Couchtour.TV will livestream The Disco Biscuits’ upcoming 3-night run at the iconic Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, starting Thursday, October 28 through Saturday, October 30 – the final show ending early in the morning on Halloween.
The first show will technically begin Friday morning, at 3am ET, or Midnight PT. Each show will be on-demand following the live broadcast, perfect for early risers on the East Coast. Weekend passes and single day tickets can be purchased through Couchtour.TV
Couchtour.TV will also be offering a free rebroadcast of The Disco Biscuits’ 2021 performance from Brooklyn Comes Alive next Wednesday, November 3 at 8:00pm ET/ 5:00pm PT. This broadcast concludes a series from Brooklyn Comes Alive filmed September 26 at the Brooklyn Mirage that also includes The Motet and Break Science Live Band.
Couchtour.TV continues to be home to the highest quality livestreams available – PPV, free and on-demand. More information on available streams, upcoming events and account registration can be found on the couchtour.TV website.
Watch The Disco Biscuits from November 2, 2018 at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
Set 1: 1999 > Astronaut, Jigsaw Earth > Triumph > Jigsaw Earth Set 2: Safety Dance > Little Betty Boop 1 > Spraypaint Encore: Floes* *middle section only
Phish returned to Southern California, with a trio of shows lined up between Chula Vista, Inglewood, and Santa Barbara. While the Fall Tour has caught eyes and ears with extraordinary jams, bustouts and shenanigans, Phish is clearly warmed up for Halloween in Las Vegas. On the way there, Phish stopped at The “Fabulous” Forum. Photographer Steph Port was there to capture the night for NYS Music.
The first set starts with the Trey quaran-tune, “A Wave Of Hope,” followed by a 23-minute “You Enjoy Myself” that brought back the glory of late 90s “YEMs.” A smooth transition into “Moma Dance” kept the crowd on their toes, with “Waiting All Night” a surprise appearance with a slightly funky beat, that brought forth “Maze” and “Fee,” before a set ending “Run Like an Antelope.”
Set 2 began with a tone-setting “Cars Trucks Buses” that dropped into “Tweezer” right after, which sveltly moved into “L.A. Woman,” the last since December 30, 2003. A huge jam would brew from this surprise bust out, one that took off even farther in “Say it to me S.A.N.T.O.S.” and “What’s The Use?” To polish the set off, heavy hitters “Chalkdust Torture,” “Carini” and “Mr. Completely” made their presence know, all with a segue into “Tweezer Reprise” to close the set.
A normal encore of “Grind” preceded the atypical “Bathtub Gin” that followed, ending awkwardly as Trey thanked the crowd for having such a great show. With the band having this much fun, whatever is on tap for Las Vegas has them excited and playing in mid-season form.
Phish – The Forum, Inglewood, CA – October 25, 2021
Set 1: A Wave of Hope > You Enjoy Myself > The Moma Dance[1] -> Simple -> Waiting All Night -> Maze, Fee[2] -> Steam > Run Like an Antelope
Set 2: Cars Trucks Buses, Tweezer -> L.A. Woman[3] -> Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.[1] -> Whatâs the Use? > Tweezer > Birds of a Feather[1] > Chalk Dust Torture[1] -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Carini -> Mr. Completely[1] > Tweezer Reprise
Phil Lesh wrapped up his second three-show run at The Capitol Theatre on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. The evening featured Stuart Bogie and Amy Helm joining Phil, along with Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman, Elliot Peck and Grahame Lesh from Midnight North, Joe Russo and Heartbreaker’s keyboardist Benmont Tench.
Phil Lesh has one more run of shows at The Cap this month, with Phil-O-Ween weekend, from Oct. 29-31, including Nicki Bluhm, Larry Campbell, Griffin Goldsmith, Taylor Goldsmith, Grahame Lesh, Trevor Menear, Lee Pardini, M.C. Taylor and Teresa Williams.
