Bearsville Theater in Woodstock played host to Mihali, singer and songwriter known best for his work with Vermont’s Twiddle, on December 11, part of NYS Music’s Jam for Tots series. An enthralled and captive crowd filled the space in Bearsville, eager to celebrate the Mihalidaze.
Mihali’s solo project incorporates loops and layers connecting with lyrics in a mysterious, yet energetically powerful way. The use of everything from beatbox to bass juxtapose with the pure vulnerability of simply a voice and a guitar. The result is a soothing connection between crowd members among themselves, with the stage, the environment in which one experiences this music.
Experiencing Mihali at Bearsville Theater felt different than watching the home streams over the past year. The beautiful wooden circular backdrop bearing a logo with a mushroom not dissimilar in shape to the artist’s Santa hat glowed and pulsed with different colors throughout the show. The impression the backdrop gave was something like “all natural organic forest” but with some magic. The good kind. The kind with cute woodland creatures and the occasional talking fern.
The hardwood of the Bearsville theater is said to hide over 100 speakers in the ceiling of the old listening room. The way the music balanced so perfectly from every corner of the venue continued to reinforce the idea of some type of presence of a universal connection and wordless communication going on that night. Encapsulated in both wood, light and sound, there was an unspoken transfer of energy happening reflecting some type of phenomenon.
The transfer of energy between the green glow-worm-eque necklaces worn by many attendees seemed to balance out the warm salmony-pink glow of the somehow perfect number of chandeliers smiling down from above.
The spinning of Emily’s LED Poi looked to have a more dominant pastel tone as opposed to the vivd colors prevalent at many “up all night” type of festivals. The string light necklaces even looked muted when blended with the color bounding off the hard wood musical cocoon of a venue.
The complimentary nature seemed to continue right down to the colors of the clothing. The particular tint and tone of choice among fans had this young reindeer, almost fawn-like look to it. Whether boots or shirts, jackets or skirts… there was no denying the amount of earth tones out to dance that night.
It felt like an honor to be let into anyone’s home or studio during a time of universal struggle the recognize something familiar. Mihali’s intimacy in the way he communicates his music did not change from home to office and provided the perfect celebration during the holiday season.
Ever since übermanager Albert Grossman and his top client Bob Dylan moved up to Woodstock in the Sixties, the Hudson Valley has been a hot bed of popular music-making. It’s been the longtime residence of many of the best-known names in rock, folk and jazz and the site of a multitude of legendary recording studios where they waxed their classic albums. It’s also been home to an ever-changing array of clubs and tiny bars where the stars who call the area home can be found sharing their world class talent with intimate audiences.
Since 2015, Rita Ryan has been passionately profiling this ever-evolving scene on LocalMotion, a weekly two-hour, free-form broadcast on Vassar’s non-commercial radio station, WVKR, 91.3 FM.
Unlike some area shows that claim to be dedicated to “homegrown” talent (but are too often peppered with musicians from Austin, Nashville, Brooklyn and more in my listening!), Rita has kept her focus 100% local.
The second hour of her weekly Wednesday broadcast traditionally features interviews with many of extraordinary music-makers who call the Hudson Valley their home. Her guests have included Lovin’ Spoonful songsmith John Sebastian, jazz great Jack DeJohnette, dobro master Cindy Cashdollar, roots music maven Amy Helm, bass masters Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie) and Stevie Wonder producer/electronic music pioneer the late Malcolm Cecil, to name just a few. Rita also interviews stars who swing through so frequently for performances that they seem like locals, like the six-time interviewed Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen.
Ryan has also explored the local scene in interviews with club owners like Neil Howard of Colony Woodstock, Lizzie Vann of The Bearsville Theater and the late Tony Falco of Live at the Falcon. She’s also talked with music producers/recording engineers like Jerry Marotta of Dreamland Studios, David Baron (The Lumineers, Lenny Kravitz) and Scott Petito (The Band, The Fugs, Mercury Rev). And every week, she clues her audience in on the best live music coming to area venues, shows that she will often be frequenting herself.
The first hour of LocalMotion is dedicated to spinning a truly diverse selection of new sounds from local musicians. Her playlist spans rock, blues, folk, Americana, rockabilly, jazz and even the occasional electronic and experimental offering.
Earlier this month, Rita celebrated her 300th episode with a return interview with her first guests, Larry Campbell and his partner Teresa Williams. Here is a look at the past and what’s ahead for Rita and LocalMotion.
Sal Cataldi: To begin, what is your connection to the Hudson Valley?
Rita Ryan: I consider myself a native to the area. I moved to Tivoli in Dutchess County in 1972 while in elementary school. I was born in Long Island and then my family moved to Germany, where I went to school through 2nd grade. My mom was from Germany as are most of my entire family, and for the exception of one cousin, they all still live there.
My interest in music started with my mother. There was always music on in the house. She listened to classical and German music and I remember Engelbert Humperdinck, Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell and others being played on either albums or cassettes. As a young teenager, I would spend my weekly allowance by going to Caldor in Kingston on a Friday night to buy vinyl or a book. The first album I bought was Tapestry by Carole King.
SC: How did you connect with WVKR?
RR: I began working at a commercial radio station in 2010 doing advertising sales. I had no intention or ever thought of being on air. At one point, the station where I was working was holding a contest. We planned on doing a one-hour live broadcast at a remote store location to announce the winner. No DJ was available to go do the broadcast, so the owner of the station suggested I go do this live remote! I laughed at him saying, other than voicing commercials, I have never been on air! He told me to go try it anyway, So I did. My client, the store where the live broadcast was to be at, also encouraged me. So, there I was (laughs). My first broadcast was a live one, for one hour. I immediately felt very comfortable being on air. It just felt natural. Of course, I was nervous at first, but not for more than a few minutes. It really was easy and fun!
Not long after, the station where I was working offered me a show, while I also held down my sales job. I took them up on the offer and was able to pre-record my shows. For a while, I was the weeknight evening show host. Soon, that became too much for me with my regular job so I hosted a show on Saturday afternoons. I did this for several years before I left that job.
When I left, I knew I was going to miss hosting a radio show. A few months into a new job, an acquaintance called me and said he missed hearing me on air. He asked if I ever heard of WVKR and that I should try contacting them. I thought about it for a few days and decided to make the call – I mean I had nothing to lose, right? I called WVKR in June 2015 and the General Manager called me back immediately. I had given him my background and my idea of starting a show focused on music in the area, the local scene. I wanted to start hosting interviews with musicians that live here and those coming to the area to perform in our venues. They said they were actually looking for someone to host such as show, so the rest is history (laughs).
SC: What is the format of LocalMotion and how has it changed over the years?
