Brooklyn-based experimental musicians Desvelada and Sprælle have released their first joint EP, escaping from the body of a sleeping hummingbird on label Contain, a podcast and multi-media project based in Austin and Los Angeles.
Artwork for ‘escaping from the body of a sleeping hummingbird.’
Born from Austin’s fledgling experimental music scene, Sprælle’s art rock beginnings and distended guitar and production work fold lovingly into Desvelada’s choir upbringing and live vocal processing to create a unique feeling of uncertainty and discomfiture.
The 5-song EP moves through obscure, sometimes painful natural landscapes – it feels like the pair are here to ask questions to which there are no answers. On opening track épié (‘spied’) Desvelda and Sprælle wade with us through a treacle of confused dreamscape. Who is spying? Who are they spying on?
The pair say of their work that “spare synth bass and mournful drones create for us a hinterland of abandoned narratives, of characters unsure or unaware or unwilling to see that they are ghosts, but carrying with them a fatigued and defiant air of hope throughout.” épié’s lyrics compound this sense of ambiguity:
in the labyrinth of my mind (I dreamt of you) / what else is there? / you burn in my being / there is nothing more to say.
The EP sounds like a kind of reverie of the natural world, or at least some version of it. In tree up ahead, birdsong floats overhead while we, perhaps like the rivers referred to earlier in turn to talk, meander slowly into an anarchic canon of Desvelada’s voice. It feels like the pair want to remind us of the chaos of the natural world and our influence on it.
Desvelada and Sprælle (photo credit: Anthony Flores)
Turn to talk is the project’s most joyous moment, spending some minutes finding its feet before slowly expanding into a blissful release. But it is a tentative release, as if the pair are afraid of having whatever it is they have nurtured snatched away again. The production is generally sparse throughout, with playful and sometimes surprising use of pads and tones that you might expect to hear in 80s productions.
Desvelada and Spraelle cite Tricky (of Massive Attack), Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Berman as influences. This eclecticism underpins the music, with each song carrying a resistance to containment reflecting the natural world that Desvelada and Spraelle want us to think about.
While asleep, hummingbirds enter a state of torpor – some kind of hibernation – where their body temperature can drop by as much as 50 degrees. Is this how Desvelada and Sprælle feel? Does this torpor reflect, in their eyes, the state of the natural world, as humans encroach inch by mile? Is escaping from the body our only option left?
Western New York alternative rock band Uncle Ben’s Remedy have released their sixth album, Saturday Night Swindle.
Rooted in the small towns of Western New York, Uncle Ben’s Remedy provides lively performances and unparalleled storytelling to their enthusiastic fanbase throughout the area. With a fascinating blend of punk rock energy and the twang of swampy-backcountry alternative rock, members Ben Westlund, Harmony Griffin, Shawn Huestis, Brendan O’Connor, and Josh Mullin deliver riveting performances of catchy songs and rowdy theatrics time and time again.
Uncle Ben’s Remedy has returned once more with their newest release, Saturday Night Swindle. Their sixth release since their debut in 2014, the path to this album was not an easy one. With a drummer swap due to their previous decades-long partner having to pass the baton from tinnitus and the recovery of their soundman/busdriver after a bout of cancer, Saturday Night Swindle has certainly been an emotional one to produce- a testament to the band’s dedication to one another and the music they share.
A masterful entwining of rock, blues, and country sounds, Saturday Night Swindle captures the listener in an indescribable experience of understanding. Perhaps through the emotionally charged lyrics, or the effortlessly moving instrumentals; whatever the reason, Uncle Ben’s Remedy brings you into a conversation that can only be truly communicated through sound. Strings, keys, drums, guitar, horns, vocals that perfectly toe the line between southern twang and alternative rock, and more culminate in Saturday Night Swindle.
Opening with the narrative-focused “Never Get Caught,” Uncle Ben’s Remedy perfectly balances the story unfolding in the lyrics with kicking instrumentals that perfectly set the tone for the rest of the album, one that promises to take you along for an exciting six track adventure.
On “From The Outside” and “While Back”, the band leans into the more rock-influenced-country aspect of their sound. “From The Outside” takes on a cowboy on the frontier attitude paired with a concluding echoing duet that reinforces this feeling, the narrator refusing to listen to the words of those meant to tear them down as they trek towards their future unflinchingly.
“Heartbreaker’s Heart,” leans full-in to the country twang energy with a bright tone and layers upon layers of guitar and strings that practically beg to be stomped along to, and Uncle Ben’s Remedy follows this immediately with “Liquor Wrote These Records”, the kind of song that starts off hard-hitting and concludes by pulling you to the dance floor with an infectious liveliness you can’t refuse.
The album closes out with “Coming To The Show,” a deeply vulnerable track that perfectly explains why it’s never just music to artists like themselves, wrapping the project in a bow of self-assurance and careful optimism that leaves listeners with a sense of satisfying completion.
