Live music is just now making its comeback, and on Saturday, February 26 at the Palace Theatre in Albany, everyone was absolutely ready to get back to normal. Since their visit last fall in Lake George, Twiddle hasn’t really been back to the area, and not only was it a momentous occasion for everyone who was dying to see their favorite band again, the boys from Vermont absolutely brought the heat and brought the house down alongside Midnight North.
Midnight North
Midnight North kicked things off with an incredible opening set. Their unique mix of rock, Americana, and roots music was the perfect kickoff for the evening. One thing is absolutely certain — it’s impossible to tell that the members of this band have spent most of the past two years in completely different states. It’s like they haven’t missed a beat.
Twiddle
Everyone was extra excited about the main event and their excitement was not misplaced. Not only was last night a stupendous family reunion for everyone in the crowd, but the band also has never sounded better. It seems the bands we are going to see have missed playing together as much as we have missed seeing them.
Mihali Savoulidis (lead singer/guitar), Ryan Dempsey (keys, vocals), Zdeneck Gubb (bass, vocals) and Adrian Tramontano (drums) did not let up from the first note to the last. We got some classics, some of their new songs, Gubb dumps, drum solos, and epic sit-ins with some extra special friends.
Twiddle setlist:
Set 1: Enter>Orlando’s, Syncopated Healing, White LIght, Apples, Angel From Montgomery [1]%, Stroganoff
Set 2: Latin Tang, Mildew Man > Shakedown Street [2]$, The Box, Lost in the Cold
Encore: The Devil
[1] John Prine [2] Grateful Dead % – w/Joe Cirotti & Elliott Peck $ – Grahame Lesh
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, Ciarra Fragale, Seize Atlantis, Sara Devoe 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.
Seize Atlantis – “Unstoppable Groove”
Formed in 2019, Seize Atlantis is an Alternative Rock Band located in Upstate NY that plays a variety of genres, including originals and covers. All members were high-school friends and lived in the same area growing up in Queensbury/Glens Falls. Eventually realizing they all shared the same passion for music, the band formed Seize Atlantis and the search for the sound they were looking for was complete.
Ciarra Fragale – “Loosing my cool”
Ciarra Fragale is an indie pop singer/songwriter, producer, and actor from the Hudson Valley. By blending the nostalgic traditions of songwriting with unique new-wave sensibilities, she creates a refreshing sound all her own. In addition to making her own music, Ciarra has also composed many works for theater and film.
Sara Devoe – “ God U R so cool”
Sara Devoe is an emerging singer/songwriter from Albany. Much of her music is inspired by artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Haley Heynderickx, Field Medic, and Grimes. Her first EP “Harsh” will be out this Summer.
The Capitol Theater in Port Chester has provided a stage and an audience for many a band throughout its heralded history, though perhaps none with a legacy quite like that of The Grateful Dead. When they weren’t busy selling out Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, The Cap became the other de facto home away from home for the Grateful Dead on the East Coast. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and today marks the anniversary of the band’s 19th and final show at this historic venue. It comes at a time when the Dead had to reinvent themselves a bit, with the abrupt self-imposed departure of drummer Mickey Hart that transpired after the opening night of this six-show residency. The shows that followed serve as the beginning of a new chapter in the band’s voluminous history, one that sees them still trying to carve out the identity of multiple brand new songs that would go on to become mainstays at a Grateful Dead show.
The Dead start this final show at The Cap with a “Casey Jones” that starts off in rather mellow fashion but fittingly picks up steam as it develops and is roaring down the tracks by song’s end, with Bob Weir growling out the accompanying vocals. He then jumps into the lead vocal position for the Country Western-themed cautionary classic “Me And My Uncle.” Jerry Garcia delivers a bevvy of slick electric guitar fills and Bill Kreutzmann, once again the sole drummer, doesn’t miss a beat while belting out the rhythm. After some now-customary extended post-song tuning, Kreutzmann initiates the opening drum pattern for “Cumberland Blues.” The harmonized vocals are a little delayed in joining in at first but Garcia makes up for this with another effortless run up and down the fretboard and the rest of the song goes off without a hitch.
