NYS Music 2023

Category: Show Reviews

  • Giant Panda and Aqueous Close Out 2022 With Consecutive Nights at Water Street Music Hall

    Two regional powerhouses, Rochester’s Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and Buffalo’s Aqueous, descended on Water Street Music Hall, historically the area’s most prominent venue, which has come back in a big way this past year after being absent from the scene for some time. In two nights, Panda on the 30th and Aqueous on the 31st, they helped Water Street and the music fans of the area celebrate 2022 and welcome in 2023. It was the first time Rochester had live music as a New Year’s Eve option in three years. Panda returned to the venue for the umpteenth time, many of those for their year end shows, while Aqueous was there for the first time, and their first time bringing in the new year in Rochester. Though they’ve long found themselves a second home in the Flour City, having played many a special show here, including Halloween and an all-improv set.

    After long stretches of no music at all, and too many continued COVID-19 cancellations to count, stretching to the present day, surprises have grown a bit tired. Surprises have mostly consisted of cancellations, so it is enough joy to just have show without a hitch, period. Each of these shows was billed as an “and Friends” affair. Who would be the friends? The opening acts would leave little guesswork as to who these bands would invite to join them on stage. Most everything proceeded as was expected, but there was nothing lost, maybe even something gained, without that element of surprise in the mix.

    photo by Washington Torin

    On the 30th, GPGDS opened up both sides of the Water Street venue, both the Club and Hall, maxing out it’s potential. The audience could move freely between both, utilizing both bars, and the ample space in the balconies, while two stages left minimal time with no live music to enjoy. The evening got going with party funk outfit The Sideways on the main stage. Hm, wonder if we’ll see that tight three-piece horn section a little later? Immediately following on the Club stage was The Frank White Experience, a full eight-member band paying tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. to incredible effect. There was a hip-hop party going on and the “raparazzi” were in full force capturing it from all angles. Hey, their lead man, Grant, he’s played with Panda before, guessing we’ll see him with them again tonight? Then even after Panda’s main stage set, Roots Collider took over on the Club side to keep the party going into the early hours of the 31st, not letting the joint cool down too much before Aqueous’ New Year’s Eve throwdown.

    giant panda aqueous
    photo by Washington Torin

    On the main stage, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad did not disappoint. The dub was grooving, and the legal weed was permeating the air. The band strung together a set of oldies, newer tunes, and as-yet released ones, with an announcement of a new album coming April 7. The songs flowed together, stitched by pitch-perfect instrumental breaks or blasted into each other with abrupt but chill needle jumps.

    photo by Eli Stein

    As was foretold by the obvious booking and later, staging, those horns from The Sideways did make it back on stage. Horns and reggae are like peanut butter and jelly. A glorious combination, and on this night, for these songs, they hit just right. A “Cool It” > “Stop Fighting” combo with the horns may have been the highlight of the night. A deep bass pocket, punched up organ, swirling echoed effects, those infectious reggae rhythms and then tasty horn blasts cutting through it all. Pretty much perfect, and a perfect vibe to either forget and/or enjoy the year that was quickly coming to a close.

    As the horns departed, the good vibes continued as Grant entered and the band kicked into “Mr. Cop.” He added some quality rapping while throwing joints out into the crowd, as the band sang “We been all day workin’, Just a little herb that we smokin’, They calling up the cops, Cause it smell like ganja.” There was no stopping the party at Water Street on stage or off on this night, nor the next.

    Hours later another friendly party would get started. New day, same place, similar vibe. For their New Year’s Eve show, Aqueous invited local jazz-forward trio The Pickle Mafia to kick off the night. Drummer Marco Cirigliano’s kit remained on stage for The Funky Dawgz set and even after theirs as well. Hm, wonder if he’ll be playing with Aqueous some? The Funky Dawgz, a brass band out of Connecticut, revved up the crowd with their upbeat and familiar set, mixing in Gnarls Barkley and Snoop Dogg in with similarly fun originals. You had to wonder though, think we’ll see some of those horns again?

