On Monday, April 8, Joe’s Pub Annual Gala celebrated 25 years of artistic excellence and support for up-and-coming talent. The dynamic creative community of New York City came together in style.
Vuyo Sotashe & Chris Pattishall | Credit David Andrako
Joe’s Pub, a program of The Public Theater, has been a shining light for performers since it started in 1998. They welcome everyone from up-and-coming talents to Grammy Award-winning icons like Adele and Alicia Keys. The event’s proceeds supported vital initiatives like New York Voices and Joe’s Pub Working Group. Along with the Vanguard Award & Residency, all are committed to developing the next wave of creative talent.
Ellen Winter | Credit David Andrako
Angélique Kidjo, the incomparable five-time Grammy Award winner and 2024 Vanguard Resident, was the star of the evening’s spectacular lineup of performances. Members of the Joe’s Pub Working Group for 2023–2024, including Queen Esther, Ellen Winter, and Firas Zreik, as well as former New York Voices members Omar Offendum, Vuyo Sotashe, and Chris Pattishall, joined her on stage. Angélique Kidjo’s incredible performance was without a doubt the high point of the evening; it was a fitting homage to her legacy and the inventive spirit that characterizes Joe’s Pub.
L-R Ashley Meeks/Joe’s Pub; Firas Zreik; Sienna George; Ania Washington/Joe’s Pub; Ellen Winter; Audrey Frischman/Joe’s Pub | Credit David Andrako
Joe’s Pub Working Group and similar programs give local artists the space they need to develop new ideas. Some of the talent supported in this hub are Ellen Winter, Firas Zreik, and Queen Esther.
The dedication to artistic freedom, diversity, and innovation will keep influencing how New York City’s cultural scene develops in the years to come. Cheers to another 25 years of incredible shows, creative partnerships, and treasured memories at Joe’s Pub.
Many know of Suzanne Vega for her infamous tunes such as “Luka” or “Tom’s Diner,” but they may not know that she’s been a New York native since she was two-and-a-half years old and that her brand new world tour just launched here in Albany.
The tour, titled “Old Songs, New Songs, and Other Songs,” is in celebration of a new album she teased throughout her live performance. No word on a title or release date as of yet, but she did perform new songs and announced on-stage that it should be out late this year, if not early next year.
The stage of The Egg itself was dressed simply, with no fluff. A stool, two guitars (one with quite the pedalboard), and some mics. Suzanne Vega walked out and was accompanied by Guitarist Gerry Leonard.
Wearing a black pantsuit and a welcoming smile, Suzanne Vega walked to the microphone and graciously accepted the applause the Albany crowd enthusiastically gave. Taking a small bow and putting on a black top hat, she started in by leaning into the ‘old’ with tunes like “Gypsy” and “Small Blue Thing” and weaving back and forth in time throughout her catalog, reminding us of her soft, soulful, yet powerful voice and one-of-a-kind musical storytelling.
In between songs, she takes moments to talk to the audience and the intimate setting of The Egg is perfect for it. She tells the stories behind some of her songs and gives more insight to who she wrote them for and why. imparting a personal touch into the show and sheds light on things in her life, especially a specific camp counselor with whom she worked alongside at another nearby camp many years ago. Before letting any story get stale, however, Suzanne gets to the music and delivers.
Gerry Leonard’s smooth and airy, guitar blended with Suzanne’s acoustic guitar and vocal accompaniment seamlessly as he turned his solo instrument into a soundscape by employing looping pedals to sustain melodies and rhythms. This was best exemplified by the final song of the set “Tom’s Diner” where a makeshift drum beat was created and looped while guitar plucks melodically assisted.
In addition to his glowing performance on Tuesday, Leonard also co-wrote Vega’s 2014 album Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles and has worked with other talented musicians such as David Bowie, Roger Waters, and Duncan Sheik.
Suzanne Vegas world tour will continue on to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Flushing, NY on September 27 and at Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY on October 4.
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
The indie-electro-folk-rock duo Permanent Moves, based in Brooklyn, will debut on April 12 with the release of their album Don’t Forget Us: A Chekhovian Song Cycle.
With a narrative that explores the depths of human nature, Permanent Moves draws inspiration from the classic works of Anton Chekhov. Their upcoming album features Chris Giarmo (American Utopia) and Jessie Shelton (Hadestown), Karl Blau, Starr Busby, and other special guests.
