Musicians Natalie Merchant, Simi Stone, James Felice and Berkshire Bateria are set to perform at the Save our Democracy Rally at Catskill Point on Monday, October 17, from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.. Located on 1 Main Street, Catskill, NY, this event aims to articulate the vision of the local Democratic candidates who are seeking to support women’s rights, protect voting rights and to create a more diverse and inclusive New York State.
Save Our Democracy Rally serves to protect voting rights and to create a more diverse, inclusive, and just New York State.
Hosted by beloved longtime Hudson Valley radio personality Carmel Holt, the Save Our Democracy Rally is free to attend and will be held indoors at Catskill Point. Presented by the Columbia County and Greene County Democratic Committees in conjunction with Club Helsinki and Melmar Productions, it comes in advance of the November elections and will encourage participation in the upcoming elections.
Speakers for Save our Democracy Rally
Speakers at the Save our Democracy Rally will include New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, Assembly woman Didi Barrett, Chairman of the Green County Democratic Committee Lori Torgersen, Chairman of the Columbia County Democratic Committee Sam Hodge, Congressional District 19 Candidate Josh Riley, Democratic Candidate for Assembly District 102, Nicholas Chase, and NY Supreme Court Judge Candidates Heidi Cochrane, Meagan Galligan and Sharon Graff.
Performers
Natalie Merchant’s 40-year career has earned her a place among America’s most respected recording artists as well as garnering a reputation for her quality songwriting. She has also been active in promoting a number of non-profit organizations by lending both financial support and raising public awareness, particularly in the Hudson Valley where she resides.
Simi Stone, the former frontwoman of Suffrajett and The New Pornographers, is a musician, songwriter, and visual artist born and raised in Woodstock.
James Felice is a member of the Felice Brothers, an American folk rock/country band originally hailing from Palenville, NY in the Catskills. Berkshire Bateria, a samba band, will provide authentic Brazilian music.
Free parking for the Save our Democracy Rally will be at Dutchman’s Landing. The Catskill Visitor’s Center will provide golf cart rides to and from Catskill Point.
The Waterhole Music Lounge in Saranac Lake has announced its Fall 2022 live entertainment schedule, featuring an irresistible lineup of music.
The Waterhole Music Lounge is located on Main Street in Saranac Lake and serves as a spot for locals and tourists to gather together and enjoy all types of music.
To kick off the schedule of fall and winter events on Oct. 15 is Lucid, a rock act emerging from the Champlain Valley and the greater Adirondack Mountains. They are known for their live shows where they play a whirlwind of genres and tones.
The Waterhole is family to our band. And there’s something just so unique about that place and that stage, this collective consciousness in that space. Everybody knows that The Waterhole is special and is so for a million different reasons. You get there, you start playing, and everyone is involved in what’s unfolding on stage. Everybody is tuned in; it’s an incredible experience.
Lowell Wurster, singer of Lucid
On Oct. 22, The Sideways return for their fourth performance. From Rochester, the eight-piece band plays disco pop with heavy jazz influences. The annual Halloween bash will take place on Oct. 29 and will include a costume contest and music by town-wide favorites Chestnut Grove. The quintet has grown a dedicated fanbase since forming in 2011. Muddy Ruckus is opening, making their Waterhole debut.
November brings more talent to the Waterhole Music Lounge. On Nov. 4 Gratefully Yours, a Grateful Dead tribute band, will perform. On Nov. 9, Matt Heckler will perform. He is a solo multi-instrumentalist that doesn’t fit into any ordinary category. Donna The Buffalo, known for touring the country while remaining independent, and as one of the industry’s most diverse roots-music bands will perform on Dec. 2.
December will bring more iconic acts, like the intoxicating band Sophistafunk, who has been described as “Rage Against the Machine meets The Roots, dipped in P-Funk.” They will perform on Dec. 9. The last show scheduled is local favorites Raisinhead. They have been playing music for twenty years, and will perform on New Year’s Eve at the Waterhole.
