Spoiler NYC frontman, Life of Agony bassist, and graphic artist Alan Robert was recently caught on video being arrested with his bandmates from Spoiler at Brooklyn’s Lucky 13 Saloon.
Well, not really. The group’s music video for “Banned in 38 States,” released this past Thursday, October 18, showed the band being carried out of the heavy metal-themed bar in handcuffs and performing from behind bars in a skit-like approach.
Produced by Ken Lewis, a producer whose repertoire includes work with the Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, and countless other hip-hop icons, it’s a quick, pounding punk rock track which just crosses the two minute mark. Robert proclaims the band’s infamy as inciters of punk-infused chaos, yelling on the first verse, “no where left to play, lots of hell to raise, pour me another bourbon, whiskey or wine.”
“Banned in 38 States” is one of two new tracks from their August-released album of the same name. It’s a 15th anniversary edition of their debut album Grease Fire in Hell’s Kitchen, featuring remastered versions of the record’s original 12 songs.
Spoiler NYC band members from left to right: Chris “Junkyard” Silletti (guitar), Alan Robert (lead vocals/bass), Tommy “The Kid” Clayton (drums).
The other new addition is the slower, more melodic “Damaged Goods,” an ode to Robert’s tumultuous upbringing with an abusive father. “People say I will never amount to nothing, and then they’ll wait ’till I kill myself or something, then they’ll say ‘oh what a shame, he was damaged goods,” he sings on the chorus.
The song received a Taxi Driver-themed music video back in August when the remastered album dropped.
Spoiler NYC is also promoting Banned in 38 States with three upcoming shows: one in November in a return to the Lucky 13 Saloon, and two in December, with appearances at Coney Island USA and Bowery Electric.
Information regarding tickets, Banned in 38 States’ limited vinyl release on Halloween, and more can be found on the Spoiler NYC website.
Brooklyn artist Sebastien Carnot isn’t new to what he does. Known by the musical alias DIE the Monk, his experience is on full display with his fourth album Nailed to a Star.
The record follows up 2020’s The Beauty Complex, and maintains the brevity signature to DIE the Monk as the fourth consecutive album under 30 minutes. Its cross between industrial music, hip-hop and synth pop makes for a moody, abrasive record about inner turmoil.
Album art for “NAILED TO A STAR.”
The subdued minute-long intro track “Shapeless” sets the tone with Carnot musing, “what if I’m an unlucky person making many bad decisions,” before launching into the pacing, catchy “Underbite.”
On “Underbite,” the album’s lead single, forboding bass pulsates like an alarm clock as he yells about hidden anguish with lines such as “where do you go, a life they see is a life they know, not a life disguised.” The track also introduces the record’s unconventional song structure, shelving a normal verse-chorus pattern for a wave of noise that bursts into a psychedelic outro with melodic synths.
While Carnot’s voice competes to not be drowned out by the volume of his blasting musical backdrop on this record, like a Steve Albini-made album during hardcore’s heyday, there’s something intentional about his distortion-drenched vocals being pit against Carnot’s digital overdrive production.
The same can be said for the following song “Recollect,” with autotuned delivery that reminisces of premier hip-hop experimentalists Injury Reserve that builds an overwhelming environment of metallic drums and wailing horns into a reverb-tinged, gloomy conclusion.
Carnot’s flexibility in approach to noise music remains apparent on songs like the metal-adjacent “Honor” with its rolling drums and dramatic synth melody and the hardcore rap infused “Commander” with sci-fi-esque sound effects in a track that only gains speed.
The interludes on Nailed to a Starassist the flow of the album as well. The lush synths on “Lost” well suit a phone call to friend from a stressed but stable Carnot asking for a ride home, and the melodica-driven “Stars Talk” well articulates his anxiety.
Underneath the chaos, Carnot shows great capacity for writing engaging melodies, and such is the case on the cloud rap oriented second single “Bless Up.” Playful rapping and synth lines make this a brighter song than the rest, even if the subject matter keeps dark with lyrics like “all my fears turn to problems” keeping consistent with the album’s tone.
This loud album ends things rather quietly on “A Boy Untrained.” It stays consistent with the record’s persistent themes of self-doubt and gloom, as tribal drums and mystical synths lay foreground for lines such as “trying to understand why you won’t go, I must be nasty.”
