Tag: bug jar

Five Must-See Shows in Rochester This November

The temps are cooling but the jams are just heating up and the longer nights just give us more time to rock out. Time to finish the first full “post-pandemic” year of live music strong. November is already well under way, but we still have some surefire live music picks and shows for you in Rochester.

November 8 – Sarah Shook and the Disarmers @ Abilene Bar and Lounge

First up is Sarah Shook, returning to Abilene for the first time since 2018, and after their show there this summer was postponed due to none other than that damn Covid. Touring behind their excellent 2022 release, Nightroamer, this North Carolina-based quintet muscles up honky tonk with a little rock and punk energy, or do they twang out their punk rock with a little honky tonk? Either way, you’re in for a barn-burning badass night of music.

Show starts at 8pm and tickets are $20/$25 dos.

November 12 – Lee Fields @ Photo City Music Hall

Last seen in Rochester mesmerizing the Rochester International Jazz Fest crowd at Harro East in 2013, Lee Fields finally returns this week. One of the best soul singers around, he recorded his first single back in 1969 and put out his latest album just last week, Sentimental Fool, his first for the vaunted Daptone Records label. He is anything but past his prime though, expect high energy on stage and off, grooves to get you moving and a voice that’ll hit you right in the sweet spot.

Show starts at 8p and tickets are $23.50.

November 17 – Another Michael, String Machine @ Bug Jar

A night of too-new-to-be-known indie music awaits. Two bands touring behind their 2022 releases are coming hungry to win your love. Another Michael is a tight Philadelphia-based band delivering hooky songs trending toward the folksier spectrum with breezy guitars and dreamy vocals. String Machine, a seven piece from the other side of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, brings a fuller sound, what they call maximalist indie rock. They’ll be playing from their latest, Hallelujah Hell Yeah, which is an album of album of joy, vulnerability, and forgiveness. Catch them both at the Bug Jar, with local openers, *ahem* Bugcatcher.

Show starts at 9pm and tickets are $14-$18.

November 19 – Amy Helm @ Hart Theater

Another Covid-postponed show, Amy Helm was supposed to grace the Canalside Stage outside the JCC this summer. Now we get to enjoy her inside the intimate and acoustically-sound Hart Theater. An incredible voice singing her incredible songs, prepare to be melted and moved. The Woodstock native and daughter to the late-great Levon, Helm is an extra special treat to see live, an Americana treasure. Locals Jon Itkin and the Receivers will open the show.

Show starts at 7p and tickets are $40-$70.

November 25-28 – Bop Shop’s 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival

Bop Shop Records has been celebrating their 40th anniversary all year, with the intention of hosting 40 shows in 2022. To see any music in this intimate environment among the stacks is a treat, but owner Tom Kohn has impeccable taste and brings in ridiculously good talent, so every show is pretty much cant-miss. Their busy November closes out with a 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival, four straight nights of high quality jazz to burn off those extra Thanksgiving calories.

Getting things started on Black Friday is Three Shamans, featuring Phil Haynes, Ken Filiano & Herb Robertson.

On Saturday, Joe Fiedler’s Open Sesame returns to take your Sesame Street favorites to places you never imagined.

Sunday night is Joe Fonda & Bass of Operation. Fonda has graced the Bop Shop stage more than any other artist. The reason for that is, he’s really freaking good!

Closing out the little festival on Monday is Michael Musillami Trio.

All shows start at 8pm and are $20. There is also a special four-show pass for $55.

November 7, 2022
SLIFT Slays a Sold-Out Bug Jar

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!

October 18, 2022
A Blast at the Bug Jar: L’Eclair, Spaceface and Drippers

Swiss instrumental quintet L’Eclair, Memphis rockers Spaceface, and Rochester’s own Drippers took the Bug Jar audience on a made-for-Saturday journey this past Tuesday.

Mike Turzanski’s Drippers set the night in motion. A mid-set multi-movement piece proved to be a highlight. Dual synths laid down eerie sounds matched with a haunting bass and drums backdrop. The electronics went into hyperdrive as the guitar took over. It spilled into a new wave segment and then ramped back up to something resembling prog-rock. As the groove got thicker, so did the smoke. A smoke machine sat on stage throughout the night and was used liberally but timely by all bands. Later in the set, a dual guitar ripper featured some hang-on-if-you-can bass work while a punk rave up gave the drummer’s star time to shine bright. The smoke had cleared but the journey was just getting started. Takeoff was imminent.

Spaceface, led by Jake Ingalls, formerly of the Flaming Lips, brought their own style of party-ready psychedelic rock. After a quick band huddle, they launched into “Happens All the Time,” it’s crunchy guitar disco rock got limbs moving throughout the room. “Rain Passing Through” amped up the dance grooves and it wasn’t long until bodies were fully in motion.

