Mister F is band from Upstate New York who played their first gig earlier this month. While Mister F is a new project, it features members of Timbre Coup and Capital Zen – two area bands that have built steady followings over the past few years. This new quartet has a hard-hitting sound rooted in prog-rock that also fuses funk and elements of jamtronica into their heady stew.
Mister F made their debut at Albany’s Bayou Cafe on March 1st and immediately got down to improvising on a mix of covers and originals. One of the covers Mister F played at their first performance was Elevator by ’00s jam band Particle. With drummer Matt Pickering hammering a strong beat and keyboardist Scott Hannay more than capably handling the lead melody on synth, Mister F does an admirable job with Elevator. Videographer Ali Holmes shot the group’s debut performance with three cameras so we can check out her fine footage of Mister F covering Particle…
Particle @ The Aggie Theatre & Quixote’s True Blue – Jan. 17 & 18
Words and Images: Mike Sherry
“It feels like you guys really get it!” gushed Steve Molitz to the crowd, still lingering near 2am at The Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins last Thursday night. His band Particle had just completed a near two-hour set of ’80s Flashback material, and the northern Colorado fans had shown up, many dressed up, pumped to enjoy the choice classics.
[All Photos by Mike Sherry]
Thanks to crisp vocoder effects and synthesizer patches, old gems like Funkytown and Electric Avenue sparkled like new and got the dance floor moving early, following a hearty opening set by New Orleans band Earphunk. Longtime Particle ’80s staple Axel F was noticeably absent from the setlist, however. “We thought, why not shelve it this time & do something different,” bassist Eric Gould told me later. “Plus, Herbie Hancock’s Rockit has that feel.”
For this week’s B List, we look at ten musicians who were brought on to help existing bands through tough periods only to leave those groups shortly thereafter. In most cases the reasons for the musicians departures are unknown because as we discussed in the UnansweredQuestions B Lists, bands generally like to keep personnel matters private.
Here’s what we came up with…
1. Gary Cherone in Van Halen: 1998
Van Halen fans around the world were shocked when Gary Cherone of Extreme was announced as Sammy Hagar’s replacement on vocals. The Cherone-fronted band released the underwhelming Van Halen III in 1998 followed by a lengthy world tour. Just as quickly as it began, the Cherone Era ended with a press release describing the split as “both mutual and amicable.”
While we’ve seen sporadic live dates from Particle over the last few years, 2010 marks an important milestone for the techno-jam-rockers as they are celebrating their tenth anniversary. To commemorate the occasion the LA-based act has announced details for a special run of shows with former guitarist Charlie Hitchcock. The nine-date October tour, that will focus exclusively on gigs in California and Colorado, will be the first time that Hitchcock has toured with the band in nearly five years.
If you into a night of untz-rock, than maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…
Finally, earlier this summer the Drive-By Truckers were one of the first bands to cement their New Year’s Eve plans by announcing they’d be ringing in 2011 at New York City’s cavernous Terminal 5. With the gig still roughly four full months away, the Southern-rock act are looking to built some advance buzz by announcing they planning something “ridiculously over the top and cool,” that according the Village Voice just might be “the long-threatened full-blown live reenactment of their two-disc 2001 masterwork, Southern Rock Opera“. For those looking to do some advanced planning, tickets are currently on-sale now.
While it’s not quite Robbie Robertson getting back together with The Band or even Jani Lane rejoining Warrant, we never thought we’d see the day that guitarist Charlie Hitchcock performed with Particle after some major uglyness marked his departure from the group in 2005. Yet Hitchcock and his old band mates will put any ill feelings aside to respect and honor two fans who recently passed away long before their time – Gregg Lobdell and Jimmy Lebloch – with a pair of shows in Southern California on May 21 (St. Rocke @ Hermosa Beach, CA) and 22 (Winston’s – Ocean Beach, CA).
Gregg and Jimmy were cornerstones of the Southern California music scene, and both played vital roles in helping build Particle’s fan base when the band first started with Hitchcock ten years ago. The band is eternally grateful for all the friendship and amazing experiences they shared with Jimmy and Gregg over the years, and they feel the best way to help their friends and family celebrate the lives of these two special people is to come together to perform as the classic Particle lineup that Jimmy and Gregg both loved so much.
Both Gregg and Jimmy also loved the music of Phish and as such the Mockingbird Foundation will set up a table at each show where concert attendees can make donations in their names. Anyone who makes a donation will receive this amazing print celebrating Gregg and Jimmy’s lives that artists and friends Jeremiah Harrison and Whitney Padgett created.
This isn’t Particle’s first time reuniting with an ex. After Hitchcock was fired, the band hired both Scott Metzger and Ben Combe to replace him in 2006. Metzger left the group quicker than Usain Bolt a few months later with Combe departing in 2007 for reasons he explained to Randy Ray.
Last November, Combe came back into the fold after a two years absence for a run of gigs in the Northeast and has since performed with the band at most shows without officially being named a member of Particle. Five years after his departure, Hitchcock’s chair is still open. It remains to be seen if he fills the spot himself or if Particle continues to turn to Combe.
In a totally objective and almost too close to call race, Phish fans placed second in Spike TV’s assessment of the worst fans in all of music just behind fans of Screwdriver, a white supremacy themed punk band from the U.K. in the ’70s. Normally, I would probably take offense to such ridiculous claims (while quietly wondering if we wholeheartedly agree), but I’m pretty sure this guy’s balls are hanging out of his gym shorts and he is holding a ventriloquist doll, so i’ll just shake it off and just piggy back off his idea.