    giant panda aqueous

    Aqueous themselves were unsurprisingly ready to jump head first into lengthy improvisations. An hour-long first set featured only four songs. Each one built and existed within it’s own universe. “Second Sight” and “Kitty Chaser (Explosions)” built up layer by layer, the musicians patiently developing soundscapes, finally realizing their final destinations which they then explored even further, funky for the former, spacey for the latter. The two saxophones from the Dawgz and Cirigliano came out for the first set closer, a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” which brought more of the funk, on a tighter scale, that had the floor positively bouncing.

    giant panda aqueous
    photo by Eli Stein

    The slinky funk continued with the start of the second set a few ticks before midnight, the last few minutes of the year. With some heavy “2001” teases, a la Phish via Eumir Deodato via Richard Strauss, the groovy jam wound its way to the traditional “Auld Lang Syne.” With little to no bombast Aqueous did what Aqueous does best, just kept playing. A monster “Don’t Do It” followed, featuring some of guitarist Mike Gantzer’s best playing of the night.

    photo by Curtis Kreutter

    Craig Brodhead served incredibly filling in for David Loss who is on paternity leave. Brodhead sang lead on a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West LA Fadeaway” that quickly left West LA for aural landscapes as yet undiscovered. Deep into the jam they were joined by a saxophone which re-centered the jam completely. Before long he was stepping off and Cirigliano was back behind the second kit. This double-drummer version of the band was really something, locked in and firing on dual engines. Eventually they found their way back to “West LA Fadeaway” and the dream of a two-drummer Aqueous was over.

    giant panda aqueous
    photo by Curtis Kreutter

    But the dreams of a music-filled 2023 were just getting underway. Dates are already on the books for Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and an album on the way. Road warriors Aqueous are sure to continue their rock and roll journey throughout the year, and Water Street Music Hall’s calendar is filling in nicely.

    Aqueous – Water Street Music Hall 12/31/22

    Set 1: Second Sight, Kitty Chaser > Weight of the Word, Daft Punk is Playing At My House¹²

    Set 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra jam³ > Auld Lang Syne, Don’t Do It, West LA Fadeaway ⁴⁵, Strange Times > Mandela Effect, Everybody Wants To Rule the World⁶

    Encore: One Headlight ⁷

    1 LCD Soundsystem
    2 Rob on vox, Marco Cirigliano on drums, Tommy Weeks and Colin Walters on sax
    3 Countdown
    4 Grateful Dead
    5 Craig on vox
    6 Tears For Fears
    7 The Wallflowers

    Check out more photos of Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad from Water Street Music Hall here and photos of Aqueous here.

  • Phish Celebrate 40 Years with Career-Spanning New Year’s Gag

    With one last night of their first Madison Square Garden run since 2019 remaining, Phish left not a single note on the table as they brought fans on a journey through the gags that have rung in the new year, dating back to 1992.

    Sticking with a recurring theme of time and time manipulation, Phish would make this night among their most memorable at Madison Square Garden, and not only as they enter into their 40th year, but as they tie Sir Elton John for the second most shows ever played at The Garden, with 72. A post-show tribute of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was a fitting nod to The Rocket Man, who performed his last ever show at MSG in February, and his final North American show in November.

    Fans who had already been through three nights of Phish this run, and many having been at the April shows – which were rescheduled from December 2021 – were eager and anticipating something special, given that 2023 will bring in the 40th year of Phish and more celebrations to come. But how would they kick the night off, and more importantly, ring in the new year? Patience is a virtue and those who waited were rewarded, and then some.

    Kicking off the show was a highly-anticipated “Tweezer,” which set the tone for the night as playing their greatest jam vehicle in the opening slot never fails. A shift into “Halley’s Comet” netted a smooth segue into “Set Your Soul Free” which gave way to “Rift,” all energy-filled songs to start the show, following the trend of the past few nights and no let-up from any of the band, or the audience for that matter. “Cavern” gave way to the second “Tweezer” of the night, followed by the ballad “Shade” and a proper “Mike’s Groove” to close.