Tickets for all Fall 2022 concerts at The Waterhole can be purchased here. Doors open at 7:30 and shows begin at 8:30 p.m. As always, the Waterhole is a 21+ venue.
The Blues Project, formed in Greenwich Village in the mid-’60s, has postponed their October 30 show in Saratoga Springs at Caffe Lena.
The band will announce a rescheduled date soon, when they will celebrate their first new album in 42 years, Evolution, which finds the band from a well of various musical styles and influences throughout the album’s 12 tracks.
One of the first album-oriented, “underground” groups in the United States, the Blues Project offered an eclectic brew of rock, blues, folk, pop, and even some jazz, classical, and psychedelia during their heyday in the mid-’60s.
The original group featured guitarist Danny Kalb (who had played sessions for various Elektra folk and folk-rock albums), Steve Katz (a guitarist with Elektra’s Even Dozen Jug Band), flutist/bassist Andy Kulberg, drummer Roy Blumenfeld, and singer Tommy Flanders. Al Kooper, in his early twenties a seasoned vet of rock sessions, joined after sitting in on the band’s Columbia Records audition, although they ended up signing to Verve, an MGM subsidiary.
The current lineup for The Blues Project performing at Caffe Lena later this month features Katz and Blumenfeld leading a powerful new lineup that includes young and talented members Chris Morrison on lead guitar, Scott Petito on bass, and Ken Clark on keyboards and vocals.
After the release of their debut live album, the band recorded their second album Projections in the fall of 1966, receiving rave reviews and containing an eclectic set of songs that ran the gamut from blues, R&B, jazz, psychedelia, and folk-rock. The centerpieces of the album were an 11-and-a-half minute version of Muddy Waters’ blues standard “Two Trains Running” featuring Kalb on vocals and lead guitar, and Kooper’s instrumental “Flute Thing” featuring Kulberg on flute.
Soon after Projections was released, Kooper and Katz left the band and in 1968 joined forces to form jazz-rock icons Blood, Sweat & Tears. While Kooper led the band on its first album, Child Is Father to the Man, he did not take part in any subsequent releases. Soon after, Kooper, then a producer for Columbia Records, recorded with Bloomfield, Stephen Stills and Harvey Brooks for the album entitled Super Session, before doing several solo albums. Katz, who was instrumental in the band’s phenomenal success, remained with B,S & T, into the 1970s. Katz went on to produce Lou Reed’s best-selling and still-influential live LP Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal (as well as its follow-up Sally Can’t Dance, Reed’s only top-10 album).
The Blues Project, with a modified line-up, reformed briefly in the early 1970s, releasing three further albums: 1971’s Lazarus, 1972’s Blues Project, and 1973’s The Original Blues Project Reunion in Central Park. After disbanding again, Blumenfeld formed Seatrain and in the 2000s performed with former Country Joe & the Fish member Barry Melton.
The original Blues Project disbanded for good in the 90s (although Katz, Blumenfeld and Kalb performed a successful reunion tour in 2012) but realizing they still had a passionate fan base who cared about the band and its music, Katz and Blumenfeld decided to give it another try in 2021.
When you think of Westchester, you may not picture a thriving rap and hip hop scene; one local producer is looking to change that. John Darling aka Poncho is a producer turned entrepreneur, who highlights local artists on his Youtube show, the Encore Podcast.
Growing up in Cortlandt Manor, Poncho didn’t seriously start making beats until a sports injury in college prompted him to switch gears and make music. After dropping out of the University of Mississippi his sophomore year, he returned to his hometown and quickly learned how tough it was to make a career as a producer.
John Darling aka Poncho is a producer turned entrepreneur. With an eye for upcoming artists and an ear for beats, the Westchester native uses his talents daily on his Youtube show, the Encore Podcast.
“You got the industry route where you’re trying to get beats on an album and the internet route posting beats on Youtube, but it’s just so saturated,” he explained. “You can only get so far doing that.”
