“Well, my mom really started buying me albums before I really knew to buy albums, so that’s kind of a gray area for me.
I remember that my first albums were classical. But when I was eight or nine years old, I discovered Doug Kershaw and Johnny Cash, and my mom started buying their albums for me.
We both liked those two artists quite a lot.”
Genre-smashing violinist Mark O’Connor teams up with classical guitarist Sharon Isbin in concert at The Egg in Albany at 3pm Sunday.
Popsy Dixon, Sherman Holmes and Wendell Holmes
The members of opening act Scrapomatic settled into their chairs onstage at The Egg. Vocalist Mike Mattison thanked the headliners not only for the opportunity to share a stage with them, but also for their dedication to keeping the American music tradition alive.
“Here’s a song that we wrote,” Mattison added. “It’s called ‘Louisiana Anna.’ 1,2…”
Suddenly, his introduction was interrupted by the intrusive ring tone of a cell phone. While members of the crowd began casting accusatory glances at their fellow audience members, Mattison sheepishly reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out his cell phone, turned it off and put it away.
Not exactly an auspicious beginning…
But wait, there’s more…
Dave Mason and Leon Russell
The Egg was rockin’ on its foundation on Saturday night, as the double-bill of classic rock icons Leon Russell and Dave Mason blazed through two separate sets of songs that helped define the music of 1960s and well beyond.
Russell took the stage first, launching his 75-minute, high-energy set with “Jumping Jack Flash” and tearing through a repertoire of tunes popularized by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and even the Temptations. From behind his keyboard, he also tipped his hat to one of his first employers with Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls Of Fire,” accompanied by rousing audience participation from the sold-out crowd.
Jakob Dylan
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan cracks open The Egg with his band Three Legs – featuring Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Paul Rigby, Jon Rauhouse, Tom Ray and Barry Mirochnick on Saturday, April 17.
Meanwhile, the show by comedian John Pinette – which was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 17 – has been postponed to Saturday, June 26.
Singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter steps into the spotlight on Thursday, June 24. Tix are $34.50, $39.50, $49.50.
John Hiatt
After numerous area solo shows in recent years, singer-songwriter John Hiatt came riding into The Egg in Albany armed with his new, somewhat unimaginatively named band – the Combo – to launch his U.S. tour on Thursday night.
And while the loose-limbed Hiatt is pretty much pegged as a roots/Americana guy these days, the Combo obviously reminded him that there was a time – pre-1987’s “Bring the Family” – when he was considered a rocker. A new wave rocker, at that.
Things started out in a fairly acoustic mode at The Egg, opening with the vintage “Drive South.” But then they slid into “Come Home to You” (from 2001’s “The Tiki Bar Is Open”), and while the instruments were still primarily acoustic and relatively low volume, it was clear from Doug Lancio’s scorching bottleneck guitar solo that things were definitely gonna heat up.
Solas
Solas rolled into The Egg in Albany on Sunday night and over the course of two dynamic sets proved why they are still one of the top Irish-folk groups touring the globe today.
What has made Solas continually fresh and successful over the last 15 years is their unique balance of both instrumentals and male and female lead vocals. This is a group of leaders who are all exceptional individual voices on their instruments and who collaborate beautifully on each others’ choices of material – whether derived from the traditional Irish music canon or self-penned originals.
(photo © Beate Sandor)
“Oh, and a lot of classical music, too.”
Bassist-vocalist Sherman Holmes and his bandmates in the Holmes Brothers step into the spotlight at The Egg in Albany on Friday (March 5), in support of their new album, “Feed My Soul.” Sharing the stage will be Scrapomatic.
“I believe my first LP that was all mine was ‘Meet the Beatles.’ It changed my life, and I scratched it to death. Then followed many albums that I asked my parents to buy for me, mostly Beatles.
When we mastered ‘Seven Year Ache,’ it was the first time I had seen a master disc cut on the lathe. We mastered it a few days after John Lennon died, and in the matrix of the mother disc, I scratched, ‘Goodbye, John.’ The first 250,000 copies of that album have the message in the matrix. That was real record-making.
But now that I think about it, the first record that I paid for with my own money was Thunderclap Newman. ‘Something in the Air.’ Remember that one?”
Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash brings her band to The Egg in Albany at 8pm on Saturday (February 27), in support of her latest album, “The List.” Jenny Scheinman opens the show.
Last month, Governor Paterson stood onstage at The Egg and proposed at all state funding to The Egg be cut off. All of it.
Read The Egg’s response here.
And, of course, The Egg isn’t the only Nippertown arts organization to get hammered in Paterson’s proposed NYS budget for 2010-2011. Every arts and cultural organization will be hit hard. The Governor’s proposal includes a staggering $9 million cut to the budget of the New York State Council on the Arts.
Wednesday is Arts Day 2010, and if you think that the arts play a crucial role in the quality of life and economic growth, it’s an opportunity to have your voice heard.
At 5:30pm tonight, the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy is hosting “Arts Advocacy Primer: A How-To Workshop for Advocates.” Brush up on the issues, get the talking points, and learn how easy it can be to advocate directly to your legislators on Arts Day. At this workshop, you’ll learn where the money comes from and how to ensure that the funding continues. The workshop is free.
Make your voice heard!
Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo
Guitarmaster Frank Vignola and his quintet were not only an aural joy to witness at The Egg last Saturday night, they were a musical marvel to behold. Even though the band’s repertoire was from the 1920’s to the 1940’s, the songs sounded refreshingly up-to-date and contemporary.
Vignola, a veteran of the Les Paul band, is considered one of the world’s leading electro-acoustic interpreters of legendary guitar pioneer Django Reinhardt’s music. That night he proved it in spades with heartfelt interpretations of the Gypsy guitarist’s “Tears,” “Mystery Pacific,” and “Nuages” (Clouds) among other timeless titles.
Going to a Brandi Carlile concert you are pretty much assured that she’ll show you a rollicking good time. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like because she’ll sing her heart out on a Patsy Cline ballad, play the hell out of her acoustic guitar like any of the folk divas out there, and then bang out a piano pop song, ala Elton John.
Opening act Gregory Alan Isakov
Highlights of the concert included Carlile and her four-piece band starting off the show all gathered around one mic for a bluegrass-tinged, unplugged and stripped-down segment with the full band in swing just “yellin and rockin.” Her long-time musical collaborators – twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth, on guitar and bass, respectively – were bookends at her sides on stage. Meanwhile, barefoot cellist Josh Neumann and tasteful drummer Allison Miller did more than just pull their weight, too. They defined the overall sound, allowing Carlile’s voice to soar in and out of the melody.
Al Di Meola
Here’s a gift that keeps on giving: Jazz icon Al Di Meola, playing acoustic guitar in one of the best venues for jazz in the Capital Region.
Of course, when I say “acoustic guitar”, that doesn’t mean the music was completely “acoustic.” A vast array of foot pedals let Di Meola produce any sound he wanted, from synthesized accents to full-bore electric rock shocks. And when the pedal-pushing wasn’t enough, he pulled out his trademark rainbow-colored axe and served up the real thing, torching the Swyer with a hot medley of “Midnight Tango” and “One Night in June”, and then bringing the multi-colored guitar back for a sublime encore of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
But Beatles covers and early-solo-catalog items weren’t what this night was about. The lion’s share of the two-set performance focused on Live from Seattle and Elsewhere, Di Meola’s latest disc with World Sinfonia. The music had a palette as colorful as Di Meola’s electric guitar, and it jumped about the Swyer as the multi-talented quintet displayed the kind of breathtaking instrumental choreography that only comes from longtime collaboration.
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