Jukebox The Ghost brought their HalloQueen special to Bushwick’s Brooklyn Steel on Saturday October 30, 2021 for the bands largest headlining show to date. The show featured a Halloween costume competition, musical standup comedy, a full Jukebox The Ghost set, as well as a full set of 14 Queen cover songs. Jukebox has been around since the college indie boom of the mid 2000s, but vocalist Ben Thornewill thanked the crowd multiple times for making it the bands biggest show of their career.
Jukebox The Ghost at Brooklyn Steel, 10/30/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Opening the show was former SNL cast member Luke Null, who delivered a set of musical stand up comedy dressed as a French Mime, complete with Gene Simmons face paint. Strapped with an acoustic guitar, Null engaged with the crowd while singing and telling mildly inappropriate short stories. He made another appearance after Jukebox’s main set to officiate the costume competition. Members of the band’s crew handed out vouchers to the best dressed fans around the venue, allowing them on stage during the set break. Crowd reaction was the metric for the competition, who settled on the Jurassic Park themed Nedry and dinosaur costume as the winner.
Luke Null, officiating the costume competition. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Jukebox The Ghost took the stage again after the costume competition, all dressed as members of the band Queen. The HalloQueen celebration commenced, and would continue for a 14 song set of Queen cover songs, all performed superbly true to form. Thornewill fully embraced the role of Freddie Mercury, mimicking the body language and posture perfectly, and there was even an handkerchief hanging from the neck of Brian May’s guitar. The crowd fully embraced the moment, belting out a rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” which culminated in an epic balloon drop.
Jukebox The Ghost at Brooklyn Steel, 10/30/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
The show at Brooklyn Steel was the last on the tour for Jukebox The Ghost, who have no more dates scheduled at the moment. The band played their latest single “Cheers!” as well as one other new song, so be on the lookout for new music in the future.
Legendary punk rockers Bad Religion stopped by the Hammerstein Ballroom Friday October 29, 2021 as part of their 40th Anniversary tour. The tour was originally scheduled for last year but was postponed due to Covid-19. The supporting acts include co-headliners Alkaline Trio and openers War On Women.
War On Women is a feminist harcore-punk band from Baltimore. After being inspired by the riot grrl bands that started in the nineties, Shawna Potter and Brooks Harlan formed War On Women in 2010. Their debut album was a six-song EP titled Improvised Weapons released in 2012. Their newest album Wonderful Hell was released last year on Bridge Nine Records. The bands current lineup includes Shawna Potter (lead vocals), Brooks Harlan (guitar), Jennifer Vito (guitar), Suzanne Werner (bass) and Dave Cavalier (drums).
Alkaline Trio has been described as pop punk, punk rock, emo and harcore punk. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). They started their eighteen song set Friday night with “Private Eye” from their 2011 album FromHere to Infirmary. The crowd was amped as the trio got into some even older songs like “We’ve Had Enough” and “Nose Over Tail.” They also did a few songs from their newest album Is This Thing Cursed? released in 2018. The set ended with “Radio” from their second album Maybe I’ll Catch Fire released in 2000. The crowd was now well primed for the anticipated headliners.
Bad Religion came out and played a 22 song set that spanned their entire 40 year career from their first LP How Could Hell Be Any Worse? all the way to their latest album Age of Unreason. They started with “New Dark Ages” but quickly got into older classics like “Modern Man” and “Recipe For Hate”. As soon as they started playing I felt like it was twenty years ago and I was back at Roseland Ballroom. They sound exactly the same as did then and the mosh pit was just as rough as I remember it. You can definitely feel more energy during certain songs, especially the older ones like “I Want To Conquer The World,” and “Better Off Dead” which was the first time they played it live. I was very excited to finally see BR post covid and they did not disappoint. The band is the same, Greg Graffin (lead vocals), Jay Bentley (bass), Brian Baker (guitar), Mike Dimkich (guitar), and Jamie Miller (drums). This tour ends on November 27th in Hollywood, CA. You can see the rest of the dates here.
