It’s been almost seven long years since Rush played what would become their final NY Metro area shows at Prudential Center in NJ and Madison Square Garden in NYC as part of their 40th anniversary tour. The talent of the trio – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and the late Neil Peart – has left remarkable influences on many musicians touring today. Primus has been on the road performing their own songs as well as an entire set dedicated to performing Rush’s A Farewell to Kings in its entirety; the tour appropriately billed as “A Tribute To Kings.” A few of those recent stops were in Albany and this past weekend, The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Check out our coverage of Primus’ Albany show here.
NYC-based duo Battles, who formed back in 2002, put on an intriguing opening set as an excellent compliment to the rest of the evening. In some ways, the duo seemed like a live performance of a DJ, minus the turntables. Using samples, they crafted remixes and improvised jams on guitar, synths, and drums, and certainly held the attention of The Cap.
Primus took to the stage to the immediate delight of the full house crowd (which seemed to be nearly sold out at a quick glance of the room). Les CLaypool’s driving bass sound led a signature role through the first set as the band navigated through their repertoire, including the recently crafted ode to Volodomyr Zelensky, “The Man With The Iron Balls.” Proceeds from sales of that song, when released April 2022 went to benefit non-profit organization Nova Ukraine.
Donning bit of the spacey glam garb as a nod to 1978, Primus returned for the second set to perform Rush’s A Farewell to Kings in its entirety. The anticipation for this moment of the show was visible even before entering The Cap; the sheer number of Rush album and tour t-shirts in the crowd might make one wonder if they were actually at a Rush fan convention. But in fairness, for the loyal Rush fans it certainly felt that way.
Claypool noted his experience attending a Rush concert in his younger years, looking up to Geddy Lee as a tremendous influence and dreaming about someday playing bass on stage. Almost note for note, Primus recreated the album with remarkable precision to dynamics, tone and style, although Claypool joked about how difficult it was to mimic Geddy Lee’s high octave range (which he pulled off the few instances where he reached for that range).
Rounding out the night, Primus returned for an extended encore to dive back into their own songs.
Primus – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester – May 20, 2022
Set 1: Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers, Lacquer Head, Groundhog’s Day, Polka Dot Rose, American Life, HOINFODAMAN, Conspiranoia, Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats, Hamburger Train, Harold of the Rocks, The Man With the Iron Balls
Set 2: (A Farewell to Kings): A Farewell to Kings, Xanadu, Closer to the Heart, Cinderella Man, Madrigal, Cygnus X-1
Encore: On the Tweek Again, Over the Electric Grapevine, Jerry Was a Race Car Driver, Tommy the Cat, Follow the Fool
Ithaca Night Bazaar kicked off their summer festival series on Thursday evening, May 19, with hometown favorite, Jimkata. The captivating trio returned to the stage in Ithaca for the first time in six years. Jimkata fans were engaged and elevated as the 90 minute set of mesmerizing synths included fifteen years of hits plus “Wanna Go” and “Wait for You” from Bonfires, the bands most recent album.
Jimkata performs at the Ithaca Night Bazaar. Photo by Allison Marie.
Harmonizing their talents since grade school, Evan Friedell, Aaron Gorsch and Packy Lunn have developed a paradise for their fans to get lost in with a visual and lyrical approach like no other band out there. Their distinctive sound and catchy hooks will be sure to take you on a moving wild ride.
Setlist: Die Digital, Wild Ride, Wait For You, Wanna Go, Writing On The Wall, Feel In Light, Jumping Out of Airplanes, Blessings in Disguise, Bonfires, Innocence, Ride the Wave, Weight of Paradise, Release. Encore: Won’t Let You Down, Nightshade.
Packy Lunn of Jimkata. Photo by Allison Marie.
Jimkata Tour Dates
May 27 – Pueblo, CO – ARISE Festival 2022 May 29 – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp Music Festival June 16 – Asbury Park, NJ – Wonder Bar June 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory June 18 – Beach Haven, NJ – HopSauce Fest 2022 Aug 19 – Sherman, NY – Beyond The Blue 2022
There’s a very good argument to be made that Felix Cavaliere may be one of the most underrated songwriters, singers and instrumentalists to emerge during the Sixties. The latest evidence for this comes in his long overdue autobiography, Felix Cavaliere: Memoir of A Rascal.
