Godsmack, the hard rock band from Lawrence, MA, will close out their Fall Tour in Glens Falls, with a show at Cool Insuring Arena. The additional tour dates are in support of their eighth studio album Lighting Up The Sky.
The band will kick off their headlining fall tour on September 3 in Baton Rouge, LA, with stops in Tampa, FL, Salt Lake City, UT, Calgary, AB, Quebec City, QC and Glens Falls.
For over 20 years, Godsmack has had chart-topping success, cementing themselves as 21st-century hard rock titans. With 11 #1 singles on mainstream rock radio, they have achieved 20 Top 10 hard rock hits, the most of any act since February 1999. They’ve also enjoyed four Grammy nominations and were named Billboard Music Award’s Rock Artist of the Year in 2001. Godsmack is Sully Erna (vocals, guitar), Tony Rombola (guitar), Robbie Merrill (bass), and Shannon Larkin (drums).
The tour stops in Glens Falls, NY at Cool Insuring Arena on October 24. Tickets will be available starting with an Artist presale beginning Wednesday, August 23 at 10am local time. Additional pre-sales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale starting Friday, August 25th at 10am local time at godsmack.com.
GODSMACK HEADLINING FALL TOUR DATES 9/3 Baton Rouge, LA Raising Cane’s River Center^
The Disco Biscuits will welcome the arrival of 2024 in the City of Brotherly Love, with a stop in Times Square at an old stomping grounds under a new name.
On Thursday, December 28, the Palladium Times Square (formerly known as Playstation Theater, Best Buy Theater and Nokia Theatre Times Square) will host the Disco Biscuits for a lone late-night show in the Big Apple, their first since December 31, 2019, which was the final show at the then-Playstation Theater.
Following a night off on the 29th, Disco Biscuits will head down I-95 to their homebase of Philadelphia for two nights at Franklin Music Hall, with Neighbor opening up the night on December 30th.
An artist pre-sale period begins on Wednesday, August 23rd at 10am ET with password: WHYWEDANCE.
VIP Packages for the two Philadelphia shows will be available as part of the pre-sale and on-sale.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 25th at 10am ET at discobiscuits.com.
Disco Biscuits Fall 2023 Tour Dates
September 15 – Austin, TX – Far Out Lounge and Stage * September 16 – Austin, TX – Far Out Lounge and Stage ^ September 20 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue September 21 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre ^ September 22 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater “ September 23 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue Theatre September 24 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall October 6-7 – Lafayette, NY – BISCOLAND October 24 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground + October 25 – Hartford, CT – Infinity Hall October 26 – Portland, ME – State Theatre October 27 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre October 28 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre December 28 – New York, NY – Palladium Times Square December 30 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall ! December 31 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
After their first weekend at Madison Square Garden, Phish took a day off and returned with even more energy, making the Tuesday, August 1 show stand head and shoulders above the three previous shows.
Opening up with a monstrous “Ghost” laid the groundwork for deep, exploratory jams, including an ethereal, outstanding version “Reba” that followed. You’d be remiss to find a version of Son Seals’ “Funky Bitch” that did not pair up as well with the energy that flowed from “Reba”‘s finale. “Timber (Jerry the Mule)” had a much longer presence in the first set than typically found, flowing into the debut of “Broken Into Pieces.” A rip-roaring 17-minute “Wolfman’s Brother” was quickly discussed at setbreak as one of the best versions ever seen, and the Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” closed, easily the best first set of the run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_mwN-I-OJU
Throwing it back to the Baker’s Dozen, Set 2 opened with the rarely jam-friendly “Sample in a Jar,” and tonight would end up being the longest version of the Hoist track, at more than 17 minutes in total. The jam would spill over to “Kill Devil Falls” which included quotes from a new song not played this evening “The Well” from Fishman, and made for two sets of the first two songs combining for more than 28 minutes of music to get things started. “Golden Age” was another substantial jam to follow this pairing, with “Shade” giving the crowd a breather before dipping into the warm waters of “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,” funk filling in the round room. A short “Twist” and set closing “You Enjoy Myself” would be the cap to the second set, fully
For an encore, “Wilson” made an appearance where you might find “Cavern” or “Golgi Apparatus” following, but the ever rare “Sanity” making its first appearance in two years, giving fans a chance to cross this tune off their “Most Common Phish Songs Not Heard” list. Just when you thought it was over, the hi-hat intro of “David Bowie” gave way to an unexpected (now) three song encore, with a dialed in jam that seemed to be cut short after Trey and Fishman had a chat, only to close out “Bowie” and bring in “Character Zero” for the grand finale of the evening.
Phish – Madison Square Garden, NYC – Tuesday, August 2
Set 1: Ghost, Reba, Funky Bitch, Timber (Jerry the Mule), Broken Into Pieces[1], Wolfman’s Brother, I Am the Walrus
Set 2: Sample in a Jar > Kill Devil Falls[2] > Golden Age, Shade > Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley > Twist, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Wilson > Sanity, David Bowie > Character Zero
[1] Phish debut. [2] Unfinished.