War On Women Setlist: YDTMHTL, Divisive Shit, White Lies, Lone Wolves, Big Words, Aqua Tofana, Predator In Chief, Silence Is the Gift, The Ash Is Not the End
Alkaline Trio Setlist: Private Eye, We’ve Had Enough, Blackbird, Is This Thing Cursed?, I Wanna Be Warhol, Nose Over Tail, Every Thug Needs A Lady, Cringe, Clavicle, Armageddon, Mercy Me, Emma, In Vein, Continental, Warbrain, Fine, This Could Be Love, Radio
Bad Religion Setlist: New Dark Ages, Modern Man, Recipe For Hate, Los Angeles Is Burning, Fuck You, Chaos From Within, Epiphany, I Want To Conquer The World, 21st Century (Digital Boy), Damned To Be Free, Man With A Mission, Murder, Better Off Dead, Candidate, Do What You Want, No Control, Generator, You, Infected, Sorrow, American Jesus Encore: We’re Only Gonna Die
José James has released “Christmas in New York” ahead of his first Christmas album, Merry Christmas from José James, due out on November 19. The original Christmas track follows the single release of “My Favorite Things” featuring acclaimed saxophonist Marcus Strickland.
James is a Minneapolis native who spent most of his career in New York, and was discovered by Gilles Peterson in London before his major label debut with Blue Note Records. He has produced and written 11 albums covering the best of jazz, pop, hip-hop and R&B. In 2017, José made his screen debut with a performing role in Fifty Shades Darker. He now lives in Amsterdam with Talia Billig, his partner and Grammy nominated songwriter.
Co-written by James’ Grammy-nominated partner Talia Billig, “Christmas in New York” features the all-star trio of Aaron Parks (piano), Ben Williams (bass) and Jharis Yokley (drums).
I wrote ‘Christmas in New York’ for people like myself who aren’t able to see their families another year. That kind of picture-perfect scene of people throwing snowballs and making a snowman in Central Park and Wollman Rink and that whole beautiful Manhattan Christmas… It was my dream as a kid, and then I got to live it. There’s a lot of love in that.
José James
Merry Christmas from José James, from Rainbow Blonde Records, celebrates the holiday season while honoring classic jazz and pop records of the 1950s. Combining the classic jazz-crooner elegance of Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole with the earthy sophistication of soul legends Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, the ten track album is an auditory holiday experience like no other.
A 13-date tour to support the album will launch at SF Jazz in San Francisco on November 27th and conclude at New York’s City Winery on December 14th.
Merry Christmas from José James Track Listing
Christmas in New York ****
This Christmas
The Christmas Song
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
The Christmas Waltz
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
Christmas Day ****
My Favorite Things (feat. Marcus Strickland)
White Christmas **** represents original recording
José James 2021 Tour Dates
November 27 – SF Jazz – San Francisco, CA November 28 – SF Jazz – San Francisco, CA November 30 – Jazz Alley – Seattle, WA December 1 – Jazz Alley – Seattle, WA December 2 – The Old Church – Portland, OR December 4 – Kuumbwa – Santa Cruz December 5 – Masonic Lodge – Los Angeles, CA December 7– MIM – Phoenix, AZ December 9 –The Lensic – Santa Fe, December 11 – Dakota – Minneapolis, MN December 12 – Dakota – Minneapolis, MN December 13 – City Winery – Chicago, IL December 14 – City Winery – New York, NY
“At The End Or The Beginning” was released by Marco Benevento October 27, 2021 just before playing a two night run at Levon Helm Studio in Woodstock. The track opens with a satisfying bass hook and at first listen felt anthemic, yet atmospheric; much like stepping into the sun after a week of rain.
Single cover for Marco Benevento’s “At The End Or The Beginning”
It was only natural to want to listen to the song again and again. Repeatability is where the magic happened somewhere between the end or the beginning. After a few listens, the depth of the song began to present itself. While it would have been easy to write about all of the pain and suffering human kind has endured together, Marco chose a path less travelled.
Link to In Depth Interview below
“At The End Or The Beginning” presented an optimistic mindset for how to approach the world we are in today without ever touching a level of toxicity. It could be asserted that listening to a song like this could have real benefits to the mindset for anyone struggling to see tomorrow. The catchy groove that does not bombard could easily be on for quite a few cycles without noticing.
Marco Benevento has continuously demonstrated what it means to be an artist, not just a musician. His music, though seemingly fun, and out there, has never consisted of one layer in meaning. Zen master? Could be…
Does a photograph mark the end or the begining?
For more on Marco Benevento’s creative process, studio tour and thoughts on the Hudson Valley, check out NYSMusic exclusive in-depth interview by clicking here!
