Hot off the heels of attending the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where he paid tribute to Charley Patton, Gary Clark Jr. headed back out on the road with a stop at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on Wednesday, November 3.
Gary Clark Jr.
On night two of a three-night stand, Clark took the crowd on a musical journey traversing a soundscape from sojourns of simplicity through to explosions of sound. To support this pilgrimage, Gary enlisted King Zapata on guitar, Jon Deas on keyboards, Elijah Ford on bass, and J.J. Johnson on drums. Their prowess provided the infrastructure for Clark to explore the musical expanse.
The show opened with the potent “Bright Lights.” Clark is not afraid to update arrangements as “Fellin’ Like a Million” shifted to a beat-based groove while the falsettos in “I Walk Alone” articulated the emotional distress of the piece.
Gary Clark Jr.
Throughout the night the tall Texan would step forward and affix himself to a spot on the stage enabling the power and fury of his playing to radiate out to those in attendance. A well calibrated light show helped fine-tune the aura surrounding the stage which added an exponential element to the show.
Opening duties were delegated to hip hop rappers Blackillac. The duo, who had been taken under Clark’s wing years back, shared what they called “their version of the blues.” From the first beats you could sense the Austin musicians influence bestowed upon them. Moving from established tunes to freestyle and back, Blackillac achieved their goal to prepare everyone for the headliner.
Blackillac
To close out the two-hour show, Gary strapped on a Flying V guitar and launched into “Pearl Cadillac.” A lone spotlight illuminated the man and his guitar as the distinctive notes from the song extended to the rafters. Standing tall and proud, Clark thanked everyone and sent them off into the night as he faded into the darkness at the back of the stage.
Prog rockers are not a group known for their sense of humor. But there is one towering prog godhead who is top of the heap as an instrumental virtuoso and teller of ridiculously entertaining tales, ones featured in his surprisingly stupendous memoir, Grumpy Old Rock Star. It’s Rick Wakeman, the keyboard wizard whose riffs can be heard on some of the most memorable works of Yes, The Strawbs, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, T. Rex, Al Stewart and a boatload of his symphonic solo albums.
Wakeman brought his massive chops and incredibly funny tales to Woodstock’s beautifully outfitted Bearsville Theater on November 1. It was the last stop on the first swing of his “Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour.” The evening was equal parts baroque instrumental brilliance and Borsch Belt humor. And it was all the more enjoyable for it.
Dressed in a knee-length black morning jacket, Wakeman manned a duo of Korg Nautilus synths and a Yamaha grand piano to take the audience on a 14-song retrospective of his career as session man, bandmate and solo artist. There was a similar cache of stories, as well as a Q&A session, where the keyboardist reeled off hilarious anecdotes with punchlines as well-oiled as his arpeggios.
After the gorgeous symphonic double synth-driven opener “Seahorses,” Wakeman moved over to the piano. Here he told the story of one of his most memorable dates as a session man on Cat Stevens’ classic “Morning Has Broken.” According to the piano man, it wasn’t really all that much of a song, just 40 seconds or so, when they first ran through it. Stevens’ producer Paul Samuel-Smith asked his to lengthen it with a piano intro, a gorgeous one that is as memorable as Matthew Fisher’s Bachesque organ on “Whiter Shade of Pale.” The producer and Cat liked it so much that they asked him to return to it several times, in the middle of the tune and for a coda, to bring the tune to single length. Wakeman also recalls Stevens sitting in a corner chain smoking, all to muster the proper grit to commit his vocal to tape. He also remembers not getting paid, until 37 years later, the 12 British Pound session fee (about $120 is today’s dollars)!
Wakeman then set up a medley of two tunes from his classic The Six Wives of Henry the VIII album by observing that “the King’s life was prophetic of my own.” Like Henry, Rick had multiple marriages, one reason being “that I really liked cake.” But where Henry “chopped off his wives’ heads,” Wakeman observes he “gave my wives houses.” After the laughs died down, Wakeman gave sharp, articulated performances of “Catherine of Aragon” and “Catherine Howard.”
Rick Wakeman – photo by Neil Segal
Before heading into a medley of Yes, a mashup of “The Meeting,” “And You and I” and “Wonderous Stories,” Rick told an anecdote about a clever putdown he launched at a know-nothing TV interviewer in Los Angeles. When asked where his bandmate Trevor Rabin was when he wrote Yes’ biggest hit “Owner of A Lonely Heart,” Wakeman said he was “did it on the toilet.” And that it “was the first time someone wrote a #1 while doing a #2!” Naturally, the interview ended right there.