While Carnot doesn’t change up song structure much on Nailed to a Star, he shows plenty of creativity and versatility for different angles of noise music. While short, this is an explorative and intense project that gets personal in an intimate way for DIE The Monk.
Kansas City progressive metal trio Hammerhedd is playing at The Chance in Poughkeepsie as the opener for Swedish juggernauts, In Flames, on Thursday, October 27th. The heavy metal band from Brighton, Michigan, has also just released their first full-length LP, Grand Currents, in July of 2020.
The band, which first started playing together about a decade ago, is comprised of 19-year-old Henry (vocals, guitar), 16-year-old Eli (drums), and 14-year-old Abe (bass). The boys were 4, 7, and 9 years old when the band was formed.
Together, the Ismert brothers have amazed fans with their high-level, technical playing, which has drawn comparisons to modern metal icons similar to artists Gojira, Meshuggah, and Mastodon. Especially for their age, the band is much more than the sum of their influences, They rock the house every time they have played.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. In Flames tickets for the upcoming concert tour are on sale at StubHub. Likewise, for Hammerhedd’s tour information can be accessed by clicking the link here.
You can check these fantastic metal bands at The Chance Theater, which is an old concert and theater complex located in downtown Poughkeepsie. The venue has featured big-name and up-and-coming rock acts throughout it’s lifetime since being built in 1912. The vibes at this venue are unforgettable, and it has a long history of now-famous musicians that have played there.
To watch Hammerhedd’s song “Tunnel,” click here. For more information on the event at The Chance Theater and to purchase tickets for this upcoming event, click here.
This past Friday, October 14 ZZ Top brought 50 years of Rock to Albany’s The Palace Theatre for the first time.
Austin Meade from Austin, Texas opened for ZZ Top. Meade is an electric performer whose music has a very hard-rock feel. Known for his intensity on the drums and guitar, Meade currently has four rock albums. His latest effort — Abstract Art of an Unstable Mind — released on the day of the concert. Meade debuted a song off that album during his performance.
Meade opened up to a warm reception at promptly 8 o’clock. His guitarists seemed to want to grab the crowd’s attention, playing with extra vigor whenever Meade approached center stage. Meade performed for about 30 minutes before ending with his hit single, “Happier Alone.” In this performance, he added in lyrics from Dua Lipa’s, “Don’t Start Now,” to end the song, and ending his set.
An older crowd welcomed ZZ Top to Albany with a thunderous ovation. Everyone was on their feet as a new-look ZZ Top took the stage. Last year, lead bass player Dusty Hill died in his home in Houston at the age of 72. Before his passing, he wished for the band to go on. ZZ Top’s guitar tech, Elmwood Francis assumed the position. This was Albany’s first time seeing Francis rock out live on stage.
There was not any mention of Dusty Hill during their hour and 15-minute set. The vibes were positive as Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top’s lead vocalist and guitarist, repeatedly asked “are y’all having a good time?” They played of their greatest hits from the last 5 decades including “Give Me All Your Lovin,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Brown Sugar,” and “Pearl Necklace.”
ZZ Top had left the stage, but not a single person left the theatre. They returned quickly with sporting sparkling red jackets. They closed the show playing “La Grange” with fluffy white guitars and a barrage of bubbles.
The ZZ Top tour continues in Port Chester, NY on October 18th at The Capitol Theatre. If you cannot catch them there, they have a strip of shows in Las Vegas from December 3rd-10th at The Venetian.
Multi-platinum, award-winning group blink-182 has announced their biggest tour ever, a huge global event reuniting Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker for the first time in ten years. They will make stops at Madison Square Garden, UBS Arena, and Barclays Center.
blink-182, Photo Credit: Jack Bridgland
The worldwide trek includes their first-ever performances in Latin America along with stops in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand starting March 2023 through Feb. 2024. Their brand new single “Edging” will be released on Oct. 14, marking the first time in a decade that the group has been together in the studio.
blink-182 started rocking almost thirty years ago in a San Diego garage. They have sold over fifty-million albums worldwide, and according to the New York Times, “No punk band of the 1990s has been more influential than ‘blink-182’.” They are working on releasing their tenth studio album after reuniting the original members.
blink-182 will make a stop at Madison Square Garden on May 19; UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont on May 20; and Barclays Center on May 24, all, with special guests Turnstile. The tour announcement also features multiple festival appearances in Latin America and the US, including Lollapalooza alongside co-headliners Billie Eilish and Drake and the 2023 edition of We Were Young with Green Day, among others.