    Heading into Set 2, the band would begin to hint at a theme they revisit reguarly, time. Each song in the second set would have some nod towards time, even if hidden in the lyrics. The opening “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.OS.” (you will always remember where you are) and never dull second set appearance of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (aka “2001”) gave fans the start they hoped for, with the “Kill Devil Falls” (who knew a day would turn into a week) following. A throwback to 2018’s New Year’s gag in “Mercury” (your day is longer than your year) would follow, as well as “Light” (memories fall behind; future is less and less there; past vanished in the air), “Waste” (wasting my time with you) and “Drift While You’re Sleeping” (I’ve seen the day go by; one brief moment; the days are few) providing even more direct hints as the set progressed, but mid-set, when you’re tuned into the music, the lyrical connections are up for setbreak discussion. And if a final hint was needed, “Backwards Down The Number Line” gave the clearest indication the band was getting nostalgic, as one does on New Year’s Eve.

    Phish sprinkled some musical bread crumbs during the second intermission that helped shed a little light on the traditional New Year’s Eve gag. Attentive fans picked up on music from Parliament Funkadelic (“Tear the Roof Off the Sucka”) and The Breeders (“Cannonball”) being played lightly on the PA, along with aptly titled songs like “Umbrella” (Rihanna), “Steam” (Peter Gabriel), “Mockingbird” (Carly Simon) and “Send In The Clowns” (Grace Jones). It all hinted at a retrospective look back at the band’s career and that’s exactly how the manic yet celebratory third set played out.

    In true Phish fashion, the final set started out with a barbershop quartet proclaiming that the stroke of midnight would mark the band’s 40th year together. As a birthday “wish” of sorts, Trey makes one for a time machine, so as to do it all again. In response, a cube-like object then descended from the rigging above the stage, showcasing both audio and video from all of the band’s storied New Year’s Eve showsa and gags such as Halloween shows Wingsuit and Sci-Fi Soldiers. Dancers from all different eras then began to emerge, including a Wombat, sadly not costumed by Abe Vigoda this time, who winds up “breaking” the machine and setting off a wave of more ghosts from Phish New Year’s past.

    With the fitting set-opening “Ghost” now in full swing, a full fledged choir emerged from backstage and the band steered into “Bohemian Rhapsody” in a nod to their 12/31/96 show in Boston, MA. The song was also visited by an entire marching band as well as it made its way into “Jungle Boogie,” which had not been played since 12/31/03 in Miami, FL. A “Wilson” castaway merged the 2002 “Tom Hanks” appearance with Trey Anastasio being stuck on a platform in 2019, and was unveiled from atop the stage as the music shifted into the namesake song before a final New Year’s countdown and a confetti-filled “Auld Lang Syne.” The constant set of revolving characters also saw ones like Father Time from 12/31/99, the “Meatstick” dancers from 12/31/10 and the “Petrichor” dancers and umbrellas from 12/31/16 make apperances.

    2023 was greeted by “Carini” and a host of “naked dude” dancers reveling in the new year’s energy, even forming a chorus line during “New York, New York,” before eventually, as expected, shifting back to “Tweezer” one last time. An explosive “Crosseyed and Painless” > “Piper” section may have been the pure musical highlight of the set, before “A Life Beyond The Dream” and the always raucous “First Tube” closed out the final set of the run.

    In their 14th overall New Year’s Eve performance at Madison Square Garden (and 22nd over the last 40 years), Phish celebrated what has made these shows so unique – the music, the antics, the special guests and the unexpected gags that continue to influence and be emulated throughout the jam band world. The only question left from this New Year’s Eve show is, how are they going to top this? We’ll get an answer to that question later this year.

    Phish Madison Square Garden – New York, NY 12/31/22 – setlist via Phish.net

    Set 1: Tweezer, Halley’s Comet -> Set Your Soul Free > Rift, Cavern > Tweezer > Shade, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

    Set 2: Say It To Me S.A.N.T.OS. > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Kill Devil Falls, Mercury > Light > Waste, Drift While You’re Sleeping, Backwards Down The Number Line

    Set 3: Ghost > Bohemian Rhapsody > Ghost -> Jungle Boogie > Wilson > Auld Lang Syne > Carini > Theme From New York, New York > Tweezer > Prince Caspian > Crosseyed and Painless > Piper, A Life Beyond The Dream, First Tube

    Encore: Show of Life > Tweezer Reprise