The pair believes their music allows listeners to reflect on their own paths while navigating life’s challenges. In a statement, the pair reflects on their seven-year songwriting journey, focusing on Chekhov’s talent for capturing life’s unspoken moments. The artists said, “It speaks to the questions we often sit around talking about”.
Photo by: Sammy Tunis
Praised for their “sonically gorgeous” sound, Shane Chapman and Julia Sirna-Frest have garnered recognition from The New York Times. Julia is a performer, director and musician bringing experience to the project. In addition, she is praised for her diverse talents, shining both on stage and off. Their joint vision gains depth from Shane’s skill as a musician and composer.
With build up for the album’s release, Permanent Moves is set to leave a lasting impact on the indie music scene and beyond. Soon, fans will experience Permanent Moves live at Brooklyn’s Sultan Room on April 16 for a record release show.
Get your tickets for the Sultan Room record release show and stream “Don’t Forget Us” now for a preview of what’s to come. You can experience Permanent Moves’ stunning sound in its purest form by pre-ordering Don’t Forget Us on vinyl.
On Saturday, April 6, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra closed its 2023-2024 Symphonic Series with “Roman Holiday,” a thrilling program of music both from and about the sunny lands of the Mediterranean.
Carlos Perez, Ajen Lewis, Cassie Lee, Charlie Sobel, Joe Sobel
The evening opened with “Fandangos,” a piece by Cornell University-based composer Roberto Sierra that evoked Spanish dance forms of the eighteenth century, replete with bold, Andalusian-style trumpets and assertive percussion. Aided by the committed conducting of Maestro Daniel Hege, Sierra took the orchestra to extremes of speed, volume, and emotional impact. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s dazzling showpiece “Capriccio Italien” followed, with a martial chorus of brass and a seductive medley of folk tunes, played by the orchestra with shimmering lyricism.
The high point of the “Roman Holiday” concert, though, was Ottorino Respighi’s stunning “Pines of Rome,” an orchestral experience of the Eternal City and its iconic pine trees.
The Philharmonic was expanded to its largest size for this piece, with 75 musicians onstage and six more in the theater boxes overlooking the audience – trumpets and trombones that Respighi meant to invoke Roman legions marching on the Appian Way. As always with this ensemble, the woodwinds shone, with stand-out solos from flutist Karen Bogardus, clarinetist Paul Wongjin Cho, oboist John Lathwell, and bassoonist Melissa Kritzer; hornist Alex Shuhan and trumpeter Frank Campos also provided dazzling moments.
Mikhail Shlyuger, Margaret Heath, Nina Heath-Shlyuger
Maestro Hege led the orchestra with his trademark elegance and expressiveness, infusing Respighi’s astonishing work with lyrically shaped phrases and passionate crescendos that stirred the soul.
A standing ovation and many bows for Hege and the orchestra were proof of the power of this music and of the great skill of the Binghamton Philharmonic.
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams officially released their brand new album entitled All This Time on April 5. This is the duo’s fourth album, and follows their 2023 release Live at Levon’s!.
Photo Courtesy of Shore Fire Media
The 10 track LP was produced by Larry Campbell and Ray Clifford and was recorded and mixed by three-time grammy award winning sound engineer Justin Guip at Milan Hill Studios. The album features Larry Campbell (vocals, guitar, mandolin, pedal steel guitar, bass), Teresa Williams (vocals, guitar), Justin Guip (drums, percussion), Brandon Morrison (vocals, bass) and Brian Mitchell (accordion, organ). The album most notably features Bill Payne of Little Feat on piano and organ, and Levon Helm from The Band on drums for “That’s All It Took.”
Photo by Gregg Roth
Larry and Teresa’s musical and romantic partnership are one and the same. They first met in a Manhattan rehearsal studio in 1986, where according to Williams’, “it was love at first note.” It was this love, now 38 years later that would inspire most, if not all of the songs on All This Time. Campbell states that this release “feels more intuitive to me than the earlier records, less experimental, evidence that we’ve grown more aware of who we are and what we have to offer.” These “love letters” shared between Campbell and Williams are the foundation for this “intensely romantic album.”
The first single, and opening track on All This Time was originally released in January. “Desert Island Dreams” is a rocking country song with an ear-worm guitar hook and catchy chorus. Williams’ vocal power is on full display and her harmonies with Campbell further exemplify their chemistry with one another. The song eventually transitions into a high energy, country guitar solo that tastefully showcases Campbell’s fluidity and talent.