Tickets will go on sale starting on Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. here.
blink-182 Tour Dates
LATIN AMERICA
+With Support from Wallows
March 11 – Tijuana, MX – Imperial GNP (Festival)
March 14 – Lima, Peru – Estadio San Marcos+
March 17-19 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Lollapalooza Argentina (Festival)
March 17-19 – Santiago, Chile – Lollapalooza Chile (Festival)
March 21-22 – Asuncion, Paraguay – Venue TBA
March 23-26 – Bogotá, Colombia – Estereo Picnic (Festival)
March 24-26 – São Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brasil (Festival)
March 28 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes+
April 1-2 – Monterrey, MX – Venue TBA
NORTH AMERICA
*With Support from Turnstile
May 4 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center*
May 6 – Chicago, IL – United Center*
May 9 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena*
May 11 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena*
May 12 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre*
May 16 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse*
May 17 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena*
May 19 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden*
May 20 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena*
May 21 – Boston, MA – TD Garden*
May 23 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena*
May 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center*
May 26 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Arena*
May 27 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium*
Jun 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center*
Jun 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium*
Jun 20 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena*
Jun 22 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center*
Jun 23 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center*
Jun 25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena*
Jun 27 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena*
Jun 39 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place*
Jun 30 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome*
Jul 3 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena*
Jul 5 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center*
Jul 7 – Austin, TX – Moody Center*
Jul 8 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center*
Jul 10 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena*
Jul 11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – FLA Live Arena*
Jul 13 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena*
Jul 14 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center*
Jul 16 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena*
EUROPE
^With Support from The Story So Far
Sep 2 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro^
Sep 4 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena^
Sep 5 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena^
Sep 8 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis^
Sep 9 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena^
Sep 12 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena^
Sep 13 – Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena^
Sep 14 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum^
Sep 16 – Berlin, Germany – Mercedes-Benz Arena^
Sep 17 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena^
Sep 19 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena^
Sep 20 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle^
Oct 2– Lisbon, Portugal – Altice Arena^
Oct 3 – Madrid, Spain – Wizink Centre^
Oct 4 – Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi^
Oct 6 – Bologna, Italy – Unipol Arena^
Oct 8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome^
Oct 9 – Paris, France – Accor Arena^
Oct 11 – London, UK – The O2^
Oct 14 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena^
Oct 15 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena^
Oct 21 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Festival
2024 Tour Dates
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
!With Support from Rise Against
Feb 9 – Perth, Western Australia – RAC Arena!
Feb 11 – Adelaide, South Australia – Entertainment Centre!
Feb 13 – Melbourne, Victoria – Rod Laver Arena!
Feb 16 – Sydney, New South Wales – Qudos Bank Arena!
Feb 19 – Brisbane, Queensland – Entertainment Centre!
It’s not every day you get the opportunity to be a part of Europe’s largest club festival, but over September 22-25, I traveled to Hamburg, Germany and experienced all that Reeperbahn Festival had to offer. Northern Europe’s version of South by Southwest, Reeperbahn has been going strong for 17 years, highlighting a wide variety of artists from across the European continent, and from around the world. Each year, the festival partners with another country, bringing artists from all over and press from the partner country, to see all that Hamburg has to offer.
Partnering with America in the post-pandemic era meant that the ability to travel overseas had more ease and certainty of flight status than anytime in the past three years. Hamburg reached out to NYS Music for coverage of the festival, and it was an opportunity impossible to pass up.
With 24 combined hours of travel planned, and only 60 hours to spend in Hamburg seeing indie and punk bands in small club settings, the stage for the weekend was quickly set. Add in learning a bit about Hamburg and the role the city plays not just geographically, but also in music history, plus seeing performances at truly marvelous once-in-a-lifetime venues, and this whirlwind trip to a gem of a port on the North Sea made for the perfect return trip to Europe.
Roller Disco
Reeperbahn is the area of Hamburg prime for entertainment and nightlife, with musicals, music venues, restaurants and a red light district that, all combined, offer a little something for everyone. ‘Ropewalk’ in English, the Reeperbahn was where rope was made, being just near the Elbe River that brings you well into the European continent or out to the North Sea, The British Isles and Scandinavia. This makes Hamburg “Das Tor zur Welt” – the Gateway to the World.
