Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger: The Egg 11/9/11

I received an email from our local liberal artsy-fartsy venue called The Egg; a venue that HiFi has visited on several occasions to catch excellent past shows like Dweezil Zappa and Al DiMeola.  Most of the time The Egg tends to pander to international dancing acts, modern dance groups, or musicians that often tend to be more underground yet accomplished in their own right, such as Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin.  At times The Egg will have mainstream performers such as ex-Audioslave and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell or Phish bass-player-extrodinaire Mike Gordon rolling through for a rare appearance.  Often these shows are for smaller audiences and thus offer a far more up close and personal experience all around.  My only gripe in the past has been The Egg’s lame ticket policy of offering the best seats to “Egg Members” and then offering the very same seats (if the don’t sell) closer to the actual night of the show instead of when they release them to the general public. 

The Egg has two theaters, one big (Hart Theater – 982 seats) and one small (Swyer Theater – 450 seats); while each theater may reflect half of each size, it can be truly said that there are no bad seats perse.  However, during the Dweezil show (held in the larger Swyer Theater) HiFi was seated far right of the stage and were unable to see the movie screen, bummer, but not the end of the world.  For the DiMeola show it was held in the Hart Theater and it was more than cozy and probably one of the best $35 I’ve spent on a concert; truly worthwhile.

Appearently The Door’s legends Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger are touring and will play the venue on Wednesday, November 9th, cool.  As much as I am curious about an evening with members of The Doors, and I’m sure it will be a solid show, I can’t help but wish the bill included Ian Astbury (ex- The Cult) as the faux-Morrison lead singer.  Astbury has toured with them over the past few years and has imitated Morrison impecably!  I’m not sure if HiFi readers have seen a clip of Astbury channeling Morrison, but it’s pretty friggin’ awesome! 

Since Astbury will not be featured I feel affects the overall price of the tickets; simply listening to Manzarek and Krieger play will cost you the range of $35 – $60, a bit steep in my opinion.  Later in the month at The Egg, the legendary Ray Davies, the lead singer of The Kinks, and is only charging $39 – $49 for tickets! Sorry, but Manzarek and Krieger were merely backing musicians and I can’t justify that kind of cash.  It’s like paying $50 for Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones as a night with Led Zeppelin, but it ain’t.  I dunno, although Manzarek’s keyboards were an integral part to The Doors sound, I just still can’t see spending my hard earned cash.  I’m thinking more 1/2 The Doors = 1/2 the price, no?

If you check the show out I’m sure it will be good, I’m not trying to take anything away from their legacy, but without Astbury providing his rendition of Morrison I’m less inclined to want to spend the money.  I’ve provided you a clip of the Astbury version of “Break On Through” with Manzarek and Krieger backing; tell us if you think the price is worth it without him?

To sit or stand? The grand concert dilemma

 As many of you may have read HiFi recently attended a Trey Anastasio show in our city and it was incredible.  Well, perhaps I should say that it was incredible for some of us and “incredibly frustrating” for others; specifically those in the row behind us.

Unlike the Al Dimeola show that we attended last year whereas everyone sat in their chairs almost the entire show except for the encore; the Trey show was the complete opposite; since for the entire 3-hour show it was voluntary standing room only!  Perhaps concerts depending on the artist are one of those classic “buyer beware” situations; clearly Phish and Trey shows are full of people that clearly want a “quality” experience, and well, standing and dancing are all part of getting your monies worth at a show.  Having it be my first Trey show, clearly I understood why people want to groove all night long, it’s more than just a concert; it’s an experience unlike anything I’ve witnessed. 

The issue at the Albany show was that my row consisted (on average except for my HiFi pal Ericstraus who’s about 5’10″) of an average height of about 6’3″, so for the poor soul’s behind us who were shorter, it must have been a bit of a bummer not being able to see as well as they may have hoped. 

Was this our fault that they could not see a majority of the show? 

Well, no, but they again yes. Yet, if everyone was standing and I decided to sit down being courteous was I then cheating myself ?  Clearly if I did then I wasn’t going to see anything.   So my question is:

When does traditional courtesy take a backseat and the general theme or behavior of the majority define what is and what is not appropriate?  And does it?