If there is a theme emerging from this run of Phish shows, it would simply be that each show is better than the last. Wednesday, August 3rd put that theory to the test, opening up with a pair of animal tunes, “Possum” and “Guyute,” both of which might be a vanilla way to start the show, but tonight the energy was high. So high that the Apples in Stereo song “Energy” reemerged in the rotation for the first time since last summer, providing a wonderful jam that found its way into the “Meatstick.” The fan interaction tune was met with a jam that followed and one of the smoothest segues you’ll find this summer as it moved into “It’s Ice.”
Set two opened with a slow, funky jam, reminiscent of the Island Tour’s “Cavern” opener, and that was exactly the song that would emerge, a slow and funky version of the normally late-set tune. A fiery “Carini” followed, which brought back a jam on “Angels We Have Heard on High,” riffed by Trey quite a bit and also found in the “Kill Devil Falls” of Syracuse a few weeks prior. Following “Piper” was the new track, “The Well,” which at first sounds like “Wolfman’s Brother Part 2” but that’s just the first half. The second half of the song was one of the deepest jams the band could provide in a new song, one that fans will be clamoring for at SPAC and Dick’s later this summer.
Closing the set were the “2001” jam-adjacent “The Howling”, “Taste” and “About the Run,” with a “Chalkdust Torture” tacked on at the end for good measure. For an encore, keyboardist Page McConnell appeared on stage with his keytar, signaling “Frankenstein,” which hadn’t been heard live since before Covid. But that wasn’t all – Anastasio would end up playing the opening notes to “Slave to the Traffic Light” for the final song of the night, eliciting immense cheers from the audience when Trey sang “Seen the Greatest City.”
Phish – Madison Square Garden, NYC – Wednesday, August 3
Set 1: Possum, Guyute, Axilla (Part II) > Energy -> Meatstick -> It’s Ice > Blaze On
Set 2: Cavern[1] > Carini > Piper > The Well > The Howling > Taste > About to Run, Chalk Dust Torture
Encore: Frankenstein[2], Slave to the Traffic Light[3]
[1] Slow, funky version. [2] Page on keytar. [3] Lyrics changed to “see the best city.”
A late entry to their 2023 Summer Tour, Phish has announced two nights at the Broadview Stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on August 25 and 26, with both shows supporting flood recovery in Vermont and Upstate New York.
Catastrophic flooding has led to thousands of Vermonters and Upstate New Yorkers losing their homes and property, with flood waters wiping out bridges, train tressels, businesses, cars and disrupting lives. A ‘100-year storm’ follows a similarly malevolent storm that blew through the Northeast in 2011, Hurricane Irene, destroying 500 miles of road and 200 bridges.
100% of net proceeds from all concert and merchandise sales will be directed to The WaterWheel Foundation’s 2023 Flood Recovery Fund, which will support the many victims and their families, area businesses, and non-profits. The Recovery Fund will support both shorter-term needs and long-term recovery and resiliency projects.
On September 14, 2011, Phish would hold a benefit concert at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, VT, raising money for Vermonters most in need. Phish formed at UVM in 1983 and has deep ties to Vermont, with Trey Anastasio’s The Barn recording studio located near Burlington, and Mike Gordon and Page McConnell calling the Burlington area home for many years.
A limited number of Foundation tickets will also be available that include a ticket to the show, a private pre-show performance with Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell, access to the Foundation Lounge before and throughout the show, and special Foundation poster and merch, in addition to other amenities.
Created by Phish in 1997 to oversee the band’s various charitable activities, The Waterwheel Foundation has been harnessing the kindness of the Phish fan community to create positive change for over 25 years.
The Flood Benefit Recovery shows will be the 23rd and 24th overall performances for Phish at SPAC, who first played the summer shed in Saratoga Springs on July 27, 1992, opening up for Santana.
We’re less than a week from the 47th edition of Rye Bread Festival, held in the Eastern New York hills of Schaghticoke, a gathering of musicians from across the Northeast and beyond, headlined by none other than Oteil Burbridge and Friends over July 27-29.
Rye Bread has been a unique experience since inception, when it was initially held on an island in the Mohawk River, being an event that started as an ‘in the know’ gathering for live music and camping – Neal and Alan Evans performed there in the years prior to forming Soulive – before evolving into a full on festival set in the Capital District at the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds. What started as a backyard party nearly 50 years ago, Rye Bread has steadily grown, from the ground up, into Upstate New York’s premier music and arts festival.
But Rye Bread is more than just a concert festival – this is a family with generations of deep roots, bringing people together through music in a spirit of community and charity, and of course good times for all. Thousands more will be welcomed into the Rye Bread Family with open arms, in their 47th year.
