Despite the winter freeze, this town is a hotbed of live music. I caught So Last Year on Thursday night at the Bug Jar not knowing what to expect other than that several of the band’s tunes piqued my interest. Buffalo-based folk-pop outfit Darling Harbor was performing when I got there and the quartet sounded […]
Concert Review
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I Scene It: 1349 at Bug Jar
“It really sucks outside,” says a hooded man standing behind 1349’s merch table as I curiously examined an “Aural Hellfire” t-shirt. “I would move far away from here if I were you.” Putting aside the fact that the more masochistic side of me does enjoy Rochester’s frigid winters, the evening’s dreadful weather actually seemed fitting […]
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Concert review: RPO performs “Pathétique”
After this performance one can only hope Fabien Gabel’s presence
becomes a lasting annual tradition.
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Classical review: Sound ExChange presents HEX
On Sunday, Rochester’s Studio 180 — a posh Chelsea-style gallery space meets homey hipster loft on St. Paul Street — was the sight of Sound ExChange’s latest concert event. The thoughtful, engaging, and ever-accessible concert of contemporary classical chamber music featured a new but highly recognizable ensemble, HEX. Comprised of the original Sound ExChange lineup […]
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Classical Review: Principal Brass Quintet at Kilbourn Hall
The Principal Brass Quintet on Sunday gave an attentive audience at Eastman School of Music’s Kilbourn Hall a taste of the New York Philharmonic with an engaging program that was accessible yet sophisticated. The group, comprised entirely of principals from that historic orchestra, did not disappoint. From the outset, the afternoon was all about the […]
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I Scene It: John Hammond at Geva Theatre Center
So this Son House “festivus for the rest of us” had the whole town invigorated. It ain’t a secret this is a blues town; our winters are cold and our women are warm. But this four day affair was something else. I went and saw John Hammond play Thursday night. I’ve always dug this cat […]
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I Scene It: Barrence Whitfield and the Savages at Abilene
It’s gratifying to hear rock ‘n’ roll fans say my article on an artist swayed them to go to the show. So I was pleased to the max my words managed to get a few lonely souls off the couch and onto the Abilene dance floor where Barrence Whitfield fans beat on it like a […]
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I Scene It: Santana at CMAC
August is arguably the best month for an outdoor concert in the Finger Lakes region, particularly if the event is situated at a beautiful venue like CMAC. My friend and I agreed that we should attend the Santana show on Saturday, but also catch a lecture, “Seven Candles: Science for a Deeper Spirituality,” before the […]
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I Scene It: The Tragically Hip at CMAC
The last time I saw The Tragically Hip in concert, the Canadian band didn’t yet have its own postage stamp, and Bill Clinton was the president. That was 15 long years ago, so when Gord Downie and company announced an area gig, I filed it under “must see.” The Hip did not disappoint as it […]
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I Scene It: The Televisionaries, TheTemptaters, and Teagan and the Tweeds
It was standing room only at the Little Theatre Friday night. The place was shoe-horned full of latte lappers and blues boppers there to show loyalty to Rochester blues royalty: Delta blues picker, Fred Vine; the hardest working bassist in town, Brian Williams; and harmonicat, Rockin’ Red. The trio wove in and out of original […]
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Concert Review: Stephanie Blythe at Kilbourn Hall
I can’t remember an evening filled with more vocal joy than Tuesday night’s Kilbourn Concert with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe. And I’m not alone: Given the volume and enthusiasm of its applause, the audience might have been echoing the plea of one of the songs on Blythe’s program, Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (“Please Don’t […]
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I Scene It: Third Coast Percussion at Kilbourn Hall
Five blocks of wood, four thick dowels, and a mallet. If that sounds like the ingredients for a woodworking project from your 8th-grade shop class, you were not at Kilbourn Hall Tuesday night with Third Coast Percussion. The four members of the group — David Skidmore, Peter Martin, Robert Dillon, and Sean Conners — were […]
