New band Telecom, from Brooklyn-based musician Sean McVerry, has released their debut single, “Ramon” on March 21 and have plans to release more music soon. Telecom melds 60s brit-pop, late 2000s New York indie grit, and cheeky theatrics. McVerry has worked and toured with artists such as Karen O, Danger Mouse, and Aurora.
Telecom members, from left to right: Andres Valbuena, Zeno Pittarelli, and Jonathan Sacca. Credit: Matt Speno
Telecon comprises Andres Valbuena on drums, Zeno Pittarelli on guitar, Jonathan Sacca on bass, and several other Brooklyn musicians. Their founder, Sean McVerry, is a New York music scene veteran, and recently on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he won the show’s “instant songwriter” segment. Telecom has earned millions of streams on music platforms, and music has been featured on several television shows such as NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Adult Swim on Cartoon Network.
Telecom’s debut single “Ramon” and its upcoming counterpart were co-produced and mixed by former DFA engineer Abe Seiferth at Brookly’s Transmitter Park studios. McVerry moved a free piano he found on Craigslist into the apartment, (nearly crushing himself to death) and the songs quickly came together. He started working on the songs in late 2020 in his home studio in Crown Heights, as a way to express his feelings about the Covid-19 pandemic. The songs provide different takes on the situation, with “Ramon” describing McVerry’s feelings of being trapped with his neighbors in their Brooklyn apartment building. Both songs remained dormant until a writing retreat with Pittarelli and Rahn in 2021, at which point Telecom was beginning to take form.
If Telecom’s future music is anything like “Ramon,” the band is certain to have a long and successful career ahead of them. Upon listening to their debut single, audiences are sure to be eager for more by Telecom. McVerry truly found magic with the three artists that make up the group.
McVerry said of Telecom’s Debut Single:
‘Ramon’ began with a free piano from Craigslist. After mining a ’70s drum break from my vinyl collection, I laid down the initial cassette tape demo of the song. The track thumps along a hypnotic groove, as the speaker romanticizes the cat in the courtyard, and the introspection that comes with isolation.
On Friday, March 24th, Pink Talking Fish teamed up with Escaper at Sony Hall to honor the 50th Anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd’s most famous album. PTF played the album in its entirety, with opener, Brooklyn’s Escaper, closing their set with a masterfully psychedelic “Set the Controls for the Heart of The Sun”.
Will Hanza & Luke Bemand of Escaper
Escaper opened up the night with an exciting set filled with face melting solos by Will Hanza. An incredible and very emotive guitarist, Will is a thrill to photograph. It was great to see him and Luke Bemand’s stage chemistry and how well they play together. Escaper invited Cal Kehoe up for the Pink Floyd cover to end their set.
Luke Bemand & Scott Chasolen of The Machine join PTF on stage to play “Tweezer”
Pink Talking Fish started their show by playing “Dark Side of the Moon” in it’s entirety. A daunting task which PTF has performed incredibly many times before, this time was no different. The vocal part in “Great Gig in The Sky” and the sheer funkiness of “Any Color You Like” stood out.
Cal Kehoe-eidescope
The second set was a medley of Phish, Talking Heads, & Pink Floyd. Favorites from that set included Phish classics like “Alumni Blues”, “Letter to Jimmy Page”, “Frankenstein” which included a key-tar solo, “Tweezer” with Luke Bemand on bass and the keyboardist from The Machine Scott Chasolen, and if you play “Tweezer” you know you have to play “Tweezer Reprise”. The band encored with “Sabotage > Eclipse Reprise”.
Pink Talking Fish – Sony Hall, NYC – Friday, March 24
Set 1: Speak To Me > Breathe > On The Run > Time > Breathe Reprise, Great Gig In The Sky, Money1, Us And Them1 > Any Colour You Like > Brain Damage > Eclipse
Set 2: Burning Down The House, Alumni Blues > Letter To Jimmy Page > Frankenstein2 > Letter To Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Mother, Houses In Motion, Tweezer1,3 > Tweezer Reprise1,3, Wish You Were Here, Crosseyed And Painless
Encore: Sabotage > Eclipse Reprise
1 w/ Matt Wayne on sax 2 w/ Steve on keytar 3 w/ Luke Bemand on bass & Scott Chasolen on keys
Constellation Brands – Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) has announced the latest concerts of their 2023 Summer Concert lineup – rock band The Doobie Brothers and country duo Dan + Shay.