“The Way You Make Me Feel” is a bouncing love song with Campbell’s country guitar lines and vocals at the forefront. The blues-influenced single touches on the excitement related to newfound feelings of love. Campbell sings “So if you see me roll up to your door doin’ cartwheels, I can’t help it that’s the way you make me feel.” A recurring theme throughout the album, Campbell and Williams’ sing of the willingness to do anything for each other.
Photo by Gregg Roth
The third and final single “Ride with Me” is a catchy country inspired pop song and lyrically focuses on surrendering to the moment. Williams sings that even though she’s unsure of what the future holds, she knows she wants her “baby” there for the ride.
All This Time is a celebration of their love. Williams’ smooth and incredibly professional vocal delivery mixed with Campbell’s song writing and multi-instrumental expertise are the secret ingredients to this incredibly well-rounded release.
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams are currently on tour across the entire United States with stops in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas and more. All of their New York tour dates are listed below.
Photo Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/LarryandTeresaMusic Photo Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/LarryandTeresaMusic
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams 2024 New York Tour Dates:
04/11 – The Falcon – Marlboro, NY
05/18 – The Capitol Theatre (w/ Tommy Emmanuel) – Port Chester, NY
06/07 – Caffe Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY
06/08 – Caffe Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY
06/11 – City Winery – New York, NY
06/16 – Stephen Talkhouse – Amagansett, NY
07/20 – Arrowood Farms (Larry & Teresa’s July Jam) – Accord, NY
Uncle Ebenezer played an incredible set of Phish jams including an unforgettable “Tweezer” featuring a saxophone player. Walrus opened up the night with their psychedelic interpretation of The Beatles, most notably a fully mind melting “Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds”.
The Williams Center is a phenomenal venue in Rutherford, NJ. It is an old theatre renovated into a truly happening venue featuring hidden gems like a record store with some incredible selections.
Uncle Ebenezer opened up the night with my personal favorite Phish song “Golgi Apparatus”. This got the crowd going and ready to dance to “Gotta Jibboo” which followed. The set was filled with Phan favorites like “No Me in No Men’s Land”, “Fluffhead”, “The Lizards”, and even included vocal heavy songs like “My Mind’s Got a Mind of It’s Own” and “Tela”. The epic “Tweezer” with a sax player was truly legendary.
They ended their set with a funky, spacey “2001”. The encore include “Cavern”, “Lonesome Cowboy Bill”, and the return of the sax for an explosive “Tweezer Reprise.”
Setlist: Golgi Apparatus, Gotta Jibboo, Stash, My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own, Tweezer, The Lizards, Tela, No Men in No Man’s Land, Split Open and Melt, Fluffhead, 2001
Long Island natives – Steve Vai and Joe Satriani (a.k.a. Satch) – legendary shredders still at the top of their game, joined cosmic forces on the iconic Beacon Theatre stage this past Saturday night (April 6) in a show for the ages. The concert, which was the 11th stop on their 38-date ‘Satch/Vai Tour’ which embarked on March 22 in Orlando, Florida, shook the historic venue nestled on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to its foundation as the long-time friends of more than five decades authored a master class in guitar instrumental compositions.
Steve Vai | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger Photography / Pit Perspectives
Like many of you out there, music became one of my greatest passions as a teenage boy in the throes of puberty. It was the mid-1980s, and bursting onto the scene was Steve Vai with his 1984 debut studio LP Flex-Able. This was an album that I listened to religiously on my Walkman (remember those?) while mowing neighborhood lawns for some spending money – money that I spent on buying more rock music, including the single “Yankee Rose” – an MTV hit recorded by David Lee Roth (DLR) for his first full-length solo LP (Eat ‘Em and Smile, 1986) – featuring the prominent electric guitar of its co-writer, none other than Steve Vai. Around this same time, the movie Crossroads hit theaters. This was an impactful film for my musical exploration, that in the climactic guitar duel, saw Vai play the part of Jack Butler (the villain who sold his soul to the devil for his fiendish guitar skills) against Ralph Macchio’s Eugene Marton (fighting to save his mentor’s soul). Fun fact. Although Macchio was able to paly guitar, both audio parts in the duel were played by Vai, showcasing his immense versatility as an axe-man.
Before Saturday night’s show, I had witnessed Steve Vai play live one other time. I was two weeks shy of my 16th birthday when I attended my second ever concert – DLR’s ‘Skyscraper Tour’ at the Hartford Civic Center (now known as XL Center) on April 8, 1988. Although I do not remember the experience particularly well, maybe because it was the first time I ever smoked weed, I still have the ticket stub to prove it! Vai would go on to part ways with DLR the following year.