Al Schneir performing at Rye Bread Festival
With Burbridge (Dead & Company, The Allman Brothers Band) on bass, the group also features longtime Jerry Garcia Band organist Melvin Seals, Steve Kimock and Tom Guarna on guitar, vocalist Lamar Williams, Jr., John Morgan Kimock on drums and multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby rounding out a stellar lineup.
Also joining the Rye Bread Festival lineup are the legendary North Mississippi Allstars, led as always by brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson, Cool Cool Cool, Lespecial, Dogs In A Pile, Couch, DJ Logic & Friends, Talkpeck Soundsystem, Brown Eyed Women, Baked Shrimp, Neon Avenue, The Seapods, The Billy Walton Band, Muscle Tough, Super 400, The Nolanauts, Fungkshui, The Rob Beaulieu Band, Mushroom Men, Dr. Jah & The Love Prophets and The Rye Bread Family Band.
Attendees can expect plenty of unique collaborations between artists throughout the course of the festival, making for a truly memorable weekend of live music.In addition to the stellar lineup of live music, the Rye Bread Music and Arts Festival will feature food and craft vendors on site and festival goers can enjoy plenty of room to stretch out and feel comfortable at the spacious Schaghticoke Fairgrounds, centrally located just minutes north of Albany and south of Saratoga Springs.
Two -day passes are $125, with single day Friday passes $69 and single day Saturday for $79. Full ticketing info and more can be found at ryebreadfest.com
Camping Information
Tenting / Car Camping
Campsites are 10′ x 30′ One or two campers per site. $80.00 Three or four campers per site. $150.00 All campers must arrive at the same time. Camping passes are two day only. For tent camping, one car is allowed per site, and your car will remain on your campsite.
Family Camping
Family camping is on a separate part of the fairgrounds as tenting/car camping with quiet hours between 11:00pm and 7:00am Campsites are 10′ x 30′ One or two campers per site. $80.00 Three or four campers per site. $150.00 All campers must arrive at the same time. Camping passes are two day only. For tent camping, one car is allowed per site, and your car will remain on your campsite.
RV Camping
Campsites are 16′ x 40′. Six campers per site. One RV per site (34′ maximum). 50 AMP Service – No Pigtails (30 amp adapters) Available). Full hookups on site. All campers must arrive at the same time. Camping passes are two day only. One tow vehicle allowed per site, and your vehicle will remain on your campsite. Additional companion vehicle pass included. Remember all campers must arrive at the same time
Parking
Single day pass on-site parking is available for one day pass holders. $20.00. Two day pass on-site parking is available for festival goers that are not camping. $30.00. Companion pass on-site parking is available for RV campers that bring additional vehicles.
In the summer of 1999, amid an extensive tour, Phish held a two-day festival in the small town of Volney, NY at the Oswego County airport. While reliable numbers are not available, somewhere between 15 and 20,000 attended the two day show, arriving a full day early in some cases to enjoy the scene that set up on the tarmac for a mere 60 hours, before the band moved towards the Midwest and the end of the tour a week later.
Phish had played three prior festivals at the end of large tours, but never a festival during a tour. The result were two memorable nights amid the most unbearable heat and humidity, leaving fans with a lasting memory of guests sitting in with Phish and an “Icculus” for the ages. Editors Pete Mason and Tim O’Shea attended Camp Oswego, albeit separately. Below is their look back at Camp Oswego.
Phish Oswego poster by Pete Tschudy
The Ride in and Arrival
Pete Mason: I happened to have no issues with arrival, and managed to avoid nearly all traffic. I was living in Syracuse, taking summer classes at SU, and proceeded to leave the day before the festival starts, on July 16th, a Friday. We left around 4pm and were at the gates by 5pm. Syracuse to Oswego is about 45 minutes, so getting to the festival, without much traffic, was a pretty nice start to the weekend. We camped about one car length in from the tarmac, about a five minute walk to The Green, where there was a wall of payphones and place to leave messages for friends. Ah, the days before cellphones.
This was also the last time I encountered little to no traffic arriving at a Phish show. 13 hours for Big Cypress was a comeuppance in a way, for dealing with no traffic getting to the Oswego and Lemonwheel festivals
Tim O’Shea: The two hour drive started off just fine with all parties wildly throwing out predictions and wishes for the weekend. Beeps and head nods from other like-minded cars on the road were aplenty and increased in frequency the closer we got. Towards the end of the two hour drive, as festival traffic began to pile up and the sun was at its peak, the bus’ engine temperature began to skyrocket. In an effort to prevent it from overheating and making sure we had a ride back on Monday, we actually wound up pushing the bus for the last half hour of our journey through the stop and go traffic with the engine off. What better way to get stretched out for long weekend of music than with some cardio and light weights? It would certainly not be the last time all weekend that heat played a factor.
