NYS Music 202​2

Tag: empire live

  • Fozzy Announces Dates For Save The World Fall Tour

    Atlanta metal band Fozzy has announced dates for their Save The World tour this fall across the U.S. and Canada.

    The tour, which features No Resolve and GFM as guest acts, begins September 8 in Columbus, OH and finishes October 10 in Virginia Beach. It includes two New York dates, with stops at the Lost Horizon in Syracuse on October 2 and October 8 at Empire Live in Albany. Tickets will go on sale Thursday.

    Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho waves to the crowd during a show.
    Chris Jericho, Fozzy frontman and famed pro wrestler. (Credit: David A. Smith/Getty Images)

    The tour is in promotion of Fozzy’s new record Boombox, released on the 6th. Their eighth studio album in a 20+ year career, Boombox entered the Neilson Current Hard Music Albums chart at #5 and the Current Rock Albums and Current Digital Albums charts at #19, having amassed nearly 14 million streams.

    The record also features three top 20 singles on Nielsen’s Mainstream Rock National Airplay chart, “I Still Burn,” “Nowhere to Run,” and “Sane.”

    Tour Dates:

    Thursday, September 8          Columbus, OH @ The King of Clubs

    Friday, September 9                Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom

    Saturday, September 10         Flint, MI @ Machine Shop

    Sunday, September 11             Pittsburgh, PA @ Jergels

    Monday, September 12           Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection

    Thursday, September 15        Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theater

    Friday, September 16              Hobart, IN @ The Art Theater

    Saturday, September 17         Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave

    Sunday, September 18            Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts

    Monday, September 19           Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater

    Thursday, September 29        Charlotte, NC @ Underground

    Friday, September 30              Richmond, VA @ Canal Club

    Saturday, October 1                 Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage

    Sunday, October 2                    Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon

    Monday, October 3                   New Bedford, MA @ The Vault

    Thursday, October 6                Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Electriques

    Friday, October 7                      Toronto, ON @ Opera House

    Saturday, October 8                 Albany, NY @ Empire Live

    Sunday, October 9                    Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl

    Monday, October 10                Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27

  • In Focus: Lawrence Hotel TV 2 Tour Rolls Through Albany

    Two years ago, in March of 2020, bands were cancelling shows and tours left and right. Such was the case for Lawrence’s Hotel TV Tour, but the band has picked up right where they left off in 2022 with the Hotel TV Tour 2. Lawrence just stopped in Albany to perform at Empire Live, and the brother-sister-led soul group put on a show that was as advertised. The set was full of positive energy, funk, soul, and the crowd loved every minute of it. Lawrence opened the show on a high note, playing ‘Casualty’ and ‘It’s Not All About You,’ two songs off their 2021 album Hotel TV.

    lawrence hotel TV

    Fans of the show may recognize Clyde’s Arrested Development shirt in the photo above. This is one of many TV related shirts that he’ll be wearing as a nod to the tour’s theme: Hotel TV. Lawrence’s set had references throughout the night as they covered some classic theme songs from shows and movies like Hey Arnold!, The Office, and The Little Orphan Annie. Grace likened the idea of hotel TV to being a home away from home, which for kids raised in the 90’s and beyond this is often the case. And so for a chunk of the set, Lawrence bounced between nostalgic covers and originals, including ‘Probably Up,’ ‘The Heartburn Song,’ and ‘Jet Lag.’

    lawrence hotel TV

    After hitting the Cha Cha Slide, Lawrence moved into another string of originals including: ‘Shot,’ ‘More,’ and ‘Freckles.’ ‘Freckles’ is a standout song from the band’s newest album, and is a perfect representation of Lawrence’s music. The band’s music features lyrics with optimistic spins on relatable topics layered over upbeat, groovy tracks that are a joy to perform and witness live. After ‘Freckles’, Lawerence stayed loose with another cover, their funky version of Sean Paul’s ‘Get Busy.’

    After ‘Get Busy,’ Lawrence slowed things down with their ballad: ‘The Weather.’ The crowd got what would be a timely, quiet moment, before an upbeat end to the night. Lawrence ended the show on a particularly high note with a string of hits including: ‘Make A Move,’ ‘Do You Wanna Do Nothing with Me?,’ and ‘Don’t Lose Sight.’ The crowd loved the set Lawrence crafted and they jumped, screamed, and sang at the tops of their lungs all night long. The crowd eventually waited for and welcomed an encore that featured ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’ and then faded out with Gracie singing ‘Tomorrow’ from Annie.