Known by fellow guitarist for his intense practice regimen and music theory aptitude, Vai took the stage shortly after 8:00 pm where he unleashed “Avalancha” and “Little Pretty,” both from his tenth studio album (Inviolate, 2022), along with “Building the Church,” a number recorded back in 2005 for the album Real Illusions: Reflections.
Before erupting into “Tender Surrender” from his 1985 EP Alien Love Secrets, Vai introduced his talented touring band of Phillip Bynoe (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums) and Dante Frisielle (guitar/keys), followed by a warm greeting to the nearly 3,000 souls in attendance:
Oh, my goodness! What is going on here tonight in New York City? You look beautiful. It’s so nice to be out on this tour with Joe and it’s so nice to be here in New York City, my home. Well, my home for the first 19 years of my life, [and] I still love this city. Thanks so much for coming to the show, enjoy!
Succeeding “Lights Are On” (Modern Primitive, 2016) came my favorite part of Vai’s set, two more songs collected from Inviolate which saw the master immediately tear into a fiery “Zeus in Chains” and then break out his three-necked Hydra guitar (which he designed in conjunction with Ibanez) for the aptly titled “Teeth of the Hydra.”
Watch Steve Vai perform fan favorite and closing number of his set, “For the Love of God,” lifted from his second studio album (Passion and Warfare, 1990) below:
Satch, the professor and elder statesman to Vai by 4 years, was up next to perform the second co-headlining set and melt the collective faces of the sold-out Beacon Theatre with his instrumental rock mastery of the electric guitar. Similar to Steve Vai’s Flex-Able, I also discovered Satriani around the same time, when he dropped 1987’s Surfing With The Alien, his second studio album and one of the first compact discs I ever owned.
He led off his 90-minute set with “The Extremist,” the title track from his fourth studio album released in 1992, which showcased not only his guitar prowess, but also plays a mean harp too! With his second song of the night, the title track from Surfing With The Alien, I was transported back in time, to my childhood bedroom, as if I were listening to the studio take of this amazing song on headphones, but even better!
Joe Satriani | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger Photography / Pit Perspectives
Preceding the only snafu of the night, Satch tore through a career-spanning trio of numbers from his prolific discography comprised of “Satch Boogie” (Surfing With the Alien), “Sahara” (The Elephants of Mars, 2022), and “Nineteen Eighty” (Shapeshifting, 2020). However, before launching into “Big Bad Moon” (Flying in a Blue Dream, 1989), Satch’s guitar cable broke. As the band carried on without him via an impromptu “theme song,” a team of three techs did their best to resolve the issue, including swapping out his pedal board. Despite their valiant efforts, the song had to be scratched from the set as Satch jibed, “Forget about that other song, we’ll just do [the title track] “Flying Blue Dream” and get on with it.”
As Satch’s 13-song set headed for home, he gifted additional tracks from The Elephants of Mars (“Blue Foot Groovy”), Surfing With the Alien (“Always With Me, Always With You” and “Ice 9”), and 2004’s Is There Love in Space? (“If I Could Fly”). Next, following the introductions of his band – Rai Thistlethwayte (keys), Bryan Beller (bass), and Kenny Aronoff (drums), Satch addressed his loyal followers:
So, not too far from here, but a very, very long time ago, a little kid came to my front door. He had a stringless guitar in one hand, and a pack of strings in the other and was looking for lessons. There was something about him, I thought, this is gonna be fun. I like the look in his eyes. It looks like he’s got that passion and desire, even at 12 years old. I’m telling you the truth, at 12 years old, he had it. We quickly became comrades, with one goal, which was to just keep playing electric guitar as long as we could. And thanks to you, we were able to live that dream, and we’ve stayed best friends ever since. So please help bring out to the stage Mr. Steve Vai.
Joe Satriani & Steve Vai | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger Photography / Pit PerspectivesSteve Vai | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger Photography / Pit Perspectives
His pupil then returned to the stage for an epic encore jam comprised of “The Sea Of Emotion, Pt. 1” – a collaboration between the two buddies, recently released on March 29, that sees the two icons seamlessly trading solo sections – “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” the latter two numbers rendered from their axes with a personal flair, of course.