The Festival Village has its main grounds in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg, with a few stages, a Flatstock poster exhibit, roller skating disco, educational displays including water reclamation efforts and a few pop up band performances. Slightly underwhelming as it was – and intentionally so – the Festival Village is not a single-location music festival, but rather spread out across the Reeperbahn area at dozens of clubs and theaters, as well as outdoor stages in the median of the Reeperbahn. Flanked by the ‘dancing towers’ and the neon lights of the red light district, the nightlife was as vibrant as you’d find in Amsterdam. While not a city-wide festival, Reeperbahn gave a taste of what Hamburg has to offer, and left me wanting to return to see more of the city outside the entertainment center.
For comparison sake, take a psychedelic remix of St. Mark’s Place – multiple blocks worth – and with a paid wristband, you get to hop from club to club, seeing bands from across the country, all with the goal of finding their footing and making it to the next level.
This kind of festival of course does happen in America, with SXSW the inspiration, as co-founder and managing director Alexander Schulz shared during a dinner at Restaurant Nil with press from America, England, Denmark and Germany on Thursday evening. For an hour, Schulz entertained questions that got to the heart of why Reeperbahn is not just a notable festival for Europe, but a destination event that draws an international crowd.
Co-founder and managing director of Reeperbahn Festival, Alexander Schulz, breaks bread with journalists at Restaurant NIL.
Schulz sees Reeperbahn as a way to combine a consumer program with a professional program, with both audiences meeting in the evening. Add in the Reeperbahn ANCHOR awards show on Saturday, showcasing six international finalists, and a strong relationship with the city of Hamburg, and a recipe for success is served up each September.
Navigating the pandemic by partnering in 2020 with Denmark (from which fans could drive) and in 2021 with South Korea (although the festival was mostly virtual), the first year fully back in person brought in the USA and the hope of rekindling the flame that was dimmed for a year or so.
Dr. Carsten Brosda, Minister of Culture and Media for the city of Hamburg, proudly noted that the festival is much bigger than music, and with full capacity allowed and no restrictions, it didn’t take much to get the local and regional governments behind the Reeperbahn Festival. “Whenever something is possible, we do it,” said Brosda. With hundreds working the festival plus more pre and post, the feeling of doing things together has returned, as the culture, concerts and inspiration they provided were not something the city wanted to lose. In 2020, it was the first time seeing artists on a stage all year, following months of lockdown, and some bands didn’t want to leave the stage. Skip ahead to 2021 and a second period of lockdown made it more difficult to hold the 2021 event and was thus virtual.
While global inflation certainly impacted the 2022 event, and the German government maintained a public transportation mask mandate, Reeperbahn Festival served as the gateway to European music, and connected the rest of the world via the United States. This year’s lineup of bands was meant to appeal to the musical tastes of Americans: contemporary, classic rock, techno and electronic, plus German acts that have crossover (including Hamburg duo BOY)
Following dinner, I linked up with Justin and Sam from Aquarium Drunkard, based in Los Angeles. We headed to the Reeperbahn and to Drafthaus to see Afghan-Dutch artist Ferdous, who provided a taste of futuristic R&B, the first music of this 60 hour jaunt. Making the most of the club nature of the festival, we headed over to Molotow where four venues are contained under one roof, including an outdoor ‘Backyard’, the ‘Karatekeller’, the Club and the Skybar, the latter of which we caught the soundcheck and most of the performance of Montreal band Choses Sauvages. Watching the lead singer bust out Ric Ocasek vocals (and fit the look a bit when his sunglasses were on) gave a new wave of new wave, along with animated crowd interaction that commands a second viewing in the near future on this side of the pond.
Choses Sauvages
We headed to the Backyard for a brief taste of HighSchool, a post-punk trio from Melbourne, Australia. An 80s indie vibe resonated, along with a bassist who looked as though he had recently placed second in a Lou Reed look alike contest.