As founder, principal songwriter and lead singer of The Rascals, Felix was the force behind nine of the greatest Top 20 hits of the mid-1960s. The roster includes the #1s “Good Lovin’,”“Groovin’” and “People Gotta Be Free” and the still-ubiquitous “A Beautiful Morning,” a #3 hit in 1968 that remains one of the most licensed tracks in movies, television and breakfast cereal adverts! As the first white act signed to the R&B-centric Atlantic Records, Felix was in the thick of the drive for civil rights. His band refused to play concerts that didn’t feature a black act on the bill and crafted the aforementioned “People Gotta Be Free” and “Ray of Hope,” two anthems of the civil rights and anti-war movements. Like his friend Beatle George, Felix’s work and life were forever changed by his encounter and lifelong commitment to a guru, Swami Satchidananda. And while Cavaliere’s forceful, Ray Charles-influenced vocals are often namechecked in “Best Of” lists, his massive chops as an instrumentalist on the Hammond Organ and as an arranger/producer are largely overlooked.
Cavaliere’s story begins in Pelham, New York. He was the son of two Italian-American professionals, a dentist dad and pharmacist mom, who wanted him to become a doctor. While his family was solidly middle class, there was still prejudice towards them in their suburban hometown, something that would forever inform his advocacy for equal rights. His love of music began early, with eight years of thrice-weekly lessons absorbing Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. With the death of his mother when he was 13, Cavaliere changed course and channeled his grief and full energies into music. He combined his love of the classics with his new-found passion for Boogie Woogie, Fats Domino and, especially, Ray Charles, who would prove his most profound vocal and instrumental influence.
In high school, Felix would join his first band, an integrated vocal group called The Swingin’ Six. He would also commence his habit of scrounging in record shops to find obscure tunes for his band to cover. This is something that would lead to his first smash hit with The Young Rascals, The Olympics’ tune “Good Lovin’.” His musical aspirations really solidified while at Syracuse University when he founded the band Felix and The Escorts. His combo would compete for gigs at frat parties with another led by a “beatnik” classmate, Lou Reed. While playing a summer gig at a resort in the Catskills, Cavaliere would meet Joey Dee, leader of the Starliters of “Peppermint Twist” fame. Dee would soon ask him to join his band on a tour of Germany where the opening act was the pre-fame Fab Four.
Shortly after his return and a continued stint with the Starliters, 20-year-old Cavaliere ventured to create his own band. His began by enlisting “rockabilly crazy” Canadian guitarist Gene Cornish, whom he had played with in the Starliters. He then found his “cocky” co-songwriter and co-lead vocalist Eddie Brigati at the Choo Club in Garfield. The band was completed with the stick-twirling Dino Danelli, who Cavaliere found playing at the Metropole Jazz Club in Times Square.
The band’s big break came when they were discovered while playing a summer residency at The Barge in the Hamptons by Sid Bernstein, the man who brought The Beatles to Shea Stadium. Unlike many managers of the era, Bernstein and his partner Walter Hyman proved to be both fair and savvy. They set the young musicians up with their own publishing company, pension plans and also a contract with Atlantic Records, one that gave them free unlimited studio time and full creative control, right down to album cover art. It also gave them access to superlative session musicians like bassists Chuck Rainey and Ron Carter and saxman King Curtis, engineering by the renowned Tom Dowd on the world’s first 8-track recorder and the arranging talents of the peerless Arif Mardin, the man behind a boatload of classics from Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to The Bee Gees and Nora Jones.
As for their band name, Felix believes it was suggested by TV kiddie show host Soupy Sales when they went to see him to pitch themselves as his backing band. Drummer Danelli asserts he came up with it after watching The Little Rascals on TV. Either way, they at first got tagged The Young Rascals by Atlantic to avoid confusion with another very different act, The Harmonica Rascals.
Felix and his band’s ascent was supersonic –“six months from rehearsing in my parent’s basement to the top of the charts with ‘Good Lovin’” according to Cavaliere. Luckily for us, he devotes a good deal of the book to the writing and recording of his classic hits, many composed with Brigati.
