Perhaps the less you know going into a performance of Bread and Water Theatre’s “Dionysus in ’17,” the better. Written and staged by the company’s artistic director, J.R. Teeter, it should at least be said that the performance art-driven play is a modern update of “The Bacchae,” by the Greek tragedian Euripides, filtered through The […]
Daniel J. Kushner
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VARIOUS | ROC Women’s Music Fest
The importance of women in music has always been monumental — from Hildegard von Bingen and Francesca Caccini to Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Joni Mitchell. On Friday, the City of Rochester will pay tribute in a big way with the first-ever ROC Women’s Music Fest, coinciding with the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York […]
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EXPERIMENTAL | Cyrus Pireh
Electric guitarist and composer Cyrus Pireh is a different sort of animal. An artist unrelentingly focused on ambient and drone elements, Pireh makes the kind of music that has no beginning and no end, but invites you to immerse yourself in the sound. With compositions that can easily last more than 20 minutes, the Duluth, […]
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INDIE ROCK | Ratboys
If a band identifies itself as “post-” something, I’m in. The Chicago-based, post-country band Ratboys is no different. On its just-released album, “GN,” Ratboys play straightforward indie songs with subtle country rock tendencies. There’s a dreamy, lo-fi ambience throughout, perpetuated by Julia Steiner’s irresistibly pleasant vocals and the constant jangle of Steiner and David Sagan’s […]
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GYPSY PUNK | Bella’s Bartok
If you need a danceable band with strong Eastern European feels in your life, Bella’s Bartok is the band for you. There’s a strong whiff of cabaret on the Massachusetts group’s most recent album, “Change Yer Life,” but the style is completely distinctive and impossible to box in. That said, this highly entertaining sextet describes […]
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Ben Morey gets help climbing ‘Mt. Doom’
Ben Morey listens to the news when he writes music. That would explain the clever pessimism running through the song “Been Gone,” from his epic album “Mt. Doom,” just released on June 30 through City of Quality Records and Dadstache Records: “I don’t shudder when I read the news / You know nobody in the […]
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FOLK | The Wood Brothers
I can’t think of a better supporting act for Tedeschi Trucks Band at Highland Bowl this Saturday than The Wood Brothers. The trio makes soul-soothing folk music with homespun charm and just enough high-energy, rock ‘n’ roll grit to get the blood pumping. Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood and Jano Rix know how to rouse […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 9: Daniel reviews Balkun Brothers and Bonerama
When the band playing consists of only electric guitar and drums, somehow you just know it’s going to be gritty. Such was the case when the Balkun Brothers, Steve and Nick, took the stage with their Southern-style blues rock. There’s something about a rock duo that can sound incredibly full and satisfying, despite the lack […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 7: Daniel reviews Phronesis, Jeff Coffin’s In Orbit, and Oskar Stenmark NYC Quartet
As the members of Phronesis made their way to the front of the Christ Church sanctuary for its first set on Thursday night, they looked more like a rock band than a jazz trio. Group leader and double bassist Jasper Høiby looked a bit like a lankier, Nordic version of the late, great Kurt Cobain, […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 8: Daniel reviews Iris Bergcrantz Group, Filthy Funk, and Sammy Miller and The Congregation
Upon hearing Iris Bergcrantz Group (featuring Anders Bergcrantz) at the Lutheran Church, the individual performances stood out immediately. As an ensemble, however, the net effect was more muted. To describe Iris’s pure vocal tone as merely ethereal would be clichéd and somewhat misleading. Her voice was also grounded and worldly. At times, the melodies had […]
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Jazz Fest 2017, Day 6: Daniel reviews Shauli Einav Quartet, Electric Kif, and Klabbes bank
Shauli Einav Quartet’s first set at Max of Eastman Place on Wednesday night was among the more traditional jazz performances I’ve heard at the festival so far. While this isn’t exactly my style, the musicianship was impeccable, and the overall vibe was suave and sexy. An Eastman School of Music alumnus, Einav’s delivery on the […]
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CLASSICAL | “Sonic Cluster II”
Eastman alumni and pianists Futaba Niekawa and Olga Shupyatskaya on Sunday will bring back “Sonic Cluster” in a new program that focuses on the collaboration between Eastman musicians, local freelancers, and dancers. The concert highlights music written for two pianos, including the premiere of a work by fellow Eastman alum Jennifer Bellor. Compositions by the […]