The Heat
TO: For anyone who attended Camp Oswego, the first words out of their mouth generally have something to do with the ridiculous temperatures that weekend. To say it was a dry and steady heat would be doing it a disservice. Roasting and oven-like are two of the words that initially come to my mind. Shade was at an ultra premium and there were constantly long lines for the few communal water spigots. If you weren’t staying hydrated, you had no chance. In addition to the blazing temperatures, discovering this communal atmosphere and something that was way bigger(and more fun) than just myself really resonated with me since this was all so new at the time.
PM: The heat was unbearable, oppressive and constant. It was humid and well into the 90s. There was no relief either. We had 3 tents among myself, Madison and Dave. No tarp, no EZ-Up, nothing. Not that that would have helped either, but we did find solace in the air conditioned car, only to walk out into the heat moments later. Hydration was key, and led to little drinking of alcohol that weekend. It was just too damn hot to do much of anything but see Phish, just as the sun was getting lower in the sky and started to cool down.
A week later, I attended Woodstock 99. The weather was almost as bad, but the result of patrons who had to deal with the heat was far different. At Oswego, people were misting you as you walked by, offered water to strangers, my friend Madison used a Supersoaker to hose down random passersby, with a reaction of ‘Whoa WTF?!’ followed immediately by ‘Ah, that feels great! Thanks!’ At Woodstock, it was pure hell. Little running water, expensive bottled water ($4 even then was highway robbery) and patrons were not as kind as you would find at Phish. More than a few late 90s bros found their way to the front of the drinking line without waiting, didn’t take care of their neighbors and more or less let the festival community and vibe go to shit. Phish fans took care of one another – that was my big take away from the two weekends, and one that drew me into the Phish community.
Phish Oswego inspired art by Alfred Sohn
Day 1 Music
PM: I honestly recall little of the show on the 17th. Two sets, and all I can definitively remember was Son Seals sit-in, which made me wonder if the other guests at The Green stage were going to sit-in the next night. “Down with Disease” was solid, but I was still somewhat new to Phish and hadn’t yet enjoyed the long jams. Beyond that, I became a fan of “Squirming Coil” in the encore. I blame the heat and adult beverages.
TO: While my memory certainly isn’t pristine as it pertains to all the music that weekend, there are certain moments and images that still resonate strong. I remember baking in the sun (literally) as the first night’s sunset was accompanied by a scintillating Tweezer jam and hearing the first of many, many Character Zeros to end the first set. I remember legendary bluesman Son Seals gracing the stage in the second set for ‘Funky Bitch’ and being amazed at how well he was able to manage that Phish song.
Phish Oswego sticker
Day 2 Music
TO: I remember being delighted at the Del McCoury sit-in the following day and feeling a real strange sense of pride as I danced along to ‘The Meatstick’ in the Guinness Book of World Records attempt that was in vain. And above all else, I remember a mind bending ‘Piper’ in the third and final Sunday set that I still consider one of the best ever played which seemed to seal the proverbial deal for me. Throw in a hilarious ‘Smoke on the Water’ jam/banter and the ever whimsical ‘Icculus’, and you’ve got a set for the ages.
PM: I could write a book on the music from Sunday, but I’ll keep it short. Set 1 was pretty solid, with the sun setting and a ‘Punch’ opener. I was still a noob back then, so “Farmhouse, Water in the Sky, Bathtub Gin” were all familiar and made me happy. I was far more focused and rested than the night before, and recall a great deal of the show to this day. When Del McCoury and sons came on stage, I smiled because I sort of predicted that, heard a bunch of bluegrass songs, which I credit to my initial interest in bluegrass music, and a sweet ‘Reba’ that was a highlight of the set for me.
Second set was fun because “Runaway Jim > Free” meant more music I knew, then finally, this ‘Meatstick” song that I had heard about, which had a dance. Complicated music interests me, and dancing to such music was just feeding the addiction. I danced around with what I thought was the Meatstick dance and loved every second. The rest of the set I was just smiling like I never had before.
Third set, which I had no idea was happening – I thought second set was it – started out with more music I knew, “My Soul > Piper”, the latter of which went on for a while, and had the slow start. “Prince Caspian” was kinda cool to me back then, and then shit got weird. “Wilson > Catapult > Smoke on the Water > Icculus” and “Quinn the Eskimo” were pretty mindblowing, for the banter alone. Whatever was going on onstage, I wanted more of. Fluffhead finale and Hood encore as we walked back to the car, beating all traffic, I was in my apartment by 2am, learning of David Cone’s perfect game earlier that day.
Takeaways from the Festival
PM: Oswego was simply the best Phish festival experience I have had, after Big Cypress of course. It was the right time and place for me, right mindset, friends, and music, all in one place. I go back there every so often and find that same giant smile, every time.
TO: 111 shows later, I guess you can say I took a shining to this band and all they can deliver. But for me, Oswego will always hold a special place in my heart not only because it was my first Phish festival in my first string of shows, but because it was my first large scale festival of any kind which opened my eyes to a whole new way of experiencing music. After Camp Oswego, I knew what I wanted to do every summer for the rest of my life. And how to do it in frying pan-like conditions.
