Live Review: Roses Grove Band - One Station Plaza Bayside, Queens 6/20/23

Roses Grove Band

One Station Plaza 

Bayside, Queens 6/20/23

On a gorgeous night in Bayside Queens, an event titled First Train We Can Ride saw hippie vendors, fans and local barfly's mixing in the warm evening air as the Hamptons Long Island based Roses Grove Band ventured west to play three sets of Grateful Dead tunes. 

RtBE are friends with the band, but we haven't seen them since pre-pandemic back in 2019, safe to say the group has improved, as they jammed out with freedom while singing with sweet harmonies. The group of Chuck Gallanti-guitar, Ben Chaleff-bass/vocals, Nick Epstein-guitar/vocals, Matt Lasurdo-keys/vocals, Adrian Mullins-drums began the show by easing into a roundabout version of "Let The Good Times Roll" a breezy opener that allowed everyone to get in tune and check out the various vendors. 

The band then rolled directly into the wah-wah laden "Estimated Prophet" as babies danced on the stage before the tempo picked up with an energetic "Throwing Stones". The interplay between songs is always engaging with RGB and this transition contained a Phish vibe as the band moved into the highlight portion of the first set with a pumping disco jazz infused "The Music Never Stopped" that displayed excellent group interplay. "Sugaree" ended with funky jamming which led into a blistering "Sugar Magnolia" that was pumped forward by the drums of Mullins and bass of Chaleff.

  

The first set wrapped up with a "Scarlett Begonias" > "Eyes of The World" > "Fire On The Mountain" sandwich that had the reggae scales sliding up and down to close as Mullins drumming kept it flowing perfectly. After a brief break, the band returned with "Jack Straw" that featured great vocals from Epstein, Lasurdo, and Chaleff before RGB delivered their mini-train set with "Casey Jones", whose outro jam featured soaring guitar lines from Gallanti, as RGB transitioned into a note perfect rendition of "Terrapin Station"; a show highpoint. 

Pausing to catch their breath RGB then hopped back in the saddle for "China Cat Sunflower" which found them galloping on different wave lengths, but things coalesced again for the following "I Know You Rider" as Lasurdo's keys and Epstein's rhythm guitar got loose and funky during the outro jam. 

The next large segue fest began as a short "Playin' In The Band" started things. "Uncle John's Band" got spacey to end as the group wove their way into a fast version of "Shakedown Street" that elevated the space funk by dipping directly into "Also Sprach Zarathustra" which was a complete delight before RGB closed the set by returning to "Playin", ending the strong run of tunes. 

RGB's third set almost didn't happen as the time limit was reached, but a thirty minute extension allowed them to deliver the goods as they opened with a peppy version of "Turn On Your Lovelight" before the band closed with one more segue fest as "Help On The Way" started things off but it was the "West L.A. Fadeaway" that shown brightest as Gallanti used his Garcia like tone and wah-wah effects gorgeously before the rhythm section dropped into "Slipknot!" and wrapped the whole show up with a bright and bouncy "Franklins Tower". 

A perfect early summer night of Grateful Dead tunes covered by the excellent Roses Grove Band, couldn't ask for much more out of a Tuesday night in Bayside Queens. 

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Support the artists, peep some video below:

(from another night)

Live Review: Drive-By Truckers & Craig Finn 6/21/19 @ Brooklyn Bowl

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of the Drive-By Truckers set with Craig Finn opening from last Friday night at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. Took a bunch of cool pics as well:

Most things were covered in the review, but this band rocks. Actually both bands are two of this websites favorites and I personally liked this nights set even more than Finn's recent Joe's Pub show. Last years Truckers set was a bit more exhilarating than this one, but it was a tough call as Friday night was pretty god damn great.

There are still tickets available for their run of three more shows this week and if you are fan of great stories, loud guitars and engaging rock and roll you should buy one and check them out.

Support the artists, see them live, read the review and peep some live video below (will update with video from this show when some is posted):

Live Review: Craig Finn @ Joe's Pub NYC 6/12/19

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Craig Finn's recent set at Joe's Pub on Wednesday June 12th.

It was a solid set from Finn and his backing band The Uptown Controllers (Laura Stevenson also opened and helped out) as they spun through a wide range of his solo songs from his last three records, the latest which we reviewed for Glide as well.

For those new to the site, Finn is a personal favorite of this site and we love catching him anytime we can.  RtBE had literal front row sets for this one so peep some pictures, RtBE will also be catching this outfit open for the Drive-By Truckers this Friday night at Brooklyn Bowl.