In the Q&A that followed, Rick answered 25 fan queries. He shared a host of trivia about his career, his love for his fellow prog keyboard titan, the late Keith Emerson, and that, yes, his long blonde hair was all his. He then returned to the synths for “The Dance of a Thousand Lights” from his 1999 disc, Return to the Centre of the Earth.
The creative and emotional high point of the evening came with Wakeman’s memories and medley of David Bowie, a giant whose last residence was a stone’s throw from Bearsville.
Rick Wakeman – photo by Neil Segal
Rick was the pianist featured on two of Bowie’s greatest works, his career-making “Space Oddity” and “Life on Mars.” Before launching into the tunes, Rick recalled their days of neighbors in the U.K and various chance meetings while on tour. He also credited Bowie and his producer Tony Visconti as sources of knowledge in the area of record production that proved so vital in his career.
Rick Wakeman then told another humorous tale about Emerson and Deep Purple’s Jon Lord, before dedicating the next medley to them, wildly original covers of The Beatles “Help!” and “Eleanor Rigby.” Repeating an exercise he learned during his days at the Royal College of Music, he covered these in the styles of classical composers. The standout was his reinvention of “Eleanor Rigby” in the hyper style of Sergei Prokofiev. It was blur of rapid arpeggios and pianistic filagree which could’ve been complemented by a horde of dancing Cossacks… if Rick could still afford the overkill of his infamous stage productions of the 1970s.
After a standing ovation and thunderous applause from the near sell-out crowd, Wakeman returned for a crowd-pleasing encore of story and sound. First came another scatological tale about a “dodgy vindaloo” and being asked to autograph an album while on the toilet! This was followed by yet another instrumental dazzler, the super syncopated “Merlin the Magician” from 1975 album, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Wakeman’s concert is a model for what classic-era artists can bring to their audiences. It had musicianship that showed he hadn’t lost a step to time and his formerly wild rocker lifestyle. It also had all the tall tales and trivia that die-hard fans have an inexhaustible hunger for.
Parquet Courts touched down in Burlington, VT on Wednesday night, bringing their latest album and older favorites to a grateful Higher Ground.
The Brooklyn indie rockers released their seventh studio album, Sympathy for Life, on October 22. The stunning effort leans into their expansive sound while feeling more crowd-worthy than ever. With thought-provoking lyrics and mind-bending instrumentals, the band makes a statement on their identity for the dancing masses.
Samantha York of Public Practice. Photo by Hattie Lindert.
New York City band Public Practice opened for Parquet Courts. Their dreamy, punky disco-rock moves as smoothly as lead singer Samantha York sashaying across the stage. The sparkling frontwoman of the band celebrated her birthday that night; Austin Brown of Parquet Courts brought her a celebratory cupcake onstage. As the crowd sang “Happy Birthday,” he knelt to the ground so she could blow out a birthday candle.
Urging the crowd to dance along, York emphasized: “how good it feels to be together and listen to music and move our f*cking bodies.” Her lilting vocals, perfectly complemented by bassist Drew Citron’s high harmonies, begged to be danced to.
Parquet Courts took the stage in the Ballroom after roughly 45 minutes. The crowd remained patient and was rewarded with an “Application/Apparatus,” an opening jam of wild synths, and a breakneck guitar riff exemplifying Parquet Courts’ unique brand.
Sean Yeaton and A. Savage of Parquet Courts. Photo by Hattie Lindert.
Sympathy for Life’s mesmerizing and unexpected melodies draw you in immediately. Performing live, Parquet Courts take their best tracks to the next level with unique riffs and intuitive breakdowns. The jumpy “Almost Had To Start A Fight/In and Out of Patience” felt stadium-sized as Sean Yeaton and A. Savage screamed into their mics. And on “Plant Life,” A. Savage’s masterful melodica was the cherry atop a woozy breakdown that felt wonderfully endless. As swirling green lights took over the stage, in the shape of leaves, the venue seemed transformed.
A. Savage of Parquet Courts. Photo by Hattie Lindert.
The band had a hold on the Vermont crowd, heavy on college kids. Parquet Courts shouted out notorious Burlington spot Pure Pop Records, “for all the vinyl heads out there.” They knew their crowd, and cheers erupted from the pit.
Austin Brown of Parquet Courts. Photo by Hattie Lindert.
After 11 years of “pure unadulterated hits,” as Brown joked, their catalog is far too lush to fit in one set. But the selection Parquet Courts presented showed them at their finest. Their strange, raw music and emotionally charged lyrics can speak on many different levels, to many different emotions. One of their shows is nothing short of a rollercoaster.
