Cavalcade “With Fervor” Self-released cavalcademusic.com Cavalade’s new offering, “With Fervor,” isn’t ensconced in anger but an intensity that hints at a similar fire inside. By vacillating between major and minor keys — and even eluding both in spots — no two interpretations of this album can possibly be the same. It all opens with huge […]
Frank De Blase
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BLUES | Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur’s 1974 hit, “Midnight at the Oasis,” is fitting for her show at Abilene, seeing as how it’s our little roots-rock oasis on the edge of downtown. Throughout her 40 some odd years in the biz, Muldaur has shaken and moved through roots-rock’s myriad sub genres, including New Orleans jazz and blues on one […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Unlikely Soldiers”
Muler “Unlikely Soldiers” Carbon Records mulerband.com I’ve had enough cassette tapes come across my desk lately that it ceases to be odd anymore. But of all the bands to embrace this retro coolness, Muler beats them all out with a pink cassette of its latest project, “Unlikely Soldiers.” Despite the effete packaging this disc — er, cassette […]
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Deaf musician Sean Forbes shines optimistic in his hip-hop
Sean Forbes is a rapper. A good one, too. But that, in and of itself, isn’t all that extraordinary. That is until you consider the fact that this young artist can’t hear what he’s doing. Sean Forbes is deaf. It’s a perplexing dichotomy that precedes him: a deaf rapper. What is admirable about Forbes is […]
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Frank reviews Princess Wendy’s Late Nite Tease Room
Her name is Darlinda (Just Darlinda) and she will send ya, just send ya. She set my head on fire. She’s the reason I could taste blood this morning from screaming my head off during her two trips to strip on the Spiegeltent stage where she taunted and teased and bumped as a featured performer […]
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FUNK | Huntertones
Brooklyn’s Huntertones take the best of jam band rock and brass-heavy jazz and leave out the worst. Gone is the shrill blast and confusion in a world without end, replaced by a thoughtful, introspective, soulful groove. It’s still exploratory and extrapolated, but with mucho taste and talent. Huntertones will perform on Thursday, September 24, at Flour […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “How I Won the War”
The Grip Weeds “How I Won the War” Jem Recordings gripweeds.com Calling to mind John Lennon’s post-Fab Four rock ‘n’ roll, The Grip Weeds throw out the fun while still taking a stab at social and political morality. This New Jersey fabulous foursome adopted the title of Lennon’s 1967 cult movie, “How I won the War,” […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Same Soil”
David Michael Miller “Same Soil” Self-released davemillermusic.com Right out of the gate, “All the Blues to You” explains Buffalo’s David Michael Miller on his new Mike Brown-produced CD, “Same Soil.” Never straying from the blue notes seems to be his practice and a sure thing when you’re looking for a shortcut to the listener’s heart and […]
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In the groove
Even as record stores around the country dropped like flies, The Record Archive has kept it spinning for 40 years The Record Archive is a bonafide icon; a Rochester institution. It’s the go-to store for the hip, the aware, anybody, and everybody. And as multi-faceted as its customers are, so too is the business savvy […]
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ROCK | The Bellfuries
Austin, Texas’ The Bellfuries are the perfect rock ‘n’ roll band. In the spirit and tone of artists like JD McPherson (where Bellfuries bassist Jimmy Sutton thumps the dog house) or a slightly less clean cut Hi-Risers, The Bellfuries mix the classic elements of 1950’s and 1960’s pop music with frequent detours into the under […]
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Gonna put you away
The Butcher Babies are a walking heavy metal dichotomy: a crushing juxtaposition of beauty and brutality. Front women Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey head bang pretty and pretty mean. First adopting the salacious stage presence of Rochester native, and late, great singer for the Plasmatics, Wendy O. Williams — complete with electrical tape across their […]
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Red, white, and GWAR
Nothing is safe, nothing is sacred in the eyes of GWAR. For the last 30 years, this Richmond, Virginia-based metal band has eviscerated, sodomized, ejaculated, defecated, spewed, chewed, disemboweled, and destroyed social, political, and pop culture convention in a bloody, satirical display. It’s a troubled teen’s wet dream. It’s a comic book nightmare. It’s some […]
