Alt-rock group Mother Mother returns to an even bigger crowd in Buffalo on October 15, with Buffalo Riverworks packed with both new and old fans.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
The well-known “out-of-box” foursome Transviolet opened up the show. This pop-rock band consists of Sarah McTaggart, Mike Panek, Jon Garcia, and Judah McCarthy. All of which are all too familiar with working alongside various musicians. They easily got the crowd hyped up with McTaggart’s chilling vocals and infectious energy.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
The viral indie-rock band Vundabar followed up Transviolet. The trio of Brandon Hagen, Drew McDonald, and Zack Abramo managed to keep the fun alive. This was especially so when they played their hit “Alien Blues.”
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Earlier in 2022, Mother Mother performed at the Town Ballroom. Buffalo fanbase is so extremely loyal to this group that they made a return only 9 months later. This seemingly rapid growing band is composed of Ryan Guldemond (vocals, guitar), Molly Guldemond (vocals, synth), Jasmin Parkin (vocals, keys), Ali Siadat (drums), and Mike Young (bass).
Immediately when the group encapsulated the stage and aura washed over the venue. This band is able to bring theatrical and ethereal qualities. They opened up their performance with their songs “Verbatim” and “O My Heart.” The way Ryan, Molly, and Jasmin are able to move across stage and layer their vocals over one another creates an eeriness.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
The dark lighting and build up from one song to the next helped set the mood in Riverworks. The mystic vocals of Molly had the crowd in awe when she covered Radiohead’s “Creep,” which was especially impressive. Mother Mother is a constant reminder of what it means to never give up on your dreams. Ryan shared how the band originally started by him writing songs alone in his bedroom. He then told everyone in the crowd that despite what anyone else might think, “if you have a dream, keep chasing it and wreck any obstacles that stand in the way.” He shared that’s what gave him inspiration for their song “Wrecking Ball.”
Mother Mother then closed out their show in Buffalo with their songs “Hayloft II” and “Ghosting.” Both of which are fan favorites and left everyone screaming the lyrics.
Photo credit: Maddie McCafferty
Make sure to keep up to date with upcoming shows at Buffalo Riverworks. I Prevail and Pierce the Veil perform November 20.
Setlist: Verbatim, O My Heart, Bit by Bit, Infinitesimal, Body of Years, Creep (Radiohead cover), The Stand, Back in School, Burning Pile, Problems, Sick of the Silence, It’s Alright, Arms Tonite, Body, Wrecking Ball, Oh Ana, Hayloft/ Girl Alone, Hayloft II
Several Western New York musical groups performed on the main stage at Barker Commons park in Fredonia on Saturday, September 24 for a yearly event hosted by Fredonia Radio Systems, Rockin’ the Commons. A line-up of local bands including BP & the Oil Spills, Capo II, as well as SUNY Fredonia-based musical groups, such as the all-female acapella group, Some Like It Hot, participated in the day of music.
Rockin’ the Commons flyer
Some Like It Hot, also dubbed “the Hotties”, feature rock, pop, and hip hop songs, coordinated by either a former or current group member, sung in their performances. The acapella perform at many schools across New York during the academic semester.
Some Like It Hot acapella group at Rockin’ the Commons
Another group who took the stage at Rockin’ the Commons was duo, Capo II. Hailing from Buffalo, Augie Bates and Andrew Anable deliver a spectrum of prototypical pieces, consisting of vocalized harmonies, a broad range of instrumentals, tap dance percussion and pedals (sustained notes played and typically held in bass, which serve as a dissonance from the other notes).
Capo II members, Augie Bates and Andrew Anable
Started up in Kaisertown, other Buffalo-based band, BP and the Oil Spills, is comprised of members, song-writer Nathan Kohler, drummer Alex Gennaro, bass Charlie DeRose, and founder Blaise Przybyla.