Sean Yeaton of Parquet Courts. Photo by Hattie Lindert.
Yet all night, the crowd stayed right there with them. Moments after one chosen individual crowd-surfed to loser’s anthem “Stoned & Starving,” the entire crowd swayed slowly together to mournful, reflective “Pulcinella.” Though the band did not resurface to calls for an encore, the ballad was the perfect conclusion. My personal favorite song on Sympathy for Life (and it’s closer), the stunning outro evokes a cinematic emotion of nostalgia and change. Savage’s soft hum could be a lullaby; he sounds unrecognizable, yet completely himself. Before I knew it, I was swaying in time with the rest of the crowd.
Parquet Courts. Photo by Hattie Lindert.
Parquet Courts will continue their North American tour into 2022, with two New York dates scheduled for next year. See the full list of shows and venues below:
November 6— Stone Pony *– Asbury Park, NJ
November 17 — White Oak Music Hall- Houston, TX
November 19—Stubbs BBQ- Austin, T.X.
November 21 — Corona Capital 2021 – Mexico, Mexico
February 27, 2022—The Orange Peel- Asheville, N.C.
February 28, 2022— Georgia Theatre– Athens, GA
March 02, 2022– Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
March 03, 2022— Saturn- Birmingham, AL
March 04, 2022— Cannery Ballroom- Nashville, TN
March 05, 2022— The Pageant – St. Louis, MO
March 07, 2022— Liberty Hall – Lawrence, KS
March 10, 2022— First Avenue, –Minneapolis, MN
March 11, 2022 — Turner Hall Ballroom- Milwaukee, WI
March 12, 2022—Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL
March 13, 2022— Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit – Detroit, MI
On Friday, November 5, John Hall of 1970s pop band Orleans (“Stay With Me,” “Still the One”) will kick off NYS Music in Motion Season 3, as he sits down with our host, rocker Frank Palangi.
Sponsored by Helping Friendly Hemp Company, the series brings together seasoned musicians who hail from the Empire State or have made New York their home, alongside Palangi, a Warren County native.
Guests for Season 3 of NYS Music in Motion include Hudson Valley guitarist Kristen Capolino, Lake George multi-instrumentalist Rich Ortiz, PEAK guitarist and front man Jeremy Hilliard, Glass Pony drummer Chanda Dewey, and Ithaca-based promoter Dan Smalls.
Tune in starting on Friday, November 5 for each installment of Music in Motion on the NYS Music YouTube and Facebook page.
Palangi will have a sit down conversation with each artist, with a lineup of musicians from across New York State. A homegrown indie rock recording artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Palangi fuels his positive ambition naturally by serving up a feeding frenzy of edge heavy guitars, with a side of deep, gritty vocals. With a no-quit mentality, Palangi draws on influences from 80s & 90s rock, including post-grunge and heavy metal.
NYS Music in Motion Season 3 Schedule
November 5 – John Hall November 12 – Kristen Capolino November 19 – Rich Ortiz December 1 – Jeremy Hilliard December 8 – Chanda Dewey December 15 – Dan Smalls
Over his career, Chris Jehnert has taken many routes, such that you may know for his acting chops or even frontman status in the internationally recognized boy band Larger Than Life. Chris since then has developed a more mature sound, solidifying himself in the alternative rock scene with his debut EP Chapter One: The Hollow.
After his “Welcome To The Hollow” single in 2019, which has garnered over 100,000 streams, Chapter One: The Hollow delves further and expands on the intricacies of of love, loss, isolation, and obsession. With song titles like “Raise The Dead,” “Ghost,” and “Love You to Death,” this EP uses dark and haunting metaphors to delve into personal issues.
One of Jenhert’s song off the EP is “Ghost” which recounts a time when Jehnert was accused of ghosting after ending a fling. “I Love You To Death” is dedicated to his fans, specifically those that are willing to give their life away for Jehnert despite their lack of personal relationship. “Raising the Dead” is actually about rekindling a flame with an ex lover although the relationship was toxic, the title describes the resurrection of all the emotions and traumas from hooking up
The EP itself is all based off of journal-style lyrics, where I take the things I’m dealing with internally and create metaphors for them. I then write the songs as if those metaphors were literal. Equating The Hollow to being a place cold and empty that people are drawn to and trapped in, but it’s a metaphor for my personal relationships
Chris Jehnert
Chris has been trained as a triple threat from early on with singing, dancing, and acting. Complete with a vocal performance degree from CCBC Essex, Jehnert worked alongside world class singers Jennifer Hudson and Kristin Chenoweth in eight productions at Disney World. Touring with the Concert Anniversary Tour of “Hairspray” led him to settle in New York City.
