Walri, Auld Lang Syne @ Abilene

After a decent little tour, NYE extravaganza inclusive, Walri was back in the ROC for another night of Wauldlangri, or Wauldlangsyneri or whatever you want to call it. Arriving at Abilene with Auld Lang Syne already rocking the joint, I walked in the door, paid the $3 cover (first time paying at Abilene, seems to be a new trend now, still damn reasonable) and stopped in my tracks. The place was packed all the way to the entrance, I couldn't move. Yikes. Eventually I found my way to the bar and then closer to the band and then out toward the billiard area where thankfully some room cleared out eventually.

On to the music. Auld Lang Syne was tight and enjoyable as always. Walri was still somewhat shaky with the new lineup even after being road tested. The superjam set was also a tad disappointing only in comparison to previous efforts, lacking in surprise and also completely hacking up a couple of their covers. Still it was all good fun and a great night of music as it always is.

But really, my takeaway from this show was the talent of Auld Lang Syne's lead man Timothy Dick. My appreciation has been steadily growing, taking a big step up after the Java's gig where he took to the piano in a big way. But it finally occurred to me that he was possibly more talented on every instrument in his band than any of his bandmates. He could easily pull a Stevie Wonder or Jimi Hendrix on their next album. No slight to the others in the band, moreso huge compliment to Tim. I am pretty sure I have seen him rip it up on every instrument they bring (aside from the occasional french horn addition), whether it be accordion, drums, bass, harmonica or piano. And hello guitar! Every highlight of the evening was a ripping guitar solo from Timothy Dick. Mostly during the superjam set because for some reason he doesn't allow himself to display that side in their regular sets. There was some jaw-dropping stuff being laid down there. Don't sleep on this semi-hidden treasure Rochester... or elsewhere.

NYE in NYC I: Walri @ Pete's Candy Store

It was New Year's Eve, and yes, I was down in NYC, with more choices for live music than arguably anywhere else in the world, and yet I ended up at a tiny off-the-beaten path bar in Brooklyn seeing Walri, a band from my hometown of Rochester. The space for live music was literally in an old train car. Long narrow small and cramped, and the sound was coming from behind you, speakers facing the band. Bizarre experience indeed. The bizarre feeling amped up as opener Backwords ended their set in the waning hours of 2010 with a cover of White Rabbit. Like a reverse Cinderella, Walri quickly worked to get set up before the clock struck 12. Not quite ready, they whipped out a quick cover of Heart of Gold just in time and then the more traditional Auld Lang Syne (the song not the band.) And then they sound-checked. Finally they settled in and whipped out a good hour of their signature love rock that hooked fans new and old alike. Pretty standard Walri fare except for 2 major changes. Geoff Saunders was replaced on Bass by Benny Oyama and Dave Goebel was replaced on drums by Danny Rose, brother of lead man Amos. It's not immediately clear whether this is a permanent change to the band or just for their current tour. Time will tell I suppose. Anyway, they sounded great. They played a couple of tunes from the new members, and featured a good amount of instrument swapping (all but the drums were switched around). After their proper set and another small break, most of Auld Lang Syne (the band, not the song, who opened the night, which unfortunately we missed) and a few others took over the stage to begin the super jam segment of the evening with a rousing rendition of Born on the Bayou:



The crowd had thinned, but the spirits were riding high and people were ready to party. The line between the stage and the crowd blurred to almost become indistinguishable. Musicians from all of the evenings acts (including previously unmentioned Doctors Fox and Matt Cross) popped on and off stage at will and beautiful and raw music was made. Covers included Hey Pockey Way, an amazing I Want You (She's So Heavy), and this Ophelia:



With their propensity for Beatles covers, how long until Walri covers I Am the Walrus? (We Are the Walri?)

Walri, Auld Lang Syne @ Abilene

Walri and Auld Lang Syne repeated their set-swapping antics at Abilene last Friday night. This time it was outside on the patio with more space and fresh air, this time it was more well-rehearsed, this time it went even past 2am, and this time it was even better than last. It was just about as good a night of local music is going to get, good enough that I hesitate to even qualify it with the word local at all.

I'm calling this conglomeration of bands Walangri and I'm hoping they pull off more evenings like this in the future. These nights will be the stuff of legend once these bands both make it big. Which they will.