Download both nights of Oswego here (July 17/July 18) – recording by Lenny Stubbe
It was hot and muggy in Western New York on July 16, 1990. Crosby, Stills and Nash were opening up for the Grateful Dead at Rich Stadium, and Brent Mydland was amid his final tour with the Dead.
The Grateful Dead played Buffalo a total of 12 times in their storied career, including May 9, 1977 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (a day after the famed Cornell 77 show) a show at Kleinhan’s Music Hall on March 17, 1970, and six total shows at Rich Stadium, including this show in 1990. A typical summer stop from 1986-1993, Orchard Park’s Rich Stadium had far more space for fans, after the band outgrew the Memorial Auditorium, The Rich shows becoming part of Deadhead lore.
Playing in Foxboro, MA the night before, fans trekked overnight from Eastern Massachusetts to Western New York, a seven hour drive (not factoring in stops, switching drivers and catching sleep at rest stops along the way). With a capacity of more than 70,000, Rich Stadium was ready to welcome more than Foxboro held by a margin of 10,000, plus plenty of fans arriving from across the Empire State who would call this their first Grateful Dead show.
On the NYS Thruway, traffic crawled in the heat, with fans walking along the highway, slow cars filling the breakdown lane, with fans looking for Miracles via hand-lettered signs as you filed into the Rich Stadium lot. The traffic was so bad getting from the Thruway to Orchard Park, fans were pulling into the lot as the opener, Crosby, Stills and Nash, were beginning to play, the songs trickling over the top of Rich Stadium.
Ticket to the Grateful Dead at Rich Stadium, July 16, 1990
Part of their “Live It Up Tour,” Crosby, Stills and Nash toured off the album Live It Up, the first album the trio recorded since 1983. The album came together when Crosby and Nash began working on a new album as a pair, but following the trio performing at the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Stills became involved in the Crosby and Nash project, as noted in Dave Zimmer’s Crosby, Stills and Nash: The Authorized Biography (The Definitive Inside Story of the Super Group).
View this and more Grateful Dead shows from across the years in New York State with our interactive map below!
Playing a set that was mostly unchanged for the entire tour, CSN made sense as an opener – both bands were part of the late 60s music explosion on the west coast, and with Crosby from Los Angeles and the Dead based in San Francisco and many festival and show billings together, the two bands shared a long history together. Crosby even recorded and performed live with members of the Grateful Dead, billed as David and the Dorks for three shows in 1970. So an opening slot or two on their summer tour was a natural fit, especially with large stadiums like Foxboro and The Rich on the tour schedule.
David and a dork
However, CSN did not mix up their setlist and did not factor in the Grateful Dead shows on their tour, where fans would see more than one night of the tour and catch onto repeats a bit faster. Fans not engaged in the July 16th opening set led to Graham Nash saying to the audience something to the effect of “show us you deserve to wear those tye-dyes and get into it,” reacting to fans non-reaction of the milquetoast opener. One fan recalled that at both shows they saw on the tour, CSN said both times “So, this is what a Grateful Dead audience looks like” with the same banter factored into the set.
This show at Rich Stadium for the Grateful Dead would also be the final tour for Brent Mydland, although that may not have been apparent to many fans at the time. A week later, Mydland would play his final show with the Dead, and die three days later from an overdose. There are points of the show between tunes where the band is enjoying themselves and Brent takes a moment to play a few bars of George M. Cohan’s “Over There” and the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” keeping it playful and fans on their toes during these brief interludes.
It was unmistakable though, the presence of Mydland on this short, Midwest/east-coast 12-show summer tour, that made his death harder on many. His talent and boisterous vocals on “Man Smart, Women Smarter” and originals like “Blow Away,” the last of which was played this evening in Orchard Park, were unmistakable, clearly identifying shows with his raspy, soulful voice and precision work on the keys.
Following a breezy afternoon, the stadium climate was muggy yet the Grateful Dead were dialed in from the start, opening with “Hell in a Bucket” and following up with an early highlight of the set, “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.” “Blow Away” had all the emotion Brent ever put into any of version, and featured a “Mind Left Body” jam, standing out as the final performance of the song.
A pair of cowboy songs – “Mama Tried” and “Mexicali Blues” flowed seamlessly together with Bob Weir on vocals, with a fresh off-the-shelf “Loose Lucy” following, fans cheering in gratitude to hear a song not played since 1974 that made its return in March of 1990. The Rolling Stones “It’s All Over Now” fit in nicely with the flow of this stimulating first set, with “High Time,” and a thoroughly enjoyable “Let It Grow” following, with the Brent-heavy “Don’t Ease Me In” closing out the first set.