On July 14th, four-time GRAMMY Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, The Doobie Brothers, will perform at CMAC. This follows The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary Tour dates in Australia, Japan and Singapore prior to resuming their North American 2023 run.
Multiple platinum albums and 50 years later, The Doobie Brothers’ stop at CMAC will see their collection of hits once again be played together in full for the first time in 25 years.
CMAC will also see country duo Dan + Shay on August 19th. Dan + Shay’s mark on country music continues to grow with the release of their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Good Things.
Produced by the duo’s Dan Smyers, the highly imaginative LP is the first country album in the streaming era to achieve RIAA Gold certification at release and is one of the only 12 albums all-genre to be released and go Gold in 2021.
In 2021, they became the first and only artist to win the GRAMMY Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance 3x consecutively since the category’s inception. The reigning Favorite Country Duo or Group winners claimed a 3rd consecutive win for the category at the American Music Awards, where they had swept their categories in 2020, becoming the first country artist ever to win Collaboration of the Year.
For more information on each event, and to purchase tickets, please visit CMAC’s website.
Brooklyn-based artist, producer, and engineer Justin Meyer has just released his newest single “Friends With Fear,” out Friday, March 24th. Inspired by Justin’s journey of graduating during the pandemic, the single puts a positive spin on uncertainty and the shared experience of having a quarter-life crisis.
Written in 2022, “Friends With Fear” explores the experience of having a quarter-life crisis while confronting the unique challenges of graduating during a pandemic. The upbeat track fuses thought-provoking lyrics with Lily Kelso’s background vocals and Alden Spence’s electric guitar layers to create an undeniably hypnotic sound.
Sharing more behind the song’s inspiration, Justin Meyer explains, “‘Friends With Fear’ is about having a quarter-life crisis and trying to be okay with life’s unknowns. I went through college during the pandemic and graduated a year early, leaving me feeling this sense of time slipping away very quickly. I got super focused on the impermanence of life for about a year. This song is about making friends with those feelings and letting them settle instead of fighting them and making them even worse. Furthermore, it’s about reclaiming the joy of being alive.”
Hailing from Golden, Colorado, Justin Meyer has had a lifelong passion for music. In 2019, he followed his dream and moved across the country to pursue his Music Production and Engineering degree at the renowned Berklee College of Music.
“Justin’s musical career has just begun, but I see it continuing into the far future.”
—The Crescent Magazine
After graduating in 2021, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, and secured a position as an assistant engineer at the prestigious Kensaltown East studio. With his latest single, “Friends With Fear,” Justin continues to demonstrate his exceptional production and songwriting prowess.
Prior to his studies at Berklee, Justin had already begun to hone his sound with his first two EPs, Afterthought and Dreams. During the 2020 lockdown, Justin kept busy, producing his first album Metanoia released in 2021. His third EP, Lonely Rock Star, was recorded as part of Justin’s capstone project at Berklee and featured instrumentation by fellow Berklee alumni.
Justin has had the pleasure of collaborating with many talented artists such as Mae McCoy, Lily Kelso, Aldo Rey, and Claire Donzelli. Returning with his latest single, “Friends With Fear,” Justin continues to demonstrate his exceptional production and songwriting prowess.
To listen to “Friends With Fear,” click the link here.
For more music by Justin Meyer, click the link here.
Seize Atlantis! This Glens Falls local band with a grungey soft rock sound prevailed over Hudson Valley’s respectable rock outfit MAINLINE, and takes home the gold for NYS Music’s March Madness 2023.
Seize Atlantis began as a jamming project in 2018, with a rotating cast of members and a different name. But eventually, only Mike Dardas (bass/backing vocals), Cody Platt (drums), and James Mullen (lead vocals/guitar) remained, and they decided to form a tight-knit trio. Meanwhile, Luc Bourgault had been playing with Cody and James in high school, and he eventually joined the group as lead guitarist.
After playing a few shows together, the pandemic hit, and the band took a seven-month hiatus. During this time, they decided to rebrand themselves as the Seize Atlantis we know and love today, reflecting their new creative direction and revitalized energy. Since returning to the stage in May 2021, Seize Atlantis has been performing regularly and writing new music.
