In 2015, Eric Clapton celebrated his 70th Birthday with a pair of sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. Although his birthday is March 30, the shows didn’t actually take place until May 1 and 3. Clapton was joined by special guests Derek Trucks, John Mayer, Doyle Bramhall II and Jimmy Vaughan on both nights.
Clapton was backed by a band featuring drummer Steve Gadd, bassist Nathan East, keyboardists Paul Carrack and Chris Stainton, and vocalists Sharon White and Michelle John. After a quick salutation to the crowd, Clapton started the show with “Somebody’s Knocking,” and “Key to the Highway.”
The setlist was pretty much the same both nights with John Mayer being the first guest. Clapton and Mayer traded fiery guitar solos with an outstanding version of “Pretending.” Other highlights included a Billy Preston cover of “You Are So Beautiful” with Paul Carrack on lead vocals and an electric version of “Before You Accuse Me” with Jimmy Vaughan.
Trucks and Bramhall helped Clapton close the main set with “Let It Rain.” Late in the night Clapton addressed the crowd “Thank you very much for helping me celebrate this wonderful gift with these wonderful friends.”
For the encore, Eric Clapton brought all the guests back to the stage and ended his ‘birthday’ night with a cover of Joe Cocker’s “High Time We Went.”
Setlist May 1, 2015
Somebody’s Knocking (J.J. Cale cover), Key to the Highway (Charles Segar cover), Pretending (With John Mayer), I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon cover), You Are So Beautiful (Billy Preston cover), Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith cover), I Shot The Sheriff (Bob Marley cover), Driftin Blues (Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers cover), Nobody Knows When You’re Down and Out (Jimmy Cox cover), Tears In Heaven, Layla (Derek and the Dominos cover), Before You Accuse Me(Bo Diddley cover), Wonderful Tonight, Let It Rain (With Trucks and Bramhall II), Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover), Little Queen of Spades (Robert Johnson cover), Cocaine (J.J.Cale cover), High Time We Went (Joe Cocker cover)
Setlist May 3, 2015
Somebody’s Knocking (J.J. Cale cover), Key to the Highway (Charles Segar cover), Pretending (With John Mayer), I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon cover), You Are So Beautiful (Billy Preston cover), Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith cover), I Shot The Sheriff (Bob Marley cover), Driftin Blues (Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers cover), Nobody Knows When You’re Down and Out (Jimmy Cox cover), Tears In Heaven, Layla (Derek and the Dominos cover), Before You Accuse Me (Bo Diddley cover), Wonderful Tonight, Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover), Little Queen of Spades (Robert Johnson cover), Let It Rain (With Trucks and Bramhall II) (J.J.Cale cover), High Time We Went (Joe Cocker cover)
After months of livestream shows, Marble Eyes announce their first series of tour dates, beginning Friday April 30th in Saratoga Springs.
Marble Eyes Tour Poster
Marble Eyes is a fresh new band that formed during the pandemic, comprised of members from Pink Talking Fish, Kung Fu, The Indobox and more. Using downtime from tour, the band crafted over 40 songs, with a debut album out later this year. Several of these new songs have debuted over the past year during their free “Marble Eyes Mondays” livestreams, every other Monday. You can find these on the nugs.net Youtube page.
The first show kicks off this Friday in Saratoga Springs NY at Putnam Place, followed by the band’s debut in Colorado for 2 nights in Denver at Knew Conscious. They will head back east for some more shows, hitting several states in New England.
Marble Eyes’ 2021 tour dates 4/30: Saratoga Springs NY at Putnam Place 5/14: Denver CO at Knew Conscious 5/15: Denver CO at Knew Conscious 5/23: Wayne PA at 118 North 6/03: Stowe VT at Stowe Cider w/ Zach Nugent 6/04: Pembroke MA at Soundcheck Studios 6/06: Portsmouth NH at The Music Hall “Live Under The Arch Series” – 2 Shows 7/31: Mason NH at The Range supporting Melvin Seals & JGB 8/12: Brunswick ME at The Grateful Campout
New York City in the 1980s was a creative caldron where anything could happen. Painting, graffiti, performance and emergent video art, film, dance, theater and music of every conceivable genre were blending into one another, often in unprecedented ways. In the arts, and maybe music first and foremost, boundaries were not for division but blurring and breaking to make the wholly new. So when Philip Glass, the esteemed minimalist composer, teamed with The Raybeats, the neo-surf guitar super combo, it was the kind of collision of seeming opposites that made perfect sense in these freewheeling times.