    Lawrence are wrapping up the east coast leg of their Hotel TV 2 Tour in Pennsylvania. After two shows at the end of March, the band will be making their way through the midwest and the south. You can view all of their upcoming tour dates and purchase tickets on their website. In the meantime, be sure to follow and subscribe to Lawrence on Instagram, YouTube and Spotify. For all upcoming shows at Empire Live, you can view their website here.

    lawrence hotel TV

    Setlist: Casualty, It’s Not All About You, Office Theme Song, Probably Up, Hey Arnold! Theme Song, The Heartburn Song, Jet Lag, Cha Cha Slide (Mr C the Slide Man), Shot, More, Freckles, Get Busy (Sean Paul), The Weather, Make A Move, Do You Wanna Do Nothing with Me?, Don’t Lose Sight

    Encore: It’s Gonna Be Me, Tomorrow (Annie)

    lawrence hotel TV

  • New Gwar Tour Will Stop In Albany This June

    GWAR announce The Black Death Rager World Tour this spring which will include a show in Albany at the Empire Live on June 12.

    “Ah, the cruel Spring, when life bursts forth and humans are reminded how dead they are inside! The horrific majesty of GWAR will blow through your town like painted ladies working the block for that rock.”

    Lead doom-warbler, The Berserker Blothar

    On the tour the band will be joined by opening acts Crowbar, The Native Howl and Nekrogoblikon.

    The tour coincides with the release of GWAR’s upcoming album “The New Dark Ages,” scheduled for release on June 3.

    GWAR “THE BLACK DEATH RAGER WORLD TOUR”

    In addition, to the tour and album GWAR will also release a graphic novel, “GWAR in the Duoverse of Absurdity”. It tells the story of an epic battle between GWAR and their doppelgangers from an alternate universe. The graphic novel is illustrated by established comic book artist Andy MacDonald, whose previous work includes Wolverine, Dr. Strange, and Wonder Woman.

    Tour tickets for fan club members are available Thursday, March 3—a day in advance of general sale tickets. Those tickets will be available Friday, March 4.

    Upcoming GWAR Tour Dates

    5/24: Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater

    5/26: Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades

    5/27: Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre

    5/28: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues

    5/29: Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee

    5/31: San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Event Center

    6/2: Destin, FL @ Club LA

    6/3: Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal

    6/4: Charleston, SC @ Music Farm

    6/5: Charlotte, NC @ The Underground

    6/7: Joliet, IL @ The Forge

    6/8: Green Bay, WI @ EPIC Event Center

    6/10: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

    6/11: Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

    6/12: Albany, NY @ Empire Live

    6/14: Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally’s

    6/15: Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground

    6/16: Providence, RI @ The Strand

    6/17: Reading, PA @ Reverb

  • Lawrence To Play Empire Live on Thursday March 10

    Lawrence is coming to Albany to play Empire Live this Thursday, March 10th along with MLLN! If you have not yet heard Lawrence’s music, then just have a listen to their acoustic version of ‘Don’t Lose Sight’ that recently hit 1 million views on YouTube.

    lawrence

    For Lawrence fans, the band is doing something really special on this tour with their ListenLive VIP Headphone Experience. A few audience members per show will be able to livestream the concert audio and listen through headphones. And you may be thinking “why on earth would I want to listen headphones at a live concert?” The answer is truly innovative, and will be an incredibly unique experience for Lawrence fans. The VIP headphone listeners will have full control over their audio mix by being able to increase or decrease the levels of specific inputs. So if you want hear more guitar, vocals, or whatever you wish, then you can! To enjoy this brand new experience you can purchase VIP tickets on Lawrence’s website.

    If you weren’t sold on needing a ticket after hearing Don’t Lose Sight, then Lawrence’s funky cover of “Get Busy” ought to have done the trick. Their Hotel TV Tour 2 just finished shows in Colorado, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and Lawrence are playing their sole New York show on Thursday before heading all over the country. To see Lawrence’s upcoming tour dates, head on over to their website. For their March 10th, 8pm show at Empire Live with MLLN, purchase your tickets here.

  • Greg Bell Celebrates 30 Years of Music Promotion with 3 Shows Spanning Career

    In mid-March 1992, Greg Bell and Dale Metzger set up the first of many shows at Victory Café in downtown Albany with a band that would soon name themselves MotherJudge and the Urban Holiness Society. No one remembers the exact date of that show, but a few weeks later Bell and Metzger, calling themselves “Two Fools Present,“ put on another show at the Masons Hall on lower Madison Ave. on April 2, 1992.

    greg bell
    Greg Bell

    The bands that performed that night were The Sharks, Hard Times, MotherJudge, and Brian Kenny and Friends. Those two shows kicked off a career in music promotion that has now entered its 30th year. In 1993, Bell joined forces with Jeff Guthrie and formed Guthrie/Bell Productions. Guthrie left the business after a few years but Bell continues to use the name today. As of January 2022, Bell took on Kim Neaton as his partner.