The group commonly performs at various venues in Buffalo, and has performed at Fredonia for several shows, throughout the past few years. Their most recent singles, “Carpe Diem” and “Unrequited” hold thoughtful lyrics and contain elements of a multitude of genres, spanning from pop, prog, and blues to punk, grunge, and funk, and more.
Cover for BP & the Oil Spills’ single, “Carpe Diem”
The line-up at Rockin’ the Commons also included a few more Buffalo-based bands, Johnny and the Man Kids, Marquee Grand, as well as musicians based in Fredonia, Hals and Pals and all-male acapella group, Much More Chill.
A tick before midnight on Saturday October 15, brains splattered on the wall, a mix of sweat and beer wet the floor, as a stunned crowd shuffled out of the Bug Jar, eyes-glazed. Such was the aftermath from the headlining set from French trio SLIFT.
Comprised of brothers Jean and Remi Fossat on guitar and bass, and high school friend Canek Flores on drums, SLIFT was rounding the home-stretch of their first ever North American tour. Their most recent release, Ummon, arrived just before the pandemic shutdowns. The set pulled exclusively from that material, though nearly 3 years old, it of course arrived to the sold-out Rochester audience farm fresh. Each note, each beat, every howl, served and consumed with reckless abandon.
After limb-loosening and ear-pleasing sets from local openers The Ginger Faye Bakers and Haishen, the trio took the stage. Jean dialed up an undulating drone from his electronics panel, which sped into an alien beam before the band exploded into “Ummon”. Guitar, drums and bass a raging ball of energy. The crowd responded in kind, jumping, fist pumping, bodies bouncing off bodies, feet stomping on feet, elbows jabbing chests. But there was no time for apologizing, just move or be moved.
Digital patterns and images frenetically displayed behind the band. Like a sonic mood ring, they seemed to match the music’s energy. Reds and whites flashed during the heavier head-banging moments. When “It’s Coming” kicked into a more head-bobbing psychedelic groove, oranges and greys emerged. Mellower still, brought blues and yellows. A meaty “Century on a Satellite” > “Hyperion” mid-set had the band moving freely between high-energy metal, long bass-led grooves, electronics-heavy sections, and slow-developing climaxes. The colorful displays followed all along the way, yellows shifting to oranges intensifying into reds.
When a band calls out their last song, it’s always welcome when that song goes for 15 minutes. A show-closing “Lions, Tigers and Bears” delivered on all fronts. Remi’s incredible bass playing reached a fever pitch, carrying a his brother through frenetic guitar solos and spacey electronics noodling. Flores’ drums built up to one final explosion and the whole ordeal collapsed gloriously. Then one last we’re-not-quite-done-yet droning exploration extended the evening until it all fizzled out for real. At just over an hour it wasn’t enough to sate the packed house, but pleas for an encore went unrewarded. Zut alors!
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.
Sunday, October 9th brought progressive metal heavyweights to Buffalo. John Petrucci, considered by many as the greatest guitarist of his generation, has just released his first solo effort in 15 years, Terminal Velocity. For the first time in 12 years, he is joined by his longtime musical collaborator, one of his closest friends, and undoubtedly one of the greatest drummers on the planet, the incomparable Mike Portnoy. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, moments like this don’t come around all that often, and for longtime fans of Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment, this moment could not have come soon enough. If you’re reading this review because you’re wondering if JP and MP were able to recapture their storied musical chemistry, catalogued on over a dozen classic Prog Metal albums, then let me make it clear that they did indeed—and then some. Dave LaRue joins them on bass for the tour. He has played many times with JP and MP on past G3 tours.
What is special about this tour is their three wives are in the band Meanstreak, opening for Petrucci and company every night. Formed in 1985, Rena Petrucci is on lead guitar, Marlene Portnoy is on rhythm guitar, and their bassist Martins Myung is the wife of John Myung who plays bass in Dream Theater. The band also consists of singer Bettina France and drummer Yael Rallis.
