall Allen who has been performing with the group since 1958. At 97 years young, Allen and The Arkestra were as tight as ever in Central Park.
The Sun Ra Arkestra at SummerStage, 7/24/2021. Photo by: Buscar Photo
Opening the night was Chicago based trio Sistazz of The Nitty Gritty. The group consists of vocalist/clarinetist Angel Bat Dawid, pianist/vocalist Anaiet and bassist Brooklynn Skye Scott. The performance was a mixture of spoken word poetry, jazz fusion, and Dadaist collages of piano, bass, vocals and clarinet. Heavily influenced by The Arkestra’s signature sounds, the trio injects their own modern edge into avant-garde jazz. The incredibly talented band is surely one to watch as they continue to explore their music.
Sistazz of The Nitty Gritty at SummerStage, 7/24/2021. Photo by Buscar Photo
As the 23-member Arkestra began to file on stage, the once seated audience sprung to their feet to embrace the band’s return to SummerStage. A Sun Ra performance is always more than a musical experience. The band is accompanied by dancers who graced the front of the stage from the start with interpretative, meditative dance routines. This shifted off to the side of the stage and Allen took his place front and center.
Marshall Allen at SummerStage, 7/24/2021. Photo by Buscar Photo
The band played a generally continuous set, stopping every so often to reset, but with a band this size there is always music being played. Throughout the show, Allen would survey the band, and point someone out in particular to stand, and take the lead. One-by-one, everyone took their turn, either stepping up for a musical lead or interpretative dance at the center of the stage. This continued throughout the 90-minute set, creating a vividly engaging experience for the audience as there was no way to know where the music was heading. The Arkestra closed to a thunderous ovation from the audience that echoed through Central Park – a second home for the band for so many years.
The Sun Ra Arkestra at SummerStage, 7/24/2021. Photo by: Buscar Photo
The Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage festival continues, with upcoming performances from The Originals, Marc Rebillet, Antibalas, Armand Hammer & The Alchemist (featuring Moor Mother), and many more – check out the full lineup HERE.
On July 23rd, The Palace Theater in Albany played host to A Midsummer Slay. This drag show was originally to be hosted by Lady Bunny, but a sudden illness meant that none other than Mrs. Kasha Davis (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7) would need to strap on her high heels and come warm up the crowd as this was a spectacular not seen in the Capitol Region for some time. The stage was set for an incredible night of dancing and booty-shaking and the crowd was ready and roaring.
Midsummer Slay – Mrs. Kasha Davis / Photo by Zach Culver
Morgan McMichaels (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5, and All-stars Season 2) was the first dancer to grace her stage with almost nothing but a reinstoned jacket and nipple pasties. In her best ‘Pink’ wig she got the fans moving as she rocked the stage to the Diva’s “Call Your Girlfriend” When the crowd was fully charged, Morgan kicked it up a notch as she jumped out into the crowd and gave one lucky fan a vigorous lap dance.
Midsummer Slay – Morgan McMichaels / Photo by Zach Culver
Mrs. Davis came back out, (after a quick costume change of course), and kept the energy up, cracking jokes at everyone’s expense, including herself. A’Keria Davenport was introduced next, coming out to Cardi B’s “Up” in a technicolor outfit that would have made the Drag Race judges gasp. Stripping down to her fishnets and equally excellent undergarments, she strutted that stage like the queen she is, before coming out into the crowd and showing the screaming crowd what her mama gave her, (and maybe paid for). You couldn’t tell that she had just been voted off RuPaul’s Drag Race All-stars the night before as she was in her element.
Midsummer Slay – A’Keria C. Davenport / Photo by Zach Culver
Coco Montrese (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5, All-stars Season 2) strolled out in a sparkly red number showing a lot of leg. TikTok sensation Doja Cat’s “Say So” played as fans rushed the stage to dole out singles like a strip club to the more than willing Coco.
As Coco was finishing talking with Kasha Davis, a stage director ran out with a powerful fan which could only mean one thing, it was time to introduce the TikTok and Instagram superstar, Plastique Tiara (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11). Plastique can only be described as drop dead gorgeous and that’s all she needs. No dancing was necessary as she simply stood in front of the fan and listened as the crowd went wild.
