Rescheduled from 2020, Daryl Hall and John Oates had been waiting to get their tour on the road for almost as long as we’ve been waiting to see them again. On Sunday, August 15th, they arrived with some 13,000 fans at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, one of the biggest crowds this venue has seen in some time. English band Squeeze opened the show.
Photo by Zach Culver
The duo came out, clad in their best rocker gear, followed by their band. Starting out with the classic “Maneater” the crowd was in from the start. They ripped through a few of their oldies before Daryl moved over to his grand piano for “Sara’s Smile.” After tearing up the crowd’s heartstrings he moved back over to center stage with his counter-part. The whole band came in strong for “Back Together Again,” surely being a very meaningful track for them after this past year.
30 minutes before their slotted end time they left the stage, leaving the crowd hungry for more. Little did they know what they were in for. Hall and Oates came back on stage for a four song encore, starting with “Rich Girl” and flowing into “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” and lastly, “You Make My Dreams.”
The duo headed west after Saratoga and the next time they will be near New York State will be September 18th at the Merriweather Pavilion in Columbia, MD and Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, CT to close their tour on December 3rd and 4th.
Setlist: Maneater, Out Of Touch, Method of Modern Love, Say It Isn’t So, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Barry Mann cover), She’s Gone, Sara Smile, Is It a Star, Back Together Again, I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),
Encore: Rich Girl, Kiss On My List, Private Eyes, You Make My Dreams
NYC guitarist and singer-songwriter Steve Conte is back with his first solo album in five years. Bronx Cheer is set for release on November 5, with lead single “Dog Days of Summer” out now on all streaming platforms.
Conte has been a fixture of the rock scene for several decades as the lead guitarist of New York Dolls. He has also collaborated with countless esteemed artists, including Michael Monroe of Finnish band Hanoi Rocks, and Japanese composer and artist Yoko Kanno. Kanno and Conte are noted for creating various soundtracks for anime series (Cowboy Bebop, Wolf Rain, and more).
Bronx Cheer features a core band of Steve Conte on guitar and vocals with bass by his brother John Conte (Southside Johnny & The Jukes, David Bowie, Ian Hunter) and Charley Drayton (Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, The Replacements) on drums. The album also features guest appearances by Clem Burke (Blondie), Andy Rourke (The Smiths) and Jesse Malin. It will be released through Wicked Cool Records.
“Dog Days of Summer” was released last week, a fitting timeframe for its name. On the track, Conte explores topics like family, getting older, and the future.
“It started with the title, which is a phrase I always liked, but when I was finished with it, I noticed that I wasn’t only writing about those awful hot days in August where you don’t want to do much of anything. I was also writing about getting older and watching the young upstarts, full of hope and goals, pushing hard to get somewhere – and seeing my kids zoom by me with all their energy. At this point, I feel like I can relax and don’t have much to prove, because my work is out there on records, on video, in the consciousness of the public – in my bubble, anyway. And the work speaks for itself.”
Conte on “Dog Days of Summer”
The album’s title refers to the true definition of a “Bronx cheer”–blowing a raspberry. Conte currently lives in the Bronx and loves the community. The cover art features a photograph of an NYC high schoolermarching down Fifth Avenue in protest of Donald Trump’s election. Conte states, “Not only is the lead kid, Theo Fenton, raising his fist in protest, contrasting the word ‘cheer,’ the title also gives Trump a big fat raspberry!”
Photo by Grayson Dantzic
Bronx Cheer draws from blues and punk rock influences as well as the charming and gritty spirit of New York. Tracking for the album began in September 2019 at Atomic Sound in Brooklyn. Overdubs were completed by February 2020, and the album was mixed during the pandemic by Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Keith Richards, Don Henley). Conte produced the album with Andrew Hollander, who has worked with big names in indie and pop.
Listen to “Dog Days of Summer” below ahead of Bronx Cheer‘s November release. Be sure to keep up with Steve Conte on his website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Modest Mouse wrapped up a four night stay at Bushwick’s Brooklyn Steel on Saturday, August 14th in celebration of their seventh LP The Golden Casket. Providing a different setlist each night, Modest Mouse played a significant portion of the new record along with songs from their entire catalog.