Chris is a member of “Larger Than Life: The Ultimate Boy Band Tribute” and has traveled around the world performing in their concerts alongside Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Jeff Timmons, Aaron Carter and many more. Having taken a lead role in the Streamy-nominated series “Disposable Teens,” Chris now has pursued releasing his own music as always intended.
Make no mistake. Don LaSala is not Conrad Hilton and he’s not in it for the money. Since 1998, LaSala and his wife Sue have been the owners and loving caretakers of one of the holy sites of rock history, the humble salmon-colored house in West Saugerties, N.Y. known as Big Pink. From early 1967 – 1968, Big Pink and its makeshift basement recording facility served as the woodshed where Bob Dylan and The Band created a cache of classic songs that would forever redirect the course of popular music.
photo by William A. Loeb
Since 2014, the LaSalas have been enabling fans to enjoy weekend and longer retreats at this fabled house and its many peaceful, woodsy acres. It’s one that remains virtually unchanged since the days when The Band lived and worked there. This includes the rosy sided exterior immortalized on the cover of The Band’s 1968 debut, Music from Big Pink, along with its Atomic-era kitchen and appliances, its living, dining, bedrooms and, of course, its famous subterranean music space. The LaSalas have added to the authentic retro vibe by curating many period artifacts throughout. These include a 1966 local phone book, a Bakelite rotary telephone in basic black and a vintage typewriter, just like the one Dylan used to fire off lyrics. The mood is also set with classic photos of Dylan and The Band taken here and around Woodstock by its most famous local lensman Elliot Landy.
The story of Big Pink commences in February 1967, when The Band’s bassist Rick Danko rented the house where he would cohabitate with bandmates Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel. Danko. The trio were working with their guitarist Robbie Robertson, who secured a home close by with his soon-to-be wife Dominique, on Dylan’s film of their 1966 tour together, “Eat The Document.” Dylan had been sidelined from touring by a July 1966 motorcycle accident leaving his manager Albert Goldman’s house in adjacent Bearsville. Now, he was playing the seemingly retired family man/country squire/filmmaker, while quietly forging ahead with what would be his most productive year ever as a songwriter.
According to a conversation LaSala had with Danko, Dylan would arrive at Big Pink around 9 am each morning, right after dropping his daughter Maria off at school. He would then make a pot of coffee, roll a joint, smoke a few cigarettes and write lyrics, on yellow legal pads and/or his trusty typewriter, all while sitting at the living room table gazing out a picture window at the mountains in the distance. When Danko, Hudson and Manuel arose at around 11 am, he would make another pot of coffee for the boys and the arriving Robertson. They would then head down to the basement and try out the new songs just written by Dylan or fool with covers of old traditional chestnuts like “Kickin’ My Dog Around.” Keyboardist Hudson engineered the recordings using two stereo mixers and a tape recorder borrowed from Dylan’s manager and microphones on loan from folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. The magic was committed to reel upon reel of 1/4” Scotch or Shamrock tape.
In the late afternoon, the two coupled guys, Dylan and Robertson, would head home. The remaining trio would then either head into the town of Woodstock to party or bring the party home. The routine with Dylan reportedly went on from May – October 1967. Eventually drummer Levon Helm would return from the South and move in and the band would continue to work at Big Pink through January 1968, crafting and polishing the songs that would appear on the debut album named in honor of their home/studio.
Some of the 30 new Dylan originals recorded would first see light of day on a 14-song demo tape. It was circulated in October 1967 by his publishing company, Dwarf Music, to hopefully generate income from covers by other artists. They included some of the most celebrated songs of his career including “I Shall Be Released,” “This Wheel’s on Fire” co-written by Danko, “Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn),” “Tears of Rage” co-written with Manuel and “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” Seven of these unreleased versions were included on the double-disc The Great White Wonder, the first rock bootleg album illegally issued in July 1969. Some of these would ultimately end up on the first official release, 1975’s oft maligned The Basement Tapes on Columbia Records. Note that the cramped basement in the album’s cover photo is not Big Pink at all; it’s from a YMCA in Los Angeles. And some of the tracks featured are not from Big Pink or are The Band recordings sans Dylan.
photo by William A. Loeb
The story of how the LaSalas came to own Big Pink is rather traditional, one reflected in the great migration to the Hudson Valley we see taking place today in Covid-19 times.
