upstate concert hall – Pigments of Sound Sensation

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020

Dermot Kennedy & SYML || 03.01.2020

Review initially posted on Nippertown

So I generally try to go to a concert educated on the music, but this time I fell short. I attended the Dermot Kennedy show on relatively short notice, and in doing so I failed in familiarizing myself with Kennedy’s music which allowed me to attend his show with a clear, unbiased perspective. The same cannot be said for the supporting act, SYML, who I am very much a fan of. With those disclosures out in the open, let’s dive right in.

The opening act was Seattle-based Brian Fennell, or as he is known in the music world, SYML. SYML, formerly of the band Barcelona, is generally a one-man all-encompassing songwriting, producing, and performing entity. However, during an anecdote, SYML stated that he picked up a musician somewhere along his tour, a fellow Brian nonetheless. Brian offered violin and piano accompaniments to SYML’s largely mellow music.

February 29, 2020March 4, 2020

Fitz and The Tantrums || Upstate Concert Hall || 02.26.2020

Concert review initially posted for the online publication Nippertown.

Fitz and the Tantrums (FATT) has been on my radar for a lot longer than I’ve actually been actively listening to them. My father and I used to occasionally watch this show called Live from Daryl’s House. It began as a web show and later moved to public broadcast.

February 17, 2020February 21, 2020

Saint Motel is Just My Type :: February 15, 2020

Saint Motel, Clifton Park, NY, 02.15.2020

Want the abridged version? It’s posted on Nippertown

FADE IN:

EXT. UPSTATE CONCERT HALL – SAINT MOTEL MOTION PICTURE SHOW – CHILLY WINTER NIGHT

Establishing.

On the outskirts of New York’s Capital city in the town of Clifton Park, a line of concert-goers is queued up under the overhang of a strip mall-turned-concert venue. They are waiting for the doors to open so they can escape the frigid air and find their places as close to the stage as they can get. The parking lot is full of cars, full of ruts, and you can hear the sound of crunching ice chunks as cars drive over them. The green, white, and black sign above the venue door reads UPSTATE CONCERT HALL. A SECURITY GUARD takes a drag from his cigarette, then exhales into the night air, the smoke indistinguishable from the vaporized breath. The concert-goers, some of which are inappropriately dressed for the weather, jump, dance, and shuffle to keep themselves warm. They chatter and laugh among themselves.

May 18, 2019August 12, 2019

Aly & AJ: Potential Make-Up Song

The sisters are close and this comes through in their interactions on stage with each other.

Chances are that if you were born in the early to mid 90s, like me, then you know who the Michalka sisters are. Maybe not by their surname, but by their nicknames: Aly & AJ. These sisters earned their fame in the glow of one of those Disney glow sticks. Alyson was on a show called Phil of the Future (you’re already humming the theme song, I know you are!) and AJ…well honestly I never saw anything she was in except for a Disney Channel movie called Cow Belles but I think that’s because I was aging out of Disney Channel at that point. Anyway, everyone knows that if you’re going to be on a Disney show you can’t just be an actor or actress. You have to be able to sing. Aly & AJ put out two albums under Hollywood Records, both albums were well received and you can be damn sure almost any 90s millennial knows the words to “Potential Breakup Song.”