During the end of the first set one of the people in my row, a father and son who each were around 6′ 6″ were haggled by the older folks behind then about their ability not to see the show; it actually got a bit ugly and words were exchanged to almost the point of a physical confrontation, not cool.  The father was merely defending his son (and his) right to stand as rightful ticket holders and that they were not purposely doing anything intentional to spoil the row behind them and their evening; it was simply just what it was.  I had to agree with the father, how did he own any of their inconvience other than being born tall?

Luckily, fellow Trey fans settled the issue down and the father regained  his composure, but it does present a very fickle issue.  The father even commented later to both of us that out of all the Phish and Trey shows he had attended this was the first time that it was an issue, otherwise people are usually very cool and make the situation the best regardless.

However, when you look at it, it is a bit retarded to stand at a concert when you have a perfectly good seat.  Ok, so a Trey show is probably a bad example since clearly it is an opportunity to dance and move more than just tapping your feet and slapping your knee.  But why do we feel compelled to stand at shows where we could sit, like a Rush concert?  I don’t recall dancing to Tom Sawyer or Natural Science, have you?  At best it would be better for a fan to sit while pretending  (like the other thousand 30-something geeks in attendance) that  their Neil Peart drumming to YYZ.   Why the need to stand at metal or rock concerts, do we think that the lead singer is going see us?  Do we feel that we can see better?  I think it’s kind of goofy that we feel compelled to stand for hours, especially when a ticket costs on average $40+. 

I recall several concerts that I attended during high school (ZZ Top and Robert Plant) where I had tickets on the sides of the arena, probably the best place to see a show in my opinion; you are up high, got a great view, and can see above the crowd below.  But oddly, people still chose to stand the entire concert, which made me have to stand since I could not see.  Perhaps, it’s just a domino effect, whereas one person starts the standing thing and ruins it for the rest and then they have to stand, and it goes on, and on, and on…ugh.

What is your experience and thoughts on this issue?

Trey @ The Palace 2/19/11 Download Available!

LivePhish.com has just made the 2/19/11 TAB show in Albany, NY show at The Palace Theater available on their site.  Check it out; sadly it would appear that the code on my ticket does not seem to be redeemable for a free download like much of what LivePhish offers for Phish concerts; perhaps this is either in the works or an oversight.  If you know, please give drop us an email if you have had any success.

Update: Per the folks at LivePhish.com there are NO free downloads of with this TAB tour.  So, the code on your ticket stub means zilch!!! Such a bummer.

The show was simply incredible and if Trey is coming to your town AND you have tickets (cuz’ there ain’t no more left to git!) you will throughly enjoy yourself.

You can see this download and many others at LivePhish.com

Trey Albany show sold out?

Er, if you were considering whether or not to purchase tickets for the February 18th show at The Palace  Theater in Albany, NY it may be too late.  It would appear that fellow Trey fans have made the decision for you, and tickets are no longer available.

 Just for the hell of it I decided to go on Tickemaster.com and try to purchase a ticket (although we here at HiFi Central already have our 5th row seats, yippeeee!) it came back as “tickets are currently unavailable” on their website, or in layman’s terms the show is most likely ”sold out”.

There was a 5-day pre-sale on Trey’s website and I’m assuming that the remainder were gobbled up pretty quick once they became open to the general public.  The Palace is a great venue to see anyone live, especially since it is a rather cozy venue and a perfectly restored classic vaudeville theater. If you got your tickets good for you since it’s going to be a great show no doubt.  If you did not get your tickets, bummer, but like the Zappa Plays Zappa concert and others we have warned you well in advance about, heed our warnings and git’ dem’ tickets early!

Happy Birthday Ms. Parton, you rock!

Yes, today is Dolly Parton’s 65th birthday!  I use to have the biggest crush on her when I was 10 years old and of course that love just grew more when I learned more about girls and their (ahem) “attributes”.  Yes, Dolly had some of the largest “attributes” of any Country & Western star at the time.  Yes, she did have an incredible voice and many, many, many  hit records, it was her top-heavy gifts that were often considered her talent when watching an entertaining hour of Hee-Haw for me.  However with the advancements and the popularity of plastic surgery over the past decade she probably doesn’t really stick out in a crowd like the old days.

I think its somewhat sad that in her later years Dolly took the plastic surgery route to retain her good looks.  I think she took it to the extreme and today’s Dolly looks rather frightening, nothing like the vintage shot above.

