Michael Seyer has brought back his most popular album, Bad Bonez, for its sixth anniversary, playing the entire album live. Seyer even had to write live renditions for some songs on the album which had never been performed before. Elsewhere Zone One provided the perfect setting for this show as an intimate crowd of a couple of hundred fans gathered Sunday, April 14, for a concert filled with soft vocals and fan interaction. It was an experience you can rarely find with an artist of Seyer’s size.
Seyer has a strong following in New York City and has played shows across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Buffalo almost every year since 2018, excluding 2020 for obvious reasons. In 2021, Michael Seyer accompanied Men I Trust on their Untourable Album Tour across the US. At their two sold-out shows at Brooklyn Steel, the audience instantly recognized he had something special. His soft dream pop vocals and RnB-inspired instrumentation matched well with the sound of Men I Trust.
Seyer, now on his own headliner tour, brought out fellow California-based artist Sundiver Ca to open. You may know Sundiver Ca from their synth-forward hit song “Soundtrack for Your Backseat,” but songs like “Wet Dreams” and “Oh Honey” conjured acts like King Krule with reverb-heavy guitar that culminated in belting vocals.
Seyer entered the stage and opened his set with a rendition of “Zelda’s Lullaby” from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on an ocarina of his own, with additional backing from the full band. The audience was clearly familiar with Seyer’s discography and personality, given the number of people singing along to every song and bantering with him. In the middle of the set, Seyer teased new music to balance out the older repertoire, only to break out a tongue-in-cheek cover of Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.”
Most of the audience may have been toddlers when Nickelback’s Silver Side Up was released, but the audience immediately got the joke and belted out gravely supporting vocals. For another song, Seyer asked a fan to hold up a lyric sheet (as you do when playing a 6-year-old album in full) only to notice mid-song that he had given him the wrong sheet and instead repeated the first verse to laughs from the audience.
Now, Seyer’s tour continues up the East Coast, through Canada, and then back through the Midwest to finish with four California shows. It has been three years since the 2021 release of his last album, A Good Fool, so we hope he will be back in New York soon with new music. Seyer has shown the world that he is a talent both as a musician and lyricist, so we are excited to see where his career goes.
Michael Seyer – Elsewhere Zone One, Brooklyn – April 14, 2024
Setlist: Zelda’s Lullaby, Bad Bonez, Ring Around the Rosie, Show Me How You Feel, I Feel Best When I’m Alone, Weekend at Santa Cruz, Kill All Your Darlings, Untitled Bonez, Waiting for You, Lucky Love, Father, An Awful Lonely Summer, Motions, Sonata for a Bad Ghost
Infinity Song filled the Blue Note Jazz Club with joyous soft rock on Monday, April 15, to open their four-day residency. John Boyd, the father of Abraham, Angel, Momo, and Israel Boyd, the four siblings who make up Infinity Song, gave a speech to commemorate the occasion.
The show was the culmination of 27 years of raising children for the Boyd parents, who are both lifelong musicians themselves, going from busking in Central Park to making music under the Roc Nation banner and seeing mainstream success in the city where they grew up. He ended the speech playing on a classic proverb, saying, “It takes ten villages to raise an artist.â
The night was a joyous celebration of music, of family, of history. The band immediately set a mood and established their distinct personalities onstage. The eldest brother, Abraham, spent the first three songs belting while striking poses and running in place on the stage, pumping his arms like he was competing in a marathon to cheers from the audience.
His younger brother and the band’s electric guitarist, Israel, reacted to the cheers by jokingly scolding Abraham for misleading the audience into thinking he was the dancer of the family. This banter culminated in the only way a sibling rivalry can, a dance-off. Each of the four siblings took turns improvising their own dance to on-the-fly beats from the supporting band. For those with siblings, it’s not hard to imagine some similar antics arising if given a stage together.
Coming out of the dance battle, they went into a revolutionary cover of Stevie Nicks’ “Dreams,” which can be found on their newest album, Metamorphosis. No other artist has done the song so much justice. Being raised by musicians and being interdisciplinary themselves, you would be hard-pressed to find four people with that much raw talent on any stage besides the Blue Note last night.
