DocWu's Other Blog

Can you get too much of a good thing? Can a concert series get too big? Is Artpark following in the shoes of Thrsday At The Square?

Apparently, it is possible. Likely, even.

I went to Artpark to see America play today. My expectations were low to start with, as I had seen America last year at the North Tonawanda Harbor Series and knew I'd see a competent rendition of the same songs they've been doing since the 1970s. Kind of like a cover band, but covering their own songs. No surprises, no chances taken, just phone in a good performance and get back on the bus. But that's okay and what a lot of people want to see. You can't blame them for giving them what they want.

Speaking of cover bands, Route 66 was the opening band and they were very good. For a cover band. I wonder if they have any original material. They'd be great if they did.

But I didn't really see them, or America.

First of all, I didn't expect to be there early. I left home a bit late. But on the way, I ran into a detour on Route 104 which sent me off on a wide excursion. When I finally realised it was going to take me almost into North Tonawanda, I struck off on my own and headed back west. I finally got to Lewiston Hill near the power project, and eventually got back to 104 in Lewiston. I entered the park and they already had filled the parking lots and were parking us on the grass. No problem. Where ever you park there, you still have a long walk.

The lawn area was already full and people were already filling up the whole area right up the hill where the boardwalk used to be. Nowhere within sight of the stage had any room left. I finally unfolded my chair and sat near the 97Rock van, just so I didn't have to carry it any more.

I got a beer and went and stood in line for food. The line was huge, but moved along, if not fast, at least steadily. I got some food - an Angus Burger and a pulled pork sandwich - and went back to my chair and enjoyed just sitting there eating my meal. The music, sunshine, fresh air and plenty of other people around made it quite enjoyable.

But the whole good time was marred by the fact that you just couldn't get anywhere near enough to the stage to see anything. The Artpark posters all have the slogan "Help Us Keep The Concerts Free" but this show would have been better served in the main stage at $20 a ticket. What are they thinking by booking such big-name groups into a free event? If they want to raise money, they are doing it wrong. The food sales were limited, not by demand or the size of the crowd, but by the ability of the overtaxed staff to keep up. They wouldn't sell any less if the crowd was half the size.

I finally left during America. I didn't run out, I just picked up my chair and wandered for a while. If I couldn't see the show, it didn't matter where I stood, sat, or walked. I ran into a couple friends and chatted a bit. I enjoyed the breathtaking scenery at the park, something worth going there for alone. And I enjoyed the leisurely walk to the car and exit from the park without the traffic that would be clogging it in an hour or so.

No hard feelings, as I didn't have big expectations anyway, but I have to give a poor grade to Artpark on this show.

Pluses	Minuses
America is a great attraction even if they haven't had a hit in twenty years.	But too big a name for a free venue. What were they thinking when they booked them?
Great food and worth the price. A $5 burger was so big it was really worth it.	Too few servers. They could have had three food areas instead of just one.
A new, bigger stage that lets them bring in bigger acts	But that 2/3s of the crowd can't see. The stage is good, but should be raised at least 10 feet and turned toward the East more. That would let people other than those right in the bowl or the tip top of the hill see something.
Great sound. Even way up in the parking lot it was clear and sounded great. I only found one place with a slight echo.	But what good is sound if you can't see?

Last Friday, I went out to see Mark Winsick play at Vizzi's in Kenmore. It was a last-minute decision, so no recording for a podcast was done. But due to a cancellation, I had a free evening and had to go see him and his band play. I was treated to some of the best blues in Buffalo.

Let me introduce the band. Besides Mark on guitar and vocals, is bassist Jim Whitford, another Buffalo legend. On drums was Rob Lynch, a highly-regarded musician in his own right. If someone had thrown a hand-grenade through the window at Vizzi's that night, the overall level of talent in the Buffalo area would have dropped noticably!

Watching these musicians play was an experience. While I've seen many good musicians lately, not very many made it look so effortless as this trio did. Whitford's bass playing was subtle and strong at the same time. Never showboating, just damn good playing. He sang on a song or two and added harmony on many others. Lynch's drum skills were impressive as well, again not for being showy, but for his ability to feel the music and always play the perfect rythms for the song.