The second set would feature a unique “Sugar Magnolia” / “Sunshine Daydream” sandwich, the show opening with the first stanza of “Sugar Magnolia” before dissolving into a smooth and unexpected segue onto “Scarlet Begonias” after only three minutes. The crowd reaction when “Scarlet Begonias” is realized by thousands is a sound to behold and embrace. Not stopping, the Dead moved into “Man Smart, Woman Smarter,” the lyrics in unison from Garcia, Weir and Mydland driving the song.
“Ship of Fools” served as a bridge to the obligatory and long-awaited “Truckin’,” with the “Truckin’, up to Buffalo” lyrics eliciting the largest cheers of the night, the jam meandering but finding itself in the final minutes before “Drums.” If you’re looking to revisit the show or listen for the first time, “Drums” is a percussive trip, with “Space” having a creepy laugh track in the background during the first half, a fun (maybe?) accent to the night for those in attendance.
Ticket to the Grateful Dead at Rich Stadium, July 16, 1990
Jumping out of “Space” were short versions of “The Wheel” and “Gimme Some Lovin’” and a somber “Wharf Rat” to balance them out. “Around and Around” found its place coming out of “Wharf Rat,” diving into “Sunshine Daydream” to an enthusiastic crowd hearing a fantastic full set sandwiched inside a classic Grateful Dead song.
“When the 2nd set ended, I remember experiencing an exaggerated exhilarated feeling that I’ve never felt from any show before. Obviously others felt the same because when the Sunshine Daydream reprise finally ended, we were jumping up and down and even the people behind us were so amped that we all just stood there hugging each other. It was ridiculously intense. No other show has lifted me to such heights before and I am so glad I was here.”
The encore of “Brokedown Palace” fit in perfectly to close the night, capping a day for the fans, and Brent Mydland as he performed his final show in New York.
Crosby Stills and Nash – Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY – July 16, 1990
Setlist: Love the One You’re With, Chicago, Drive My Car, Live It Up, Got It Made, Just a Song Before I Go, Night Time for the Generals, For What It’s Worth, Wasted on the Way, Our House, Almost Cut My Hair, Helplessly Hoping, Déjà Vu, (Got to Keep) Open, Southern Cross, Wooden Ships, Teach Your Children, Woodstock
Grateful Dead – Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY – July 16, 1990
Set 1: Hell in a Bucket, Mississippi Half-Step, Blow Away, Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues, Loose Lucy, It’s All Over Now, High Time, Let it Grow > Don’t Ease Me In
Set 2: Sugar Magnolia > Scarlet Begonias > Man Smart/Woman Smarter, Ship of Fools, Truckin’ > drums > space > The Wheel > Gimme Some Lovin’ > Wharf Rat > Around and Around > Sunshine Daydream
The initial lineup for the 2023 Wild in the Trees Music and Skate Festival in Lake George has been announced by Mirth Films.
Taking place October 7-8 at the Lake George Skate Plaza, this year’s lineup is set to feature Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band, FUNGKSHUI, Candy Ambulance, Victory Soul Orchestra, Hilltop, Shu, Fine Grain, The Skunches and many more. The multi-talented Connor Dunn will also be hanging out for the weekend as the Artist at Large.
The first ever Wild in the Trees Music and Skate Festival took place October 1-2, 2022 hosting local acts and also included five different skateboarding events. On the grounds of the festival you can find some of the area’s best food and craft beer along with over 20 craft vendors located at the space. Wild in the Trees pays homage to efforts made in 2008 to raise money to build the Lake George Skate Plaza while embracing all the incredible musical talent regionally and beyond.
photo by Frank Cavone
Back in 2008, local skateboarders in Lake George, NY brought to the towns attention about the need to have a skate park. Through various town board meetings and the creation of a skateboarding committee put together by skaters, family members and community leaders, it was time to raise money to make the dream come true.
Throughout the early 2010’s, local skateboarders held various fundraisers over the years including spaghetti dinners, coin drops, benefit concerts and much more. Between all the efforts locally along with a few grants, the skateboarders were able to raise nearly $100,000. By 2014, the park was designed with oversight from the local skaters. In 2015, ground was broken at the newly created Charles R. Wood Park and the dream was realized. The Lake George Skate Plaza attracts skateboarders from all across the Northeast and beyond each year giving kids a safe place to skateboard without getting in trouble.
photo by Frank Cavone
Wild in the Trees will also feature two days of skateboarding contests including Best Trick, Spot-Based Jam, Game of Skate, High Ollie and much more. Skaters will have the chance of winning prizes from Seasons Skateshop and Corners Skateshop.
If you thought Reubens were good, just wait until this year’s Wild in the Trees Music and Skate Festival!
Frank Cavone, owner of Mirth Films stated
The headliner to this year’s Wild in the Trees Music and Skate Festival will be announced on August 15th. This year will also feature an official after party with Two Planets Away at The Lagoon in the heart of Lake George on October 7th.