Modest Mouse at Brooklyn Steel, 8/13/2021. Photo by Buscar Photo
The Golden Casket was released this past June, six years since the band’s previous record Strangers to Ourselves came out back in 2015. For nearly a quarter century, Modest Mouse have been making pop-infused indie rock and amassing a devout following. That was on clear display at Brooklyn Steel last week; arguably a smaller venue for the group, but four nights quickly sold out and the audience would have stayed there all night had they kept playing. Even after a 2 hour show with a 6-song encore, barely anyone left the floor until security began ushering the crowd out.
Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. Photo by Buscar Photo
The new record draws on Modest Mouse’s signature sound, with a more psychedelic edge. Songs like “Leave a Light On” and “We’re Lucky” showcase shimmering guitar and horn loops while “Wooden Soldiers” and “The Sun Hasn’t Left” are reminiscent of Magical Mystery Tour era Beatles. These songs combined with quintessential Modest Mouse indie rock tunes and an artistic theme filled with rainbows and bright colors give The Golden Casket it’s own distinct place in the band’s discography.
Modest Mouse at Brooklyn Steel, 8/13/2021. Photo by Buscar Photo
The lengthy ‘MMXXI’ tour continues with a dense schedule all the way through the end of October. You can find the full list of dates and ticket links on the band’s website HERE. Check out the music video for The Golden Casket lead single, “We Are Between” as well as the full photo gallery from night 3 at Brooklyn Steel below.
As of Monday, August 16th, New York City is requiring proof of vaccination for most indoor activities including concerts, indoor dining and gyms. Depending on the show in question, negative COVID tests may be required in addition to vaccination. Make sure to check the policy of the show and venue in question. You can find Bowery Presents policies HERE.
The Districts wrapped up a four night run at Brooklyn Steel Saturday August 14th in support of Modest Mouse’s MMXXI Tour. We were there for night three; you can see the full photo gallery below.
The Districts at Brooklyn Steel, 8/13/21. Photo by Buscar Photo
For so many bands today, these tours mark the return to the stage after nearly a year and a half pause due to the pandemic. Vaccine and testing requirements are constantly changing, but while this remains in flux, these early concerts have shown that both the fans and artists are eager to get back on tour. Brooklyn Steel was nearly at capacity for The Districts’ opening sets, drawing their own fans out early who were more than ready to get back to live music.
The Districts at Brooklyn Steel, 8/13/21. Photo by Buscar Photo
The Districts released their fourth LP ‘You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere’ back in March 2020, right before COVID-19 would cause mass lockdowns around the world and in the US. These shows, more than 500 days later, are the first time the band has been able to perform the new songs live since their 2020 tour was cut short. Even with the hiatus, the band performed a tight set and did not show any sign of rust.
The Districts at Brooklyn Steel, 8/13/21. Photo by Buscar Photo
The band’s last pre-COVID show ironically was a hometown gig at Union Transfer in Philadelphia. The tour has the band making their return to Philadelphia in December for a show at The Fillmore with Dr. Dog. Check out all of their upcoming tour dates HERE.
As of this week in NYC, proof of vaccination will be required for most shows, including all of Bowery Presents’ venues. Visit their site for more information on acceptable proof of vaccination and individual venue policies.
Brooklyn’s Creek and Kills will put out their new EP “Unstitching” on Friday, August 20, 2021. Recorded in their homes from May 2020 to April 2021, with mixing and mastering from Danielle DePalma, “Unstitching” includes remixed, rerecorded, and/or remastered versions of the band’s pandemic singles plus three new tracks. These are wild siren songs from far reaches of an urban estuary. Creek and Kills rock out like a mermaid party in a Superfund site…a little dirty, a little dangerous, a little sexy, luring you to sink in the dark water.
The band’s first full-length eponymous album (released 2019) was praised for its “unadulterated filthy Rock rhythms,” “artful alchemy,” and the “striking strength” of vocals from singer-bassist, Kate Bell (A&R Factory). Bell comes from a background in jazz. Her octet, the Poma-swank, was hailed as “one of the best offerings from the New York jazz underground” by music writer Mark Kirby, and All About Jazz described Bell as “oozing sass . . . her instrument is not only her voice, but her total self . . . and the person who is singing is someone you’d most definitely want to meet.” Since Bell’s switch to rock, she’s worked on projects with members of the Julie Ruin, Bush Tetras, and Groovy Ghoulies. Guitarist Marc Montgomery began collaborating with Bell in late 2017, and “Unstitching” features his heartbreaking song, “Sunshine Hotel.” Drummer and vocalist Erin Harney joined Creek in Kills in late 2019, previously of the bands The Shook Ones and Femmepire.