RR: The greatest aspect of WVKR is that it’s a college radio station, at Vassar College, so it’s completely free-form, like in the good old days. It’s run by a Student Executive Board that has help from Vassar’s staff. It’s a non-commercial station. No advertising. So, all DJ’s format their own shows to their liking.
At first, in 2015, it began as a one-hour show. It pretty quickly moved into a weekly two-hour block, Wednesdays, from 4 – 6 pm. The format really hasn’t changed since the show began.
I always spend one of the hours hosting an interview and the second hour promoting musicians who will be playing in the area and new releases from local musicians. I also host a segment called “Musical Happenings” where I give info from venues as to who will be playing there. I’m a huge supporter of the local live music scene. I typically go out at least once per week to enjoy live music, if not more.
SC: Unlike some radio shows in the Hudson Valley that claim to be local, yours truly is, 100% in my opinion. It seems to be all about musicians who live in their area or the big names who pass through regularly, like Jorma Kaukonen, who almost seem like locals. Is it a hard to promise to always deliver a full slate of local music?
RR: It’s not hard at all to keep my show truly local because we have such an incredible and diverse scene of music in the area. There’s always someone coming to perform at an area venue to interview and many of those live right in the area. I do interview national and internationally renowned musicians but only because/when they perform in our area. There’s never a shortage. I typically book my guests 6 to 8 weeks in advance!
SC: So, what are some of your favorite venues in the area, old and new?
RR: I don’t think it would be fair of me to say what my favorite area venues are as there are so many! I say to people, go support music at all local venues and see which you like best and keep going to support the music!
SC: How has the Hudson Valley music scene evolved over the years and where is it headed?
RR: Well, it’s definitely evolved over the decades and, I believe, we’re in a time now when it is truly exploding in the area. For example, look at Woodstock. The newly renovated and restored Bearsville Theatre is back in full swing, Levon Helm Studios (home of the legendary Midnight Ramble shows), The Colony (also renovated and restored), Station Bar, Pearl Moon and the Woodstock Playhouse are all top-notch live music spots. We’re also in an area where there are world class recording studios which brings many musicians here from all around the globe.
I believe the music and arts scene will continue to grow in this area. We are incredibly lucky to live not just in a visually beautiful area, but also an area filled with culture of every stripe.
SC: Now that you’ve celebrated your 300th show, can you let us know who some of your favorite guests has been?
RR: This is another question that’s difficult to answer about favorite guests because there are really too many to say. I typically respond to that question by saying it’s the last guest I had on the show (laughs)!
Since 2015, I’ve hosted over 290 interviews as most every episode has a guest. I was most nervous for my first ever interview. I remember it like it was yesterday. I began the show in July 2015. I remember when I first conceptualized the show and sharing my idea with Larry Campbell at shows when I’d see him perform. He would say to me: “Rita, when you get that show, let me know. I’ll be happy to be your first guest.” Well, I got the show and Larry held true to his word. My first guests on LocalMotion on 91.3 WVKR were Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams. I prepared for over 5 hours for my first interview. I was so nervous but it went so well.
Since LocalMotion airs live, so I don’t have the luxury of edits. The next time I saw Larry in person after our interview, he told me it was one of the best radio interviews he’s ever done in his career. That to me was the highest honor I could be given.
I haven’t been too nervous interviewing since my first show. I get excited with anticipation for each and every guest. I do lots of “homework” to prepare for my interviews and I absolutely have the time of my life doing them.
SC: As a listener, I know you give every genre of music a spin, from folk and Americana through to jazz and experimental. So, do you have any personal favorites on the new local talent front?
RR: I dislike giving out my favorites, just like I don’t do a “Top 10” end of year album release list any longer. I mean, after all, who am I to say! My favorites are just that, my favorites. Doesn’t mean anyone else would agree. I do play music I’m not particularly fond of, that isn’t really to my taste sometimes, because I only think it’s fair to promote all worthy musicians in the area.
SC: Anyone who follows you on social media knows, your daughter is quite a serious musician. Tell us a little about her?
RR: Well, here I could go on and on! My daughter Caroline recently turned 21. I began introducing her to the arts when she was maybe 4 years old. Her first live theatre event was The Nutcracker at Bardavon Theatre in Poughkeepsie. We would go annually while she was young. Shortly thereafter, I took her to NYC and we began seeing Broadway shows.
She began playing violin in 4th grade. We rented her a violin because we weren’t sure how long she’d stick with the instrument. She stayed with it for one year then began playing cello. But she didn’t like playing the cello as much as the violin, so she went back to her violin. We gave her private lessons immediately and she just loved her teacher. We also learned of an organization in Dutchess County called “Stringendo.” It was an orchestra school for students from 1st through 12th grade that met each Saturday during the school year. You had to audition to get in. There were numerous levels in the school and Caroline began in “Prelude.” She stayed in that school for 8 years throughout high school. This school was invaluable to her. She would not be the musician she is today without having those years in that school. Also, her private lesson violin teacher, Kate Rymph, who taught her first lesson until she graduated high school was instrumental in transforming Caroline into the musician she is today.
She will be graduating Ithaca College in December 2022 with a degree in Music Performance, a degree in Economics and a minor in Art History. She recently performed her Senior Recital and it was inspiring to see how far she’s come as a violinist. I could not possibly be prouder of my daughter. Not because of her talent as a musician, but because of the woman she’s become. I’m an incredibly lucky woman to be her mom. It’s the honor of my lifetime.
SC: Any local musicians you still want to interview but haven’t?
RR: Funny you should ask that! It just recently happened that I did interview two musicians who I’ve been wanting to interview the past 6 years! I had the great honor of interviewing John Sebastian and Jack DeJohnette. They had both been on my list and what an honor for me to have had the opportunity to talk with both of them. Both American icons.
I’m looking forward to continuing LocalMotion. It’s a lot of work but when you’re passionate about something it’s worth it. It’s a true honor to be hosting this weekly show. I look forward to seeing the show grow further and keeping up with all the incredible new music that’s coming out. Please support live music – especially local live music!
SC: How can people listen to LocalMotion?
RR: Several ways! The old-fashioned way if you’re in the area on the radio dial at 91.3 FM, also online at wvkr.org or on the app TuneInRadio under WVKR. I also record and upload each interview on my YouTube channel. Please consider subscribing to the channel at “LocalMotion on 91.3 WVKR hosted by Rita Ryan.” All interviews are also uploaded as a podcast which you can listen to on several streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, etc. You can even keep track on my Facebook page which features links to interviews, videos I shoot at local concerts and more.
Andy Frasco & The U.N. played to a full house at the legendary Bearsville Theater on Friday December 10, 2021. Despite over 80 shows under the band’s belt, they played like it was their last time on stage. The show was like any other, in that the surface level antics eased listeners into a more relaxed mind so they might recieve better the true message of resilience and comradery that sometimes lacks in the music community.
