... I walk into the Abilene Bar, a two story house located in Downtown Rochester. The enviroment is quaint yet boasts a classy/casual/relaxed/at home kind of vibe. I find a table off to the side, within' plain view of a setup reminisant of a basement band. The drum kit, tucked off into the corner, was decorated with yellow prayer flags. Immediately to the left; was a rug, with a pillow, effects pedals and a mini synthesizer. To the left of that; the bass set-up with additional effect pedals and amps. I introduce myself to the three gentleman who, at the time were setting up/checking the sound. The Soundcheck abruptly comes to an end as the three wander off in their own direction. One of the gentleman, the sitar player introduces himself to me as Naryan, and follows up with several questions about my being there. After expressing my enjoyment of the band, my one and only time seeing them, my opinions of their music and building a fan base; Naryan seemed very comfortable and receptive. In the background, his brother; Aneal (bass) was shooting pool, while the oldest of the three brothers; Ravi, sits down to join our conversation.
The conversation switches between; touring, building a fanbase, the struggle to book gigs (and get paid for them), taping and distributing music and their new cd, soon to be released. There is a certain excitement and sense of pride that was easily detected when discussing the new cd. Naryan speaks very candidly about how they were pleased with their first recording. Quickly followed up with how much better the current session is going. "We're recording at the Goo Goo Dolls studio." (In Buffalo, NY) "The sound is so much better... and the engineers are really knowledgable." stated Naryan humbley yet confident. Ravi chiming in every once in a while with a overlooked detail. The topic then switches gears to who they listen to musically. Naryan immediately pays homage to Phish, with a huge smile on his face, as most Phish Phans do when describing the band. "I love Phish... I wish I was going to Phish Phest..." Later eluding to being jelous of his friends who will be in attendance.
Another round of beers brings discussion of beer itself. Naryan expresses his enjoyment of drinking good beer, and I quickly agree. He offers a taste of his IPA to his brother, then offereing me a taste. We all agree on it's delightful flavor. Soon after, the merch is set out on the table around which we've been having our discussion. Aneal comes over and joins, as we discuss Medeski, Martin & Wood, The Westcott theatre, and Ravi's desire to play a gig with Soulive. Within' minutes some of their fans start to show up. A cat by the name of Nick turned out to tape the show and another gentleman (who's name escapes me) is obviously a big fan; laying out a few requests and looking as excited as Naryan did when describing Phish.
Family Function & Sitar Jams takes the stage, Naryan exclaiming to me that they feel chill and are going to take it easy tonight. The Three brothers from Buffalo with the sole intent to bring the jams; begin with a very spacey progression reminding me a lot of MMW. They ease into a jam, drop the beats, and the baseline insues. Almost immediately Naryan is reaching down and utilizing the effects of his sythesiser, while Aneal and Ravi create a funk/dance kind of groove. The first set was extremely high energy with a lot of effects and expiramentation.
The second set involved more straight forward sitar, with a darker twist. Additionally a mic was plugged in so we were able to get a few details about some of the songs and a plethera of feedback. The jams were extensive, some lasting what I would estimate at Ten Minutes Plus. The drums were heavy yet calculated. The bass was funky yet spacey, and the sitar playing; innovative and destructive.
"Family Funktion is a band who's groove is only surpassed by their innovation. They have a way of taking you to outerspace and leaving you on the moon with a discoball."
Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. <--- Direct Archive Link www.octopus
Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least
Salvage Station Asheville, NC Words by Jason Mebane Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography When asked to write a review of last week's Billy Strings show at Asheville, North Carolina's Salvage Station I almost passed on it. I just wrote a review of his last Asheville show a few months ago and I thought it may be hard to come up with another set of words to describe to the readers exactly what a Billy Strings show is all about. I am sure there are a plethora of other reviews that other people have written focusing on how well he has mastered his instrument. I suppose I could recycle those thoughts and just sit here typing out a few adjectives describing each note Billy and his superb backing band played this past Thursday night, but that wouldn't be fun for me. Additionally I'd imagine a review like that wouldn't keep your attention either. Instead I have decided to focus on a few random parts of the Billy Strings show that seemed interesting to me. One: B
Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Words & Photos by Pavel Gábor Kaplan Two weeks ago, Denver locals Shwarma graced the stage at Cervantes’ Other Side for the second time as headliners, with support from other Denver locals Cloud Catcher (stoner metal/power metal) and Kaepora (metal/funk/fusion). Coincidentally, both this year’s Summer Solstice and the Strawberry Full Moon transpired around Shwarma’s Album Release show, with the full moon falling on the night of the show. Certainly strong energy to power up the night of dancing and raging - from appropriately cosmic occurrences for a cosmically cool bill. It’s rare to have a full moon actually fall on the same day as a solstice. However, something not very rare is an unforgettable performance from Shwarma at Cervantes! I totally enjoyed photographing their Otherside shows last February when they opened for Lespecial to perform to a sold-out Ballroom-side, as well as their performance last Halloween at ‘Oogie Boogie’ alongside Dopapod,
Rancho Del Rio Bond, CO Words by J. Picard Photos by Scott Seifert Gratitude and appreciation have been the foundation of our time at Yarmony Music Festival (formerly, YarmonyGrass). Gratitude for the beauty of the space, Rancho Del Rio, and the mighty Colorado River that flows through it. Appreciation for the experiences, friendships and memories created. Over the span of the fourteen years that we've attended, we have seen firsthand a bonding of a core group of people who have become great friends, characters in each others' stories and in some cases, life partners. Following the incredible energy of the 2019 festival it was announced that Yarmony would be put to rest, to the dismay of many pirates. Though times got strange and folks were pushed apart, there was still a low, slow, pulse beating in the background. We did what we could to keep the spirit of the memory alive until one unsuspecting day, a long five years later, promoter Andrew McConathy announced that from its re
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