The atmosphere of the show had a very calming presence to many fans in attendance. The floor of Town Ballroom which is usually standing only, had 40 chairs for fans to watch the show, while the rest of the upper level was standing room only. Fans watched with their jaws dropped when Rena Petrucci shredded solos just as well as her husband John Petrucci does. It was an amazing sight to see for sure.
Rena Petrucci
Meanstreak’s set was 45 minutes in length where they played eight songs from the album released in 1988 titled Roadkill.
Petrucci/Portnoy/LaRue
John Petrucci
After a 30 minute changeover, John Petrucci and company took the stage to the Sopranos theme music. The crowd screamed intensely as the band took the stage. Mike Portnoy counted off the title track “Terminal Velocity” and that went into “The Happy Song.” John Petrucci then spoke to the crowd and said “How about that number 17?,” referencing Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and their big win earlier in the day. All of the fans cheered in excitement for the local connection.
Mike Portnoy
“Jaws of Life” was next on the setlist. From his original album Suspended Animation. This song is a nonoffensive and rather straight-beat opener that at least lets unsuspecting listeners know what kind of guitar trio this is; the players are pros. Other memorable songs played were “Damage Control” and encore “Glassgow Kiss.”
Dave LaRue
Shredding and art tend to be mutually exclusive by nature, since too many chord crunchers refuse to let the music be more important than they are. It often doesn’t help when a member of a well-known group undertakes a solo project, since standing out becomes even more urgent. John Petrucci avoids the land mines and delivers more depth than many listeners will likely appreciate.
Setlist: Terminal Velocity, The Happy Song, Jaws of Life, The Oddfather, Gemini, Out of the Blue, Tunnel Vison, Damage Control, Snake in the Boot, Temple of Ciracida
Meanstreak- Photo credit- Mike MillerPortnoy/Petrucci/LaRue- Photo Credit- Mike Miller
John Petrucci’s 2022 North American Tour Dates: 10/13 – New York, NY @ Town Hall 10/14 – Glenside, PA @ The Keswick Theatre 10/15 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theater 10/17 – Richmond, VA @ The National 10/19 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre 10/20 – Nashville, TN @ CMA Theater 10/21 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall 10/22 – Clearwater, FL @ Capitol Theatre 10/23 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Café 10/26 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues 10/27 – San Antonio, TX @ Charline McCombs Empire Theatre 10/28 – Houston, TX @ Stafford Centre 10/29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre 10/30 – Dallas, TX @ Factory Deep Ellum 11/02 – Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theater 11/03 – San Diego, CA @ The Magnolia 11/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Ace Hotel 11/05 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues 11/07 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts 11/12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theatre 11/13 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic 11/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater 11/16 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues 11/17 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo will welcome the much-anticipated appearance of the Amina Figarova Sextet at the Art of Jazz Series taking place Friday, November 11 at 8pm. This elite ensemble of jazz artists feature individuals who not only excel as a band member but also as composer and bandleader in their own right.
During the past 20 plus years, Art of Jazz has earned a reputation as one of the premier jazz series in North America. Some of the best artists, composers, and arrangers in jazz present unique musical projects featuring GRAMMY winners and nominees, as well as competition winners.
The Amina Figarova Sextet is led by Azerbaijan-born and New York-based Amina Figarova, an internationally influenced and recognized composer, pianist, and bandleader. Throughout the past 20 years, Figarova’s sextets have displayed remarkable chemistry that brings her detailed arrangements to life. Members of the sextets have included GRAMMY winners and nominees. Their dedication to Figarova’s powerful compositions gives the sextet a depth of feeling and unique elite status. The Amina Figarova Sextet has been a hit at major festivals like the Newport Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
In addition to Amina Figarova, the Amina Figarova Sextet will include:
Bart Platteau
Bart Platteau is unique among jazz flutists for a number of reasons, most significantly because he is the only one known to perform almost exclusively — 90% of the time — on the Flute d’Amore, pitched in Bb. Ideal for jazz playing, avoiding the potential shrillness of the concert flute and the projection problems of the alto.