To refresh your memory, Auld Lang Syne played a set on their own to open things up, then Walri followed. Then the two joined forces, and then they repeated the whole thing, 6 sets in all. That is if you really even could call them sets, the turnovers between bands was minimal.

The best set of the evening was the first combined effort. It started off with all members on stage for a fantastic cover of Paperback Writer. They followed that up with God Only Knows, absolutely nailing the insane vocal harmonies. Those two in succession left me with only one word on my tongue, ballsy. The rest of the evening was such a loose and freewheeling affair, but these two tunes were well rehearsed and masterful. The rest of the combined set ran through a whole bunch more covers including even more Beatles (right down Walri's alley), and Born on the Bayou (right down Auld Lang Syne's alley). The second go round Walangri set leaned more heavily on the Auld Lang Syne side of things, with loose bar room rockers and blues tunes. Many instruments were swapped, many lyrics were missed, many verses were repeated unintentionally, and many beers were drunk. And at 2:10 when it was all said and done, there were still a good 40 people hanging onto the final notes of What'd I Say. Until next time...

RIJF 2010: Day One

I had to get a late start last night and it threw off my whole festival equilibrium. I'm a big venue hopper and like to catch snippets of as much as I can, but for the first day of this year's Rochester International Jazz Fest I found myself missing more than I saw, for better or worse. By the time I figured out what I wanted to see and where I wanted to go it was too late. And due to a prior engagement I'll be missing the whole of day 2, hopefully I'll have my fest-legs ready for day 3. So onto the music.

Started my night well into the Earl Pickens late set at the new Abilene Stage. I like what they've done with the place, though the sound in the tent leaves some to be desired. The crowd chatter in the back was drowning out the music. So I squeezed up closer to get a better listen. I was really looking forward to seeing what these guys are all about having missed their show earlier this year at Abilene. Arriving late I missed their signature and fame-producing takes on U2 and heard mostly their original tunes, save a rousing version of I've Been Everywhere. Earl Pickens was leaning heavily toward country on the bluegrass>country scale, and threw in some cheesy party band elements (apparent in both the music and persona) and needless to say I was a bit disappointed.

Next stop, the Big Tent to drop in on the Sauce Boss. I was skeptical of this act from the name and description and the cooking gumbo on stage. My inclinations were correct, this band wasn't worth more than 10m of my time. Seriously though, if you have an hour set... to play MUSIC, it'd be advisable not to waste so much of those precious minutes hawking your new album/cd-rom cookbook QVC-style (even if it was tongue in cheek) for the low low price of 19.99 (and if you order now you can get a bottle of his sauce, FREE!). Oy. Musically you'd get better blues music nightly at the Dinosaur for free all year long.

Walked over to the Jazz Street stage in time to catch the opening of Hazmat Modine. They are the subject of my new book, So You Named Your Band After A Random B-List Hollywood Actor. They filled up the stage quite roundly with two harmonicas (both filtered through plenty of effects to render them nearly unrecognizable though), trumpet, 2 guitars, drums, and a tuba holding it all down at the bottom. They played a melting-pot variety of music that I knew by leaving after a couple of long tunes was missing the big picture on. Quite engaging and danceable, I liked everything about them except the vocals, but I was yet undecided on those when I decided to join my friends on line (which was quickly filing in) for Mose Allison.

Mose Allison's set started off with a "warming-up" blazing hot improvisation. Just Mose's piano with a bass accompaniment, they were locking into some beautiful jazz grooves. That gave way to the rest of the night filled with New Orleans' boogies, blues, bops, and ballads. A delight to see.

I think I ended up missing most of the best sets on day one, hopefully I'll have better luck the rest of the way. I'll be living vicariously through others for day 2, check it out: Jazz@Rochester, City Newspaper, D&C.

I finished my evening on a high note with Walri's ArtPeace benefit show at Scotland Yard. For a venue that doesn't typically have live music (do they?) it sounded amazing in there. And Walri continues to impress, improving on each repeated listen. They added a second keyboard to the mix and it really helped fill out the sound.