Photo by: Em Walis
I Come From This World
Riding over to Woodstock, Andy’s voice came over the radio just before switching over to Bluetooth. His natural radio DJ voice was the perfect balance between upbeat and honest. The host asked Andy how he was doing. The response was something along the lines of “run down and tired, but excited to play music.”
. Photo by: Em Walis
I Just Want to Be Heard
Answers like this have not always been common in the music industry, especially over a formal radio interview, but Andy has created a safe space for musicians to be honest about their struggles.
Photo by: Em Walis
I Got Something to Say
By talking the talk, before the show even began, Andy Frasco & The U.N. set the tone as one for pushing through, keeping it fun and remembering why we gathered here. Andy, through his music and message that night, displayed a truly authentic self. It was OK to dance throug the pain, the fatigue and the stress; this goes beyond the musicians. Chances seemed to favor that most folks in the audience were looking to have a reset and just feel joy even if it were for a few hours.
Photo by: Em Walis
Oh Time is not Real, These Feelings I feel
Andy Frasco & The U.N. made sure to pay homage to The Band and other artists that came up in Woodstock. Their cover of “Ophelia” had the whole mountain jam crew up and dancing. Woodstock is a treasure of the Hudson Valley and it is easy to forgot how many important artists have found inspiration in those hills over the years.
Photo by: Em Walis
Are Hard to Explain
The juxtaposition felt difficult to fathom at times. So much laughter, antics and energy in a place that was once built to be a “listening room.” But people might have forgotten that legend goes a little something like that the owner of the studio and listening room might be buried somewhere in the woods out back.
Photo by: Em Walis
Every day feels the same
So the next time Andy plays “Dancing Around My Grave,” he might remember that time in Woodstock where he had a full house theoretically doing just that.
Photo by: Em Walis
It’s the same ol’ game
Having good people around during the depths of tour seem to be the magic formula that keep these guys going. Never were they too serious and the smiles were reflected fully from the audience for the duration of the show. The photobombs during super touchy-feely moments were relentless (and also welcomed).
Photo by: Em Walis
I Just Wanna Get Away
Towards the end of the show, Andy invited “his son” Rich Derbyshire of Wild Adriatic and the notion of “oneness” became visible to all of us, as two afros and two yellow shirts became one before our very eyes.
So come with me, baby we will see
Photo by: Em Walis
Sunshine in rain
Andy and the guys were able to walk into the Bearsville Theater, respect its history and all of the ancestors of Woodstock musicians that came before and truly harness the spirit of ‘why’. In the Radio Woodstock interview, Andy mentioned that the Theater felt a little like a place where someone might celebrate their Bar Mitzvah. So of course the yellow lights came down upon us all as some sort of coming of age celebration was had during “The Horah” dance towards the end of the evening.
Some bearded guy in the corner that knew Woodstock as it once was might say that it was Bowie smiling down from up there in his intergalactic space station sending a signal that Andy Frasco is truly a good person and making the world a better place one bagel, one show, and once song at a time.
Setlist: Friends (A Song About Friends), C Boogie, (634-5789), Down to Business, Runaway, Dancin’ Around My Grave, Talk About It, Sex & Drugs), Spill The Beans, Cocaine, Slam Piece, Change Pace, Floyd Song, Walk, Smokin Dope> Biz Markie, Ophelia, Pussy, Better Days, Fought Law, Podcast, Struggle, What More, Keep On
Encore: Somedays, Mature AF
A big shout out to YamYam Band and their song “Sunshine In Rain” for inspiring this article.
The Slip, avant-rock trio from Boston, soundly finished their first mini-tour in a decade, playing seven shows over two weeks this November across the northeastern US. This was their first mini-tour since 2011. Brad and Andrew moved to Montreal in 2005, birthing The Barr Brothers. As The Barr Brothers ramped up, The Slip’s performances ebbed, playing only 7 times in 2011, then only twice at High Sierra Music Festival. Everyone wanted to know when they’d tour again.
The long-awaited Slip mini-tour launched at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT, where they’ve played over two dozen times since 1998 (lastly in spring of 2008). BAM started off with the ethereal Landing, prelude to the fiery fan favorite, Get Me With Fuji (a song named by long-time friend and one of the first Slip tapers, Jason Booth). After Fuji fired up the crowd, Brad donned his Danelectro for Nobody Waits That Long Anymore, a brand new song (debuted at Lockn’ Farm). Even Rats, their most-watched video, brought indie rock vibes to keep the first set lively.
The reflective rock classic, Sometimes True to Nothing, warmed the crowd in the first set. “The heart is a wilderness / with beauty and emptiness / that you endure”. The new rock song Motherwolf went into Chasing Rabbits, which debuted in 2003, but hadn’t been played since April 2007. Long-time Slip fans anticipated more good times from the wide mix of new and old songs in their tour opener.
The Slip flexed their jazz chops with their Coltrane tribute, Trane-ing, first played back in 1998 at The Living Room. They continued with an even older classic, Through the Iron Gate, which debuted in 1997 and hadn’t been played in 16 years! Heading back to recent times, they unearthed another gem from Eisenhower, Life in Disguise, then on to The Weight of Solomon, ending the single set with the oft-paired The Orginal Blue Air > Paper Birds.
The boisterous crowd cheered them on for a tasteful encore of The Band classic, The Weight, which The Slip has greatly rearranged, ending it typically with a Dogs on Bikes outro, and Autobody teases. Slip tour commenced robustly.
Thursday, November 11, 2021 – Higher Ground – South Burlington, VT
Setlist Landing, Get Me with Fuji, Long Ways Back, Even Rats, Sometimes True to Nothing, Motherwolf, Chasing Rabbits, Trane-ing, Through the Iron Gate, Life in Disguise, The Weight of Solomon, The Original Blue Air, Paper Birds Encore: The Weight* Notes: * new version, with Dogs on Bikes theme
Their tour evolved at Fete Music Hall in Providence, a cool industrial warehouse converted to a two-stage music venue. Ryan Montbleau, a friend of BAM’s who has Marc Friedman in his current band, surprised us with a lovely opening set of originals on acoustic guitar. This hometown crowd was larger than the tour opener in Burlington. BAM started the set with Landing, but ended there, instead of the typical segue into Fuji. They continued into Trane-ing, Blue Air > Paper Birds, and saved Get Me with Fuji until after the commonly-paired song duo.
Brad announced to the audience they were about to play their new single, Superterranean Onlyness, The Slip’s first studio release since Eisenhower – flowing with harmonized vocals, and brilliantly engineered by Steve Albini. Here’s a fan-shot 4K video of the live debut. BAM then played Driving Backwards with You, a song which debuted in 2000 at Higher Ground, then Lockn’ this August after an 11-year hiatus (last played at Narrows 2010). Even Rats preceded another new song, Hit Song.