Watch Joe Satriani perform the soaring and uplifting “Always with Me, Always with You” (Surfing With the Alien) here:
After the Satch/Vai Tour wraps on May 12 in Santa Rosa, California, Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey will be joining the newborn supergroup Beat, additionally comprised of King Crimson’s guitarist/singer Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levins. The foursome will be setting out on a special fall tour kicking off September 12 in San Jose, CA, culminating November 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada, paying homage along the way to the progressive English rock band’s trio of iconic studio albums from the ‘80s – Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. If you are like me and cannot get enough of Steve Vai, he is featured on the May 2024 edition cover of Guitar World magazine (already in print on newsstands), along with an in-depth article celebrating the 25th anniversary of Flex-Able.
Up next for Satch is “The Best Of All Worlds 2024 Tour” with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Jason Bonham. The tour, which will feature music from every phase of Hagar’s career (including Van Halen, Chickenfoot, and The Circle), runs from July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida to August 31 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Steve Vai Setlist: Avalancha > Building the Church > Little Pretty > Tender Surrender > Lights Are On > Zeus in Chains > Teeth of the Hydra > For the Love of God
Joe Satriani Setlist: The Extremist > Surfing With the Alien > Satch Boogie > Sahara > Nineteen Eighty > Flying in a Blue Dream > Blue Foot Groovy > Always With Me, Always With You > If I Could Fly > Ice 9 > Encore: The Sea Of Emotion, Pt. 1 (with Steve Vai) > You Really Got Me (The Kinks cover, with Steve Vai) > Enter Sandman (Metallica cover, with Steve Vai)
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
April 10 – Collingswood, NJ @ Scottish Rite Auditorium
April 11 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre DC
April 13 – Northfield, OH @ MGM Northfield Park
April 14 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center Theater
April 16 – Detroit, MI @ Fisher Theatre
April 18 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
April 19 – Cincinnati, OH @ Andrew J. Brady Icon Music Center
April 20 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Embassy Theatre
April 21 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre (Old National Centre)
April 23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
April 24 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
April 25 – Des Moines, IA @ Des Moines Civic Center
April 26 – Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theatre
April 28 – La Vista, NE @ The Astro
April 29 – Salina, KS @ Stiefel Theatre
April 30 – St. Louis, MO @ The Factory – St. Louis
May 1 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
May 3 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
May 4 – Dallas, TX @ Music Hall at Fair Park
May 5 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
May 7 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre – Denver
May 8 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Hall at Eccles Theater
May 10 – Valley Center, CA @ Harrah’s Resort Southern California – The Events Center
May 11 – Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
May 12 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Just eleven days after the release of their fifth studio album, Hoist, Phish arrived in Binghamton for a show at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, just down the road from the Broome County Forum. The show quickly became known among fans for a funk-filled soundcheck, as well as creative placement of “Little Drummer Boy” throughout the second set.
Students from colleges across the state – Cornell, Syracuse, Albany and Binghamton among them – headed down to Binghamton on this evening, making for a lively lot scene. The marquee reportedly read “Reba McEntire” with “Phish – Sold Out” below it, perhaps the muse for “Reba” showing up in the second set this evening.
The soundcheck of “Makisupa Policeman” was indeed funky, although a full recording has yet to surface. All that we have so far is the clip below.
A reported “really difficult ticket,” Binghamton is no stranger to great Phish shows, with an early show at Campus Pub in 1988 and two shows at Broome County Forum in 1992. This 1994 show would unknowingly be the band’s penultimate show in The Parlor City, with only the notable December 14, 1995 show following, leaving Binghamton Phish-less for nearly 30 years – aside from two Trey Anastasio Band shows in 1999 and 2014.
A venue upgrade, this would be Phish’s first show at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, a minor league hockey arena, just down the road from the Forum. Opening up with “Magilla” for the first time, the GA show would hold a few songs that are ‘jamcharts‘ worthy, as well as some fun with “Little Drummer Boy” during the second set.
A pre-chant version of “Wilson” would follow this horns-less “Magilla,” a unique listen now after nearly three decades of fans chanting “Willllll-son” with each intro guitar riff. “Rift” would be met with great cheers in a typical early Set 1 slot, doubling as the title of the band’s prior album to Hoist.
“Bathtub Gin” would feature notable improv, giving way to “Nellie Kane” and the first track of the night off Hoist, a ripping “Julius,” also the first track on Hoist. “Fee” featured a piano outro from Page McConnell that bridged the way into the now ultra rare “All Things Reconsidered,” last played in 1997 and deserving of a return to the Phish rotation. The “Stash” that would follow is not one to sleep on, featuring ‘a gnarly and heavy-duty power rocking jam’ that paved the way for “The Squirming Coil” and set break.