The Raybeats formed in 1979 out of the ashes of the legendary New York no-wavers, The Contortions. The band’s bassist George Scott and drummer Don Christensen joined with guitarist/keyboardist/sax man Pat Irwin (8-Eyed Spy and later the B52s) and guitarist Jody Harris (Golden Palominos and an original member of The Contortions featured on the seminal No New York compilation produced by Brian Eno). When Scott died of a drug overdose in 1980, he was replaced by Danny Amis. Amis would later go on to form the groundbreaking, masked surf guitar band, Los Straitjackets.
The Raybeats sound was an artsy update on the gutsy guitar instrumentals of fuzz pioneer Link Wray and the twangy surf of Dick Dale. Added to this were copious amounts of space age bachelor pad swank and spy movie mysterioso, along with Stax/Volt grooves and, of course, the experimental noise/skronk of no-wave. It was a high-energy, eminently danceable brew, one that made The Raybeats a popular touring band on the underground rock circuit. With Amis, they recorded an EP Roping Wild Bears (1981) and the acclaimed full-length album, Guitar Beat (1982). After his departure, they waxed just one more album, It’s Only A Movie!, before disbanding in 1984.
The Raybeats went into SoHo’s Greene Street Recording on June 4 – 5, 1982, with Philip Glass, his pianist of choice Michael Riesman and co-producer Kurt Munkasi. None of the parties really knew what to expect according to Irwin. And the world would not hear the fruits of their collaboration until 31 years later, when Glass released the seven tracks on CD in 2013, on his Orange Mountain Music label.
Philly and NYC based label Ramp Local is now putting out the first-ever vinyl pressing of this incredible collection, called The Lost Philip Glass Sessions, just in time for Record Store Day, June 12. The vinyl package includes new cover art and an insert, with liner notes by Pat Irwin and rare archival photos.
The disc kicks off with “Jack the Ripper,” a cover of the classic instrumental recorded by Link Wray of “Rumble” fame. As with many of the offerings here, the tune is anchored by a pounding jungle beat, with some nice retro slapback delay. It also boasts thick sheets of dreamy feedback from Jody Harris to complement Irwin’s heavily-reverbed, deep toned melody guitar.
“Pack of Camels” is one of the tunes that gets a more obvious Glassian treatment. This is snake charmer music, an Eastern modal dance groove with oodles of reverbed melody guitars and spooky Lena Lovich/Laurie Anderson-like vocal accents by Dora Ohrenstein.
According to Irwin’s liner notes, “Black Beach” was intended to recreate the experience of riding Coney Island’s famed roller coaster, the Cyclone. Drummer Christensen had the idea of recording the sounds of the Cyclone and the screams of the riders for use as a drum break, a thought that ended up on the cutting room floor. The B section of has the most obvious Glassian flavor on the album – a hypnotic swirl of interlocking keyboard figures played by Michael Riesman, a longtime member of The Philip Glass Ensemble.
“The Sad Little Caper” features a five-note melodic figure, a baritone guitar counter melody and a cavernous ambience that brings to mind a James Bond flick. Add to this spooky keyboard answers arranged by Glass. These are reminiscent of P-Funker Bernie Worrell’s contributions to Stop Making Sense-era Talking Heads.
The most no-wave flavored piece of the album, “I Do Just What I Want,” comes from a 1985 session at the Living Room, Glass’ studio in TriBeCa. Dirty tenor sax growls, slip slidey fuzz bass and a four-on-the-floor surf beat propel the piece, which features a vocal refrain of the title and punchy orchestral synth hits.
“1.2 Girls” and “Hoodlum Priest” both come from sessions at Surf Sounds begun in 1983. The former owes a ton to the jungle rhythms of Gary Glitter’s 1972 hit, “Rock-n-Roll Pt. 2.” A stomping beat, more tenor growl and a bit of vocals singing the title, one that purportedly was swiped from a tabloid headline. “Hoodlum Priest” begins with the sound of thunderstorm captured outside the studio. More cool spy vibes to a dark funk beat, with lush stereo pans of the bitey guitars – acoustic, electric and a bit of backwards psychedelia.
Like Guitar Beat, this disc proves that The Raybeats were the real deal. They were true sonic minded guitar innovators, working in a punk era that minimized any guitaring that seemed to showcase chops, anything beyond three chords, a grimace and a grunt. Though their career was short-lived, their influence was lasting, with the neo-surf they pioneered in their recordings and in the further works of its members when they dispersed. The meeting with Glass produced some real magic here. It is guitar art of the highest order, one that proves that this quartet was on the level of the critic revered Tom Verlaine/Richard Lloyd-helmed Television.