Marco Benevento Upcoming Tour Dates
November 11 – Portsmouth, NH – The Press Room (Sold Out) November 12 – Portsmouth, NH – The Press Room (Sold Out) November 13 – Portsmouth, NH – The Press Room (Sold Out) November 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl December 11 – Miami, FL – North Beach Music Festival February 25 – Ardmore, PA – Ardmore Music Hall February 26 – Washington, DC – Union Stage April 7 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair April 8 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground April 9 – Fairfield, CT – Stage One
Yves Tumor and It’s Band performed in New York City this past week for two sold-out shows at Webster Hall. Fresh off the heels of a new EP, The Asymptotical World, the band brought along 4 openers for both shows, presenting musical styles ranging from industrial techno to future pop. Opening artists included the enigmatic future-pop star ECCO2K, industrial and deep house duos Deli Girls and Club Eat and experimental electronic artist, No Bra.
Yves Tumor at Webster Hall, 10/28/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Yves Tumor debuted in 2015 with the highly experimental and self-released album, When Man Fails You. The record is a kaleidoscopic journey through different passages of distorted, ambient electronics and bits of futuristic pop. The sophomore release, Serpent Music, saw Yves Tumor starting to mix in soul and Motown elements into the distorted haze of electronic elements. This style became a launching point for the band’s two major label releases on Warp Records: the breakthrough, Safe In The Hands of Love, in 2018 followed by, Heaven To A Tortured Mind in 2020.
Yves Tumor at Webster Hall, 10/28/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Apart from the varying musical styles, The setup for the performance was also one-of-a-kind. The drummer and keyboardist were on very high elevated platforms in the back corners of the stage, situated right in line with the house lights in the rafters, creating interesting shadowy silhouettes that stood out within the light. Yves Tumor, along with guitarist Chris Greatti graced the front of the stage, as their energy and engagement with the fans remain unmatched. Venue personnel also added several platforms within the security pit, allowing Tumor and Greatti to maneuver in and out of the crowd, since Tumor spent a portion of each song singing along with the crowd, rather than singing to them from the stage. At one point, Greatti even made his way to the VIP balcony and played a guitar solo while hanging over the railing.
Yves Tumor at Webster Hall, 10/28/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
The setlist for both nights were similar, but featured essential tracks “Kerosene!” and “Dream Palette” from Heaven To A Tortured Mind, “Noid” and “Licking an Orchid” from Safe In The Hands Of Love, and “Jackie” and “Crushed Velvet” from the recent EP The Asymptotical World.
Yves Tumor at Webster Hall, 10/28/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Yves Tumor will continue touring, with west coast dates scheduled throughout November and a European leg kicking off in February. This live show is not to be missed; with well written albums, intoxicating music and dedicated performers, as the band feeds off of the crowd’s energy.
Canadian singer-songwriter Frazey Ford brought her calming presence to a sold-out crowd at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on Oct. 28, 2021.
The folk-soul artist beautifully belted hits such as “One More Cup of Coffee” and “Blue Streak Mama” to the gleeful audience. While most of her setlist was relaxing and down-tempo, Ford made sure to intersperse some higher-tempo songs such as “Done” and “September Fields” to get the audience dancing.
In between songs, the mother of two shared stories, engaging with the crowd and making the performance even more intimate. Sharing her experiences from performing in L.A. the day prior and speaking on the cultural differences between Los Angeles and New York City. Most notably, she went on to divulge some information about her “hippie” parents, who named her Frazey Ford and allowed her brothers to choose her middle name. As she laughed off the memories, she continued, revealing that her brothers decided on the name Obadiah, who was their pet cat that had recently run away.
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 Belle-Skinner, grape juice! 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.
Belle-Skinner
Just in time for Halloween, singer-songwriter Belle-Skinner has released her love magic-themed EP, Love Spell. Each song is equal parts spooky and seductive, with siren-esque vocals and lyrics that charm and bewitch. Skinner created the concept after hearing similar songs written by her friends, and penned her own to accompany the covers. “Spellbound” follows Skinner as the target of a love spell, while the psychedelic “Love Witch” sees her as the perpetrator. Instruments like the organ and theremin set the mood perfectly, creating a haunting atmosphere.
grape juice!
Albany alternative rock band grape juice! released their newest single “sad songs” in July. Despite the title and some of its lyrics like “Disappointment is my forte,” it’s an upbeat power pop song in the vein of Weezer and Fountains of Wayne.