Saturday Night Swindle is out now. To learn more about Uncle Ben’s Remedy their newest release, and future endeavors, visit their website here.
Get ready, Jimkata fans! The Psychedelic super pop jam band is back with a fresh new single, “Off The Rails” that’s set to be the soundtrack of your fall.
Known for their electrifying blend of indie rock and synth-driven beats, Jimkata has been a staple of the indie music scene, and their latest track doesn’t disappoint. The single offers a glimpse into their upcoming album, Running In Place which is released Friday, October 4th and is packed with the band’s signature energy and fresh new vibes.
To celebrate the release, Jimkata is hosting an Album Release Party Friday at Asbury Hall aka Babeville in Buffalo, and you won’t want to miss it! This is your chance to catch them live, hear your favorites plus hits off the new album, and experience the magic that only Jimkata can deliver. Big Something is opening the show.
NYS Music spoke to Jimkata ahead of the show and album release.
NYSMusic: What kind of themes or stories are fans going to hear on this new album? Did anything unexpected inspire you guys this time around?
Jimkata: I think as musicians and individuals we’ve all been navigating our way through a lot of changes and challenges the last few years. We started working on this album as a three piece, sort of doing what we could here and there while touring and Packy and Aaron becoming new fathers, while also trying to fund the process entirely independently. It hasn’t always been easy the last few years but it feels like a “pressure makes diamonds” type of situation. In that time, we added Cooper into the band full time on bass/synths and have been discovering a new sound or really, just advancing it to a new level. It’s hard to sum it up musically or lyrically since I think it’s pretty diverse between songs but I know for sure I pushed myself into some new territory at times while writing and recording this one. There were plenty of unexpected “aha” moments.
NYSMusic: If you could describe the new album in three words, what would they be? What kind of wild ride can Jimkata fans expect?
Jimkata: Full Spectrum Jimkata. We chose to incorporate both studio and live tracks to try to encompass where we’re at right now. It felt natural to end the album with the live stuff since this process began with a lot of isolated sessions, often just one or two of us working on a demo at home or with a producer. Then after playing a bunch of shows on the fall tour, building some chemistry on stage between the four of us, we knew we needed to get all of us in a room to work on the remaining new songs as a band and capture the vibe. I think the emotion of our songs gets amplified at shows because of the energy in the room and we wanted to show what that currently sounds like literally but also channel that into the studio stuff too.
NYSMusic: How do you decide which older songs to include in the setlist alongside the new tracks? Are there any fan favorites you always keep in rotation?
Jimkata: Sometimes it’s by fan request. Someone messages us about wanting to hear a certain song one night and we say, yea lets do it. Sometimes it’s something one of us brings up in a rehearsal. Like, “Hey what about this song?”. Sometimes we feel like we need a certain tempo or vibe at a specific time in a set and there are a few that always seem to do the trick. Its kinda tough because we have so many to choose from now but we’ve been embracing the whole catalog a lot more these days. We definitely know which songs seem to be clicking with the crowd but are always testing out new ideas or further enhancing an old song.
NYSMusic: Any songs on the new album that ended up surprising you or going in a completely different direction than you thought?
Jimkata: Almost all of them but probably the song Running in Place was the big surprise. It came together after a frustrating day in the studio where we seemed to be losing creative steam on a different song. We thought about what kind of song we needed vibe wise to round out the album and it just wasn’t it. Jocko (producer) asked if I had any other demos laying around and I rifled through a bunch of song ideas for them and the immediate reaction to Running in Place (aka ‘Spirals’) from everybody was, “Yea this one!”. We were getting really close, if not already past the deadline we gave ourselves so I went home and finished writing the song over the weekend and sent it around to everybody. We went back in and tracked it in a day and overnight we had this brand new tune that didn’t exist a week ago. Lyrically we felt like this idea of Running in Place resonated with how we felt about life lately- working your ass off trying to keep up with everything and in some ways feeling like you’re moving forward but other times like you’re just running on a treadmill.
The middle section on “Off the Rails” was also an unexpected moment of inspiration. We stumbled into the breakdown section while playing it live in the studio. Then weeks later, I’m driving there to record vocals, listening to the song, and I come up with this vocal idea. It’s almost insane sounding and we wanted to lean into that unhinged character. I really enjoyed yelling like a crazy person in the vocal booth, something I’m not sure I’ve done before but clearly was exactly what I needed to do and is probably a more accurate portrayal of how stressful life has been at times in the last few years for me. “
NYSMusic: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to upcoming and inspiring indie artists trying to find their voice and grow their audience in today’s music scene?