Midsummer Slay – Plastique Tiara / Photo by Zach Culver
The night would have an entire second set with even more dancing, twerking, and cash being thrown from every direction. Midsummer Slay, like all drag shows, celebrated our right to do whatever the hell we want, looking however we want. You can still see A’keria on the current season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-stars Season 5. She was just voted off but there is a “Game within a game” the audience is still waiting for.
On Wednesday July 21st, Albany’s Alive At Five Concert series returned to the rain location under the 787 overpass. This week featured Albany’s own Funk/soul band, Hartley’s Encore, as well as Yam Yam, a Jam/Funk/soul group from Harrisburg, PA.
Check out the Setlists and photo gallery of the evening below. Alive at Five will hold their final FREE concert of the season on Wednesday, July 28 with 80s hair band Warrant, with Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band opening the night.
Hartley’s Encore: Feels So Good, Burnin, Mary Jane*, Bright Light Shining, Eyes Open, All to You, Move on Up*, Hartley’s Encore
Yam Yam: Cashew Reprise, Cashew, Juice Box, Big Bird, Grease Trap, Star Dog , Vulphie, Boogie On Reggae Woman*, Not My Dog, Central Station, Roy, ’94, Dinnertime, Kamal, Cory Wong*, Sizzle, Medusa’s Crisco, Treason, I’ll Be Right Here
On Wednesday, July 14th, Albany’s Alive at 5 concert series featured two acts native to upstate New York, indie folk-pop duo, The Sea The Sea, and Folk-rock, multi instrumentalist Amy Helm.
For the third week in a row, the concert was held at the Rain location under the 787 overpass. Despite the uncooperative weather, attendance was near capacity. Check out the setlists and photo gallery below.
Alive at 5 returns this week, Wednesday, July 21, with Hartley’s Encore and YAM YAM.
Setlists from Alive at 5 with Amy Helm and The Sea The Sea
The Sea The Sea: I’ll be loving you, Rainstorm, A thousand years, Broken, In the altogether, Back to the wild, Not the same as goodbye, The meaning of love, This is the way, Love we are we love, Let our Kites Fly, Nothing Brighter, The Art of Feeling, I’m so Lonesome, Stumbling Home, Everybody, Fall before the climb
Amy Helm: This Too Shall Light, Heat Lightning, Breathing, Rescue Me, Roll The Stone, Carry It Alone, Calling Home, Cotton On The Cane, Running Out Of Love, Wait For The Rain, Terminal B, He Called Me Baby, Atlantic City, Didn’t It rain, Sweet Mama
With the postponement of their annual summer festival Camp Bisco, The Disco Biscuits decided to pivot and still find a way to treat their fans to some great music last weekend. The solution came in the form of City Bisco – two nights of Biscuits at the Mann Music Center in their hometown of Philadelphia, with some of their friends along for the ride.
The DJ triumvirate that is Orchard Lounge kicked things off on Friday night with their infectious blend of hypnotech house and downtempo musical soundscapes. This set the table nicely for Lotus, who would play an opening set each night. Friday’s set saw a blend of their newer material like “Free Swim” along with classics like “Greet The Mind” and a massive “Flower Sermon.”
The Biscuits started the first of their two shows in theatrical fashion, with a first time cover of “Gonna Fly Now,” better known as the theme to Rocky. The inspired opening set even included a “Tractorbeam” segment, an electronica-heavy sequence that sees the band covering or playing along to the influence of another DJ which, until now, have normally been reserved for second sets.
The second set featured songs like “Astronaut” and “Running Into The Night” both broken up into two sections which helped sandwich “The Great Abyss.” The Biscuits also brought out their comrade Tom Hamilton, from Ghost Light and JRAD, to assist on the encore.
City Bisco Night One TD Pavillion at the Mann – Philadelphia, PA 7/9/21
Set 1: Gonna Fly Now > Spaga, Run Like Hell, > Spacebirdmatingcall > Tractorbeam Jam (Terje) > Spacebirdmatingcall
Set 2: Astronaut > Running Into The Night > The Great Abyss > Clocks > Tractorbeam Jam (Eden) > Astronaut > Running Into The Night
Encore: Humuhumunukunukuapu’a > Run Like Hell
Luke the Knife handled opening DJ duties for Saturday’s night two of City Bisco. He was followed by another scintillating set of music from Lotus, setting the tone for the evening nicely again.