“After almost a decade working in the music business in San Francisco, we moved back East and rented a placed in Westchester to help with my family’s real estate management business,” says Don LaSala. “Suburbia was a real culture shock. My wife grew up in the Northern Adirondacks and I had been coming up here a lot in the 1980s, when I was working as a live production manager for NRBQ, most of whom lived right in Saugerties. We always loved their area and hoped to one day, maybe, get a place here, but that was still a distant dream.”
One day, a friend in Woodstock, Mike Densmore, called me up and said there’s a tiny ad in the local classifieds saying — ‘Famous Rock-n-Roll House for Sale by Owner’. We thought, ‘What the hell? Why don’t we just take a look at it to see what it’s like inside?’ We were just curious like fans are today. But we weren’t really looking at the time and, in our wildest fantasies, we didn’t think we’d ever come to own it.
Don LaSala
LaSala, who is also a guitarist/songwriter, hit it off with the bass playing owner, Mike Amitan, who urged him to consider buying it, even though he didn’t think he could muster the $149,000 asking price. Two weeks later, the New York Times ran a huge story saying that the house had been sold to a consortium of investors. But this deal and several others would fall through before LaSala raised the funds and closed on the house in April 1998.
photo by William A. Loeb
From 1998 – 2014, Big Pink was the LaSala’s primary residence thought they spent part of each week at their downstate rental working for the family business. Its fabled basement became the clubhouse where band Don plays in, The Hooligan Band, would write, rehearse and record, just like Dylan and The Band. Playing together since 1978, The Hooligan Band have released two albums recorded in the famous basement, including Basement Hooligan – Live Recordings ’08 & ’10 and Hooligan in the Pink. LaSala has also released a handful of solo offerings recorded at Big Pink including 2011’s Home Brew. It has also continued to be the site of Big Pink Socials, where LaSala and other local musicians like Robin the Hammer, Julia Nichols, Avalon Peacock, Justin Love, Denise Parent and The Hooligans would party, play and record.
“At the time we bought Big Pink, Dylan was pretty much out of the public eye,” continues LaSala. “He was coming off his religious period, Dylan and the Dead, his acoustic albums and he hadn’t quite hit his renaissance with Time Out of Mind.”
With the critical mass of Internet connectivity in the early 2000s, more and more people started finding their way up the ¼ mile dirt road from Stoll Road in West Saugerties to Big Pink. Fans themselves, the LaSalas were always gracious when encountering visitors, sharing trivia and letting them take a few exterior photos.
photo by William A. Loeb
But the real explosion of interest came with the 2014 release of The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete, a lush box set containing 138 tracks, 117 previously unissued, from Dylan and The Band’s 1967 home recordings, the vast majority from Big Pink. This was followed by The New Basement Tapes, a British-American supergroup including My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and Rhiannon Giddens put together by producer T Bone Burnett. Also in 2014, the group recorded Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes, an album of tunes based on newly uncovered lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan in 1967 during his period at Big Pink. The collaboration was chronicled in the documentary Lost Songs: The Basement Tapes Continued. This included reenactments with young actors of Dylan and The Band’s at work filmed right in Big Pink’s basement.
These events drew more fans and many reporters to the site. This included a Rolling Stone Magazine video crew who documented The Band’s keyboard wizard Garth Hudson’s emotional return to the house after 47 years.
This renewed spotlight coincided with the emergence of vacation rental sites like AirBnB and VRBO. By that time, the LaSala’s lived at another home in Woodstock, but Don continued to use Big Pink as his musical space and hang.
“Over the years, I learned I couldn’t stop the fans, so I decided I might as well just let them have it,” laughs LaSala. “Owning this place, I always wanted to do justice to the history – to the fans who love this place and have a deep emotional connection to the creativity that unfolded here.”
Practicality was also an issue. “It cost a good deal to maintain this old house,” continues LaSala. “Even though we endeavored to keep it unchanged, there were still many costs like putting in a new heating and cooling system, roof and, of course, yearly property taxes. But we wanted to stay true to the legacy and not do something tacky for the almighty dollar.”
The LaSalas started slowly opening up Big Pink to guests in 2015. “It’s sort of an unofficial artists’ residency in my mind,” adds LaSala. “People come here from all over the world. The majority seem to be creatives – musicians, painters, photographers and writers who want to have the kind of creative meditation, the productive retreat it provided for The Band and Dylan. Many are older folks who grew up on the music. But increasingly it’s drawing younger people, ones for whom the music created here is a requisite listening experience.”