More songs came back into regular rotation, such as Chasing Rabbits, Motherwolf, and Sometimes True to Nothing, followed by the sublime Aptos* > Something Learned, which debuted at Bethel Fest in 2003, and was last played at Cafe du Nord in 2010. They delved back into Eisenhower territory with Life in Disguise, then treated their hometown fans with another old-time classic, Autobody Experience (debuted in 1996!). This led into their new version of The Weight, with Dogs on Bikes outro to close, ending with a tasty encore of Children of December (performed over 250 times!)
All the parents of the children of december have a clutch because their birthdays are the hardest to remember when you’re born on christmas or the day before new year’s you can sing happy birthday but nobody hears it
Friday, November 12, 2021 – – Fete Music Hall – Providence, RI Setlist: Landing, Trane-ing, The Original Blue Air, Paper Birds, Get Me with Fuji, Superterranean Onlyness, Driving Backwards with You, Even Rats, intro, Hit Song, Chasing Rabbits, Motherwolf, Sometimes True to Nothing, Aptos, Something Learned, Life in Disguise, Autobody Experience, The Weight, Dogs on Bikes Encore: Children of December
The Sinclair in Harvard Square was packed before showtime, being where they went to music school and have played more than anywhere. Ryan Montbleau opened again.
BAM started with Landing, then Brad launched into wild guitar playing & effects, then segued into a sizzling Get Me with Fuji, then the brand new ballad Nobody Waits That Long Anymore. They continued into Even Rats, Sometimes True to Nothing, and capped the first set with a fierce Motherwolf.
Set two started with the jazzy Trane-ing, The Weight of Solomon, followed by Hit Song into Aptos. They returned to Through the Iron Gate, into Life in Disguise, with Lennon’s Jealous Guy teases (foreshadowing?). They teased Autobody Experience inside The Weight, following up with a Wolof jam and Dogs on Bikes outro to finish the smoking second set.
The most popular encore, Children of December, was well-executed. The weekend ended on a high note, and those attending all 7 shows were eager to see what they’d play next week in Philly and New York.
Saturday, November 13, 2021 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA Setlist: Landing, Psych Guitar, Get me with Fuji, Nobody Waits That Long Anymore, Even Rats, Sometimes True to Nothing, Motherwolf, Trane-ing, The Weight of Solomon, Hit Song, Aptos, Through the Iron Gate, Life in Disguise, Autobody Experience, The Weight, Wolof jam, Dogs on Bikes outro Encore: Children of December
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Nov 16th, their first show at the new Brooklyn Bowl in Philly was canceled. It was great to return there, having attended the venue’s opening night with Soulive. This brand new 900-capacity venue shoulders The Fillmore in Northern Liberties, with two floors, twenty lanes of bowling, dining room, stage, and long bars on both floors. Delicate Steve opened, with a straight-ahead drums/guitar rock duo.
The Slip began with Trane-ing, followed by You Might Say (not played since High Sierra 2008). Ernie Mickey continued, a fan favorite (House of Blues Chicago 2001). BAM continued with The Soft Machine, Hit Song into Motherwolf, into From the Gecko, and Something Learned. They busted into a hot take of Get Me with Fuji, where Steve Marion (from Delicate Steve) joined in on guitar, staying on through Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary and ending the set with Sometimes True to Nothing. The Reddish Moon encore was calming, perhaps to prepare us for NYC?
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 – Brooklyn Bowl – Philadelphia, PA Setlist: Trane-ing, You Might Say > Ernie Mickey, The Soft Machine, Hit Song > Motherwolf > From the Gecko, Something Learned, Get Me with Fuji% > Proud Mary%^ > Sometimes True to Nothing% Encore: Reddish Moon Notes: % w/ Steve Marion (Delicate Steve) on guitar and Charlie Hall (War on Drugs) on drums. ^ Creedence Clearwater Revival (cover).
As is usual in pandemic times, inter-city travel is capricious, so the Philly to NYC route was beset with numerous accidents and traffic jams, even after morning rush hour. The usual 2.5 hour ride to Brooklyn took over 5 hours, but I was lucky to have a booked hotel a couple blocks away to unwind before the show. The Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg is the first one that Peter Shapiro opened in July 2009. The Slip last played there in 2011, after another slow year in 2010 when they only played 4 shows.
To keep us on our toes, at the first Brooklyn Bowl show on Thursday, The Slip opened with Landing again, but instead went into Even Rats instead of Fuji. They played Superterranean Onlyness third, which was growing on us after a couple of live appearances. There was a quiet pause after, then we were treated to Invocation, first in 1999, last played in 2004 (17 years ago!). Stuart Bogie (tenor sax from Antibalas & Fela! Broadway musical) joined for a sizzling Yellow Medicine.
Brad went into The Weight of Solomon and then Motherwolf, Chasing Rabbits, Through the Iron Gate, into the Nathan Moore song I Hate Love, with Bogie returning on tenor through the set closer, Jumby. A Sometimes True to Nothing encore left fans energized. Few were ready to turn in, so we met for aftershow drinks at The Gibson, a favorite late-night watering hole a couple blocks away, where we discussed what the future may hold for upcoming Slip tours.
Thursday, November 18, 2021 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY Setlist: Landing > Even Rats, Superterranean Onlyness*, Invocation > Yellow Medicine%, The Weight of Solomon, Motherwolf, Chasing Rabbits, Through the Iron Gate> I Hate Love%, Jumby% Encore: Sometimes True to Nothing Notes: * new song, released Nov. 2021. % with Stuart Bogie on tenor (from Antibalas and Fela! Broadway Musical
Relix hosted The Slip for a livestream on their Twitch channel, at a top-secret location near my old apartment. Brad asked his good friend Jason Booth for his song requests. Brad smiled, then turned to the stream chat for viewer requests, joking that they “probably wouldn’t play any of those”. The livestream included their new hit single Superterranean Onlyness, followed by the scorcher, Sometimes True to Nothing, then Motherwolf, The Original Blue Air > Paper Birds to close the set. Watch the stream here.
Friday, November 19, 2021 – Relix Studio – Manhattan, NY Setlist: Superterranean Onlyness*, Sometimes True to Nothing, Motherwolf, The Original Blue Air > Paper Birds Notes: afternoon set, livestreamed on Twitch – www.twitch.tv/therelixchannel. * new song
Brooklyn Bowl Friday saw the biggest turnout of this tour. Our night startedoff boisterously, with BAM being introduced by Brett Siddell, a comedian from their high school wrestling team. BAM opened with the classic, Aptos > Airplane/Primitive (only time played in 2021), the poetic Friedman song:
The airplane, the primitive, saw it and thought it was some kind of bird it landed, he made up his mind – I can’t live knowing that there’s some other world where men fly, up in the sky, trapped himself on the wing for a one way ride and in the air above a cloud, there his soul stayed when his body fell down.