Wild in the Trees Music and Skate Festival 2023 is made possible by sponsors, including Lake George Steamboat Company, Seasons Skateshop, Ginter Electric Uncommon Grounds, S.F. Janitorial, Law Office of Paul Ryan, Altered Apparel, Radio Radio X and Corners Skateshop.
Weekend and single-day passes are available now at Mirth-Films.com/WildintheTrees. 50 percent of all ticket sales will go directly to the Ronald McDonald House of the Capital Region.
Get your school of fish/phish together – Oregon State University will host the second ever Phish Studies Conference on May 17-19, 2024, in Corvallis, Oregon.
artwork by Ryan Kerrigan
First held in 2019, the #PhishStudies Conference is an in-depth look at the band, fans, culture, community, publications, and of course music, of Phish. The event was a huge success, with 100s attending daily to take part in panels, discussions, observe gallery displays and presentations of Ph.D dissertations and theses.
Jnan A. Blau said of the 2019 conference: “I’ve just come back from one of the coolest, most stimulating and invigorating, and definitely one of the most “far out” (to quote Mr. Bill Kreutzman, via Mr. Benjy Eisen) experiences of my life. Late last Monday night, I got back home to San Luis Obispo, California from Corvallis, Oregon. I had to rise and shine the next day, no time at all to transition from Phishiness to so-called real life—a direct, rather abrupt segue (a rip cord if there ever was one!) into a full day of teaching in university classrooms. I was, and still am, kind of exhausted. But, I’ve had a secret smile the size of Mt. Icculus plastered across my face and tattooed on my heart ever since. This because I am back from Phish Studies, the first-ever academic conference dedicated to our favorite topic/subject/phenomenon.”
Also featured at the conference was an exhibit from the Phishsonian Institute, “Beyond The Moss Forgotten exhibit at the Phish Studies conference” which celebrated the art and history of Phish’s performances in the Pacific Northwest since the 1990s.
Check out more photos from the 2019 Phish Studies Conference by Derek Finholt and visit Phish.net for an in depth recap of the conference by Jnan A. Blau.
The #PhishStudies Conference is also looking for sponsors to support the mission and event. For more information, contact Professor Stephanie Jenkins.
The only rule is it begins! More info, including sponsorship opportunities, at phishstudies.net.
Saratoga Springs welcomes dozens of bands each summer, with the biggest names making it to the stage of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. In 1990, one of the biggest names in rock n roll history, David Bowie, performed his one and only show at SPAC, with a Saturday night performance on July 7.
Wow, remember Record Town?
For the “Sound+Vision” Tour, Bowie opted for a smaller band and suggested he was looking for a smaller sound, saying in an interview with Q Magazine, “It’s a much smaller sound. It’s not quite as orchestrated as any of the other tours. The plus of that is that there is a certain kind of drive and tightness that you get with that embryonic line-up, where everybody is totally reliant on the other two or three guys, so everybody gives a lot more.” Read the full interview with Paul Du Noyer here.
Q magazine from April 1990
This tour was not in support of a new album, as the latest release from Bowie was 1987’s Never Let Me Down which launched the “Glass Spider” tour. This was instead billed as a greatest hits tour, with Bowie planning to retire his catalogue of hit songs from live performance, a move that would draw millions of fans worldwide to see him on the “Sound+Vision” tour. With two albums having flopped in the mid-80s (hello 1984’s Tonight), he was looking to give himself a creative and artistic boost, and shedding his old hits became the drive behind “Sound+Vision.”
Bowie was also playing with Tin Machine at this time, and told the band he was contractually obligated to embark on this greatest hits tour, inviting guitarist Reeves Gabrels to join him on the road. The Tin Machine guitarist declined, but suggested Adrian Belew, giving him a phone call and putting Bowie on the phone.
It’s time to put about 30 or 40 songs to bed and it’s my intention that this will be the last time I’ll ever do those songs completely, because if I want to make a break from what I’ve done up until now, I’ve got to make it concise and not have it as a habit to drop back into. It’s so easy to kind of keep going on and saying, well, you can rely on those songs, you can rely on that to have a career or something, and I’m not sure I want that.
David Bowie, interview with Music Express Magazine, March 1990
Bowie went on discussing his clean break from his past catalog, adding, “I’ve never done a show where I’ve just done songs that over the years have proved to be popular with the audience in that way. It’s always been about 50/50. I’ve done enough that they know to keep their attention on the show and the rest of the of it – I can do the stuff that I want to do in between – but I’ve never actually almost allowed them to choose the show for me, which is in fact, what we’re going to do.”
Music Express Magazine, March 1990
Thus, the personnel for Bowie’s 1990 tour were the Thin White Duke himself (guitar, saxophone, vocals) Adrian Belew (guitar, backing vocals and also serving as music director), Erdal Kızılçay (bass guitar, backing vocals), Rick Fox (keyboards, backing vocals) and Michael Hodges (drums.) Canadian dance choreographer Édouard Lock of the Québécois contemporary dance group La La La Human Steps co-conceived the tour with Bowie, and served as artistic director for this tour.
