On this blustery evening, Kendall Street Company brought the crowd to attention with a full band sound chocked with the influence of jam and alt rock from the late 1990s. A cover of ZZ Top’s “La Grange” was a key energy-driver, followed by an odd yet fun final song performed in the persona of a German band, Sauerkraut. Catch them at the Westcott Theatre on December 5 and Mercury Lounge December 21-22.
After a 30 minute break, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – singer/guitarist Greg Ormont, guitarist Jeremy Schon, bassist Ben Carrey, and drummer Alex Petropulos – took to the stage for an opening funk trio of tunes to start the night, “Henrietta,” “Live It Up,” and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Around The World.” The quartet who formed in 2007 at University of Maryland are workhorses pushing well into their 17th year with no signs of slowing down. Sustained funk jams were moderated by mixed improv that was anything but formulaic.
A little something for Star Wars fans, “The Imperial March” was sandwiched inside “White Night,” and for giant ape fans, “King Kong” followed. A crowd ranging widely in ages from Gen X to Gen Z was dancing along to every song, grinning when the thumping rhythm section vibrated the floors of Empire Live.
Frequent collaborator, saxophonist Lee Ross, joined the band for “J-Town” and stuck around as Jake Vanaman (Kendall Street Company) joined on sax for “F.U.” Driving rock peaks from “Feed the Fire” gave way to “Julia,” which while chill to start, embarked into a surprisingly complex jam to end the set. An encore of “Fun in Funk” was the last piece of the puzzle for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong this evening in Albany.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong – Empire Live, Albany – Friday, November 8, 2024
Setlist: Henrietta > Live It Up > Around The World, White Night > The Imperial March > White Night, King Kong, My Own Way, Distant Times, J-Town* > F.U.*^, Feed The Fire, Julia Encore: Fun in Funk * w/ Lee Ross on alto saxophone ^ w/ Jake Vanaman (Kendall Street Company) on tenor saxophone
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!
Grateful Dead pianist Tom Constanten has announced a farewell tour spanning September and October 2024. This tour alongside Live Dead & Brothers will give deadheads one last opportunity to see the legendary pianist live in concert. Among the tour dates are four performances across New York state.
Tom Constanten was born in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1944. Following enrollment at UC Berkeley, Constanten met future Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, becoming further involved in music. This musical career soon led Constanten to study across Europe, playing alongside legends of modern classical, like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Steve Reich. Constanten then followed up his studies with a brief stint in the US Air Force.
Following his return to the US, Constanten immediately joined the Grateful Dead on tour. His debut with the band was a November 23, 1968 performance at Athens, Ohio’s Memorial Auditorium. During his three-year career with the band, Constanten played keyboards on three Grateful Dead recordings: Anthem of the Sun, Aoxomoxoa, and Live/Dead. Constanten’s stint with the Grateful Dead ended with an April 28, 1971 performance at the Fillmore East in New York.
Following his departure from the Grateful Dead, Constnaten remained close to his bandmates while pursuing other artistic endeavors. Since 1971, he has recorded alongside the Incredible String Band, Jefferson Starship, and more. In 1994, Constanten was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the other members of the Grateful Dead.
Tom Constanten alongside Jerry Garcia
Now, after more than five decades of touring, Constanten will make a final farewell tour across the United States. Supergroup Live Dead & Brothers will join Constanten on stage throughout the tour. The band consists of Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers collaborators, dedicated to celebrating Constanten’s legacy. Among the musicians are the Allman Betts Band’s Berry Duane Oakley and Les Dudek. Also featured are Grateful Dead collaborators Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, and Pete Lavezzolli.
The tour will begin on September 6th in Irving, Texas, before making its way Northeast. Along the two month-long tour, Constanten will make four stops across New York State. The first stop comes in Buffalo’s Sportsman’s Tavern on September 26th. Following this performance is a September 27th show at Albany’s Empire Live. The 1000-person venue features state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment, and a large stage, making it one of Albany’s premier venues.