Winsick, was of course the lead man of the group. His voice is good for the blues, not trying to follow some other artist's style, but his own unassuming style. His guitar work was impressive too. Effortlessly playing what most other musicians would struggle with, but always serving the music, not showing off. Journeyman is the term that comes to mind.

They played three sets, mostly covers of blues standards, to an appreciative audience. There was plenty of dancing going on and his fans were from all generations, from mid-20's to the senior citizen crowd.

Vizzi's is an interesting place. A neighborhood bar in a typical storefront building, it looks more like a restaraunt than a bar, and in fact does seem to have a decent menu. The decor is unlike many bars, light and colorful, not black and dark. It would be a good place to go catch a beer and sandwich and watch some sports.

I'll be getting with Mark in the future to put a podcast together. He has a good catalog of original songs as well and we hope to showcase some of them soon.

On Saturday April 1, 2006, I went to the kickoff party for the AllWNYRadio.com kickoff party. It was held at the UAW Hall in Lockport.

AllWNYRadio.com was something new to me. Apparently, it's a streaming radio station that features local music. Kind of the same thing I am doing, only as a stream.

The owner, Scott, contacted me on MySpace and I figured I'd go check it out. It was a good time.

They had four bands play that evening, Jeremiah Dean Band, Gil Transit, Limited Freedom and Blues Justice.

The Jeremiah Dean Band was quite good. Pretty standard rock from a four-piece band.

Gil Transit came up next and was, in my opinion, the best band there that night. Another four-piece, they were strong lyrically and fell somewhere in the range of progressive rock.

Limited Freedom was a three-piece band of young teenage kids. Their parents were their roadies, helping set up and make sure every little thing was right. I could almost feel them squirm under their over-attentiveness :-) But they were good. The singer has an excellent rock and roll voice and their playing was quite good too. The crowd was suitably impressed, or else was all relatives :-) Not the best band there, but not bad at all and watch out for these guys, they are only going to get better as they work at it.

Finally, they closed the show with Blues Justice. I had seen them play once before so I wasn't in for any surprises. As the only blues act of the night, they were tough to compare to the other groups, but the veteran performance by their lead singer showed they are pros. His harp playing was great and left me wishing for more of it.

All in all, it was a fun night. It was lightly attended, but as word gets out and they hold more of these (as they promise) it should be a good venue to showcase local talent. One good thing, it was pretty family-friendly, unlike going to a bar to see a band play. While they did serve beer, under careful control, it was open to all ages, a refreshing thing, these days.

Flatbed, Red & Roxy, Semi-Tough, I Can Lick Any Son Of A Bitch In The House, and Two Cow Garage

Another fun filled night at The Hawk. This is one bar/music club you can always go to and find something going on. It seems like any night of the week there is entertainment. Even if there wasn't, you could spend hours just looking at the posters and autographed press-kit pics of hudreds of bands that have played there before. Almost every band or musician that passes through town on the way from New York to Cleveland, or Toronto to Nashville, stops eventually and plays at the Hawk.

But the best part is the small bands, new bands, that play before anyone has heard of them. Many a Buffalo music fan can say "I heard so-and-so play at the Mohawk before they were big."

And the owner suports the local musicians. Many of the acts are local and even the bartenders are musicians. The upstairs space is often used for practice by bands too.

That's what brought me there this past week. Local band Flatbed had invited me to do a podcast of thier show there and their friends Red & Roxy were palying a set between their sets and volunteered as well. Two bands at one setting makes my job easier, so how could I miss it.

I had seen Flatbed play a couple months earlier at Merlins and loved their style. I'm not going to get into it here because you can just go to my podcast page and hear it all. They had played the same night I interviewed Dee Adams. Sure enough, two of Dee's band were there to see Flatbed play.

I got a feed out of the sound board thanks to John Weber, who incidentally, plays with Son Of Memphis with "Red" of Red & Roxy. I've seen him playing at the Mohawk before as well, out on the sidewalk in the summer with The Smoking Jackets, and at Merlins with Dan Harper. Typical Buffalo music scene - everyone knows each other!