If you like this disc, you should also check out the exceptionally creative, lo-fi masterpiece Escape, a duo disc made on a budget of $7 (for tape) by Raybeat Jody Harris and Robert Quine of Voidoids and Lou Reed fame. Irwin has been keeping great instrumental guitar art alive via his long stint with The B52s, his contributions to soundtracks like The Rugrats and, most recently, his great PI Power Trio. You can hear what he’s been up to on their debut EP The Walk or at live performances at downtown NYC venues like the Treehouse at 2A. Recommended Tracks: Jack The Ripper, The Sad Little Caper and Pack of Camels
Music is being served up bistro-style at Rochester’s Lilac Festival this year. While it’s not feasible to host the large open-air concerts the festival has become known for, organizers have found a way to reintroduce music while maintaining safety guidelines.
Over the course of three weekends in May, they are dishing up sets from Big Blue House, Claudia Hoyser, JUMBOshrimp, acoustic-style Big Eyed Phish, and Mikaela Davis & Southern Star. A Lilac Blues & Soul review closes out the series, featuring Steve Grills and the Roadmasters alongside special guests Joe Beard, Cinnamon Jones, Debbie Kendrick, and Mike D’Aurizio.
The events take place under an open air tent, where patrons can purchase tables that seat four to six guests. Relax and nosh in a supper-club fashion – tickets include an appetizer to share. Pair it with a wine or bucket of beer, and additional nibbles from a range of local restaurants. The shows on Mother’s Day, May 9, are all ages, however the remainder are reserved for guests 21 and over (ID required). Tickets are for each event are available now.
Sunday: May 9, 2021: Mother’s Day
Big Blue House – Session: 11:30am
Big Blue House is a raucous trio of seasoned musicians with experience in a variety of genres, merging styles into a unique gumbo of folk, rock, blues, jazz and reggae. Offering a blend of voices, acoustic rhythm and lead guitar, stand-up bass, and occasional mandolin, banjo and resonator guitar. We often add percussion and a random horn or harmonica to fill up the house. Our songs run a broad scope of time and genres but keep a consistency of musicality, lyricism, imagery and tastefulness.
Sunday: May 9, 2021: Mother’s Day
Claudia Hoyser – Sessions: 2:45pm
American Country music artist, social media influencer, and hometown favorite Claudia Hoyser is bringing it back to her roots at the 2021 Rochester Lilac Festival. Claudia has blended her neo-traditional sound with social grace; her musical palette evokes
feelings through the gift of modern story or can bring on some dusty edge with barnburner flair. Just Announced: Claudia will be opening for Toby Keith and Clay Walker at The California Rodeo in Salinas, CA in 2021.
On the heels of the success of her 4 chart singles, Claudia will be releasing her full-length record this summer 2021. Be sure to tune in for her weekly video series “Hoyser Country Monday” every Monday at 6 pm EST on Facebook. The series has rallied up over 120 million views! Claudia also has her own coffee, “Hoyser Country Blend,” which can be found chain-wide in Tops Markets, Hegedorn’s, Herrema’s, Breen’s and in many local establishments.
Friday: May 14, 2021
Jumbo Shrimp – Sessions: 4pm | 6:45pm
Founded in 2006, just two guys, ALL LIVE! Tom on Vocals & Guitar. Ian on the Clamsteamer (a.k.a. Cocktail Drum Kit of his own creation)
A Rochester favorite, playing local bars, backyards and festivals for the past 15 years strong. JUMBOshrimp is working hard to be the BIGGEST little band IN THE WORLD (or Rochester, whichever comes first). While that’s a pretty serious goal, you should also know that they’re very serious about not taking themselves very serious.
JUMBOshrimp plays mostly current music but also mashes in favorite classics, always committed to engaging their audience, having FUN, making music & friends!
Saturday: May 22, 2021
Big Eyed Phish’s: Dave and Tim Acoustic Show Sessions: 2:45pm | 6:00pm
Ben and Jon are the “Dave and Tim” of Big Eyed Phish – The Dave Matthews Tribute Band. Together they perform acoustic versions of DMB songs that everyone knows and loves. Dave and Tim have played together in many venues and put out the infamous “live at Luther College” CD set! Ben and Jon do the acoustic duo justice just as they do for the full band when playing with Big Eyed Phish! Don’t miss this awesome intimate acoustic show!
Friday: May 21, 2021
Mikaela Davis & Southern Star – Sessions: 4:00pm | 6:45pm
Back this year is Lilac favorite, Mikaela Davis with a new sound! Mikaela Davis & Southern Star are bringing a taste of the Grateful Dead to the Lilac Bistro. Recently, Mikaela has not only been playing Grateful Dead tunes with Southern Star but with Bob Weir himself! Mikaela will be playing a set of Dead inspired Americana Folk with her own original tunes.
