The Village of Menands, just north of the City of Albany, has announced the schedule for the 2021 Concerts in the Park. Performances are held in Ganser-Smith Memorial Park, just off Broadway.
The Village of Menands was incorporated in August 1924 and takes its name from Louis Menand, a prominent 19th century horticulturist who was born in France in 1807 and immigrated to America in 1837. In 1842 Menand and his wife Adelaide Jackson settled in what is now the Village that bears his name. Menand established one of the finest horticultural and garden establishments in the area, and as the “Albany Northern” railroad was built, a large railroad station was built and the stop was simply called “Menand’s” and the area soon associated itself with the name.
Ganser-Smith Park plays host to a series of picnics and musical events throughout the summer. Located on Menand Road near the Village center, the 3-acre park is the epicenter of nearly all village-sponsored events. The park amenities include a large open pavilion and BBQ, a children’s playground, baseball field, basketball and volleyball courts as well as horseshoe pits. There are over two dozen picnic tables spread throughout the park. Village youth programs are run at this location from late June through August. Restrooms with handicap access and parking are present on site. Pavilion reservations may be made at the Village office for Village residents.
The live music offerings are held weekly on Tuesday nights from 6pm-8:30pm at Ganser-Smith Memorial Park. Bring a chair, your family and get food and beverages sold by the Menands Fire Co.
2021 Menands Concerts in the Park lineup
July 6 – New York Players July 13 – Oldies Show July 20 – Hotshot Hillbilly’s July 27 – Mike Ruddy August 3 – Luster Kings August 10 – The All Paul Show
For more information visit the Menands Village website.
The City of Albany has announced that their original plans for the filming of Virtual Alive at Five performances in front of limited audiences have been amended. With New York State essentially reopened following the fulfillment of Governor Cuomo’s vaccination goal, all of the remaining Alive at Five tapings will now be fully open to the public at Jennings Landing, at full capacity.
Design by Anderw Sober
Alive at Five will be held on the Albany Riverfront at Jennings Landing. The concert series is presented by many sponsors, including Key Bank, “a strong supporter of both the City of Albany and the greater Capital Region.” Tapings will run from 5-8PM on the dates listed on the poster above.
Marco Benevento performs at Alive at Five, August 1, 2019
Albany is dedicating Alive at Five to the front line workers in the Capital Region who experienced the stress and hardships of managing the COVID-19 pandemic firsthand. The city hopes to celebrate and honor these workers through this exciting shared experience of live music and art.
All of us at the Albany Parking Authority are excited to hear about the return of the Alive at Five concert series to Albany’s Jennings Landing. The energy and vibrance [that] events like Alive at Five bring to our city cannot be understated. We are looking forward to being part of and supporting the return of even more events in the near future.
Matt Peter, Executive Director of the Albany Parking Authority
Jennings Landing, photo from Albany.org
Alive at Five is still seeking vendors for the tapings. Those interested can contact vendor@albanyny.gov. Recorded performances will air the following Thursdays on YouTube and Facebook.
The City of Albany has also partnered with local bars and restaurants for a program called Restart Albany. This will take place starting on July 8th and will allow music fans to watch the performance from the previous week and catch some live music at participating venues.
Parking for Jennings Landing is available at Riverfront Parking Garage. For more information visit ParkAlbany.com
Schedule:
June 30th -Reggae Night (Airs July 8th) The Meditations and Mixed Roots
July 7th – WEQX Night (Airs July 15th) Soule Monde and Victory Soul Orchestra
July 14th – Folk/Pop Night (Airs July 22nd) Amy Helm and The Sea The Sea
July 21st – Funk Night (Airs July 29th) Yam Yam and Hartley’s Encore
July 28th- Classic Rock Night Warrant and Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band (Warrant Performance will not be aired virtually. Joe Mansman only will air on August 5th)
Motörhead are one of the great metal bands of legend, with a long history of playing multiple gigs throughout the State dating back to their first US tour in 1981: New York City, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo – these cities saw numerous Motörhead gigs in the years the band toured America. Not Albany.