Rather than DMing artists with his beats and hoping for responses, Poncho wanted musicians to come to him. His solution was the Encore Podcast, where he envisioned himself interviewing up-and-coming rappers, producers and DJs. Poncho had a variety of music contacts from previous ventures hosting live shows and he hoped some of these connections would translate to people he could feature on the podcast. Poncho also believed Encore could serve to connect Westchester artists to one another, creating a community centered around music.
“There’s a lot of people who do music in Westchester, but everyone is just disconnected,” he said. “There’s no home base for people.”
Yet that community is clearly growing under Poncho’s guiding hand. While the podcast is still small – it has less than 1,000 subscribers on Youtube – the fan base is clearly dedicated. The show never appears to lack new voices, whether it be interviews with female rappers like the Yonkers based Prada Mama or big name producers like Mike Snell, who has worked with the likes of artists such as Kanye West and Timbaland.
The podcast is also big enough that Poncho said he only accepts around 15% of interview requests. And on episodes where he reviews new music, artists are now paying him to critique their songs.
Poncho making beats in the studio
Still, it took a while for Poncho to reach this stage. Over the course of hundreds of episodes and many years, the podcast has evolved from acoustic performance videos to music reviews and artist Q&As. Currently, Poncho says the primary focus is creating educational content for artists and producers.
“The interviews are really about creating teachable moments for artists,” he said. “A lot of artists don’t really know what they’re doing … so there’s an education gap that we’re trying to fill with our podcast.”
Indeed, the podcast excels particularly by providing both a platform for artists and their music while simultaneously serving as a learning tool for viewers hoping to make it in the industry. Perhaps no one knows this better than Westchester rapper Tim Schulze, who releases music under the moniker, Starkiller TmmyX.
TmmyX has been a featured guest on the podcast, working alongside Poncho to review artist submissions. TmmyX is also an avid viewer of the show and said the podcast provides knowledge he wished he had known when he was just starting out.
“Poncho goes through and he teaches all these little things and he gives you all these criticisms,” he said. “Some people might take it the wrong way, but these are things that I wish somebody was telling me earlier in my career.”
The burgeoning reach of Poncho’s podcast also contributed to TmmyX filming a music video with the artist Nyck Caution, a member of the hip hop collective Pro Era, which notably features Joey Bada$$ as one of its founding members. TmmyX and Caution had recently made a song together, although they never met in-person for the collab. TmmyX decided to preview the new single on the Encore Podcast, where it was met with rave reviews. Hundreds of people tagged Caution while Poncho himself gave a shoutout requesting the two meet and shoot a music video together … and it worked.
“Two weeks later, [Nick Caution] is with me and we’re in Brooklyn shooting the video because of Poncho’s podcast,” TmmyX said. “It’s things like that. He’s creating moments. Poncho has created each of these connections by putting his service out there.”
Another connection Poncho has made is with Bobby Lehday, a Westchester producer and now frequent guest of the Encore podcast. Lehday has worked with famous rappers like Lil Durk and serves as an in-house producer for other Westchester artists like TmmyX.
Like Poncho, Lehday has an eye for Westchester talent and sees the opportunity for a community to grow around the rap genre.
“I like to see people from my area win and if I can help them with that, I’ll do whatever I can,” Lehday said. “I love seeing people blossom and grow into artists. I feel like a farmer tending my garden.”
Bobby Lehday, Poncho and TmmyX doing music reviews on the podcast
For Lehday, sometimes helping others comes in the form of tough love, as evidenced by his sometimes critical music reviews on the Encore Podcast.
“I’ve been on the show myself and people have said I’ve been a little harsh, but honestly some people really need to hear that,” Lehday emphasized. “If you’re serious about music, you have to be willing to be humbled.”
As someone who has been humbled many times while making the podcast what it is today, Poncho said he agrees with this mindset.
“At the beginning I was ignorant and after a hundred and fifty podcasts, I learned that, ‘oh, I’m doing this wrong,’” he said. “Eventually after I’ve fixed two hundred things, now I have a good podcast.”