Felix would generally come up with the titles, choruses and music and leave the verses to Brigati. Atlantic only began to have confidence in their writing with the Cavaliere-penned “(I’ve Been) Lonely Too Long,” a Top 20 from their second album, 1967’s Collections. With his recollection of “A Beautiful Morning,” Felix discusses how it was inspired by and written in Hawaii, a locale that had a special reverence for his band. According to Felix, the #1s “Groovin’” and “People Gotta Be Free” almost weren’t released. The first because of its overtly laid back Latin feel and lack of drums. This track, which spent five weeks at the top of the Top 40, was only released after the powerful DJ, Murray the K, made an appeal to label A&R chieftain Jerry Wexler. At first “People Gotta Be Free” was thought to be too controversial for release during the turbulent summer of 1968, but it was eventually issued and raced to the top of the charts.
Cavaliere notes The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper as influence on albums like their psychedelic Once Upon A Dream and the double-disc Freedom Suite. But at the height of their popularity, there was a mutiny in the ranks when an exhausted Cavaliere headed to Mexico for a couple of months of R&R. In his words, he went there to chill and protest the war and paying taxes to fund it. The rest of the band went into the studio to record an album without him; something that proved a dismal failure.
In his memoir, Cavaliere shares many interesting anecdotes about life on the road and The Rascals’ many TV performances, especially the grueling six-day rehearsals for each of their performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Due to Brigati and Cornish’s fear of flying, the band largely drove from gig to gig, with Felix behind the wheel. He talks about weird gigs playing a bullfighting ring in Puerto Rico, co-headlining the Fillmore West with a “very unpleasant” Van Morrison, taking the stage at Shea Stadium in 1971 and his many tours to Hawaii, where he would bring along his whole family and guru. He talks of his admiration for other Italian-American stars before him, Dion and Frankie Valli, and his contemporary NYC-born hitmaker, John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful. He also recalls Jimi Hendrix, whom he knew from his own time with Joey Dee and the Starliters and his efforts to try and get the guitarist away from drugs.
A pivotal point in his life and art came with his meeting Swami Satchidananda through Steve Paul, owner of the famous Scene Club. Before becoming a guru, Satchidananda was a businessman who ran a company that made cars that ran on wood! After the death of his wife, Swami took to the path, something which Cavaliere did eagerly himself by becoming a vegetarian and practicing Hatha Yoga and meditation daily. His guru would give Felix the name “Paalitha,” for protector, and tell him that “Music and bringing joy from it was his karma.” Felix’s Swami would go on to open the Woodstock Festival, found a large teaching ashram called Yogaville and number among his devotees Carole King, Jeff Goldblum, model Lauren Hutton and other boldfaced names.
Cavaliere spends a good deal of time speaking about discrimination and his lifelong efforts to counter it. He recalls how his parents were not allowed to join the country club in Pelham due to their Italian heritage and how one of his high school classmates, Michael Schwerner, was among the three volunteers killed while registering black voters in Mississippi in 1964. He estimates he and his bandmates lost millions by having in their concert contracts the necessity of having black acts on the bill.
Cavaliere goes on to discuss the breakup of the band and their move from Atlantic to Columbia Records, where they made two ambitious albums in an increasing jazzy/gospel vein, Peaceful World and The Island of Real, collections whose stature has only grown with the passage of time. According to Cavaliere, Atlantic wanted to resign but only Felix as a solo artist. But he wanted to keep the band together, hence the move to Columbia. He also bemoans the premature decision by the band to sell its publishing.
Felix describes his post-Rascal years with pride, from his first stint as producer for Laura Nyro to his underrated solo albums and his duo disc with Stax guitar/songwriting legend Steve Cropper. He also waxes poetic about his love of Nashville, his home for several decades and its vibrant music scene, and also the fun of touring with Ringo Starr’s All-Star band. And, like any good Italian boy, he talks with deep love about the sacrifices and support of his parents and his love for partners and daughters.
If it wasn’t for The Rascals, Steve Van Zandt may never have gotten his role as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. His humorous induction speech for the band at the 1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony is what caught the imagination of series creator David Chase. Cavaliere laments that The Rascals: Once Upon A Dream, the multimedia show/concert event Van Zandt created for the band, had such a limited Broadway run and in a subsequent tour. He also expresses regret that the band itself cannot quite get it together for a proper reunion/farewell tour.
Cavaliere is presently on a nationwide tour with Legends Live alongside Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. Visit his website to order the book and tickets for the tour. www.felixcavalieremusic.com
Pre-Goose Peter Anspach project, Great Blue, wrapped up a memorable five-show run of dates through the East Coast over May 14-19. Featuring their first festival appearance of the season, the short-lived mini-tour managed to create a significant buzz amongst the jam scene faithful and included stops in Philadelphia, Rhode Island, DomeFest in Ohio, and a pair of New York shows in Rochester and Saratoga Springs, respectively.