Constanten will return to New York on October 9th with a show at Canandaigua’s Fort Hill Performing Arts Center. The venue’s features a 387-person orchestral theater dating back to 1928. The venue’s impeccable sound makes it one of the top theaters in the Finger Lakes region. Constanten will close out his tour with an October 12th performance at Syracuse’s prolific Westcott Theatre.
Across these tour dates, Constanten and Live Dead & Brothers will perform an eclectic mix of rock, jazz, and blues. These shows will act as a testament to the legacy of the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers catalogs, featuring their trademark improvisational jams.
Tickets for Constanten’s farewell tour shows are currently on sale. For more information on tickets, visit the link here.
Tom Constanten Tour Dates
9/6 – Carpenter Hall – Irving, TX
9/7 – Cailloux Theater – Kerrville, TX
9/17 – Perot Theatre – Texarkana, TX
9/18 – Cullen Theatre – Houston, TX
9/19 – Greenville Municipal Auditorium – Greenville. TX
9/20 – Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts – Amarillo, TX
9/26 – Sportsman’s Tavern – Buffalo, NY
9/27 – Empire Live – Albany, NY
9/28 – Pat Garrett Amphitheater – Strausstown, PA
9/29 – The Hamilton – Washington, DC
10/1 – Sellersville Theater – Sellersville, PA
10/2 – Beacon Theatre – Hopewell, VA
10/5 – Rams Head on Stage – Annapolis, MD
10/8 – The Empire – Belleville, ON
10/9 – Fort Hill Performing Arts Center – Canandaigua, NY
10/10 – Jergel’s Rhythm Grille – Warrendale, PA
10/11 – Tussey Mountain Amphitheatre – Boalsburg, PA
When Here Come the Mummies come to town, you know you’re in for a thrilling night of funk. For the unfamiliar, you’re in for a lyrical treat, in addition to the stellar musical performance from the wrapping cloaked mummies on stage.
This past Friday, May 3 at Empire Live, Troy-based Front Biz opened the night for Here Come the Mummies, dropping a choice set of indie rock that paired nicely with the funk that was on tap. This night marked HCTM first show back in the Capital Region since performing at Skyloft in late 2019.
Entering from the back of the venue, the Mummies walked out and wound through the crowd, a drumline sounding their arrival in grand fashion. Once on the stage, the group burst into “My Party,” and from there, the party took off.
What lay ahead was more than 90 minutes of venue shaking bass, multiple horn players swapping back and forth on solos and adding flare to each song, as well as a guitarist who shredded song after song, all keeping their identities under wraps. The group let their “Freak Flag” fly, led the crowd in “Ra Ra Ra”, got suggestive with “Hard at Work” and doubled down with “Pants.” The group’s hilarious lyrics (SFW but full of double and triple entendre) are engaging for the uninitiated, atop a funk foundation you can’t stop moving to.
With an encore of “Dirty Minds,” the party came to a close, a crowd covered in streamers that had been shot from the stage, celebrated the Mummies and cheered them on for more.
A hefty double-bill of old-school metal stomped into a packed Empire Live in Albany on April 26 – Queensryche and Armored Saint. Both acts have long legacies of gigs in the Albany area: Seattle’s Queensryche first came through the area promoting their debut e.p., opening for Twisted Sister in Scotia in 1983, and have played the area fairly regularly for 40+ years, most recently warming up Judas Priest at the MVP Arena in 2022.
photo by Mark Kurtzner
L.A. metal heroes Armored Saint first played the region in early January 1985 – again, in Scotia – warming up for Metallica and WASP and promoting their debut LP ‘March of the Saint’. So there’s some history here, and Albany showed up for this gig – the venue was sold out, and vintage metal tees and battle vests were on display for a great Friday night of heaviness.