Set two would open with another Hoist track, “Sample in a Jar,” to a brief crowd reaction. A hefty “Reba” that is well executed gives way to the Frank Zappa composition “Peaches en Regalia,” pairing Zappa-esque with a true Zappa tune, with an ending that featured a tease of “Little Drummer Boy” before shifting into the now-retired “Big Ball Jam.”
The debut of “Demand” would follow, and while a “Split Open and Melt” jam akin to the Hoist version was not paired with the short song, it did serve as a perfect bridge to “Mike’s Song.” This version of “Mike’s” finds Trey Anastasio using his pedals to create other-worldly sounds that are at times menacing and metallic, accented by LD Chris Kuroda’s strobes flashing through on-stage fog. A breather would be needed in the “I am Hydrogen” that followed, particularly because “Weekapaug Groove” would be chock full of teases – “Little Drummer Boy,” a latter portion of “Divided Sky” and even “Dave’s Energy Guide.”
Closing out this fun filled set were a calming “Tela,” “Slave to the Traffic Light” which featured a serene build and an outstanding peak, capped off by a well placed “Cavern.” For an encore, the band would start without microphones for an acapella rendition of “Amazing Grace,” followed by “Highway to Hell” – likely not exactly what the fans in the front row were looking for when they were chanting for “AC/DC Bag,” but a heck of a cover to drop on fans just as the show was coming to a close.
Listen to the show from Binghamton here (second set SBD). Phish would head west the next night to perform at Alumni Arena at SUNY Buffalo – stream that show here.
Set 1: Magilla, Wilson > Rift, Bathtub Gin > Nellie Kane > Julius, Fee -> All Things Reconsidered, Stash, The Squirming Coil Set 2: Sample in a Jar, Reba, Peaches en Regalia > Big Ball Jam, Demand[1] > Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove[2], Tela > Slave to the Traffic Light, Cavern Encore: Amazing Grace, Highway to Hell [1] Debut [2] Vocal jam
Texas singer songwriter Ruthie Foster brought her incredible cross-genre versatility to a standing-room-only house at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, April 4.
Combining a long set of her own songs of contemporary blues, Americana, gospel and country blues, including “Singing The Blues,” “Brand New Day,” and “4am” with her truly unique arrangements of covers like Pete Seeger’s “If I Had A Hammer,” June Carter Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” and Patty Griffin’s “When It Don’t Come Easy,” interspersed with crowd-pleasing stage banter that ranged from where the ideas for some of her songs came from, to family stories, she delivered a truly energetic show to a highly appreciative crowd in an intimate setting.
With her brilliant flatpicking and fingerpicking on a hollow body electric guitar, which she introduced as “Pearl”, she delivered her well-crafted original songs in a solo performance that matched the legendary intimacy of the room at Caffe Lena, giving the audience a clear understanding of what lies behind her multiple Grammy nominations, Blues Foundation’s Koko Taylor Award, and induction into the Texas Blues Hall of Fame.
The show marked the start of a six-month tour for Ruthie Foster, covering the US and parts of Canada, immediately followed with an April 5 show at The Folkus Project in Syracuse, with other shows in the region in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The tour is followed by a multi-day blues cruise out of Florida.
Ruthie referred to herself at one point as a country girl who grew up on a farm in Texas where she learned how to drive a car at eight years of age in the fields by sitting on phonebooks on the seat of her dad’s pickup truck, moving it slowly at his direction as farmhands loaded hay bales onto the back of the truck. She then segued into her beautifully fingerpicked rendition of Mississippi John Hurt’s “Richland Woman’s Blues” that brought her audience in for chorus sing-alongs.
Throughout the show, Ruthie’s energy fed the crowd and, in turn, was fueled by her audience’s response, both by her playing and singing as well as her eye contact and facial expressions. At the end of her single long set when she said she had only time for one more, she acceded to the the audience request of “Phenomenal Woman” saying “Okay, but that’ll be the encore,” and gave a stellar and moving performance that brought the crowd to its feet where they stayed and cheered until she returned for an a cappella gospel type tune with her appreciative audience joining in on.
There is something very special about a talented solo performance of well-crafted songs delivered to an audience in an intimate venue setting and this was just such an experience.