What came next was nothing short of a classic Disco Biscuits show, with a perfect blend of classic and new material and, yes, another Tractorbeam sequence each set. The first set alone had a little bit of everything: an old school opener in “Mulberry’s Dream,” an exhilarating “Champions,” the middle section only of “Crickets,” and the first “Trucker’s Choice” in nearly four years.
The second set opened with another vintage Biscuits song in “Mindless Dribble” which set the table for a ferocious take on the newer “Anthem.” And the “Tractorbeam” sequence in this set was based off of original material instead of covering someone else. After two nights of fantastic music, surrounded by fans and friends alike, there was only one logical musical selection to wrap up the weekend and City Bisco, “We Like To Party.”
City Bisco Night Two TD Pavillion at the Mann – Philadelphia, PA 7/10/21
Set 1: Mulberry’s Dream, Reactor > The Champions > Tractorbeam Jam (Revive) > Crickets > Trucker’s Choice
Set 2: Mindless Dribble > Anthem > Gamma Goblins > Tractorbeam Jam (Original) > Abraxas > Story Of The World
Lettuce finished two nights in the Adirondacks as part of their “bring back the love” Summer 2021 and converted Charles R Wood Park to “Lake George Duke,” in honor of funk keyboardist George Duke. Lettuce founding member Sam Kininger special guested on Saturday night.
“Sam’s The Godfather of Lettuce, he believed in us before we did,” said Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch. The current Lettuce hybrid batch has guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff on guitar, Nigel Hall keyboards/vocals, Adam Deitch on drums, Erick “Jesus” Coomes On Bass, Ryan Zoidis on saxophone and trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom. The groups second to last New York show was at the Capitol Theater on 4/20 with special guest John Scofield.
Friday night included a two set performance and encore. The evenings highlight was an original off Lettuce 2008 album Rage! “By Any Shmeeans Necessary” mixed with a New York instrumental tribute to Notorious B.I.G. The band laid down the original funk track “Juicy Fruit” that the Brooklyn artist sampled.
Rolling off this great energy the band put on an epic Saturday night show with special guest Sam Kininger. Sam’s on stage presence was the ultimate “Break Out” for live sets this year. The second set culminated in another New York nod for “Madison Square.” It got everyone on the bandstand lifted with the grooving audience.
This was Uticat’s Kininger second live performance this year. He played his sons wedding at the Stanley Theatre in Utica where he last performed with Lettuce on November 20 2019. “The Sam Fam” were all in attendance for a funked up reunion on the newly crowned “Lake George Duke” Guitarist Micheal Wooten said of the performance “You can tell they are having fun again up there” The band encored with a kickin cover of the James Brown classic “Funky Drummer.”
Drummer Adam Deitch and Bass player Erick “Jesus” Coombs kept the Saturday night groove going at KRIS & Co featuring Ryan Dempsey after show party in town. The duo jammed on the spot to samples of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” and J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine.”
Lettuce kept burning in the Empire State on Wednesday July 14 for their third New York date, this time at Lewiston’s Artpark. The historic park stage sits next to the running Niagara River across from Canada. The band and audience played off the great landscape for a three hour set and encore. The sunset over the border brought out a third stone from the sun tease by guitarist Adam Smirnoff. The crowd responded to Lettuce outbursts of groove by throwing heads of actual fresh produce lettuce in the air during the performance.
The band resonated by debuting a brand new song not on the setlist named “The Lock,” off an upcoming record. Lettuce is bringing back the love this summer and knocking out crowds along the way. Nigel Hall’s vocals over the grooves, “Think I’d better let it go, looks like another love T.K.O. (Oh, Oh)” during a Teddy Pendergrass Cover.
The band encored with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears to keep this ’80s-style New York summer resurgence of live music. Lettuce returns to New York at Brooklyn Steel on November 6 2021.