Afterwards, Pigpen gets his first taste of the spotlight, leading the band through a quick take of “Next Time You See Me,” replete with its typical blues-infused harmonica solo that’s matched by one from Garcia on guitar. Garcia then reclaims the mic for the fledgling Dead tune “Bird Song,” a song played every night of this last run at The Cap except for the opening one. Between verses, Garcia finesses a patiently melodic solo with Kreutzmann nailing the signature syncopated drum beat for a song that would go on to become a live Dead staple.
The Dead then trot out a fairly new cover selection in their live repertoire, “Me And Bobby McGee,” a song popularized by the great Janis Joplin on her iconic Pearl album that was released just last month shortly after her death in October of 1970. Weir belts out the lead vocals with aplomb with Garcia adding a tender touch to the harmonies. “Bobby” is then followed by “Bertha,” one of the few songs to make an appearance at every night of this run as the Dead continue to hone another soon-to-be classic.
Pigpen, now warmed up sufficiently, adds his signature bluesy drawl to the mix with a spirited take of “Hard To Handle” that provides the first real opportunity for some brief opening set jamming, of which Garcia and company take full advantage. The music slowly reaches a psychedelic crescendo before Pigpen reels it back in. This is followed up by “Loser,” another new Dead song that made its live debut at this final run at The Cap. Garcia sounds emotionally invested in the lyrics for yet another another song that involves a high stakes cards game, along with “Uncle,” before laying down a brief solo that fits the mood perfectly.
The Dead gear up for the stretch run of the first set with several minutes of more extended tuning before launching into “Playing In The Band,” another song still very much in its nascent phase after being debuted on the first night of the run. Like that one, it still doesn’t yield anything in terms of exploration or an extended jam. This would be left to the first set closing sequence that begins with another Kreutzmann-fueled drum pattern before Pigpen jumps in on vocals for a cover of “Good Lovin’.” With the first verse complete, the lead then shifts back to Bill The Drummer for an extended one-man drum solo. It’s an impressive display of rhythmic wizardry that changes tones and speeds with ease, before Garcia slyly re-enters the mix, soon followed by the rest of the band. It’s a precursor for the even more psychedelic “Drums” > “Space” sequences that would be a signature of live Dead shows in the years to come. Literally built from the ground up, the jam slowly begins to take on a more solid state and morphs back into the ending of “Good Lovin’.” It caps off a first set that, overall, has a very mellow vibe to it, perhaps as a result of coming at the end of an epic six-show residency or just due to the comfort level that the Dead had established by now at The Cap, with the answer likely lying somewhere in between.
The second set immediately seems to shift gears, beginning with a funked out, wah-heavy “Sugar Magnolia that has plenty of groove to it. Although this lively mood doesn’t last long, instead it sets the stage for the return of Pigpen and his “harp” for an extremely mellow and drawn out cover of Slim Harpo’s “I’m A King Bee.”
The Dead then begin to liven things back up again, starting with “Greatest Story Ever Told,” yet another song that can cite this run at The Cap as its birthplace in the live setting. Instead of stopping there, they segue right into a cover of “Johnny B. Goode” afterwards. Another new addition to the band’s catalog follows in “Deal,” only the second one ever performed live and much slower than the format it would go on to develop. Bob Weir then livens things back up again with vocals that border on screaming for the better part of “New Minglewood Blues.”
The rest of the band then ably backs up Weir on the “Truckin’” that follows this which also elicits one of the better jams of the evening, with Phil Lesh helping navigate the complex rhythms beneath some powerful guitar licks supplied by Garcia.
Just as they had the opening night of the run, The Dead then throw in a late second set sequence of “Not Fade Away” > “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” > “Not Fade Away.” The “meat” of this particular sandwich is stretched out nicely and serves as a true testament to the band’s ability to shift between the serene and the psychedelic with utter ease. With one last bullet in the chamber, the band then places Pigpen center stage once more for an absolutely classic take of “Turn On Your Love Light” that ebbs and flows with a classic Pig “rap” thrown in the middle for good measure.
It’s a more than fitting end to this legendary six-show run at The Cap. The Dead would go on to play throughout New York State for the rest of their career, performing at other theaters and eventually arenas, but never again would they grace the stage in Port Chester.