Still, Poncho doesn’t deny that sometimes ignorance is bliss.
“I was blessed because I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing,” he said. “If I had known how difficult this actually is, I might have not done it.”
But by all accounts, Poncho has done it. Through trial and error and sheer dedication, Darling has made the Encore Podcast his full-time job and his main source of income. He continues to grow the platform one new artist at a time.
“I’ve got no other option,” he said. “With the platform we’re trying to build, I only want people that have that hustle, because if you don’t have the hustle, you’re not going to make it.”
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets returned to The Beacon Theatre in NYC on Wednesday, October 12. The band formed in 2018 to perform the early music of Pink Floyd. It consists of Pink Floyd co-founder and drummer Nick Mason, bassist Guy Pratt, guitarists Gary Kemp and Lee Harris and keyboardist Dom Beken. Mason’s idea was to bring Pink Floyd’s pre The Darkside of the Moon material to a broader audience.
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at The Beacon Theatre 10.12.22
Although The Darkside of the Moon was Pink Floyd’s most popular album, there were actually seven albums that preceded it. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was Floyd’s debut album. It was released in 1967 and is the only Pink Floyd album created under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett. During the second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, Barrett’s mental health deteriorated. Syd left the band before the completion of the album and David Gilmour joined. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” was the only song on the album featuring all five members.
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at The Beacon Theatre 10.12.22
Nick Mason may not have the same name recognition as Waters or Gilmour, but this show is just as good. I had forgotten how many fantastic pre Darkside hits the band has. The show started with “One of These Days,” the opening track from the 1971 album Meddle. After that they performed Pink Floyd’s first single released in 1967, “Arnold Layne.” Gary Kemp’s vocals really did this song justice as it sounded almost identical to the original. They continued with “Obscured by Clouds,” the title track of the 1972 album, and “When You’re In.”
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at The Beacon Theatre 10.12.22
The next portion of the show was devoted to the album Atom Heart Mother. This was Pink Floyd’s fifth studio album, and the first to reach number 1 in the UK. The album was recorded at EMI studios which is now known as Abbey Road Studios. It is also the first album not to feature any photos of the band anywhere, nor their name on the cover. They performed the title track to the album as well as “If”. The first set ended with the psychedelic “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.”
After a short break, set two started with “Astronomy Domine,” the opening track on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Hallucinatory images of red ooze and trippy lasers flashed in synch to the music. The second set also revisited Obscured by Clouds with “Burning Bridges” and “Childhood’s End.” The highlight of set two and perhaps the entire show was “Echos.” For the first time of the show, the entire audience was on their feet. They included every detail from the opening “ping” to the high pitched screeching noise. Kemp and Pratt’s vocals on this were just as good as the original version’s Gilmour and Wright. This was the culmination of set two.
The crowd remained standing for the rest of the show. “See Emily Play” was the first song of the encore. The show ended with the band’s namesake “Saucerful of Secrets” and again paying tribute to Syd Barrett with “Bike” which Nick Mason considers one of Barrett’s best songs.
The band finally restarted touring in April after postponing due to the pandemic. They recently played The Capitol Theater which you can read our review of here. They also have a ton of upcoming dates in the states as well as Ireland, the UK and Europe. You can see the complete list of all upcoming dates here.
Setlist: One of These Days, Arnold Layne, Fearless, Obscured by Clouds, When You’re In, Candy and a Currant Bun, Vegetable Man, If, Atom Heart Mother, If (Reprise), Remember a Day, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, Astronomy Domine, The Nile Song, Burning Bridges, Childhood’s End, Lucifer Sam, Echoes, See Emily Play, A Saucerful of Secrets, Bike
On Saturday October 15, the Catskill Symphony Orchestra starts their season at the Foothills Performing Arts Center in a 7 p.m. concert featuring Sara Daneshpour as a guest pianist.
The night’s program includes four pieces; Beethoven’s “The Creatures of Prometheus Overture” and “Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major,” “The Unanswered Question” by Charles Ives, and Luigi Cherubini’s “Symphony in D Major.”