Their debut EP was released last summer, with another one on the horizon. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, they’ve built up a loyal fanbase and earned the support of local venues throughout the Capital Region and North Country. With their unique sound and passion for music, Seize Atlantis is a band to watch in the coming years.
According to the band members themselves, their musical journeys began in different ways. Cody’s parents “mistakenly” bought him a drum kit, and he fell in love with it from there. Mike picked up the bass guitar for the first time when a friend needed a bassist for their middle school band. Luc’s interest in guitar started with the Guitar Hero craze, and he quickly discovered his talent for picking out melodies by ear. James was influenced heavily by bands like U2 and Pink Floyd from a young age, and his passion for writing lyrics started at the age of 15.
For all of them, music has been a driving force in their lives, and performing and creating has become an integral part of who they are. This deep passion for music truly bleeds through in their tunes, since, as James puts it, “this is what keeps us sane!”
Seize Atlantis has big plans for the upcoming summer months. They’re set to release their highly anticipated second EP, Ruins Rebuilt, in June, they already have a number of dates lined up to celebrate the occasion.
Fans can expect an EP release party, as well as a performance at GEM Fest 2023 in Glens Falls on July 22nd. But Seize Atlantis is not content to rest on their laurels. As a completely DIY and independent operation, they handle everything from management and booking to designing and selling merch, as well as recording, mixing, and mastering all of their original material. The band is always striving to grow and evolve in every aspect of being an indie band, and they’re committed to taking the next step in their journey.
As Seize Atlantis gears up to release their second EP, Ruins Rebuilt, the band is excited to showcase their new collaborative approach to songwriting. In contrast to their previous release, which was a concept album with a social commentary theme, these new songs delve into more personal and introspective themes. The band describes the creative process for this EP as a true team effort, with each member contributing to the unique dynamic and sound of each song. They can’t wait to share this new direction with their fans and see how they react to the EP as a whole.
Congratulations Seize Atlantis, NYS Music’s 2023 March Madness Winner!
For the past 8 years, this annual competition has been shining a spotlight on the talented artists and musicians from across the Empire State. This year’s competition is the biggest and best yet, with a lineup of diverse genres and highly skilled performers. March Madness 2023 highlights 64 bands and artists you might not know, but should know, as these homegrown talents are making waves through the New York State. Review each round below.
Joshua Bassett recently played at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday, March 24th with opener Lindsey Lomis for his only New York date during his The Complicated Tour.
The two put on an unforgettable performance for their audience of 2500, with Bassett playing various songs from his EPs, Different, Sad Songs In A Hotel Room, and Joshua Bassett. Thousands of fans, many of them wearing sparkly tops, colorful pants, and pink cowboy hats, waited in anticipation for Joshua’s incredible set.
Joshua Bassett
Bassett, initially gaining popularity for his role alongside Olivia Rodrigo in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, resides in New York City but grew up in San Diego, California. The 22-year old pop singer is currently in the middle of his tour and has various dates left in the US and across Europe.
Joshua first entered the stage yelling “New York City!” and jumped up and down during his upbeat song, “Feel Something.” The crowd lost it when he jumped off of the stage, greeting fans and accepting flowers from one girl, whilst encouraging everyone to get into the groove of the music. During his song, “i’m sorry,” Bassett truly awed the crowd with his deeply intimate lyrics as he touched on subjects like depression, addiction, breakups, and loneliness.
He made his way into the middle of the audience during “Common Sense,” as he sang his first ever release acoustically to his starstruck fans. In the chorus of “Different,” he disappeared from the stage and made his way to the upper balconies to greet the rest of the crowd. Finally, at the end of his last song, “Set Me Free,” Joshua climbed onto a piano and jumped off at the drop of the beat, while confetti shot out of cannons on either end of the stage.
Bassett ended his set with a long wait before the crowd began shouting, “One more song, one more song!”, where he reentered and put on a final performance of “SHE SAID HE SAID SHE SAID.”