Next stop was Gruenspan – the largest stand-alone venue on the Reeperbahn with a capacity of 850 – for Vancouver-based Destroyer, one of the many recommendations provided to me by Parisian friend Benjo. When I first glanced at the lineup, not a single band was familiar, and this was not the ‘wow I am getting old if I don’t know any of these bands’ first takes. Dozens of unsigned bands and no true headliner of the festival made every band a new discovery, and thankfully some guidance helped line up acts that were well worth venturing to see. Notably, Gruenspan was the first venue that had any third party sponsorship with Rolling Stone banners around the second level, as corporate sponsorship was present at the festival, but not overwhelming as seen at large North American festivals.
Destroyer
Starting promptly at 11:30 pm with strong bass and drums, the groove was no doubt excellent and the performance quite lively, but the catch was the lead singer Dan Bejar. Destroyer itself was a unique offering, with Bejar adding the flair that made this show well worth the recommendation. Performing in the vein of a freak poet, Bejar would take a knee after his portion of the song was complete, the band behind him carrying the tune to completion. Odd for the uninitiated (myself included), the music was at times feedback and a slow grinding for the audience, but they delighted in it nonetheless. Perhaps there is a Western Canadian appeal to the European crowd, or what this westerner presumes to be European influence on a Vancouver export, yet this remained a fantastic band to catch live and an otherwise great discovery.
Friday of Reeperbahn began a little late, as jetlag and exhaustion had finally caught up with me, and the beds at Premier Inn certainly not helping by being so inviting following a long day at school, followed by 12 hours of planes, trains and automobiles, then 6 hours of club-hopping. The German saying ‘Es ist nicht der Alkohol, der den Káter verursacht, sein Aufwachen” (it’s not the alcohol that causes the hangover, its waking up) never rang truer, and one that has always stuck with me since a trip to Bavaria and Austria in 2011. While no one pursues a hangover, travel, time change and revelry were quite the combo to contend with.
Venturing out into the bustling Spielbudenplatz, I found excellent Vietnamese at Com Nieu 21. While pho would have been a good option, a noodle salad and summer rolls with a Vietnamese iced coffee worked nicely to push through the aforementioned Káter. Taking a walk just a few minutes off the main drag, I found the city to be immediately quieter and residential, with kids playing, riding scooters and enjoying the day.
I walked down towards the Elbe River for a boat cruise and tour of the port area along with bloggers from Lithuania, Brazil and England. Drinking Astra beers and eating fried fish sandwiches fresh from the Elbe that day, the boat cruise was accentuated with great music and company amid canals reminiscent of Amsterdam, with twists and turns as we navigated the port. Spectacular views of the city and the Elbphilharmonie, where we would see a live performance that evening, gave a full scope view of the city to all.
The Louisiana Star riverboat and the Elbphilharmonie
Disembarking at the Elbphilharmonie in HafenCity, and part of the Speicherstadt warehouse district (a UNESCO World Heritage site), we could see theaters for Der König Der Löwen (The Lion King) and Eiskönigin (Frozen) across the river, each of which had their own ferry for patrons. Hamburg is, after all, the third largest city in the world for musicals, with Hamilton having opened on October 6.
Located in the Kontorhaus business district with the Chilehaus, the Elbphilharmonie opened on January 11, 2017 and serves as a symbol of the city’s past, present and future. With an old warehouse serving as the foundation, when the Elbphilharmonie was constructed, supports were built into the river to ensure stability for this landmark on the Elbe River.
Mine
More than a concert venue, the building houses a Westin hotel, apartments, restaurants, conference rooms and a spa, plus the original cranes, all at a 866 Million Euro cost; while that price tag was controversial, the venue is a boon to the city and a must visit for anyone seeking acoustically perfect performance spaces. With the full concert hall having seating for 2100 created in a terraced manner so that no seat was more than 30 meters from the stage, the venue itself is decoupled from the rest of the building, ensuring that the sound is pristine with no outside interference.
Acoustics are so acute thanks to 10,000 individually shaped gypsum fiber panels, with a design for classical music in mind that ensures sound is distributed to each and every corner. What’s more, an organ was built inside the walls, and the stage location gives nearly a theater-in-the-round perspective to all in attendance.
Taking a closeup look at the stage before a performance by Mine (Mee-na), I marveled at the arrangement of the seating, the proximity to the stage, and the music that we would be experiencing shortly. Taking a seat alongside Erik, a music critic from Copenhagen, this 75 minute performance, while entirely in German, stands out as one of the most spectacular of the festival, and the calendar year.