Jimkata: We don’t really know what to tell anyone since it seems like today’s landscape is very different from the one we started with and even the “professionals” are always trying to figure out what the hell is going on. However, we’ve seen a lot of things come and go in a short amount of time and things change, but some things remain true. Obviously social media is important, but I’d say don’t forget to just get out there and play a show, a party, whatever. Get together with friends and jam, go to shows and meet other musicians, other bands. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, suck, mess up in front of people, write songs you might not like later. Just laugh and learn from it. With a world of talented people on a screen in our pockets it can be intimidating and feel like maybe you’ll never be “good enough” to put yourself out there. But music is art, expression. It’s not always about technical ability although that’s important too. It’s about expression and having fun and sharing an experience with others not just on a screen, but in person.”
Wordlessly, London-based Nilüfer Yanya and her four-man band shuffle onto the Brooklyn Steel stage Tuesday night, launching right into the title single of her third album, MyMethodActor.
No second wasted, the indie-rock singer doesn’t come up for air until the end of the third song, “Chase Me,” acknowledging the audience for the first time with four words: “Wow, so many people,” she smiles.
Photos by Zachary Giller
The concession feels tongue-in-cheek, as Nilüfer picks up speed with “Like I Say (I runway)” and any sense there are witnesses present fades away. Though every inch of Brooklyn Steel is filled to capacity and the praise is thunderous, Nilüfer spends each verse singing nearly to herself, eyes lidded, looking but not really, it feels, registering anything or anyone in particular, as she gazes out into the crowd.
Photos by Zachary Giller
As she sings about running on borrowed time, you’re quick to understand that her sense of urgency is innate and learned. The settled mutual understanding permeates listeners, who are but happy to sway and hold any and all unadulterated applause for each track’s end.
Photos by Zachary Giller
It’s hard to say what she’s seeing, if not the hundreds of people in attendance, but you spend the hour-long set feeling as if you’re an intruder who stumbled across a girl singing alone in the woods, just happy to partake in the intimate scene. Make no mistake about the intended audience, however, as it becomes clear that each detail has been meticulously accounted for, including the aural tapestry of live sax for an upbeat jazz take.
Photos by Zachary Giller
At the show’s mid-way point, the momentum of Nilüfer’s well-orchestrated production swings in tandem with her solo acoustic rendition of “Heavyweight Champion of the Year,” the finale on her 2019 debut, “Miss Universe,” which earned the singer-songwriter Pitchfork’s Best New Music (a feat she’s achieved three times over). It’s an apt choice, with her angry staccato guitar strums only elevating her earnest frustrations, pained voice malleable and ever-flowing.
Photos by Zachary Giller
It’s also the show’s pinnacle, beholding entranced listeners to her writhing torments over the loss of self-jurisdiction and damning physical fatigue from “a lack of sleep” over nights spent tossing and turning. At no point is the plot lost as Nilüfer tears through “Binding,” feeling more resolute in her convictions, and the crowd is likewise, renewed with energy, as she croons: “I don’t want what’s left, got to give me something strong, got to make sure it’s your best.”
Photos by Zachary Giller
Waves of interludes weave the audience purposefully from one sequence to the next of Nilüfer’s purgatory tale. Even a rare cheer or whoop of appreciation feels out of place and almost sanctimonious, detracting from the world Nilüfer has built within and around herself. There’s just one brief moment where her absolute reign slips — a momentary technical difficulty that lasts but five seconds — and she chuckles, unsure. You’re instantly attuned that this is someone who regularly seizes utmost control of the moment.
Photos by Zachary Giller
Nilüfer’s pain quickly turns into exuberance — a pity party is still, after all, a party — and there’s a resounding resurgence in the final act as she launches into “the dealer” and ‘stabilise,” off the 2022 “PAINLESS.” There’s even a reclamation of narrative as she sheds her victimhood, in a rendition of PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me.”
Photos by Zachary Giller
“I’ll tie your legs, keep you against my chest, oh, you’re not rid of me,” she sings in defiance against her former lovers and whoever else has wronged her, waking many in the pit from their deferential slumber. The Greek god of sleep, the gentle-dispositioned Hypnos, is said to own nearly half the lives of humans as he steers them through rest. As Nilüfer closes the show with the last exuberant dregs of “midnight sun,” it feels like she’s saying, to followers emerging from their trance, to look into the light of a new day, inherently triumphant in all its rich possibilities.
Less than a year into their project, Boojum is a jamband on the rise, having recently wrapped their first festival performance at LonCon in central New York and now halfway through their first residency at the Brooklyn Art Häus.
The four-piece – Chris Mackin (guitar), Josh Santiago (guitar), SarahElaz (bass), and Mike Coiro (drums) – have taken to the setting with aplomb, using the residency as a chance to test out new material in a four-show run featuring unique repeat-free setlists. For Friday’s show, the theme was “Looking Glass” and the band was joined by Kim Berg as the Red Queen and special guest Ethan Smestad on vocals.
It’s clear Boojum is getting comfortable pushing the black box theater’s limits to expand their attendees’ minds and push the boundaries of performance. Opening the show with two debuts, audiences were welcomed into the world of Wonderland with bouncing grooves for the back-to-back debuts of “Step Into” and “Pass Through.”