Phil Lesh and Friends – The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY – Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Set 1: Jack Straw, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Ship of Fools, Peggy-O, Tennessee Jed, Touch of Grey
Set 2: Truckin’, So Many Roads, Caledonia Mission, Bird Song, Let It Grow, Stella Blue, Rag Mama Rag, Not Fade Away, Morning Dew
Albany’s The Late Shift have announced “The Last Shift,” a farewell concert celebrating the band’s 15th anniversary, to be held at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen on Saturday, November 27.
The celebration will occur in place of the bands annual Thanksgiving Eve performance at the same venue. 2020 excluded, this year’s concert will mark the group’s seventh consecutive Thanksgiving show at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen. The Late Shift will be performing two sets of music, with the first set a celebration of the group’s 15-year catalog, a greatest hits set, including songs like “Sweetness,” “Drink and Stone” and “Through It All.” This will be followed by a power packed second set, loaded with everyone’s favorite LateShift style covers to usher patrons into the evening. Both sets are sure to be full of surprises and special guests.
In addition to celebrating 15 years of The LateShift, this event will also serve as the official launch of Wooden Duck Entertainment, a brand-new Capital Region based music and events company owned by members of The Late Shift.
Tickets are on-sale now. Presale tickets are available for $12.50 until November 1. After that General Admission tickets will be available for $15. A limited number of VIP Packages are currently available for $30. For updates and additional information RSVP on Facebook.
A few songs into The Dude of Life Band’s first set at Lark Hall, Steve Pollak (aka, The Dude of Life) announced that after the show, they’ll be streaming the Phish show from San Francisco, which started shortly after 11pm ET on Saturday, October 16. “So we’re opening for Phish a few time zones away,” said Pollak, much to the crowd’s delight. And in a way, the band was opening for Phish, a band with whom Pollak has a decades-long connection.
The Dude of Life Band, a genre-bending group led by the Dude of Life, Steve Pollak, includes Pollak on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Fred Scholl on lead guitar, Charlie de Saint Phalle on bass, Doug Schneider on drums, and Jon Liebowitz of God Street Wine on keyboard and organ.
For several decades, The Dude has been writing songs in an ongoing collaboration with Phish, and first teamed up with Trey Anastasio while the two were in high school. The Dude wrote lyrics for a number of Phish’s most beloved songs, including “Fluffhead,” “Run Like an Antelope” and “Suzy Greenberg,” and has also been a mythical sideshow with the band, making random guest appearances often highlighted by the throwing of uniquely-inscripted rubber chickens into the crowd. The Dude’s debut album, Crimes of the Mind, was recorded with Phish for Elektra Records and released in 1994.
In recent years, The Dude of Life has developed a more refined sound, and a recent burst of creativity has yielded an album’s worth of new material which was recently recorded by acclaimed producer Bryce Goggin.
The Dude of Life Band performed some of these new songs – “Automatic Pilot,” “Dilaudid Nurse” and “In Case You Didn’t Know,” alongside his Phish classics, plus a handful of Grateful Dead covers, “Ruby Tuesday” by The Rolling Stones and “Badge” by Cream. The flow to the show was smooth and the hits kept coming as the evening progressed. Pollak wrapped up the show with an appropriate “Show of Life,” right before turning the mic over to Phish, live from the Chase Center in San Francisco
Setlist: Crazy Too, Althea, Can’t Always Listen, Ain’t No More Caine, Nobody Finer, Mississippi Blues, Automatic Pilot, Franklin’s Tower, Suzy Greenberg, Dilaudid Nurse, Fluffhead, She Belongs to Me, Sugaree, Space -> Lost Moments in Time, In Case You Didn’t Know, Crimes of the Mind, Ruby Tuesday, Badge, Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad -> Show Of Life
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong were joined by Neighbor on October 15, for the second of a two night run at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Dogs In A Pile started the party at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theatre.
The atmosphere at “The Cap” felt familiar and comfortable. It was that cool uncle with the cool T-shirts that was very excited about legalization of certain herbs. It was a relaxed vibe that did not take itself too seriously, which helped cultivate pure enjoyment from fans. Most employees resided at the venue since its reopening and seemed to love working there. The rich history of the venue contributed to a feeling of experience and familiarity. For those cautious to attend an indoor concert.
