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It’s the Time of the Season for the Zombies

15 Jul

The Zombies

It’s not everyday that you can see a couple of British music legends play a free concert at Ellsworth W. Allen Town Park in Farmingdale, New York, but, thanks to the generosity of the Town of Oyster Bay and sponsors, last Wednesday presented this rare opportunity as part of the Music Under the Stars concert series – a neat calendar of free summer concerts in Town of Oyster Bay parks.

I had seen Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, and the reformed Zombies once before at a Hippiefest several years ago, and I remember thinking just how cool it was that I was able to see the creators of the infectious, somewhat unsettling (in a good way), 60’s Summer of Love call-and-response classic “Time of the Season.” In the years that have passed since that performance, the members of the Zombies, defiant of their band name, continue to perform jubilant shows that delicately mix a wide diversity of material and humorous, intelligible conversation with the crowd. As my mother said during the show, you almost feel like you are in the living room of one of their homes listening to a private performance among friends.

Now on the heels of the Zombies’ 2011 album Breathe Out, Breathe In, the band continues to perform with a high level of passion and energy. It was not difficult to recognize the band’s sincere love, respect, and knowledge of music. Played to a relaxed crowd of Long Islanders under a hazy blue sky, the concert featured a diverse trip through the Zombies’ brand of psychedelic pop/rock. The band – which also consists of Tom Toomey, and Jim and Steve Rodford – was crisp all evening, and Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone demonstrated their overwhelming talent. As unique and strong Colin Blunstone’s voice is, Rod Argent’s keen keyboard stylings match it.

As the night drew to a close and the fireflies provided white sparkles that flashed like cameras painted against the masked, aphotic sky, the Zombies played an energized version of the Argent classic, “Hold Your Head Up,” and their classic “She’s Not There.” For a finale, the band aptly played a pleasant cover of Gershwin’s “Summertime” to a well-deserved standing ovation. Great end to a great summertime evening.

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An Airborne Toxic Orchestra Event – Summerstage 2013

22 Jun

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It was around halfway through the show when Airborne Toxic Event lead singer Mikel Jollett joked with the crowd that he may mess up “Dublin,” a new song he had only played a few times live. But as he plucked the first few acoustic notes of the piece, the sky painted on the horizon transformed from a dense gray to a palette of pink that penetrated the skyscrapers and accentuated the rich music. The halcyon scene demonstrated the model of an outdoor concert. But, the weather doesn’t always respond.

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As the above picture suggests, when we arrived to Central Park Summerstage, the weather was less than ideal. A persistent sprinkle fell on umbrellas and Summerstage ponchos. The Calder Quartet, a LA-based string quartet that has become an Airborne Toxic Event staple, opened, and, for the most part, drove the rain away.

Ensemble LPR, an assemblage of the finest New York-based concert musicians, joined The Calder Quartet on stage after the Quartet’s opening act. If one stumbled into Summerstage – which was quite possible considering that the concert was free (thanks to the generous City Parks Foundation), he/she might have assumed the crowd had gathered for a classical orchestra. And that was one of the most gripping parts of the show. It was just not your typical rock show.

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But, to be honest, I don’t believe anyone in the audience was expecting a typical rock show, because Airborne Toxic Event does not put on a typical rock show. The energy and skill demonstrated by the band is striking. It is not just music; it is art. Instead of simply creating catchy alt/rock pieces, Airborne Toxic Event prefers to script a scene (much like the inspiration for the band’s name, Don DeLillo), and this ability sets the band apart from others.

Perhaps the greatest indication of this individuality was the crowd at the show. Lining the front row barrier behind the photo pit was a wide array of ages, and, most surprisingly, everyone knew the words to each song. These were Airborne Toxic Event diehards, and, unlike with most bands, I couldn’t typify the standard Airborne Toxic Event fan. This evinces the diversity of the band and explains its growing audience.

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The crowded stage of talented musicians produced a full orchestra sound that elevated the show. It is clear that Airborne Toxic Event is not a band; it’s a symphony, a full on powerhouse that combines the potency of a full orchestra with a traditional genre and bends it. The resulting amalgamation is music that could only have been created by the mind of true artists!

This was best portrayed by the performance of “Sometime Around Midnight,” one of my favorite Airborne Toxic Event songs because of its sheer ardor. Not only did the orchestra carry the crescendo, but also most individuals in the audience knew the lyrics and emphatically sang along. It was electric.