“Slow Burn” and “Haterâs Anthem” were their two most popular songs of the night. “Slow Burn” is a personal favorite that makes use of the sisters’ differing vocal textures to great effect. “Haterâs Anthem” harkens back to the 90s with upbeat choral vocals from the whole group and an underlying message about the pitfalls of being a hater while convincing yourself that you are inherently better than others who are putting in the work towards their goals.
Not only did Infinity Song pack Blue Note on a Monday, but they got the audience dancing, too, as the small club rose from their dinner tables to dance out the end of the show with the band. You can experience Infinity Song in residency at the Blue Note through Thursday, April 18, with shows at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. This was an otherworldly experience: bring your friends, bring your family, because Infinity Song is up next.
1971 was an incredibly busy touring year for the Grateful Dead and on this day in April they found themselves in Cortland, NY for the first and only time. The band toured the East Coast extensively all throughout this month, playing a slew of auditoriums, music halls and college campuses as they continued to build their brand.
With plenty of gigs scheduled in New York City, this show at SUNY-Cortland’s Lusk Field House would be their only one in Central New York and the entire region was clearly on board. Tickets could be purchased in Ithaca, Binghamton and even the Syracuse University bookstore. Those that went were treated to a good one as the Dead would continue to hone their new originals, play an extremely rare cover song and take another one around the block and back.
The Dead jump off the starting block with a guitar-driven and passionate “Cold Rain and Snow.” The triumvirate of Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh are turned up high in the mix and don’t disappoint. After “Snow” comes to end with a flurry of heavy vamping from all involved, and a quick PSA from Garcia harkening someone to come up to the side of the stage, “Me and My Uncle” starts up and gets played in pristine fashion with Weir leading the charge on vocals. The “Bertha” that follows gets the same treatment and shows the band clearly getting nice and familiar with this newer song that only debuted a few months ago.
Another song fairly new to the live Dead catalog at the time was their cover of “Me and Bobby McGee.” This too gets played with a noticeable comfort and ease with Garcia adding some extra tasteful guitar licks between early verses and Bill Kreutzmann serving as a one-man wrecking crew on drums. A clearly relaxed and engaged Grateful Dead then attempt to honor the Cortland audience’s request to get some spotlights turned off. Lesh comments that this “isn’t the spacecraft assembly building or anything” with Garcia sarcastically intimating that it just might be.
Pigpen then gets his lone spotlight of the first set and leads the band through a no-frills “Next Time You See Me.” At this point, the band reengages their war with the lighting crew who get caught trying to turn some lights back up. Things get so (comically) animated that Pigpen even gets involved! That’s right, rare Pigpen banter. And this one is a gem.
Like nothing ever happened, the Dead then close out the first set in Cortland with their now traditional one-two pairing of “China Cat Sunflower” and “I Know You Rider.” The “Rider” starts off at a slightly slower pace but the crystal clear segue is right there and Garcia delivers a hellacious guitar solo before the set ends with a fairly standard run through of “Casey Jones.”
The second set begins with some heavy wah-wah effects on guitar as “Sugar Magnolia” begins with Weir leading the way on vocals. The psychedelic guitar interplay makes for a brief rousing jam before Weir reels it back in. The next selection is a true Grateful Dead rarity with Garcia taking over on vocals for a cover of Smokey Robinson’s “I Second That Emotion.” It was played by the Dead only seven times ever, with all of them in April of 1971. Although it would later reappear on Jerry Garcia Band setlists in the future. His stirring guitar solo on this one adds just the right amount of soul and shows why.
The Dead then delve back into their song book of originals and roll through “Truckin’” with the “Up to Buffalo” lyric getting a noticeable hand from the Cortland crowd. This sets the table for the true exploratory jam of the night with a short but joyous romp that features some cohesive interplay between Garcia and Lesh on bass serving as the musical engine.
The second one comes with the “Hard to Handle” that follows, with Pigpen once again on the mic, delivering one of his signature cover songs. He flies through the verses with ease and typical swagger and then immediately launches into a semi-coherent, bluesy scat-rap hybrid over a bed of steady groove supplied by the band. It’s essentially the Dead backing up Pigpen as he improvises before he exits stage right and the band takes their turn with a veritable funk jam that slowly gets more and more aggressive before coming to a peak.
