We’re proud of our musical talent; here are four
reasons why.
The event
Despite its name, our airport is hardly international.
However, The Rochester International
Jazz Fest is. Now in its third year, RIJF brings in legendary and
cutting-edge jazz talent (and their fans) from around the planet to Rochester
for a whole week in June. Cats like Mose Allison, Billy Bang, Quong Vu, James
Blood Ulmer, Tony Bennett, and George Benson have all played in the past two
years. The RIJF shows no signs of getting smaller as each year the word spreads
more and more throughout the jazz community. This is an awesome event linking a
group of downtown venues — within walking distance of each other — during
some of our rare summer days.
The band
It’s probably not fair to refer to any one band as
the best, but I’m not one of these non-committal wussies who thinks everyone’s
great, as if I were some intramural soccer coach who doesn’t want any of the
kids to cry. Rochester has a thriving music scene. Some bands are good, some
bands are great, and some bands suck. And somebody’s got be the best — to be
the king of this heap. It’s The Priests.
I’m not sure if it’s the primitive drums, the eerie
organ, the maniacal guitar, or the desperate vocals that make this band beyond
compelling. No, it’s not doing anything odd or particularly out of bounds, but
the band’s energy is visceral, and its dark mood and menacing tone are
palpable. They sound and look like they mean it. And they’ll probably agree
with those of you who think I’m full of bull for saying all this.
The Priests, whose third (and first national)
release is on the world-renowned Get Hip Recordings, will be playing several
showcases for the label at the 2005 SXSW in Austin, Texas, and have been pumped
up by current garage rock savior Little Steven.
The venue
In this palace, no matter how natty your duds you
still feel underdressed. Commissioned in 1922 by George Eastman, the Eastman Theatre (26 Gibbs Street)
seems out-of-time and even otherworldly in its opulence and grandeur. And with
recent state-of-the-art acoustical updates, even a reverberated sneeze sounds
angelic — so imagine how good the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra sounds.
There is simply no finer classical experience to be found.
The music store
House of Guitars (645 Titus Avenue, 544-3500)
isn’t only focused on six-string beauty, but in fact on everything related to
music. Fortuitously founded at the apex of Beatlemania by
juvenile-delinquent-gone-straight Armand Schaubroeck and his two brothers, The
HOG is one of the largest music stores on earth. But it’s not the neatest —
and therein lies the thrill of the hunt. You can rummage through piles of LPs,
weave in and out of classic guitars, or ascend mountainous walls of amps.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2005.