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Airborne Toxic Event concluded the encore with a jam-packed version of “Missy” that featured teasers from American classics, “Ring of Fire,” “Born in the USA,” and “American Girl.”

Overall, while wet at times, Airborne Toxic Event put together a tremendous show, packed with oodles of impressive sound, and much credit to the Calder Quartet and Ensemble LPR who helped carry the show with precision and fervor. Throughout the show lead singer Mikel Jollett effusively thanked the crowd for joining the band at Summerstage, and the band’s humility was refreshing, but considering the tremendous entertainment that the band provided, it was the crowd that thanked the band for one of best free concerts I’ve been a part of – rain or no rain. As Jollett said in his introduction, “f*ck it, it’s Central Park!”

Check out the Summerstage schedule.

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Airborne Toxic Event – Summerstage Preview

10 Jun

Airborne Toxic Event

There are many reasons to like Airborne Toxic Event. As I have written in the past, the band plays an infectious alt/rock style that pulls influences from the 80s and mixes these influences with theatrical vocals and riffs. This amalgamation creates an intriguing aura of orchestral sound that echoes and pulses.

The music is also “smart” rock. It’s a neoteric genre. Let’s be honest; a lot of music today is, well, nescient – intellectually dumbed down for an audience that just wants to hear a consistent beat. That is not to say that the producers and creators of the music are unintelligent – they are simply playing to what will make money. But Airborne Toxic Event is different. The band is made up of uber-talented musicians who understand how to mix “smart” rock with infectious rhythms.

I initially became interested in the band because of lead vocalist Mikel Jollett. Jollett, a fiction and freelance writer, began seriously writing songs after a string of moribund events in his life. He named the band after a tremendous section of my favorite Don DeLillo book “White Noise.” The life-altering events that engendered the band’s creation are similar to “The Airborne Toxic Event” portrayed in DeLillo’s masterpiece. Thus, as a writer, Jollett’s lyrics are laden with symbolism and passion.

The Airborne Toxic Event, fresh off the release of its new album Such Hot Blood, will join a large Summerstage crowd in Central Park (5th Avenue and 72nd Street entrance) on June 18. Best of all – the concert is FREE. Yes, free as in no money. The band will be joined by The Calder Quartet, a LA-based string quartet, who have been called “outstanding” and “superb” by the New York Times. So, yeah, free Airborne Toxic Event show with The Calder Quartet in Central Park – you should probably come.

“The Fifth Day” is one of my favorite songs off of the new album. The song features one of my favorite Airborne Toxic Event elements. The music is almost subtle. While you can drown in the elaborate instrumentals and production, the music progressively rises and falls like waves before ultimately crescendoing. In this case, the music perfectly matches the melancholic lyric.

Check out more about the Airborne Toxic Event and don’t forget to keep track of the diverse Summerstage schedule!

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Ritter and the Royal City Band Rock Terminal 5

20 May
Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

In “Lights,” the concluding track of Josh Ritter’s new album The Beast In Its Tracks,” Ritter sings “Every heart on Earth is dark half the time,” an apt line that seems to sum up Ritter’s unique brand of potent folk/rock and poetic lyric. Ritter, a realistic romantic, paints extraordinary love songs with settings that range from an Egyptian tomb to a government controlled missile silo, but balances these resplendent short stories with tales of lost love and regret. The heart is dark half the time.

But…it’s ablaze the other half of the time, and this vivacious beating organ was on display at Terminal 5 this past weekend when Ritter and his dashing Royal City Band wholeheartedly rocked a packed crowd with a satiating 20-song set.

After The Felice Brothers, a local New York folk/rock band, set a passionate tone with a vivacious opening act fit with sultry Dylan-like folk pieces and perfervid blues-laden songs fit with white-hot accordion, fiddle, and even washboard, Ritter came out alone at around 9 p.m. and immediately sang the soft opening notes of “Idaho,” his tribute to his home state.

One of the most striking features of a Josh Ritter performance is how happy he is to be on stage performing to a crowd. As a listener, you get the sense that he would be beaming even if he was performing to a group of 20-or-so listeners. He has a clear love for music, poetry, stories, and performance. This warmth was echoed by the audience that sang along to most of the songs – even providing the much-needed background to the end of one of Ritter’s most serene and melodic songs, “Change of Time” (below).

