A Night To Return To

The first weekend back after an overlong and overly wintery break brought a lovely surprise--Poet and musician, Blair, came to perform in New Paltz at the venue formerly known as 60 Main. Under new ownership and dubbed "/ Root", the cafe filled with people looking for warmth. And Blair provided it. First, he performed with his band, Blair & The Boyfriends, singing with emotion that was beautiful and very purely human. Joined by Ken Comstock on an upright bass and Chris Winter on drums, Blair charmed every person in the room. Joy Jerome made a spontaneous performance, reciting poetry so true that you couldn't help but fall in love with her. Then Blair performed his poems, and although I heard them online prior to the show, I felt them so much harder when I heard them live. His poems were shocking and edgy. I loved them so much. Blair will be coming back to New Paltz in the spring. (I'll be sure to let you know exactly when so you can all come.) Joy Jerome will be featuring :)




Blair & The Boyfriends rockin' out at / Root















Joy Jerome performing one of her poems--many more to come in the spring :)


















Blair performing his poetry

















Human Beauty

350 Fair!

Okay, okay... so this was a while ago (2 Saturdays ago to be exact), but I was busy going to lots of events! And also there was Halloween... yeah... But this is perfect timing because I can actually just remind you to vote tomorrow! Ulster County elections are here!

170 countries participated, held events to create awareness about climate change. The goal is to get the carbon density back down to 350. Then the climate will be stable. So... let's get to it! Turn off your lights when you can! Ride your bike instead of driving!



Soul Purpose played some classics like "Mustang Sally", "Superstition", and (yes, they had to) "Soul Man".














High School rappers "Pistols for Pandas" spit some environmentally friendly rhymes.

Then Betty and the Baby Boomers played some classic folk songs.

It was a lovely day, the biggest Haz Park event this year :)

Friday Night Music! ... what I was awake for

Friday night was one of the biggest music nights that New Paltz has seen in a while. Unfortunately, I passed out. (Oh vodka, you've done be wrong.) What I did see was pretty exciting.

The Rhodes played their new singles! For the sake of New Paltz's Rhodes nostalgia, they performed a bunch of their old songs, too. I remember how I fell in love with The Rhodes last year. They booked every Tuesday night at Oasis, murdering jazz Tuesdays (which a lot of my jazz major friends were pissed about). But they made Tuesday nights exciting, livening them with Beatles-esque dance songs. Now they've left home, playing a lot more frequently in Brooklyn. They even played CMJ this year. Impressive.

Also, Adir Cohen (musical genius, makes it look easy) and his band Sharks Roar played at Cabs. I'm so sad that I missed this, but if you missed it and you're sad too, you can make it up to him! (I'm projecting.) He's hosting a big acoustic show at Oasis next Tuesday night! 18+, 2 for 1 drinks, what more could you want?

In The Pocket Helps Swing Hips

Be prepared. I'm gonna hyperbolize this shit: In The Pocket is the best, most dance-worthy band I've seen perform in New Paltz to date. Okay, okay... The Jonny Monster Band was pretty damn dance-worthy, too. But my hips have never churned so violently in one night before. They nearly danced themselves off of my body.

The band members for the evening included a pair of twins, a music teacher, a singing drummer (!), an above-average guitarist, and the ever-popular VT.

Favorite number of the night? Pass the Peas! I always want bands to play that song. It's the shit. It's also my new ringtone...

So here's the deal, this band is the bee's knees and you'd best be watchin' out for it. I'll tell you all about their next gigs. They play all over the place. New Paltz was just one stop on their groove train, but the other places they play aren't too far away. If you're carless, ask me for a ride. I'll try to fit you in my teeny tiny VW bug :)

Gertrude's Paradise at Oasis!

One week ago today, a star was borne in mine eye. It was called Gertrude's Paradise. This band takes edge over the edge. The corrupt merging of string instruments with the hardness of nearly-punk vocals from Liana Gabel and Mike Hollis was powerful. Keep an eye and an ear out for them. Their sound is unique, to this town if not this world.

Quatrane's Return to Oasis

It's where they began, and they returned this past Thursday. They were as amazing as ever. This time, VT brought his baby Casio. It was one of those old school keyboards. (I had one when I was a little Kate.)

Bassist and hat wearer, Ben Basile-

Check out his other band, In the Pocket, at Oasis this Tuesday, October 20th at 10:00 PM

Mike Kadnar, drums and... do I even have to say it?

Catfish Brown (Chris Dayton to the un-hip and un-jazzy) on guitar

VT and his ever-famous two trumpet routine

Vince again, with his baby keyboard

Oh yeah, and that lovely ham Chris Hernandez jumped on for a few tunes. Here he is on his sax with VT on trumpet.

I don't know when their next show is... but I will, of course, keep everyone updated. Or you could just look for the strangest flyers you see (ex: Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Walken...)

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y... NIGHT!

This past Saturday The Jings had a gig at 60 Main. It was the first time I'd seen them, and I have to say... next big thing? Yup, I think so. Their sound is both unique and catchy, a rare and wonderful pairing. Rhythm guitarist and vocalist, Oscar Bilger, has such a pure and moving tone to his voice. They'll be playing at Muddy Cup on Friday, October 23rd at 9:00 with Mother's Borsch, so feel free to check that out :) They'll also be at Oasis on Tuesday, October 27th and again on Tuesday, November 10th. That's right, Tuesdays will be eventful.

Other acts of the evening included The Big Toe, Charles Cullen, and one Mister Jordan Siwek.

The Big Toe put a clarinet into the mix, making them even more amazing than they already are.

Charles Cullen roared out a couple of tunes. His vocals are emotionally charged for sure. I enjoyed it a lot.

And, of course, Jordan rocked it out with classic Alpha State (RIP) hits such as The Missing Piece and Soar. Then he covered some amazing songs like Radiohead's "Creep" and David Bowie's "Life on Mars".

Amazing evening! 60 Main is a pretty good place to be on the weekends. There's art and music and positive energy. Plus, really lovely people will make you coffee.