Before Wolof, Brad thanked the Brooklyn Bowl staff, and everyone who traveled to the show, saying “that’s not easy to do these days”. He continued, “So, if anyone bowls a strike during this song … you get a t-shirt, and a handshake from Marc.” This definitive Slip classic starts with Marc’s infectious bass groove, debuting at Valentine’s in Albany in 1998.
Bloodstone came next, another new song debut (only played at Brooklyn Bowl and Levon’s), followed by the raucous Hit Song. BAM cooled things down with the mellifluous Driving Backwards with You, last played at Narrows 2010. Panda began with Brad spacing out with his pedals, applying feedback for Soft Machine. Next was The Shouters (cut short), which was only played once in 2021. The room exploded for the highly popular Get Me with Fuji (played 243 times), with a tease of Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine that drifed into a few measures of Moby Dick before returning to Fuji.
The band took a breather as Brad asked if anyone bowled a strike and got their t-shirt, then leveled with the audience:
I want to say it feels really good to be The Slip again. We’ve had such a journey, from our beginnings in high school when we were the jazz band … our friend Brett was not kidding. So when we moved to Boston and really became a band together … in the 90s and 2000s, you know, and coming up with all of you and starting to do the festival thing and really getting to know this really cool community of bands getting to know other bands like Lettuce and Schleigho, and Soulive, Marco, The Duo, … they all fit conveniently under the jamband umbrella. And then, at some point for us, for The Slip it became sort of a hard pill to swallow, because we related to maybe parts of being a jam band, but we really didn’t relate to whole other parts of being a jam band. And then there was … an identity crisis there in the mid 2000s and we made our record, Eisenhower, and that was so much fun to make and really felt like a success. But we still sort of had – you know – more than a decade playing together, and it was very hard to see…you know…sometimes it’s hard to see what’s great about you, as a group … and you start thinking of ways to change it, and then we did. And so we went into one identity crisis … beautiful and contorted … what I mean, it’s really good to be back here as The Slip … enjoying what was always good about being The Slip … and having so much fun together up here, with you … and that means a lot to me
Brad’s pensive baring of his soul set the tone for Through the Iron Gate:
I get tossed like a bone into the dogs into the sky the closing is a gathering a gathering of eyes an i will look to you and you to me in between the space we chase the tune we dream so lazily
Ruminating on what he had just shared, Brad continued into the soul-searching Life In Disguise:
The world is only a stage and I’m just a man with a sound caught in his throat and a pick in his hand but when the song comes tumbling out, you understand there’s no great demand well it’s there under your breath behind your eyes and you don’t have to say nothing cause I realize that everything somehow in some way eventually dies
…and then Jealous Guy:
I didn’t want to hurt you I’m just a jealous guy
The introspective, sombre tone evaporated with the first beats from Andrew’s kit to kick off the funky Autobody Experience, while we processed what Brad had just laid on us. After a few measures, feet and hands started flailing as Autobody melted into the newly rearranged The Weight, with guitar pyrotechnics and rhythmic undulation. They merged into Dogs on Bikes organically and fiercely, going back into The Weight, mashed up and dangerous, as they are known for. Dogs kept going, with a blazing solo by Andrew, back into The Weight, Dogs, Weight, Dogs…and our minds will never be the same.
The fans were not ready to leave, and the packed house didn’t budge, cheering for an encore. The Slip came back, and Brad warned us, “We all knew how this was going to end”, as they encored with a 9-minute Children of December.
Friday’s Brooklyn Bowl was the best of the tour so far; The Slip had rekindled the sacred fire.
Friday, November 19, 2021 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY Setlist: Aptos > Airplane/Primitive, Wolof, Bloodstone*, Hit Song, Driving Backwards with You, First Panda In Space > The Soft Machine, The Shouters > Get Me with Fuji@ > Moby Dick^ > Get Me with Fuji, Through the Iron Gate@#, Life in Disguise$, Jealous Guy!, Autobody Experience > The Weight+ > Dogs on Bikes (outro) Notes: * new Brad song (working title). @ w/ Sweet Child o’ Mine tease from Brad and Marc. # w/ So What (Miles Davis) teases from Marc & Andrew. $ unfinished. + new version, rearranged w/ Dogs outro.
We arrived early to Levon’s to hang by the fire. It was wonderful to see so many dear friends, some from as far as California! The Slip played High Sierra Festival most often, garnering a huge west coast fan base to rival back east. We wondered what they’d play tonight, and who might show up. Our anticipation was rewarded when Kt confirmed that Marco was arriving, which means he’d sit in. Other fans found out when they saw Marco’s Hammond inside the barn. A handful of fans had never seen The Slip before, but the audience was comprised of dear friends and music aficionados Levon’s sold out in a few minutes, so we all counted our blessings to gather at this special venue for our favorite band.
On the way in, we went to check out the merch. The new Slip tour hoodies have “216” on the front, a special code. 216 is Plato’s Number, which has references in ancient texts, the sum of 3 consecutive cubes (a “magic number”).
BAM opened with Suffocation Keep. This was another tour bust-out, last played at Sullivan Hall in 2010 (one of only 4 shows they played that year). This sombre song is about a relationship and introspection (lyrics, video). Trane-ing came next, which was played in every city this tour, but had not been played since a Slip stealth gig at Matt Murphy’s Pub on Valentine’s Day 2006 (The Slip were billed as “The Lips”). Bloodstone returned, which debuted at Brooklyn Bowl Friday. The powerful Sometimes True to Nothing and Motherwolf ended the first set with ferocity.
Marco sat in on Hammond for most of the second set, adding depth and chops to the musical stew. They opened with the sing-a-long If One of Us Should Fall, one of their most popular tunes, last played at Lockn’ Farm this summer. A funky Chasing Rabbits came next, followed by Jumby and a sweet Yellow Medicine with a Zion intro. Marco took a break for Through the Iron Gate and Life in Disguise, returning for Lennon’s Jealous Guy, which BAM only ever played on this tour.
Teasing this song throughout the tour on preprinted setlists, The Slip finally satisfied fans with their most-requested song, Honey Melon. This song is an earworm – once the “Words go in, they don’t come out.” This ended the set with great energy, and everyone was on their feet by then.
BAM returned to play an blazing encore of The Weight (fan-shot video), which was even fiercer with Marco on keys. This version had both the Autobody intro and the Dogs on Bikes outro. Fans danced wildly to celebrate this last show of the tour, and we all hope that The Slip will return to the road again soon.
Hugs and tears flowed as we processed the musical majesty of these last two weeks.