It had been reported there was tension among the band during the tour, as Kızılçay, who recalled that Bowie “wasn’t very happy“ and when they were in South America by the end of the tour, Bowie was not coming to soundchecks.
As noted in Chris O’Leary’s Ashes to Ashes The Songs of David Bowie 1976-2016, keyboardist Rick Fox was not invested in the Sound+Vision tour, going so far as to eat dinner on stage, and at least once turned off his own keyboards and played his own songs while sampled parts of Bowie’s songs were playing.
In total, Bowie spent seven months on the road at five continents, performing 108 times in 27 countries. Discover more about the Sound+Vision tour here.
So with a greatest hits tour and only so much drive in the tank after a pair of commercial failures, David Bowie gave it a go on a global tour, and his performance at SPAC was full of the hits he promised and a notable moment following “Young Americans” where he spoke out in defense of free speech and expression.
Fans recalled the venue was packed, as this sold out show had the SPAC lawn filled, even with KISS performing 30 minutes south in Albany at the Knickerbocker Arena that same night. One fan who was not a fan of Belew’s noted the difference, saying “Belew, while a great instrumentalist, did not have the style and flash or sound of Spiders from Mars guitarist Mick Ronson. Sure enough, after a few songs I knew I’d made the wrong choice! The comparatively subdued band to the Spiders couldn’t give any authentic glitter and sleeze to those songs and they fell flat for me. I stayed but wished I was at the KISS show seeing their over the top excess.”
Bootleg album cover art
A Times Union review of David Bowie at SPAC, written by Michael Eck, referred to the concert as “the most breathlessly awaited show of the summer” and called the show “one of the best things in life – the kind of performance that could breathe life into a tired soul.”
During the performance, Bowie utilized multiple screens and the best video effects of the early 90s to capture his movement, performance and engagement on stage. Watch below and you’ll be able to see Bowie singing duets with a 20-foot projection of himself, dancing with an androgynous look-alike, and thin screens housing projections of Bowie over the stage. Providing fans these visuals in conjunction with his greatest hits showed the tour name “Sound+Vision” was more than a song or box set, and allowed Bowie to find balance in this extensive tour. Bowie was, after all, going through the motions of playing these songs live for the final time, relieved for sure, and as the tour wore on, surely experiencing wistfulness of the occasion.
The show is a greatest hits show from one of the greatest musicians, and having listened to this show numerous times, its a crowd pleaser for any Bowie fan. Of note, and tied to the politics of the era, is Bowie’s aside during “Young Americans,” where Bowie took a moment to offer supportive commentary towards 2 Live Crew – whose album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was declared obscene by a judge and was the focus of ire against lyrics, particularly rap and hip-hop.
While stretching out “Young Americans” with a blues riff that Belew and Bowie smoked, Bowie said, “This is the unnecessary portion of the show,” and began to talk about growing up in London, listneing to American music, especially the blues. He mentioned listening to Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown, and then shifted gears to authors he read: Kerouc and Ginsberg, who wrote about what they felt and were going through. And with a captive audience in a seemingly ‘off script’ moment, Bowie said:
“Do you know that they’re banning Hemingway in libraries these days? You don’t know do you? Does anybody here hear that they’re banning Hemingway? Fahrenheit 451 is now on the restricted borrowing at some libraries. You don’t care do you?”
David Bowie, to the SPAC audience, during “Young Americans”
Sensing the crowd was drifting away, Bowie reeled them back in, saying “That’s why I went out and bought my 2 Live Crew album” which was followed by enthusiastic applause from the audience. Bowie continued on, saying that “You don’t have to like the stuff but my god I support any right for anybody to write a song without going to jail for it, motherfuckers.”
Despite the injection of what some would call ‘politics’ in a rock concert (gasp!), David Bowie brought the SPAC audience full circle, revisiting the roots of one of his greatest hits, tying it to his youth and that of the crowd, then to present day, with a supportive pro-free speech statement.
As Michael Eck noted in his review, the reunion tours that took place in 1989-90 – the Rolling Stones “Steel Wheels” tour, The Who 25th anniversary tour, and Paul McCartney embarking on his first solo tour – it was Bowie who stood alone among them. “Saturday night Bowie took his past in his hands and gloriously threw it all away while we watched. Those other tours were history shaking with age, Saturday’s was history shaking with life. It was simply one of the greatest spectacles I have ever witnessed.”
David Bowie – Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) – Sound+Vision Tour – July 7, 1990
Setlist: Space Oddity, Rebel Rebel, Changes, Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars?, Pretty Pink Rose (Adrian Belew cover), Stay, Blue Jean, Let’s Dance, Sound and Vision, Ziggy Stardust, China Girl, Station to Station, Young Americans, Suffragette City, Fame, Heroes Encore: White Light/White Heat, Baby What You Want Me to Do, The Jean Genie, I’m Waiting for the Man, Gloria