The Dead then continue to trot out more of their newer originals that debuted earlier this year at Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. “Loser” features a pair of Garcia guitar solos rich in emotion with the second one played in a perfect tone. “Playing In The Band” follows and while it’s clear the band has the compositional part of this song down pat by now, there’s yet to be any sort of supplemental jam added to it.
One of the final musical statements from the Dead on this night in Cortland is a massive cover of The Rascals” “Good Lovin’” with Pigpen once again belting out the vocals. Once the lyrics come to an end, almost immediately a one-man “Drums” section begins with Kreutzmann using every inch of the drum kit for several minutes. Instead of moving on to something else, the band jumps right back into the “Good Lovin’” jam and Pigpen reemerges for another stream of conscious-like, bluesy rap with this one exploring various employment opportunities and the “nookie business.” This eventually fades out and the band takes over once more with a brief jam before reshaping it back into the conclusion of the song, serving as one of the true highlights of the show.
A tame, in comparison, “Uncle John’s Band” then closes out the one and only Grateful Dead show in Cortland, NY. The band would get a few days off after this show and then continue their assault on the Northeast with shows in Providence, RI and Bangor, ME scheduled after that before a legendary run of shows at New York City’s Fillmore East the following week.
Vist archive.org for a track by track listing of the show.
View this and more Grateful Dead shows from across the years in New York State with our interactive map below
Grateful Dead – Lusk Field House, Cortland, NY – April 18, 1971
Set 1: Cold Rain and Snow, Me and My Uncle, Bertha, Me and Bobby McGee, Next Time You See Me, China Ca Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Casey Jones
Set 2: Sugar Magnolia, I Second That Emotion, Truckin’, Hard to Handle, Loser, Playing In The Band, Around and Around, Good Lovin’, Uncle John’s Band
Under the cover of night on April 12, performing a total of 37 songs, not including the orchestra that introduced him at the top of the night before morphing musically into “Nadie Sabe,” Bad Bunny showed fans at the Barclays Center in attendance for his ‘Most Wanted’ Tour that he isn’t going anywhere.
From opening the show with a full-string orchestra who performed for about 15 minutes of stage time the dynamic backup dancers, Bad Bunny really put on one western and trap inspired show. At one, he exited the stage only to re-enter again on horseback. And yes, it was a real horse.
The first act consisted of songs mostly from his latest LP ‘Nadie sabe lo sue va a passer manana.’ Bad Bunny changed it up by going back to his trap roots with “Tu No Metes Cabra,” which was released in 2017, followed by “Pa Ti” and “No Te Hagas.” He made sure to greet just about every section of the Barclays Center and accomplished that with a floating catwalk in the center of the arena that slowly spun around the venue. In the final act, Bad Bunny transported fans to the songs that have taken the world by storm, such as his 2023 single with Grupo Frontera, “Un x100to” as well as megahits from 2020’s YHLQMDLG (“Safaera” and “Yo Perreo Sola”) and 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti (“Efecto” and “Me Porto Bonito”).
While some fans may have been disappointed to not hear their favourite song, the show ended on a strong note with “Efecto” and “Me Porto Bonito” — both songs whipped fans into a frenzy that felt worth the wait. Bunny closed the show with “WHERE SHE GOES” — and confetti.
And the crowd left with the sense they had just seen a true international superstar.
Bad Bunny Setlist: NADIE SABE, MONACO, FINA, HIBIKI, MR. OCTOBER, MERCEDES CAROTA, CYBERTRUCK, VOU 787, SEDA, BATICANO, Pa Ti, No Te Hagas, Vuelve, Me Mata, Soy peor, Tú no vive así, Chambea, Diles, 25/8, VUELVE CANDY B, THUNDER Y LIGHTNING, GRACIAS POR NADA, UNX100TO, BABY NUEVA, PERRO NEGRO, Safaera, Yo perreo sola, La Santa, La Jumpa, DÁKITI, Efecto, Me Porto Bonito, UN PREVIEW, NO ME QUIERO CASAR, and WHERE SHE GOES.
Big Something, a well-established group in the Jam Band scene, brought their good time grooves and uplifting vibes to Buffalo Iron Works on April 12.
For me, seeing a Big Something show has always been an uplifting experience, and this show was no exception. Right from the start, the energy from the band to the crowd, and vice versa could be felt immediately. And if watching Nick MacDaniels jump and bounce around while playing doesn’t put a smile on your face I don’t know what to say.