Lettuce 7/9/21 Lake George, NY: Blaze, MR Shminklehuffer, Kron Dutch, Shmink Dabby, By Any Shmeans Necessary( Don’t stop the music/Juicy Fruit) Ready to Live, Larimar, Trilogy->Trap->Makin my way->Checker Wrecker, Suppit, Do it like You do Encore: RVA Dance
Lettuce 7/10/21 Lake George,NY: Luck of Lucien->Krewe, Pocket Change, Gratitude, Mr Yancey, Sam Huffs Flying Machine->Squadlive Royal highness, Supit, Don’t Change, Breakout–>Relax, Nyack–>Madison Square Encore: Do it like you do (funky drummer)
Lettuce 7/14/21 Lewiston, NY: New Reel, Royal Highness, In the Middle -> Silence is Golden, SquadLive, Fly, Phyllis, Love TKO, RVA Dance Encore: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Lettuce guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff and drummer Adam Dietch spoke with NYS music about past, present and future music experiences in the state.
Matthew Romano: Tell me about some music you have seen live in New York State that helped put the groove in you
Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff: I remember my Uncle bringing me to see Stanley Jordan at the Blue Note in NYC. That blew my mind as a kid. I have all these different ages of seeing things that changed me. One of my first concerts was Robert Cray “Forecast Calls for Pain Tour.” At 17 years old I saw Phish at Jones Beach for the first time and it helped me understand you could build a grass roots audience. You didn’t need to be on the radio. You could follow your own path. That’s how Lettuce has aimed itself.
AS: Does seeing the Grateful Dead In 1990 at the old Giants stadium count? Sting opened and Branford Marsalis sat in on “Eyes of the World.”
Seeing Prince at Madison Square Garden has to be the big one. He was such a genre breaking musician. He went up there and played what he felt and didn’t have to categorize everything. I feel like for New York that’s a big part of it. It’s the melting pot. We’re all different, a little bit of everything and try and make it a little bit like you too. It also represents modern humanity. That New York attitude. “Just got to pull up your britches, do the best you can do and be yourself.”
MR: Any current musicians that are on the scene that you have been digging?
AS: Well You have Taz, other younger cats like Justin Lee Schultz. DOmi and JD Beck that’s been playing with Thundercat. You got MONONEON. I just got to jam with Cory Henry, TaRon Lockett and Isiah Sharkey.
MR: What about the future of your own musical journey? What’s on the horizon?
AS: Well we have been lucky enough to play with some of our heroes. Our new recording that we just finished I feel we have made some beautiful music and history with Bootsy Collins. I can’t wait for y’all to hear this.
Adam Deitch: Our friend Alissa Bennevente whose an amazing bass player runs Bootsy’s Instagram. She sent us an uplifting video of him speaking during our time off that gave us hope. It’s Bootsy giving a positive message to everyone out there . At the end of the video he just kept saying (finger snaps) “Keep The Funk Alive” (finger snap). I immediately downloaded the sample of it and sent it to the guys
MR: Wow. So you just took the end of him speaking on the video and sampled it? That sounds like an organic way of creating a groove.
AD: Yea exactly. I added drums and quickly sent it to everyone in the band. They all kept adding their parts to it.
AD: We sent it to him and he loved it. He played bass and added his vocals to it. Showed interest in wanting to make a video of it. He even eluded that he’s glad a band like ours is still playing real funk music.
MR: Sounds as if you’ve been added to Bootsy’s shot calling like on the 1980s Dave Sanborn TV special… “Lettuce”… get ready to roll!
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 a steamy Friday night, Lark Hall played host to two of the fastest rising jam bands in New York, Long Island’s Baked Shrimp, and Albany’s own Glass Pony, as a warm up to the former’s LonCon Fest.
For the opening set of the night, Glass Pony tore in with “Maximus” that segued incredibly into Oasis’ “Morning Glory,” but so smooth you wondered ‘is this a new song inspired by the 90s, or are they deep in a 90s cover?’ Sure enough, as guitarist/singer Eddie Hotaling belted out the lyrics, you knew the story. After the high energy and upbeat lyrics of “Something Good,” bassist Jeff Picarazzi sang lead on Leo Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.” With a new album coming down the road, and a crowd that was getting down from start to finish, Glass Pony has a lot more music in store.