The entire show is available to listen to below and also at Live Music Archive
Grateful Dead Capitol Theater – Port Chester, NY 2/24/71
Set 1: Casey Jones, Me And My Uncle, Cumberland Blues, Next Time You See Me, Bird Song, Me And Bobby McGee, Bertha, Hard To Handle, Loser. Playing In The Band, Good Lovin’ > Drums > Good Lovin’
Set 2: Sugar Magnolia, I’m A King Bee, Greatest Story Ever Told > Johnny B. Goode, Deal, New Minglewood Blues, Truckin’, Not Fade Away > Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad > Not Fade Away > Turn On Your Love Light
View this and more Grateful Dead shows from across the years in New York State with our interactive map below!
EDM Trio Cheat Codes returned to Syracuse for the first time since their show at the New York State Fair back in 2017 for the Chevy Court lineup. The Westcott Theater was a perfect venue and created an atmosphere for people to rave and move around in. With the in house bar, the venue and show all together was great place to be in Syracuse on Sunday, February 6.
Juicebox, specializing in mashups and dubstep, played a remix of songs such as “Sweater Weather” by The Neighborhood, “Magic (feat. Tim Morrison) (Bingo Players Extended Edit)” by Mystique and was the first opener at The Westcott, part of the ‘Hellraisers’ tour. Followed by MADDS, a DJ and producer also opened for the trio with a mix of songs including remixes of “The Hum” by Briz DJ, and “Roses – Imanbek Remix” by SAINT JHN.
Cheat Codes opened with their song with Daniel Blume – “Who’s Got Your Love” // Cheat Codes – ‘Balenciaga’ remix. Followed by one of their top hits “Sex” with a remix including “Way 2 Sexy” by Drake and “Lose Control” by Kremerk. The group is comprised of Trevor Dahl, Matthew Russell, Kevi Ford who performed their 18th show on the ‘Hellraisers Tour’ in Syracuse. The group was founded back in Los Angeles in 2014 where their journey began. Since then they have toured across the world and performed at festivals and shows following a genre of EDM/POP.
Towards the end of the show, the trio pulled out one of their top hits, “No Promises” with Demi Lovato. This song later became one of their first U.S. Top 40 as well as a certified platinum in the U.S, Australia and all across Europe. Trevor Dahl who is the groups lead singer engaged with the crowd not only within this song but the entire show. Leaning into fans, throwing water into the crowd, even taking a few selfies with the crowd in the front. Not only was the crowd entertained with this show but CheatCodes puts on a good show and they sure as hell look like they’re having fun while they do it.
Cheat Codes Set: SEG 1 – INTRO, 1_5_22 Balenciaga : Who’s Got Your Love, SEX SEGMENT, 1_5_22 NO CHILL : THAT FEELING : ON MY LIFE, SEG 5 – LEAN ON ME, SEG 6 – SHED A LIGHT, SEG 7 – BLINDING LIGHTS, SEG 8 – DRE, 1_6_22 CAN’T STOP : HOLD ON : PRETTY GIRL (5.00), 1_6_22 PGirl: Hurricane : Fake Pearls : No Service : Horror Movie (12.06), SEG 11 – HATE YOU LOVE YOU, SEG 12 – 1_4_22 Turn Me On (2.03), SEG 13 – 1_4_22 Visions (3.34), SEG 14 – 1_4_22 ONLY YOU (3.00), SEG 15 – DO IT ALL OVER, 1_5_22 LUCKY : CAN’T FIGHT IT, 1_5_22 feeling of falling : no promises (tighter click), 1_6_22 FEELS GREAT (LIVE)
The third try was a charm over president’s day weekend, as Buffalo based grove rockers Aqueous made good on their promise to blow the roof off the newly minted Brooklyn Mademusic venue upon their return to the big city. Once a band that appeared to be on a perpetual never-ending tour, dates for these one-time road warriors have been few and far between ever since the emergence of Covid-19 almost two years ago. For long time fans of the band, AKA AQuaintances, these days it feels like any scheduled Aqueous show is something of a “must see.”