So, instead of letting loose with a defensive Phish tirade, let’s take a look at more crappy fanbases in music. To up the stakes a bit (and refrain from a pointless list about Clay Aiken), i’ll stick to music I actually quite like, but do not always share the same affection for the other concert goers.
Dave Matthews Band – Let’s just get this one out in the open real quick and move on. Dave Matthews’ fans suck the joy out of otherwise good music like a pack of Dementers. And no, Harry Potter references do not detract from our credibility in evaluating the tolerability of music fans. Drunk meatheads, incessant clapping, high school girls and loud yapping are simply not my idea of a good time.
String Cheese Incident – Here’s another one that pains me a bit to throw under the bus, but ever since I met this feller in Denver who told me verbatim, “You don’t know the first thing about the space funk. Why don’t you go back to Michigan you cow f*cker? String Cheese rules the space funk,” I’ve been a little salty on the fan base. Plus, I do not like screaming, be it group or otherwise.
READ ON for more of Ryan’s least favorite fanbases including REM…
After a few past Cover Wars appearances, the Ryan Montbleau Band can now claim a victory after scoring the majority of votes from last week’s edition when we looked at ten covers of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. I wouldn’t be a responsible writer if I didn’t point out that Donny Hathaway also deserves much credit as Montbleau’s cover is part Lennon part Hathaway.
This week we’re taking a look at seven covers of Pink Floyd’s Young Lust off of their 1979 epic The Wall. In the ongoing story of The Wall, this tune depicts a part of every rock star’s career that just doesn’t get enough songs written about it. I am talking about banging groupies in hotel rooms.
Anyway, be sure to register/login to imeem to stream the playlist below.
Checking on last week’s edition, we had two popular choices for covers of Bell Bottom Blues. Once the votes were counted, Trey Anastasio had a slight edge over Umphrey’s McGee – so Trey takes home his first Cover Wars trophy sans Phish.
This week we’re taking on one of the most ambitious Cover Wars to date. We’ve compiled the most entries we’ve ever had as we take a look at covers of Radiohead’s catalog. Musicians in the 21st century seem to be more reluctant to cover other modern artists than bands were say 30-50 years ago. However, a few artists can be influential enough that bands just can’t help themselves. We saw a little bit of this in the Nirvana Cover Wars as jambands, jazz acts and pop artists paid tribute to the grunge era. We have a similar cross-section of artists this week as well, the contemporary jazz guys love Radiohead.
As always, be sure to register/login to IMEEM so the playlist below loads full-length tracks.
Be sure to READ ON after the jump as some of the best covers this week are embedded via video clips and are not included in the playlist above.
EOTO, DJ Logic and a new supergroup, named Agents of Mayhem, made up of Steve Molitz (Phil Lesh & Friends, Particle), Jon Gutwillig (the Disco Biscuits), Michael Travis and Jason Hann (String Cheese Incident, EOTO) and DJ Logic (MMW) performed together on Sunday night at an event called Steal This Ticket. Mike Sherwood attended the gig and filed this report…
Wow! What an awesome time was had down at the Spiegeltent in South Street Seaport on Sunday night. First off, the venue was really cool. Anybody who has the chance to check out Spiegelworld when it comes to your town should definitely go. We entered to find a well-decorated big top tent with a tremendous light rig all around the venue. The music was phenomenal. The night started a little later than anticipated with doors opening almost a full hour and a half later than we were told. Oh well, I knew this was going to be a late night anyway.
DJ Logic warmed things up with about 25 minutes of scratching and house stuff before Michael Travis and Jason Hann joined him onstage. EOTO locked into a quick groove with him before taking over on their own for about 30-45 minutes. If trance is your thing then EOTO should be right up your alley. Even if it isn’t, there is no denying how much fun those two guys are having with this project. There were lots of infectious and danceable grooves from EOTO with some nice peaks to their jams.
Once Barber, Molitz, and Logic took the stage it was on like Donkey Kong. The Agents of Mayhem set was a long exercise in tension/release-untz jamming and was well received by the crowd. There were moments that were jaw dropping. Sadly there were no tapers (although I’d give my left nut to hear a SBD of this, leaked or otherwise). One of the highlights of the night was Barber getting “arrested.” Basically, the production team staged a faux arrest of Barber in the middle of an intense jam. An actual NYPD cop came on stage and demanded Barber’s guitar. He defiantly started to rip in the guys face (the rest of the band was peaking at this point too). After “finally” relinquishing his Becker, Barber gets cuffed and dragged offstage. A bunch of Bisco kids FREAK! Molitz runs around and starts talking to the crowd and telling Trav, Jason, and Logic “Keep playing, we’re not done.” A dark jam ensues prompting the crowd to chant “fuck the police.”
Three schoolteachers from Manhattan’s Urban Assembly Media high school were busted for smoking pot outside the Beacon Theater before the Allman Brothers show on Friday night. The trio lucked out and received only desk appearance tickets, but things descended quickly for the shapers of young minds when the New York Postpicked up the story and ran the names and photos of the three teachers. New York’s number-two tabloid unsurprisingly had a field day with the story, using every trite pot pun in their comprehensive manual of shlock.
If you’ve ever been out on the crowded street in front of the Beacon, you’d realize lighting up out front is one of the dumbest things you can possibly do. While the inside of the venue is a lawless environment, the outside of the venue is police domain. The three teachers have already been re-assigned, pending what should be an interesting department hearing. Whose got their miracle?
