Tag: Freelance

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Concert Reviews

Swingadelic Offers Big Band Classics in Frank Sinatra Park

Swingadelic, Hoboken’s legendary swing band, has become a staple in town.

Formed in 1998, the band frequently performs at Maxwell’s and venues throughout the tri-state area. The 12-piece entertained Hobokenites during a recent two-hour set at Frank Sinatra Park. Complete with classic jazz standards by Ray Charles, Count Basie and Duke Pearson as well as many originals, Swingadelic had the crowd dancing and tapping their feet along during the entire performance.

For the complete review, visit Hoboken Patch.

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Concert Reviews

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers and Matt Hires Satisfy Fans at Maxwell’s

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers took the stage shortly after 9:30 Tuesday night while Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” blasted from the speakers.

“Welcome to Bulletproof Heart night everybody,” frontman Stephen Kellogg told the crowd to screams after the band performed first track, “Scorpio,” off their debut album, Bulletproof Heart.

Their 90-minute set included every song off the album played in order as well as newer material during their encore. Many of the tracks were performed live for the first time and at times the band stopped to regroup.

“This is why we’re doing this at Maxwell’s and not at Madison Square Garden,” Kellogg joked midway through “You’ve Changed” after forgetting the lyrics. The second song of the night, the audience didn’t seem to mind.

For my complete review visit Hoboken Patch.

For more on Matt Hires, read my interview with him here.

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Concert Reviews

Cristina Fontanelli Closes 100th Year Celebration at St. Ann’s Feast

Performing Italian classics, Sinatra hits and Andrew Lloyd Webber favorites to an enthusiastic crowd, award-winning international recording artist Cristina Fontanelli closed the 100th anniversary of St. Ann’s Feast Monday night. The classically trained opera singer and former Hobokenite explained just how much the city means to her.

“I’ve been to some of the most exotic places on the planet,” said Fontanelli, who was the first classically trained female singer to sing in Uganda and Kenya. “But,” she added, “here I am at St. Ann’s 100th festival. I’ve been to so many places, but let me tell you something: There’s no place like home.”

For my complete review and interview with Cristina, visit Hoboken Patch.

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Concert Reviews

Dawes Impress at First New Jersey Gig

California-based folk rockers Dawes performed to a packed room of enthusiastic concertgoers for a little more than an hour at Maxwell’s Friday night. While crowd favorite “When My Time Comes” felt like a spiritual experience with fans screaming the lyrics word for word with their fists in the air, the remainder of their hour-long set was nothing short of energetic with minute long musical jams throughout.

With four part harmonies and solid musical features, Dawes’ set impressed. Their first performance in the Garden State, frontman Taylor Goldsmith seemed eager to come back.

“If this is our first show in New Jersey, I’d say we’re off to a pretty good start,” he said midway through their set. “Here’s to the first of many.”

For my complete review, visit Hoboken Patch.

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Concert Reviews

Cary Brothers and Greg Laswell Kick off Co-Headlining Tour

Cary Brothers and Greg Laswell showcased their emotion-filled songs and onstage banter last night at Maxwell’s while Harper Blynn provided a fitting backing band throughout each set. The first night of their summer tour, Tuesday was just a glimpse of what is to come.

“I’m originally from Nashville, but I hated country music and I always listened to British music,” Brothers said. “That’s why when I sing I sound British.”

Though he dislikes country, he said his song, “Blue Eyes,” is the closest he came to writing a country song. Well known for being featured on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to the film “Garden State,” the track was definitely a crowd favorite.

For the complete review on Hoboken Patch, click here.

Watch Cary Brothers’ new music video for “Ghost Town” below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch-0xVRfh4g]

You can see Greg Laswell’s video for “Take Everything” below. Fun fact: he’s actually singing the words backwards so it appears accurate in the video.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11173400&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Greg Laswell “Take Everything” from Vanguard Records on Vimeo.

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Concert Reviews

Good Old War, Yukon Blonde and Audra Mae Impress at Maxwell’s

It was evident on Friday night that Good Old War, Yukon Blonde and Audra Mae don’t want their current tour to end. With two shows remaining, the bands couldn’t get enough of each other. Whether it was Audra Mae calling members of Yukon Blonde and Good Old War onstage during her performance or a nearly five-minute jam between members of all three bands during Yukon Blonde’s set, their excitement permeated into the sold-out crowd.

Good Old War began with “My Own Sinking Ship” complete with accordion accompaniment. As the trio alternated instruments they continuously danced around the stage. Circa Survive frontman Anthony Green surprised concertgoers at the end of second track, “Weak Man” when he jumped onstage to sing along with the band.

For the complete review, visit Hoboken Patch.

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Interviews

Hanson

Over a decade and five albums later, Hanson is back with their latest, Shout It Out. They’re not quite the boys you remember. They’ve got a grown-up look and a few twists to their sound — piano-driven arrangements, a more soul-oriented feel — but the band never left its summer-pop roots.

I chatted with Taylor Hanson about the new album, life as a husband and dad, and whether he’s tired of playing “MMMBop.” His answers may surprise you.

Is a song better when it’s based on something specific in your life?
The quality of a song does not depend on the subject matter. It depends on what subject matter gets into the song, but it doesn’t depend on whether that subject matter actually happened. As little kids, we would write songs about betrayal, relationships that had gone bad and the cheating woman. Where did that come from? You don’t know exactly where stories come from necessarily, but that’s what a song is. It’s a relatable story. The songwriting process is about never turning off and always being aware of what’s around you and not being afraid to be inspired by things.

For my complete interview with Taylor Hanson on Lemondrop, click here.

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Concert Reviews

Val Emmich and Kate Rockland Share Their Talents In Hoboken

Last night, music and fiction came together at the Turtle Club with a performance by singer-songwriter Val Emmich and reading from “Falling Is Like This,” by Hoboken-based writer, Kate Rockland.

Both Jersey natives and Rutgers alumni, Rockland’s father was Emmich’s American Studies professor. When Emmich asked him to read a novel he had written, he suggested the two connect. “We saw each other at Starbucks and started up a friendship and had an idea to do this event together,” Emmich said. “I think it worked out well. I am a fan of fiction. I read her book, and although it’s definitely chick lit, I enjoyed it. It was very much my world and it was really authentic.”

Emmich kicked off the night with a powerful performance of  “Absolutely Still,” a song he co-wrote with Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin. Alone on acoustic guitar, he captured the audience’s attention. “Hurt More Later,” off 2008 release, Little Daggers followed suit with deep vocals and emotion filled lyrics.

For my complete review, visit Hoboken Patch. Stay tuned for my interview with Val Emmich in the upcoming weeks.

Categories
Concert Reviews

Afrobeat, Indie and Rock Unite at Maxwell’s

Photo Credit: Jose Podesta

A recent Thursday at Maxwell’s brought music fans together for a diverse night of music. Whether you’re interested in folk, indie, or Afrobeat, there was something for everyone. For a little more than three hours, concertgoers walked into the venue, not entirely sure what to expect and left being a fan of at least one new band.

From the moment Gold Motel took the stage, the audience was captivated. The band features Greta Morgan of The Hush Sound as lead vocalist and members of This Is Me Smiling. Playing solid rock & roll, Gold Motel’s energy and music recall that of The Kinks and Beach Boys. With their killer guitar sound combined with fitting harmonies and airy lead vocals, the band quickly livened up the venue and drew fans close to the stage.

For my complete review on Givers, Gold Motel and Family of the Year’s set on Hoboken Patch, click here.

Categories
Concert Reviews

Joseph Arthur Paints And Sings His Way into Fans’ Hearts

As he took the stage shortly after 10:30 p.m., Joseph Arthur searched for sharpened pencils and clean paintbrushes to begin his set.

“Where’s my broom?” he asked.

“Just use your sock!” a fan close to the stage shouted. To which Arthur replied, “I don’t want to use my sock. Come on! This is a professional show. What should we play?”

I covered Joseph Arthur’s set a few weeks ago for Hoboken Patch and was truly impressed. You can read my complete review here for more on the singer-songwriter-artist and his stripped-down set.