For this blog I feel that posting an image of the more “easy on the eyes” Dolly is the best way to remember her, I think most would agree.  Look at Kenny Rogers (Da’ Outlaw and Da’ Gambla’),. that dude took the plastic surgery road as well and has stated that he wishes he had made a U-turn before paying the toll both.  If you get a chance Google that dude and you can see that not all plastic surgeons get A’s in medical school, geez!  His clearly got a C- in eye lifts, tragic!

I recall that one of bars I frequented in high school and then later in college had the coolest Dolly Parton pinball machine.  The bar was called The Palais Royale and still stands today, although it is under new management (gone are the days of Rocky the owner, what a guy!). When I moved back Albany, just after the original owner died and that place was officially closing for good (before it was re-purchased) that pinball machine was still there.  I’ve provided a picture so you can see how truly righteous it was.

Despite her poor plastic surgery, Dolly has done a lot of good things with her stardom; specifically establishing a program to encourage and promote childhood literacy in the U.S. , it’s called Dolly’s Imagination Library and it’s a very successful program.  Dolly was born dirt poor in a one room cabin in rural Tennessee and was one of 12 kids, so I’m sure she was often went without and feels giving back is the right thing do.  She has been lauded for her philanthropy for years and I’m sure she’s a super nice lady, always seemed cool as a kid growing up.  Here at HiFi Central we consider Ms. Parton very cool indeed.

Happy Birthday Ms. Parton!

Trey @ The Palace (better get dem’ tickets!)

We got our tickets before it sells out, you might want to as well! (Read below)

A limited number of tickets for all shows will be available through a real-time ticket presale beginning Friday January 14th at 10:00 AM EST and ending Thursday January 20th at 5:00 PM EST through Trey’s online ticketing system at http://treytickets.rlc.net . For complete venue and general public onsale information please visit http://trey.com/tours/

TREY ANASTASIO BAND ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC WINTER

‎2/18 – State Theatre – Portland, ME
2/19 – Palace Theatre – Albany, NY
2/20 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
2/22 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
2/23 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
2/25 – StageAE – Pittsburgh, PA
2/26 – Lifestyle Pavilion – Columbus, OH
2/27 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL
3/01 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
3/02 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
3/04 – The Music Box – Los Angeles, CA
3/05 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA

Trey Anastasio Band in Albany!

Fresh off Phish’s majestic New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden, guitarist Trey Anastasio is not taking a break. He has reassembled his 7-piece band (known as “Classic TAB”) and is hitting the road next month, which includes a stop at Albany’s Palace Theater on February 19th. The lineup will once again feature Natalie Cressman (trombone and vocals), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet and vocals), Russ Lawton (drums), Tony Markellis (bass and vocals), Ray Paczkowski (keyboards) and Russell Remington (tenor saxophone and flute). The shows will also feature a full solo acoustic set from Trey along with a full electric set, marking the first time that Trey has toured in this format since 1999.
For those not familar with this band, the sound can best be described as a mix of funk, rock and jazz with Latin and African rhythmic elements. It’s mainly up-tempo, with many songs allowing room for improvised jamming. Jennifer Hartswick is a fantastic vocalist, belting out solo tunes and duets with Trey. All the musicians are stellar in their own right, making for a wonderful congolmeration of talent.  Here’s a taste of what you can expect:

As for Trey’s acoustic work, right now you can download a FREE mp3 here of his recent show in Princeton, NJ featuring Trey with a string quartet performing his songs along with some classic Phish tunes.
You can see all the info including other tour dates here. Hope to see you there!

Zappa plays Zappa – Tonight!

Well, tonight is the night your HiFi reviewers have been salivating for over the past few months, Zappa Plays Zappa will visit our fair city of Albany, NY to play at the oddest looking venue on Earth, The Egg. 

The show has been sold out for over a month and I guess would make it the hottest ticket in town, especially since this concert will feature the album Apostrophe in its entirety (no easy feat I’m sure).

I’m personally curious how well Dweezil will cover St. Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast and Father O’blivion; so far he has done a rather impressive job of surrounding himself with very capable young musicians in past shows.  Since this tour focuses on celebrating the “would-have-been 70th birthday” of his father I’m also curious to see who Dweezil may have show up for a special cameo’s.  Napoleon Murphy Brock has accompanied him on past tours, but I’m not sure if guys likes of George Duke, Vinny Colaiuta, and Steve Vai will randomly appear on this tour; certainly would be very cool if they do.