Mine
Entering the stage were a 13-piece band, including five strings, three backup singers and Mine, the lead singer who describes her music as “German-language folk with hip hop, jazz and electronic elements” arrived on stage and began a most symphonic performance. Joined by three additional drummers for the second song, not knowing German didn’t help, as Mine spoke to the audience between songs, with laughs and applause at times in a show that got more upbeat as it progressed.
Projections on the stage from overhead were mixed with lighting, with a South Asian flair added to each song via percussion, guitar and theremin. Joined by a New York letter jacket sporting Fatoni, whom Mine dueted with on “ROMCOM” in 2017, this James Corden lookalike (and thankfully not Corden) stayed for a few tunes to freestyle rap, eliciting approval from the audience.
Then the bagpipes began, with a piper coming in from the wings to crush the one song he was there to play. Mine continued into the performance, alternating between melodic solo songs and heavier full band engagements, bringing out a pink-haired vocalist for a song that drew huge applause, and establishing herself as the perfect artist to perform tonight in this monumental venue. A total of 21 musicians performed with Mine over the course of the show, and the audience gave a standing ovation the likes of which are rarely seen at American live music performances. Mine was a highlight of the weekend in a venue that is just as incredible as photos and videos show.
Powerwolf, the most successful German heavy metal band are headed west for their first North American shows in February 2023. Two once in a lifetime shows at The Palladium in Times Square and M Teles in Montreal will give North American fans a chance to see the ‘Wolf and their internationally renowned breathtaking world-class stage shows.
The band said in a statement, “North America, your calls over the years have not gone unheard! The holy heavy metal mass will finally be celebrated next year for the very first time in New York City and Montreal! Let’s make sure that it will be an experience that neither you, nor we as Powerwolf will ever forget!”
Powerwolf – Attila Dorn (vocals), Falk Maria Schlegel (organ), Charles Greywolf (guitar), Matthew Greywolf (guitar) and Roel van Helden (drums) – began in 2004, the result of the efforts of one of the most hard-working and entertaining live band on the heavy metal planet. Powerwolf have secured a collection of gold and platinum awards, starting in 2015, when they reached Gold status for the first time in the Czech Republic with their album, Blessed & Possessed. Additionally, both Preachers Of The Night (2013) and the subsequent masterpiece The Sacrament Of Sin (2018), as well as the groundbreaking streaming event The Monumental Mass: A Cinematic Metal Event (2022), entered the German album and DVD charts at #1 (a massive achievement for an audio-visual release).
Tickets for both dates go on sale Friday, October 7 at 10:00 AM local time. For tickets and more information, make sure to check local venue listings and www.powerwolf.net/tickets.
Powerwolf Tour Dates
European Wolfsnächte Tour, November/December 2022:
UK prog-rock band Porcupine Tree came to the historic Radio City Music Hall on Friday September 16, their first show back in NYC following the band’s 12-year hiatus. In fact, it was almost twelve years since they last played the NYC area at Radio City on Sept. 24, 2010. Given Porcupine Tree’s long hiatus and new music being teased during the pandemic, a great deal of anticipation was built up among the crowd going into the show.
Porcupine Tree began as a solo project of Steven Wilson who eventually moved it to a full band setting in the early 90s. After touring in support of the band’s 10th studio album The Incident in 2010, Wilson shifted gears to work on solo recordings, leaving the band’s future in question. The June 2022 release of Closure/Continuation excited fans with the chance to see Porcupine Tree on this current summer/fall tour, though there is still uncertainty if this is the band wrapping up on a high note, or a sign of more great things to come.
The band’s long two-set show was filled with fan favorites with the entirety of their new album scattered throughout both sets. Set one kicked off with a favorite, “Blackest Eyes,” before diving into three from Closure/Continuation which Wilson joked afterward about being the challenging part of the set. The second set featured the title track off the band’s 2006 album Fear of a Blank Planet and the extended “Anesthetize,” which unfortunately for the many folks donning Rush shirts did not feature Alex Lifeson on stage (Lifeson had contributed guitar lines on the studio recording). The show wrapped up with a pleasantly long encore ending with “Trains,” which Wilson commented that he had wished that would have been the single from In Absentia even though it wound up becoming one of Porcupine Tree’s most popular songs.