Oddly, this 2000 gig at Northern Lights remains the only headline show Motörhead ever played in the Albany/Saratoga area, EVER, in 40 years of being a band, almost 35 years of touring America. I don’t count Poughkeepsie in that – 1.5 hours south of Albany, a much smaller city, yet they first played there in 1981 on the ‘Ace of Spades’ tour opening for Ozzy, played again in ’83 headlining with Robbo, and played The Chance and Mid-Hudson Civic Center many, many times since.
Lemmy and the boys played lots of times, in little, backwater Poughkeepsie, but they’ve hardly ever played in the much bigger Albany area (the only other times were opening for Ozzy at SPAC in ’92 – Mikkey Dee’s first-ever gig with Motörhead – and more recently at Glens Falls with Megadeth and SPAC with Slayer, both in 2012). Albany was rarely blessed with Motörhead. You almost always had to road-trip.
Anyway, this was a cool bill. Speedealer opened (original name: REO Speedealer, until the classic rock band threatened suit), a band I’ve seen a few times, with Fu Manchu and (several times) The Supersuckers. Good band, noisy and punky, and they were good this night.
The Supersuckers, one of my favorite bands, played next. At the time they were pushing the fantastic ‘Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll’ album, one of their best. I’d discovered them around the time of their ‘Sacrilicious’ album, but this was the first time (of many) I’d seen them. This was still the ‘classic’ Eddie/Rontrose/Thunder/Dancing Eagle lineup, and they crushed. Played like 15 songs in 40 minutes, one after the other, short, fast, no-nonsense real punk-metal-rock with a few funny stage raps from Eddie.
I don’t know why more metal fans don’t worship this band. It was a well-balanced set, mixing new ‘Evil Powers’ songs (the set-opening title track, “Santa Rita High”, “I Want the Drugs”, “Gone Gamblin”), with some older blazers (“Beat to Shit”, “Doublewide”, “She’s My Bitch”, “Creepy Jackalope Eye”, “Mudhead”), a few covers (WILLIE NELSON’s “Bloody Mary Morning” and “Whiskey River”, and a tease of THIN LIZZY’s “Cowboy Song”) before the concluding Satanic headbanging glory of “Born with a Tail”. Fantastic band, killer opening set.
Nashville Pussy followed. Liked the ‘Double Live Gonzo’-inspired name, fun album titles like ‘Let Them Eat Pussy’ and their fuck-off attitude, but the music never caught me. So, never really a fan of this band, don’t dig the vocals, but I remember they did play AC/DC’s “Kicked In The Teeth”, which is a great cover choice, and everyone who was there remembers clearly inebriated bassist Corey Parks’ boobs repeatedly falling out of her tank top. Other than that: eh.
Motörhead of course then went on and conquered all. My recall is that the place was not anywhere near empty, but not packed to the rafters either. Maybe this is why Motörhead never play headline gigs here.
This was the ‘We Are Motörhead’ tour, a great album. The title track is one of my favorite Motörhead songs and a great opening number. In 2000 they were still playing a fair amount of ‘newer’ (i.e. post-1990) Motörhead songs, whereas by the end in 2015 they’d gone to the majority of the set being Fast Eddie-era stuff, which of course is some of the most classic metal ever, but leaves aside some great stuff. The cool ‘deep album’ track for the show was “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, but they played many post-Eddie songs (a roaring “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)”, “Over Your Shoulder”, “Civil War”, “Born to Raise Hell”, “Stay Out of Jail”, “Sacrifice”, “Going to Brazil”), plus a slew of neck-snapping expected classics: “Bomber” and “No Class” early on, “Dead Men” and an all-conquering “Orgasmatron” mid-set, and the face-removing “Iron Fist” and “Killed by Death” to conclude the regular set, with “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill”, as always the usual encore songs. It was LOUD. Lemmy presided over all like the undisputed king of volume and unassailable cool he was. He is missed. All hail the late, great Lem, and the almighty Motörhead.