Happily, there wasn’t a long, agonizing wait through a half-dozen opening bands – Armored Saint hit the stage at 8 p.m. sharp, walking on stage to an intro tape of Judas Priest’s classic “Delivering the Goods”, and proceeded to deliver the goods with a crushing 50-minute set of headbanging gloriousness. As vocalist John Bush pointed out early on, although Saint were a regular visitor to the Albany region through the late 80s (mostly at the long-departed temple of metal, Saratoga Winners in Latham), it has been almost 33 years since the band has been here. The last gig this band played hereabouts was at Winners in October 1991, with Wrathchild America. Soon after, the band went dormant when Bush joined New York’s Anthrax, and since they reunited early this century, they have not been back to their Albany stomping grounds of yore. They more than made up for their absence this Friday night.
photo by Mark Kurtzner
Saint kicked off proceedings with the hammering “End of the Attention Span”, an ode to the damage done by small screens, social media and on-demand culture, taken from the killer newest AS record, ‘Punching the Sky’. Unlike Queensryche, who were playing an album-specific vintage set, Saint covered their entire discography this night, launching immediately thereafter into a steamrolling “Raising Fear”, title track of their underrated 1987 third record. Next up were a pair of songs from Saint’s (arguably) most-acclaimed LP, 1991’s Symbol of Salvation, the propulsive “Tribal Dance” (during which drummer Gonzo Sandoval earned his wage admirably), and a soaring “Last Train Home”, with the audience roaring the chorus back to Bush and the band. The title track of their 40-year-old (!) debut LP, March of the Saint, followed, which spawned headbanging and more vocal crowd participation, and the excellent “Left Hook From Right Field” (from 2010’s La Raza) was a cool surprise – the Saint have been mixing up setlists on this run with Queensryche, and while killer second record Delirious Nomad was sadly unrepresented this night, “Left Hook” was one that hasn’t been played every show, a great choice.
Next up was “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”, another standout from newest LP Punching the Sky, which saw guitarists Jeff Duncan and Phil Sandoval unleashing some Thin Lizzy-esque guitar harmonies. Saint, in contrast to the headliners, is pretty much the same guys who have been with the band since back in the day. Bush, the Sandoval brothers and bassist Joey Vera have been in the band since their inception, and guitarist Jeff Duncan has been with the band since 1988. Only guitarist Dave Prichard, who sadly passed in 1990 from leukemia, is missing from the lineup that recorded their debut EP in 1983.
photo by Mark Kurtzner
Other than Bush talking about how many years it had been since the band played Albany, the band kept the stage banter to a minimum and used their time for music, hammering out each song into the next. “Win Hands Down”, the roaring title track from their 2015 LP, came next, into another crowd favorite, “Can U Deliver” (again from the ‘84 debut), with the band wrapping up with a blasting, high-velocity “Reign of Fire” (again from Symbol of Salvation). When this band’s debut hit the streets in 1984, the slogan was “Saints Will Conquer” – and they did so in heroic fashion this night.
Unlike Saint, who have always led the charge for traditional, real old-school metal, Queensryche have historically cast a wider net, dipping their toes into prog-metal, concept albums (including 1988’s legendary ‘Operation: Mindcrime’), and mainstream success (1990’s ‘Empire’), and over the years leaning fairly far away from their trad-metal beginnings. But not tonight – this was a old-school, early Queensryche set, with the band playing their debut self-titled 1983 EP, and 1984 debut album ‘The Warning’ back-to-back and in order.
That debut EP was a monumental beginning for this band – in 1983, every metalhead on the planet seemed to own and love that record, including this writer as a 15-year-old, and you cannot deny the quality of those 4 songs, which the band opened their set with this night: the legendary “Queen of the Reich” began proceedings, arguably the most well-known song of the night, into the raging “Nightrider” and “Blinded”, both long-ignored deep tracks in the band’s catalog, but truly excellent, hammering real metal. “The Lady Wore Black” is more epic, and more indicative of what was to come for Queensryche after 1983, and sounded great.
photo by Mark Kurtzner
The rest of the set was debut LP The Warning, soup-to-nuts, in order, from “Warning” through “Roads to Madness”. The band played it flawlessly. While Armored Saint’s lineup is fairly unchanged from days of old, three of the five band members who recorded the music from these early Queensryche records are no longer with the band: only guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson remain from the ‘classic’ lineup, but vocalist Todd La Torre (who had been with the band for 12 years now) is able to replicate former singer Geoff Tate’s vocals on these early songs with uncanny accuracy. In all honesty, my personal enthusiasm for ‘The Warning’ is nowhere near the nostalgic appeal I feel for the debut EP, but the band nailed it and there was a percentage of the crowd who were all-in for every single moment.