Fans of Pigeons filled with anticipatory excitement for the next cue in their favorite song. The crowd burst with joy every time their part in the collaboration, and were beautifully illuminated for each moment.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – The Capitol Theatre – Saturday, October 15, 2021
Setlist: Pop Off, Fall in Place, Melting Lights > Poseidon, Paperboy, Porcupine > Ocean Flows, My Own Way, Water, Skinner, Dawn A New Day, Snake Eyes, Living for the City (Stevie Wonder), King Kong, Day in Time, Overrun, Doc
Embarking on their first tour since 2019, Dopapod chose a familiar setting in Saratoga Springs’ Putnam Place to kick things off, which they did in remarkable fashion. A mostly packed house was treated to a first set that began, and ended, with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.”
photo by Pete Mason
In fact, that’s all they played for a full hour, finding room to jam and improvise without any let up. After 25-30 minutes of “Echoes,” fans looked around at each other wondering “Is this still Echoes?” and simultaneously realizing “This is all they’re going to play this set.” There were no complaints, and no one second-guessed the band’s choice here, rocking out for the full 63-minute set with teases of The Beatles and Dopapod originals mix in, the crowd reveling in the awesomeness they witnessed during setbreak on the Putnam patio.
Set 2 found far more songs, nine to be exact, with a range of material from across Dopapod’s catalog. The recent debut “Velcro” kicked things off, followed by “Happy Song” off 2009’s Radar and fan favorite “Braindead” from Redivider, Luke Stratton’s lights silhouetting the band throughout.
“Black and White,” a highlight of Dopapod’s 2017 Halloween show at Putnam Place, featured teases of “I Might Be Wrong” by Radiohead and “Funky Duck” by Vulfpeck. The final segment of “Onionhead” > “Grow” > “Present Ghosts” capped the night perfectly, bolstered by room shaking bass from Charles Jones.
For an encore, while the setlist only showed “French Bowling,” an audible was called with AC/DC’s “T.N.T.,” preceded by Eli Winderman fist pumping and engaging the crowd to add in “OY! OY! OY!” before Eli and Rob Compa led the band through the 70s rocker. “Bowling” did indeed then close out a fun night of music afterwards.
Dopapod, who just released their new single “Think” today, arrives at Buffalo Iron Works on Wednesday, October 27 before heading to the Midwest. Get your tickets here.
Dopapod returned to The Dock in Ithaca, a premier music venue on Cayuga Lakes Inlet, for the first time since 2012. Rob Compa gave the crowd an A+ for their vibe, saying, “This is exactly how we want a Dopapod show to be.”
The four piece crushed their first set with a standout “Trapper Keeper” jam that the fall crowd boogied down on. Whether you had a Jansport or an Eastpak to store it in, you probably had your video game cartridges in there as well. Dopapod fired up their old consoles for the “Donkey Kong Country Theme” -> “Something from Zelda.”
Cornell’s infamous Barton Hall that sits in The Dock’s sightline sent a sonic wave to crash in the set. During their original “Sonic,” Dopepod took the Grateful Dead’s classic “Dark Star” on an uptempo disco vibe that sent people dancing in the boat launch.
The band opened the encore on drummer Neal “Fro” Evans who laid down a tight groove of improvisation before launching the band back into the 1990s. Dopapod rocked the dock with Alanis Morissette’s classic “You Oughta Know” to close the night out. Rob Compa noted told NYS Music after the show “I think Taylor Hawkins (current Foo Fighters drummer) is on the original studio drum beat for that.”
Dopapod – The Dock, Ithaca, NY – October 21, 2021
Set 1: Freight Train > Mucho, STADA, Trapper Keeper, Numbers Need Humans, Vol. 3 #86
Set 2: Bats in the Cave, Donkey Kong Country Theme -> Something from Zelda > Trickery, Nerds -> Sonic¹
Encore: You Oughta Know²
¹ Dark Star (Grateful Dead) tease ² Alanis Morissette cover, Nerds tease
Its not every day an 80 year old bassist stops in Albany to play a club show. Its not every 80 year old bassist who happens to be Phil Lesh, who, while in between shows at The Capitol Theatre, made some stops with his son Grahame’s band, Midnight North as they played in Burlington and Albany this past weekend.
photo by Frankie Cavone
Phil has been no stranger to Midnight North shows recently, having sat in for shows in Washington, D.C., Fairfield, CT and Woodstock, as noted by Jambands.com. Phil joined Midnight North at Nectar’s on Friday night for “I Know You Rider” and “Ripple,” with Twiddle members Mihali and Ryan Dempsey joining in.