By the time the band returned to more familiar material with “Nonsense if you Like,” the room was set to spinning through disco-tinged grooves, supported by a sultry guest vocal performance from Kim Berg. Fully decked in black and white checkerboard, Boojum doesn’t limit their spectacle to the music as dancers Cameron Kay and Rachel Caron joined the fray. With the chess pieces set, Elaz laid into a blistering bassline that pushed the group’s jamming upwards in intensity.
The group’s rhythm section continued to drive the pace into the debut of “Pig Baby Blues” with Coiro laying a backbeat for Rachel Caron to add her own percussion to the groove with a tapdance solo followed by a drum solo before the band blasted into one of their hardest jams of the night.
“Pig Baby” has been a crowd favorite since its inception and from watching Mackin, Santiago, and Elaz’s mimicry of one another, it’s clearly a song the group has fun playing too. The introduction of the “Pig Baby Blues” lead-in gave the band a chance to amp this suite up another level.
Never afraid to have too much fun Santiago and Mackin would take a bewildering twist and turn “Pig Baby” into an extended jam based around Danny Elfman’s iconic Simpsons title theme. Balanced on the knife edge between recognizable and reimagined, the reworking raised a moment of levity before building to a heart-pumping performance from Smestad as the horrifying titular Pig Baby. Slaying the monster proved to be an easy feat for our heroes in Boojum, thanks to the power of rock and roll.
To celebrate their victory, we were rewarded with a seafood feast as the band lept into “Oysters” featuring another display of Boojum’s theatricality. Kay and Caron would return to the stage as molluscs come alive as something out of a cartoon, cowled with shells and resplendent with pearls thanks to costuming assistance from Megan Roe.
The second set opened with a push into the psychedelic with “Looking Glass House” as Kay and Caron took to the stage adorned as giant eyeballs. Their performance and the mindbending guitar playing were complimented by visual artist Casey McArtney’s projections, as she took the opportunity to pay homage to Pink Floyd’s Pulse spinning eyes around the room.
“Chessmen” was another debut for the night, featuring a band first with Mike Coiro taking over lead vocals before the band led the crowd into the night’s most dramatic number, “Vorpal Sword”. Featuring Ethan Smestad as the hero wielding the magical Vorpal Sword the show would enter its most conceptual as we enter his innermost thoughts to see him grow the courage to confront the Jabberwocky (performed by Caron in full costume). Driven by an exhilarating guitar line, the hero emerged triumphant, offering attendees a moment of respite before diving back into the psychedelic.
“Living Backwards” was another rockling jam that drove the idea of crescendo to the extreme, testing how intense the band’s playing can get before pulling a heel turn as they entered the debut of la Bamba-esq “Red Queen’s Race.” The tropical tune lifted audiences back to elation with a groove that sounded almost as if someone took the iconic “la bamba” riff and dunked it in a psychedelic paint bucket. It certainly sent me searching for when the Grateful Dead covered the Ritchie Valens arrangement (MSG, September 1987).
With Caron and Kay still dancing in the audience Boojum kept with their tradition to close with a Wonderland-themed cover, going with an on-the-fly bust out of the Beatles “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.”
Boojum has committed to the bit when it comes to pushing the boundaries of experimentation. Walking off stage, the group focused on the road ahead, planning for how they would continue to surprise audiences to the penultimate show of their residency. What do they have in store? The only way to find out is to follow the band down the rabbit hole on October 11. Come ready for a swashbuckling adventure, because the band has hinted that the theme will be Pirates.
Boojum has two shows left in their Brooklyn Art Häus residency, the next show is October 11th.
Tickets are available at: https://www.stellartickets.com/o/brooklyn-art-haus–2/events/electric-wonderland
Boojum’s Electric Wonderland – Looking Glass, 9/27/24, Brooklyn Art Häus, Brooklyn, NY
Set 1: Step Into> Pass Through, Nonsense if you Like> Pig Baby Blues> Pig Baby, Oysters
Set 2: Looking Glass House> Chessmen, Vorpal Sword, Living Backwards, Red Queen’s Race
Encore: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
Show Notes:
Kim Berg on vocals as the Red Queen on Nonsense, Pig Baby, and Red Queen’s Race.
Ethan Smestad as a guest performer as the Pig Baby and vocals for Vorpal Sword.
Pig Baby featuring Simpson’s theme jam
Cameron Kay and Rachel Caron dancing for Nonsense, Oysters, Looking Glass, Vorpal Sword and Red Queen Race.
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Beatles cover.
First time played: Step Into, Pass Through, Pig Baby Blues, Chessmen, Living Backwards, Red Queen’s Race, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.
Legendary 80’s band Tesla brought their “Keepin’ It Real” tour to the Premier Theater at Foxwoods Casino. The band in no time sold out the casino’s biggest venue. Even before the opener, Sebastian Bach went on stage, the crowd filed in and packed the theater.