Saturday, November 20, 2021 – Levon Helm Studios – Woodstock, NY Set 1: Suffocation Keep, Trane-ing, Bloodstone*, Aptos, Sometimes True to Nothing > Motherwolf Set 2: If One of Us Should Fall, ? > Chasing Rabbits, Jumby, Yellow Medicine%, Through the Iron Gate^, Life in Disguise^, Jealous Guy$, Honey Melon Encore: The Weight#> Dogs on Bikes Notes: * new Brad song, previously untitled. % w/ Zion intro. ^ the only two songs in second set w/o Marco Benevento on Hammond. $ John Lennon cover. # new version, with Dogs on Bikes outro and Autobody intro.
The Bearsville Theater put the spotlight on one of Woodstock’s most famous couples, legendary musician John Sebastian and his photographer wife Catherine, at a joint all-star concert/art opening on Friday, December 3.
The concert and the photo exhibit provided a look back at the many famous musicians, like Fred Neil, Tim Hardin and Sebastian himself, who cut their teeth in the folk and jug band scene of Greenwich Village in the ‘60s before migrating to Woodstock.
Fritz Richmond, Paul Rishell, James Wormworth, Annie Raines, John Sebastian & Jimmy Vivino. Group shot during rehearsal for an appearance at the “Late Nite with Conan O’Brian” show
The evening kicked-off with an introduction to the two dozen photos in the exhibit “Catherine Sebastian at Bearsville: The Jug Band Years.” A star in her own right, Catherine’s work has graced album, book and magazine covers featuring Pete Seeger, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Mick Jagger, Kathy Valentine (of The Go-Go’s), Lady Gaga, Debbie Harry, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Edina Menzel, Levon Helm and the RCO All-Stars and many more.
The photos date from the ‘60s through today, with many featuring John and his musical cohorts from the J-Band, a jug band formed in the ‘90s which has included Fritz Richmond, Yank Rachell, Jimmy Vivino, Paul Rishell, Annie Raines and other notables. The collection boast many classic shots of Sebastian with Tim Hardin, Happy Traum, Fred Neil, Paul Butterfield and even his father John, who was an internationally renowned harmonica virtuoso in the classical idiom. Also featured are shots of Sebastian’s J-Band in performance, at the Bearsville Theater in 1994, on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and more. Not to be missed is a shot of John inside his famous tie-dyed tent in Laurel Canyon. This is where he learned to craft the colorful fashions for the jeans and jeans jacket he wore at Woodstock ‘69. Framed and unframed prints are available for purchase at the Bearsville Theater and their website,
Annie Raines
98-8 frame 25 John Sebastian and Annie raines
Immediately before the concert commenced, John, Catherine and the musicians headed outside where Bearsville impresario Lizzie Van dedicated the recently rebuilt back porch, “The John Sebastian & Fred Neil Deck.”
“When Lizzie said she wanted to name a part of the space after Fred and me, I was kind of puzzled as to where it would be,” laughed Sebastian. “When she said it was going to be the porch, I said ‘ that’s perfect.’ Because if me and Fred were going be anywhere it would be out on the porch… smoking something we probably shouldn’t be smoking!”
The concert that followed had the intimate and casual feeling of a living room session, with Sebastian greeting the hometown audience with a boisterous “Good evening, my town.” He began solo with a few selections from Fred Neil, with whom he recorded and toured for two years before forming the Lovin’ Spoonful. The highlight here was his ambling version of “Other Side of This Life” from Neil’s classic 1965 debut album, “Bleecker and McDougal.”
Sebastian then turned his tales and musical talents to another friend, Tim Hardin. Sebastian lovingly joked: “Timmy was really not the cuddly guy who wrote Misty Roses. But the coolest guy of all of us, someone best known by listening to his early nasty tunes!” Sebastian followed with a solo performance of one of these, the knotty blues You Got A Reputation. He then brought on longtime J-Band member, Paul Rishell, for a solo on one of Hardin’s most covered compositions, “Reason to Believe.”
Sebastian’s cohorts in the J-Band and another aggregation, The Black Italians, then came to the stage. Guitarist Jimmy Vivino and the always smiling drummer/washboard whiz James Wormworth, joined by Lovin’ Spoonful bass man Steve Boone, partook a spirited run through the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Lovin You. Next up came another Woodstock legend, Cindy Cashdollar, who added her slithering, bluesy dobro runs to another nugget from early in John’s career, The Even Dozen Jug Band’s All Worn Out.
The energy was upped when another harmonica virtuoso, Annie Raines, joined for Sebastian’s Jug Band Music and You’ve Been A Good Old Wagon But You’ve Done Broke Down. The latter is a blues composed in 1895 and popularized in the 1920s by Bessie Smith, to which Raines added wailing harp and throaty vocals.
After a trip through the traditional Fair Thee Well and Jimmie Rodgers’ Miss the Mississippi and You, blues great Joe Louis Walker came onstage for a high-energy romp through Viola Lee Blues, with Sebastian on harp. John’s playing proved his mastery of the blues’ most portable instrument, and why he has been called upon to play it on classic tunes by the likes of Crosby Stills and Nash, The Doors and many others. His still stellar chops were further evidenced on the following, a two-harp duet with the equally fierce Raines.
Sebastian saluted important friends and mentors, the blues greats Sleepy John Estes and Yank Rachell, with soulful covers of their Milk Cow Blues (Leaving Trunk) and Tap That Thing respectively, with the latter featuring contributions on the jug and stage banter from John’s son Ben. Sebastian also performed the wonderful jazzy ballad to a love lost, My Passing Fantasy, from his 2014 duet disc with David Grisman. He then donned a harmonica holder and banjo to round out the set taking the all-star band through a rollicking rendition of K.C. Moan, a 1929 classic from the Memphis Jug Band.
After a well-deserved standing ovation, Sebastian and crew returned to perform two of his best loved Lovin’ Spoonful hits, Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind and You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice. With Cashdollar’s swirling dobro, Vivino’s smooth guitar licks and Wormworth’s percolating washboard and ever-present smile, these tunes sent John’s audience off into the wintery Woodstock night winter with very warm feelings indeed.
Almost four years after his first foray into unfamiliar concert territory with his highly-acclaimed Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, “Weird Al” Yankovic will return to the road for an extensive cross-country tour, kicking off with two dates in New York.
Weird Al Yankovic in New York, May 17, 2016. Accustomed to a career mix of recognition and indifference, the musical comedian says he’s eager to give IFC’s “Comedy Bang! Bang!”, his first steady television gig in nearly 20 years, a whirl. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)
Starting April 23 at Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, and heading through Albany the next night at The Egg, “Weird Al” will perform 131 shows over the next six months, with the final show in New York City at Carnegie Hall on October 29.