Creek and Kills’s music has been heard on the “I Art NY” podcast, in the short film Skin the Wire (NY Shorts Festival), on WPRB (Princeton, NJ), BVEW (Brattleboro, VT), and on the greatest freeform radio station in the world, Jersey City’s WFMU. Creek and Kills will celebrate the release of the “Unstitching” EP with special guests, Groupie and Rest Ashore, at 18th Ward in Brooklyn on Friday, August 20, 2021, open to all, music starting at 8 p.m.
On Tuesday, August 10, NYC based band We Are Scientists were scheduled to play a one-off warm up show at Brooklyn’sElsewhere Rooftop. Right as doors were set to open, severe thunderstorms rolled in and forced the band to postpone the show (now scheduled for September 20th at the Rooftop). The crowd waiting in the loft was told that We Are Scientists would come out and perform an impromptu acoustic set in the empty Hall downstairs. Not quite knowing what to expect, fans filed down the stairs and into the main venue at Elsewhere.
We Are Scientists, Elsewhere 8/10/21. Photo by Buscar Photo
At about 9:15pm the band came out on the empty stage armed with an acoustic guitar, a snare drum, and three voices. Keith and Chris engaged in some comedic back and forth with the crowd, joked about the lack of amplification and the barrier still in place in front of the stage, then treated the fans to a 20 minute acoustic performance (plus one air-bass solo) of old and new songs. Any disappointment over the postponed show quickly evaporated as the crowd engaged in an enthusiastic sing along. In spite of the circumstances, the guys were able to give their fans a special treat that will surely be cherished by those who stuck out the rain.
Keith Murray of We Are Scientists – Photo by Buscar Photo
The postponed warm-up show will be made up at Elsewhere on September 20th with a full European tour kicking off on November 24th in the UK. In between, the band’s new record, Huffy, will be released on October 8th on 100% records. Full tour dates can be found HERE – check back in September for a review of the show and the new record. You can watch the music video for latest single “Contact High” below.
After being closed for 18 months during the pandemic, Bardavon Presents has announced the reopening of Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) on Sunday, September 26 at 7pm. The show is rescheduled from August 22 due to Hurricane Henri, with tickets from August 22 being honored.
Sunday August 22 at 7pm with preformers Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, followed the week after by Brit Floyd on Sunday August 29 at 8pm.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue – Sunday, August 22 at 7pm at UPAC
Troy Andrews, or, “Trombone Shorty,” brings his R&B, rock, rap and funk brass band to UPAC for the first time ever! Come early and enjoy the Brasskill second line on Broadway starting at 5pm, and grab dinner in a great Kingston restaurant before celebrating UPAC’s reopening!
Trombone Shorty has draw the unqualified respect of some of the most iconic legends in jazz and is known to, “Deliver a high-energy funk rock show capable of mesmerizing international rock stars.”
Trombone Shorty is equally gifted on both trombone and trumpet. Originally from New Orleans, Trombone Shorty was a bandleader by the age of six. He spent a great deal of time absorbing lessons from his older brother James, a dynamic musical performer known as “Satchmo of the Ghetto.”
“It really is as good as they say – believe the hype and don’t miss it. The perfect rock show” -LA Times
The Seventh Annual Brooklyn Americana Music Festival takes place September 16th -19th, 2021. Fifty live music events at seven iconic locations including the DUMBO Archway Plaza under the Manhattan Bridge and Pier 6 Plaza in Brooklyn Bridge Park on September 17th, 18th, and 19th. Nightly concerts will be held at Jalopy Theatre and Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook; and Superfine and 68 Jay St Bar in Dumbo.
The annual festival is a beloved celebration of folk, roots, country blues, bluegrass, and jazz and attendees of all ages can enjoy banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and three part harmony renditions of original and traditional songs performed by a majority of women-identified artists. Ticketed concerts include the festival kickoff on September 16th at Jalopy Theatre, and September 17th in the Dumbo Archway Plaza, and are followed by thirty free live music events for all ages.
The 7th Annual Brooklyn Americana Music Festivalis made possible by public funds from the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, both administered in Kings County by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). The Festival is made possible in part by generous sponsors and the office of Councilman Stephen Levin.
The launch of a summer concert series in the Hamptons will kick off at legendary venue Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on August 31st. A portion of the proceeds from the shows will go to benefit USA Warrior Stories, a not-for-profit organization designed to record, archive, and share videos of veteran stories online to help veterans make a connection with one another and to help us all better understand their sacrifices for our freedom.