Sunday: May 23, 2021
Lilac Blues & Soul Review – Sessions: 3:15pm | 6:30pm
On Sunday May 23, the Lilac Festival will conclude with a Blues and Soul extravaganza featuring Steve Grills and the Roadmasters along with special guests blues artist Joe Beard, singers Cinnamon Jones and Debbie Kendrick and singer and harmonica player Big Mike D’Aurizio. Singer guitarist Steve Grills is well know as Rochester’s formost Purveyor of the Blues. Steve has played at the top blues venues and festivals across the country including the Chicago Blues Festival. His CD release After Hours received tremendous airplay leading it to chart at # 39 on the Top 100 Blues Albums of the year.
Bluesman Joe Beard is truly a Rochester legend. His music has taken him all across the US and he has also performed at some of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals. He has released numerous albums to great acclaim. Joe was inducted to the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He continues to thrill audiences with his powerful singing and intense and fiery guitar work after more than 50 years.
Singer Cinnamon Jones has built a tremendous reputation over the last few years through her many spirited and soulful live performances. Once you see and here Cinnamon, you will never forget her. Cinnamon toured extensively with the Campbell Brothers and has since toured the US and internationally on her own. She began singing gospel in NYC where she was born. Cinnamon later moved to the SF Bay area where her performing career grew, leading her to be awarded Best Female Vocalist for consecutive years.
Singer Debbie Kendrick has a personality that warms her audiences like the sun breaking through the clouds. She has led her own group in Rochester for well over 10 years and has built a great reputation with her blend of soul and blues music.
Big Mike D’Aurizio is a singer and harp player who possesses a great command and respect for traditional blues. Mike’s powerful electric harp playing and singing is sure to blow your blues away.
Now in it’s 123rd year, the internationally-known festival held at historic Highland Park features lilacs and gardens, runs, beer and wine tasting, and a kid zone. For more information visit the Rochester Events website.
To whet your appetite for the Lilac Fest bistro experience, here’s a clip of Mikaela Davis playing with Bob Weir on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series:
Alejandro Sanz’ #LAGIRA is making a comeback in the United States this October. Spain’s most international artist will visit 12 cities across the country alongside his grand show produced by Live Nation. One of these shows he is performing at is right here in NYS: Radio City Music Hall.
The artist will present his greatest hits as well as songs from his 3x Latin Grammy-winning and Best Latin Album Grammy-winning album, #ELDISCO. #LAGIRA has sold out numerous shows globally, including shows in Spain, the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, and more. Make sure to grab your tickets when they go on sale on April 29 through Sanz’s site or Ticketmaster.
Projects Through the Pandemic
Alejandro Sanz has always had a close and unique relationship with his fans. Back in March 2020, Sanz offered a show streamed through a digital platform, #LaGiraSeQuedaEnCasa, alongside Juanes. Sanz was one of the first artists to do so, and the feedback was overwhelming. Nearly 5 million people around the world have viewed the video.
A week after #LaGiraSeQuedaEnCasa release, Sanz released #ElMundoFuera. This song paved the way for the creation of a documentary. People all over the globe were able to come together and share their pandemic stories. Over 4,500 videos were received through this platform and ultimately led to the largest collaborating project by a Spanish-speaking artist. The documentary was Spain’s most sold music DVD of 2020 and is also available now on Amazon Prime Video.
Even though 2020 was a hard-hitting year for many, Alejandro Sanz made the best out of a challenging situation. He started off the pandemic with a surplus of well-developed projects and didn’t fall short of his successes when the year ended. The international artist received his second consecutive Latin Grammy for Record of the Year. This award added to Sanz’s collection of achievements. With 4 Grammy wins, and 25 Latin Grammy wins, Sanz became Spain’s most Grammy award-winning artist.
The Great New York State Fair will return in 2021 for an end of summer celebration, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo. The New York State Fair will take place at the fairgrounds in Syracuse from August 20 to September 6, 2021 and will include musical performances, Midway rides, agriculture education, plus food and drinks.
The New York State Fair had been a staple in Upstate New York for entertainment and fun since it first started all the way back in 1841. Due to COVID-19, the fair was cancelled last year. This reimagined version of the State Fair will look quite similar to the event that is loved and known by people. The Great New York State Fair will take place in four outdoor areas across the fairgrounds, one representing each of the major elements that make the fair great.
The fair will feature an exceptional array of food and beverage including some of the Fair’s most iconic culinary experiences, such as the Pizze Fritte, sausage sandwiches and wine slushies. It will also host daily concerts from national touring performers in the scenic, spacious New York Experience festival grounds. Have thrilling amusement rides, games and attractions for all ages on the Midway. It also will feature farm animals on display to introduce the young and young-at-heart to New York’s agriculture. Admission to the fair will only be $3 per person, with children under 12 being admitted free of charge.
Although a full list of acts hasn’t been announced yet, it has been revealed that there will be performances from REO Speedwagon, Dropkick Murphys, Sheena Easton, Great White and Vixen and the Oak Ridge Boys at least.
