Egg review Feb 4th, Gregory Alan Isakov and Brandi Carlile

This week, the show at the Egg was slightly different than the jazz tap performance from last week.  Gregory Alan Isakov kicked off the February 4^th show at 7:30. Isakov was like a mix between trailer-trash folk and Bob Dylan. He played about ten tracks and I found myself more interested in the effects pedal he used for his voice rather than the actual words (because I couldn’t understand them).

Towards the end of his set, I started being able to see a little more clearly and began to appreciate Isakov’s presentation as more of a soundscape rather than simply isolating his voice or guitar.

Brandi Carlile was the main act, and straight up, that girl can sing. She reminded me of Joni Mitchell with her range, going from a gumbly low tone to the pitch of a songbird. Her band was great too, with Tim and Phil Hanseroth (guitar and bass), Josh Neumann on cello, Allison Miller on drums and Jon Pagan on the keys. The band had a real rootsy feel to it.

While I was listening, I saw a bunch of kids in the audience, and it warmed my heart to see parents taking them to see a true performer rather  than the atypical mainstream garbage. Overall, I give both performers a B, both have good stage presence and, apparent from their passion, purely about the music.

as seen in the Saint Rose Chronicle 

A review of Echoes in Time at Albany's Egg

                Last night, I went to the dance performance of Echoesin Time at the Egg performing arts center. I didn't know what to expect, my first time in the Egg and my first time seeing a professional dance show. I went up the oval elevator to the concourse level and smiled. The walls seemed liked they could vibrate sounds into colors. 

It was my first time ushering at the place. So I did my seating duties and then snagged a 3^rd row center seat for the show. The band immediately caught my attention. I haven't been to many dance performances, but they had a five piece band positioned towards the back of the stage. The curtains went up with the drum thumping the opening lines of Ellington's Caravan. The bassist started layering the pulse and the tappers went crazy. I suppose I couldn't really judge the actual dancers, I knew the movements were amazing, but at several points during the show, I just closed my eyes and focused on the rhythms of the tapping to the accompanying music. I visualized the claps and snaps of shoes as drums of varying shapes and tones. The sliding sounds of the tappers reminded me of jazz drummers slashing brushes on a snare. 

 The show was shaped to chronicle the different styles of a bunch of famous tap dances, ranging from Bill “Bojangles” Robinson to Jimmy Slide with Andrew Nemr’s CPD (Cats Paying Dues) Plus dance group. The troupe leader did a solo dance as the second to last number which sounded like a seasoned drummer playing off-beats and polyrhythms asynchronously, (here's a clip).  I would highly recommend seeing a jazz tap show as a medium for experiencing a new interpretation of music. And speaking of shows, as you might know, the 3^rd Annual Saint Rose Music Awards is happening March 12 this year, (which yours truly is performing at) so set your calendars. We’ll get a full nomination and performance list up for ya next week.

                This week’s album to check out: Wilco A Ghostis Born. It’s going to be a cold week, so throw on some of these chilly, but groovy tunes and mellow out.

(the following was written by Frank Cutie and is an excerpt from his latest installment in the Saint Rose Chronicle)