Hudson Valley lost one of its most tireless champions of music with the passing of Tony Falco, the face behind one of its most vital and varied performance venues, The Falcon. Falco passed away after a six-month battle with complications from Covid-19, he was 65 years old.
A loving husband, father and an engaged community leader with many passions and skills, Tony founded The Falcon in the early 2000s in Marlboro, N.Y.
The venue became a mecca for jazz, blues, world, folk, and Americana musicians, while becoming one of Hudson Valley’s most prominent and diverse music clubs and well as its most beautiful. Called “The Village Vanguard of the Hudson Valley,” Tony imagined the Falcon as a community-focused, multi-art and musician-centric institution. At its pre-pandemic peak, the Falcon featured music on two stages nightly, rotating art exhibits — the Avalon Archives Museum — two restaurants and a network of trails and decks overlooking Marlboro Falls.
Born on September 12, 1956, Ferdinand and Margaret Falco in Staten Island, NY, where he was raised along with his six siblings. His journey began in 1979, while attending SUNY New Paltz, he met the love of his life — his wife of 37 years — Julie Farrell. They were married in 1984 and had four children; Adrianne, Svetlana, Lee, and Julian. In 1983, Tony graduated from New Paltz with a degree in Environmental Science. Over his scientific career, he operated and designed several wastewater treatment facilities throughout the Hudson Valley and owned Environmental Labworks, a water testing laboratory located in the same building as The Falcon.
Rita Ryan, host of WVRK’s weekly radio show, Local Motion, featured Tony as a frequent guest.
Every time we did the show together I would tell him I thought he was the ‘richest man in town’ like Jimmy Stewart in It’s A Wonderful Live. For this particular interview he met me in the parking lot of the radio station and brought me pastries from a local bakery. Said he just couldn’t show up empty handed. He loved and was loved by everyone he touched. There will never be another like him.
Ed Palermo, who played the club frequently with his Zappa and prog rock tribute big band, said:
Tony Falco changed my life over ten years ago when he convinced me and my band to make the trek up north to his beautiful club, The Falcon. Tony never once asked me to “dial it down a tad” or keep my mouth shut about politics or anything that ruffled so many feathers the past few years. The club continues to be the best venue for my band to play and be weird. God bless you and your family, Tony. Rest in Peace, my eternal friend.
A versatile renaissance man, Falco worked as an artist, entrepreneur, scientist, engineer, architect, builder, pilot, teacher and environmental conservationist. He was known for his generosity and adventurous mindset, as he loved to travel the world. During the pandemic, he designed and built the Marlboro Nature Trail and had recently took up horseback riding, serving as the proud owner of two horses, Houdini and Cinch.
Tony is survived by his wife and kids; his mother; his six siblings (Gennaro, Julia Ruffo, Eddie, Tommy, Freddy, and Christopher); his lifelong best friend Cliff ‘Sonny’ Benson; his adopted children Suong Huynh and Javier Osorio; his children’s partners, Conor Shea, Alex Neckles, Jessica Brush, and Kaitlyn VanOrman; and his extended family of Falcon friends.
Public celebrations of his life will be held the weekend of November 6. More details will be determined and posted at www.liveatthefalcon.com. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Amnesty International.
Rolling into Las Vegas on a tour chock full of surprises and jaw-dropping jams, Phish took a stroll “Backwards Down the Number Line,” playing a series of numerical songs throughout the night.
Opening with “2001” (Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra”) for a spacy intro to the night, and the first such opening slot for “2001” since 1999, appropriately segued into Prince’s “1999.” Two songs in, both with numbers, might not give away the gag, but when “555” and “46 Days” followed, it became apparant to some what was unfolding on night one of Phish’s four night run.
An additional bustout of “Strawberry Letter 23” by Shuggie Otis followed, with “Twenty Years Later” wrapping up the set with an exclamation point. With setbreak upon the crowd, discussion revolved around “Seven Below” and “Character Zero” which ended up bookending the set – the songs in between were remarkable in their choice and execution.
Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9” featured Trey Anastasio strapping on a Koa2 guitar, and as one Twitter user pointed out, detuned his guitar, in pure Hendrix style. If a spacy psychedelic bustout wasn’t enough, David Bowie’s “Five Years” followed, performed for only the second time, the first being performed in the same room, five years prior (almost to the day).