Setlist: Maximus > Morning Glory, North Bound (unfinished) -> Something Good, Check it Again, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing -> Daydream (unfinished) > House on the Hill, Doppler, Bottom of the Ocean
Baked Shrimp, a jam power trio from Long Island put on a prog/funk clinic. For their entire 90 minute set the band moved seamlessly through complicated chord progressions and never lost a beat or the attention of the crowd. The young trio has great potential in their three members, bassist Scott Reill, guitarist/singer Jared Cowen, and drummer Jager Soss, a doppelganger for Andy Frasco. Their festival LonCon will be held in Parksville, NY over August 27-28. Find out more details on the festival here.
Setlist: The Manatee, Numpty, Synth, The Method -> Now’s Your Moment -> The Method, Four Corners to Every Side, Orpheus, Down the Drain
Timbre Coup has long been an Albany band with a heavy following and an energetic fanbase. Ahead of their long awaited fourth studio album, Sudden Urge, the first in almost 10 years, Timbre Coup put on a release party at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs on Friday, June 25.
With a full night ahead of them, the band started strong weaving heavy guitar riffs with blasting bass lines. The first set was comprised mostly of their new album, playing it almost in its entirety.
The second set brought back a lot of fan favorites, bringing back a slew of tunes from their album, Knuckles and Valleys. An incredible cover of “Give It To Me Baby” ended an incredible night. Not known for playing covers, this was a real treat.
Set 1: Verbal Kint, Running Always, Mustache, Sudden Urge, Z#, Loaftones, Chupacabra, Snoop Tiger, Watching You
Set 2: Mother Nature, July, HTRAB, January, May, February, March, Give It To Me Baby
Thursday, June 8 was a special day for Syracuse. Not only was this the very first show of the much anticipated “Proud To Be Right Here” Luke Bryan US Tour, it was also the opening night for St. Josephâs Health Amphitheater at Lakeview. This was the first large concert to happen in CNY since COVID had taken it’s toll on the country. With Gov. Cuomo recently lifting restrictions for the entire state, this concert was the light at the end of the tunnel that was so needed.
One thing that was certainly on everyone’s mind going to this show was the rain. It had been raining all day, very hard at times and many were hopeful that it would stop prior to the show beginning. Fortunately enough, the rain stopped just prior to Caylee Hammack taking the stage.
The event was packed with 10,000+ in attendance and fans were showing how they too have missed live music. People laughing, hugging, and toasting drinks were a sight I didn’t I would see for quite awhile.
Opening the night was Caylee Hammack out of Nashville. She came out strong with a good mix of southern rock and Country. Hammack had the crowd singing along to a cover of Dolly Parton “9 to 5” Her set was energetic, fun, and very easy to get into. Dressed in a leopard printed dress and blue jacket, she was definitely having a good time on stage.
Following Caylee Hammack was Dylan Scott, the country pop singer out of Louisiana. His stage presence was very engaging and he sucked the crowd right in with his songs “My Girl” and “Nobody”. His interactions with the audience was a highlight of Scott’s performance. Joking with a couple fans, he asks who could chug a beer faster. This turns into a contest with Dylan grabbing a couple beers and having the fans race each other drinking, which then he leads into his song “Beer Buddies.”
Luke Bryan was set to take the stage next, with the sun setting just after 9pm the atmosphere and intensity of the amphitheater was building. The crowd of people were screaming and singing along to classic rock hits provided by DJ Rock. Finally the lights go dark and the amphitheater erupts as Luke Bryan takes to the stage with “That’s My Kind of Night”. Luke Bryan came right out down the walkway the stage had and wasted no time singing to the fans. Following the opening, Luke Bryan played “Rain is a good thing” which was well accepted considering how much it had been raining that day.
Luke delivered a powerful 20 song set, performing fan favorites “What She Wants Tonight”, the sing along “One Margarita,” and “Country Girl(Shake it for Me). This was a much needed night for everyone in attendance. Not only the fans, but all the artists performing seemed so happy to be back, the employees at the amphitheater were also very friendly and looking glad to be back as well. Overall it was a great experience and great concert that set the bar high for the rest of the concert season.
Luke Bryan Setlist: That’s My Kind of Night, Rain Is A Good Thing, What Makes You Country, Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day, Knockin’ Boots, Kick the Dust Up, Waves, Down To One, What She Wants, One Margarita, All My Friends Say, Crash My Party, Roller Coaster, Strip It Down, Drink A Beer, Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset, Move, Play It Again, Country Girl(Shake It for Me), I Don’t Want This Night To End