“With three bedrooms and two baths, the place can comfortably accommodate 5 – 6 people,” observes LaSala. “So, groups are using it for reunions, to bring together friends, family and creative collaborators from faraway places. It’s not only about the house itself, but the nature surrounding it – the peace and creativity that springs forth from the solitude and raw natural beauty. Many come here to write, paint, and like Dylan and The Band, make music.”
photo by William A. Loeb
The LaSalas recommend a minimum three-night stay though some visitors stay longer. The wicked Woodstock winters mean that Big Pink is only available from mid-April to early November, on dates when LaSala and company are not making music. Full details, including videos and photos, can be found at their rental site on VRBO.
Visitors have free rein of Big Pink’s upper levels and outer patio but not, strictly speaking, the famous basement.
“It’s my private rehearsal space with own gear, so guests just can’t come and go as they please and everyone seems to understand this,” adds LaSala. “What I will do is schedule a time to give an informal tour, where I tell them the full story of Big Pink and all the creative magic that happened here. To keep people focused on the present, I discourage them taking too many photos. It’s something I even do with my friends at my Big Pink Socials. I want them to stay in the present moment, and to have this Big Pink experience live in their memories and imaginations.”
photo by William A. Loeb
The fans who have found their way to Big Pink have shared some amazing new info with LaSala; some verified, some not.
“It’s known that George Harrison visited here when he came to Woodstock and stayed with Dylan at his place in Byrdcliffe, Woodstock’s famous art colony,” recalls LaSala. “It’s also believed that he brought Eric Clapton here too. According to one British expert who visited, it’s believed George played The Band and Bob some songs he wanted to run by the Beatles like ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘All Things Must Pass.’ And that, that another time, he and Eric rehearsed in the basement and played an early version of ‘Badge.’ In both cases, they were running them by Dylan and The Band to see if they were any good! Like Big Pink itself, these are misty legends that really spark your imagination.”
With the emergence of Covid-19 in March 2020, the LaSalas suspended their rentals until Spring 2021. Since then, they have taken all the necessary precautions, even installing a pricey air filtration system.
With winter coming in, Big Pink will just have to live in your imagination at least until next Spring, when the LaSalas plan on opening its doors once again to discerning and respectful visitors.
“Until that time,” concludes LaSala with a Dylanesque quip and smile, “I’ll be in the basement mixing up the medicine, medicine of the musical kind, of course!
Midlake has announced their fifth studio album, For The Sake of Bethel Woods, and shared the first single, titled “Meanwhile…” The Texas-based band has not released new music since 2013’s Antiphon.
Photo by Barbara FG
Midlake’s brand of folk-rock evokes the brooding, funk-influenced sound of groups like TV on The Radio. After the departure of original frontman Tim Smith, they threw out their past recordings and restarted as a new quintet, hurriedly releasing a new album. On Antiphon, Midlake leaned into their rock side with distorted electric guitar riffs and newly-minted frontman Eric Pulido’s Bowie-protege vocals.
Almost a decade later, on “Meanwhile…” the band finds a lighter touch. A swoon-worthy 60’s rhythm carved out by drummer McKenzie Smith allows the steady acoustic guitar and wavering metronome to absolutely float. Pulido’s vocals, though mournful, are softer and more whimsical than ever.
Pulido said the track speaks to two key points in Midlake’s history: when the band decided to go on hiatus in 2014, and when they were inspired to reconvene in 2020.
“Everyone had their respective experience during the uncertain time apart,” he said, “culminating in a confident and celebratory return to form.”
Available for preorder now, For The Sake of Bethel Woods will be released on March 18th of next year. For their first time working with an outside producer, Midlake brought in the big guns, recruiting Grammy-award-winning producer John Congleton. Congleton, whose previous credits include St. Vincent and Sharon Van Etten, produced, engineered, and mixed the album at Elmwood Recording Studio in Midlake’s native Texas.
Though the project marks a homecoming of sorts for Midlake, the reunion is bittersweet. For The Sake of Bethel Woods’ cover art pays homage to keyboardists Jesse Chandler’s father, who passed away in 2018.
“For me, the picture of that kid, my dad, forever frozen in time, encapsulates what it means to be in the throes of impressionable and fleeting youth,” Chandler said, “and all that the magic of music, peace, love, and communion bring to it, whether one knows it at the time or not.
Midlake has unveiled an exclusive live performance of “Bethel Woods” filmed at Dallas, TX’s Modern Electric Sound Recorders by director Rett Rogers and co-director Barbara FG and marks the second in a new multi-part series of exclusive live sessions, “Meanwhile In Texas,” with additional installments set to premiere in the coming weeks.