Originally set to take place back on November 6th, 2021, then later rescheduled to December 29th, both shows were postponed due to lingering health concerns. Now late February 2022 and with concerts slowly starting to happen again, the timing was ripe for a rager and fortunately for patient music fans, that’s exactly what Aqueous delivered. Complete with surprise sit-in’s, candid moments and teases galore, on this cold Saturday night in Brooklyn, the boys from Buffalo carved out stellar, fiery performance that was well worth the wait.
Opening the show was Philadelphia five piece Chestnut’s Groove. Known for their down ‘n dirty, shake, rattle and rock ‘n roll vibe, this band of best friends were quite impressive in their Brooklyn Made debut. Fighting through excessive stage fog like something out of This Is Spinal Tap and lead by the charismatic “bad girl” energy of singer Dee Gerhart and the powerhouse vocals of drummer James Daniels, it wasn’t long before the band won fans over and had everyone in the place stomping their feet and clapping along too. So much fun in fact, even Aqueous guitar player Mike Gantzer couldn’t resist getting in on it, sitting in with the band on their final song of the high octane set.
After a brief set break all the waiting was over, the stage was set and on this bitterly cold winter night in Brooklyn, it was finally going down. Aqueous, consisting of Mike Gantzer (guitar/vocals), Dave Loss (guitar/keys/vocals),d rummer Rob Houk and bassist Evan McPhaden made their intentions clear from the get go, launching into one of their signature originals “Don’t Do It.” Complete with an extended ‘build up’ intro and a healthy dive into Phish’s “First Tube” territory, the party was already off to a rollicking start. Following it up in the two-hole with one of their more electronic/ hip-hop sounding songs was “Split the Difference” which seamlessly segued into “Skyway”, resulting in one of the bands biggest jams of the night.
“I don’t see any reason to get worked up, already got enough on my plate
in this mess we call life, takin’ it day by day
I don’t see any reason to get worked up when you got nothin’ to say
you never have nothin’ to say”
-Skyway
Following up “Skyway” was another highlight of the evening, a most welcome surprise sit in by the newly formed Horn Section, featuring former Turkuaz members Greg Sanderson on saxophone and Chris Brouwers on trumpet, lending their talents on a cover of the Steely Dan classic “Peg.”
The Horn Section
Turning up the funk now, Aqueous would uncork a monster version of Mosquito Valley, Pt. 1 that stretched so far it reached AC/DC’s “Back in Black” territory, much to the delight of everyone in the room. By this point fans had to be thinking to themselves “is this the longest first set in AQ history or what?” before the band would confirm they want to keep the energy going and therefore play right though set break, then launching into another signature AQ song, The Median. Notable about this particular version was the distinctly heavier vibe it took on, presumably a direct byproduct of Ganzter’s recent time on the road with his new throwback Punk/Metal outfit known as the Death Kings, which also features former Turkuaz drummer Mikey “Ox” Carubba and Umphrey’s McGee bass player Ryan “Little King” Stasik.
Following up “The Median” came another fan favorite in “Second Sight,” a song about human interaction, shedding cynicism and bridging petty gaps.
“Not worth its weight in gold I feel a great divide We’re more alike than different And still we’re picking sides”
The Median
Following a brief pause between songs, some playful stage banter resulted in an impromptu crowd singalong of Greenday’s nostalgic anthem “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), which was then quickly was rip-corded in favor of one the oldest songs in the Aqueous catalog, Eon Don. About half way into the tune, Aqueous invited their friends in the Horn Section back out once again, this time resulting in a jaw dropping display of musicalty, as Ganzter conducted extended “call and response” type duels with both Sanderson and Brouwers before the song finally reached it’s climactic peak and left the audience howling in approval as the band finally put down their instruments for the first time all night and walked off the stage.
After a few minutes of straight up begging, Aqueous finally obliged and came back out for a single song encore, treating fans to a new tune called “Finding Our Way” which has only been played three other times since debuting at the Peach Festival last summer. With enough space to let each member shine individually and a chorus that sees all of the band singing along in unison, the groove heavy catchy tune, while still new, has all the moxy to become an AQ staple of the future. On a night that featured an absolute bevy of fan favorites, closing the night out like this just seemed to make sense. A most impressive showing for their debut at Brooklyn Made. Despite having to be rescheduled twice and almost never happening, anyone who was there will undoubtedly tell you that “this show was worth the wait.”