With a full-body workout underway, it was only appropriate to throw in some 3rd grade gym class references. Ingalls reminisced at the awkwardness of climbing ropes and changing in front of your classmates. It all began to make sense when he busted out a rainbow-colored parachute and tossed it out in the crowd. We all grabbed a hold and started to wave it up and down, following along to Coach Ingalls’ instructions. As the band ripped through a funky jam the crowd ran under the parachute according to their color or other various experiences. When it was asked for those who were at the Bug Jar for the first time, no one moved. A crowd of regulars!

The smoke machine was igniting throughout the set, and so were the tunes. Guitarist Eric Martin occasionally busted out a snow machine, filling the room with fake snow, which as it lingered, mixing with the smoke and lights, resembled the upside-down from Stranger Things, appropriately enough with the Bug Jar’s upside-down apartment. A tripped-out cover of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Melody” was truly unique. Katie Pierce laid down a fat bass line under Daniel Quinlan’s intricate beats on “Cowboy Lightning,” everything pinging back and forth off the walls for an immersive sound. The energy was also pinging around the room, a full-on dance party had exploded. We had ignition.

L’Eclair closed the night, guiding the ship through the cosmos with their Francophonic funk. As the music was instrumental, the French was implied, though those who witnessed soundcheck got a good dose as they called out instructions to their sound engineer. L’Eclair translates to “flash of lightning,” brilliant sparks appropriately emanated off the stage.

The Swiss quintet immediately set the crowd on course for more body moving. Fat intergalactic grooves were accompanied by keyboard laser beams and spacey guitar moans. Wild polyrhythms went in and out of step with jaunty synths.

Shorter flights gave way to extended jams. One built and built, a fiery engine, then dropped out all at once, floating in a zero-gravity groove. The drummer sparked the engine for another burn with oontz-oontz raving rhythms and cosmic beams shooting out from the synthesizers. A magnificent cacophony burst forth before melting down to a spectacular drum solo, complete, of course, with more sci-fi-infused synths.

The grounded dance-party of Spaceface took flight with L’Eclair, the band and crowd bouncing in lockstep, the ground pulling downward less and less as the night grew shorter, until the music felt like it had suspended the crowd in mid-air. The jams grew more electrified, more extended, stretching into the outer reaches. With no vocal mic on stage, banter was kept to an absolute minimum. Non-stop instrumental goodness filled the void between and within. Bursts of smoke provided a physical presence to the ethereal aura emerging along the waves of sound.

An encore is never a sure thing at the Bug Jar, and when one is granted is generally pretty quick. L’Eclair was coaxed out for two encores, each one a lengthy electronic funk out. One last burn to get us back home. Re-entry was a bit rough, Wednesday already underway as we departed the ship.

September 16, 2022
Holy Wave Floods the Bug Jar with Scintillating Sound

Holy Wave, a quintet out of Austin, made a stop at the Bug Jar in Rochester last Wednesday. The stage filled with various keyboards which laid the baseline for much of what the band presented during their set. Sounds layered upon sounds, waves in phase and out. Syncopation shifted and suddenly a united front became polyrhythmic. Their head-swaying psychedelia perfectly matched the venue’s aesthetic. Colorful squiggly waves filled the walls; colorful waves squiggled forth from the speakers. Retro furnishings hung upside down from the ceiling, while the band took nostalgia and flipped it on it’s head.

Their brand new single, “Chaparral” opened the set. A march-like beat built behind textural synths and soaring guitar lines. Art rock influence was apparent immediately, reminiscent of the eerie edges of early Genesis. Wild drum fills cut through the meandering synth and guitar layers in “Maybe Then I Can Cry,” which extended magnificently in a subtly shifting outro. “Western Playland” added a touch of psychedelic surf, this time fuzzy bass blasts broke through the haze.

“She Put a Seed In Your Ear” picked up the pace a bit, but still felt like it was fighting to pull out of their generally slogging cadence. The overlapping layers of keys, bass and guitars rode the rollicking drums until it all crashed into a dripping ooze. The set ended on a highlight from 2020’s Interloper, “I’m Not Living Here Anymore” but the crowd wouldn’t let them leave without an encore, which pulled them way back to 2013 and their early breakthrough, “Do You Feel It.” The room spun on it’s axis a few more times, the colored squiggles undulated a little while longer before silence slapped everyone back to reality.

Rochester’s own Drippers got the night started properly, warming the stage fully for Holy Wave as their tour mates Champaign Superchillin’ had to pull out of the show last minute. Mike Turzanski laid down screeching dissonance with effects-laden guitar work employing a unique finger picked technique while riding the whammy bar heavily. His airy and echoey vocals arrived almost as an after thought. Inspired playing throughout from the bass and drums allowed Turzanski to work some textural guitar magic. Speaking of non-traditional playing, Overhand Sam, of Maybird (among many others), joined in on bass for the night with his namesake overhand playing style. Like the BASF of Rochester’s music scene, he doesn’t make a lot of the tunes you hear, he makes a lot of the tunes you hear better.