Luckily there are no bad seats in The Egg due to it’s unique design, also the acoustics are top rate, so I’m sure that this will be a show to remember.  Check back tomorrow morning for a full review of the show.

The Allman Brothers “whip” fans wallets

On Veterans Day I had the day off from work, so I decided to grab a cup of coffee, a newspaper, and scratch ticket from my local convenient store.  This is a guilty pleasure I do not have the luxury of having these days with a 3-year old running around the house and the chaotic life of a half-rehabbed house.

As I looked through the paper I came across the event listings for my city and one that struck me right away was that the legendary group The Allman Brothers would be playing next week; cool I thought!  As I read further (with all the anticipation and intent on getting a ticket) I noticed that ticket prices range from $50 – $150!!!!????  Granted The Allman Brothers have not stepped foot in the venue (The Palace) since 1973, I still think these ticket prices are out of control and truly not very realistic for a depressed economy.  Not to mention that the band has not released a top ten hit in years, so at this point they are a novelty band full of greatest hits at best.

The show is being marketed as a “benefit concert”, so at first it made sense why the tickets are priced what they are; as usual a portion of the proceeds will go to the specific cause that the band or performer are supporting.  I’m very cool with benefit concernts and I appreciate how artists can use their fame to support a charity, but this is where things get cheezy and lame with this particular “benefit” concert…the cause is for The Allman Brothers museum!! What? 

Their musuem is called “The Big House”, it is a grand styled tudor mansion in Georgia where the band lived all together during the 1970′s during the real height of their career.  Apparently they all lived together writing songs there and raising their kids, smoking doobies and perhaps the occasional riskier recreational drug use.  According to their website it has become a “Mecca” for The Allman Brothers fan, big deal I say.

Why should I care about supporting their museum via an inflated ticket price? These guys are millionaires (or at least they should be).  However, I’m sure that woman, drugs, and booze gobbled up much of Gregg Allman’s funds.  The poor guy is dealing with recovery for a liver transplant; but I’m sure it was not from a tragic disease, but more a life of excess that is the trademark lifestyle of the Rock and Roll star.  Regardless, I think they are asking fans to help their cause is pretty goofy.  To ask fans to support keeping their old house alive and well while millions of Americans are dealing with foreclosure seems rather ironic.  But, most people facing foreclosure would not be spending $50 to see The Allman Brothers right now either.

I would honestly pay the ticket prices if it was a benefit for perhaps, say,  juvenile diabeties, pediatric AIDS, or even random backwoods animal shelter in Georgia.  But The Allman Brothers museum?  I think not, instead I think I’ll simply hanker down in my house with a cup of coffee and put on my $9.99 Allman Brother Greatest Hits album.

The band plays tonight at The Palace at 7:00; the show is not sold out as of this morning and if you are eager to fork over your hard earned dollars you can click here to get tickets.

Iron and Wine 2010-11 Tour Dates

 Iron and Wine’s website currently updated its tour page for the remainder of 2010 and beginning of 2011.  Clearly Sam Beam and the band are far more comfortable playing in warmer weather than venturing up Northern East Coast, specifically HiFi’s Centrals home city of Albany (c’mon Iron and Wine, play at The Egg!!!!)

The mid-West and South will have the pleasure of seeing Iron and Wine so get your tickets as quick as you can, often these shows sell out quickly.  I did notice that there is a gap between the end of November for US dates and then February when he begins a European tour; so perhaps there is a chance the band will buy a hat, scarf, and some mittens in the meantime and grace us with their presence.

I’ve never seen Iron and Wine since they rarely tour New England area; at least I don’t know if the band has ever played the Albany area.  Looking at past tour dates since 2008 they have jumped over Albany and played in Buffalo or NYC; clearly the capital city is not worthy enough I guess.

It appears to happen quite frequently that good acts often jump over Albany and I’m not quite sure why that is; clearly not a lack of music lovers or venues.

Thought you might want to know the band is on tour this month and playing “select” cities, let’s hope one is yours!

To see the tour listing for 2010-2011 click here!