Up next for the Aqueous is another highly anticipated makeup date, returning to Buffalo’s Town Ballroom for their belated hometown New Year’s Eve celebration this Friday, February 25th. Fans will want to make sure they get there early to catch the exciting opening act as Connecticut’s Eggy gets the festivities going at 7pm. Aqueous then return to New York on April 8th and 9th for a pair of shows in Saratoga Springs and Syracuse with support from Long Island’s Baked Shrimp.
Aqueous – February 18, 2022, Brooklyn Made, Brooklyn NY
Setlist: Don’t Do It, Split the Difference > Skyway, Peg*, Mosquito Valley Pt 1 > Back in Black > The Median, Second Sight, Eon Don*
The biggest stars of underground hip-hop today, Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson, Boldy James, and The Alchemist brought their “NBA Leather” tour to New York City’s Terminal 5 venue on Thursday, February 17th, for their second of back-to-back shows. With a rapidly eager crowd hungry for concerts to continue post-Omicron surge, this quartet certainly did not disappoint.
The Alchemist at Terminal 5, 02/17/22. Photo by Kunal Khunger
They all performed a variety of tracks, ranging from recently released albums like Earl Sweatshirt’s “Sick!” (released this year) to Action Bronson’s classic “Blue Chips 7000” (released 2017). Some guests were brought out as well, most notably Benny the Butcher of Griselda fame. The New York hip-hop scene was well represented.
Boldy James at Terminal 5, 02/17/22. Photo by Kunal Khunger
All the artists engaged the crowd in their own unique ways, from Action Bronson asking his DJ to play old instrumentals to see if he remembered the words to some of his more niche songs, to Alchemist playing his well-known role as a great hype man. Earl Sweatshirt, as he is known to be, was a very low-key stage presence, solely focused on his raps. The variety of sounds and styles was on full display Thursday night, giving an enthusiastic crowd a little bit of everything.
Action Bronson at Terminal 5, 02/17/22. Photo by Kunal Khunger
The “NBA Leather” tour with Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson and The Alchemist has a few more stops left, mainly on the East Coast of the US. You can see more tour dates here. Be sure to check out the photo gallery below!
It had been four years since the last run of Ween shows at The Capitol Theatre, and the Rock Palace was indeed in need of a fresh coat of brown. Over a run spanning February 18-20, the genre-fluid band played over 100 songs, among them just a pair of covers, and treated fans to deep dives into their catalog as well as the usual fan favorites including “Frank” and “Touch My Tooter.”
At Stage Left all three nights was an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, adding the benefit of visual translation of Ween’s (at times, deeply troubling and/or profane) lyrics to the entire audience, but especially those deaf fans in the audience for whom ASL provides the full concert experience. (See videos below.)
Friday, February 18
Before they could jump into “Pork Roll Egg and Cheese” to start the night, Dean Ween could not hold back his excitement, letting out a ‘Fuck Yeah!’ to the crowd. A fair amount of fan favorites set the tone for the weekend, including “Transdermal Celebration,” ‘Boys Club,” “Voodoo Lady,” and “She Fucks Me,” which had Deaner giddily repeating the refrain while watching the ASL interpreter sign the phrase over and over, much to everyone’s delight.
Of course their song titles are nothing you’d want to bring up casually in conversation; they are designed to be hilarious if not daring for the crowd to shout and request, and can make a conversation go from G-rated to NC-17 before you can say “Poopship Destroyer.”
During a string of songs with Gene Ween on acoustic guitar, he played a portion of Cat Stevens “Father and Son,” possibly the most out of place tune the whole weekend. An older instrumental, “Ice Castles,” appeared about halfway through the evening, just before Gene took a break and the band jumped into “Put the Coke on My Dick.” “Your Party” would close the set appropriately, with “Shamemaker,” off 2007’s La Cucaracha sandwiched between “I’m Dancing In The Show Tonight” and “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down).”
