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Best of 2012: Richard Brody

Friday, December 28th, 2012

The Tedeschi Trucks Band @ the Palace Theatre, 12/2/12

TOP CONCERTS OF 2012

Story by Richard Brody
Photographs by Stanley Johnson, Andrzej Pilarczyk, Jason Spiro

1. The Tedeschi Trucks Band @ the Palace Theatre, Albany, 12/2/12
In the midst of end of the semester grading, this was just the right tonic. The band was on fire, and their rendition of “Wade in the Water” brought it all together.
2. Hiromi’s Trio Project @ Freihofer Saratoga Jazz Festival at SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 7/1/12
I had never heard of them, but on a tip I went into the amphitheater and was blown away by the trio’s musical dexterity and an energy level that made levitation a distinct possibility.
3. Bootsy Collins @ Albany Riverfront Park, Albany, 6/14/02
He had more costume changes than Cher in Vegas and a band that laid down some serious funk. The Mothership landed – what a party.
4. SF Jazz Collective @ The Egg’s Swyer Theatre, Albany, 3/4/12
Their frequent trips to The Egg are always a treat and this tour was dedicated to the music of Stevie Wonder.
5. Ravi Coltrane Quartet @ the College of Saint Rose’s Massry Center for the Arts, Albany, 3/15/12
Why mess with success? I was knocked out by Ravi and his band at the 2010 Albany Jazz Fest, but he decided a different band was in order, and from the ad libbed opening musical moment, you knew that spontaneity, adventure and humor would be served up in large doses.

Dave Gilmore and Ravi Coltrane (photo by Andrzej Pilarczyk)

6. Terence Blanchard Quintet @ Skidmore College’s Zankel Music Center, Saratoga Springs, 6/26/12
He composes, arranges, instructs, and he always has incredible band members.
7. Tom Harrell Quintet @ A Place for Jazz at the First Unitarian Society Whisperdome, Schenectady, 9/14/12
A superb performance by the band in one of the outstanding venues anywhere
8. Pedrito Martinez Quartet @ A Place for Jazz at the First Unitarian Society Whisperdome, Schenectady, 11/9/12
A great show – read J Hunter’s review…
9. Santana with the Allman Brothers Band @ SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 7/27/12
Both bands were in peak form, and if like me, you wanted to hear songs from their Fillmore days, you left with a big smile on your face.
10. Richard Thompson and Friends @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, 7/19/12
This was not the usual Thompson show as he shared the stage with his sons, Teddy and Jack, as well as instructors at the Frets and Refrains Music Camp, but his playing, singing and deadpan humor were fully in place.

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Tags: Best of 2012, Richard Brody
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LIVE: Tedeschi Trucks Band @ the Palace Theatre, 12/2/12

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

The Tedeschi Trucks Band @ the Palace Theatre, 12/2/12

Review by Richard Brody
Photograph by Stanley Johnson

The Tedeschi Trucks Band returned to Nippertown for a second headlining appearance in a little over a year – and that does not include their set at Mountain Jam this past spring. If last year’s show at The Egg was a home run, this month’s performance at the Palace Theatre in Albany was a grand slam. The 11-piece band wasted no time getting started with their version of George Harrison’s “Wah Wah,” but it was the full throttle Susan Tedeschi vocals and the blistering Derek Trucks guitar leads on the second number, “Don’t Let It Slide,” that set the tone for the evening.

Last year, the horns were primarily used to add some color, but this year, all three horn players -particularly Maurice Brown on trumpet and Kebbi Williams on sax – had opportunities to shine, and that was clear by the end of the second tune. From there, it was on to “Midnight in Harlem,” beginning with a brief solo by Mr. Trucks (who spliced a little sitar feel with a couple of quotes from “Little Martha”) and then Ms. Tedeschi’s soulful vocals (perfectly capturing the song’s feeling of desperation), aided by some spare, but essential, playing by Kofi Burbridge on keyboards.

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Tags: Albany, Richard Brody, Stanley Johnson, The Palace Theatre, The Tedeschi Trucks Band
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A Few Minutes With… Bob Blood, Sculpting Life

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Bob Blood: Three Fates

Story and photographs by Richard Brody

You probably don’t know Bob Blood, but you may very well have been in the presence of his work. Bob is an artist who is best known for his abstract sculptures. If you live in Schenectady, you might have seen one of his pieces in the Rose Garden in Central Park, at the Schenectady Jewish Community Center or on the grounds of the First Unitarian Society on Wendell Avenue. In Albany, you might have glimpsed one of his pieces at the Albany Law School campus, along the sidewalk of the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception or at the Albany Jewish Community Center, where one of his first commissions, the “Burning Bush” can be seen.

A large sample of Bob’s drawings, figures and abstract pieces can be currently seen at the Promenade Gallery located at 138 Jay Street in Schenectady. Owned and operated by Embarek Mesbahi, the gallery is generally open only by appointment (518-312-1829) but it will be open to the public on the evening of Friday (September 21) for the Art Night Schenectady arts walk.

I first met Bob’s work when my wife and I bought a house just around the corner from his home. Bob’s yard functions as a local gallery; larger pieces are in the front, while smaller ones are installed along the side and in the back. The most striking work is the tallest, “Three Fates” (2002), comprised of three seemingly shrouded figures that appear to be making decisions about someone’s destiny.