The tour marks Weird Al’s long-anticipated return to the concert stage after his hugely successful Strings Attached Tour in 2019 where he performed each night alongside a full symphony orchestra at world-renowned venues such as New York’s Forest Hills Stadium, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Washington D.C.’s Wolf Trap.
Once again drawing from his back catalogue of 14 studio albums, Weird Al promises to deliver a different setlist every night, with no two shows the same. As before, rather than focusing on the hits from his career, the show will feature Yankovic’s non-parody material – the somewhat more obscure pastiches and original songs that have largely escaped the pop culture radar but are adored by his long-time fans.
Like the last Vanity Tour, “Weird Al” will be playing smaller, more intimate venues, leaving behind the high-octane theatrics that he’s known for and going bare-bones – no costumes, no props, no video screens… just Al and his band of almost four decades hanging out on stage, playing music.
Reflecting on his decision to bring back the stripped-down concerts, Al said:
I’ve loved doing every single incarnation of my live show, but honestly the Vanity tour is the most fun I’ve ever had on stage… so I’ve been dying to get back out there and torture everybody with it once again!
“Weird Al” on the return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour
Opening the show each night will be returning fan favorite and Al’s long-time friend (and UHF cast member), the legendary comedian Emo Philips.
“Weird Al” Yankovic first found fame via the Dr. Demento radio show in the late 1970s, before launching a career that would lead to 14 albums, creative and hilarious music videos, and built a following of fans across the globe.
Tickets are on sale Friday, December 10 at 10am local time for all shows. Check Weird Al’s website for more details. Tickets for the “Weird Al” VIP Meet & Greet Experience are available only thru www.ticketmaster.com
Weird Al Yankovic 2022 North American Tour
04/26 – Poughkeepsie, NY @ Bardavon Opera House 04/27 – Albany, NY@ The Egg Center for the Performing Arts 04/29 – New Bedford, MA @ Zeiterion Performing Arts Center 04/30 – Orono, ME @ Collins Center for the Performing Arts 05/01 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom 05/03 – Portland, ME @ Merrill Auditorium 05/04 – New London, CT @ Garde Arts Center 05/06 – Medford, MA @ Chevalier Theatre 05/07 – Medford, MA @ Chevalier Theatre 05/08 – Burlington, VT @ The Flynn 05/10 – Ridgefield, CT @ The Ridgefield Playhouse 05/11 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center 05/14 – Wilkes-Barre, PA @ The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts 05/15 – Erie, PA @ Warner Theatre 05/17 – Canton, OH @ Canton Palace Theatre 05/18 – Saginaw, MI @ The Temple Theatre 05/20 – Detroit, MI @ Fisher Theatre 05/21 – Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center 05/22 – Springfield, IL @ Sangamon Auditorium 05/24 – Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Performing Arts Center 05/25 – Evansville, IN @ Victory Theatre 05/27 – Pelham, TN @ The Caverns 05/28 – Pelham, TN @ The Caverns 05/29 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium 05/31 – Little Rock, AR @ Robinson Performance Hall 06/01 – Tulsa, OK @ Tulsa Theater 06/03 – Denver, CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House 06/04 – Denver, CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House 06/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Capitol Theatre 06/06 – Boise, ID @ Morrison Center for the Performing Arts 06/08 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Venetian Theatre 06/10 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Venetian Theatre 06/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Venetian Theatre 06/12 – Reno, NV @ Silver Legacy Resort & Casino – Reno Ballroom 06/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Theatre 06/16 – San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Theatre 06/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBA 06/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBA 06/20 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Granada Theatre 06/21 – Bakersfield, CA @ Fox Theatre 06/24 – Spokane, WA @ Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox 06/25 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater 06/26 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 06/28 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre 06/29 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre 06/30 – Eugene, OR @ Hult Center for the Performing Arts – Silva Concert Hall 07/02 – Vancouver, BC @ The Centre 07/04 – Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre 07/05 – Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall 07/06 – Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall 07/08 – Regina, SK @ Conexus Arts Centre 07/09 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place 07/10 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts 07/11 – Duluth, MN @ Symphony Hall 07/14 – Madison, WI @ Overture Center for the Arts – Overture Hall 07/15 – Chicago, IL @ Symphony Center – Orchestra Hall 07/16 – Chicago, IL @ Symphony Center – Orchestra Hall 07/19 – Cedar Rapids, IA @ Paramount Theatre 07/20 – Columbia, MO @ Missouri Theatre 07/22 – Lincoln, NE @ Lied Center 07/23 – Mankato, MN @ Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center 07/24 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre 07/26 – Elkhart, IN @ The Lerner Theatre 07/29 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Mainstage Theater 07/30 – Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre – Southam Hall 08/01 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall 08/02 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall 08/03 – Williamsport, PA @ Community Arts Center – Martin Theatre 08/05 – Northampton, MA @ Calvin Theatre 08/06 – Lancaster, PA @ American Music Theatre 08/07 – Lancaster, PA @ American Music Theatre 08/09 – Newport News, VA @ Ferguson Center for the Arts 08/10 – Richmond, VA @ Dominion Energy Center – Carpenter Theatre 08/12 – Wilmington, NC @ Wilson Center 08/13 – Charlotte, NC @ Blumenthal Performing Arts Center – Belk 08/14 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Gaillard Center 08/17 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre 08/18 – Greenville, SC @ Peace Center 08/19 – Huntsville, AL @ Von Braun Center – Mark C. Smith Concert Hall 08/20 – Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre 08/22 – Ashland, KY @ Paramount Arts Center 08/23 – Dayton, OH @ Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center 08/25 – Grand Rapids, MI @ GLC Live at 20 Monroe 08/26 – Benton Harbor, MI @ The Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College 08/28 – Chesterfield, MO @ Chesterfield Amphitheater 08/30 – Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theatre 08/31 – Topeka, KS @ Topeka Performing Arts Center 09/01 – Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion 09/02 – Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts 09/04 – Midwest City, OK @ Hudiburg Chevrolet Center at Rose State College 09/06 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center 09/07 – Grand Junction, CO @ Avalon Theatre 09/09 – Greeley, CO @ Union Colony Civic Center 09/10 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Santa Fe Opera – The Crosby Theatre 09/11 – Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center for the Arts 09/13 – Riverside, CA @ Fox Performing Arts Center 09/15 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre 09/16 – Temecula, CA @ Pechanga Theater 09/18 – Thousand Oaks, CA @ Bank of America Performing Arts Center 09/21 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery 09/24 – Davis, CA @ Robert & Margaret Mondavi Center for Performing Arts 09/25 – San Diego, CA @ Balboa Theatre 09/26 – San Diego, CA @ Balboa Theatre 09/27 – Tucson, AZ @ Fox Tucson Theatre 09/29 – Lubbock, TX @ Helen Devitt Jones Theater 09/30 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre 10/01 – Houston, TX @ Cullen Performance Hall 10/02 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater 10/04 – San Antonio, TX @ Majestic Theatre 10/06 – Memphis, TN @ Graceland Soundstage 10/07 – Shreveport, LA @ The Strand Theatre 10/08 – Lafayette, LA @ Heymann Performing Arts Center 10/09 – Pensacola, FL @ Saenger Theatre 10/11 – Melbourne, FL @ King Center for the Performing Arts 10/12 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Parker Playhouse 10/13 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Parker Playhouse 10/15 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall 10/16 – Orlando, FL @ Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts – Walt Disney Theatre 10/17 – Orange Park, FL @ Thrasher-Horne Center 10/19 – Washington, DC @ The Kennedy Center – Concert Hall 10/21 – Atlanta, GA @ Symphony Hall 10/22 – Atlanta, GA @ Symphony Hall 10/23 – Raleigh, NC @ Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts 10/25 – Roanoke, CA @ Berglund Performing Arts Center 10/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall – Rose and Gilt Theatre 10/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kimmel Cultural Campus 10/29 – New York, NY @ Carnegie Hall – Stern Auditorium
Across New York State, 13 venues will play host to Jam for Tots shows, bringing music venues and patrons together in an effort to support those most in need across the Empire State during the 2021 Holiday Season.