Peter Anspach of Goose performing with Great Blue in Saratoga Springs 5/19/22
While the fun-loving Anspach is mainly known for his work with breakthrough psychedelic improv rockers Goose, these shows shinned the spotlight on a different side of “Handini.” Fully embracing the excessive “rock star” persona that’s partially been suppressed with his main band, it was in these more relaxed club-like environments where Anspach was truly able to get his “ya-ya’s” out. The result was nothing short of live music magic.
Couldn’t make it to any of the shows? No worries! NYS Music caught up with the band for their instant classic performance at Putnum Place on Thursday, May 19, and has all the sights (and some of the sounds) of the what many in attendance could be heard calling “one of the best show they’ve ever seen.”
Kicking off the show with an outstanding opening set from genre bending electronic rockers Escaper, the NYC based band were also joined by special guest Luke Bemand of Lespsecialon bass for the evening. With positive lyrics, danceable grooves and impressive compositions, even their seemingly simple jams morphed into straight-up heaters, particularly when the hard slapping hand of Bemand took the reins. After closing their set with a new, 9 minute sprawling epic called “Spaceship,” Escaper front man Will Hanza humbly took the opportunity to express his sincere gratitude to those in attendance, saying “Thank you guys so much. You know, after all we’ve been through, all of us, it means a lot that we can all gather for these things, so thank you and please keep doing it.”
Will Hanza of Escaper and Lespecial’s Luke Bemand performing at the Putnum Place in Saratoga Springs 5/19/22
After a brief intermission, the Thursday night funk party resumed in full force as our evening’s headliners Great Blue set their controls for the sun and lifted off like a rocket ship from hell, opening up with the songs “Lily’s Tiger” quickly followed by “Willy” from their 2013 album Rewind. While many Goose fans are only just discovering Great Blue, make no mistake, this is anything but a new band. Comprised of four longtime friends, their origins go all the way back to their high school days in the basement. Along with Peter Anspach, Great Blue is also comprised of Ethan Michael on guitars and sometimes keyboards, Seth Suzker on bass, and presumably paying homage to the late Taylor Hawkins by wearing a Foo Fighters shirt, was Nick Hanna on drums.
Together, Great Blue has been performing for more than a decade now and have four studio albums to their credit. With no shortage of songs in their back catalog to choose from, the band would amp things up even more with a high octane rendition of “Together Not The Same” that featured an insane guitar solo from Anspach whole completely lost himself in the music, smiling ear to ear while thrashing about the stage in a pure punk rock fury. After working their way through “Banana Jam” and a cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Sunflower,” Goose fans in attendance became audibly excited as the bass-heavy reggae groove of “Doc Brown” swept over the room. While the “Back to the Future” inspired jam was originally written by Great Blue, in recent years the song has been adopted by Goose and has become a regular staple of their live show, but the surprises wouldn’t end there as the quartet seamlessly sandwiched into another familiar Goose song in the form of “Whales” before eventually returning back to the reggae roots of “Doc Brown.”
Watch fan shot footage of Great Blue performing “Doc Brown” live from the Putnum Place in Saratoga Springs 5/19/22
Following that up with 2014’s “Crossfaded Mammoth,” Great Blue then unveiled their latest neo-psychedelic jam “Blue Marbles.” After “Pancakes,” someone in the audience yelled out “You guys are so fucking good!” to which Anspach enthusiastically replied from the stage, “It’s this band!” pointing over to his mates. “These guys are awesome, I love them.” Shifting gears, Peter would take a moment to reflect on former beloved band mascot Leo, a golden retriever who was with them back in their earliest days in the basement, always sitting in no matter how loud the PA was turned up.
“Lion in the Grass” was then played in memory of Leo and also featured one of the most memorable moments of the evening when Anspach and guitarist Ethan Michael ended up playing a portion of the song while both laying down on the stage. “Jeff Engborg,” both a real person and a real song came next while the main portion of the show wrapped up with an emphatic rendition of “Seeker.” As the clock approached 1am on this Thursday night, Great Blue still had one more surprise up their sleeve. Like a spaceship returning from the great beyond, our fantastic voyage then touched down with a cover of the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s smash hit, “Around the Word.” Suddenly, in what appeared to be a spontaneous last second call, the band then busted into Goose fan favorite, “Yeti,” perhaps the most well-known song originally penned by Great Blue and later adopted by their high flying friends.