If you were to go back in time to the late 1980s or early 1990’s the combination of Tesla with Skid Row – Bach’s former band, could have been a reality. Unfortunately for the rock community, getting this amazing duo took a little longer than normal. In the casino, there are strict curfews so Bach went on stage a few minutes past 8:00 p.m. He delivered a heavy set of 12 songs that consisted of Skid Row classics and solo material.
As fans could have expected, more than half of Bach’s set was Skid Row songs. But, he did kick his set off with one of his newest songs, “What Do I Got to Lose?” off his newest record, Child Within The Man. It was great to hear four of his newer songs and introduce old fans to newer material. The crowd was going wild for him Bach, for each song they would give a thunderous cheer. In response, for the entire time, Bach was smiling ear to ear and his voice was pitch-perfect.
Despite fighting some technical difficulties with his microphone and the sound, the four-piece band put on an unforgettable show. Joining Bach was his son, Paris on drums, Clay Eubank on bass and Brody DeRozie on guitar. For the entire time they were on stage, they headbanged and hair flipped. That was until they played their last song, “Youth Gone Wild,” but were cut off by the curfew and were forced not to play the song. Heroically though, Tesla brought him back out at the end of their set to play “Youth Gone Wild” and their song, “Signs.”
PHOTO
It only took a few short minutes between sets for Tesla to lay siege to the Foxwoods crowd. They jumped right into “Rock Me To The Top,” off of their debut record, Mechanical Resonance. The entire lower bowl of the theater stayed on its feet for the entire performance. Despite big red cushioned chairs behind them, the audience refused and stood in appreciation for the almost two-hour set.
It’s easy to see why Tesla continues to sell out venues across the country. It’s because they deliver a great performance with so much infectious energy. Guitarist Frank Hannon, for the entire performance, ran back and forth from side to side delivering one of the best performances yet. Behind his yellow sunglasses, he shredded nonstop throughout the show. Whether it was a beautiful double-neck guitar or a classic Gibson, stopping Hanson was not possible.
Joining Hannon in the band is Brian Wheat on bass, Jeff Keith on lead vocals, Dave Rude on guitar and Steve Brown on the drums.
They played two new songs off an upcoming record that Hannon says come out around Thanksgiving time. “From the Heart” and the title track, “All About Love” received warm reactions from the audience. If true, this would be Tesla’s first studio record since 2018’s Shock.
The band played all their greatest hits as well as some deep cuts. This constantly left the audience guessing on what song would be played next. At one point in the set, they played five of their most popular songs in a row which had the audience in a frenzy. “Changes,” “Paradise,” “Call It What You Want” and “Edison’s Medicine (Man Out of Time)” were the perfect final few songs.
The band played all their greatest hits as well as some deep cuts. This constantly left the audience guessing on what song was next. At one point in the set, they played five of their most popular songs in a row which had the audience in a frenzy. “Changes,” “Paradise,” “Call It What You Want” and “Edison’s Medicine (Man Out of Time)” were the perfect final few songs to be played.
Usually, Tesla’s first and final song of the encore is “Signs.” The popular song is a cover of Five Man Electrical Band’s version. But, for this show, after Bach’s set got cut by one song, they brought him back out to do a small snippet of “Youth Gone Wild.” This was followed by “Signs” and a great closing moment in the show. During the Bach/Tesla duet, you can tell that Bach appreciated the kind gesture of the band and it goes to show that Tesla does truly care about, not only the fans but the support act as well.
Tesla’s one-stop at Foxwood’s on their “Keepin’ It Real” tour was well worth it for everyone involved. It was a fantastic throwback to when the 1980s was all about hard rock and metal. The Bach and Tesla pairing was perfect. Bach’s headbanging metal was the perfect balance with Tesla’s power chords and harmonies. If Tesla brings their juggernaut tour back to a New York area, I highly suggest going out and seeing them. They’ll make sure that you get your money’s worth.
Sebastian Bach setlist: What Do I Got to Lose? Slave to the Grind, Big Guns, Sweet Little Sister, 18 and Life, Freedom, Piece of Me, Everyday Bleeds, Monkey Business, I Remember You, (Hold On) To the Dream, Youth Gone Wild
Tesla setlist: Rock Me To The Top, Modern Day Cowboy, Hang Tough, All About Love, Walk Away, Forever More, Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out), Miles Away, Changes, Paradise, Call It What You Want, Edison’s Medicine (Man Out of Time), From the Heart, Love Song, Little Suzi, Signs
This past weekend – Saturday, September 28 – Global Citizen Festival returned for its 12th year on Central Park’s Great Lawn in New York City.
Lisa Performs at Global Citizen Festival in NY, Photography by David Reichmann (@davidpresspass)
Every year Global Citizen brings dozens of celebrities, special guests, and musical performances to the Great Lawn for their live broadcast music festival in the name of ending extreme poverty around the world and stopping climate change.