Setlists
Supersuckers – Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll, Santa Rita High, Luck, Beat To Shit, I Want The Drugs, Doublewide, Creepy Jackalope Eye, Mudhead, Gone Gamblin’, She’s My Bitch, How To Maximize Your Kill Count, Bloody Mary Morning, Whiskey River, Born With a Tail
Nashville Pussy: Struttin’ Cock, Piece of Ass, Wrong Side of a Gun, 5 Minutes to Live, High as Hell, Shoot First and Run Like Hell, She’s Got the Drugs, Go to Hell, Kicked in the Teeth, I’m the Man, Go Motherfucker Go
Motörhead: We Are Motörhead, Bomber, No Class, I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care), Over Your Shoulder, Civil War, Metropolis, God Save The Queen, Born To Raise Hell, Stay Out Of Jail, Dead Men Tells No Tales, Sacrifice/Drum Solo, Orgasmatron, Going To Brazil, Iron Fist, Killed By Death, Ace of Spades, Overkill
Historic Lark Hall venue in Albany has big things coming.
Lark Hall owners Jennifer and Justin Miller have just announced a new management services agreement with Building Blocks Management, LLC, owned by Albany natives Danny and Stephen Taylor.
Owners Jennifer and Justin Miller
The Taylor brothers have strong experience in music venue operations. Danny currently serves as General Manager at the Palace Theatre in Albany, while Stephen is General Manager at Hi-Line Merchandising, based in Shoemakersville, PA.
The Taylors are eager to collaborate with the Millers in ramping up Lark Hall’s operations, seeing as COVID-19 restrictions are now lifted in New York State. These steps will include bolstering front of house operations, hiring new staff and security personnel and improving room management and bar operations.
This management partnership is exciting news for Albany-area music lovers as Lark Hall hopes to book even bigger talent and, of course, ensure that fans have an enjoyable and memorable live music experience.
The Millers with Danny and Stephen Taylor
We are excited to announce this partnership with Building Blocks Management, which will allow us to quickly achieve our mission to host and manage top level artists and events at Lark Hall and deliver a unique fan and guest experience like no other in the region. Danny and Stephen have quietly become two of the most talented and respected leaders in the venue and live music event management industry – both locally and across the country.
From the day we met, we knew the Taylor brothers were a perfect fit for our management and planning needs and they instantly recognized our goals and the potential for Lark Hall to be a premier venue not only for Albany, but the entire Capital District and beyond. We welcome them to the Lark Hall family and look forward to exciting times ahead.
Jennifer and Justin Miller
In addition to this big news, Lark Hall will also be hosting a job fair for prospective employees. Those interested in working with the Lark Hall team can attend the fair on July 17 from 10AM-2PM in the main event space at 351 Hudson Avenue in Albany (corner of Lark Street and Hudson Avenue).
NYS Music profiled Lark Hall back in March, outlining over 100 years of history. The venue has “a long history of being operated and owned by women” and has held suffrage conventions, wartime aid operations, school dances, fitness events and so much more.
A post-pandemic Lark Hall is sure to bring great entertainment and promising new ventures. You can keep up with Lark Hall and explore upcoming events including job fair details on their website.
When you search the words “Senior Living,” the very last thing you’d expect is a bunch of 20-somethings moshing in a damp basement. New Yorkers Zac Geddies, Gino Lopez and Brendan Snell intend to change that. The Albany-native band has announced that their debut LP album, Anniversaries, will be available starting June 25.
Formed in 2016, Senior Living was a passion project for Zackery Geddies (guitar/vocals) and Jeremy “Gino” Lopez (drums). Geddies and Lopez began booking local tours during semester breaks from college, making a name for themselves across the Northeast DIY music circuit. Brendan Snell (bassist) is a recent addition to the band and assisted on recording Anniversaries.
Senior Living’s music is best served cranked up loud, with a side of even louder. They have been described as a band that weaves together genres from ethereal shoegaze to punk with a tinge of modern dream-pop. The band’s chemistry, stage antics, and not to mention the blasting Roland Jazz Chorus amp, is guaranteed to fill the room with an immense pool of sound. They have a budding reputation as Albany’s loudest band, so be sure to bring earplugs!
Anniversaries album cover
Anniversaries, the bands debut full-length, tells the story of Geddies’s upbringing and how he experienced maneuvering through childhood with anxiety. The album explores the manic side of depression, the crippling feelings of stress, self-loathing, experiences in interracial relationships, and growing up a person of color in America.