A jammed out “Two Versions of Me” fell into “NO2,” with its trippy dentist chair narration from Mike Gordon. A handful of “1” songs followed, with “Army of One,” “My Sweet One” and “First Tube,” followed by the expected and regular set closer, “Character Zero.”
To cap the set off, “Backwards Down the Number Line” was properly played, with Phish walking to stage right to sing a capella to sing “Grind,” but instead of adding up their age in days, they added up the song numbers, leading to the sum 4680. A mysterious tweet from Phish followed, leading fans to speculate what it means, if anything, leading into Sunday’s Halloween show, where speculation is both a trick and a treat.
Setlist via Phish.net
Phish – MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV 10/28/21
Set 1: Also Sprach Zarathustra, 1999 > 555 > 46 Days, Strawberry Letter 23 > Twenty Years Later
Set 2: Seven Below > If 6 Was 9 > Five Years > Two Versions of Me->NO2, Army Of One, My Sweet One, First Tube > Character Zero
The room at Buffalo Iron Works filled in quickly and the energy was high for a mid-week stop for Dopapod on their 2021 Fall Tour. There was chatter and excitement from previous performances, with fans draped in the band’s merch and a general feeling that this tour felt special. The jams were unique, went harder, longer, with the Boston-bred jam-band utterly locked in. There’s been a sense of renewed energy in the jam scene after a long period of stagnation with many feeling like it’s a good time to be a jam fan.
After the intro music and the pink floyd-esque light show that have become standard to any Dopapod concert, the band walked on stage to a welcoming applause. Guitarist, Rob Compa, greeted the crowd, Keyboardist, Eli Winderman, commented on how beautiful the crowd looked, and bass player, Chuck Jones, sarcastically pointed out that “there were in fact people there.” After more amusing banter, the band kicked off the set with “Braindead.” Heads were banging, bodies were moving as fans sang along.
Aside from the pleasing aesthetics, the strobing lights are used to shift the mood as they went from dark to light, shifting to a more delicate records like “Mucho” and “Turnin’ Knobs,” as fans serenaded along. The emotion in the room could be summed up in a few images of everyone smiling. Some had their eyes closed, while others sang along with the band.
The concert ebbed and flowed, with each soaring high followed by another as the band followed with “Weird Charlie” into “Please Haalp”. The first set closed out with a sit in from Michelangelo Carubba, of Turkuaz. There was a smile on every band member’s face as Michelangelo provided a strong backbone to a rip-roaring “Freight Train.” As an older gentleman exclaimed “That was incredible! I really liked that a lot,” a seasoned younger veteran warned, “Just wait.”
A fat chunk of the second set was spent in one big jam over the other sandwiches of the show. The band flowed seamlessly from their dissonant, but catchy “Vol. 3 #86,” into “PLSS” and back and didn’t stop to let anyone pick their faces up off the floor.
It is worth noting that there were teases of “Kitty Chaser” by Aqueous, another legendary jam band that hails from Buffalo. Dopapod led the audience from the spark and zest of the moment into “Psycho Nature,” as the audience went from brooding to jazzy.
By this point, the audience had been going strong for a while, but the occasional exclamation of astonishment and amazement could be heard. The dynamic jam of “Psycho Nature” moved into an upbeat “8 Years Ended” which included “Wipeout” and “Johnny B. Good” teases. The sustained joy of this segment resulted in an uproar of cheers as the band returned to finished off “Psycho Nature”. After a short bit of banter, Dopapod cleanly finished the second set with the cerebral “Velcro” into fan favorite, “Nerds.”
Like any Dopapod show, the music featured varied sounds, rhythms and genres, as Eli spun beautiful tales from the piano or blasted the audience with sonic bliss from his synths and Rob twisted from a jazzy clean sound to a heavily distorted rock tone. Ever present at every Dopapod show is a respectful, fun-loving crowd that is even better to be around when the band plays with this kind of vigor.
Before signing off, the band came out for an encore and played their cover of Billy Eillish’s “Bad guy.” After ripping through the song, Eli commented on the audience and how great they had been. Hence, Buffalo was treated to ten more minutes of blistering beauty with “Bubble Brain.” The house lights came up and everyone was all smiles as they exited the venue.
Setlist – Dopapod – Buffalo Iron Works – Wednesday October 27, 2021
Set 1: Braindead, Mucho ->Turnin Knobs -> Mucho, Weird Charlie > Plaese Haalp, Freight Train*