This show was not a show to miss. From the first song to the last the band was on fire pulling out old favorites and I’m sure new favorites, while flawlessly pulling off a few covers. This is a not to miss band if you have an opportunity to catch them.
Big Something – Buffalo Iron Works – April 12, 2024
Set 1: Waves, Tumbleweed, Fearless (Pink Floyd), Clouds, Algorithm, Sundown Nomad Set 2: Capt D, Bob and Weave, Head ON / Pill (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard), The Mountain, Evil Josh, Song For Us, Plug Encore: The Flood
Albany’s show was originally set for September 19 of last year, but because of some health complications, Bruce Springsteen elected to postpone many of his September tour dates. This was his second postponement of the tour. They not only said they were going to make up those dates, but also announced in October, a European leg of the tour.
The show started promptly at 7:30pm with no opener. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band took the stage to a roaring crowd of approximately 17,000 people. He interacted well with the crowd, using many hand gestures to get everyone amped up. Unlike many artists today, Springsteen also had fans sit behind the stage and took time out to perform to them too.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour continues in Syracuse on April 18. If you can’t catch Springsteen live this time around, he also recently released a live album, Songs of Celebration, that is available on all streaming platforms.
Setlist: Candy’s Room, Adam Raised a Cain, Lonesome Day, Ghosts, Letter to You ,The Promised Land, Atlantic City, Trapped (Jimmy Cliff cover), Spirit in the Night, Hungry Heart, Nightshift (Commodores cover), Racing in the Street, Last Man Standing, Backstreets, Because the Night, Downbound Train, She’s the One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands, Thunder Road
Encore (Part 1): Light of Day, Born to Run, Bobby Jean, Dancing in the Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Encore (Part 2): Twist and Shout (The Top Notes cover), I’ll See You in My Dreams
ABBA’s music was center stage at Proctors in Schenectady on Thursday, April 11, as ABBA The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA, began their tour and kept the Swedish disco pop legacy alive. The show was riddled with outfit changes, energy and music to get the audience out of their seats, and the closest you can get to the real thing.
As the lights dimmed, the band walked out to crowd cheers. The setlist was filled with ABBA favorites including “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” and “Lay All Your Love On Me,” as this tribute band brought the excitement with them. Following each era of ABBA’s music were an outfit change including bright colors, sparkles and patterns. There was a mixture of dancing and singing throughout the evening, followed by acoustic songs that brought tears to the audience’s eyes.
To finish an extraordinary night of 70’s favorites, “Dancing Queen” got everyone out of their seats. As the band left the stage, the crowd danced their way to the exit, hearing the audience comment “They were so amazing,” and “I forgot it wasn’t ABBA.”
This was truly a night none will forget, with songs stuck in our heads for years to come.
Talk about saving the best for last, On April 9, that was the case for Dreamville’s Bas as he stopped at the famed Irving Plaza in New York City for the last stop on his ‘WE ONLY TALK ABOUT REAL SHIT WHEN WE’RE F*CKED UP’ North American Tour.
The show featured three openers: Blxckie, Reuben Vincent, and Hoosh. Each opener each played for around 20 minutes, giving a taste of their style and sound. This shorter set times and the overall quality of the openers worked really well for getting the crowd ready for Bas to take the stage. It was obvious that Bas picked musicians he respects and enjoys listening to to open for him, something emphasized by a story he told about first hearing Blxckie’s music while in South Africa during his set.
Bas graced the stage under a red glowed ambience and sintilating sounds of his live band. Bas was particularly good at interacting with and engaging the crowd. The show kept a great energy with the crowd getting into songs from We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up and Bas’ back catalog. Bas brought backing vocalists who really filled out his live sound and added a sense of harmony to the performance. These vocals were such a nice touch that really show his attention to detail in putting together a performance.
The show ended with Bas inviting a fan up to rap J. Cole’s verse on his song “Lit.” Clearly energized, the fan selected from the crowd excitedly performed with Bas. Longtime collaborator and Dreamville leader J.Cole popped onto the stage to the surprise of the fan and the crowd. Cole went on to finish the song with the fan and perform “H.Y.B.” with Bas and his classic smash hit ‘No Role Modelz’ rounding out a great night of music and vibes.