Setlist: Feel Something, Secret, Doppelgänger, LA, Used To It, Finally Free, Medley (Joshua Bassett EP), Heaven Is You, Sad Songs In A Hotel Room, Lie Lie Lie, Common Sense, Lifeline, All In Due Time, Empire State of Mind, Pt. 2 (Alicia Keys cover), would you love me now?, i’m sorry, Different, Smoke Slow, Iris (The Goo Goo Dolls cover), Beautiful City (Stephen Schwartz cover), Set Me Free Encore: SHE SAID HE SAID SHE SAID
The Kings Theatre in Brooklyn has announced that as of March 27, fans can only purchase tickets via ATG Tickets which are available for purchase through their box office and website.
The Kings Theatre was built in 1929 as one of the five original Loew’s Wonder Theaters, originally a movie palace live performance venue featuring vaudeville reviews. The movie palace was inspired by the French Renaissance Revival style of the Palace of Versailles and the Paris Opera House and became stagnant after its closing in 1979 until undergoing restoration in 2013. In 2015, the venue was officially opened as the Kings Theatre with a debut performance by Diana Ross. Now the theatre is widely recognized for being a cultural and economic cornerstone of the Flatbush community, and a great addition to Brooklyn’s cultural landscape as a whole. The venue announced that their new ticket service is ATG Tickets, only available for purchase through their website or box office.
Ticketmaster has come under fire the past few months for the mishandling of the presale ticket sale of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, causing fans to not be able to access tickets, getting booted out of the ticket queue, and overselling the presale quantity so fans without Verified Fan codes were unable to get tickets at all. It has become the largest ticket-selling company in the world, despite the fact that in 1994 Pearl Jam famously filed a complaint with the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice, citing that Ticketmaster has a “virtually absolute monopoly on the distribution of tickets to concerts.”
In January, Live Nation Entertainment, the concert industry giant that owns Ticketmaster, came under attack at a Senate Judiciary hearing, with both sides criticizing the botched sales of tickets, and calling the company a monopoly that hinders competition and harms consumers. Some questioned whether the two merging companies should be broken up once their agreement with the Justice Department expires in 2025. According to various estimates cited by the senators, Ticketmaster controls ticketing at 70 to 80 percent of major concert venues in the United States, making them indeed a monopoly.
Other tours have also been affected by Ticketmaster, like Drake and Beyoncés. Platinum tickets, or tickets that the company purposely sells for higher prices because they know fans will buy them, were a big issue for both of these tours, with some tickets nearing $1,000. The Cure recently announced a North American tour, utilizing the Ticketmaster Verified Fan system, where fans with verified accounts are randomly selected for presale codes to purchase tickets earlier than the general public. Robert Smith of the band spoke publicly on his Twitter account disagreeing with the idea of platinum ticketing, and the fees that Ticketmaster puts on tickets, which are sometimes close to the cost of the actual ticket. Since he was so open about his distaste for the company, Ticketmaster gave credit to accounts who bought tickets to see The Cure as a consultation for the expensive fees.
The Kings Theatre has been one of the few venues to fully switch away from Ticketmaster, possibly creating a trend of major venues boycotting the monopoly. The theatre switching to only using their website and box offices for ticket purchases will have positive effects on fans trying to purchase tickets, hopefully putting an end to outrageous fees and long wait times. For fans that have purchased tickets through Ticketmaster for the theatre’s events, they will be transferred to the new system. For more information about the Kings Theatre and to view future events, visit here.
Sound Mind Live has announced the fifth annual Sound Music Festival for Mental Health will take place on Saturday, May 20, between Irving Ave and Wyckoff Ave in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The free event, which starts at 12 p.m., will feature a number of performers including Iron & Wine, Hiss Golden Messenger, Langhorne Slim, Kamauu, and Pom Pom Squad, and includes DJ sets from House of Yes, Food by Smorgsaburg, Yoga and Sound, Bath Sessions, and more.
BetterHelp is partnering with Sound Mind Live for this year’s Sound Music Festival
For this year’s festival, the world’s largest therapy platform, BetterHelp, is partnering with Sound Mind Live to provide a month of free therapy for their combined communities.
“We’re so proud to partner with Sound Mind on this amazing festival,” Co-founder of House of Yes Anya Sapozhnikova says.