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Tags: Bob Blood, Interviews, Richard Brody
Posted in Art | 2 Comments »

LIVE: Richard Thompson & Friends @ the Bearsville Theater, 7/19/12

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Review by Richard Brody

Leaving his day job for the week – he is the head guitar instructor at the Frets & Refrains Music Camp at the nearby Full Moon Resort – Richard Thompson, along with his other music counselors, put on a nearly three-hour show at the sold-out Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. It captured the full breadth of his 45-year career. I have had the good fortune of seeing him many times over the last 30 years, and he has set the bar for his performances at an incredibly high level. Thompson has achieved legendary status among his fans and other musicians for his prowess on the guitar, but it was his songwriting that was center stage for this evening of acoustic music.

He is well known for his dark songs that detail romantic trials and tribulations when love goes wrong. Lines such as “Where’s the justice and where’s the sense when all the pain is on my side of the fence” from “Walking on a Wire,” (heard early in his set) reflect a relationship reality that most of us have experienced. But his songs about romance are not all grim. Thompson’s dry, acidic wit in both the introduction to and the lyrics of “Johnny’s Far Away,” a song about marital boredom, the missionary position and the opportunistic infidelity by both husband and wife, left the audience howling with laughter.

And, yes, he played some guitar. “Crawl Back (Under My Stone),” a caustic love song, got a fiery guitar bridge and a right hand that was a blur during the crescendo ending. His best known song – “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” about motorcycles, black leather and red hair – showed off his hybrid style of playing bass and rhythm with his pick while his bottom three fingers create melody lines that run with and counter to what he is picking. With eyes closed, you would swear that there were at least two if not three guitars being played, and the loud standing ovation testified to that.

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Tags: Bearsville Theater Woodstock, Richard Brody, Richard Thompson
Posted in LIVE | 7 Comments »

LIVE: Dickey Betts & Great Southern @ Albany’s Alive at Five, 6/28/12

Monday, July 2nd, 2012

Dickie Betts

Review by Richard Brody
Photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk

Dickey Betts – founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer and, with the late Duane Allman, half of arguably the greatest two-guitar tandem in the history of rock ‘n’ roll – brought his band Great Southern to Albany’s Alive at Five in Riverfront Park for a trip down memory lane.

It was impossible not to think Allmans with the band’s set-up – two drums, keyboards, bass and guitars – and a set list that was anchored in the classic “Live at Fillmore East” and augmented by the follow-ups “Eat a Peach” and “Brothers and Sisters.” That said, the band seemed to have a good time playing, and the sizeable audience danced, bounced and sang along during the hour and 40-minute set.

Betts and band wasted no time in letting us know what we were in for, starting with a lengthy (is there any other rendition?) of the instrumental “High Falls” and then moving into “Statesboro Blues,” which featured some nice slide work by Andy Aledort (who was a good foil for Betts all evening) and a tight rhythm section led by the syncopated drumming of Frankie Lombardi and James Varnado with Pedro Arevalo on bass.

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Tags: Albany, Alive at Five, Andrzej Pilarczyk, Dicke Betts, Richard Brody
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LIVE: Bootsy Collins @ Alive at Five at Riverfront Park, 6/14/12

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

(photo by Andrzej Pilarczyk)

Review by Fred Rudofsky
Photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk, Stanley Johnson, Timothy Reidy and Richard Brody

“We want the funk! Got to have that funk!”

When Albany’s funkateers come out of the woodwork – in the thousands on a perfect mid-June evening – and begin chanting those nine words, all is well in Nippertown.

Bootsy Collins, showman extraordinaire equipped with his star-shaped, rhinestone-encrusted bass, led an energetic 10-piece band for nearly an hour and a half of righteous grooves that largely drew upon his long tenure with Parliament-Funkadelic. Judging by the crowd’s fervor – especially mid-set when he made his way like a preacher through the amphitheatre of Riverfront Park in Albany’s Corning Preserve – the ebullient Collins is welcome anytime he decides to visit.

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Tags: Albany, Andrzej Pilarczyk, Bootsy Collins, Fred Rudofsky, Richard Brody, Riverfront Park, Soul Session, Stanley Johnson, Timothy Reidy
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LIVE: Dave Mason @ Alive at Five in Riverfront Park, 6/7/12

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Review by Richard Brody

After a dismal week of weather, the sun shone brightly, the people came, and the 2012 Alive at Five concert series got off to a strong start with Dave Mason and his band. Mason is best known for his days in Traffic, his stint with Bonnie and Delaney, and his ’70s solo career; he did not disappoint those who came to hear his best known work from that period. Mason’s voice is still strong, but I had forgotten what a superb guitar player he is. His harmonic touches on “Look at You, Look at Me” shimmered, and his technique and control of the wah-wah on a number of songs – most notably “Shouldn’t Have Taken More Than You Gave” – took the playing and the song to another level.

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Tags: Albany, Alive at Five, Dave Mason, Richard Brody
Posted in LIVE | 3 Comments »

Film: “Melancholia”

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Kirsten Dunst in "Melancholia"

Review by Richard Brody

When ten minutes into a movie you feel very agitated and more than a week later you can’t get the movie out of your mind, what do you do? Write about said movie and hope for relief.

SPOILER ALERT – much of the movie is about to be revealed:

“Melancholia,” the most recent film by director and screenwriter Lars Van Triers, opens with a beautiful, slow motion preview of the movie accompanied by the prelude from Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde.” The music conveys feelings of ecstasy, but the surroundings and slow motion of the characters seem to convey a sense of despair and entrapment. Could this be a dream, a melancholic nightmare? For some viewers, this will be the high point of the movie. If you keep an open mind, there is a much bigger payoff.

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Tags: Melancholia, Richard Brody
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