Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: Concert Coverge, Scene Around Town, The Breakfast, Westcott Theater
The Breakfast sat down with us before playing a great two-and-a-half-hour set
PREVIEW: VISIT The Breakfast’s MySpace
READ: 20 Watts’ Interviews The Breakfast (coming soon!!)
VIEW: LOOK at photos from the show below the cut!
For a late-night Friday dessert, The Breakfast served up over two and a half hours of music at The Westcott Theater.  The band proved it has as much stamina as it does talent. The four virtuosos from New Haven, CT played a 20-minute encore where both songs had as much intensity as the show’s beginning. These guys work hard on stage and don’t get tired of it, and neither did last night’s crowd of about a hundred.
The Breakfast are a rock quartet known for their aggressive approach to rock, funk, hard rock, and psychedlic music. It all molds into one when the band leaves the framework of a song behind and embarks on improvisational journeys. This band has been playing together for over twelve years, and it shows in the way they communicate musically. They can change the feel quickly or build it up to a climax over time. All members are experienced in jazz, and they said that they focus on listening to each other during loose sections.
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Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: Aaron Gittleman, Benefit, Black Eyed Peas, Cold War Kids, concert, concert coverage, Damien Rice, Dr. Dog, Drink Up Buttercup, Erica Scarano, funk n waffles, Haiti, Iron and Wine, Jason Mraz, Jim harvey, John Legend and The Moldy Peaches, Keith Smith, Liz Lewis, Nate Stein, New Relic, OK GO, Play it by ear, Rilo Kiley, Ryan Whitman, Sarah Detweiler, Scene Around Town, Stephen Babcock, Tegan and Sara, The Fly, The Kinks
Liz Lewis playing at Funk 'n' Waffles last night; larger photos below!
PREVIEW: LISTEN to Drink Up Buttercup, Liz Lewis and New Relic on MySpace
GIVE: DONATE a contribution to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
You walk into Funk N’ Waffles and the coffee shop is cramped past the legal limit. With hardly any standing room, much less an open seat, the bands that played at Funk last night did so to a packed show. Whether they were standing in the back or sitting close up front, concert-goers listened intently to the performers voices, guitar noodling, keyboard manipulation and other forms of music-making, whether it involved cellos or garbage cans. The eclectic acts and cozy atmosphere made the Haiti charity event a great success Friday night.
Erica Scarano, Sarah Detweiler, Aaron Gittleman, Liz Lewis, Keith Smith (with Stephen Babcock), One of Three, New Relic, Ryan Whitman and Drink Up Buttercup filled the elevated stage between the hours of 7 and 11:30 p.m. Each artist performed just a few songs, ranging in genres and message. Appropriate to the benefit show’s nature, the only consistent theme of the night was the universal camaraderie shared by the performers and the audience. Continue reading
Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: Black Sheep Squadron, Concert Reviews, Ghost Ship, Mindset, Not Sorry, Reason, Scene Around Town, Straight Edge, Westcott Community Center
Black Sheep Squadron
Black shirts, edge X’s and spin kicks separated the believers from the bystanders at Syracuse straight edge Sunday night at the Westcott Community Center. Clad in their best scene shirts, about fifty young people from as far as Toronto and Vermont came in support. Featuring Black Sheep Squadron (Black SS), Mindset, Not Sorry, Reason and Ghost Ship, these hardcore bands spouted lyrics promoting taking a stance and living a life of independence.
Prying themselves from the new Call of Duty video game, Syracuse locals Ghost Ship took to the front, with Curtis Lepore at the helm. Red-faced, Lepore shook his fist and squinted his eyes as he spat out, “We won’t be bought, we won’t be sold, we’ve had enough,” in their anthem “Enough”. Despite being sick, he bounced and growled in the faces of the head nodding bunch, delivering dissonant but driving vocals. Only a band for the past few months, the hair-tossing bassist, jumping guitarist, and forceful drummer banged their heads in perfect unison to their double-kick peddle beat.
As a result of a family plagued by alcohol and drugs, Lepore choose a life of straight edge because he was turned off by the behavior. Continue reading
Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: concert review, fever ray, Ladyboys, Little Dragon, machine dreams, Scene Around Town, show review, The Knife, The Smash Brothers, Westcott Theater
Ladyboys at the Westcott on Friady
PREVIEW: VISIT Little Dragon’s Website
Westcott Theater was cold and empty. Little Dragon, a synthy Swedish quartet, attract blog hype, but didn’t rope in more than 60 Syracuse residents to the Friday night show, leading to a general impression of awkward sparseness. Zach James, a member of supporting act Ladyboys (not to mention one half of The Smash Brothers), performed a long DJ set as if expecting a sudden rush of latecomers. Reinforcements never arrived, but the small crowd thankfully grouped toward the front of the stage as proceedings began. Continue reading
Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: Mike Doughty, Scene Around Town, show review, Westcott Theater
Mike Doughty worked the crowd Thursday night at the Westcott with a great set
PREVIEW: VISIT Mike Doughty’s website
Just like his songs, Mike Doughty keeps his shows straightforward, but entertaining; witty, but not caustic; and short, but sweet. In less than an hour and a half, Doughty packed 20 songs into his Thursday night set at the Westcott Theater, including crowd favorites “27 Jennifers,” “Circles,” and “Madeline and Nine.”
The intimate crowd of about 60 featured a casual mix of fans: the moderate hipsters represented with their standard uniform of plaid, knit hats and skinny jeans, while a sprinkling of slightly older folks were present, and clearly reliving their Soul Coughing days. Continue reading
Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: alex rose, As Tall As Lions, cory murchy, dave knudson, jake snider, Minus the Bear, Planet of Ice, Scene Around Town, seattle, twin tigers, Westcott Theater
Minus the Bear put on a phenomenal show at the Westcott Tuesday night
PREVIEW: STREAM Minus the Bear’s “Into the Mirror”
VIEW: PHOTOSÂ Under the Cut
As Tall As Lions, Twin Tigers, and Minus the Bear ravaged the Westcott Theater Tuesday night with a show that only large carnivorous mammals could deliver.
It takes a hell of a band to get a crowd jumping on a Tuesday night, and Minus the Bear brought Saturday night energy to the Westcott.
Just when the crowd seemed to be calling it quits after luke-warm performances from the openers, Minus the Bear delivered a show worth rocking out to. Continue reading
Filed under: Scene Around Town | Tags: Bandersnatch, Fazeshift, Hot Chelle Rae, Scene Around Town, Syracuse University, The Academy Is..., University Union, William Beckett
William Beckett of The Academy Is... at Syracuse University
Chicago pop-punk favorite The Academy Is… made a stop at Syracuse University’s Schine Underground on Tuesday, Nov. 17. 20 Watts’ Alyssa Stone was on hand to catch some shots of the headliners, as well as openers Hot Chelle Rae and Fazeshift.
Want more? Make sure to check out Irina Dvalidze’s lengthy philosophical interview with TAI frontman William Beckett and bassist Adam Siska.
MORE PHOTOS UNDER THE JUMP >> Continue reading