Setlist: Light of my Soul, Home Alone, 179 Deli, Black Jedi, Choppas, Yao Ming, Diamonds, Methylone, Dopamine, Ricochet, Clouds Never Get Old, Night Job, Khartoum, Risk, Decent, U-Turn ft. Blackie, Passport Bros, Boca Raton, The Jackie, Paper Cuts, Dr. O’blivion, Wait on Me, H.Y.B., Costa Rica, Down Bad, Tribe and Lit.
On a rainy April evening, April 2, 2024 to be exact, mgk and Trippie Redd brought their brand new EP genre : sadboy to the Irving Plaza stage for its first ever live performance.
A week prior, the pair got fans excited by releasing a video for their song “lost boys,” as well as a short documentary about their time creating the album. Tickets to the show were free and given to fans through a raffle and needless to say that mgk and Trippie fans showed out on Tuesday night, packing the house.
Trippie Redd (left) and mgk (right) at Irving Plaza. Photo by Lucas Kurzweil.
The two opened up the show performing the first five songs off of their new tracklist. The album gives catchy choruses while maintaining a sad tone. Through their words the two artists explore their personal experiences with drugs, relationships and depression. Although the EP is brand new, mgk and Trippie’s longtime fans already knew all of the words.
Trippie Redd (back left) and mgk (right) at Irving Plaza. Photo by Lucas Kurzweil.
After the first five tracks, the Ohio native artists started taking turns performing some of their solo music. Trippie Redd started things off with his 3x platinum track “Taking a Walk,” and mgk followed with “PRESSURE.” They then went back and forth one more time with Trippie performing “Wish,” and mgk performing “dont let me go.” Although short, the throwback portion of the show provided a nice reminder to what these two established artists have accomplished in the past.
Following their four track throwback session, mgk and Trippie Redd continued with the next four tracks of their EP which all helped showcase both artists use of soft tones and dreamy, but also dark, fairytale-like sounds. mgk and Trippie then brought back some more of their old music, with mgk performing “my ex’s best friend,” “all I know,” and “Candy,” all with the crowd at full energy, screaming every word back to mgk. Trippie sang a beautiful rendition of “Fuck Love” his 2017 that he created alongside XXXTENTACION.
With only one track from the EP unsung, the artists started to go back and perform some songs for the second time. They repeated “lost boys” and “beauty” before mgk invited a fan, who had a message on his phone saying he could rap “el Diablo” faster than him, onto the stage. mgk and the fan went bar for bar together rapping the song, and then had a warm embrace at the end before the fan left the stage. Then mgk and Trippie performed “time travel” and “struggles” off of their new EP, for a second time.
Trippie Redd (left) and mgk (right) at Irving Plaza. Photo by Lucas Kurzweil.
To close out the show, mgk performed “Wild Boy” with some acapella verses, as well as “I Think I’m OKAY.” Finally, mgk and Trippie performed the only song off of “genre : sadboy” that had yet to be played, “summer’s gone.” At the end of the song the two artists dropped down off of the stage to greet the fans at the front barricade, before finally departing.
Trippie Redd (left) and mgk (right) at Irving Plaza. Photo by Lucas Kurzweil.
Setlist: lost boys, beauty, time travel, struggles, suddenly, Taking a Walk, PRESSURE, Wish, dont let me go, half dead, hiding in the hills, no more, who do i call, my ex’s best friend, Fuck Love, all I know, Candy, lost boys, beauty, el Diablo, time travel, struggles, Wild Boy, I Think I’m OKAY, summer’s gone
Lotus brought along Blendmode to open up their Capitol Theatre show on Saturday, April 6, along with Eli Winderman from Dopapod & Jonathon Grusauskas of lespecial.
Blendmode really go the night going with their unique, bass heavy, danceable groove.
Lotus played a special show featuring guitar dueling between Tim Palmieiri & Johnny from lespecial. Winderman fit in well adding his unique synth sound to the Lotus soundscape. The set was filled with groovy jams and some face melting solos. The second set included a memorable Radiohead cover, “Airbag.”
Lotus – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester – April 6, 2024
Set 1: Middle Road, Expired Slang, Tar Pits, Marquee Moon, Debris, Shimmer and Out
Set 2: Opus, Reed, It’s All Clear to Me Now, Flower Sermon, Airbag, Wax