Post Malone performs onstage during the Global Citizen Festival. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
This year’s headlining acts included Post Malone, Blackpink member Lisa, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll, and a special appearance by Coldplay’s Chris Martin alongside Ed Sheeran.
Post Malone performs onstage during the Global Citizen Festival.(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Despite a steady downpour throughout the entire day, the event went off without missing a beat. Nearly 60,000 fans bundled up in ponchos and umbrellas, braving the cold and wet day.
Dr. Jane Goodall speaks onstage during the Global Citizen Festival. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
In order to earn tickets, many festival attendees had to perform tasks such as learning about the organization’s philanthropic activities or causes.
Ed Sheeran and Chris Martin perform onstage during the Global Citizen Festival. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
The event was hosted by Hugh Jackman, with help from a truly massive slate of celebrity guests who came onstage and on screen to speak about a number of important causes championed by the Global Citizen organization.
Hugh Jackman addresses the crowd at Global Citizen, photo by David Reichmann.
The organizers were proud to announce the event and its corporate sponsors had raised over $1 billion to defeat poverty worldwide and demand equity for all marginalized groups. Featured speakers included Bill Nye, Jane Goodall, and many thought leaders on women’s and minorities’ rights throughout the world.
The festival organizers made every effort to protect Central Park’s beloved Great Lawn, and announced that as always, they would pay for any damages the park may have sustained from the event.
You can read more about Global Citizen’s ongoing efforts at their website. Check out our photo gallery with coverage from the event by David Reichmann (@davidpresspass) below.
English Teacher showed off their indie oddball talents at a hastily arranged show at Brooklyn’s Market Hotel, September 25. Packing Northern wit, Gen Z rage, sincerity and spilled margaritas into their show, the hour-long headline slot left the crowd excited for what’s next.
English Teacher at Market Hotel, September 25. Credit: William Shanks.
Having wormed their way through the crowd to get to the stage (Market Hotel seemingly has no backstage), the band opened with an accelerated version of “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab”, a salute for the downtrodden and middle finger to those who tread on them.
English Teacher come to the city weeks after winning the Mercury Prize, a Very Big Deal in the UK, for their debut album This Could Be Texas. They quickly apologized for canceling their recent headline tour “because they were tired.” This refreshing rejection of toxic expectations of the music industry can also be found in their work: during “R&B” singer Lily Fontaine fights the assumption that she should sing any particular genre because of the color of her skin.
The music is deeply rooted in experience, and there is sense of territorial ambiguity, or perhaps – despite a palpable attachment to where they are from – a yearning for pastures new. The work is largely rooted in the band’s home of the North of England (songs like “Albert Road” and “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab” reference local landmarks, cultural touchstones, heroes and villains) and yet there seems to be a westward gaze to the work. This is most apparent in the album’s title track, “This Could Be Texas”, which is vaguely set in the Lone Star State.
Guitarist Lewis Whiting, commenting to NYS Music after the show, said that even though “the music is very English,” its wider messages are still accessible for an American crowd. Members of the audience did seem confused by references to the band’s home county of Yorkshire; while there was general agreement in the crowd that “York’s a city I think, like New York I guess,” British concepts like the council – blamed for environmental destruction in ‘Broken Biscuits’ – seemed unfamiliar. Market Hotel patrons get a close-up view of Brooklyn’s JMZ subway lines directly behind drummer Douglas Frost, which throws English Teacher’s, well, Englishness into interesting graphic relief.
The band is composed of technically gifted multi-instrumentalists comfortable with complex rhythms and winding melodies. Strong musicality is not always enough to guarantee an edifying live experience, but English Teacher’s performance sidestepped many of the traps that befall successful recording artists when it comes to taking to the stage. They wisely recruited a fifth member to fill out the midrange with keys and cello and, stage access aside, Market Hotel is perfectly set up for high-energy acts like these, its trapezoid shape projecting force and sound out from the band and inviting back the crowd’s energy.
Singer and keyboardist Lily Fontaine is a convincing frontwoman and the spiritual leader of the group. She drives the performance, now conducting her bandmates, now interrogating them as if willing them further, higher. She waves her hands at each of the things she’s “not” on “I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying”, staring into the middle distance and apparently entirely absorbed in her experience.
There is rage in this music, with Fontaine seeming at points to dissociate into the memory of whatever transgression or crime has inspired her lyrics. At one point she muses that “maybe the spotlight’s not for me,” but while there is an awkwardness to her performance, it is an awkwardness that she wears comfortably. Fortunately for English Teacher, their bandleader possesses undeniable authenticity, that one quality totally essential to a convincing live act.
Some of the performance did feel rushed – there are times where you wish English Teacher gave their work some more breathing space. Songs could be extended to incubate their power and anger some before unleashing into the breakdowns that make the band so thrilling. You almost want a member of Phish, those wizened jam-band rockers, to throw a grizzled arm around these kids and remind them that the crowd is here for them; they can take their time; the people here can take it. This Could Be Texas, with its punchy second act math-rock pile-on, seemed primed for an 8-minute treatment.