Governor Cuomo spoke of the resurrection of the fair saying,
The New York State Fair is one of our biggest and most exciting tourist attractions that celebrates the spirit of New York and generates economic growth for the region and the entire state. I’ve said time and again that no one wants to open the Fair this year more than I do – and we are finally making it happen in a safe, responsible way with the 2021 Reimagined New York State Fair. This celebration is a unique reward for New Yorkers who have made so many sacrifices during this pandemic and will allow visitors from across the state and the country to enjoy some of the best attractions the Fair has to offer with all necessary safety guidelines in place. This is an important step towards the full return of New York’s largest events as we continue to reopen and reimagine our state’s economy.
The preparation for the fair will be in accordance with the Department of Health’s COVID-19 health and safety guidance. As public health conditions and the guidance changes, the fair will adapt and adhere to all applicable health protocols, such as capacity restrictions, social distancing, face coverings, and health screening where necessary.
The Wallflowers – Great NY State Fair Grandstands
Daily admission is planned to be limited to approximately 50 percent of capacity for the areas available for attendees to allow for social distancing. Capacity limits will be reexamined and adjusted if necessary to comply with health and safety guidelines. The fairground’s buildings will not be open to the public, except for bathrooms. Attendees will be required to observe social distancing and wear masks, except when eating or drinking. People buying food and drinks will be asked to sit while they eat and drink, and ample tables and dining spaces will be made available. Midway rides, games and attractions, as well as all surfaces of frequent customer contact will be rigorously and frequently cleaned and sanitized.
Joan Jett and The Black Hearts – Great New York State Fair Chevy Court
Further details on fair ticket sales and on specific rules for guests will be announced later and will be subject to change with the State’s health and safety guidance change and adapt over time. Visit the New York State Fair website for more information.
Live music is making its way back into our weekend plans. The Oteil Burbridge band featuring Pete Lavezzoli on drums, Tom Guarna on Guitar, and special guest Jason Crosby on keyboards performed for two nights at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach, FL on April 24 and 25. Over two days the quartet had a Grateful Dead heavy setlist, nicely blended with Oteil’s originals and covers of his favorite artists.
The breeze kicked in to start the two night run. They open with a cover by The Weather Report that brought all of the “Elegant People” from the beach. It got the whole crowd immediately grooving. A first set dead classic “Sugaree” start the psychedelic blues for the sun soaked masses. A cover of Jerry Garcia Band “Cats Down Under the Stars” keeps it flowing with Melvin Seals drummer Lavezolli and Oteil locked in ” Cats on the bandstand, give em each a big hand, Anyone who sweats like that must be all right.”
Believe it or not the band follows with another Grateful Dead classic that was played under the Miami Beach haze during soundcheck for “Here Comes Sunshine.” “Hard to find” an end of a first set, the quartet close with “King Solomon’s Marbles” to send everyone looking for their own after they cleared the stage.
The second set started with a beautiful Jerry solo classic “Rubin and Cherise.” The words on the Florida shore singing “the breeze would pause to listen in before going on its way again, Masquerade began when the nightfall finally woke.” Another Jerry tune up next for “Gomorrah” helped “Blow the City off the Map, left nothing there but fire”
Oteil brings you back to Brooklyn Bowl for a “Butter Biscuit” next, then a transition to a Grateful Dead S.O.S. on the beach. “Help on the Way” into “Slipknot” gets another Oteil original weaved in with “Too Many Times” before crescendoing into “Franklins Tower.” It was a funky roll in the dew to close the first set.
Keeping the crowd in a Grateful Dead like glow the band starts the encore so quiet you can hear the ocean. Oteil’s voice on “Stella Blue” reminds you the wave is crashing “In the end there’s still a song, comes crying like the wind, down every lonely street, that’s ever been.” As expected after a Dead heavy show like this you would assume this was the end.
Nope, during the encore the band paid tribute to Sugarloaf with their cover of “Green Eyed Lady.” Its lyrics perhaps another nod to a day on the beach. “Green Eyed Lady windswept lady , moves the night the waves the sand, Green eyed lady…ocean lady.” Out of nowhere, Oteil’s ensemble threw everyone for a loop on their way back to the Miami scene.
After an hour long soundcheck in Miami Beach, Oteil Burbridge took some time to talk with NYS Music
Matthew Romano: I am so glad I got to see the show last night before speaking today. Do you remember the Buddy Miles record that had a cover of Allman Brothers Band tunes “Dont’ Keep Me Wondering” and “Midnight Rider”? I can’t help but hear your same soulful interpretation of these Dead songs.