Support the band, read the review, peep the pics and video below:

Laura Stevenson Opened the show

Live Review: Dumpstaphunk - Brooklyn Bowl 4/20/19

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

 It is of Dumpstaphunk's 4/20/19 set at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY.

These guys are one of our favorite live acts and one of the best funk collective's going. Three great vocalists, all amazing players, killer covers, funky originals. Definitely check them out when you can. We plan on seeing them in just over a week when the take the main stage on May 2nd at the 50th Annual Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans.

Until then, support the artist, read the review, and listen to this exact set for yourself below as Eric McRoberts tapped the show and posted it to the Internet Archive Live Music Archive. 

Also, extra thanks to the people at Brooklyn Bowl and the Band for the amazing tickets, RtBE normally don't take pictures at shows, but tough not to when you are this close.

Dylan Cover #236 Dylan on the Rocks "Hurricane"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Dylan on the Rocks of "Hurricane"

Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
One of the most iconic songs in Bob Dylan's repertoire and famously returned him to "topical" song writing that many of his fans clamored for. Coming on the story song centric album Desire, the song and attached cause obviously invigorated Dylan at a crucial point in his life, and gave us the cool term "pig circus" to boot. You can argue the facts and the case if you want to but simply as a work of art "Hurricane" holds a title belt.
Cover Tune:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Dylan on the Rocks is a German cover band. You can find out more about them here. Since I don't have much to add on them, I wanted to share some pictures of Bob Dylan with Mohammed Ali., RIP. 

Thoughts on Cover:
Fine cover, but if you've read any of this series so far you know we aren't the biggest fans of Cover's that co-opt the affected Dylan voice. Otherwise, great cover. 

Live Review- Jason Isbell 2/25/16 Beacon Theater

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

2/25/16

Beacon Theater, NYC

In early February one of or favorite song writers played a new favorite venue of ours, now another favorite song writer plays an old favorite venue of ours with Jason Isbell putting on a stellar show at the Beacon Theater.

Isbell is riding a high after winning two Grammy's, having his albums praised and clearly madly in love with his wife, violinist Amanda Shires, and his newborn baby. The glowing Isbell played songs from all aspects of his career and each one shows pieces of what makes him a great songwriter/singer/player and most songs are the complete package, dropping jaws with their nuance power and style.

His transformation into a Southern Springsteen took another step as he was clad in all black and looked in top shape as he and the backing 400 Unit took the stage to the closing strains of "Promised Land" a fantastic omen. The band tour into "Palmetto Rose" and the night never looked back, great tune after great tune followed.

Some highlights to point out were the huge tom drums that put a cap on emotional "Cover Me", the Rolling Stones licks/vibes that were injected into "We Ain't Ever Gonna Change" and the twangy pop of "Takes A Lifetime" which received a huge cheer and showed up around the same time on Late Night TV having been recorded earlier in the day.  

 The solo "Dress Blues" was spine tingling in its cinematic scope, as was the film titled "24 Frames". "Something More Than Free" was the only tune that didn't seem to soar as high (or higher) then the original while the solo to close out the set during "Children of Children" prove that Isbell is as good a lead guitarist as he is songwriter. 

The band plays with plate glass shaped lighting fixtures turning the Beacon into a beautiful church. This whole environment captures things perfectly as Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is a religious experience, one RtBE wants to return to again and again for musical inspiration and salvation.  
_______________________________________________________________
Amazing show from an amazing artist who is better than he ever has been with a band who is lock and step with him. Quick apology to Shovels and Rope who we missed unfortunately.  Support him, see him live and peep some video from the show and the full setlist below:

"Cover Me Up" (The toms come in so loud they distort the recording...it sounded great from the loge)



Setlist:
Palmetto Rose
Stockholm
Decoration Day
Alabama Pines
The Life You Chose
Traveling Alone
24 Frames
Dress Blues
Never Gonna Change
Different Days
Something More Than Free
Cover Me Up
Flying Over Water
Speed Trap Town
If It Takes a Lifetime
Children of Children
 
Encore:
Flagship
Codeine

Guitar Solo Face, Reason Discovered!

In a hysterical post, The Crispy Duck over at Imgur created the perfect combination by melding great guitarists wailing...and Giant Slugs!