The set was closed with the album’s swansong, “Albert Road”. The album’s final act sees Fontaine climb a rousing ladder of pitch-perfect semitone gasps, one final shot at lifting off out of this small, narrow-minded Yorkshire town and into outer space – or perhaps just Texas. Earlier in the show, Fontaine described how the band recently supported IDLES, English Teacher’s equally buzzy indie-rock contemporaries. She engages in some light patter with a member of the crowd, sips her margarita. Then Fontaine’s face drops; she becomes deadly serious. “But this is our show now,” she says. It certainly feels like it.
What does the son of an Allman Brothers bassist, a late-60s member of The Grateful Dead, and a studio guitar foil for Dickie Betts have in common?
All are members of Live Dead and Brothers, a group that pays tribute to the golden era of psychedelic blues by alternating covers of Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers material from the days when the Fillmore was still wide open on both coasts.
The band’s all-star lineup featured Les Dudek (guitar) from The Allman Brothers Band, original Grateful Dead pianist Tom Constanten, Berry Duane Oakley (bass, vocals) from The Allman Betts Band, Mark Karan (guitar, vocals) from Bob Weir & Rat Dog, Scott Guberman (keyboards, vocals) from Phil Lesh & Friends, and Pete Lavezzoli (drums, vocals) from Oteil and Friends.
The ensemble formed to revive the magic of the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band’s co-billed concerts during the period of 1969 to 1973, and at times, the twin guitar attack made you wonder what kind of supergroup could have been formed had the Dead and the Brothers ever decided to do more than an encore jam together.
The tour, which landed in Albany at Empire Live on Friday, marks the final East Coast run for Tom Constanten, who recently announced his retirement (though he will still compose and play local gigs near his home on the West Coast).
Despite some canceled tour dates due to a health concern earlier this summer, all of the band members looked pretty good. Considering their collective road mileage, the music sounded young and fresh too.
Karan, Oakley Jr, Guberman, and Lavezzoli alternated vocal responsibilities, but it was the dueling guitars of Karan and studio legend Les Dudek that really stole the show. Karan played a Les Paul Goldtop for most of the night, channeling the recently departed Dickie Betts, while Dudek’s custom Strat served as a perfect compliment.
Particularly on the Allman Brothers tunes, where Dudek pulled out his glass slide to play those buttery Duane-leads, the band was firing on all cylinders. And where their vocal harmonies left something to be desired at times, the twin guitar harmonies on songs like “Blue Sky” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” was Southern Rock personified.
At times, the two drum approach of both legendary bands was noticeably missing, but Lavezzoli often nailed the swing style of Billy the Drummer, and his impassioned singing on “Stormy Monday” was the best vocal performance of the night. He also crushed his role as Jerry-ballad leader on “High Time”.
Oakley also turned in a yeoman’s performance, holding down the low end and taking lead vocals on songs like “One Way Out”, a superb “Blue Sky”, and “Statesboro Blues”.
While it was the Allmans songs that shined brightest, the group got the heavily tie dyed (alebit modest in size) crowd twirling on a “China>Rider” medley where Karan impressively played both the Weir and Garcia parts.
And if dueling guitars weren’t enough, there were also dueling pianos, or, dueling Nords to be specific. Guberman handled Gregg and Brent-style organ sounds on his Nord Electro 4 and TC did his noodling on a Nord Stage 3. Constanten was erudite as ever with his playful counterpoint lines, though somewhat buried in the mix. That said, the sound in the club was relatively excellent, reminding this listener of what an improvement the Empire Live sound is over the muddy strip mall sound of predecessor clubs Northern Lights and Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park.
View Grateful Dead shows from across the years in New York State with our interactive map below
After a brief intermission, the band’s second set leaned hard on Europe ‘72 numbers by the Dead (including a touching “He’s Gone” which reminded me of TC’s advancing age and the many Brothers and Sisters these road warriors have lost).
But it was the Allman’s instrumental “Jessica” that garnered the biggest crowd reaction of the night. Dudek, who played on the original recording of the track, handled the slide masterfully, and Guberman channeled Chuck Leavell in his best solo of the evening.
“Jessica” has always been a great road song, and was even used as a needle drop in a scene in the movie Field of Dreams when former hippie Ray Kinsella hits the open road in his VW bus. In other words, it makes sense that these longtime sidemen, after years of touring, have their chance to take center stage with a tune that’s helped so many music fans make it down the road another few miles, headed for the next show.
While they weren’t “Truckin’ up to Buffalo” the band did come into Albany from a show in Buffalo on Thursday, and of course they played “Truckin’” too. On a night that was a little short on extended jams save for “The Other One”, and the second-set closer “Elizabeth Reed”, a long coda on “Truckin’” got a little weird and was one of my favorite instrumental moments (particularly when they teased Donovan’s “Mountain Jam” riff).