Originally from Belgium, Bart Platteau studied at the Brussels Conservatory and earned his master’s in Jazz Performance at the Rotterdam Conservatory, including one semester at the Berklee College of Music where he met pianist/composer Amina Figarova who became his partner. He has since managed, toured, and recorded extensively with her sextet. After several years as the primary teacher for jazz flute performance at the Rotterdam Conservatory as well as at the Roosendaalse Music school in the Netherlands, Platteau moved to New York and has continued to play concerts all over Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Africa.
Wayne Escoffery
Since moving to New York City in 2000, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery has become one of the Jazz world’s most talented rising stars and in-demand sidemen. He has recorded four CDs as a leader and has been on numerous recordings as a sideman. Wayne began his professional New York career touring and recording with The Eric Reed Septet. In 2001 he became a steady member of the Mingus Big Band/Orchestra/Dynasty, The Lonnie Plaxico Group, and Abdulah Ibrahim’s Akaya. Then in 2004 Grammy award-winning producer, arranger and trumpeter Don Sickler asked Wayne to be a part of Ben Riley’s Monk legacy Septet.
At this time Wayne was also touring with Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Music, and in 2006 Wayne secured one of the most coveted gigs in jazz: a frontline position in Tom Harrell’s working quintet. Wayne has been fortunate enough to study with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world, including Jackie McLean, Ron Carter, George Coleman, Clark Terry, and Barry Harris. He also has first-hand experience playing with word class jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter. Wayne also leads his own group and performs internationally with The Mingus Band and Abdullah Ibrahim. He has experience introducing music to all ages and has learned the history of American Music from many of the innovators of the last five decades.
Freddie Hendrix
Trumpeter, composer, and arranger Freddie Hendrix, originally from Teaneck, New Jersey, has worked his way steadily during the last couple of decades to achieve his current position within the top echelon of first-call musicians whether it be as a jazz soloist, lead trumpeter or section player within a big band. His latter skill is borne out by his repeat employment with the archetypal ‘swing machine’, the Count Basie Orchestra which he re-joined in 2010 having left at the end of 2007 to work with pop star and actress Alicia Keys for her 2008 ‘As I Am’ world tour, performing 105 shows in over 30 countries.
Possessing a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in music performance, Freddie’s jazz credentials are extensive! His experience includes performances and recordings with The Grammy-winning Christian McBride Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, The legendary Jimmy Heath Big Band and Quintet, (VJO) Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, George Gee Swing Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Nicholas Paytonʼs TSO (Television Studio Orchestra), Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band, the legendary Illinois Jacquet Big Band, Mike Longo Big Band, Rufus Reid Quintet/Nonet, Billy Harper Quintet, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bobby Watson’s Horizon Band, Mulgrew Miller’s Wingspan, Oliver Lake Organ Quartet, Organist Melvin Davis, T.S.Monk Sextet, Cecil Brooks III CB3 band, and the David Krakauer/Fred Wesley group ‘Abraham Inc’. Above all, Freddie has emerged as one of the music’s exciting players – an amalgam of great trumpeters such as Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Lee Morgan, and Clifford Brown. A charismatic personality displaying sure-footedness in his full-toned phrasing and sense of swing. His versatility and superb hold their own in a variety of settings, from R&B, pop, and jazz.
Luques Curtis
Luques Curtis was born in 1983 in Hartford, CT. After having formal training in piano and percussion, he found himself wanting to play the bass. Luques studied at the Greater Hartford Academy of Performing Arts, Artist Collective, and Guakia with Dave Santoro, Volcan Orham, Nat Reeves, Paul Brown, and others. With his talent and hard work, he earned a full scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston. There he studied with John Lockwood and Ron Mahdi. While in Boston he was also able to work with great musicians such as Gary Burton, Ralph Peterson, Donald Harrison, Christian Scott, and Francisco Mela.