Catching Up: The Rest of the First Half of 2010

I promised myself I wouldn't put myself in this position again, yet here we are. Is this blog dead? Possibly, we'll see if I can keep up for what is shaping up to be a crazy June. History says no. I'm greasing up the old blogging gears with the minimal shows I've caught the last few months.

Back in February I made it out for Rubblebucket @ the Westcott Theatre. Recommendations were coming in at all angles for these guys so I was glad to finally catch them. They put on a great show, and in some unexpected ways. The horn section did a lot of singing, which potentially could be awful, but in the case of Rubblebucket it was a revelation, this was the band at its best. Every time they mentioned a song was new it was one of their better tunes, so I think I like the direction these guys are moving and look forward to some repeat visits.



I made it out to see local indie-rockers Walri again, this time at Lovin Cup. Atomic Swindlers opened the show but were really the headliners, not too many stuck around for Walri, which was unfortunate. They put on another fantastic show. Then I caught them again a few weeks ago back at Abilene where I first was introduced to them. This time they were swapping and sharing sets with Auld Land Syne all night long. I had seen Auld Lang Syne open for the Avett Brothers last year and was disappointed. I don't know if it was nerves or something at that show, but this was simply a different band than what I had seen previously, and that is to say, they were damn good. They played a set, passed the stage off to Walri, then shared the stage for a set, then repeated the whole ordeal playing right up until last call at 2am. It was a local music orgy and boy did it turn me on. Aural pleasure. Hey, they say Abilene used to be a Burlesque House... Hoping to catch Walri again this Friday at one or two of their shows that night which both look to be yet another unique offering from this band. Highly recommended!

Got another El Ten Eleven notch in the belt at the Bug Jar. This was an angry El Ten Eleven and it didn't particularly work in our favor. Kristian had his bass stolen at their show in Montreal and so they couldn't play a good portion of their catalog. Lots of disparaging comments about our neighbors to the north and even some scorn (albeit funny and necessary) thrown out to some very loud and chatty people up front. At any rate, still another great show, just not as good as their last time through.



While I was in Boston, I was implored to see Michael Tarbox. He played so often I just assumed the opportunity would be there forever. Then I left having never saw him. Thankfully, the Bop Shop brought him to the Lovin Cup, and this time I would not pass on the chance. Mercy was he good. A cross between Waits and Dylan with better guitar chops than both of them, and a fantastic backing band, the Tarbox Ramblers. They squeezed a ton of music into the evening. One of the highlights being a recently penned and unrehearsed tune they learned their way through on stage. The band was so tight that it went without a hitch, though it was nice to see them play loose and fresh with a precarious twinge.

Rochester Indie Music Fest

Made it out for the finale of the 2nd annual Rochester Independent Music Festival Saturday night. It's a nice little 3-day fest featuring mostly local acts taking place in a few venues around the South Wedge all for the low low price of $20, or $10 per day (an offering I think the bigger Rochester Jazz Fest needs to take up, daily passes, but anyway...) My friend pointed out that there probably isn't too much of a major label presence in Rochester so the "independent" label comes off a bit hollow, still, I understand the intention. Independent is to the aughts as Alternative was to the nineties.

On to the music. Walri got things started at the German House. The last time I saw them they played a slew of covers and I was wondering what their originals sounded like. Wonder no longer. They played a tight 60 minute set of all originals, ranging from very early stuff to brand spanking new. Ranging from psychedelic rockers to country honk to straight up blues, strong on all counts. The newer stuff shined brighter than the early, and I have high hopes for these guys. If I were to pin their sound down to another more established band, it would be Dr. Dog who in and of themselves are an amalgam of many other bands... The music is lead by the lead guitarist and singer who sang all but one song, but the music is driven by the very solid drum and bass core. On the flip side of my previous encounter, I was kind of hoping they would throw a cover in this set, but it was a good set nonetheless.

New Socks, a girl boy girl trio from Geneseo, played a mellow set to a decent size group over at Boulder Coffee Company. The opposite of a power trio, the music was about as sparse as a trio could be. Accordion, guitar/uke, and keys/clarinet/guitar, with three part harmonies. Immediately the sound is reminiscent of Kimya Dawson, but also it made me think of a stripped down version of The Boy Least Likely To. Either way, great songs, light but infectious hooks coupled with irreverent but reflective lyrics. I could imagine never hearing from these guys again (another fleeting college band) or seeing them blossom with a full-on ensemble taking their music to the next level. Their set was hurt a little bit by two sick members whose vocals weren't all there, but still quite enjoyable. Also I have to mention, New Socks is one of those band's that is just naturally excellent at stage banter. That type of thing really stood out in contrast when seeing all of the other bands that night.