Daneshpour is a world-renowned musician, having placed 3rd in the 2017 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, was 2014 prizewinner at the Seoul International Music Competition in Korea, and was 2013 Laureate of the ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association.
The Catskill Symphony Orchestra was founded as a community volunteer group in 1953, before being converted to tax-exempt professional status in 1974. From 1973 until 2017, the orchestra was conducted by Maestro Charles Schneider and in 2020 Polish conductor Maciej Żółtowski was appointed the new Music Director.
The Foothills Performing Arts Center, located in Oneonta, is a not-for-profit entertainment and civic center that serves the cultural, educational, and community needs of the Otsego, Delaware, and Chenango region.
Information regarding tickets, location, and more for “Concert I – The Revolutionaries” can be found here.
Astounding an intimate audience during their Lark Hall debut, the experimental progressive jazz-rock quartet Kick the Cat wasn’t pussyfooting around during their recent stop in Albany on October 7th. From heavy metal and beautiful blues-based rock, to complicated jazz compositions mixed with playful funk and all sorts of funky time signature changes, the enduring Chicago-based band unleashed an all-out assault of the senses by combining just about every style of music known to man and making it their own. Uncompromising and anything but commercial, those who dared to take a chance on this night were rewarded with a very special performance.
Kick the Cat performing at Lark Hall in Albany, NY 10/7/22
In a move that only further cements an already legendary status, veteran Capital Region concert promoter Greg Bell of Guthrie/Bell Productions announced just days before the show that it would be free-for-all. No cover charge, no hidden agenda. Why you ask? In a statement released on social media, Bell claimed “Because I feel people should see these two bands, I am making this a free show. No tickets needed, no admission fee, just great music.” Also making their Lark Hall debut on the evening was the Hudson Valley-based group NEQ. Made up of guitarist Todd Nelson, Kyle Esposito (bass) and Manuel Quintana (drums), the group was also joined by Ross Rice on keyboards. Playing mostly songs from their 2022 debut album ‘Nevertheless”, the band showcased a diverse set of influences ranging from classic and prog rock, to gospel, funk and even a splash of spaghetti western. Clearly having a good time on stage, the bands heartfelt approach immediately endeared themselves to the listener and set the bar incredibly high for what was soon to follow.
NEQ performing at Lark Hall in Albany, NY 10/7/22
Dressed like regular dudes, the members of Kick the Cat casually took to the Lark Hall stage around 9:30pm. Greeting the audience with gratitude and letting them know in advance things were about to get weird at times, but also groovy and beautiful at times too. Though the band might be new to some, they’ve actually been playing together for nearly twenty-five years. Consisting of front man Chris Siebold on guitar, Kris Myers (of Umphrey’s McGee) on drums, Chris Clemente on bass and Vijay Tellis-Nayak on keyboards, The Cats opened with the pummeling start/stop frenzy of “Ow! My Eye,” clearly letting you know you had to be punished before you were pleasured.
Kris Myers performing with Kick the Cat at Lark Hall in Albany, NY 10/7/22
Anchoring the controlled chaos, it was the powerful, confident and steady hands Kris Myers that demanded most of the attention early on. A strange sight to see the Umphrey’s McGee drummer without his percussion playing partner Andy Farag nearby, but casual fans may not realize Myers is one of Kick the Cat’s founding members. Myers, who started playing at age 8 and earned a master’s degree in jazz drumming from DePaul University, played on KTC’s first two studio albums before joining UM in 2003. It was here in this type of setting that his undeniable talent and dexterity could truly be appreciated. All evening long you could hear and see people whispering to each other about just how good he really is.