Oteil Burbridge: Yes I do! I kind of just do it. You can’t do anything to suppress your roots. Not really trying, it just comes out like that. But there was something that really gave me confidence to lean in more on my approach. I don’t know if you’ve heard George Porter sing “Eyes of World”? It’s my favorite “Eyes of the World.” The way he sings it, holy crap, just blew me away seeing that. So I was like yea man do it like you feel it. You know just let it come, let it be what it is.
MR: Well being here in Miami where you just recorded with Page McConnell and Vida Blue for a record we didn’t know what to expect out of your catalog this weekend for a set.
OB: I don’t with Vida Blue material because they are still on the road and we still play. Allman’s aren’t playing, I mean Dead and Company is playing, ya know as slow as we are doing everything. If you notice we do a lot of different versions with this band. We do the the old funkier, sluttier “Loose Lucy” and the faster funky kind of “They Love Each Other,” the long “Eyes” the “Terrapin.” What else? The funky “Bertha.”
OB: So we can just lean in the funk.
MR: I was able to speak with John Mayer on Tales From the Golden Road on Sirius XM and got his angle on bringing his own texture to the Dead and Co. sound. You are in the same boat bringing a whole new edge and vibe to this music that gives it a new form of life.
OB: I mean it just comes out that way. It’s really about being given permission by yourself, the original members, the crowd, and especially the old crew.
OB: Ya know it mattered to me, what AJ thinks, what Jarukie thought. It matters what Derek Featherstone thinks. Ya know all the original crew that’s been here much longer than me. So even to have them and friends approval means the world.
MR: Well how about big Steve Parish who has come Upstate New York to go on his own tour speaking about all his years behind the amps of the Dead for every show?
OB: When you get Parish’s seal of approval, wow. All those guys, Dennis McNally, Bill Walton. When Bill Walton says you’re good, you quit worrying. But John and I have been very lucky to be graced by all those people, the crowd, the original members. I count them as family.
MR: Well being at the first Dead and Company show on October 29, 2015 at Times Union Center (The Old Knickerbocker Arena), it was only appropriate for you and John to open with “Playing in the Band.”
OB: (Laughter) For sure. That was a harrowing night. That was a trip, that beginning time.
MR: Well, I love that 6 years later your able to lead the pack with some funk on this repertoire for two nights on the beach in Spring 2021.
OB: Well i mean there is so much funk in the Grateful Dead’s music. The Jerry Bands’ music. Its just like there for the picking. So i just lean in to it
OB: Thats where I come from, ya know? I come from James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic. Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie, Larry Graham, J.V Collier and James Jamerson.
MR: How about Larry Graham creating the slap bass technique to fill for the drummers spot that was absent
OB: Yeah the drummer didn’t come so he had to bass the drum with his thumb and the snare and hi hat with his slap and the plucking part yeah. Tonight we’re gonna do a tribute to Paul Jackson in Head Hunters that just passed. It was the last tune we did during soundcheck today was “God made me Funky.”
MR: That had me dancing outside and threw me for a loop before I came in to talk to ya. I walked in the room feeling like Cleo McDowell in Coming to America…”I’m not sure what to do…I feel like break dancing.”
OB: (Laughter) For Sure. I’ve seen it at Dead shows, people start popping and locking! This weekend has been the biggest amount of people this band has played for. It was great to see that many bodies in motion again.
Later that night Oteil and Friends played one more Saturday night for an audience on Miami Beach.
The crowd immediately responded to the Oteil instrumental “The Happy Dance” to start the evening. Another highlight of Oteil’s solo catalog came next with “Rooster.” His words nailed it over the old Peacemakers groove, “There’s not much time to get your house in order, you can watch as the darkness grows, keep on trying to disguise yourself, but the ugliness still shows, you better clean it up before the rooster crows…”
Then a Dead heavy first set that included the funked up “Bertha” and “Loose Lucy.” The Dead vibes unfolded at the end of the first set with “China Cat Sunflower” > “China Doll” > “I Know Your Rider.” A set ending fake out with “No More Doubt,” another Oteil and the Peacemakers original. With even deeper lyrics “Call out to the grave, I am a mirror to the clouds, you can rest assure there will be no more worry,” to officially end the set.
After a short break the band opened with two covers, Jaco Pastorius’ “Opus Pocus‘ and Donny Hathaway’s “Magnificent Sanctuary.” These tunes are certainly hand picked by Oteil as they are a major influence on his sound.
Oteil Burbridge in Jaco Pastorius Park, FL
The band then closes the rest of the set with The Grateful Dead catalog where ocean breezes flow. After a funky “They Love Each Other” they launched into “Estimated Prophet” > “Terrapin” > “Morning Dew.” Oteil was quoted on his first vocal take on Dew, “I feel like I’ve been through enough in life to do it justice, I hope you enjoyed it.”