Promoting For The Sake Of Bethel Woods, Midlake has also announced a series of North American Tour Dates,
Midlake 2022 Tour Dates
MARCH 9 – Denton, TX – Dan’s Silverleaf 10 – Denton, TX – Dan’s Silverleaf 16 – Gothenburg, SW – Pustervik 17 – Oslo, NO – Vulkan Arena 18 – Stockholm, SW – Nalen 20 – Copenhagen, DK – Pumpehuset 21 – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theater 22 – Munich, DE – Freiheizhalle 23 – Vienna, AU – Flex 25 – St. Gallen, CH – Palace 26 – Maastricht, NL – Muziekgieterij 27 – Utrecht, NL – Ronda 29 – Hamburg, DE – Mojo Club 31 – Groningen, NL – De Oosterpoort
APRIL 1 – Cologne, DE – Bürgerhaus Stollwerck 2 – Antwerp, BE = Trix 3 – Paris, FR – Alhambra 5 – Brighton, UK – Chalk 6 – London, UK – Roundhouse 8 – Newcastle, UK – University Student’s Union 9 – Edinburgh, UK – Assembly Rooms 10 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall 11 – Dublin, IR – Vicar Street
MAY 8 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley 10 – Washington, DC – Union Stage 11 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live (Downstairs) 13 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios 14 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom 16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall 17 – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall 19 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway 20 – Kansas City, MO – recordBar 21 – Oklahoma City, OK – Beer City Music Hall
Queens duo, The Forms, known for their experimental indie sound, have returned with another new single, the eerie-sounding, “All Souls Day,” an ode to the celebratory day of remembrance of the same name.
The band released their first two albums with legendary producer Steve Albini, who had previously worked with lighting rods like, Nirvana and PJ Harvey. “All Souls Day,” is the third release from The Forms this year after over a decade without any new music. Their last full-length, The Forms, was released in 2007.
“All Souls Day” centers on a hypnotizing riff played on a bass steel pan. The echoey and percussive instrument, as played masterfully by Matt Walsh, creates an ominous sound. It’s perfect for their psychedelic brand of indie rock, as the steel pan feels otherworldly like a synth yet as painfully human as a banjo. Vocalist, Alex Tweens’, high and whispery vocals balance the instrument with an alien quality. Tweens described the track as
a strange dark meditative soundscape of a quiet apocalypse.
The music video for the track, shot in a remote field in The Catskills, is eerie and sensory. Cattails brush up against the camera lens, and pollen disperses like gold flecks in the wind. When night falls and a thick mist settles over the set, you can almost feel the chill. The atmospheric video matches the track so perfectly the creeping plants even flutter in time with Tweens’ delicate tack piano.
As Tweens also pointed out, the track is a “wild mood swing” from their other recent releases. Their exultant comeback single, “Southern Ocean,” made apathy sound fun over a bouncy, summery beat. Their latest release “Head Underwater” leans hard into the coveted late 2000s indie-pop formula of classic 90s riffs plus synths. Tween described the track as
the most purely joyful song The Forms have ever done.
The fun, upbeat nature of both records is a far cry from the barren soundscape of “All Souls Day.” But, then again, summer is over and existentialism no longer feels like a beach game.
All Souls Day, celebrated annually on November 2nd, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed mainly by Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations.
On the song, Tweens sings of spending the day floating in a river:
Now I’ve come here/ In a state of mind/ One I’ll never forget.
The meditative lyrics over the ever-echoing steel pan transport you right to that floating, questioning state. The effect is sonically beautiful and emotionally resonant, letting you know that this will be an All Souls Day you won’t forget anytime soon.
The room at Buffalo Iron Works filled in quickly and the energy was high for a mid-week stop for Dopapod on their 2021 Fall Tour. There was chatter and excitement from previous performances, with fans draped in the band’s merch and a general feeling that this tour felt special. The jams were unique, went harder, longer, with the Boston-bred jam-band utterly locked in. There’s been a sense of renewed energy in the jam scene after a long period of stagnation with many feeling like it’s a good time to be a jam fan.
After the intro music and the pink floyd-esque light show that have become standard to any Dopapod concert, the band walked on stage to a welcoming applause. Guitarist, Rob Compa, greeted the crowd, Keyboardist, Eli Winderman, commented on how beautiful the crowd looked, and bass player, Chuck Jones, sarcastically pointed out that “there were in fact people there.” After more amusing banter, the band kicked off the set with “Braindead.” Heads were banging, bodies were moving as fans sang along.