Kick the Cat performing at Lark Hall in Albany, NY 10/7/22
After working their way through a series of complex, percussion-heavy compositions like “Alt De Facto,” “Harebrained,” and “Hope Against Hope,” front man Chris Siebold took to the mic while changing out guitars, saying “We just bludgeoned your bodies, but now we’re about to bathe you in relaxation.” What initially came off as a “cool down” song for Myers effortlessly became a showcase of guitar playing virtuosity for Siebold. Landing somewhere between the luscious and dreamy tones of greats like David Gilmour and Jeff Beck combined with the chop-busting inspiration from bands like The Weather Report, King Crimson and Return To Forever, it was at this point in the evening that Chris stole the spotlight from Kris and let everyone know he was an absolute force behind the frets. After a beautifully bluesy rendition of “Two Down” from their 2002 album Weirdo another show highlight came in the form of “Camel Toe Vs. Snaggle Tooth,” which at its climax, forced even those sitting to rise up in appreciation.
Chris Siebold of Kick the Cat performing at Lark Hall in Albany, NY 10/7/22
After working their way through much of 2021’s Gurgle, Kick the Cat’s first studio release in over a decade, another clear sign of approval came when promoter Greg Bell approached the front of the stage and presumably asked the band to play little longer. Happy to oblige, Siebold joked “Another set? Sure, hell we’ll play till sunrise if someone wants to offer us another $30,000, which of course would be donated to charity. Any takers?” he asked. “No? Ok, we’ll play a little longer anyway, but if we start noticing the place is clearing out, just give us a sign.”
While Kick the Cat didn’t quite play till sunrise, they did perhaps play longer than any other band at the recently renovated Lark Hall. Fans who stuck around until the end were treated to ambitious songs like “Ramsey (All In)”, “Waz Up” and “That Stuff That’s Tough” before eventually bringing things to a close with the song “Squirt.” An evening filled with heady-yet-approachable grooves and other worldly soundscapes, angular melodies, fuzz-filled tones and all-out rock n roll, the level of musicianship KTC brought to Albany was unapparelled. While progressive jazz-rock fusion may not often be thought of as “cool” these days, Kick the Cat is and seeing them live is a thrilling experience you’re not likely to forget.
Kick the Cat performing at Lark Hall in Albany, NY 10/7/22
Kick the Cat | Lark Hall | Albany, NY | October 7, 2022
Setlist: Ow! My Eye, Alt De Facto, Harebrained, Hope Against Hope, Adolpho’s Dilemma, Visogoth’s Overture>Breakfast with the Visogoth’s, Two Down, Camel Toe Vs. Snaggle Tooth, Ramsay( All In), Waz Up, That Stuff That’s Tough, Squirt
On November 5, singer-songwriter Mary Fahl and her backing band will perform at the Auburn Public Theater in promotion of her July-released cover album Can’t Get It Out of My Head.
The record includes re-imaginations of songs from major influences for Fahl, with the track list including Electric Light Orchestra, The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, Nick Drake, The Mamas and the Papas, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Judy Collins, George Harrison, and Richard & Linda Thompson.
Cover art and track list for Mary Fahl’s ‘Can’t Get It Out Of My Head.’
The Rockland County native first broke through as a musician as lead singer of 1990s NYC chamber pop group October Project, releasing two albums before the collective initially disbanded in 1996. Since then albums from Fahl include 2003’s The Other Side of Time, 2011’s Dark Side of the Moon, her song-for-song reconstruction of the heralded Pink Floyd record, and 2014’s Love and Gravity.
Recently having been recording and touring on her own label Rimar Records, Fahl has received awards for releases such as 2014’s Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera Housewhich won an Indie Acoustic Award for Best Live Album, as well as her holiday album Winter Songs and Carols which was awarded a 2020 Independent Music Award.
Mary Fahl’s new album can be listened to online or via streaming services.
Gorillaz brought their star-studded lineup to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday, October 12th, as part of the final leg of their 2022 world tour. While Gorillaz is primarily the project of frontman Damon Albarn (Blur, The Good, the Bad & the Queen), a Gorillaz live show is always a parade of collaborators and special guests, and the show at Barclays was no exception.