Oteil Burbridge Band Setlist April 24 25
The encore for the two night beach run was a tribute to Paul Jackson of the Head Hunters for “God Made me Funky.” Let’s be glad he is out touring this kind of music in 2021. Oteil helps carry the torch for new comers to the scene. It was Miami Beach resident Chris Collins first show who celebrated his father Bobs birthday Friday night. Bob toured for four years with the Dead.
In between shows you can listen to Oteil’s podcast with great artists. The crew heads to B Chord brewing Company in Virginia on June 4 and 5 for their next two night run. Dead and Company 2021 tour will be kicking off August 16th in Raleigh, North Carolina, and running through Halloween, with a three-night stand at the iconic Hollywood Bowl on October 29th, 30th, & 31st.
Multi-GRAMMY Award and Latin GRAMMY Award-winning producer/artist Kabir Sehgal collaborates with leading BIPOC and women artists on his latest EP, Threshold, set for release on Tiger Turn on Friday, August 27, 2021.
Sehgal is an Indian American producer with more than 70 album credits to his name, Kabir Sehgal has released four singles leading up to “Threshold” with each showcasing the complexities of finding love and discovering one’s individual identity.
One of the singles, “Somewhere Between 5th and Madison”, has a uniquely New York centric approach to song writing – the song also features pop sensation Sonna Rele. Emotive vocals meet multi-synth arrangements for a DJ-ready track for NYC’s bars and clubs.
Alyssa Raghu – a Top 8 contestant on American Idol – teams up with U.S. immigrant and DACA recipient Caliph on Wasted Pages. Sehgal remixes Emilio Solla’s Llegara, Llegara, Llegara from the Latin GRAMMY-winning album “Puertos” with special guest vocalists Manu Manzo and Danay Suarez. “Threshold” closes with a Pop/EDM track What’s Your Name? highlighting GRAMMY Award-nominated singer Thana Alexa.
Sehgal remixed a beautiful, soulful jazz classic with pop sounds, without ripping it of its essence. I’m very grateful he thought of me to sing on this amazing song that brought me back to my jazz roots
Emilio Solla, Artist
As one of today’s leading producers, Sehgal’s award-winning recording catalog reflects a career spotlighting political and social issues voiced through the mediums of big band jazz and working with soul/R&B stars such as Jon Batiste (featured on Sehgal’s 2020 production, Swing States: Harmony in the Battleground). He has also made four albums as an artist with meditation pioneer Deepak Chopra, including Spiritual Warrior.
The Grateful Dead played their one and only show in Alfred, New York, 51 years ago today. After gigs at their usual stomping grounds like the Fillmore West and the Family Dog in San Francisco the previous month, May 1970 kicked off with the Dead going to school, playing this evening at Alfred College and the following night at Harpur College in Binghamton. These legendary performances serve as the first known “An Evening With The Grateful Dead” shows, where the band would be joined by others and play interlocking sets.
Their friends in New Riders of the Purple Sage would join the Grateful Dead at Alfred College this evening, and the following night, playing a joint opening acoustic set, before a set of their own music, with a set of electric Dead wrapping things up. It can be argued that this helped lay the groundwork of the formation of a traditional Grateful Dead show: an opening set with more acoustic, straightforward tunes before a set of heavy improvisational numbers.
The show starts off with an acoustic “Deep Elem Blues” with guitarist Jerry Garcia on lead vocals. The harmonies are certainly a little richer on this one, thanks to the additional backing support from their friends in New Riders. In an interview later this year, Garcia would explain this brand new format and the kind of live show it created.
What we’ve been doing in the States lately is having like ‘an evening with the Grateful Dead.’ We start off with acoustic music with Bobby and I playing guitars, light drums and very quiet electric bass. Pigpen plays the organ. Then we have a band we’ve been travelling with, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, where I play pedal steel, not guitar, Mickey plays drums, and three of our friends from the coast, musicians that we’ve known for a long time, are fronting the band. So we start off with acoustic music and then The New Riders of the Purple Sage — it’s like very snappy electric country-rock; it’s kinda hard to describe — and then we come on with the electric Dead, so it keeps us all really interesting, and it’s six hours of this whole development thing. By the end of the night it’s very high.
Jerry Garcia, 5/24/70
After “Elem,” a traditional blues cover the band recently re-adopted after playing once in 1966, the opening set carries on with a unique version of “I Know You Rider.” This one is played at a super slow, folksy tempo compared to the traditional Dead version of later years and features an additional verse with the lyrics: I’d rather drink muddy water / Than sleep in a hollow log.” Definitely not your customary “Rider.” Following this, fellow guitarist Bob Weir promises the rapt Alfred College crowd a song about “simian creatures behind the wheel” and the band delivers a quick take of “Monkey And The Engineer.” At its conclusion, Garcia does not cease strumming and quickly leads the group into a flawlessly acoustic “Candyman.”