Setlist: Pork Roll Egg and Cheese, She Wanted to Leave, Exactly Where I’m At, I Was Nothing, I Don’t Want to Leave You on the Farm, Touch My Tooter, I Gots a Weasel, Transdermal Celebration, Boys Club, Transitions, Mononucleosis, Frank, Voodoo Lady, I’ll Miss You, She Fucks Me, Cornbread Red, Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain, Father and Son*, Chocolate Town, The Mollusk, I Don’t Want It, Ice Castles, Final Alarm, I Get a Little Taste of You, The Golden Eel, Put the Coke on my Dick, Flutes of Chi, Buckingham Green, Light Me Up, Koko, Old Queen Cole, The Stallion, Part 5, Your Party
Encore: I’m Dancing in the Show Tonight, Shamemaker, Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)
*Cat Stevens, unfinished
Saturday, February 19
Night two of the run was just as good as Friday, with a few more rarities worked into the show. “Birthday Boy” and “Piss Up a Rope” kicked off the night with “My Own Bare Hands” following right behind, setting the tone early. “Waving My Dick in the Wind,” “Japanese Cowboy” and a pair of “Stallions” – Parts 1 and 3 – would be among early highlights of the show, before lesser played songs “Boing,” “Ooh Va La,” and “Can U Taste the Waste?”
After an intense “I’l Be Your Johnny On the Spot,” Gene found his mandolin for “Ocean Man” before a “Vallejo” set closer. A four-song encore began with “Baby Bitch” and “Tender Situation” before bassist Dave Dreiwitz switched instruments with Dean for “Dont Laugh (I Love You)” and the12 Golden Country Greats lead track “I’m Holding You.”
Setlist: Birthday Boy, Piss Up a Rope, My Own Bare Hands, Polka Dot Tail, Now I’m Freaking Out, Wavin’ My Dick in the Wind, Sweet Texas Fire, Dr. Rock, Japanese Cowboy, Happy Colored Marbles, Beacon Light, I Got to Put the Hammer Down, Zoloft, The Stallion, Part 1, Gabrielle, Boing, The Enabler*, Little Birdy, The Stallion, Part 3, Albino Sunburned Girl, Nan, Fat Lenny, Reggaejunkiejew, Ohh Vah La, Papa Zit, Can U Taste the Waste?, Pandy Fackler, Take Me Away, Object, I’ll Be Your Jonny on the Spot, Ocean Man, Vallejo
Encore: Baby Bitch, Tender Situation, Don’t Laugh (I Love You), I’m Holding You
* Instant Death cover
Sunday, February 20
With a tank still full of gas, Ween swung for the fences early on Sunday with a “Fiesta” opener and two of their best known songs (to non-Ween fans), “Bananas and Blow” and “Roses Are Free.” The rare “Suckin the Blood From the Devil’s Dick” made its first appearance since 1995 prior to “Big Jilm” and “The Argus.”
Among the rest of the highlights tonight were “Stroker Ace,” “Demon Sweat,” “The Blarney Stone” and the ever-romantic “Stay Forever.” An encore of “You Fucked Up” and “Poopship Destroyer” put a brown closing note on the weekend, raising the bar for future Ween runs in Port Chester.
Setlist: Fiesta, Captain Fantasy, The Grobe, I Can’t Put My Finger on It, Bananas and Blow, Roses Are Free, Sorry Charlie, Push th’ Little Daisies, Learnin’ to Love, How High Can You Fly, Suckin the Blood From the Devil’s Dick, Big Jilm, The Argus, Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy), Sketches of Winkle, Even If You Don’t, Springtheme, Did You See Me?, I Play It Off Legit, The Goin’ Gets Tough From the Getgo, Stroker Ace, Puerto Rican Power, Seconds, Don’t Sweat It, Demon Sweat, Tried and True, What Deaner Was Talkin’ About, Stay Forever, Ode to Rene, Homo Rainbow, The Blarney Stone, If You Could Save Yourself (You’d Save Us All) Encore: You Fucked Up, Poopship Destroyer
Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson, and Boldly James headlined at Terminal 5 on Wednesday, February 16. This was the ninth stop on their tour together, but a special one, being their first in New York City and bringing a number of local acts to the stage.
The show opened with the Alchemist, who then brought Boldly James out to perform an entire set.
Next, Earl Sweatshirt came out to preform songs from his new album SICK! as well as a number of classics. Sweatshirt individually brought out the likes of Navy Blue, Wiki, MIKE, and Zelooperz.