The core of Porcupine Tree is Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri, and Gavin Harrison, with original bass player Colin Edwin not returning. For the Closure/Continuation tour Porcupine tree enlisted touring band members Randy McStine from NYC and Nate Navarro from Boston.
From start to finish, there were no lulls in the band’s performance. Compared to Porcupine Tree’s live shows in the late 2000s the band was just as engaged with each other, the music, and the audience as back then.There seemed to be a collective electricity among the audience fueled by the legacy that Porcupine Tree left for themselves before their hiatus. With the band’s future still unclear, hopefully it will fall on the “Continuation” part of the Closure/Continuation album title.
Porcupine Tree Setlist
Set 1: Blackest Eyes, Harridan, Of the New Day, Rats Return, Even Less, Drown With Me, Dignity, The Sound of Muzak, Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled, Chimera’s Wreck Set 2: Fear of a Blank Planet, Buying New Soul, Walk the Plank, Sentimental, Herd Culling, Anesthetize, Sleep Together Encore: Collapse the Light Into Earth, Halo, Trains
On Sept. 28 Jimmy Eat World came to Albany to say “Something Loud” to the people at Empire Live Albany.
Jimmy Eat World is a rock band from Mesa, AZ that formed in 1993. Their most notable album, Bleed American, had jump-started them to fame with their most well-known song “The Middle.” Jimmy Eat World has been all over the alternative rock realm with songs that could be categorized as pop-punk, emo-pop, and punk-rock to just name a few. Their ability to continue to shift across rock has kept them relevant to fans young and old for the last 20+ years.
The show opened with a last-minute addition rock band, Frankie and his Fingers from Kingston. They formed in 2004 when lead vocalist Frank McGinnis and guitarist Ryan Stoutenburgh found each other in college. Their latest album, Universal Hurt, dropped in March of 2021. They have an upcoming show in Woodstock on October 2nd.
Frankie and his Fingers opened to a growing crowd of mid-20s-late 30-year-olds. They played their hearts out for about 30 minutes with warm applause from the crowd. Frank McGinnis’ energy on stage was very reflective of how excited the band was to be their opening for such a big name. After their set, the band waited by the merch station to greet fans and answer questions.
By the time Jimmy Eat World took the stage, there was no standing room left. They opened strong with lead vocalists Jim Adkins taking hold of the mic and singing “Futures.” Throughout the set, the stage was consistently backlit with blinding lights that shined on beat with many of the intricate guitar strums. The crowd, who many probably have been following since 1995, sang the chorus of “Work” with Adkins and many other songs throughout their time on stage.
Towards the end of an hour and half long set, Adkins prefaced their latest single and tour title “Something Loud” as a song about finding yourself in rock. An idea that has probably fueled Jimmy Eat World to continue to find new sounds in their music.
They thanked their fans for coming and welcoming them back to New York. They closed with their hit, “The Middle.” The Something Loud tour continues in Ocean City, MD on Oct. 1, and a rescheduled show in Burlington, VT on Oct. 3.
Jimmy Eat World Setlist: Intro/Futures, Pain, Bleed American, Big Casino, I Will Steal You Back, Praise, Congratulations, Let It Happen, Work, Blister, Sunday, Hear You Me, Sure and Certain, Rockstar, Something Loud, Denver, Sweetness, The Middle
Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers have announced a two-part tour which features dates covering October and the early part of 2023. This includes stops at Brooklyn Made on October 23, Rochester’s Bug Jar on January 29, and Albany’s Lark Hall on January 29.
Jon Spencer. (photo credit: Michael Lavine)
The tour is in promotion of Spencer’s first Hitmakers album, Spencer Gets It Lit, which was released in April. It was preceded by three singles, “Junk Man,” “Primary Baby,” and “Worm Town.” “This is the most uncompromising album I’ve ever made,” he said of the record.
Spencer, who has also worked with Boss Hog, Heavy Trash, and Pussy Galore, assembled the group after disbanding his previous act of 25 years, Jon Spencer’s Blues Explosion, in 2016.
In addition to Spencer, the band includes Bob Bert, a fellow former member of Pussy Galore and one of Sonic Youth’s early drummers, as well as Sam Coomes, one half of Portland indie duo Quasi and a bassist for Elliot Smith’s Heatmiser during the group’s final years.
Information regarding tickets for Jon Spencer & The Hitmakers’ tour can be found online.