Guitarist Ethan Michael performing with Great Blue in Saratoga Springs 5/19/22
As the house lights came on and fans scurried to buy up any and all Great Blue merch, more than one person could be heard calling this “the best show they’ve seen in years” and “the best $15 they’ve ever spent.” Indeed, it was a good one. Full of unbridled energy, youthful exuberance, danceable funk-filled grooves, soaring sonic peaks and over-the-top charisma, Great Blue unleashed an instant classic performance on this night in the Spa City. With their mini-run now in the rearview, all eyes are looking ahead to the Westville Music Bowl this weekend when Peter Anspach rejoins his “other” band, Goose, for their highly anticipated summer tour kick off.
Watch fan shot footage of Great Blue covering RHCP and ‘Yeti” from Saratoga Springs 5/19/22
Great Blue | Putnum Place | Saratoga Springs, NY | 5/19/22
Setlist: Lily’s Tiger, Willy, Together Not The Same, Banana Jam > Sunflower (Vampire Weekend) > Rogue II, Butterflies, Doc Brown >The Whales<Doc Brown, Mammoths, Blue Marbles, Pancakes, Lion in the Grass, Jeff Engborg, Seeker
Encore: Around The World (Red Hot Chili Peppers) > Yeti
Escaper | Putnum Place | Saratoga Springs, NY | 5/19/22
Setlist: Res Magna > No Stings > Breakaway, Cicada, Rare Form, Enjoy the Silence, Spaceship
*This set featured Luke Bemand of Lespecial sitting in on Bass
For more audience recorded video and images from the show, check out the full gallery by NYS Photojournalist Zak Radick below:
Welcome to the fuzzy synth, wet bass and glittery guitar that is Harry’s House. Superstar Harry Styles‘ third album release has some old formulas, new movement, and as always, a lot of falsetto. It shouldn’t surprise any fans that this record is also packed with mushy moments, breakup stories, and rather scandalous dirty talk, as this is Harry’s first record since landing his new lady Olivia Wilde.
Even in the throes of a public relationship, Harry does not fail to bring a variety of influences and ideas into his music to create something that feels truly like home.
Straight away, it is jarring to hear a brass band mixed into Harry’s energetic first track “Music For a Sushi Restaurant”. The masterful blend of disco rhythms and 80s influenced electronic elements creates the whipped cream that tops many songs on the album, including the pop marvel “Daydreaming”. This masterpiece of a track has an engaging hook that samples the Brothers Johnson and earns Quincy Jones a spot on the album’s writing credits. It’s clear that Harry Styles is doing his research into soul music, and songs like the sultry r&b number “Daylight” and the rhythmic “Grapejuice” have a modern, funky foundation to tie the album together seamlessly.
It’s satisfying to see Harry take so many new directions, but what needs trimming are the formulaic songs that round out this album. The acoustic love songs surrounded by waves of harmony or the ambient breakup anthems are very familiar, and it seems the rock and roll energy we’ve seen in Harry’s 2017 title album is missing in Harry’s House. His live shows are a huge affair, and harder rock songs like “Kiwi” and “Only Angel” are the perfect choice for these live performances. As he rightfully progresses into funk, he shouldn’t retire his rock frontman persona just yet. This is a chain of many great albums to come, but let’s hope he dives deeper into the realm of brass funk, leaves behind the old successes, and gives us more of the modern rock and roll we need right now.
Key Tracks: Music For a Sushi Restaurant, Daylight, Daydreaming
New York City-based singer-songwriter Marina Laurendi has released a new single “Gramercy.”
A lush five-minute track, it’s the lead single for her debut EP Stay Mine coming this Friday, which will be accompanied by the release of a music video for the song.
Marina Laurendi performing at The Bitter End in Manhattan. (Photo found on website)
On “Gramercy,” Laurendi croons about an impassioned romance using New York City imagery. Taking an approach reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, a former Lake Placid native, she muses about kissing on the L Train and compares the euphoria of her bout of love to the heights of skyscrapers.
Laurendi always returns to the song’s guiding analogy: the connection between her relationship’s vulnerability and the secrecy of Manhattan’s Gramercy Park. “You got the key to me, treat me like I’m Gramercy,” she sings on the infectious hook.