It’s kind of a challenge to pinpoint exactly what led me down a path to music. I’d like to say that the music I’ve made is just my own attempt at coping with my mental health and the societal issues that affect me and the ones I love. Whatever it was that led me to the point where I want to pursue music, I’m glad I’ve found it, and I won’t be ready to give it up anytime soon.
Zac Geddies, founding member and guitarist
Geddies’s raw vocals tackles the serious themes with pure emotion. Two of the tracks are only about a minute long, just enough time for a short poetry excerpt. The LP has an eerie closer with back to back songs “Sourir” and “Everybody Dreams About Dying,” adding an element of the feelings of depression. Except, at the very end, Senior Living picks it back up with a guitar riff – a cliffhanger.
It seems Anniversaries is meant to be listened to in order, showing the progressions of emotion from elation, to self-doubt, to sadness, and back again.
Senior Living previously released “Dominick,” track seven on Anniversaries, as a demo on Bandcamp in March 2020. All proceeds from the single were donated to United Way COVID-19 relief and Meals on Wheels. As a teaser for the album drop, the band shared opening track “Carousel” with an accompanying video on June 21.
According to the band, all nine tracks were recorded in one day at a secret studio location in Oneonta. Each single is unique and can’t be contained under one genre, some songs are hardcore rebellion garage rock while others have a grungy get-in-your-feels type vibe. Though the tracklist is diverse, the album meshes really well.
Prior to Anniversaries, the band has dropped two short albums, two songs on The Paintbox Lace and three on 35mm.
The experience of writing and recording a whole album with close friends and collaborators in the studio led to a concentrated and compact album, and that chemistry can be felt throughout the tracklisting.
Alternative/indie rock super trio, Hasty Page, will release their latest single “The Wire” on Friday, June 25. The song is the Hasty Page’s first single of 2021 and fans’ first glimpse into the band’s upcoming EP. With a fresh song to fuel the summer, the trio continues to add to their arsenal of punchy, creative, and inspirational music releases.
Formed in 2015 in Glens Falls, NY, Hasty Page has previously released one EP and two albums. Alt alternative/indie rock trip has built up a solid standing among popular groups with similar genres. They have opened for bands such as Smash Mouth, Colony House, Moriah Formica, and Madison Vandenburg. Hasty Page’s audience is no small feat as well, performing shows for upwards of 40,000 people at Schenectady Summer night, 20,000 at the Albany Tulip Festival, and 10,000 at the Times Union Center.
The boys of Hasty Page – Josh Morris, Zane Agnew, and James Paolano –spent the past year recording the five tracks for their upcoming EP. The EP was recorded at Left Hand Studios in upstate New York, produced by Hasty Page themselves, and finally mixed and mastered by Scoops Dardaris (Prince Daddy, The Clay People, Girl Blue). Notably, Hasty Page has not only spent the past year recording new music, but they have also recently signed a sync licensing deal with Spirit Production Music.
“The Wire” is a fan favorite and highly anticipated, while the rest of the EP are new songs written over the past few years. The song’s instrumental track seamlessly fuses gritty yet clean guitar tracks and melodies, polished by bright, eclectic riffs and modulation. The vocals are warm yet powerful, espousing heartfelt momentum in a lyrical journey on the verge of bursting with pure emotion. Hasty Page has delivered a song to remember.
The music video for “The Wire” will drops one week after the single’s release on June 25, followed by the release of the full EP late summer of 2021. Until then, stream some of Hasty Page‘s earlier album releases on Spotify, YouTube, and below.
Doctor Lo Faber, formerly of celebrated jam band God Street Wine, shared the title track from his upcoming folk/Americana-leaning LP Claiborne Avenue. He’ll hit the road for four shows in June, starting at The Hollow Bar and Kitchen in Albany.
Faber has a rich musical history; prior to adding the “Doctor” title to his moniker, he founded legendary jam band God Street Wine in 1988. GSW landed a record deal with Geffen in 1994, and later with Mercury. During that time they toured nearly constantly, pausing only to record. Ultimately, GSW hit a wall of burnout and played their farewell show in December 1999.