Additionally, containing its focus on mental health awareness, the Sound Music Festival will host a series of panels in partnership with Absurd Conclave, including Mental Health in Communities of Color, Mental Health in the Music Industry, The Importance Of Fostering Community, and more.
Research shows that since the pandemic, more people have contemplated self-harm, with one in four youth having considered suicide, and the fall out of post-pandemic depression is expected to last 3-5 years. The upcoming Sound Mind Music Festival hopes to bring about deeper community connections for healing and elevate conversations and resources that can help those in need find affordable resources sooner.
“Over the past several years the world recognized that mental health issues impact us all in one form or another,” Executive Director of Sound Mind Live Chris Bullard says.
Guests will have the opportunity to make a donation and enjoy a VIP experience, which includes an enhanced viewing area, a private bar, and complimentary swag bags. This year’s Sound Music Festival is in partnership with over 10 music artists, 3 local venues, and over 20 mental health organizations including National Alliance on Mental Illness, JED Foundation, and TransLifeline, and is supported by the Society of Valued Minds, an initiative of Otsuka America, Pharmaceutical, Inc., BetterHelp, Sozosei Foundation, and G4D Productions. Media partners include YouTube Health and Consequence.
While this year’s Sound Music Festival for Mental Health in Brooklyn is free, tickets are still needed to enter the event and can be found here.
Fresh off live scoring The Fifth Element at The Caverns in Tennessee, The Disco Biscuits marched north to Port Chester for three nights at The Capitol Theatre over March 23-25, quite possibly their strongest run at the ‘Original Rock Palace,’ dating back to 2016.
Few bands display the consistency the Disco Biscuits have displayed as of late, going back nearly a year to their last Capitol Theatre run, which has been followed by more than a dozen original song debuts that have quickly become part of the rotation.
From the crowd, the band looks like they’re having a blast on stage, rocking out to the music they’re creating, feeding off their own creation just as the fans are, creating a live camaraderie that is rarely seen. From the stage, one can see the band is getting down while watching the fans do the same, all while creating live electronic music to an unmatched degree of quality, making it look like just another day at the office.
Typically, Thursday of a three-night Cap run has been more of a ‘‘warm up night,’ as the band gets comfortable in the room. The shows have been great, but have been overshadowed by stellar Friday and Saturday shows. This was not the case this weekend, given the way the band has been playing, as there was no warm up needed and Thursday was on par if not stronger than the next two nights.
Starting the run with a jam that evolved into an almost 20-minute “Gangster,” a “Spacebirdmatingcall” sandwiched “Cyclone” that found Jon “Barber” Gutwillig hitting next level peaks as the industrial techno beat took over. As the set reached the second half, two rarely played songs, “Trooper McCue” and “Floes” appeared, a double dose of early Biscuits, with the more recent “Lake Shore Drive” fitting in nicely in between.
A rarely played “Park Ave” made its third appearance since 2011, and second this year, opening up the second set, then dipping into an inverted “Shelby Rose” which was last performed inverted style at the Capitol Theatre in 2019. The flowing set continued with an inverted “Reactor” which found Barber taking a section for “a couple of laps” as bassist Marc Brownstein put it. The set would close with ”Evolve,” a 2021 composition that gives off a late 90s Eurodance vibe, segueing into a 20-minute set closing “Caterpillar.” With a short encore slot leftover, “Portal To An Empty Head” put a exclamation point on a night that to some was the highlight of the run, but if anything, simply foreshadowed the greatness of the next two nights that followed.
The Disco Biscuits – Thursday, March 23 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester
Set 1: Jam > Gangster > Spacebirdmatingcall > Cyclone > Spacebirdmatingcall, Trooper McCue, Lake Shore Drive > Floes Set 2: Park Ave > Shelby Rose 1 > Reactor 1 > Evolve > Caterpillar Encore: Portal To An Empty Head 1 inverted
Friday night featured opener Dogs in a Pile, a New Jersey band that was making waves prior to the pandemic and who have not looked back in that time, touring across the country and building a ‘Dog Pound’ fanbase in the meantime. The full set is worth a listen, especially the final tune, “Time Stands Still,” with Ben Pinnola on saxophone.
When it comes to the Disco Biscuits, anything can be a jam vehicle, nearly everything is in play – new songs, old songs, fan favorites, rare covers – and that is what makes the band so enjoyable to see show after show, no matter if you last saw them a week ago or five years ago.