Patrons are encouraged to see live music at any of the shows below, and bring with them a new, unwrapped toy for a child. Each venue will have a box for toys to be dropped off in, All toys will be donated to local charities to each venue, keeping the community effort benefitting those in the immediate area.
Thursday 12/2 – The Deadbeats, Nanola, Malta Thursday 12/2 – Open Mic hosted by Jon Pinder, Stewart House, Athens Thursday 12/9- Tato and Friends, Funk n Waffles, Syracuse Saturday 12/11 – Mihali, Bearsville Theater, Woodstock Saturday 12/11 – Mikaela Davis with Girl Blue, The Hollow, Albany Friday 12/17 – The Samples with Rich Ortiz, Putnam Place, Saratoga Springs Saturday 12/18 – Hollis Brown, The Falcon, Marlboro Saturday 12/18 – Sydney Worthley, El Modernist and Josh Morris, Lark Hall, Albany Saturday 12/18 – El Nac: A Christmas Special, The Waterhole, Saranac Lake Sunday 12/19 – The Nutcracker, The State Theatre, Ithaca Sunday 12/19 – 11th Anniversary Party, The Strand Theater, Hudson Falls Saturday 12/25 – Televisionaries & Awful Kanawful, The Bug Jar, Rochester Friday 12/31 – Pasadena w/Joint Operation, Buffalo Iron Works, Buffalo
We thank the venues, artists and fans who support Jam for Tots each year, and make the holidays a little brighter for those most in need.
The latest single from Hudson Valley singer-songwriter Ryan Martin, “At Dusk”, features Rochester’s Mikaela Davis.Perhaps your breakup with your COVID-bae was hard or maybe you’re just not over your breakup from 3 years ago (who isn’t?). Ryan and Mikaela know how to pull at just the right heart strings bringing a signature kind of love song that is honest, emotional lyrics wrapped in gorgeous, bittersweet melodies and irresistible melodic hooks.
Now, you might have heard this song before because it originally appeared on Wandercease, released in November 2020. However, in the height of COVID-19 havoc Martin’s exceptional songwriting was praised by the press for its vibrant, modern take on Americana and Martin’s exceptional songwriting, yet buried underneath reality’s chaos. The COVID pandemic taught us all a little something but Martin took it upon himself to re-asses his priorities.
The songs on Wandercease are mini-epics of personal storytelling, and Mikaela Davis keeps returning with perfect harmony vocals and the thrilling sound of her harp
Paste
Back during lackluster live streams alone in his apartment for a virtual audience his struggle to sustain his sobriety became apparent. Putting music aside, he decided to enroll in school to pursue a career in substance-abuse counseling. A new perspective led him to truly process the reason for writing music: to identify the source of someone’s pain, conveniently also the goal as a substance-abuse counselor. He admits that he aims to connect with people around the struggles that bind them together.
Perfection us damn near impossible to come by and it almost never happens, Yet somehow, someway, Ryan Martin hit that rare pocket in time and captured perfection
American Songwriter
With the help of veteran producer/engineer Paul Kolderie (Pixies, Radiohead) remixing the song, “At Dusk” now has new flavor to it with more highlights of the sublime harmonies between Martin and guest singer/harpist Mikaela Davis,with an additional rock and roll energy in the anthemic choruses. Martin recently showcased at the Mondo.NYC conference with a live performance filmed at Old Soul Studios in Catskill, NY featuring musicians Jared Samuel (Kevin Morby), Nick Kinsey (Waxahatchee), David Lizmi (Fun), and Connor Grant (Sean Lennon).
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.
Bearsville Theater enlisted a new talent buyer after it’s recent renovations which will help make Bearsville a key hotspot for music in the Catskills and north of NYC.
Edward Maier has been appointed the new talent buyer for Bearsville Center including the historic Bearsville Theater and the Utopia Sound Studios by the owner of the Bearsville Center, Lizzie Vann. Maier is known for his work with ElmThree Productions. The hope is he will be able to bring his extensive contacts and experience to help create Bearsville Theater into the hotspot it can be.
Bearsville Theater and The Bearsville Center are located in Woodstock NY. The center was created during the musical revolution during the ‘60s. Albert Grossman who was the founder of the center and was known as one of the most important managers of artists at that time, envisioned a 15-acre complex to provide an imaginative rustic oasis, where artists could create, rehearse, perform, record and promote their music. He built housing, a recording and video studios, a formidable record label and 3 restaurants. His final project was the acoustically planned 8,000 sq. ft 400-seater Bearsville Theater. The Mission of Bearsville under the current ownership is to nurture and Inspire future generations. Today, the theater acts as a stimulus for creativity and enjoyment. The theater embarked on extensive renovation over the last two years and have finally come to the time where they can focus their energy on up-and-coming new bands.
Maier started his career in the music business back in the late ‘90’s with booking local acts in Burlington Vermont. Over the years he moved onto working for touring bands and site co-coordinating national tours with Jay- Z/Beyoncé and Eminem/Rihanna. In 2007 he moved into talent buying, and since then has purchased and produced over 1000 shows. Elm Three Productions is Talent Buyer for: Madison Marquette, Paramount Theatre, the Convention Hall, The Wonder Bar and Stone Pony along with the popular series – Jams On The Sand and AC Jams and the Daydream Farm Concert Series.
Between Maier’s years of experience and the legacy of Bearsville Theater and it’s new renovations it will definitely be a venue to keep an eye on.