Faber went on to form the Lo Faber Band, composed and recorded the double-CD concept rock operas Henry’s House and Friday Night Freakshow in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Meanwhile, the age of social media led to GSW fans congregating in a Facebook group that successfully brought the band back for a series of annual reunion shows beginning in 2010.
When the pandemic hit the US in full force back in March 2020, Doctor Lo took to his YouTube channel to connect. While at first he was hesitant to embrace live streaming, by June 2020 he was all in and now continues to broadcast twice a week to his social media pages.
The album, Claiborne Avenue, features musicians, such as Dave Eggar (The Who, Coldplay, Beyonce) on cello and string arrangements, Jason Crosby (Phil Lesh, Jackson Browne, Tedeschi & Trucks) on piano and fiddle, God Street Wine’s Jon Bevo and Aaron Lieberman on keys and lead guitar, New Orleans musician/DJ Marc Stone on slide guitar, Blake Collins on mandolin, and Ted Marotta and Tom Pirozzi, who worked with Ominous Seapods in the 90s, on drums and bass.
Faber is set to celebrate the release with a limited run of live shows, including a sold-out performance at Albany, NY’s The Hollow on June 18.
DOCTOR LO FABER UPCOMING LIVE DATES
June 18 – The Hollow – Albany, NY
June 20 – Gabe-Gate – Sussex, NJ
June 22 – The Tap Shack – Duck, NC
June 23 – The Tap Shack – Duck, NC
Listen to Claiborne Avenue on Bandcamp or Spotify out on June 18.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music fromthe Grandstand Jockeys, Timbre Coup and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
The Grandstand Jockeys
The Grandstand Jockeys’ debut EP, Win, arrives on June 18. Its first single, “Better Days,” is a nostalgic call to long-past good times, holding out hope for their eventual return. The song is especially timely in the wake of many COVID-19 restrictions being lifted: “Time to begin, the time is now / Get yourself off the ground.” The Grandstand Jockeys’ Facebook page describes their sound as a mix of Tom Petty, Nirvana and QOTSA, but “Better Days” has the former written all over it.
Timbre Coup
Timbre Coup’s latest single, “Running Always,” is an indie rock piece that occasionally delves into prog and funk. The song’s scarce lyrics contrast its vast, sometimes trippy soundscape, replete with a sweeping electric guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on OK Computer. The four-piece band from Albany will release their fourth studio album, Sudden Urge, on June 25.
Ciarra Fragale
Indie-pop singer-songwriter Ciarra Fragale’s self-titled EP is out on July 2. Described by Fragale as “a love letter to my anxiety (and yours),” single “It’s Only Raining” isn’t concerned with the weather so much as the stressful hypothetical situations our brains create for us. Fragale’s vocals are effortless yet passionate, and the staccatoed keys will stay with you long after listening.
By 1992, there was no secret about the affinity the Grateful Dead had for Albany’s Knickerbocker Arena. This would be the third year in a row they made sure to make a tour stop here. But after two previous three-night runs, including the acclaimed one from 1990 that will always be associated with their acclaimed Dozin’ At The Knick live album, the Dead only had two nights to play all the hits this year. This first of these performance went down 29 years ago today.
Tonight’s Grateful Dead show, despite a ravenous Knickerbocker Arena, has a very relaxed open as the band slowly ambles into a “Bertha” opener. No complaints are heard as the crowd drowns out the opening lyrics in delight. After a mild jam that’s peppered with some thunderous bass notes from Phil Lesh, the entire room seems to be singing along for the remainder of this first set staple. The “New Minglewood Blues” that comes next begins in similar fashion. Garcia and keyboardist Vince Welnick each drop a couple of bluesy solos and get stretched out a little while, in between, Bob Weir takes care of the vocals, making note of the “Upstate fllies” in a nod to the locale.
“Row Jimmy” gets the rest of the band singing again, and sees more dexterous work from Garcia on guitar, as he digs into his MIDI bag of effects and offers something that sounds closer to a flute solo at one point. After three classic Dead originals, the first cover of the night is Bob Dylan’s “Queen Jane Approximately,” with Weir once again manning lead vocals. Welnick gets in on the act here and highlights this one with a blissful, ethereal piano solo.