Cracking open the first set was “Shocked,” which stands to be the first song from the band’s forthcoming “Space Rock Opera,” and had fans shouting “Shocked” as if the tune was a longtime part of the repertoire. A stand alone “Digital Buddha” followed, with the pace accelerated by Barber and drummer Allen Aucoin to a furious froth, giving unparalleled energy as the song reached its peak.
Among all new debuted songs, a clear fan favorite is “Twisted in the Road,” which would proceed to sandwich three songs in between a “Twisted” 22 minute jawn, with lyrics “Let it run and let it roll” becoming a mantra for Biscuits fans in the process. “Bombs” made a return appearance at The Capitol Theatre (played in 2017 and 2019) after being brought off the shelf by fan request at a Drive-In show in May 2021. “Orch Theme,” the ever-welcome dark electronic Conspirator song arrived out of “Bombs,” bringing the rare “Rainbow Song” from the ashes of “Orch Theme,” before winding back into “Twisted in the Road” to close the set and reach the halfway point of the run.
Set 2 began with the fresh “Freeze” that ran for nearly 25 minutes and exemplified one of the best elements of the Disco Biscuits – you can easily forget what song you’re dancing to, and happily so. In the moment, it doesn’t matter what song it is when they’re jamming at this level of consistency, making song chasing secondary to enjoying these jams more than ever before. Anything is in play with improvisation opportunities found at all turns.
The middle section of “Crickets” gave way to “Another Plan of Attack” and “Space Train,” and then an inverted “Above The Waves” that clocked in at a raging 20 minutes. “One Chance To Save The World” closed the set with “King of the World” celebrating this powerful set in the encore slot.
The Disco Biscuits – Friday, March 24 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester
Set 1: Shocked, Digital Buddha, Twisted in the Road > Bombs > Orch Theme > Rainbow Song > Twisted in the Road Set 2: Freeze > Crickets 1 > Another Plan of Attack > Space Train > Above The Waves 2 > One Chance To Save The World Encore: King of the World 1 middle only 2 Inverted
Opening Saturday night was Eggy, who has been on the rise as of late and had recently opened for Twiddle at The Capitol Theatre in November 2022. This remarkable Connecticut band has excellent stage presence and precision jamming, with Jerry Garcia Band’s “Gomorrah” a fitting cover for the room.
The Biscuits’ first set opened up with stand alone versions of “Story of the World” and “Astronaut,” a departure from the sandwiching of other tunes inside segments of these compositions. A classic “Little Shimmy In A Conga Line” had a percussion segment that was unique and fit the jam well, and may have been exploring a shift into “O Fortuna” (a cantata by Carl Orff), from the Biscuits’ catalog of classical covers. Shortly after, “Shimmy” started to give off “Digital Buddha,” but having already played “Buddha” the night before, this meant the audio doppleganger for “Buddha” – “Tricycle” – was on the horizon.
The last two minutes of “Shimmy” made it seem as though the band would be dipping into one of their most high energy songs for a segue. Then out of left field came a short, sweet and nasty “Tempest” that provided a bridge to the full on “Tricycle,” which had the crowd singing along in unison like no other in recent memory, the four fully dialed in for this fusion of sound and bringing the audience along with them for the ride. The newer “Vibes” hit the spot out of “Tricycle” and found its way into the ending of “Svenghali” to close the set on a high mark.
The first set had so much energy and hit all the right spots, contending quickly for ‘Set of the Weekend.’ The general consensus at setbreak gave no notes, no criticisms and no hot takes other than ‘these guys are on fire.”