Her lyrics paint a genuine and intimate picture, and Laurendi’s shaky vocals which never stray from technical peerlessness convey her ideas perfectly.
The same can be said about the song’s musical arrangement which only moves her message forward. The track’s instrumentation varies across its runtime, featuring light chords on acoustic guitar and bright licks on electric, rich keys, pulsating violins, and a noisy organ in the song’s final seconds. “Gramercy” never overplays itself with all these components however, swelling and falling throughout its pop-oriented song structure in a way that stays true to Laurendi’s sentimental subject matter.
No piece of “Gramercy” goes to waste, as Laurendi’s knowledge of her hometown and endearing vocals over a well-crafted musical backdrop contribute to a captivating love song and worthy lead single.
Brooklyn-based progressive rock band Nerd Salad has released a new single, “Dogmeat.” The song is the lead single in promotion of their debut album Press Start coming June 3, is the group’s first new music since their 2018 release Your Father and I Aren’t Angry, We’re Just Disappointed.
Artwork for “Dogmeat.”
“Dogmeat” follows a highly transformative structure over its seven-and-a-half minute runtime, going from basic verse-chorus format to instrumental breakdown before returning to its original melody in the song’s conclusion.
The song’s dreamy opening riff gives off a nice warmth that contrasts the apocalyptic subject matter on the verses. “Our future is grim and bleak, all alone to find what you seek,” they sing in the track’s opening lines over a funky blues guitar rhythm. The song’s verses paint a detailed Mad Max-like picture of a world past salvage. “Found you in this desolate wasteland, digging through trash and scraps of old tin cans,” they sing in the second verse’s opening lines.
The melodic chorus gives release to this tension, where all instruments crash together on top of the song’s defining words, “the ceiling’s now the ground, we’re all just dogmeat now.”
The instrumental bridge after the third verse fully plays into the chaos described here, with a long disjointed guitar solo being paced by hyper-frenetic drumming. This part of the song keeps up with the track’s understanding of tension and release, as this section closes out with a heavy blues jam. We then hear the chorus one more time, reinforcing the song’s musical identity before the song’s outro.
All members of Nerd Salad are very talented musicians, and while the song displays this clearly, no part of “Dogmeat” leans into self indulgence. This is even true during the “Paranoid Android” reminiscent freakout which closes the song, as every part of the track properly serves its purpose of detailing a world in havoc.
“Dogmeat” is a creative and chaotic piece of progressive rock, and is a good sign of what’s to come from Nerd Salad next month.
Infected Rain is on a month-long US Tour in support of the band’s latest album, Ecdysis and performed at The Montage Music Hall in Rochester on Friday, May 20. With the band being from Moldova, an eastern European country that borders Ukraine and Romania, it is a rare treat to see them in the United States.
The Montage had a good turnout for what ended up being just Infected Rain and supporting act, Gone In April. Three local bands were scheduled to perform, but due to unforeseen circumstances all of these acts dropped off. This made for what turned out to be an intimate, but in your face metal show that fans will surely remember.
Taking the stage at 8:30pm, Infected Rain made their entrance to an energized audience that greeted them with applause and cheers. The band went right into full throttle mode with their hit “Pendulum” and while a smaller crowd, the band performed as if they were playing in front of thousands of people. The energy Lena Scissorhands puts off as she is screaming, and singing is captivating. You can tell she actually really enjoys performing with the constant engagement with the audience and smiled after hearing applause from each song they finish.
I have been waiting awhile to finally see Infected Rain, and it was exciting to see them in a small intimate setting with not an overly crowded venue to really be able to appreciate the performance. It’s honestly one of my favorite things about The Montage, and I have seen several of my favorite artists perform there before they have really blown up in popularity.
Infected Rain put on a fantastic 12 song set which included in my opinion, their best songs they could have chosen. Just about all of their songs are heavy hitting, in your face, make you want to mosh kind of feeling and the only disappointing thing about their set was that it was only 12 songs. This is definitely a band worth seeing, they are fun, energetic, and passionate when they play. Lena Scissorhands is a fantastic frontwoman that definitely gives off Tatiana from Jinjer vibes, and I mean that in the best way possible. Hopefully someday we can get a Jinjer, Infected Rain tour that comes to the US.