“Dire Wolf” finally brings the tempo back up and the band rips through another first set mainstay, with Garcia plowing through his requisite solo with ease. But it’s near a minute and a half until the next selection is made, “Beat It On Down The Line.” With both the Dead and Knickerbocker Arena now alive and well, the sing-a-long is back on thanks to “Loose Lucy” as the crowd continues to add their collective backing to the lyrics in revelry. Welnick makes the shift from piano to Hammond organ nicely and adds some flavorful support as well. “The Music Never Stopped” then puts the fitting finishing touches on a crisp opening set that’s nothing but treasured Dead originals and a Dylan cover.
The Dead dive into one of their more recent originals with “Foolish Heart” to kick off the second set at the Knick. Garcia and Welnick once again complement each other beautifully on guitar and keys, respectively, as the band sears through this one effortlessly. No extended jam of note develops afterwards. Instead, it’s a brief pause and away with “Playin’ In The Band” where, after a quick run through of verse, the collective improvisation starts almost immediately and doesn’t let up anytime soon. When it does, the beginning to “Uncle John’s Band” ensues, as the audience seems to come back up for air after the quick yet heavy display of psychedelic mayhem that immediately preceded it.
The Dead then go back down to the bottom, the way bottom, courtesy of an extended “Drums” > “Space” sequence that stretches out to nearly a half hour. A well rested Knick is more than happy to help out with the vocals for the “I Need A Miracle” that finally emerges. A quick jam, punctuated by an aggressive Welnick piano solo, is crafted before things slow down one last time with “Wharf Rat.”
After another set comprised of solely live Dead originals, and some intense improv, the evening closes out with a pair of covers. Weir hams it up one last time on vocals, and Welnick on piano as well for that matter, on Chuck Berry’s rocker “Around and Around” that suits the crowd perfectly. And the band help themselves to some more Dylan material with “The Mighty Quinn” that serves as tonight’s encore.
With night one of the two-night run now in the books, expectations were surely through the roof for the following evening. Thanks to some sort of odd cross-promotional gadgetry straight out of 1992, if you held onto your ticket stub from tonight, the Dead would make sure you were well fed for tomorrow.
Grateful Dead Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, NY 6/11/92
Set 1: Bertha, Minglewood Blues, Row Jimmy, Queen Jane Approximately, Dire Wolf, Beat It On Down The Line, Loose Lucy, The Music Never Stopped
Set 2: Foolish Heart, Playin’ In The Band-> Jam-> Uncle John’s Band-> Drums-> Jam-> I Need A Miracle-> Wharf Rat-> Around and Around
Albany will have two new music venues on North Pearl Street very soon. Empire Live an Empire Underground will open this fall as the first downtown premier club in Albany in 30 years.
Formed from a partnership between Stan Levinstone of SLP Concerts and Teddy Etoll of Step Up Presents, Empire Live and Empire Underground will be located in the space vacated by Capitol Repertory Theater.
With two floors for show presentations, there will be a 1,000-capacity general admission room on the street level (Empire Live) and a 400-capacity basement space (Empire Underground), which will have its own entrance and identity. Both spaces will have state-of-the-art sound and lights and full artist accommodation amenities and currently ready for bookings.
The physical space will be completed by late spring, with Levinstone and Etoll, partners in Upstate Concert Hall of Clifton Park for the past 13 years, looking at the move into downtown Albany as a boom to its business model.
Downtown Albany is currently seeing a massive redevelopment and rebuilding of its entertainment district. Within the next few years more than 800 new mid- apartments will be added within a 10-minute walk to the club door.
Stan Levinstone
Empire Live will be located right off the highway at 93 North Pearl Street in Albany, one block from the legendary Palace Theatre and two blocks from the Times Union Center.
The new club is a centerpiece of Redburn Development’s $85 million redevelopment of the Kenmore Hotel, which features 275 apartments, 15 commercial spaces, four restaurants and two event venues. Construction will be completed this spring.
Among announced shows so far are Dr. Dog, Attila, August Burns Red, Tech N9ne, Circa Survive, Atreyu, and Gojira. Visit their calendar to see what more Empire Live and Empire Underground have in store.