The first installment in the series will feature Grammy-nominated guitarist and innovative songwriter Marcus King. New Orleans multi-instrumentalist Ivan Neville, “badass and beautiful” vocalist and songwriter Lisa Fischer, and Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato will join King as special guests.
Known for his soulful vocals and the wisdom of his lyrics, King has earned rave reviews for his kinetic musicianship. His debut solo album, El Dorado, topped the Americana radio charts and has received critical acclaim. Son of the great soul singer Aaron Neville, Ivan Neville is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and singer. He has released four solo albums and had a Top 30 Billboard hit with the first single “Not Just Another Girl” from his debut solo album If My Ancestors Could See Me Now.
Portuguese-born, Carolina-bred, and current Brooklyn, NY resident Louis Cato is a Grammy-nominated and internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter. He has recorded with Beyonce, Q-tip, John Legend, and Mariah Carey, among other household names. He has toured with some of the most influential acts in music. And is currently featured nightly on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a member of Jon Batiste and Stay Human.
Along with their frequent collaborator and partner John Varvatos, Williamson and Rechter ( The show’s organizers) were the first to bring music with a live audience back to New York City after the coronavirus pandemic shut down live entertainment around the world. The show, which featured an array of world-class artists including Jon Bon Jovi, Sara Bareilles, Gary Clark Jr., Yola, and many more, truly brought the city full-circle, as the team’s Love Rocks NYC show in 2020 was the last concert in NYC before the shutdown. In December 2020, the two also worked with Varvatos, rapper and Rock the Bells founder/CEO LL Cool J, actor Kevin Bacon and CBS This Morning anchor Anthony Mason to produce Play On, an extraordinary benefit concert that raised millions of dollars for transformational racial, social, and food justice.
Steely Dan are ready to rock the East Coast this fall with their new “Absolutely Normal” tour. The tour starts in Miami Beach as the band works their way up to Boston. They will play a two-night stint at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on November 9 and 10. Tickets for the Cap shows are available for purchase here.
Along with their extensive tour, Steely Dan is releasing two new live albums. The first is a live recording of Donald Fagen’s acclaimed solo album The Nightfly, complete with instrumentation by the Steely Dan Band. The other, Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live!, is the first live album by the band in 25 years and was recorded at various venues like the Beacon Theatre in NYC and the Met in Philadelphia. Both live albums will release September 1, with vinyl releases October 1.
Steely Dan’s New York roots run deep. Founded by Fagen and the late Walter Becker when they were students at Bard College in Annendale-on-Hudson, the duo later moved to Brooklyn before settling for many years in Los Angeles. The hit “My Old School” is inspired by Fagen and Becker’s Bard days, chronicling their arrest for marijuana possession with tounge-in-cheek lyrics. Steely Dan have performed at countless iconic New York venues beyond the Cap and the Beacon, including SPAC, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, and Madison Square Garden.
Becker and Fagen in their Bard College days, photo credit unknown.
Fagen and the band will play through Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live! along with additional hits at the first Cap show (Nov. 9), and through the entirety of their iconic fifth studio album The Royal Scam on Nov. 10. Fagen most recently played the Cap in 2017, supporting his solo project, Donald Fagen & The Nightflyers. All tour dates are listed below.
Steely Dan: Absolutely Normal Tour Dates
Oct. 5 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
Oct. 6 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
Oct. 8 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
Oct. 9 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
Oct. 12 – Orlando, FL – Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Oct. 13 – Orlando, FL – Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Oct. 15 – St. Petersburg, FL – Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater
Oct. 16 – St. Petersburg, FL – Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater
Oct. 19 – Jacksonville, FL – Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts – Moran Theater
Oct. 20 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center
Oct. 22 – Charlotte, NC – Ovens Auditorium
Oct. 23 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater
Oct. 25 – Baltimore, MD – Hippodrome Theatre at France-Merrick Performing Arts
Oct. 27 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
Oct. 29 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
Oct. 30 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
Nov. 1 – Red Bank, NJ – Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center
Nov. 3 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center
Nov. 4 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center
Nov. 6 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center
Nov. 7 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo Performing Arts Center
Nov. 9 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
Nov. 10 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
Nov. 13 – Wallingford, CT – Toyota Oakdale Theatre
Nov. 14 – Bethlehem, PA – The Wind Creek Event Center