Ritter displayed why he is a true troubadour in his between-song monologues where he talked about his life – including a candid expression of divorce and love.

Each song was tinged with a calm force that washed over the crowd like a breeze. But of all the songs I wanted to hear, I was most excited for “The Temptation of Adam,” which was the song (off of the 2007 album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter) that first attracted me to Ritter’s music. This uber-creative love song that links the transition between attraction to deep (but somewhat apprehensive) love with a “top secret location 300-feet under the ground” (a missile silo) is as eccentric and zany as it is wondrous and impassioned. Ritter demonstrates his remarkable ability to write witty and brilliant lyrics that flow perfectly with the song. While I do not have a recording of his performance from this past Saturday, I do have one (Youtube) from 2011, also in Terminal 5.

Excellent concert! If Ritter and the Royal City Band is performing near your town, I seriously suggest you go to see them!

 

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Jones Beach Concerts 2013 – A Preview of the Top 5 Shows

14 May

Jones Beach Theater

Summer is creeping closer to the shores of Long Island and soon the lingering cold will be replaced by a moist warmth that will hover over the pencil-like island that juts out of New York for a few months. With an impending fresh Long Island summer comes the 2013 Jones Beach Theater concert schedule. So, to continue my preview of New York outdoor concert venues (a few weeks ago I previewed the Summerstage schedule), let’s delve into the always eclectic Jones Beach Theater line-up.

Jones Beach Theater is one of my favorite concert venues. On a toasty evening, the music takes on an etherial feel as it oscillates with the  cooling ocean breeze. The venue is spacious and comfortable, and, because of its openness, the music carries beyond the confines of the stage to a small patch of beach adjacent to the theater and to the parking lot where I have seen many individuals bring beach chairs to enjoy the music without a fee.

If you are planning to make your way out to the Theater this summer for a concert, here is a list of my top five concerts on the 2013 schedule.

Top 5 Shows:

5.) Fleetwood Mac – 6/22

Touring for the first time since 2009, Fleetwood Mac is celebrating the 35th anniversary of its album Rumours, which featured tracks like “The Chain” and “Don’t Stop.” The band will truck through the vast majority of its extensive hits collection, and I’m sure a crowd of eager Mac fans will be in attendance. The concert is one of the earlier shows on the schedule.

4.) Bob Dylan & His Band / Wilco / Ryan Bingham / Beck (Acoustic) – 7/27

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The collection of sheer musicianship power here is tremendous. The collective makes sense, as each act plays with an Americana/Folk flair – some experimenting with more alternative sounds. The “AmericanaramA Festival,” as it is coined, will actually feature artists like Bob Weir and My Morning Jacket at other locations. The sweet concoction of artists is malleable. No My Morning Jacket at Jones Beach but instead a Beck acoustic set. The concert, like the name, will probably be a bit jumbled, but in a good way like a satisfying puzzle.

3.) Imagine Dragons – 7/25

Imagine Dragons is an Indie Rock band from Las Vegas that is touring its tremendously successful debut full length Night Visions. It’s a jam-packed album with around 5-6 memorable songs – an excellent haul for a first release. If you do not think you know of the band, you most likely have heard “It’s Time,” which hit mainstream success and went platinum in the U.S. (below). This is a show I’d be interested in scoring tickets to. The band still has some of the debut gold dust aura surrounding it and will most likely put on an exciting show.

2.) John Mayer / Phillip Phillips – 8/28

Phillip Phillips’s final song on American Idol (the song that was written for him and ultimately won him the competition) was “Home.” The song has ballooned. It fits Phillips’ folk croon perfectly, and it is germane in the current climate of Indie folk resurgence heralded by bands like Mumford and Sons. Phillips, though, has proven he is not a one-song pony. His debut album has a few memorable tracks on it aside from home. Pair him with guitar demigod John Mayer and you have quite a show.

1.) Allman Brothers Band / Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – 9/7

There is not much that needs to be said about this show. Anytime the Allman Brothers are playing anywhere you should see them. Add Grace Potter and the Nocturnals to the mix and you have one awesome show at the end of the season.

And…of course…how can I forget the King of Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett, who will bring his Coral Reefers to Jones Beach to embrace the annual flock of parrotheads. To get you all thinking of summer here is Buffett’s classic.

 

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