On Saturday, as Midnight North made their way to Albany, Phil Lesh was along for the ride, and sat in with Midnight North for their original “Wine and Roses,” followed by the Grateful Dead classic, “New Speedway Boogie” with Elliot Peck taking lead on vocals. Watch the two songs below, with Video courtesy of Mirth Films
Phil Lesh returns to the Capitol Theatre this week, October 18 – 20 with Stuart Bogie and Amy Helm join Phil on the first and last night of the run, with Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman, Elliot Peck and Phil’s son Grahame set to play on the 19th. This run will also feature Joe Russo on drums and Benmont Tench on keys.
With the Clifford Ball and their first massive festival now in the rearview mirror, Phish began their fall tour just two months later in Lake Placid, NY. Conveniently, the tour opener was scheduled for the day after the release of Billy Breathes, their sixth studio album which was recorded in Bearsville, NY earlier in the year.
This show would seem to serve as a celebration of that, with a whopping nine songs pulled from it for duty this evening. Combined with the usual tour opening gaffs, it doesn’t make for the most free-flowing of shows in the world, but certainly offers more than a good glimpse of Phish at a time when they are skyrocketing in popularity while still trying to find ways to innovate and explore new musical paths. After two acclaimed shows at the Olympic Center last year, Phish would return for their third and final show at Lake Placid to date.
Accordingly, the show begins with the first of many selections from Billy Breathes in “Cars Trucks Buses.” A feisty Page McConnell piano solo highlights this one and gets a serious round of applause from the Lake Placid crowd. This immediately gives way to the familiar ambient noise and iconic bass lick opening of “Down With Disease.” Trey flubs a few of the early lyrics but still manages to nail his signature guitar riff before the band is off and running with a first set jam that stalls early before picking up speed instantly and coming to rousing climax.
Fall Tour “Cars Trucks Buses” shirt courtesy of Warren Baker via PhanArt
After a standard run through of “Wilson,” Jon Fishman cranks up the percussive intro to “Buried Alive” which yields another hearty Anastasio guitar solo. The tempo goes up even another notch with the juiced up “Poor Heart” that follows and is played to perfection. Then it’s back to the Billy Breathes catalog with album’s title track, which was also played in soundcheck before the show. McConnell, Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon nail the complex vocal harmonies before going into the instrumental section that doesn’t stray too far from the studio version.
“Mound” and “Sample In A Jar,” two traditional first set building blocks, are each played with precision, with the latter garnering another giant round of applause from the Lake Placid faithful. In addition to “Mound,” the rest of the first set is peppered with more cuts from Phish’s acclaimed Rift album like “It’s Ice,” which has a little trouble on the dismount, and the traditional “The Horse” and “Silent In The Morning” pairing. The “I think that this exact thing happened to me just last year” lyric in “Morning” is especially apt here, with two Phish shows occurring at this very same venue just eleven months ago, technically last year. And as it tends to do, “Character Zero” closes out the first set with its customary panache.
Tonight’s second set begins with “Wolfman’s Brother” which produces another mild jam that doesn’t veer too far. This is succeeded by “Taste,” another Billy Breathes tune that goes a little deeper and features some wonderfully dissonant guitar phrasing from Trey. Things then slow down tremendously as Mike Gordon leads the band through his contribution to the new album, “Train Song,” only the fifth one ever performed at this point.
Lake Placis fan poster, image courtesy Warren Baker
Phish then revs the Lake Placid engine back up with the opening licks to “Simple.” This features, by far, the most exploratory improvisation of the night with another jam that has good intentions but never seems to really lift off the ground. An extended ambient-sounding section soon gives way to heavy drum and bass with Anastasio feverishly working his guitar’s funky “wah” tone. Meanwhile, Page is rotating between organ fills and pounding on the piano before Trey jumps on his percussion kit that was on stage these days. As the lone extended jam of the evening, it failed to strike a chord with at least one attendee this evening.