    Three shows announced this week feature a range of acts that have been important to both Greg Bell and the local music scene over the last three decades.

    greg bell
    Eastbound Jesus

    March 25th

    Three bands that encapsulate the greater Albany jam sound features ‘Northern Rock‘ group Eastbound Jesus, rising jam band Glass Pony, and jam rock band Wreckloose – The Cohoes Music Hall – Doors at 7pm, Music at 7:30pm

    April 9th

    For the first time in 33 years, The Sharks will reunite with 6 of the 7 original members (Tom D’Ambrose passed away in 2019) and the first time in 21 years since the remaining 5 members played together for a show. Johnny Rabb and The Jailhouse Rockers with special guests will open the show. 

    The Sharks w/ Johnny Rabb and the Jailhouse Rockers – The Hollow – Doors at 7pm, Music at 8pm .

    Vinnie Amico, Rob Derhak, Al Schnier

    April 23rd

    On this night fans will be treated to a show they might have stumbled across at Valentine’s in the early-mid 90s. DAS Trio (featuring Rob Derhak, Vinnie Amico, and Al Schnier), The Seapods, Conehead Buddha, Dr. Jah and the Love Prophets – Empire Live – Doors at 6:30pm, Music at 7pm

    greg bell
    greg bell
    greg bell

  • In Focus: Plush Debut New Album at Empire Live

    This past Friday, February 11, Plush headlined their first show in the Northeast for a sold out Empire Live crowd. The band, led by Capital District native, Moriah Formica, were marking the release of their debut self-titled album. Plush’s lineup also includes Brooke Colucci on drums, Bella Perron on guitar, and Ashley Suppa on bass. The young rock band’s set included 12/13 songs from the album and a fantastic cover of Heart’s Barracuda.

    plush

    Empire Live’s Underground space was packed from wall to wall, and there were fans of every generation present, from old metal heads all the way down to kids who could have been at their very first shows. Plush’s songs resonate with all types of listeners; their lyrics often touch on the struggles of heartbreak while being driven by heavy instrumentals and powerful harmonies. For their entire set, Plush was cheered on by a high energy crowd that recognized the talent they were witnessing. This talent included a a solo drum intro by Brooke that you can see below.

    Plush released their first single ‘Hate’ back in February of 2021, and the song went on to reach as high as number 24 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. You can listen and watch the music video on YouTube. Since releasing ‘Hate,’ Plush has been on the road opening for acts like Evanescence, Halestorm, and SevenDust. For this show though, the band had Vendetta Rose and Alborn opening in front of Moriah’s hometown crowd.

    In the coming weeks, Plush will be hitting the road with rock and guitar legend Slash. Their tour currently has Northeastern stops set for New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. You can find Plush’s upcoming tour dates on their website.

    plush

    Setlist: Athena, Champion, Found A Way, Sober, Sorry, Bring Me Down, Walk Away, Don’t Say That, Better Off Alone, Will Not Win, I Don’t Care, Hate

    Encore: Barracuda (Heart)

  • In Focus: Death Kings Shred through Late Night at Empire Underground

    Following Umphrey’s McGee’s show at the Palace Theatre on Saturday, January 22, bassist Ryan “Little King” Stasik, World’s Okayest Bass Player, joined with a trio of Buffalonians for a heavy post show at Empire Underground as Death Kings. Aqueous guitarist Uncle Mike “Muerto” Gantzer, former Turkuaz drummer Michelangelo “Ox” Carubba, and guitarist Brett Fernway channeled metal and alternative from the 1990s at their fourth show as a band.

    In a venue that Stefon would rave about – “Albany’s hottest coldest place for hardcore fusions jams is Empire Underground. They’ve got everything – an entrance down a parking garage ramp, cement walls, PBR for days, and look in the corner, is that a wook? No, those are Gremlins, and not the Gizmo kind.” Yes, Empire Underground was the place to be post-Umphrey’s McGee.

    Opening with Harvey Danger’s 90’s anthem “Flagpole Sitta” gave the audience a taste of what was to come, with deep shredding metal, especially on the original “Suicide Tuesday.” Stasik noted that even though it was their fourth show as a band, it “feels better every time.” Death Kings is the post show of choice if your prog metal needs aren’t met. Ween’s “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night” stood out among an original filled setlist, as the band pushed past 3am and into the cold of Sunday morning.

    death kings

    Setlist: March, 86, Flagpole Sitta, Dead Memories, Cyco, Flom, Welcome 2 Hell, It’s Gonna be a Long Nite, Suicide Tuesday, Easgles, Territorial Pissings, Burn Enemy, Fuck Authority, Bad Mouth, Disembodied
    Encore: Breed, Blackout, Fight

    Photos by Zak Radick

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