Action Bronson graced the stage with his iconic machismo. His stage presence is unrivaled, as is his posing as a greek statue in interludes.
On Friday, February 18th, Lespecial played their first headlining gig of the year at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs, and the whole thing kicked off with an extra special and rare treat — a set with special guests Timbre Coup.
Timbre Coup
It’s truly a mystery why we don’t get to see more of the boys from Timbre Coup. Those four dudes absolutely blew the roof off the place from the first note they played. Hailing from Albany, NY, Timbre Coup has an album out right now called Sudden Urge and I definitely recommend that you pick up a copy as soon as possible.
Setlist: Don’t Fly a Key, Urge, October, Loaftones, Z-Sharp, Arnold, Cowboys From Hell (Panterra)
Lespecial
On the way outside after last night’s performance, someone called Lespecial “a hippy band with mosh pits.” This group’s self-described “heavy future groove” sound is absolutely genre-less and almost defies explanation. There are only three guys up on the stage but it sounds like far more than that. And the music they create is engaging, fun, and utterly unique.
If you missed last night’s show, don’t fret. These boys are currently touring until early summer on their Homieverse Tour. You will certainly get a chance to check out this incredible band soon. And we highly recommend that you do so as soon as humanly possible.
Setlist: Snell’s Fleet, The Vessel > Homie, Gallows Hill, Repeater, Homieverse, DGH I, New Fish, Onlookers, Rays, FWD, Repriser, Fear the Djinn, My Name is Mud (Primus) > Jerry (Primus), > My Name is Mud, E. Tonberry, Lungs
Andy Frasco & The U.N. has a lot of news to share. First and foremost, the band has announced that they will be releasing a new LP, set to release April 8. To celebrate the announcement, the band released the titular track of the album accompanied by a music video. Frasco speaks on the single:
[Wash, Rinse, Repeat] is about the PTSD of being in your house for too long. We forgot who we were before this pandemic. Now that we are slowly coming out of this, it’s time to follow our dreams again. Get outside, explore, maybe fall in love with someone or ourselves again. The Renaissance is around the corner.
Andy Frasco
Andy Frasco
The track itself brims with positivity, love, and excitement. Andy Frasco delivers intoxicating vocals which perfectly tip-toe the line between raspiness and mellifluousness. Moreover, Ernie Chang electrifies the song with a perfect brass touch, giving the single its infectious feel. Alongside a catchy hook and great instrumentation, the song has the potential to be a hit for the band.
Andy Frasco and the U.N.
Alongside the album announcement and the release of Wash, Rinse, Repeat, Andy Frasco and the U.N. also announced a tour throughout the United States. On their run, the band is set to hit the Town Ballroom in Buffalo and Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs. Twiddle will join the band in Buffalo.
ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N. LIVE
+ with Twiddle
2/11 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
2/19 – Sweetwater Brewing Company – Atlanta, GA
2/26 – Gasparilla Music Festival – Tampa, FL
4/5 – State Theatre – State College, PA +
4/6 – House of Blues – Cleveland, OH +
4/7 – Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY +
4/8 – The Bluestone – Columbus, OH +
4/9 – The Majestic – Detroit, MI +
4/10 – Bell’s Back Room – Kalamazoo, MI
4/13 – Roxian Theatre – McKees Rocks, PA +
4/14 – Soundstage – Baltimore, MD +
4/15 – Putnam Place – Saratoga Springs, NY
4/16 – Infinity Music Hall – Hartford, CT
4/17 – The National – Richmond, VA +
4/20 – Beer City – Oklahoma City, OK
4/22 – TACAW – Basalt, CO
4/24 – Hill Fest 2022 – Eden, UT
5/5 – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA
5/26 – 5/29 – Rooster Walk – Martinsville, VA
5/27 – 5/30 – Arise Music Festival – Loveland, CO
5/27 – 5/29 – Summer Camp Music Festival – Chillicothe, IL
6/16 – 6/19 – Bonnaroo – Manchester, TN
6/18 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre (supporting Umphrey’s McGee) – Morrison, CO
7/7 – 7/9 – 4848 Festival – Snowshoe, WV
For tickets and more information on Andy Frasco and the U.N., www.andyfrasco.com