Now living in the New York area, Mr. Curtis has been performing worldwide with Eddie Palmieri, Stefon Harris, Christian Scott, Sean Jones, Orrin Evans, Christian Sands, and others. He is the recipient of the 2016 Down Beat Rising Star Bassist on the Critics Poll and also received the Ralph Bunche Fellowship to complete his Master’s Degree at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. He co-owns a record label called Truth Revolution Records alongside his brother, Zaccai. They have five releases under “Curtis Brothers” with the most recent being “Algorithm”. Luques was also part of Brian Lynch’s Grammy-winning CD “Simpatico” and his Grammy-nominated “Madera Latino” as well as Christian Scott’s Grammy-nominated CD “Rewind That”. He also produced Grammy-nominated “Entre Colegas” by Andy Gonzalez. You can hear him on Eddie Palmieri’s “Sabiduria” and “Mi Luz Mayor”; Gary Burton’s “Next Generations”; Dave Valentin’s “Come Fly With Me”; Sean Jones’ “Im*Pro*Vise”,” Roots”,” Kaleidoscope”, and “The Search Within”; Orrin Evans’ CD “Faith In Action”. As a sideman, Luques Curtis has participated in over 100 recordings.
Rudy Royston
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Royston has been a professional teacher, drummer, and percussionist for almost twenty years. He studied classical percussion at the University of Denver where earned undergraduate degrees in Music and English; Rudy accomplished teacher certification credentials from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Rudy grew up playing drums in church and found his voice under the auspices of Colorado’s celebrated trumpeter Ron Miles, whom Royston deems his greatest influence. He has taught, recorded, and performed all styles of music from Jazz to marching percussion. Since moving to Piscataway, New Jersey in 2006, Rudy Royston has completed a Master in Music degree from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and performed with many of today’s finest Jazz musicians. Javon Jackson, Bill Frisell, Les McCann, David Gilmore, Andy Milne, Shane Endsley, JD Allen, Sean Jones, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Edward Simone, Jennifer Holiday, Mark Gross, Ralph Bowen, Bruce Barth, George Colligan, Don Byron, Stanley Cowell, Jonathan Kreisberg, Jenny Scheinman and Craig Handy, to name a few. A lover of all genres of music, Rudy continues to pursue music and expand his musical horizons.
Information on how to purchase individual tickets to Amina Figarova Sextet or an Art of Jazz Series subscription can be found at here.
Buffalo jam rock group eberwine has stepped forward with their record debut One Vision, an hourlong escapade of winding guitar riffs, invigorated drumming, and accessible melodies.
Led by vocalist and guitarist Todd Eberwine, his band of the same name is a five-piece featuring drummer Ryan Nogle, bassist Keith Lindner, backing vocalist Aaron Ziolkowski, and keyboardists Evan Laedke and Eric Crittenden.
Album art for eberwine’s One Vision.
The album, which was “six years in the making,” was preceded by single, “Worlds Away” in April, a catchy roots rock track which serves as a proper preview to One Vision.
Opener “Get On” is an eight minute piece that does the same, giving the listener a good idea of what to expect from the record with a couple verses, a couple hooks, and lots of instrumental time. A bouncy song which sticks to a traditional blues rock format, a spacy keyboard solo in the track’s first couple minutes adds an ethereal element.
Songs on the album generally touch topics of romance, such as the title track where Eberwine sings “the stars are complete in their galaxies, when they explode they become more like you and me,” alluding to the cover art’s imagery.
eberwine
While Eberwine’s flashy guitar playing on display nearly every song, and Ryan Nogle’s drumming always keeps pace, and the keyboard section adds a sense of atmosphere, Keith Lindner’s bass playing is right there with them, entertainingly holding up the groove on songs like the instrumental “Real Good” And along with plenty of dazzling musicianship, Eberwine’s polished vocals help push forth songs that are primarily instrumental.