Red & Roxy were new to me. They were good, an acoustic duo, with a third member, Gentle Tom, backing them up on percussion. He played bongos, djembe, conga and even bodhran to provide a low-key, yet satisfying percussion accompianment. I'm looking forward to listening more to the recordings of them. While I did watch and listen while they played, I also had to run out to the car for fresh batteries for the camera so I could take some photos. So I missed part of their set. I also spent some time further back in the bar, talking with Derick from Flatbed. It was good to chat with him and get to know him a bit before the interview.

I fall in love with Joelle Labert, Flatbeds singer, every time I see her. Her singing and stage presence is just so cool and sexy in a wholesome, kind of hippy-chick sort of way. Of course, I'm a child of the 60's so that's pretty cool with me. I wish I knew a girl like her back then... I hope, if Flatbed ever makes it big, some producer or manager won't try to change her and "Glam her up" because it would ruin her appeal. With her long, curly hair and wholesome look and her sultry voice that sometimes reminds me of Janis Joplin, it all works. We don't need another diva in the music world. Joelle is unique just the way she is.

So the Flatbed podcast is in the works and Red & Roxy will follow in a week or so. I stuck around and caught the late shows too. The opening act was Buffalo's own Semi Tough. I hadn't heard them before, although I have heard of them. They were pretty good and I enjoyed them. They played a really short set, saying something about not having played in a while and it being a live practice. I hope they are getting back out and playing. Their web site said something about a new CD, so maybe they will be.

The second act, with the weird name, icanlickanysonofabitchinthehouse, came out and took the stage by storm. They were loud, vulgar, and highly energetic. I liked them! They had a very boisterous cheering section in front of the stage. It turned out to be mostly members of the last band, Two Cow Garage. The two bands have been touring together for a couple months and have grown close. It sounds like it's been one big party for them.

Ican...house had a harmonica player, something that surprised me a bit, but it fit their alt-country billing. More like punk-country, if you ask me. But he was really good and played up a storm. Their main singer and guitar player, was a big guy with long hair that got in his face a lot of the time. He reminds me of someone that I can't quite place. Maybe a WWE wrestler, or something. Their songs were pretty interesting. Many of them had a political or social point to make, and usually drove it home without any sign of restraint, usually using a generous assortment of expletives. If I sound prudish, or offended, I'm not. I actually enjoyed it, even though it's not how I would express myself, for them it works. One song, Fred Phelps, was a "tribute" to the disbarred Baptist minister who has declared that "Gos Hates Fags" and "God Hates America." It also mentioned Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn and Dubya Bush. Of course, "tribute" is sarcasm. Any band that ridicules that type of bigotry in the name of religion, gets my vote of approval.

Their bass player, a skinny kid with a Beatles mop haircut and looking like he could barely lift the bass, looked uncannily like Fairpport Convention's Dave Swarbick. Of course, he'd have to go back in time about 30 years for that to be real.

Occasionally, one of the members of Two Car Garage would come up on stage and play or sing with them.

Then Two Cow Garage played and the roles were reversed, with members of I Can Lick... taking spots in the front row and jumping on stage to sing along. Two Cow and I Can... ' s music were a pretty good fit together. Fast, hard-rocking, music with expletive-filled lyrics. A good dose of social indignation fuels their music and in these days, that's a good thing.

The one guitar player had duct tape on his guitar with the quote "This machine kills alt-country" on it. Apparently, there is some dissent with that label! Another comment was made about the name of their next CD possibly being "Control-Alt-Country-Delete."

The bands finished the set with all members of both bands and even one or two from Semi Tough, on stage for the finale. Yes, even two drummers playing in sync. It was quite a finish.

I look at the schedule for the Mohawk Place pretty regularly and often, I don't recognize the bands I see. I have seen some excellent acts play there in the past, 10,000 Maniacs and Link Wray for instance. And the names in the photos on the walls are legendary. I've also seen some I had never heard of at the time. But they are always good and I've never had a bad time there. Sometimes the acts are unknown because they are so far ahead of the curve no one has heard of them. Other times, they are just regional acts from other areas touring through. But the genius booking at the Hawk somehow finds them! If you ever want to go out to see a live band and can't find one playing, roll the dice and drop by Mohawk Place. Whatever night it is, you'll find something good and unusual.