A TWO-PART ROUND-UP OF GREAT PERFORMANCES IN 2012
Story and photographs by Timothy Reidy
MUSICAL SHOWS IN ALBANY, 2012
Rest Fest @ St. Joseph’s Church, September 7-9. Saturday and Sunday were a treat. My top three were the Loom, the Parlor and Mount Eerie.
Art on Lark @ Lark Street, June 9. Matthew Carefully & the Connect 4s plus Babe City made this show a top pick.
LarkFest @ Lark Street, September 15. All eight local acts were great. Wish I could have heard more.
Railbird / Hand Habits @ Valentine’s Music Hall, November 30. Even better than the last time at Valentine’s; lots of energy from Railbird.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band @ the Times Union Center. Best solo act show in 2012*. Lots of happiness, good new album and a bit of crowd surfing.
Move Music Festival @ various locations, April 21. Good start by a new festival. Loved the Red Lions, Cosmonauts, Black Taxi and Around World and Back**… among the 20 bands I saw that day.
Hawk and a Hacksaw / Brian Dewan / Sgt Dunbar & the Hobo Banned and S.C.O.R.E. / Lucky Jukebox Brigade / Disposable Rocket Band @ Valentine’s Music Hall, October 27. Great tunes and musicianship upstairs with crazy good times downstairs.
The City Never Sleeps** / Carousel / Civil Twilight @ Jillian’s, June 16. Really enjoyed this show from Civil Twilight; and the City Never Sleeps’ best show of year.
The Parlor CD Release Party featuring the Parlor / Sgt. Dunbar & the Hobo Banned / the Red Lions @ Valentine’s Music Hall, April 7. Excellent fun for the CD release party.
Policia / Alta Mira @ Jillian’s, May 12. Policia killed it right after Tulip Fest on Saturday
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Diego Garcia @ The Linda, January 27. Made me sad I missed this band in 2011.
Jack & the Bear / Titanics / Party Boat @ Legends on Pearl, June 13. A nice late Wednesday night show.
* = solo act show is just one band on the bill
** = using band names at the time they were used by the band
GREAT MUSICAL SHOWS OUTSIDE OF ALBANY, 2012
SAWFest @ Salem Art Works, Salem. This mix of art and great performers in the countryside was a complete winner..
The Parlor / Giles Bennet & the Petrified Woods @ Design It Together, Troy Such a sing-along show with all acoustic instruments and suitcases.
Home Body @ BSP Lounge, Kingston. The Heart of this show was an amazing performance that had me all shook up.
Evanescence / Chevelle @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Classical sounds from Evanescence in a classical setting.
Railbird / Cuddle Magic / Daredevil Christopher Wright @ Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs. The soundcheck was great, as was the whole night from these three talents.
Carnival @ BSP Lounge, Kingston. A fun mix of acts from the burlesque to the fire twirlers. And great tunes, too.
Katie Haverly & Eric Margan / Rosary Beard @ the Foundry, Cohoes. A fine evening of guitar and song in a super cool setting…
Chandler Travis Philharmonic / Off the Record @ the River Street Beat Shop, Troy. Great tunes outside from the Philharmonic, good complex tunes.
Florence & the Machine / the Maccabees @ SPAC, Saratoga Springs. Florence has a special vibe and great compositions that did well this night at SPAC.
MaryLeigh & the Fauves / Lunic @ Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs. A fine ladies show ended with a tremendous testosterone display from MaryLeigh Roohan.
MORE OF NIPPERTOWN’S BEST OF 2012 LISTS
Tim Livingston
Pete Mason
Gene Sennes
Stanley Johnson
J Hunter
M.R. Poulopoulos
Fred Rudofsky
Richard Brody
Timothy Reidy
Fred Rudofsky, Part II
Thomas Dimopoulos
Ed Conway
J Hunter, Part II
Joel Patterson
Various: Other Voices Round-up
Fred Rudofsky, Part III
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