The band didn’t deviate from the stalwart, old-school vibe for the encore, trotting out “The Prophecy”, an EP-era deep track that never made the record, but eventually saw light on ‘The Decline of Western Civilization – Part II’ soundtrack a few years later, a great choice. It was only the final track, “Empire”, that post-dated 1984. And to their credit, the band kept the set-list old-school and metal instead of taking the easy route for the encore and playing crowd-pleaser hit singles like “Silent Lucidity” or “Jet City Woman” (or something from ‘Mindcrime’) – no doubt some of the more casual fans would have preferred that, tonight was about the old-school. All hail both bands, but game, set and match went to the Saint.
photo by John Moorephoto by John Moorephoto by Mark Kurtznerphoto by Mark Kurtznerphoto by Mark Kurtznerphoto by Mark Kurtznerphoto by Mark Kurtznerphoto by Mark Kurtznerphoto by Mark Kurtzner
On Wednesday, March 13, a hungry crowd packed into Empire Live on North Pearl Street for the Disco Biscuits, currently on tour ahead of the release of Revolution in Motion, Part 1, due out on March 29.
The show marked a return to a smaller venue in Albany, instead of the Palace Theatre, where the Philadelphia trance-fusion pioneers have played 7 times, dating back to 2004. The 1,000 capacity Empire Live offered a club feel to the show, an underground vibe where fans of the Biscuits could gather and dance to nearly three and a half hours of live electronic jams. For a night, this was Albany, New York’s hottest club, and even with sightlines what they are, the crowd carried on and enjoyed the mid-week throw down late into the night.
Opening up with “Morph Dusseldorf,” the twists came early with samples of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” dropped into the nascent “Morph” jam, honoring a fan’s birthday request and offering a glimpse of untzgrass, at long last. “Triumph” slipped in next, giving way to 30 glorious minutes of “Save the Robots” leeching into the ending of “Astronaut,” giving way to an inverted version of the fan favorite. A resounding “Suspended in the Air” middle section of “Astronaut” was particularly blissful, while the ending section was peppered by another sample, this time Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina,” with the middle-age crowd nodding at each other upon recognition of the now 35-year old song.
After a standard 30 minute setbreak, the Biscuits returned with “M.E.M.P.H.I.S.,” venturing out into a spacious jam that found its way into the end of “Naeba,” which would be the second inverted song of the night. The slow churn into the song, as well as the stretched out ending were disco bliss, had plenty of room for improv as well as to dance – this was not a coincidance.
A Tractorbeam version (instrumental) of recent debut “Dino Baby” followed and made way to “Another Plan of Attack,” the two songs being the newest songs of the night, following nearly two hours of old school songs. With sampling becoming commonplace this tour, another surprise in the form of “Hella Good” from No Doubt was found in parts of “Another Plan of Attack,” and while this could have been the end of the night, the Biscuits whisked their way into a 36-minute “I-Man” that had twists and turns and the crowd fist pumping along well past midnight.
An encore featuring the recently released “Spaga’s Last Stand” was all that was left in this deep tank of electronica improvisation, where we find the Biscuits at the top of their game.
The Disco Biscuits will be back in New York on March 29 at Webster Hall for the album release show, followed by two nights at Town Ballroom in Buffalo over March 30 and 31.
Setlist via Biscuits Internet Project Disco Biscuits – Empire Live – Albany, NY – March 13, 2024 Soundcheck: Magellan, Wet Set 1: Morph Dusseldorf 1, Triumph > Save The Robots > Astronaut 2 3 > Save The Robots Set 2: M.E.M.P.H.I.S. > Naeba 2 > Dino Baby 4 > Another Plan of Attack 5 > I-Man Encore: Spaga’s Last Stand 1 with ‘Jolene’ (Dolly Parton) samples 2 inverted 3 with ‘Funky Cold Medina’ (Tone Loc) samples 4 Tractorbeam version (instrumental) 5 with ‘Hella Good’ (No Doubt) teases