The set featured appearances from Thundercat, Fatoumata Diawara, EarthGang, and longtime Gorillaz collaborators De La Soul and Del the Funky Homosapien. Find the full setlist and photo gallery from Wednesday night below.
Back in June, Gorillaz released the stand-alone single “Cracker Island”. Featuring Thundercat, the song is a classic mix of the nu-disco/rap blend that Gorillaz have been long known for. Thundercat provides the bass line and backing vocals while Bootie Brown delivers the rap verses, both of whom were on hand on Wednesday night to perform it live. The song would ultimately become the title of track of their recently announced eight LP Cracker Island, due out in February 2023.
“Cracker Island” by Gorillaz. Via YouTube
With the announcement of the new album in August, Gorillaz also unveiled a second single, “New Gold” featuring Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Bootie Brown. While Kevin was did not make a surprise appearance as he did in Los Angeles, Bootie Brown performed his part with Kevin’s image embedded into the psychedelic visuals of the live show. The setlist also featured “19-2000” from their 2001 self-titled debut with a surprise appearance from Miho Hatori, who had not performed with the band for more than a decade. Miho was the original voice of the character Noodle in the virtual Gorillaz band that was the foundation of the groups mystique early in their career.
Damon Albarn and Miho Hatori of Gorillaz, Barclays Center 10/12/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
During the encore, Damon welcomed the long time Gorillaz collaborators De La Soul and Del the Funky Homosapien to join them for some of the band’s most iconic songs. De La Soul provided the epic laughing intro and bassy rap verses to “Feel Good Inc.” before Del burst into raucous performances of “Rock The House” and the classic “Clint Eastwood” which sent fans into a frenzy to close out the 2-plus hour, 27 song show.
Del the Funky Homosapien, with Gorillaz. Barclays Center 10/12/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Gorillaz have a handful of dates left on their 2022 tour, before a period of down time ahead of the new album release in February. Head over to their website for the full list of dates, and check out the photo gallery below from Barclays Center.
Gorillaz, Barclays Center, Brooklyn – October 12, 2022
Fun Lovin’ Criminals have released their first EP in more than a decade, The Roosevelt Sessions, with a national tour kicking off in November. The jazz-laden four-track cut is sprinkled with biting political satire, nostalgic samples that romanticize life in New York, and their signature world-weary commentary on rising above a life of crime.
The last album of original music from Fun Lovin’ Criminals was Classic Fantastic, released in 2010, and The Roosevelt Sessions gives fans a taste of the new Criminals sound ahead of more new music slated for release in 2023. The trio features multi-instrumentalist Brian ‘Fast’ Leiser on lead vocal duties following the departure of Huey Morgan in November last year; drummer Frank Benbini and guitarist Naim Cortazzi, formerly with the Manchester band Happy Mondays and soul star Beverley Knight, to restore the trio.
“Shake It Loose”, the second track on the EP, addresses the mental health issues that inspired Fast and Frank to create new music and perform to their fans worldwide after the departure of Morgan.
With silky backing vocals from Benbini, Fast, with his smokey Brooklyn drawl, laments, “back then you didn’t listen, to what was true, now it’s all we wanna hear from you. It’s not about right, it’s not about wrong.”
Fun Lovin’ Criminals are entering a new chapter, with a steely focus on creating new music that our fans will love. Our new EP is a return to our gritty early days in NYC, particularly with the way the music has been composed.
Brian ‘Fast’ Leiser
Fun Lovin’ Criminals began in 1993 after Brian ‘Fast’ Leiser met Huey Morgan at The Limelight nightclub in NYC. Their debut album Come Find Yourself reached no.7 in the UK charts and was certified Platinum in the UK and Gold in the Netherlands. The biggest hit “Scooby Snacks” contains dialogue from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. The track peaked at no.12 in the UK singles chart in 1997 and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in July 2022.
Fun Lovin’ Criminals Fall Tour dates can be found below, with the tour kicking off in Boston on November 3, and stopping in their hometown of Brooklyn on November 4 at Elsewhere.