Aside from the pleasing aesthetics, the strobing lights are used to shift the mood as they went from dark to light, shifting to a more delicate records like “Mucho” and “Turnin’ Knobs,” as fans serenaded along. The emotion in the room could be summed up in a few images of everyone smiling. Some had their eyes closed, while others sang along with the band.
The concert ebbed and flowed, with each soaring high followed by another as the band followed with “Weird Charlie” into “Please Haalp”. The first set closed out with a sit in from Michelangelo Carubba, of Turkuaz. There was a smile on every band member’s face as Michelangelo provided a strong backbone to a rip-roaring “Freight Train.” As an older gentleman exclaimed “That was incredible! I really liked that a lot,” a seasoned younger veteran warned, “Just wait.”
A fat chunk of the second set was spent in one big jam over the other sandwiches of the show. The band flowed seamlessly from their dissonant, but catchy “Vol. 3 #86,” into “PLSS” and back and didn’t stop to let anyone pick their faces up off the floor.
It is worth noting that there were teases of “Kitty Chaser” by Aqueous, another legendary jam band that hails from Buffalo. Dopapod led the audience from the spark and zest of the moment into “Psycho Nature,” as the audience went from brooding to jazzy.
By this point, the audience had been going strong for a while, but the occasional exclamation of astonishment and amazement could be heard. The dynamic jam of “Psycho Nature” moved into an upbeat “8 Years Ended” which included “Wipeout” and “Johnny B. Good” teases. The sustained joy of this segment resulted in an uproar of cheers as the band returned to finished off “Psycho Nature”. After a short bit of banter, Dopapod cleanly finished the second set with the cerebral “Velcro” into fan favorite, “Nerds.”
Like any Dopapod show, the music featured varied sounds, rhythms and genres, as Eli spun beautiful tales from the piano or blasted the audience with sonic bliss from his synths and Rob twisted from a jazzy clean sound to a heavily distorted rock tone. Ever present at every Dopapod show is a respectful, fun-loving crowd that is even better to be around when the band plays with this kind of vigor.
Before signing off, the band came out for an encore and played their cover of Billy Eillish’s “Bad guy.” After ripping through the song, Eli commented on the audience and how great they had been. Hence, Buffalo was treated to ten more minutes of blistering beauty with “Bubble Brain.” The house lights came up and everyone was all smiles as they exited the venue.
Setlist – Dopapod – Buffalo Iron Works – Wednesday October 27, 2021
Set 1: Braindead, Mucho ->Turnin Knobs -> Mucho, Weird Charlie > Plaese Haalp, Freight Train*
Spoon orchestrated a six show, eight-day “min tour” to prepare for their “Back to Life” live stream from Los Angles at the end of October. The tour, isolated to the Northeast, included a stop at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY.
Spoon’s set began with the somewhat dark “The Beast and Dragon, Adored.” The song afforded the band the opportunity to pull the audience in close before engaging them in a full on rock offensive. Lead singer and founding member Britt Daniel took his position guiding the charge. But at times during the set, Daniel could be seen dropping to his knees or catapulting into full flight as if the songs were giving the commands.
Spoon
Stage right Alex Fischel was no shy puppy. Oscillating between guitar and keyboards (and occasional percussion), Fischel would at times be hidden away in the crux of his set up and then erupting into full on guitar assaults with a maladroit style all his own. Jim Eno, the other founding member of Spoon, set the pulse for the band with his drumming, enabling the band to take music in the direction it wanted to go in.
Since starting in 1993, Spoon has amassed a trove of songs in their gig bag. The set was comprised of fifteen songs including: “Don’t You Evah,” “Do You,” and “I Turn My Camera On.” The encore found Daniel and Fischel alone on stage isolated in spotlights as they harmonized on John Lennon’s “Isolation.” The band joined mid way and performed three additional songs, closing with “Rent I Pay.”
Spoon at The Capitol Theatre
Supporting Spoon on this whiplash of a tour is Nicole Atkins. Her brassy rock and roll swagger makes her a perfect opening act. Sporting a blond wig, Nicole strapped on a guitar for most of her time on stage. Rocking through her catalog she was backed by an ad hock band created for this tour. Currently living in Nashville, Atkins is Jersey born and bred. She cut her teeth in the Asbury music scene and her take no prisoner demeanor confirmed that. Giving acknowledgement to her rock and roll mentors, Nicole and band finished out with Led Zeppelin’s “What is and What Should Never Be.”
Nicole Atkins
Being such a short tour, those that had the opportunity to catch this combination of acts are much the richer. Better yet, being a precursor to the live stream from L.A., Spoon fans have much to look forward to.