Guitar solo faces are funny, but when you are in the moment, you got no idea what the hell is going on. HD pics though and huge slimy beasts sure make a fun combo as Slash doesn't look so pleased up there and Springsteen looks like he wants to run far away below:

A fun little interlude for this Wednesday, full post can be found here. To set the record straight, here are two videos of the above guitarists not playing slugs live:

Alison Mosshart Fire Power Solo Art Exhibition

Living in NYC there is never enough time to do everything, plain and simple. One thing RtBE has really dropped the ball on is attending the numerous art gallery openings that literally happen blocks away from us. The last one we attended was for a friend who passed away too soon.

That is changing though as we are making a mid-year resolution to do more of just that and it has started already.

Thanks to the good people at Press Here Publicity, we were clued into the opening of Alison Mosshart (The Kills, Dead Weather) first ever solo Art Exhibition titled Fire Power which would be opening literally around the block from our apartment at the Joseph Gross Gallery. Being a huge fan of her music (already posted about her upcoming album this week), we figured it was the perfect time to take the plunge into the art world.

Mosshart is a dynamic front woman and that perspective/unique approach comes through in her artwork as well. One of the things we found interesting is the clear titles written directly into the art and as a lyricist this makes total sense, we dig it.

Forgive this newbie as to not knowing how to properly describe the works or use flowery prose to pontificate on the meaning of pieces (we will save that for the music critiques) but it is safe to say we would have liked the art if we had no idea who Alison was. Vice also did an interview with Mosshart to have her give voice to the pieces and the process.

We felt weird taking pictures of artwork, still a bit unclear on the etiquette of these things, but we took one shot of the magic carpet above and there are a few other sites you can check out for more of her work from this exhibition.

Guest of a Guest in particular did an amazing job of capturing the event here and I am not just saying that because of the damn good looking couple here, hell even my glasses got their own shot with Alison's art:

Post event we have to say that we are now fans of both Mosshart's music and her artwork but in the end it really all does feel like one in the same. The exhibit runs until Saturday so if you are in the neighborhood definitely stop by and check it out.      

Live Review: Jason Isbell/Craig Finn 5/20/15

Hey all got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of the amazing Jason Isbell/Craig Finn show from the beautiful Capital Theater in Port Chester NY. It was RtBE's first time at the Capital and it will not be our last, a short train ride and a quick stroll leads to gorgeous setting for music.

If you have followed this site at all you know the immense love we have for both of the performers on this evening. Finn and Isbell are both in our personal top 5 for living song writers and if you cut out the old legends they would probably be the top 2 on the list. Both are song writers for people who love passionate lyrics with their music and both played wonderfully tonight.

It was clear Finn was still working out the new songs, while Isbell was so tight it was crazy. Each set was immensely enjoyable and the only downside was sitting in a bar pre show, seeing Jason walk by solo through the window and not getting outside fast enough to chat with him. 

Oh well, next time. Read the review here and enjoy a few pictures of Finn and videos of Isbell:

"Flying Over Water"

"Decoration Day"

"Like A Hurricane"
 

Live Review: Gov's Ball NY, NY, 6/6,7/14

Hey all got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

Took a few pics including that peach above. It was a hell of a festival and really surpassed my expectations for what a festival this size in NYC can truly be. It didn't hurt that the headliners of the event on the days I went were two acts I was dying to see. 

Having never seen Outkast, this was a moment not to be missed and our man crush Jack White playing the second night was a hard rocking delight. Getting to and from the festival was a breeze with the Ferry Pass.

Ferry Ride out on Friday

While the staff working the lines were pretty idiotic the whole process was smooth to get you back to midtown with relative ease especially considering the MASSIVE crowd on hand. I know I would not want to mess with the subway for that kind of event.

While we already mentioned the headlining highlights and we talked about him in the full review, extra special love needs to go to Jason Isbell who we have been in love with ever since we heard Southeastern. While we rated that album highly and caught Jason and Amanda live at our pick for the show of 2013, this was our first time catching a set from him proper and it was amazing.

As you can see we got pretty close to the action and almost shed a tear during a heartbreaking version of "Elephant" which Isbell mentioned he never played in sunlight before. A killer early set that dwarfed quite a few others we saw.         

We will end with this last pic of the main stage during The Strokes set, which we just couldn't get into but everyone else seemed to...for some unknown reason.

We wrote a bunch in the review proper and took the survey from Gov's Ball post show, but if the lineup is half as good as this next year we will be there...actually we will probably be there no matter what. A few quick Vid's from Billboard that we have found from some of the artists: