Posts by Joe Adler

Pearl Charles and Michael Rault are a fascinating couple. They met via a mutual friend back in the summer of 2019, while Charles was recording her album Magic Mirror, with Rault flying in from Montreal to hang out and add some guitar. What started as a friendship grew into a musical and romantic relationship, and the two […]

Walking up to Webster Hall on Easter Sunday to a marque reading, “Please Stand By, Test In Progess” set the tone for what was to transpire inside. LCD Soundsystem made a very big deal out of their retirement back in 2011. Their “last” show was on  April 2nd, 2011 at legendary New York City landmark […]

Starting her brief northeast tour on a snowy winter night in Vermont, Neko Case brought her “country noir” sound in it’s full glory to Higher Ground’s Ballroom. It was a night with a lot of hype, as the last time Case was scheduled to perform on this same stage with her band The New Pornographers back in August, she was a no show.

f there is any justice in the world, Big Light’s, Animals In Bloom will dominate and help define your summer days this year. It is an album that is meant to be played loud, very loud, with your windows down. The music is deeply textural, brilliantly cleaver, and very centered on the words and vocal inflections of the band’s songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder Fred Torphy. It is powerful, emotional music in the vein of some of the classic modern songwriters like Jeff Tweedy and Brad Barr, but with Torphy’s distinctive spin.

In addition to the superb playing throughout the album, the compositions, all by John Ellis, are outstanding. That is for good reason, he has been at this for a long and dedicated while and has honed his chops with some of the best in the game including Ellis Marsalis and Charlie Hunter. In his writing, Ellis really has a knack for infusing that subtle New Orleans undercurrent into just about any flavor he is concocting.

Garage a Trois is a band which at first could be thought of as an all-star band of heavy hitters, but that would be a severe understatement. The band, which started as a trio consisting of saxophonist Skerik, guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter, and drummer Stanton Moore, later adding vibraphonist Mike Dillon, has grown into a tightly structured, well oiled funk beast. Hunter is no longer part of the group, in that slot is one of the most in demand keyboard players around, Marco Benevento, who permanently joined the group in 2007.

If the point of the night was to get the whole crowd to dance to the peak of heavy sweat and exhaustion, the Biscuits accomplished the goal.

Nathan Moore, based out of Staunton, Virginia, has been producing some of the more magical “neo- folk” albums of the last 10 years. At times he has expanded his sound out from a lone songwriter to a full band sound; the best example of this can be found on his album from last year You Yeah Smokin’ Hot. However with Folk Singer, Moore returns to his roots with something that sucks you into his personal thoughts and reflections in a way that is truly cry-in-your-beer beautiful.

Six years since their last album, Living Colour is back with a hunger. The band’s latest album, The Chair In The Doorway, is a ferocious, take no prisoners, assault on cultural roadblocks and out-dated philosophies.

Marco Benevento has built a solid reputation as a world class piano player and an imaginatively creative and dexterous composer. His contribution as one half of the Benevento/Russo Duo has exposed him to many, many fans that found out about the band almost solely through word of mouth. Since releasing his 2008 solo album, Invisible Baby, Benevento has been out on the road with a prized collection of musicians focused primarily around the albums contributors; Tea Leaf Green’s Reed Mathis, Critters Buggin and Tori Amos drummer Matt Chamberlain, and Andrew Barr from The Slip.

Burlington, Vermont loves Gogol Bordello. Front-man Eugene Hutz has a long time affiliation with “B-Town” since finding himself in the Queen City as the final destination of a refugee relocation program back in 1991 and the city helped him nurture his already extreme musical ambitions. He repays that kindness in full every time he brings Gogol Bordello to town, this time being no exception.

On the cusp of releasing their first studio album since 2002’s Senor Boombox, the Disco Biscuits are riding high following a few years of rediscovering themselves.

Marco

Supporting their latest live album MOODOO, George Porter, Russell Batiste, and Brian Stoltz, along with Page McConnell in tow, rolled into Higher Ground to finish their brief but inspiring four night marathon tour. The Vermont stop on this tour was very appropriate as the live album they were supporting was recorded last November at Burlington's Club Metronome where McConnell made an impromptu surprise sit-in worthy of an official release.

Back from a brief hiatus, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, comprised of prolific songwriter Nathan Moore and the members of The Slip, made a triumphant return at South Burlington’s Higher Ground.

Vernon Reid, most widely recognized as the guitarist from late 80s/early 90s evolutionary rock group Living Colour, is no stranger to the world of experimental music. He has worked with everyone from the legendary experimental guitarist David Torn, to the avant minded turntablist DJ Logic. For his latest project Free Form Funky Freqs, Reid teams up with free jazz bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and powerhouse drummer Calvin Weston.

Having just released a brand new album, the children’s themed “Let’s Go Everywhere”, it would be easy to think Medeski, Martin and Wood would be playing the Chuck E. Cheese circuit. Instead, this ever-evolving three- piece is focusing its energy on the ambitious goal of rewriting the “traditional” rules of touring.

Does Eugene Hütz, strike you as particularly laid back? You think he stands stoically in front of his microphone like Thom Yorke? Nope. Hütz, the Urkranian born lead singer of gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello is particularly animated, and he’s not ready to stand back and let his guitarist do the talking.

The Duo should not be judged by their album outputs, they are first and foremost a live act. Their performance at Higher Ground, although not one of their “epic” shows, was surely another whirlwind of unclassifiable rock and jazz that proved they are one of today’s elite instrumental rock units going.

Set in the heart of autumn in beautiful upstate New York, this year’s eight annual Woodstock Film Festival impressed with a blend of small town charm, prestigious films, and great music. There was a little bit of something for everyone, even those who aren’t your average film fest attendees.