“Lies” is an album highlight, with its high tempo and funky guitar riff working well with an odd and uncomfortable melody. Eberwine’s shrieky vocals complement the moody track, with him singing “life deceived me as I’m falling down again.” This is coupled by one of the most engaging solos of the record, one which goes on for five minutes and reaches speed and intensity unique to the tracklist.
While this album knows when to heat up at the right times, it also knows when to settle down. “Lies” is fittingly followed by the subdued, solo-free “Divided,” with wistful lines such as “so the story goes but no one knows, and so we go on through the great untold.” “Fever,” the only other song under five minutes, follows up the raucous opening track with a nice blend of piano rock and acoustic guitar.
Stretches of subtlety also prove valuable on the 11-minute closer “In Flight Movie,” with Eberwine’s watery lead riff guiding the slow song to its more active moments like its exciting and powerful chorus where he sings “the moment’s okay, the moment’s gone, it makes us blind to what matters, it makes connection impossible.” The song’s nearly six-minute solo hits nicely as well, with dynamics alternating in a way to create a uniquely emotional performance here, giving a fitting end to the album.
While One Vision is eberwine’s first album, it doesn’t come short of displaying the expertise of Todd Eberwine and his band. On top of showing off plenty of mercurial musicianship, the group shows plenty of aptitude for emotional performances and stylistic versatility in a record that fills out its 68-minute runtime.
Information about future eberwine tour dates can be found here.
Toubab Krewe is making four stops in NYS this week, with a fifth stop next month. They will be hitting Buffalo, Albany, and Ithaca, with an appearance in Port Washington in November.
Toubab Krewe is an instrumental powerhouse from Asheville, NC that fuses west-African traditional music with elements of rock, jam, and Appalachian styles. Formed in 2005, the group is made up of Justin Perkins (Kora, Kamelngoni, guitar, percussion), Terrence Houston (drumset), Drew Heller (guitar, organ), Justin Kimmel (bass, keys), and Luke Quaranta (Djembe, Congas, Dundun, Sangban, Kinkini).
The group takes inspiration from African greats like Ali Farka Toure, Orchestra Baobab, and Salif Keita but remains true to themselves. They have also gone on many trips to learn more about African music, traveling to places like Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Mali.
This short tour stops in numerous places in NYS. On October 4, they will stop at Buffalo Iron Works, a venue they have toured before. They will head to Albany on October 5, playing at Lark Hall. The next day they will go to Ithaca and play at Deep Dive. They’ll be in Brooklyn at Industry City on Saturday, October 8th. For tickets to the tour, go here.
Formed in 1969, Little Feat, celebrating the 45th anniversary of ‘Waiting for Columbus’, played the stage at Point of the Bluff Vineyards in Hammondsport, NY September 26 and the eclectic crowd was ready to groove.
Although formed in LA in 1969, Little Feat plays a strong Southern rock vibe. A subtle mix of The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Marshall Tucker with a hint of Grateful Dead flow to your ears and get your head bopping and feet tapping.
Kenny Gradney of Little Feat playing in Hammondsport NY
While members have come and gone over the years, the band tours in 2022 with Bill Payne on Keyboards and Vocals; Sam Clayton on percussion and vocals; Fred Tackett on guitars and vocals; Kenny Gradney on the bass; Scott Sharrard doing guitars and Vocals; and Tony Leone banging the drums
Follow the band as they continue on with their commemorative tour Little Feat.