August 15, 2022
Frankie and the Witch Fingers Bug Out at the Bug Jar

On a hot steamy summer night in Rochester the last place you want to be is stuffed into a packed Bug Jar. For the voracious music fans among us though, some shows are just too good to pass up, no matter the weather. So when L.A. via Bloomington quartet Frankie and the Witch Fingers made their long awaited return to the venue, enough souls made that music over comfort decision to fill the joint. Toronto’s Hot Garbage and locals CD-ROM rounded out the fuzzed-out psychedelic bill.

Frankie and the Witch Fingers took the stage for their set, did a quick long distance secret handshake thing, then launched into newer tune, “Empire.” And launch they did. Into a firestorm of rocking goodness, with syncopated guitars and bass, intricate guitar leads, tribal rhythms, a little West African psychedelia and enough manic drum fills to excite the most jaded fan.

“Cocaine Dream” went full punk, “Pleasure” got funky with some fat popping bass action from Nicki Pickle, and “Realization” had lead guitarist Josh Menashe in straight shred territory. The band and crowd were slick and sweaty and ready for the meat of the set. A “Cavehead”/”MEPEM” combo went long and deep, whirling and winding and peaking and dropping, but always raging forward. Singer and guitarist Dylan Sizemore bounced and shook and vibrated, every note and rhythm coursing through his body. Pickle grooved on her bass sporting a huge “damn this is badass” grin on her face. Drummer Nick Aguilar directed the energy swell after swell, climaxing with a huge rhythmic closing section.

“Dracula Drug” continued the relentless assault. Slow downs in “Reaper” and “Work” were just fake outs to hit the crowd with surprise knockout hooks. By set’s end both band and audience were ready to call the fight. Sweaty lumps of flesh filed outside to reorient and refresh.

Toronto quartet Hot Garbage made their last appearance of their tour opening for the Witch Fingers. A bass-forward garage rock sound, everything blended together in a greasy mash. They took full control of the crowd. The keys, guitar and bass working the head and torso, kneading and pounding and sculpting. While drummer Mark Henein moved everything from the ass down, shaking and pulling like strings on a marionette. “Easy Believer,” long and droning, featured a delicious bass line you could live inside for days. “Ride” a slow psychedelic march, closed the set, and set them on their way back home.

Rochester’s psych rock band CD-ROM got the night off to fun start with lots of reverb and fuzzed out guitar and synths. Vocalist Jesse Amesmith made creative use of effects using her voice as an instrument, working on off and all around the stage while the keys and guitars and drums matched her moves. Zeppelin-worthy rock outs were met with time-shifting whirlwinds and high-energy punk ragers.

July 21, 2022
Brooklyn’s Evolfo Rocks the World with the Announcement of “Site Out Of Mind” Tour w/shows in Troy, Canton, Rochester

Evolfo, Brooklyn’s very own psych rockers, have released the tour dates for their most recent album, Site Out Of Mind. The tour is set to take place between this upcoming March and April for a total of 12 days, across the Midwest and Northeast.

In 2021, Evolfo’s Site Out Of Mind, showed their fans a different side of what they’re capable of, expressing their uniqueness. In regards to their sophomore album, the group’s vocalist and guitarist Matt Gibbs shared, there is a mixture of “tripped out, weirdo, psych improv with our more arranged and melodic tunes.”

Along with Gibbs is Rafferty Swink on keys and vocals, Ben Adams on guitar, Kai Sorensen singing harmonies and playing trumpet, Jared Yee on saxophones, Ronnie Lanzilotta on bass, and Dave Palazola on drums. In Gibbs’ at home recording studio, all seven members shared their ideas and aided in the writing process.

Concepts derived from sci-fiction and one group psychedelic trip, led to the creation of something visionary and beyond the ordinary perspective of a psych rock album. Site Out Of Mind, takes their listeners on a journey into the depths of the spiritual mind and the afterlife.

In 2017, the rockers released their revolutionary debut album, Last of the Acid Cowboys, which totaled to over 6 million streams. However, through the use of thoughtful planning, improvisation and an extensive variety within their fresh new sounds, there’s no doubt that Site Out of Mind will be a success; some may even call it a rocker’s dream.

If the protagonist of that album died at the end of Last of the Acid Cowboys, then this was the protagonist’s internal journey, flipping the landscape, and going through the mountain of their mind in that moment of mortality; perhaps a blurring of brain activity between dying and death, between life and the afterlife.
Matt Gibbs

Tickets are currently available for sale on Evolfo. Additionally, Site Out Of Mind is available on these streaming platforms Listen / Share.

January 29, 2022