Sorry if that sounds like hyperbole, but the dedicated fan base is in agreement that the band is as dialed in and consistent as they’ve ever been. So when it came time for Set 2, the crowd was abuzz as the setlist was confirmed to be written by longtime Biscuits audio engineer Rich Steele, celebrating his 300th show this evening. The set unfolded as a dissection of one of the Biscuits’ earliest songs, “Basis For a Day” spread out over the 90 minute set with four of the newer ‘Space Opera’ songs woven in between, leading fans to coin the fluid set “Spaces for a Day.“
If you hadn’t heard “Basis For a Day” in a minute, you were in for a treat. The band opened up with “Basis,” segueing into “The Wormhole” before finding their way back to “Basis.” Despite only debuting nine months ago, “Who’s In Charge” has found its home in regular rotation and followed the second “Basis,” with a driving beat behind Barber’s repeated query “Who’s in charge….. of this place right here?” From there, it was back into “Basis” for round 3, followed by “The Deal,” a song so new it had only been played three times prior to this evening. Back into “Basis” and then “To Be Continued,” with a new wave/techno riff from Aron Magner, seeming to be a song towards the end of the Space Opera. By the time they went back into “Basis” for a final time, nearly 90 minutes had passed but fans didn’t notice as they were far too busy getting down.
You couldn’t find a stronger way to cap the run with a set of this nature, where knowledge of the band’s collective level of consistency in performance and songwriting was put high on a pedestal for all to see. Weaving the band’s unnamed/unreleased “Space Opera” in and out of one of their most performed songs was a master stroke and paid dividends for everyone in attendance. A fitting encore of “We Like To Party” framed the three night run, with the band and fans in unison proclaiming enthusiastically, loudly and proudly, “We like to dance, sorry if you don’t.”
Don’t sleep on the Disco Biscuits – they’re in Colorado this coming weekend for four shows, head down south for four more in May before heading to Iceland for their first international jaunt in well over a decade. Tour dates for the summer have just been announced, which find the band touring up the east coast in June for eight shows, starting in South Carolina on June 7 and closing out with two nights at Mulcahey’s in Wantagh. Here’s hoping for more details on the upcoming “Space Opera” as the year progresses.
The Disco Biscuits – Saturday, March 25 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester
Set 1: Story of the World, Astronaut, Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > Tempest > Tricycle > Vibes > Svenghali 1 Set 2: Basis For A Day > The Wormhole > Basis For A Day > Who’s in Charge > Basis For A Day > The Deal > Basis For A Day > To Be Continued > Basis For A Day Encore: We Like To Party 1 end only
The Palace Theatre and Building on Love are partnering to present The Frank White Experience and special guest DJ TGIF live in the Palace Lobby on April 1, starting at 7 p.m.
Six-year-old Ezekiel McLean was always a happy, upbeat, loving, and supportive child. One day his parents received the news that he has stage 4 kidney cancer, and their world has been upside down ever since. To pay the medical costs, the Palace Theatre’s Community Engagement Initiative is hosting a fundraiser with Building on Love and all the proceeds will be used to support the McLean Family. Building on Love is a local non-profit with a mission of helping families in the community who have had their life altered by supporting a loved one with a recent life-altering medical diagnosis by giving them financial access to care and housing so they can focus on the health of their loved ones.
“Childhood cancer is a battle that no one should have to go through. As if the emotional toll was not enough, the financial toll on the families can be crippling,” said Kevin Johnson, Executive Director of the Palace Theatre. “We are pleased to be able to offer our space, time, and energy to be able to help the McLean family in any way possible.” The benefit will take place at the Palace Theatre, Albany’s iconic downtown landmark, bringing in the biggest names in entertainment to the Capital Region for the past eight decades. Built in 1931, it was originally for vaudeville acts, and feature films, becoming a civic auditorium before closing its doors in 1969. The mission of the Palace is to bring world-class arts and entertainment to New York’s Capital Region, greatly enhancing the area’s cultural and economic development.
The Frank White Experience is the genre leader in live Hip Hop tribute bands, bringing the sounds of NOTORIOUS B.I.G. and live instrumentation to the listener’s ears. FWE not only covers the music of Biggie Smalls but takes listeners on a journey back through the beloved soundscape of 1990s Hip Hop and R&B, sharing the stage with Rakim, Styles P, Lil Kim, Fat Joe, C.J. Wallace, Havoc, DJ Enuff, Sway Calloway, Lil Cease, Klept, and many more. Featured at the concert is DJ TGIF aka Craig Earle, one of Upstate New York’s most in-demand DJs, performing regularly to both late-night sold-out crowds and family-friendly events alike. He was recently awarded the honor of the Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40.
Tickets to attend the benefit performance are $30 (Standard Admission) and $50 (VIP), on sale now at the Palace Theatre Box Office and online.