That Simple is by far the most interesting song of the night, foreshadowing that it will be one of the top-tier jam vehicles for the rest of the year. But a large span of its 16 minutes are spent with Trey on his percussion kit, with Page switching between organ and piano to try to keep it afloat, unconvincingly. It’s an example of the mini-kit as momentum-killer, and more broadly, of Trey’s well-meaning but wrong-footed attempt at forcing band democracy.
Rob Mitchum
Phish then goes back to the Billy Breathes playbook in a big way with the three songs that follow, starting with the first ever performances of “Swept Away” and “Steep.” Both go off without a hitch and at the explosive end of “Steep,” the opening chords of “Prince Caspian” immediately begin. McConnell leads the way on this one with some thunderous play on piano early before it winds down. “Run Like An Antelope” then rears its head, much to the delight of the crowd, starting a vintage show-closing sequence. The band takes their time with this one and delivers a mesmerizingly dark jam that gradually gains intensity and a slew of audio effects before peaking.
“The Squirming Coil” has a few rough edges as well but is bailed out by its customary delightful piano solo ending from McConnell. And in a show full of original material, some of it brand new, Phish does throw one cover into the mix with a ferocious take on Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” This allows one last chance for Trey to lay down another few blistering runs on the fretboard and he takes full advantage. The encore for this evening should come as no surprise. It’s “Waste,” the ninth and final selection from Billy Breathes for the evening. With the tour opener now under their belt, Phish would then travel to Pennsylvania for two gigs before returning to Upstate New York in Buffalo for a show at Marine Midland Arena three days later.
Set 1: Cars Trucks Buses, Down With Disease, Wilson > Buried Alive > Poor Heart, Billy Breathes, Mound > Sample In A Jar, It’s Ice, The Horse > Silent In The Morning, Character Zero
Set 2: Wolfman’s Brother, Taste, Train Song, Simple > Swept Away > Steep > Prince Caspian, The Squirming Coil, Johnny B. Goode
Earlier this year, as the weather thawed and there were early signs of the coming easement of pandemic restrictions, a small courtyard in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany became the home to intimate sessions from a variety of Capital District artists.
James White. Photo by Frankie Cavone
Produced by Frankie Cavone of Mirth Films, the Courtyard Sessions provided an opportunity for a variety of musicians from across the 518 to step into a private outdoor space and play acoustic renditions of their tunes.
Brad Hester of Annie in the Water. Photo by Frankie Cavone
Starting in May 2021, Cavone started the Courtyard Sessions as a way to help promote solo musicians in a creative form. Combining his video skills and a new courtyard at his recently moved into house, it was a match made in heaven.
For myself this was a way to stay creative learn and try new things. I don’t like being stagnant and after the big live streaming boom that we experienced in 2020 and early 2021, I wanted to try something different something less sterile.
Frankie Cavone, Mirth Films
The lineup was curated by Cavone, working with musicians he had worked with previously, as well as hoped to work with for the first time. The response was strong, with musicians coming to the courtyard for an afternoon or evening session, with enough interest and response from viewers to continue the series this fall and into 2022.
I did not know if this was something that would last as long as a did, but after 14 episodes, it’s something that I want to continue doing. As a creator it definitely helps me learn and build my skills.
Frankie Cavone, Mirth Films
Cavone’s end goal with Courtyard Sessions, now that it is established, is to have not only local musicians but national touring musicians as well who are coming through the Capital Region step into the courtyard.
An official Mirth Films series, Courtyard Sessions is one of a handful of new series that will be coming out before the end of 2021,
The Fall season will end later this month, with local singer/songwriter Caity Gallagher, who has a voice comparable to Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, as the penultimate guest, premiering Wednesday, October 20 on the Mirth Films YouTube Channel.
Watch all episodes of Courtyard Sessions from Mirth Films below.