Erica Scarano mixed a set of originals and popular indie pop tunes on both piano and guitar, accompanied by a drummer/percussionist. Her voice was fantastic, but better coupled with the piano, so it was disappointing that she opted to mostly play guitar. Also disappointing was straining to hear the music at the Keg, the basement bar of the German House. Pretty inappropriate venue for this kind of music, especially with the chatty bar crowd (hello screaming darts players!) and the surrounding big screen tvs.

Those elements didn't help the next set from NYC's Annie Crane either. Folksy 'grassy angelic voice and great songs were not enough to overcome the elements played out against her. The crowd built in anticipation of her set, but didn't stick around too long unfortunately. The sound was pretty awful even without the noise from the bar, still, I found this to be a great discovery, she was damn good.

One of the reasons the crowd may have dispersed quickly was to make it over to the Bug Jar for the grand finale. Walri and a group of Eastman students, together calling themselves Unlawful Assembly (after their infamous run-in with the law last November when they took their music to the streets after Obama's big victory), played a full cover set of Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. The place was packed, about as much as I have ever seen it. It probably should have been at the German House, but then the atmosphere wouldn't have been quite as grand. Financially though, it would have made more sense for the promoters. Anyway, the band took the stage, and the horn section complete with marching drum came marching into and through the bar into the music room and onto the stage, playing the opening notes of the album. Then the full band proceeded to nail quite accurately the remainder to the huge delight of the crowd. Fantastic finish.

Here's to hoping the fest survives another year, and on and on...

Check out more complete coverage from the City Paper too.

Derek Trucks Band @ Water Street Music Hall

God I needed to see some live music. A month-long drought was just too much to take. But things seem to be picking up around here and hopefully with the weather turning, and the days lengthening, my motivation will increase. Lucky for me, one of my all-time favorite performers, Mr. Derek Trucks, brought his band to town last Friday night. They played to a sold-out crowd at the Water Street Music Hall. When they sell it out, they pack em in. It was jam packed all the way into the back of the hall, and the Club side was opened up and looked quite jammed as well.

After arriving purposefully late as to miss the opener, I squeezed my way into the front few rows. Maybe I am just shorter than I think I am, but I always seem to be stuck amongst the trees, neck craning. From experience I knew the crowd would thin a bit as the music finally got going, and would continue throughout the set, which thankfully it did.

The worst part about the set was the fact that someone from the venue came on to "psych up" the crowd before the band came on and let us in on this "secret" that the band was dying to play a long show and asked for no curfew. It was the worst because it could not have been further from the truth. They played a fairly standard, if it wasn't even shorter than usual, 100m set, with a short one song encore. I was fine with the length of the show, though the lying beforehand is just plain obnoxious and unnecessary.

The best part of the show was these 3 minutes of glory inside the My Favorite Things. This was the type of playing I missed during his set with Susan from this summer. They busted it out a little to early in the set though.



I am guessing the reason they did though was because Chuck Campbell came out about an hour into the set and sat in with the band for the rest of the show. This was the second best part of the show. On the flip side, it was also the second worst part of the show because he was too low in the mix and I would have liked to have seen more interplay between him and Derek. He was little underused.

Anyway, great show overall. Good to hear a lot of the new songs from their great new album, Already Free. I am not all too familiar with them but they sounded great live.

After the show, I headed over to Abilene. Wanted to check out this place for a while, and it was very close to the venue, much closer than I thought (finally starting to connect the dots in this small city.) Local act Walri was playing and I also have wanted to check them out, so it worked out nicely. Walked in as they were finishing up Hey Pockey Way. Then from there they busted into a David Bowie mini set, which included versions of Changes, Ziggy Stardust, and an exceptional Fame played with the perfect amount of funk and attitude. Closed the set with Big Boss Man and then took a break, so, tired, I did too. I wish I could have seen some of their original material, but that will have to wait until next time.