Little Feat at Point of The Bluff Vineyards
Setlist: Join the Band, Fat Man in the Bathtub, All That You Dream, Oh Atlanta, Old Folks Boogie, Time Loves a Hero, Day or Night, Mercenary Territory, Spanish Moon / Skin It Back, Dixie Chicken, Tripe Face Boogie, Willin’, Don’t Bogart That Joint, A Apolitical Blues, Sailin’ Shoes, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, Let It Roll
It was officially Fall, and unofficially, Fall weather had also arrived. But for Point of the Bluff Vineyards in Hammondsport, NY on the shore of Keuka Lake, there is still time left for outdoor music. So it was Saturday, September 24 when they invited Shakey Graves and The Ballroom Thieves to perform.
The show got started with some rapid fire questioning from The Ballroom Thieves’ Martin Earley, “You guys wanna party? Do you have your wine? Should we start?” And start they did, just as they do on their new album, with the gently rocking “Worldender,” which included some nifty alternating “oh”s from Earley and bassist Caitlin Peters, creating an acoustically derived digital-sounding effect. They followed with another one off of Clouds, the short and punchy “In the Morning.”
The Ballroom Thieves weren’t just sporting a new album though. Last summer founding member Devin Mauch left the band and this summer Peters and Earley got married. In fact, this show was only their second as husband and wife. The lineup was rounded out by drummer and keys player Kevin Kennedy O’Connell, from not-too-far-off Rome, NY.
The trio found lots of space to explore, mixing up their sound with regularity during their 45 minute set. “Pendulum” and “Bees” saw Peters switching to cello and O’Connell switching to keys for a couple of finger-picked folk beauties. O’Connell left the stage completely for a spell of duo tunes, a cover of Jackson Frank’s “Blues Run the Game,” and “Borderline,” accentuating the couple’s stellar harmonies as they lovingly gazed into each other’s eyes. Then they closed on a trio of grittier rocking with the bluesy “Fistfight” and punchy “Wolf.”
Shakey Graves entered the stage solo, already plucking out some notes on his guitar, holding a glass of wine wearing a dapper brown suit. He climbed up on a riser at the back of the stage and started banging out a rhythm with foot pedals on a cajon and cymbal, playing “Nobody’s Fool.” Before “Square One,” Graves explained how he always wished he could tour the country playing music, and it happened. But then he found that he was traveling too much so he wished he could just pause it for a bit, and unfortunately for the world, that happened too. He said he was sorry though. Then he wished he could drink wine at the top of a hill overlooking a lake and play a show, and poof here he was.
The rest of his quintet arrive on stage, in matching suits, for “The Donor Blues.” Graves added a lot of emphasis to his music, through hand motions and asides sprinkled throughout the set. When he sang, “I got my gall from the boys back east” he added, “That’s you…” pointing out to the crowd. In “Business Lunch” and “Ready Or Not” his hands kept busy acting out various lines.
Like The Ballroom Thieves, Graves kept the set moving with good variety. “Family and Genus” tied together with “Kids These Days” through a short burst of hectic rock, while the latter kept it up with some hard rocking energy behind solid drumming. But then Graves was alone on the stage again, sitting on the riser and picking out a long intro to “Was Here” followed by “Pansy Waltz.”
When the band came back, they were all taking shots from a small jar of brown liquor handed up from someone in the audience. The band crowded around one mic to sing and clap their way through “Unlucky Sin,” their appropriate we’re-under-a-tent “church moment.” And that zoomed up to the off-kilter “Counting Sheep” which burst into an extended anthemic two-guitar outro. On the show-closing “Dearly Departed” the crowd was encouraged to clap along, and eventually would take over the singing duties in full, lifting the tent in voice and making Graves’ dreams come true.
Ballroom Thieves Setlist: Worldender, In the Morning, Pendulum, Bees, Blues Run the Game (Jackson C. Frank cover), Borderline, Fistfight, Anybody Else, Wolf
Shakey Graves Setlist: Nobody’s Fool, Square One, The Donor Blues, Business Lunch, Ready Or Not, Family and Genus > Kids These Days, Was Here, Pansy Waltz, Unlucky Sin, Counting Sheep, Century City, Dearly Departed E: Late July