At its conclusion, Garcia beckons their friends David Nelson and John “Marmaduke” Dawson from NRPS to join them on stage. They make their collective presence immediately felt with a super-harmonized take on “Me And My Uncle.” This alt-country tune about gambling and betrayal sits square in the Riders’ musical wheelhouse and their presence make this one a truly pleasant version. The same can be said of the “Mama Tried” that comes next.
“Cumberland Blues,” a Dead tune that lends itself perfectly to vocal harmonies, goes off without a hitch next, with all guitars (and voices) on stage very much in synch. Nelson and “Marmaduke” stay on stage for the rest of the opening acoustic set and later contribute to a cover of The Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” which is succeeded by “New Speedway Boogie.” It’s only the tenth ever version of this Dead original penned by Garcia and famed lyricist Robert Hunter and the first ever on the East Coast. It’s a version so tight that it has Garcia and a least one other audibly “whooing” in delight mid-song.
The incredible musicianship and harmonies that serve as this opening act comes to a close with “Cold Jordan,” another traditional cover with hymnal-like lyrics that the Dead and NRPS would play together this year. And then a pristine take of “Uncle John’s Band,” replete with three-part harmonies. While it may not have all the accolades of the following night’s acoustic set at Harpur College in Binghamton, it’s beautiful in its own right and certainly merits a listen.
At its conclusion, Garcia states they’ll be back later with their “electric” stuff and preps the crowd for an incoming Pigpen performance. To start this last portion of the evening, “Not Fade Away” is the selection, done in traditional Grateful Dead-style. Garcia fires off a bevy of emotional guitar riffs and the double drumming tandem of Hart and Bill Kreutzmann only add to the power this one generates. Then, as promised, Pigpen takes center stage and lends his signature vocal prowess and swagger on a cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle.”
For a listen to this classic acoustic set and the opening two “electric” numbers check out the video below or go here.
The Grateful Dead close out the Alfred College gig with an absolutely ferocious “The Other One,” that’s sandwiched by “Cryptical Envelopment” on both sides, quite commonplace during this era. Bassist Phil Lesh finally gets a chance to let loose and explore the fret board, leading the band through this high octane, psychedelic sequence. The latter half of “Envelopment” gets particularly spacy and intricate at parts.
“High Time” gives Garcia one last chance to sing lead, justifiably slowing things down significantly from the improvisational madness that preceded it. Pigpen then sends the crowd home on a high note, ripping through another R&B-infused cover, this time Bobby Bland’s “Turn On Your Lovelight.” It serves as a more than fitting final number for a show that may have subconsciously helped shape the way live Grateful Dead shows are formatted for years to come.
Grateful Dead – Alfred College, Alfred, NY – May 1, 1970
Set 1: Deep Elem Blues, I Know You Rider, Monkey and the Engineer -> Candyman, Me And My Uncle, Mama Tried, Cumberland Blues, The Race Is On, Wake Up Little Susie, New Speedway Boogie, Cold Jordan Uncle John’s Band
Set 2: Not Fade Away, Hard To Handle, Cryptical Envelopment ->Drums -> The Other One ->Cryptical Envelopment, High Time, Turn On Your Lovelight
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 from Joshua West, Jade Relics 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.
Songwriter and brilliant musician Joshua West will share his tune “Feel That Pulse” off his forthcoming release, Let Your Voice Be Heard which is planned for release over the summer.
“Feel That Pulse” was written back in 2016 in response to the Pulse Nightclub tragedy in Orlando. The song’s message is one of love, equality and acceptance – urging us to let everyone “Sing the song they were born to sing.” It features Mihali Savoulidis of Twiddle on lead guitar, along with a great list of Vermont and upstate NY musicians.
Vermont independent group, Jade Relics, comprised of IamE, RicoJames, and Elder Orange latest single, “ISLAND” is a mind blowing tune that takes a serious groove adjustment mid-way through, as if it is the sonic equivalent of grabbing someone by the arm to pull them away from getting hit by a speeding train. The feel switch pulls the aritist in and figuratively forces their attention on where the song is taking them.
Athena Burke give us a powerful and positive anthem to remind us to stand strong in these off centered times. In her own words, “I will not fall “ is an emotional power anthem I wrote to help heal a past filled with trauma. A call to our inner strength in times of challenge. My sister, Lori had a life mantra. It came from our childhood. She had these dolls called Weebles. The slogan was ‘Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.’ This song is dedicated to all of us who won’t fall down. And my sister Lori, who didn’t make it but inspired everyone around her. I hope this song will bring you love and power and strength on those days when you need it.” Produced by Devon Seegers of Bathrobe Robots.