Hearing “Jessica” and “Truckin’” into “Mountain Jam” was kind of like living out some kind of dream from my youth. I used to alternate a cassette copy of Skeletons in the Closet and The Best of The Allman Brothers’ back in the days when I could only afford to own a few albums and cassettes instead of the basement-full I have now. And in those days I knew every note on those cassettes and played them until one of them got stuck in the deck. Or, maybe my tapes got melted on a hot summer day when the sun ruined my collection, boiling the plastic cases through the hatchback of my 1990 Ford Probe. In short, alternating Allmans and Dead material took me back to a place,and I could tell it took others in the audience even even further back in time. It also made for one heck of a fun night out.
Here’s wishing Tom Constanten well on this last leg of his Long Strange Trip. Live Dead and Brothers has a number of tour dates through mid-October and three more dates in New York State in Bethel, Canandaigua, and Syracuse that are well-worth seeking out if you want to wish TC an East Coast farewell.
Live Dead and Brothers Setlist; Empire Live Albany, 9/27/2024
Set 1: Turn on Your Lovelight, One Way Out, Hurts Me Too, Blue Sky, Bertha, Stormy Monday, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, High Time, Hot Lanta
Set 2: Hard to Handle, Statesboro Blues, Tennessee Jed, Jessica, He’s Gone, Truckin’ (w/outro jam & “Mountain Jam” tease), Spoonful, Dreams, The Other One, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
Encore: Ramblin’ Man – Les Dudek on vocals for the only time all night!
Elephant Gym and Mei Semones have teamed up for a jazzy, math-rocky tour across the Northeast, and it’s outrageously good. Mei Semones and her four-piece band came out casually onto the stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, September 26th. Mei wearing her signature hair charm, a hoodie with the strings tied into a bow, her green artist’s badge stuck to the leg of her cargo pants, and some Nike AF1s.
Mei’s soft vocals poured through the venue’s many halls and staircases as the crowd filed in, excitement building as she and her ensemble flitted through indie-infused math rock tracks. Semones’ music combines the youthful vocals, twangy guitar, and intricate, punchy drumming of Japanese math rock with her bandmates’ masterful violin, viola, and standup bass backing.
Noam Tanzer, in particular, was impressive, switching between standup bass, bass guitar, and electric guitar throughout the show. Semones is a masterful guitarist, both electric and acoustic, and her unique playing style is easily the most recognizable aspect of her sound. But the full effect of the lyricism and her live ensemble is indescribable. It truly represents every side of Semones in 3-5 minute chunks, something wholly hers that can’t be replicated or compared.
Tell, Elephant Gym’s guitarist came out early to put down his setlist, and when people at the front tried to sneak a peak, he hid it behind his bag, telling them it was a surprise. Itâs always humorous when artists saunter onto stage well before their set time, and the audience suspends their disbelief long enough to cheer for them to set up and then cheer when they come out a second time. Soon after, KT, the band’s lead singer and bassist, and Chia-Chin, their drummer, came on stage and Elephant Gym was complete.
After the first song, KT jokingly pointed out that the band’s 10th-anniversary tour also meant that most of their early fans were likely entering their 30s alongside the band. She also lamented about being single and suggested that young single concertgoers look around the room for someone with good music taste to date.
Elephant Gym talked a bit about their Taiwanese identity and the unique circumstances of Taiwan’s place in the world. They pointed out Taiwan’s position between China and Japan, their belief in democracy, and the mandatory military service that both Tell and Chia-Chin served.
Japanese Math Rock has clearly influenced Elephant Gym, but making too many comparisons would take away from their music’s intense talent and individuality. In a genre so influenced by jazz, every little electric impulse becomes both melody and a representation of who you are. Typical math rock is very guitar-forward, but KT drives the band, literally and figuratively, letting the base take center stage. This is who Elephant Gym is, and they are wonderful.
Elephant Gym also poked fun at the cliche of constant merch callouts by bands. They brought up merch every few songs, with some subtle segues and some hilarious nonsequiturs poking fun at the mutual understanding of how vital merch sales are to bands and how there’s no shameless way of asking people to buy stuff from you. KT announced they were going to play a new song, but were nervous, saying, âSo if I fuckup some notes ⦠buy some merchandise!â Part of what made this bit so endearing was their candidness about being their own financial advisors, social media managers, and merch designers. The band members divide responsibility like assigning instruments. Like most artists in the modern era, they have to be masters of all to survive.
Elephant Gym boasted an unreal repertoire, playing an hour and a half of intricate math rock. The memorization required for such a feat is incredible. For their song “Moonset,” which is written in Japanese despite the band not being fluent, Elephant Gym brought Mei Semones back out to sing. The song combined Mei’s sweet, bouncy vocals with more bass-driven funk, forming a perfect jam for the concert’s end.