Setlist: Pendulum > Mold > Black Gold > Longing > The Earth Mantra > The Realm of Chaos > Postmortem Pt. 1 > Passerby > Fighter > Orphan Soul > Fool the Gravity > Sweet, Sweet Lies
On Sunday May 1st, Beartooth brought their Dark Below tour to Main Street Armory in Rochester and they came with an incredible lineup. Upon arriving at the venue, a long long line of attendees were waiting to get in as this was definitely a show not to miss. If you were looking for Beartooth merchandise, the line was as long as the one outside.
Erra, who hails from Alabama, started off the night right with lots of energy to get the crow moving.
ERRA
After Erra, The Devils Wear Prada, a metalcore band from Ohio, took the stage next, who is probably the heaviest band on the tour.
The Devil Wears Prada
Then followed up by them was Silverstein, who came from just across the border in Canada. They have played many shows, recently in Albany and will be back on tour in September.
Silverstein
As the night couldn’t get any crazier, to finally take the stage, Beartooth. During setup, a white curtain concealed as stage hands worked to prep everything and when the band took the stage, after 20 seconds or so, the whole thing dropped and a roar came from the crowd. They played a good chunk of songs from their newest album Below but of course played many of their older hits like Body Bag which seemed to be a crowd favorite. Later this summer they The Ghost Inside, and Bad Omens support A Day To Remember on the Just Some Shows tour.
Albany pop-punk veterans State Champs have returned with their fourth studio album Kings of the New Age, a 35-minute montage of guitar-driven angst and lust that rarely slows down.
Kings of the New Age is the first release by the band to feature only one guitarist, after Tony Diaz stepped away in 2020. Nevertheless, the group’s sound isn’t any smaller, with the other four members nicely filling in the gaps. This is aided by some tight production from California based Drew Fulk a.k.a. WZRD BLD, whose collaborations include Lil Wayne, A Day To Remember, and Ice Nine Kills. Cleanly mixed, the band’s full arrangement shines through on Kings of the New Age, with no instrument or vocal sounding unclear, choppy or overshadowed.
While production does play a significant role in the band’s presence standing tall with a smaller lineup, credit has to be given to Tyler Szalkowski for his increased duties as both lead and rhythm guitarist. Songs like “Here to Stay” and “Just Sound” showcase guitar work that both maintains a loud presence while enhancing the song melodically.
Cover art for Kings of the New Age.
Lyrically the album generally focuses on topics of romantic lust and strife. “Being with you is like working on the weekend,” sings lead vocalist Derek DiScanio on the chorus of “Everybody But You,” the album’s lead single. Even though romance is a major focus of the record, songs like “Here to Stay,” which begins the album, reinforce the idea behind the album’s title. “The kings of the new age, the wrong time, the right place,” sings Discanio in the track’s opening lines.
With State Champs entering the scene of pop-punk after the genre’s boom in the late ’90s and early 2000s and before its recent renewal with Machine Gun Kelly’s pivot towards the genre hatching new commercial attention, the optics of this timing might not be great, but they don’t mind. “On our own it’s safe to say, we’re here to stay,” DiScanio sings at the end of the opener’s chorus.
State Champs attempt to reinforce this footprint on Kings of the New Age with four features scattered across the album, with appearances from Neck Deep’s Ben Barlow, Against The Current’s Chrissy Costanza, Nashville country pop singer Mitchell Tenpenny, and Four Year Strong’s Alan Day & Dan O’Connor.
Each artist is given a bridge to sing or maybe a little more on the tracks which they have feature duties, which is something that holds back the effort and impact of these guest contributions. Chrissy Costanza’s contribution on “Half Empty” slightly stands apart in this regard however, with her bridge and chorus near the song’s ending adding another perspective to this track about a struggling relationship.
And even though part of this album’s mission is clearly dedicated to not changing up the band’s formula, this leads to Kings of the New Age sounding repetitive at points. This is why slight deviations on songs such as “Act Like That,” which functions more as a straightforward pop rock track, and closer “Some Minds Don’t Change” with its loud, waltzy chorus are easily appreciable moments.
Nevertheless, State Champs’ classic pop-punk formula works out well overall, with loud anthemic choruses and relatable melancholy lyrics shaping a strong album for the seasoned band. Kings of the New Age doesn’t reshape the punk genre or push too hard on any boundaries, but it’s good enough on its own to prove that State Champs deserve to hang around.
Key Tracks: Here To Stay, Just Sound, Act Like That” (featuring Mitchell Tenpenny)
